Chapter 14 – Delusional
A/N: So this is probably the most angsty and painful chapter I've ever written. It pains me so much and I love it. I hope you guys do too. Remember to review please!
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"Klaus are you freaking delusional?!" Caroline shouted, pulling at her hair in frustration. "There is absolutely nothing going on with me and Stefan, how many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Do not take me for a fool, Caroline!" Klaus yelled right back, pacing back and forth across his lavish living room. "I've seen the way you look at Stefan, don't try and tell me –"
"I look at Stefan like he's my best friend because that's what he is!" She interrupted. "He's been by my side since we were kids, I'm not going to distance myself from him just because you're being a paranoid douchebag!"
Klaus laughed then, a mocking laugh that infuriated Caroline even further. They'd been arguing over her friendship with Stefan for the past ten minutes and it felt like they were just talking in circles. Klaus was accusing her of having feelings for him, Caroline was profusely denying it, and so on and so forth.
Only having been officially together for a month and a half, this was their first real fight and boy was it a doozy for them both. Klaus with his paranoia and temper, and Caroline with her stubbornness.
"Caroline honestly I have been called many things but a paranoid douchebag?" Klaus said sarcastically. "Now that is new."
"You're infuriating!" Caroline all but screamed, literally stomping her foot. "Do you not trust me? What have I ever done that makes you think I would cheat on you with Stefan of all people? He's my best friend and nothing more! I mean even as kids and teenagers it's never been anything more than a completely platonic friendship between us!"
"I can't trust you because I can't trust anyone!" Klaus retorted back, forcing a tense silence between them. His chest was heaving with heavy breaths, and Caroline's face fell in concern. "I can't trust anyone, Caroline." He added in a voice just above a whisper. "My entire life, everyone that I have put my faith in has betrayed me. Every single one, even my family. Especially my family, actually."
"Klaus I –"
"No Caroline, just don't." He cut her off, turning his head away to try and hide his glassy eyes. "If I for one second trust you with all of me – all of my heart and soul, then it will hurt a million times worse when you leave."
"What makes you think I'll leave?" Caroline asked instantly, stepping up to Klaus and putting her hands on his cheeks and making him look her in the eyes even though he tried not to. "Klaus don't you get it? I'm with you for a reason. You make me laugh, you challenge me, you make me want to be better. I think about you all the time, you've been on my mind since the day you tried and miserably failed to flirt with me at that stupid Christmas party."
Klaus looked down at his feet and laughed sadly despite himself, glancing back up at the beautiful girl in front of him, touched by the genuine affection for him that was so obviously displayed on her face.
"So believe me, I have no interest in being with someone like Stefan." She continued. "I have no interest in anyone but you, Klaus. And I know you're not good with trust, but if you just give me a chance to prove you wrong…you'll see the way I feel about you."
Klaus swallowed thickly, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he battled within himself. His head was telling him that if he were to trust her it would be his undoing, but his heart wanted nothing more than to give her every part of him that she didn't already have.
"I thought you were with me simply because I'm something that you think you can fix." He said quietly, a painful expression on his strong features. "I mean honestly, look at me compared to Stefan. He's perfect for you, we both know it. But me, I'm just…broken."
Caroline chuckled, shaking her head.
"Of course you're broken, Klaus. We all are." She said honestly, stepping even closer to him so that there was hardly any space between them. "But you're wrong if you think I want to fix you. I want you exactly the way you are, broken parts included. Because your brokenness just further shows me how strong of a man you really are."
Klaus was speechless, his mouth parted in awe. His entire life nobody – nobody – had ever looked at him with such genuine…love, the way that Caroline was looking at him now. There was no trace of doubt in his mind that she meant every word that she had just said.
"I don't want Stefan, I want you. And only you, Klaus." She said once again, a small smile gracing her features. "Because you are –"
Caroline was cut off as Klaus swooped down and captured her lips with his own, a small sound of surprise escaping her before she melted into his touch, eyes fluttering shut and arms wrapping around his neck of their own accord.
