Hello everybody! Sorry this has taken so long, but last night we had no wifi within a 2 hour radius. It was soooo weird, and I felt soooo bad that I couldn't update because it was ready to go!
Hope ya'll like the chapter, we are getting close to some major ACTION ;)
Massaging her temples lightly, Caroline exhaled loudly as she stared at the Mikaelson file on her desk. It was the Monday morning after her and Katherine's club adventure and she still felt incredibly hung over two days later.
She'd spent the better part of Saturday camped out on her couch, dodging phone calls from both Katherine and Tyler. The latter finally barged in her apartment Saturday afternoon bearing gifts and apologies for missing their Friday night date.
She appreciated the flowers and the romantic gesture, but he was honestly a day late and she was really out of patience for him. But of course, she smiled and accepted his apology like the dutiful fiancée that she was.
Honestly, she wasn't sure how their relationship or marriage was going to work in the long run if he didn't care enough to put effort into it.
And she couldn't seem to bring herself to care.
At all.
That's what scared her the most.
There was a knock at her door, snapping Caroline out of her thoughts. Hissing slightly at the loud noise, Caroline called for the person to come in.
It was Katherine, looking just as hung-over and nauseated as Caroline felt.
"Is it possible to still be hung-over two days later?" Katherine asked, groaning as she slid into Caroline's chair across her desk.
Grimacing slightly at the intrusion, she nodded and reached for her coffee cup. "Totally. I feel like there is a stampede going on in my head."
Her coworker's head bounced up and down in agreement, squinting as she looked up at the blonde.
"Wow, Care, you look like shit," she commented, propping her hand up on her fist.
"Thanks, Kat," Caroline said dryly, pushing her blonde curls out of her eyes. Katherine studied her quietly, her lips pursed in thought.
"What's the matter?"
Shrugging nonchalantly, Caroline took a sip of her coffee and hummed slightly at the hazelnut taste. "What do you mean?"
Rolling her eyes, the brunette woman leaned forward across the desk and looked at her with a knowing glare.
"I've seen you hung-over a million times. You're usually bouncing off the walls on day two. You have bags under your eyes, your hair is dirty, and your shoes don't match your outfit. What's wrong?"
Caroline scoffed in reply, folding her arms over her chest and avoided Katherine's gaze. The journalist continued to peer at her impatiently before her chestnut eyes widened in concern.
"Are you okay? Did something happen? Did you and Tyler fight?"
Releasing a hefty sigh, Caroline shook her head in response. "No I'm okay. Tyler and I are fine for once. He came over on Saturday night with food and apologies and we spent most of the weekend together."
"Sounds sexy," Katherine smirked, winking. Caroline let out a chuckle.
"I wish, but I felt so hung-over that we never got to the sexy part."
And neither of us initiated anything.
Tsking disapprovingly, Katherine leaned back in her chair with a sly grin.
"Well, what about you?" Caroline smirked. "I seem to remember you dancing with a certain Elijah Mikaelson."
Grinning in response, she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "A lady never kisses and tells."
Gasping mockingly, Caroline tossed a pen at Katherine who dodged it giggling. "Spill! And I want all the details."
"Let's just say that he knows how to definitely loosen up. Especially his hips," the brunette replied, winking suggestively to Caroline's disgust.
"Ugh, Kat, what happened to "a lady never kisses and tells?" she quoted, wrinkling her nose.
"I didn't say anything about kissing did I? And you asked for it!"
"Yeah, kissing! Not about how you rocked each other's worlds," Caroline groaned.
"And it was so delicious," Katherine responded, smirking.
Making a face, she turned to her computer and stared at the blank word document that was blinking back at her. She needed to write something, anything about the Mikaelsons, but her fingers seemed to not function.
"Speaking of dancing with attractive Mikaelson brothers," Katherine piped up behind her. "Have you talked to Klaus?"
