A/N: Hey again! I'm so thrilled with the response to the first part, so here's the second installment. There isn't as much Klaroline in this chapter, because I tried to incorporate all the characters as much as I could, so expect Caroline to have interaction with a variety of them.
Expect the third part soon, I just have some editing/polishing left to do. I'm still kind of debating the ending.
Please feel free to drop me a review in the meantime :D
As she descended the stairs, she was stunned by the transformation done to the large front foyer. Detailed and tall cardboard cut-outs of the Vegas strip lined both stairwells with the infamous Las Vegas welcome sign as one of the focal points. Multiple fake palm trees were littered about the room and spotlights were strategically placed to set the mood. Balloons in red, black, and gold hinted at the birthday aspect of the festivities and tables decorated in similar colours were set up to accommodate the hors d'oeuvres for later. Most importantly the large room featured a variety of casino table games and slot machines.
"This is amazing," she exclaimed to Klaus behind her as she decided to take a peek into the usually empty ballroom.
More palm trees and depictions of the Vegas strip carried on into the room, along with hundreds more balloons. Reds, blacks, golds, and whites were used to decorate the room. It didn't even look like the same room. It was purposed as a bar and dance floor; she noted the bar at one end of the room and the DJ booth at the other. Couches, chairs and tables were located around the bar and served as a natural division between the two.
"Isn't it great?" she beamed as Klaus took in the decorations.
He seemed a little overwhelmed, probably concerned about any damage that was done setting up, or damage that would be done taking it all down.
"Its gonna be fun," she encouraged, tugging on his arm.
She could only dream to have a birthday party like this. It made her all the more excited to see what her and Rebekah's plans for from would look like.
"I think you're right," he acknowledged.
"Of course it's going to be fun, once we get the family dinner out of the way and all the compelled party guests show up," Kol said excitedly from behind them. "Don't worry, they're no one from around here."
Both she and Klaus turned to acknowledge Kol.
"Don't you know how to dress for a Las Vegas party," Kol remarked as he gave her a notorious once-over. "Are you sure you've never left Mystic Falls?" he asked.
She blushed as she heard Klaus growl under his breath.
"Never," she answered. "You look good too, Kol," she said, trying to be polite.
It garnered a divisive glare from Klaus and a stunned reaction from Kol.
"A compliment?" he asked surprised as he spun around slowly to show off his all black suit. "This was just something I had lying around," he said feigning modesty.
"The decorations and everything look amazing too," she relented.
Again, Kol's eyes widened as he looked amusedly between her and Klaus.
"Two compliments. I am on a roll with your girl tonight, brother," Kol said. "If there's one thing I know how to do darling, its party," he winked.
"Enough, Kol," Klaus said sternly.
She nudged Klaus in the side, hoping he would take the hint as she glared at him.
"It looks good," Klaus finally acknowledged.
Kol smiled. It was obvious Klaus's approval is what he had really been after.
"Anything for my big brother," Kol said jokingly as he patted an uncomfortable Klaus on the back. "Happy birthday, mate."
She followed them with a grin as Kol kept his arm around Klaus's back as they headed for the dining room.
Both Elijah and Rebekah stood up from their seats when the three of them entered. Elijah was dressed in a charcoal grey suit with a black collared shirt, while Rebekah was wearing a beautiful muted gold strapless taffeta party dress.
"Happy birthday, Nik," Rebekah said happily as she hugged him. "What did you think of the decorations?" she asked impatiently.
"They're perfect," he said.
She noticed the warmer way in which he spoke and embraced Rebekah over Kol.
"Happy birthday, Niklaus," Elijah said with a nod to Klaus from across the table.
While the gesture between Klaus and Elijah was more detached, it was no less cordial. Even from the small exchange, it was obvious there was a deep understanding and respect that connected the two brothers. Klaus revered Elijah and vice versa.
She almost felt awkward being here, like she was crashing a private family moment between Klaus and his siblings.