Their lips moved together like some sort of secret dance shared just between them. They fit together perfectly. Where he was hard, she was soft; where he was rough, she was gentle. They were the truest definition of puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly.
They broke apart after a minute or two, the both of them breathing heavily as they rested their foreheads against one another. There wasn't an inch of space between their bodies, which molded together as if The Universe had specifically designed the two of them for each other.
"Damn." Caroline gasped out, making Klaus chuckle. "If fighting with you means I get kissed like that we should do this more often."
"Oh love." Klaus said in a teasing tone, his hand slowly trailing down her back and making her shiver. "We haven't even gotten to the making up part yet."
"The making up p –"
Caroline squealed as Klaus suddenly bent down and grabbed her behind the knees, throwing her up and over her shoulder and walking to the bedroom with purpose.
"Klaus!" She shrieked.
"Oh don't start yelling my name yet sweetheart, save your voice for later when it counts!"
Caroline was laughing hysterically as he tossed her onto the bed and pounced, assaulting her with kisses yet again. And sure enough, she was glad she saved her voice for the most fun part of the night.
Oh yes, they would surely be fighting more often if this was the result.
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Caroline stood outside of the steel door leading to Klaus' cell, waging a war within her own mind. The lab was empty, Aaron and Enzo had both gone off to their rooms. It was past midnight after all, but Caroline couldn't sleep. She hadn't seen Klaus in over a week and knowing that he was right there with her and in pain was keeping her up at night.
Along with Katherine and Elijah's…extracurricular activities, but that was beside the point.
She gulped, reaching a hand out and just barely touched the door handle with a shaky hand. She'd been trying to make a decision for the past ten minutes and she just wanted to open the damn door. But she was scared. It was the saddest thing ever to her, to actually be scared of the person she loved most in the world.
"Get it together, Caroline." She whispered harshly to herself. "He would do it for you and you know it."
With that thought in her mind, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the small window at the top of the room that just barely overlooked the main streets of the town. The moon was bright that night though, so she could see everything.
She leaned back against the door as it clicked shut behind her and she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, surprised that she had actually made herself do it.
"Come to see the monster have you?"
Caroline jumped at the sound of Klaus' voice, her eyes flying open to see him sitting on the ground beside his cot, legs splayed out in front of him. His eyes were closed and a defeated look was on his face.
"Well hate to break it to you whoever you are," He continued in a bored voice, "But the monster is out at the moment."
Caroline frowned. He must not have opened his eyes at all since she'd stepped into the room, and of course he wouldn't think it could possibly be her that's come to visit him. It had been over a week after all.
"Klaus." She whispered. "It's me."
His eyes flew open so fast it was frightening, and Caroline would have taken a step back if she weren't already against the door.
His eyes connected with hers and a strange sense of warmth rushed over Caroline from head to toe. He looked like her Klaus, not like the Infected she had been picturing in her mind. Was this what Wes had been talking about? An Infected and non-Infected part of him battling for dominance? Did this mean that her Klaus was winning?
"Caroline." He whispered, pushing himself up from the ground slowly and walking over to wrap his hands around the cell bars, never breaking eye contact with her. A small, disbelieving smile appeared. "Oh Caroline, I…"
Klaus floundered for words to say, but could find none to express what he was feeling. Other Klaus had been mysteriously absent for the past few hours, but Klaus knew that he would return. He always returned.
"Hi." Caroline said meekly, taking a very small step forward. "You look..."
Klaus cringed as Caroline looked him up and down. He was well aware that he looked quite terrible. His clothes were dirty, his face was smeared with dirt and blood from where Other Klaus would make him hurt himself. He was thin, but not dangerously so. The Infection was actually sustaining his body without food or water, forcing him to survive throughout this mental agony.