"You mean since I danced with him in extremely close quarters after having yet again another confusing showdown with him? Nope," Caroline replied, burying her hands in her face.
"You two looked cozy," Katherine remarked. Lifting her head up, the blonde shot her a glare.
The brunette lifted her hands and gave her an innocent look. "I'm just saying."
Sighing loudly, Caroline dropped her face back into her hands with a whine. "Let's just not go there."
"Mmkay," Katherine hummed, unconvinced.
As she sat there with her confused thoughts and feelings, Caroline came to a conclusion. All of her hang ups about the article were stemming from her guilty thoughts about Klaus. Yeah, he was an asshole 99% of the time, but he still didn't deserve to have all of his childhood pain and issues aired out in the media. It was very clear to her that his family was a sore spot for him, especially his past.
To air his dirty laundry like that would cause even more issues for him and his family. She'd be hurting people like Elijah and Rebekah, not to mention Klaus' little brother that was still in high school.
It just didn't seem worth it to stick it to him.
It didn't feel right.
She didn't want to hurt him, simple as that.
"I'm not going to do the article," Caroline said suddenly. Katherine's head popped up from where she had been playing on her phone instantly.
"What?"
"The article," the blonde gestured towards the computer screen. "I can't do it."
"Why?"
"Because it's not right. Klaus isn't a story. He's a human being. Yeah, he's a jackass most of the time, but he's still human," Caroline continued, staring off at the wall. "He doesn't deserve to have all this happen to him."
Katherine was watching her with a tiny smile on her face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she breathed out. "He had a shitty childhood. Who am I to air his business like some tabloid trash writer? I'm Caroline fucking Forbes. I'm better than that."
She finished her rant, panting slightly. Her face was slightly red with emotion and the brunette journalist was grinning at her like a maniac.
"What?"
"I'm just-" Katherine shrugged, her lips curved into a smile. "I'm proud."
Wrinkling her forehead in confusion, Caroline sent Katherine a bemused look. "Proud?"
"Care, you're too good of a person to write what Jenna wants you to do. I knew that you wouldn't be able to, but I needed you to come to that conclusion by yourself."
"Why?"
Smiling somewhat sadly, Katherine looked at her friend and shrugged slightly. "Every writer is faced with a big challenge that compromises their morals. It's your decision to be true to yourself. And to your friend."
Caroline nodded, somewhat dazedly. Katherine, in her own twisted way, was right. It was her decision all on her own. She didn't want to hurt the Mikaelson family, no matter the cost. And her frien-
Friend?
Klaus?
"My friend?" she echoed, biting her lip uncertainly. "I don't know about that."
"Okay, maybe you're not 'friends,'" Katherine continued. " And you may never be. But you don't want to hurt him."
"His family," she interjected, biting her lip as she slunk down further in her chair.
Katherine tilted her head and looked at her thoughtfully, eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, his family."
"Plus, you and Elijah are together now," Caroline gestured. "I don't want to cause any undue stress on your relationship."
Katherine snorted. "Please, stress relief is the best process. Especially with those hips of his."
Grimacing, she made a face. "I didn't need to hear that. God, Kat, where's the filter?"
"On the floor next to Elijah's bed," she winked with a saucy smile.
"Ew," Caroline murmured. She returned to her computer to close out the blank word document, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders in kind.
"Who is going to tell Jenna?" Katherine piped up. "She's not going to let this go."
Her shoulders slumped in response. The brunette was wholly correct. Jenna was hell-bent on getting this Mikaelson expose out to the presses. She'd been avoiding her boss' emails as of late asking for an update on research. Jenna was currently off at a journalism conference in New York for the next week, so sooner or later, Caroline would have to tell her that the article was a no-go.
"I don't know," she sighed, falling back into her office chair. "She's going to put me back on toilet paper writing duty."
"Probably actual custodial work," Katherine supplied, making a face at the wall. Caroline nodded absently, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"Screw it. If she fires me or puts me on bathroom duty for staying true to myself, then the job isn't worth it," she shrugged, ignoring the tiny pit in her stomach that was convulsing at the thought of being fired.
