Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of its characters.
A/N: You are all brilliant. Really. Your reviews mean the world to me, and I'm so blessed that I have such amazing readers :) I really hope you enjoy this chapter even though there isn't much Klaroline interaction until the end.
-xxx-
Caroline finished unpacking her suitcases and plopped down on her bed, kicking off her shoes and laying on her back. She covered her face with her arms and took a deep breath. It was seven in the morning back in Mystic Falls, but Caroline slept on the plane so she wouldn't be tired.
Her mom had to leave in about thirty minutes for work. When Caroline came home at six in the morning, it woke Liz up, but she sensed that Caroline didn't want to talk about it. They had barely even said two words to each other since.
Caroline had spent all her energy suppressing her emotions and willing herself not to have a breakdown. She was free to cry now, but she didn't take advantage of it. She couldn't take advantage of it. Crying wasn't an option. She wasn't weak little Caroline anymore who cried over breakups when there were plenty of other things in her life that were much more upsetting.
Maybe this was what she deserved. Maybe it was karmic justice. It was her own fault, falling for the enemy when she knew full well who he was and what he's done. She was a fool for thinking he would be any different for her. It was just an act, another of his twisted games of manipulation.
Her phone had been ringing nonstop since she came back, so she wasn't surprised when it started ringing again. Of course it was Klaus calling. She groaned in irritation, hitting the ignore button and throwing her phone across the room. Suddenly she felt very claustrophobic.
Caroline stood up so fast her head started spinning, but that didn't stop her as she stomped down the stairs and out the door. She yanked open her car door and hopped in, not bothering with the seatbelt as she sped away from her house. She didn't have a destination in mind. She was just going to drive and see where her car took her. Surprisingly enough, she ended up on Elena's doorstep, her fist shaking as she knocked twice.
Alaric was the one who answered. "Caroline?" he asked in disbelief.
Caroline opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off when Elena appeared in the doorway wearing the same look of disbelief as Alaric had. "Caroline, what are you doing here?"
Caroline could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Elena's expression softened and she gestured for Caroline to come in, closing the door behind her.
"I'll um..." Alaric began awkwardly. "I'll just be at the Grill with Damon." He hurried out of the house, before the waterworks could begin.
Elena studied Caroline's face, well aware that her friend was on the verge of a meltdown.
Caroline still refused to cry. "Elena," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "I'm sorry. You were right."
Elena opened her mouth in shock before closing it quickly. "What happened?" she asked as she led them into the living room and took a seat on the couch next to Caroline.
Caroline took a steady breath. "I left after you called and told me what Klaus did. He put your life in danger, he threatened Bonnie and her mom, he used his hybrids to hurt Stefan and that Jamie guy... I can't be with him, Elena. Not if he's going to go behind my back and do things like this."
Elena wrapped her arms around Caroline and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Care," she whispered.
Caroline hugged her back, glad that she and Elena were friends again. "I should've listened to you."
Elena didn't respond. She just hugged Caroline and tried her best to comfort her best friend. She was impressed that Caroline hadn't shed a single tear, but she knew she was just putting on a brave face. Of course Caroline knew it was okay to cry in front of Elena. She had done so many times, but this time was different. This time she would be crying over the man whom Elena utterly despised.
Elena unlocked her arms from around Caroline, leaning back with a hopeful smile. "You know what you need? A girl's night. I'll call Bonnie." She whipped out her phone and wandered into the other room, dialing Bonnie's number.
Caroline didn't listen to their conversation. Instead, she walked over to the collection of DVDs Elena had and began searching for a couple of movies to watch. She scanned the options, seeing a running theme of romance and chick flicks. Evidently Jeremy had his own stash of movies stored elsewhere, because there was no way any of these were his. Caroline chuckled at the thought of him voluntarily sitting down and watching The Notebook.
Caroline saw Moulin Rouge and flinched, remembering her time in Paris. She moved on quickly, finally coming across a movie that wasn't some cheesy romance story. She pulled it off the shelf and returned to her seat on the couch just as Elena stepped back into the room with a huge smile on her face.