"I know." Klaus said, swallowing thickly and looking down at the ground in shame. "But hey, at least my skin isn't peeling off." He tried to joke.
It seemed to work, an actual genuine smile appearing on Caroline's face. That small facial expression made Klaus' heart soar, for it had been so long since he had made her smile.
"Yeah that's definitely a plus." Caroline said quietly, crossing her arms and taking yet more small steps towards the bars, but still staying out of reach. "I mean flaky skin is definitely a turn off."
Klaus chuckled, licking his chapped lips as he looked her up and down as well.
"You on the other hand." He said. "You look…incredible."
Caroline laughed in disbelief, shaking her head as a blush appeared on her cheeks. It was amazing how even in situations like this Klaus could make her feel so damn important.
"Oh please." She argued. "I'm not wearing an ounce of makeup, and these clothes look ridiculous." She gestured down to her plain jeans, boots, and red shirt.
"You never need makeup love, how many times have I told you that?" Klaus rolled his eyes, and for a second it felt like they were back home bickering while she took far too long to get ready for a date instead of visiting each other through bars out of fear one would kill the other. "You're beautiful, Caroline. Especially now that you're so…strong."
"Literally or metaphorically?" Caroline asked with a teasing grin.
"Both." He shot back immediately, the two of them smiling at each other like lovestruck teenagers which was the furthest thing from the truth.
"Oh well isn't this adorable."
Klaus visibly winced as Other Klaus made his return with perfect timing. His Infected self hallucination was leaned against the opposite side of the cell, looking Caroline up and down, who was oblivious of course. Because he wasn't actually there.
"Look at you two, pretending everything is just peachy." Other Klaus mocked condescendingly, a smile on his dark face.
"Klaus?" Caroline asked, seeing the love of her life leaned against the bars with squinted eyes as if in physical pain. "What is it, are you alright?"
"Well go on and tell her." Other Klaus said, holding his arms out and stepping closer to his counterpart. "Tell her I'm here. The monster she came to see. I mean let's face it I am the main attraction."
"No." Klaus growled.
"Well what's wrong?" Caroline said worriedly, thinking he was replying to her and not his own mind. "What can I do?"
"You can't do anything!" Other Klaus and the Klaus in front of Caroline both shouted at the same time, switching positions instantaneously.
The Infected version was now the dominant part of Klaus' mind and Caroline gasped as dark circles suddenly rimmed his eyes and he smirked evilly at her.
"Klaus?" She asked quietly, trying to control her breathing. "Is that…you?"
He laughed, grinning like a maniac.
"Well of course love." He said sarcastically. "It's all me, after all. Me, Niklaus Mikaelson. The man you love. I'm right here for you."
Caroline took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes.
"You're not Klaus." She hissed, making his eyebrows shoot up in amusement towards her venomous tone. "You're the Infection, but you are not him."
It was silent for a second before he burst out laughing, throwing his head back as if she had just said the funniest joke in the world. He was mocking her though, and her face began to heat up in embarrassment.
"Oh Caroline." He chuckled, pretending to wipe away tears. "You haven't changed a bit, have you? Still clinging onto the hope that I can beat this? That I can beat myself? You surely are delusional, aren't you? But I suppose optimism is just your nature, isn't it? Well bad news sweetheart." He stepped forward, his face growing darker by the second as the Infection took more of a foothold in his mind. "This is my nature. You've known it all along, haven't you? That this Infection, it's just bringing out what you've always known has been there."
"No." The more rational version of Klaus whispered as he stared at Caroline who couldn't see him because he wasn't even there. "No, no, don't do this to her please." He begged himself.
"You know who I am, Caroline!" Klaus screamed, ignoring himself. "I am vile, cruel, and unlovable and you know it."
"No, no, that's not true –" Caroline tried to say.
"And I am incapable of caring for you so stop fooling yourself!" Klaus screamed, making the hallucination Klaus sink to the ground and grip the bars for dear life as he stared at his Caroline.