"That's the spirit!" Katherine cheered. "Drinks after work on me?"
Caroline clapped a hand over her mouth, suddenly feeling nauseous at the mention of drinking. "Are you crazy? I still have trouble walking in a straight line from Friday."
"Yeah, that was a long shot," Katherine grimaced, reaching up to massage her temples. "Your epiphany distracted me for a few minutes."
Chuckling to herself, Caroline reached over and picked her phone up. Her thumb briefly hovered over Klaus' name in her contact list before she let out an annoyed sigh at her hesitation and pushed it.
Katherine smirked at her knowingly, dodging the glare Caroline threw her way. The phone rang three times before the line was picked up.
"This is Klaus."
The breath Caroline had been holding whooshed out at the sound of his smooth British lilt. Her heart thumped loudly and her face immediately went crimson.
Damn British accents.
Ignoring Katherine's giggle, she turned around in her chair to where she was facing the wall to conceal the tomato that was her face.
"Hey, Klaus. It's me."
"Caroline."
The way her name just seemed to roll off his tongue caused a warm sensation in her stomach and she swallowed heavily.
"Is this a bad time?"
"Working. What can I help you with Caroline?"
She inwardly cringed at the clipped tone he was using with her.
"I was wondering if you would have lunch with me today."
She heard Katherine's derisive giggle and bit her lip to keep from whirling around. There was a brief pause on the phone and-
"When?" he asked shortly.
"Today," she replied, checking her computer clock. "Say in about two hours?"
"Text me the address and I'll meet you there."
There was a beeping noise and she pulled her phone away from her ear, noting the "call ended" screen.
"Well, that went swimmingly," she sighed, tossing her phone on the desk. Katherine was staring at her with a wry grin, a glint in her eyes.
"What?" she asked. "You have that evil 'I know something you don't' look."
Shrugging nonchalantly, Katherine looked down at her nails. "Oh nothing, just intrigued by the fact that you just made a date with Klaus and you're totally blushing about it."
"I am not blushing. And it's not a date. I'm engaged."
She looked at her pointedly and Caroline rolled her eyes, feeling her warm cheeks with her hands. "It's that damn accent of his."
"Oh, I totally get that. You should hear Elijah's in the throes of pas-"
"Oh my God, Katherine!" Caroline clapped her hands over her ears and scrunched her eyes shut.
"Enjoy your date," Katherine threw at her teasingly, getting up to walk to the door.
"It's not a date," she protested, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder with a scoff.
"Whatever you say," her friend chirped, smirking in victory as Caroline glared at her.
"Goodbye, Katherine," she enunciated, pursing her lips in annoyance.
"Remember to use a condom!" Katherine giggled, ducking out of the office as Caroline launched a notebook in her direction.
"You suck!"
Nervously fiddling with her water glass, Caroline checked the sidewalk briefly before looking at her phone again. She was seated, waiting for Klaus on the patio of a restaurant in downtown. Arriving a full fifteen minutes early to the restaurant, she figured that if she saw him before he saw her, she could psych herself up to talk to him.
And to calm the hell down.
It was about 15 minutes past when she was supposed to meet him, and there was no sign of him outside the restaurant. The waiter had dropped off some coffee, Caroline having requested it when she first sat down. Klaus previously brought her coffee as a peace offering, so she thought it was time to return the favor.
Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. She waved off the waiter who came to refill her water glass, pressing her lips firmly together in a tight smile. Tracing the edge of her phone with an anxious finger, she checked the clock again and exhaled shakily. She was giving him five minutes before she refused to be humiliated any further by waiting alone.
She had had enough of that lately with Tyler.
"Hello, Caroline."
Klaus' clipped tone interrupted her thoughts and she jumped, banging her knee on the underside of the table.