"Bonnie's on her way, and she's bringing pizza."
Caroline laughed. "You do realize it's seven thirty in the morning. A 'girl's night' at this hour isn't exactly normal..."
Elena shrugged. "So? If there's anything I know, it's that we're everything but normal."
Caroline laughed again. "Very true!"
"What movie did you pick out?"
"White Chicks," she replied with a smirk.
"I haven't seen that in forever! Good choice, because I'm really not in the mood to watch some dramatic love story. I have enough of that in my own life."
"Amen," Caroline agreed.
Elena started towards the kitchen. "You need a drink. I'm sure Ric has some bourbon stashed away somewhere..."
"No bourbon!" Caroline shouted in a panic. Elena whirled around in confusion, her eyebrows knit together. "It just...it reminds me of him," Caroline explained.
Elena nodded in understanding. "Is vodka okay?"
"Yes."
Elena searched the cabinets for the alcohol. It wasn't too hard to find. She poured a glass for Caroline and a glass for herself, returning to the living room and handing Caroline the beverage. She raised her glass. "To a night filled with food, movies, and makeovers, but most importantly, no boys!" They clinked glasses and each took a sip.
Caroline giggled. "Makeovers? Really?"
Elena beamed at her. "What? We're going cliché, like old school Disney channel style."
This earned another chuckle from Caroline as she took another sip of her drink. The doorbell rang then, and Elena set her glass down on the coffee table to answer it.
"I brought the pizza!" Bonnie's voice echoed through the house as she skipped into the living room. She handed the box to Elena who took it into the kitchen. Bonnie spotted Caroline on the couch and plopped down beside her. "Elena told me you left. Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine, Bon. I just want to forget about it, okay?"
"Sure thing."
"Are you going to sit there all day or do you want to eat your weight in cheese and pepperoni?" Elena's voice sounded from the other room.
Bonnie and Caroline met her in the kitchen, and the girls each took a slice of pizza. Bonnie scrutinized Elena's face before speaking. "How are you holding up?"
Elena glared at Bonnie. Obviously this was a subject she didn't want to be brought up. "I'm fine."
Caroline's confusion must have been evident, because Bonnie explained the situation. "Elena told Stefan that she kissed Damon."
Caroline raised her eyebrows and shifted her gaze to the brunette in question. "Oh? How did that go?"
Elena sighed. "He just walked away, and when I caught up to him he told me neither he nor Damon deserved me and then he drove off. It's no big deal."
"You told him it was because Damon was dying, right?" Caroline checked. Bonnie and Elena exchanged a look. "Right?" Caroline tried again, fearing that the deathbed smooch wasn't the only one her friend had shared with the eldest Salvatore.
"Damon kissed me again the other night," Elena admitted.
Bonnie grinned at Caroline knowingly. "She liked it."
"I never said that," Elena argued.
"You never denied it either," Bonnie pointed out.
Caroline chimed in. "So what are you going to do?"
Elena cast her eyes down, deep in thought. "I'm going to forget all about it and spend time with my friends, investing myself in mindless entertainment," she finally answered, raising her drink to her lips. "Shall we?" She gestured towards the living room where they finished their pizza and watched the movie.
-xxx-
By nightfall, the girls were exhausted. Their nails were painted, their stomachs were full of junk food, and their minds were occupied with hilarious movies. Their boy problems were never brought up again, which Caroline was especially thankful for. The sleepover had been a welcome distraction, as well as the alcohol.
Alaric had never come back from his time at the Grill, and Elena guessed that he was probably off with his new doctor friend, Meredith. Caroline also learned that Elena had asked Damon to compel Jeremy into leaving town, which Bonnie obviously had a problem with. Another thing she found out was that even though Klaus took the coffins, Damon was able to hide the locked one and undagger Elijah.