"No Caroline, don't listen to him, don't listen." He begged in vain.
"You came down here for what reason?" The Infection hissed, tilting his chin up at Caroline. "To try and convince yourself of what you hope to be true?"
"No." Caroline retorted, her jaw clenched. "I came down here for a completely different reason."
He smirked, eyes glittering with pain and malice.
"What, want to give me a little kiss?" He taunted. "We both know you want to, love. Come a little closer and let me remind you what we used to have." He said in a terrifyingly seductive tone.
"Shutup." She smarted off which only made him chuckle. "I came down here to tell you that we found a cure." She said bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush.
"What?" Both Klaus' asked simultaneously, their roles switching back and forth without any control whatsoever.
"Wes discovered a cure for the Infection." Caroline told him, trying not to look affected by how the dark circles around Klaus' eyes were fading in and out almost supernaturally. "And it's in New York City. I'm leading a team there a week from today to retrieve it."
"No." Klaus whispered, the Infected side of him objecting because it knew that the cure would eradicate him, and the rational side objecting out of fear for Caroline's safety.
And just like true love should, the real Klaus managed to become dominant over his own mind out of that fear for his love.
"Caroline you can't." Klaus rushed out, gasping as he regained control of himself, visibly startling Caroline. "It's too dangerous, you can't go back to the city. You'll never make it!" He was rushing his words as if he was afraid he wouldn't get them out in time before losing himself once again.
"Klaus I have to." Caroline said seriously, stepping up to bars and just outside of the safe zone upon seeing that it was her Klaus speaking to her once more. "I have to save you, I can't let you stay like this, I just can't!"
"The city is a killbox Caroline and I'm not worth you dying!" He pleaded with her, eyes wide and watery as he leaned against the bars with all of his might as if they would somehow disappear and allow him to reach her. Feeling his strength dissipate, he started to sink down to the floor, still gripping the bars for dear life.
"Klaus I'm not going to die." Caroline assured him, abandoning all ideas of safety and rushing forward to the cell, kneeling right in front of Klaus and putting her hands over top of his on the bars. "I have an entire group that's going with me that wants to save you just as much as I do. Me, Elijah and Katherine, Kol, Enzo, Stefan, and T –"
"Stefan?" Klaus interrupted, his voice oddly calm. "Stefan?" He repeated in a louder voice, Caroline's eyes widening as she realized the Infected side of him had come back. "Of course the perfect Stefan Salvatore is going with you on the premise of saving me! Are you spreading your legs for him like I always knew you were! I'll kill him and you both!" He screamed.
"Klaus no!" Caroline shouted trying to get her Klaus to come back to her, but it was no use at that point. The trigger had been activated, bringing out the side of Klaus that he always had deep within him and magnifying it further through the Infection.
He lunged at Caroline through the bars, just centimeters away from grabbing her throat with the full intention of choking her to death, when an unexpected savior grabbed her from under her armpits and pulled her back harshly in the nick of time.
"Kol." Caroline whispered, looking up at her rescuer, who knelt down next to her and looked at her neck to make sure Klaus hadn't somehow scratched her.
Caroline was stunned, her mouth parted in shock as she realized he had just saved her from his own brother. She never should have gotten so close to begin with, she had been so wrapped up in trying to reach Klaus that she hadn't even heard Kol walk into the room.
"Are you alright?" Kol asked, surprising her with his genuine look of concern.
Klaus looked on as his younger brother pulled Caroline away into the safe zone just before he could carry out his plan of killing her. That sight brought the rational side of Klaus back to the surface as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him. He sucked in a large breath of air as if he himself had been choking, scrambling backwards into the cell in fear of what he had just done.
"Klaus?" Caroline asked from where she sat on the floor next to Kol, concerned despite what had just happened. "Klaus is that…is that you?"
"Get out of here." Klaus panted out, blinking rapidly and shaking his head. "Leave Caroline, leave before I hurt you."