Noting the gifts in the corner of the room in an effort to ease her mind as Klaus moved to talk with Elijah and Kol, she was startled by Rebekah's approach.
"Elijah told me what happened last night," Rebekah said. "Are you all right?" she asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah, it was just a close call," she replied.
"And Elena?" Rebekah asked.
Rebekah's inquiry made her wonder if Elijah had mentioned about her wanting to leave before prom.
"I'm done worrying about her," she shrugged. "It isn't worth it."
A satisfied smile grew on Rebekah's lips.
"Good, I'm glad you see that," Rebekah responded. "Oh, and I spoke to Adrian today, he said he's started working on your dress," she mentioned excitedly. "He's going to send me some pictures of the progress tomorrow."
"That's great," she replied.
Elijah hadn't said anything to Rebekah. That was a good thing. Staying until prom was the right thing to do. She didn't want to disappoint Rebekah when she was clearly looking forward to the event.
At some point she had formed somewhat of a friendship with Rebekah. She could no longer let Klaus's sister down without a guilty conscience.
"Everything looks wonderful," she complimented Rebekah.
"It was hell dealing with Kol all day," Rebekah scoffed. "But it came together. I think prom is going to be even better than this," she foretold.
She nodded happily and tried to put herself back in the mindset of prom anticipation.
While it wasn't the best time with an impending dinner, thoughts of Rebekah's meeting with Matt made her all the more curious. It was an obvious topic of conversation, one that she felt rude for bringing up, but equally rude for not mentioning.
Before she could say anything, the caterers emerged in the dining room with the carts of prepared food and drinks.
"Let's eat," Kol declared. "And drink," he mused, grabbing a wine bottle off one of the carts out of turn.
Thankfully, Klaus grabbed her hand discreetly and directed her where to sit by pulling out a chair for her adjacent to his head of the table spot.
She sat down as Klaus did and Rebekah sat beside her while Elijah and Kol sat across from them.
Her eyes widened at the place setting before her. There was a charger plate with two forks to her left, two knives on the right along with a spoon and smaller fork, a spoon and fork above her plate, a small plate and butter knife on the left beside that, and five glasses of varying sizes on her right. She was overwhelmed. She knew it was for a multi-course dinner, but Miss Mystic Falls' contestants and winners weren't provided with free meal etiquette training as specialized as this.
She followed Rebekah's lead and covered her lap with the napkin provided on her plate as Kol unscrewed the cork from the wine bottle.
This kind of dinner service must have been a walk in the park to them.
From the outside in, she said to herself as she eyed the utensils on both sides of her plate.
She watched as the server filled a particular glass at Klaus's place setting with the white wine before turning to Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah and then finally coming to her.
"Sauvignon Blanc?" the older male waiter asked from her right.
She nodded, not really sure it was polite to refuse. She wasn't much of a wine drinker. He filled the same glass at her place setting, before moving to Klaus's other siblings.
A younger female server was also coming around the table and filling a particular glass with water; apparently each of her five glasses had a specific purpose. She groaned inwardly.
With the drinks served, the staff brought out the first course.
Elijah stood from the table with his wine glass.
"Before we eat, I just wanted to toast to Niklaus on his thousandth birthday; to new beginnings, and new relationships," Elijah spoke, eyeing her at the last part of his toast.
Klaus nodded towards Elijah, tipping his glass towards him before glancing over at her briefly.
She grabbed her wine glass and raised it in acknowledgement before taking a sip.
Klaus was served his plate first, followed by her and the rest of his siblings; the appetizer was oysters and warm bread.
She glared at the plate of oysters with a cut lemon in the middle.
Her stomach turned at the prospect of the slimy food. While she didn't mind seafood she had never eaten oysters before in her life.
She supposed if she could dissect a pig fetus with little protest from her easily upset stomach, then she could swallow a few oysters.
Klaus leaned into her with an oyster in hand and a knowing smirk on his face.