"Klaus," she greeted, wincing slightly at the sharp pain in her knee. He was studying her with dark eyes, the corner of his lips itching to turn up in amusement at her.
He seemed to settle for sitting down across from her instead.
"I didn't think you were going to come," she began, looking at him with watchful eyes.
"Me neither," he admitted, picking up his menu. He looked up briefly before dropping his gaze down to the table. She sucked in a short breath, absently rubbing her sore knee.
"I'm glad you did," she offered. He hummed in response, focusing on the menu in front of him.
They were interrupted by the waiter who took their drink and food orders quickly, a lot faster than Caroline would have liked. The waiter left in a hurry, leaving behind a stilted silence. Klaus folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. She took her warm coffee glass in her hands, blowing gently on top of it. Taking a small sip, she sighed heavily, both in bliss and annoyance.
"This is good coffee," she mused, plastering a fake smile on her face. He didn't respond, his dark gaze continuing to look at her inquisitively.
"Although, I usually take mine with a little more awkward silence," she continued.
The thick tension between them froze, then relaxed as the corner of his mouth quirked up at that.
"Witty, aren't you?" he remarked, sipping at his coffee. He glanced down at his cup and then back at her with mild surprise written on his face. "How'd you-"
"You're not the only one who pays attention," she replied, shooting him a small smile. Before he had arrived, she put two sugars in his coffee after noticing him do the same in the past. He looked pleased at her answer, taking another sip and casting his eyes down on the table.
"So, I wanted to talk to you about something," she began, chewing her bottom lip anxiously. He opened his mouth to say something but she lifted her hand to stop him. "Please. Let me get this out."
He shut his mouth, pressing his lips together in a thin line. He nodded mechanically, watching her with expressive eyes. She let out a loud exhale as she leaned forward on her elbows.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It was awful of me to use you to get information. It was terrible of me to even agree to do the stupid article. I was just so mad at you after what happened with Marcel that I wanted to hurt you. That isn't me, and I shouldn't have done it."
He didn't say anything, just continued watching her with his jaw set.
"I know that your family is a...sensitive topic," she continued lightly. Klaus' jaw twitched slightly at that. "So, I wanted to tell you in person that I'm not doing the article. I haven't felt right about it the entire time. You were right, I am better than that."
He was still quiet as ever, Caroline's heart beating rapidly at his continual cool expression.
"So, sorry for my less than innocent intentions," she finished. "I was wrong."
He still didn't say anything. Her face began to flush in both annoyance and in embarrassment at his obvious dismissal of her apology.
"Okay seriously? I screwed up once and apologized. You are still looking at me like I kicked your puppy when you've been an asshole 99% of the time towards me," she snapped, leaning back in her chair. His mouth quirked at her heated rant and a tiny hint of amusement flitted across his face.
"And now you think it's funny," she growled, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder with a huff. "Have you ever been checked for bipolar disorder?"
He chuckled at that, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I mean-Caroline," he added at her glare. "I have been quite the arsehole to you in past."
"That's an understatement," she muttered, his nod acquiescing her point.
"True. I apologize for my past actions," he continued on. "It seems I still don't know how to express myself after all these years."
"Express yourself?" she asked, scrunching her nose in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I fancy you," he said plainly, his eyes widening as if he was surprised to confess it.
Her jaw dropped open in surprise, a slight gasp dropping out of her lips.
"Is that so hard to believe?"
Caroline scoffed, a disbelieving look on her face. "Yes."
"Why?" he asked, genuinely confused. "You're beautiful, strong, full of light. Amazingly talented. I enjoy you."
Shaking her head slightly, her mind trying to wrap around his confession. "Well you have an incredibly shit way of showing it."
He pursed his lips together, an amused expression flitting across his face. "I suppose my intentions have been less than subtle."
"Yeah, more like non-existent," she cut in. "I thought you hated my work."
"On the contrary, love, I think you're an incredible writer," he confessed, his dark eyes cutting into her. Her face flushed slightly at the intense glare he was bestowing upon her.