Caroline shook her head, standing up despite Kol's protests and starting to walk forward again.
"No way Klaus, I'm fine, you weren't going to –"
"I was going to kill you!" He screamed in shame, backing up as far into the cell as he could and turning his head to the side to avoid looking at her. His bottom lip trembled and his face twitched of its own accord. "Now leave before he comes back."
"Caroline, go." Kol said firmly, grabbing her arm roughly and spinning her to face him. "You leave right now, do you understand me?"
"No Kol, I –"
"You'll never get the opportunity to save Niklaus if he kills you before we even depart, so go." He ordered, looking her right in the eye. "Now!"
Caroline jumped, sparing one last glance at Klaus who still had his head turned before darting out the door and leaving Kol in the room.
A silence fell upon the brothers as they listened to the sounds of Caroline running up the steps, the door directly above them opening and closing shut as she fled the building.
Klaus turned his head slowly, seeing Kol staring at him from the middle of the safe zone with a slightly dangerous expression.
"Long time no see brother." Kol said with not even a hint of fear in his voice. "I think it's time we had a little chat."
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"Hey Alaric, me again why we're walking through the damn woods?" Damon asked in an annoyed tone, smacking a branch out of his way and glaring at their fearless leader's back.
"Because," Alaric started calmly, looking around him for any signs of danger, "People are dangerous when faced with the issue of survival. Staying in the woods means less chances of being killed not only by the zombies, but by humans as well."
"How do you know so much about this?" Elena asked. "I mean you had guns in your apartment for when the bombs started last week, who even does that?"
Alaric chuckled sadly, looking over his shoulder at the group he was trying to help survive.
"I guess you could say I watched a lot of zombie movies and took them a little too seriously."
Caroline stumbled over a root from the back of the group, cursing under her breath. It had been a week since the start of The Outbreak and she was surprised she was even still alive. Despite Mystic Falls being a heavily wooded area, she had very happily stuck to her nice home, nice car, and nice lifestyle her entire time there. So woods were not her forte.
"Easy there." Kol said in his thick accent, startling her as he showed up out of seemingly nowhere and grabbed her elbow gently to keep her from falling over the root. "Now is not the time to be getting injured wouldn't you say? You can't exactly run for your life with a broken ankle."
Caroline just looked up at Kol with wide eyes. After the bombs had started going off, one of her first thoughts was that Klaus and Elijah's brother Kol lived in Chicago. She may have been shell shocked at what was happening, but had somehow been able to think clearly enough that Kol and his girlfriend Bonnie may need their help as well. And she had been right, the couple were clearly at a loss at what was happening or what to do, so Alaric had suited them up and told them they had to either keep up or get lost. And keep up they did.
Caroline pulled her elbow away from Kol's grasp with a rude expression which was very unlike her. He just smirked and held his hands up innocently.
"Relax, darling. I was just trying to be a gentleman."
Caroline said nothing, annoyed with his smug attitude. Klaus and Elijah had told her about Kol's snarky personality many times, but their words had certainly not prepared her for the real thing.
"You know," Kol began to say as Caroline started walking to catch up with the group again, "I have a feeling you don't like me."
"Oh really?" Caroline asked sarcastically, smacking a mosquito away in annoyance. "What gave it away? My complete and total indifference to everything you say, or the fact that I've threatened to slap you about a hundred times so far?"
Kol laughed, not effected by her jab in the slightest.
"Wow." He said incredulously, smiling down at her with his ash smeared face, still handsome. "I just don't get it. For the past year all my siblings have been telling me about is how wonderful Klaus' girlfriend is. Wildly optimistic, kindhearted, all of that nonsense. And I finally get the honor of meeting the famous Caroline Forbes and what is she like? Cruel darling, just plain cruel."