"Do you like oysters?" he asked.
"I've never eaten them before," she shrugged quietly.
He picked up the tiny fork on his right and detached the oyster from its shell before garnishing it with the lemon.
"They're delicious," he said, bringing the shell to his lips and slurping down the oyster.
She scrunched her eyes slightly as she turned to her own plate and picked up one of the shells.
Using her own fork to detach the oyster, she let the oyster slide into her mouth, taking a few bites of the oddly textured food.
She didn't know what to think, but quickly grabbed for her wine.
Everyone was staring at her with amused expressions and her face went red. Rebekah and Kol were giggling and both Klaus and Elijah were holding back the urge to do the same.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" she complained, laughing embarrassingly.
"What's the verdict?" Kol asked.
"They're all right," she sighed.
Elijah smirked.
"They're an acquired taste, Caroline," Elijah offered in her defense.
"Try it with lemon," Rebekah advised.
"And more wine," Kol piped up.
She heeded their advice, but could eventually only finish half of her plate, preferring to eat the bread that was set upon the small plate to her left.
Resting her fork on her plate, she took a few more eager sips of wine.
When everyone else was finished the server came to collect their dishes.
The next course was more to her taste. Clam chowder was served along with a different kind of white wine; Chardonnay she thought she heard the server say.
Once that course was completed, she was relieved to only see two sets of forks and knives left on either side of her plate.
A garden salad was served next.
With Klaus and Elijah engaged in a conversation about some business investments and Kol flirting shamelessly with the female server, she thought it would be a good time to bring up Matt to Rebekah.
"How did last night go?" she asked lowly, in hopes their conversation would be disregarded by Rebekah's siblings.
She noticed a small smile appear on Rebekah's lips from the corner of her eye.
"It didn't go badly," Rebekah conceded, before eating some more salad. "He heard me out. I apologized and explained myself. He seemed understanding. He wasn't opposed to seeing me again," she revealed.
Again, she never pictured she would be encouraging Matt and Rebekah, but she found herself smiling in lieu of Rebekah's progress.
"I invited him here tonight," Rebekah admitted.
- "Who did you invite, sister?" Kol interjected.
Rebekah shot Kol a narrow gaze.
"Matthew Donovan," Klaus informed Kol.
Kol's face turned sour before he burst into laughter.
"Isn't he the same bloke you enlisted me to kill at mother's ball? The same bloke whose hand I busted up?" Kol wondered.
She glared at both Rebekah and Kol, unaware of their past plot behind Matt's injury.
"The same one she ran off Wickery Bridge with the doppelganger after she thought I was dead," Klaus confirmed.
Kol shook his head.
"You just can't let this boy go, can you little sister?" Kol said judgementally. "I'm sure he's really going to forgive you for nearly killing him," he laughed sarcastically.
"Shut up, Kol," Rebekah hissed.
"Kol," Elijah warned.
"She bought him a new truck and made several pleas for understanding already," Klaus informed Kol, only instigating him further.
Kol and Klaus were a lot more alike than she first thought.
"Really? Why go through all the trouble for some pathetic mortal?" Kol questioned Rebekah.
Klaus nodded in agreement.
The combination of that and Rebekah's hurt expression spurred her to speak.
"Maybe because Matt is a great guy," she countered defensively. "And maybe because Rebekah likes him. Does she really need to explain herself?"
Wow, did she really just say that as sternly as she thought she did? It had to be the alcohol that was fuelling her confidence.
All of Klaus and his siblings stared at her intently. Klaus seemed amused.
The fire in Kol's eyes seemed to suggest that she had only encouraged him further.
"Leave it alone, Kol," Elijah warned.
"Maybe we should discuss why Niklaus is so enamoured with you," Kol suggested to her.
She dug her fork hard into her salad.
"Stop," Rebekah said.
"Hmm?" Kol pressed.
"Enough!" Klaus's voice erupted throughout the dining room.