"Then why all the interview hijinks and cunning remarks?" she asked, thoroughly confused.
His expression turned sheepish as he lowered his gaze to the table. They were interrupted briefly by the waiter who dropped off their food dishes. After refilling their drinks, he scurried away, leaving behind an indignant Caroline and a reticent Klaus.
"I'm just..incredibly confused," she murmured, shaking her head. "Why have you been such an asshole if you 'fancy' me?"
He looked ashamed as he hesitantly peered at her from staring at his plate. "It was my way of reverse psychology, I suppose."
Narrowing her eyes in confusion, she took a bite of her salad. She chewed thoughtfully, waiting for him to continue.
"I knew about you when we first met at the conference a couple years ago. I'd read some of your pieces from college and I thought you were talented. I always thought the Herald was a bit of a shoddy newspaper, especially after hearing of Jenna's reputation," he began.
"I thought you were better than that so I resolved to do everything in my power to push you to become better than her. Better than the newspaper. You deserve better than some Opinion editor section," he finished, his blue-eyed gaze staring at her earnestly.
Her heart was pounding at his speech, emotion clawing at her heart. She opened her mouth to say something, but Caroline found herself completely speechless. He was watching her quietly, his eyes rapidly racking over her body, trying to find a crack in her exterior expression.
"So...you were an asshole this entire time to push me to my full potential?" she asked hesitantly, trying to wrap her mind around the concept.
Klaus chuckled sardonically. "I guess I always had a roundabout way of showing it."
"Now that's an understatement," Caroline interrupted, a tiny smile gracing her lips. She was still so incredibly confused, but the bashful look on his face reminded her of the way he had arranged her interview with Ayana, and how Rebekah and the older woman spoke about Klaus' praises of her work. It never made sense.
Until now.
"It actually makes sense," Caroline let out a deep sigh. "Sort of."
Klaus looked a little bit relieved that she wasn't biting his head off and his shoulders relaxed a smidge.
"Can I ask you a question and you answer me honestly?" she inquired. His shoulder's tensed back up but his face remained impassive.
"I think you just did."
She glared at him and he cringed. "Sorry, impulse. Go on, love."
"Why me?" she asked, shrugging slightly. "You didn't even know me, let alone knew you liked me from the very beginning. Why did you decide to push me?"
He was quiet for a moment, his face unreadable. For a minute she didn't think he was going to answer before he let out a deep breath.
"I don't know."
He stared at her intensely for a minute, her face flushing slightly under his gaze. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it, ducking her head as she looked down at the table. Klaus' eyes burned into the top of her head before she felt him drop them to the table, listening to him pick up his fork and begin to eat.
She looked up at him, watching him chew whilst noticing the top of his ears redden. She sighed, taking a bite of her salad.
"Friends, then?" she asked, momentarily surprising him. He coughed slightly at her intrusion, but his eyes lit up at her words.
"Of course, love."
She narrowed her eyes at that and he course-corrected. "I mean, Caroline."
She grinned back at him, feeling all the stress and drama lift completely off her shoulders. She began to eat with ease, the tension surrounding them dissipate.
"How's Tyler?" Klaus asked lightly. She shot him a glare and he just smiled back innocently.
"Subtle," she bit out, teasingly.
"What? It's just us girls here," he said playfully, a smirk on his face.
She couldn't help but smile back, his dimpled grin was contagious.
"He's good," she shrugged. "He's super busy with this case so I haven't really done much wedding planning yet. I'm content to wait."
He nodded slowly, chewing on his food. She could continue to ramble about Tyler, but it didn't feel right talking to Klaus about him and their engagement.
"How about you?" she asked.
She was pretty sure Klaus' love life was the same hook ups as usual, but she was so not ready to get into the subject of his supposed crush on her.
"Oh you know, the usual," he winked at her and she crumpled her face in disgust.