"Wait, so Elijah's back in town?" Caroline exclaimed.
"Yeah, and Damon—" Elena began, but she stopped when she realized she said too much.
Caroline released an exasperated sigh. "Okay, look. I know I've been kicked out of the circle of trust when it comes to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I'm getting tired of the secrecy. Besides, who am I going to tell? He's not in Mystic Falls anymore..." She cut her sentence off when she saw the sympathetic looks on Bonnie and Elena's faces. "Did he come back?"
"We weren't going to bother you with it tonight, but Damon texted me earlier. Apparently You-Know-Who decided to start building a house to stick around for a while."
"You might as well say his name," Bonnie started as an attempt to lighten the mood. "Voldemort."
Caroline and Elena threw their heads back in laughter, realizing their nicknames for Klaus were the same nicknames used for the villain of the Harry Potter series. The girls died of laughter at Bonnie's joke. Caroline needed that laugh. She needed to joke around and spend time with her friends like she normally would before all of this supernatural crap got in the way.
"Thank you for this," Caroline said when they settled down.
"No, thank you," Elena said. "I'm glad you're back."
-xxx-
Caroline came home at around noon, her mother nowhere in sight. Sighing, she trudged up the stairs to her room, wearing a tee shirt and sweatpants combo that Elena had loaned her since she didn't bring any of her belongings to the surprise sleepover last night.
She opened her door and shut it quietly, massaging her temples to rid the headache she felt coming on from lack of sleep and too much alcohol from the previous night. With a sigh, she turned around, screaming and tripping over her own feet when she saw Klaus standing by her window.
He flashed towards her, catching her in his arms before she could hit the ground. Seeing him there, and feeling his arms encircled around her waist made her want to forgive him and just go back to the way things were. But she was strong, and she wouldn't give in that easily. So although she didn't want him to let her go, she shook off his arms anyway and distanced herself from him.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I wanted to apologize," he told her, his accent making her feel weak in the knees.
"It's a little too late for that, don't you think? I told you that if you ever tried hurting my friends again, you'd lose me forever. Now I intend to make good on that promise, so please leave." She gestured towards the door, but Klaus didn't budge.
"I'm not leaving until you hear what I have to say."
"Fine," Caroline agreed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "But it's not going to change anything."
Klaus took a deep breath. "I've been doing things this way for over a thousand years. When I don't get what I want, I resort to violence and manipulation. You knew this. I'm not a saint by any means. I kill people, I compel people, I use people. I'm selfish, and I'm well aware of that. It hasn't bothered me for a thousand years and it still doesn't bother me now. And although I may not know much about love, I'm fairly certain that if you love someone, you can look beyond their imperfections. I know I have plenty of flaws, some harder to look past than others, but I'm asking you to please try. Please give me a chance."
Caroline's breathing hitched. She wanted so badly to forget what happened and jump into his arms and tell him that yes, she'll try to be more understanding. But that was her heart speaking. Her mind told her that she should order him to leave and never come back.
"I already gave you a chance, and you blew it," she reminded him, deciding not to listen to her heart or her mind.
"Because that's what I do, Caroline," Klaus replied. "When you've lived as long as I have, facing nothing but rejection, you learn to assume that everyone you get close to will eventually leave you. So I test people and push them around until they prove me right."
This made sense. It explained why he daggered his family and why he was always pushing the boundaries when it came to her.
She knew that if he said one more thing, she would grab his face in her hands and kiss the hell out of him, so she asked him again to leave before her resolve came crumbling down. "I need some time to think," she explained.
Klaus nodded in understanding and opened her door, giving her one last look before he closed it, his expression unreadable.
And then Caroline was left alone to make her decision.
-xxx-
A/N: So there you have it! I loved writing the girl's night (well, not really "night") and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Those poor girls need some time off from their daily drama to just relax and be normal once in a while. I hope I explained Klaus's reasons for doing what he does clearly. Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what Caroline's decides to do :)
Review please! I love hearing your thoughts!