Everyone in the room went frigid and Kol dropped into a stoic but contemplative silence for the remainder of the course.
The main course was salmon – seafood she could handle – and asparagus. Pinot Noir was added to the wine menu this time and she requested some simply for the amusement of seeing three of her five glasses being used.
"Caroline, did you end up selecting a prom dress yesterday?" Elijah asked casually, trying to break the stifled atmosphere.
She smiled and nodded.
"I did. Adrian had some beautiful designs," she admitted.
"Caroline's was the best out of all of them though," Rebekah added.
"I think so," she agreed, trying to recall in her head the design.
"Who's going to escort you?" Kol asked. "Klaus as your date might be a little inappropriate, don't you think?" he mused, walking a thin line after his earlier comments.
She shrugged.
"I was just gonna ask someone to be my stand in," she admitted, still a little disappointed by the reality that Klaus would not be by her side the entire night.
However, she found the prospect of sneaking around with him behind the scenes enticing.
Klaus glared over at her, obviously taken aback by her revelation.
"Who?" Klaus asked, clearly out of jealous interest.
"I would be happy to escort you," Kol announced.
She gave him a polite smile.
"Well since it appears as though Stefan will be dateless, I was thinking of him," she stated, avoiding Klaus's stare.
"I'm sure Stefan would like that," Rebekah chimed in.
Nodding, she looked over to Klaus who seemed disappointed. He shrugged dismissively as though if she had to pick someone, Stefan would be the only one acceptable – and even Stefan was pushing it.
"And let me guess, Bekah, you're pining for Matt to take you?" Kol mused.
Rebekah shot Kol a look and any further bickering about Matt ended there.
"I must admit, having prom here is a great idea. The high school girls will literally be flocking to me," Kol beamed with enthusiasm.
She rolled her eyes with a small smirk, while Rebekah extended her glare.
"Don't worry, sister, I'll be on my best behaviour. I promise," Kol assured her innocently.
"I think you flatter yourself," Klaus joked.
"Indeed," Elijah laughed
Kol narrowed his eyes at his brothers' mockery.
With the main course finished, the final course was dessert; vanilla and chocolate ice cream with diced strawberries, served with champagne. Now four of her glasses had some sort of liquid in them.
She was so full at this point, she didn't think she could eat anymore, but the sweet smells were too hard for her to resist.
"We have birthday cake for later," Elijah explained as the server handed out their dessert dishes.
"The cake is amazing," Rebekah informed her and Klaus.
Humorously, she wondered to herself if there would be one thousand candles atop the cake.
When she finished her dessert, she had to fight the urge to slouch or change out of the tight dress altogether. The food and alcohol made her feel lethargic.
"I think all the decorations came together nicely," Elijah conceded. "Both of you did a good job," he said to Rebekah and Kol.
"Yeah they seemed to put their quarreling aside long enough," Klaus observed.
"Well we have to thank you Elijah for planning dinner. It's always too formal for my taste, but I can't have fun on an empty stomach," Kol laughed. "Perfect timing," he added, as a server emerged with what she could instantly recognize as a decanter of fresh human blood.
Elijah nodded to Kol as they waited for the final small glass at their places to be filled.
"Normally the glass is used for Sherry," Klaus said to her, "but we improvise."
He took his glass and raised it to his lips and she followed suit once the server reached her.
She savoured the blood on her tongue and drank some more, not realizing how thirsty she really was. Perhaps her body was still recuperating from the wolf incident yesterday. Maybe it was the alcohol and food she consumed diluting the remaining blood in her system.
"We should also probably thank Caroline too, since her charms obviously kept Niklaus occupied long enough for us to put it all together," Kol chuckled. "Dare I ask what it is you two did for hours?" he inquired.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she joked boldly.
Klaus shot her a disapproving look.
"Actually, I would," Kol replied, leaning back in his chair with his glass of blood.