"Okay, I know we said we'd be friends, but your hookups might be a little much," she protested, teasingly making a face.
His face brightened considerably and he leaned forward, settling his elbows on the table.
"Jealous, love?"
"God, no," she rolled her eyes, ignoring the teeny voice in her head that said "yes."
He pursed his lips at her in amusement, tilting his head at her while his eyes sparkled with laughter.
"Stop looking at me like that," she groaned, blushing slightly. "And take your elbows off the table. Did no one teach you manners?"
He grinned at that, leaning back in his chair. They ate in silence for a moment, Caroline trying to hold back questions that were on the tip of her tongue.
"Can I ask you another question?"
He sighed, glaring at her playfully. "I guess I have no choice."
"It's just one more question, and I swear I have no other motivation rather than curiosity."
Frowning slightly, his expression more guarded than usual. He still nodded nonetheless.
"What is the deal with your father? I just want to know," she added quickly, noticing his ever-growing uncomfortable expression. "Please?"
He was quiet for a minute, Caroline's heart sinking slightly at his perturbed expression.
Only five minutes into this friendship and she'd already ruined it. That's a record, Care, she chided herself.
"My father- Mikael," he clarified. "He'd always been incredibly harder on me as a child. He kept me at arm's length, yet forbade me to be alone with Ansel. He didn't want me to be his son, but he didn't want Ansel to be my father either."
"Sounds selfish," Caroline added, Klaus chuckling harshly in response.
"That's Mikael. I finally asked my mother when I was about 11 why I looked more like "Uncle Ansel" and she knew she couldn't lie to me anymore. She told me that night, both Mikael and Ansel were in the room. I didn't even have time to process it before Mikael fired him and had him removed by security."
"Oh my God," she gaped at him in shock. "Poor Ansel."
"Oh, don't feel sorry for him," Klaus bit out, a sardonic grin on his face. "He knew that entire time and did nothing about it. It seems I wasn't enough to give him a reason to go up against Mikael's rules."
"I'm sorry," she replied softly. His hardened expression relaxed a smidge, before he shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's nothing. My siblings didn't see me as anything other than their brother and that's really all that mattered to me. Esther and Mikael are nothing, so was Ansel."
Caroline nodded slightly, content to let him rant. There was a pit in her stomach that ached for his lost childhood. He must have felt so alone, outcast by the parents that he loved growing up.
"My mother does try to speak to me often," he continued, a hint of vulnerability shining through. "I humor her, just to keep my youngest brother, Henrik, happy."
"You must love him very much," she remarked, happy to change the subject.
"Don't all siblings?" he mused, and Caroline smiled slightly.
"I wouldn't know. Only child," she contributed.
A small smile grew across his lips. "I know."
She sighed playfully, shaking her head at him.
Of course.
"So, uh Ansel's death," she began and he shook his head curtly.
"Another day, love," he shot out, his jaw setting.
She pursed her lips, ducking her head slightly. "Sorry."
"It's quite all right. I've just met my yearly allotment of talking about my family," he countered with a tiny smile.
"Speaking of family, have you spoken to Elijah about Katherine lately?" Caroline asked, propping her elbow up on the table, manners be damned.
"No.." he began, a confused expression spreading across his face as he leaned forward across the table.
She flushed slightly at his undivided attention and close proximity, but brushed it aside.
"Oh my God, let me tell you.." she began explaining Katherine's comments from that morning, an intrigued smile spreading across his face. Their lunch continued somewhat pleasantly, Caroline finding her friendship with Klaus coming easier than she ever thought possible.
Maybe things would turn out alright after all.
Thoughts? We got a little insight into Klaus' childhood and family life this time and we finally have Klaroline friendship :) Did you spot the canon lines? ;) Please review and let me know what you think! Reviews are the best way to let me know what you guys as readers think :).
Next chapter: The scene between Forwood that we've all been praying for... (I really hope you guys like it, super nervous about it actually)
Until Next Time
Kaitlyn