Caroline's bottom lip began to tremble as Kol mentioned his family, making her think of Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. He was like a mixture of all three of the Mikaelsons she was closest to. Cocky and temperamental like Klaus, gentlemanly by nature like Elijah, and stubborn as hell like Rebekah. Throw a naturally irritating personality into the mix and you truly have Kol Mikaelson.
It didn't make things any easier that Kol resembled Elijah, which was especially difficult for Katherine. They had the same deep brown eyes and sharp jawline as well as their confident posture.
"Why don't you go annoy your girlfriend?" Caroline spat at him, struggling to walk through the woods where it seemed that everyone else was doing just fine.
"Oh Bonnie never gets annoyed by me." He obviously lied, smirking at Bonnie's backside who was walking about thirty feet ahead of them with Katherine.
Caroline chuckled, shaking her head. "I have a feeling that's a bold faced lie."
"Oh Caroline, you wound me." Kol said sarcastically, holding a hand over his chest and smirking at her. "And let's face it darling, lies are only truths that we haven't created yet."
Caroline froze, stopping abruptly in her tracks and looking up at Kol with wide eyes. He stopped as well, turning to her with a curious expression.
"What?" He asked in confusion.
Caroline opened her mouth to tell him that she had heard those exact words from Klaus about a hundred times. It was one of his favorite phrases and hearing Kol say it made her miss the love of her life even more.
Kol smiled then, chuckling as he realized what Caroline was thinking.
"Let me guess." Kol said, stepping closer to his brother's girlfriend. "Niklaus has said that to you before, has he? Yes well, that was one of his favorite sayings growing up. Honestly I had completely forgot about it until just now." He smiled at Caroline genuinely, which scared her for some reason. "Well I guess I was wrong Caroline. They were right about you bringing out the good in people and whatnot. Who would've thought?"
And then Kol spun on his heel and jogged to catch up with Bonnie, wrapping an arm around her waist and startling her.
And Caroline just stood where she was in the middle of the woods, confused at the anomaly that was Kol Mikaelson.
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"Get out, Kol." Klaus whispered in pain, refusing to look at his younger brother.
"What?" Kol asked in mock astonishment. "You want me to leave? Already? But brother, I came down here for the show. And granted, that was quite entertaining with Caroline just now. You know, all the screaming and trying to grab her throat and all. But I must say, I was quite heroic pulling her back like that don't you think?"
"Leave you immature little twit!" Klaus roared, finally turning his head to look at his brother, who just smirked. Klaus' eyes started to darken and his eye twitched as he started to lose control to the Other Klaus.
"So it's true then." Kol whispered in awe, annoying Klaus even further and thus making the switch to his Infected side more immediate. "There's two of you up there in that Infected little brain of yours. Tell me though, is it more like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder? Because I'm confused." He said nonchalantly, as if they were talking about the weather and not Klaus' murderous tendencies.
Other Klaus fully took over at that point, rolling his neck and popping the joints there as a roguish smirk overtook his face. Kol just looked on in curiosity though, not fearful in the slightest. Or at least, he wasn't showing his fear.
"That depends." Other Klaus answered, narrowing his dark eyes at his brother.
"On what?"
"Which one of us is in charge." Other Klaus said simply with the most dangerous look Kol had ever seen in his entire life.
"And I'm assuming you're the more rotten side of my brother then, aren't you?" Kol asked.
"You would assume correctly."
"Fantastic!" Kol shouted, clapping his hands together and dragging the chair over to sit in. He looked at Other Klaus' confused expression with a smirk as he sat on the edge of his seat. "So tell me, Infected version of Niklaus," He said brightly, making Klaus roll his eyes, "How much do you want to kill me? And be honest, no need to hold back any gory details about your deep rooted hatred, just let me have it."
Other Klaus laughed haughtily at that, shaking his head contemptuously.
"Oh please, Kol. I've been wanting to kill you for a very long time. Believe me when I say that being Infected has nothing to do with it."
"Really?" Kol asked, leaning back in his chair and propping up one of his ankles on the opposite knee, cocking his head at Klaus as if he were being thoughtful. "And here I thought that we were the closest of brothers." He said with obvious sarcasm.
"Oh stop with the pretending." Klaus scowled, eyes darkening even further by the second. Kol always had the uncanny ability to push all of his buttons. "I know damn good and well that you're a glutton for punishment, Kol. Coming in here and pretending not to be afraid, it's pathetic. Provoking me so that I'll tell you all of the awful things about yourself that you're already aware of? You are a child."
Kol's smirk disappeared as the conversation took an unexpected turn, Klaus hitting his intentions right on the head.
"You want me to tell you everything I hate about you Kol?" Klaus asked menacingly, stalking toward the front of the cell. "Gladly." He said slowly, emphasizing each syllable. "You are weak, and immature, and sarcastic to the point where nobody even wants to be around you. You think Rebekah, Finn, Elijah, or myself were upset when you left for Chicago? Oh no, brother. We were overjoyed to be rid of you and your irritating personality. You're like a little gnat that we can never swat away. Honestly, I know I'm the bastard son and all but I never understood why Mikael didn't beat you instead of me."
"You are scum." Kol snapped, standing up from the chair so fast that it fell over loudly behind him. "You are vile, and unappreciative, and you take all of our family for granted! I would have done anything in the world for you – any of you! – but you and Elijah and Rebekah just cast me to the side every time. Finn as well, but he never really cared for any of the family except for mother anyway."
Kol was enraged, finally letting out all of the pent up frustration that had been inside of him since he was a child. His constant irritating and snarky attitude was just a defense mechanism for the pain he felt inside of not ever being truly accepted in his own family.
"What was it that you and Rebekah and Elijah always used to say to each other?" Kol asked rhetorically. "Oh yes I remember now, 'always and forever.' Well that never applied to me now did it? I was just the annoying younger sibling that you cast to the side! The day I left New York you asked me why I was leaving and I didn't answer you then because I was too ashamed to tell the truth!" Kol all but roared, shaking in anger. "The truth is that I left because I hated you three! Hated you for never accepting me as I was, hated you for always talking down to me, hated you for treating me like a nuisance instead of your brother!"
In Kol's rage, he didn't even notice that Klaus' stature had become more slouched, his eyes no longer dark as the pain of hearing his brother's words pushed his Infected state to the backburner.
"I hate you Niklaus." Kol said bluntly, eyes burning with fury. "But I am going to go to New York with Caroline and the others because unlike you, I don't cast aside my family or hurt them no matter how terribly they treat me. Because I may not always act like it, but you all are everything to me." He said firmly, lips pursed in a thin line. "I will save you from this Infection if it's the last thing I do so that I can tell you all of this to your true face." He stated, not realizing that he was in fact doing just that. "I will save you so that I can have my awful, cruel, punishing, evil brother back without having to blame it on the Infection."
Tears were welling up in Klaus' eyes but Kol didn't even notice.
"And when you're cured? Well we'll go right back to what we used to be." He continued. "Hating each other, each of us ignoring the other's very existence. You and Rebekah and Elijah will be thick as thieves once again, you can live happily ever after with Caroline, and me?" He held his hands out and laughed sadly, the sound effecting Klaus more than it should have. "Well I'll just go back to being the Mikaelson that nobody gives a damn about."
And with that, Kol spun on his heel and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him in a fit of fury and hurt.
Klaus gasped when Kol was gone, sinking to the ground in actual physical pain at what his brother had just told him with the most brutal honesty he had ever received.
"Well, well, well." Other Klaus chuckled maliciously from the opposite side of the cell, making Klaus squint his eyes so that his tears ran out the side. "We're really a piece of shit aren't we?"
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A/N: Well then. That was probably the most painful chapter ever for me, which is why it took me so long to upload it. Please read and review and tell me how sad you are so we can be sad together :( xoxo