The alcohol was making her feel brave, and she actually considered divulging all the explicit details of her afternoon with Klaus just to see the look on Kol's face.
"Well I wouldn't," Rebekah scowled.
"I gave Klaus his birthday presents," she shrugged, smirking at Kol's jaw-dropped reaction.
"Birthday presents, hmm?" Kol wondered, obviously incorrectly assuming there was a sexual innuendo where there was none.
Well...technically she and Klaus had indulged in each other a little throughout the afternoon, but she didn't consider those birthday presents.
"She bought me new paint brushes and had a canvas stretcher frame constructed for me," Klaus informed them.
Kol's anticipation was instantly deflated and she laughed under her breath.
"So you painted all afternoon?" Kol wondered disappointedly.
Klaus smirked at her.
"Oh god," Rebekah groaned. "He's painting you, isn't he?" Rebekah concluded looking at her.
Kol's expression perked up.
"Naked?" Kol wondered.
She blushed as Klaus warned Kol that it was none of his business.
"Definitely naked," Kol said with a mischievous grin.
Elijah clasped his hands together uncomfortably.
"Perhaps we should give Niklaus our gifts?" Elijah suggested.
The idea seemed to distract Kol, as he shot up from his seat and went for one of the wrapped gifts on the table in the corner.
"Mine first," he declared, placing the large rectangular box in Klaus's lap.
Klaus looked it over suspiciously, as though he anticipated it to be some sort of gag gift.
"This gift is no joke, Nik, open it," Kol urged.
With that, Klaus tore through the paper and removed the lid off the box.
Inside were stacks of cash.
Klaus looked up at Kol questioningly.
"How original, Kol; money on my birthday," Klaus mused.
"It's a Vegas-themed party, brother. You need cash to play with," Kol explained. "And we're the house, so we need money in the event anyone else actually wins," he added.
"You compelled people to gamble their money?" she asked.
Kol snickered.
"Not exactly," he answered. "I just compelled them to have a good time."
She frowned at his loophole discovery. How else were people at a Vegas-themed party going to have a good time? She wasn't even about to question the legality of it.
Klaus shrugged at Kol with a devious smirk.
"I suppose you think you can win all this money back from me?" Klaus said to Kol.
Kol patted him on the back.
"I was always better at card games than you," Kol reminded him.
"We'll see," Klaus warned.
Rebekah the stood from her chair and lifted her gift towards Klaus.
Klaus seemed to know what it was right away without opening it, based upon the awkward shape of the framed painting.
He unwrapped the present eagerly, and his eyes went wide and his smile went wider.
"The Stoning of Saint Stephen," Klaus observed in awe. "I won't even ask how you got this out of the museum in Lyon," he said as he scanned the painting.
Rebekah grinned proudly.
"That's probably a good idea," Elijah advised, as he stood up to examine the painting himself.
"This is one of Rembrandt's first paintings," Klaus said.
She smiled at his excitement.
"Thank you, Rebekah," Klaus said, standing to give her a slight hug. "I should lock this in my study in case any party guests get any ideas," Klaus said as he placed the painting against the dining room wall. "I'm sure Stefan will find this amusing," he laughed.
She laughed too, instantly picking up on the joke.
The last gift was from Elijah. It was smaller than the others, and judging by the flat square shape, she instantly concluded that it was a record of some sort.
He uncovered the gift and again, his eyes went wide.
"I am definitely not going to ask how you got a hold of this, brother," Klaus said admiringly as he examined the record.
She recognized the faces of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
"Is this the one?" Klaus asked.
Elijah nodded.
"It's the album John Lennon signed for Mark David Chapman several hours before Chapman shot him," Elijah clarified.
"This is amazing," Klaus concluded as he handled the well-protected album delicately. "I've been trying to track down the person who bought it when it was last sold."
"I suppose I beat you to it," Elijah shrugged.
"You did," Klaus conceded, still looking at the album.
Suddenly, they heard heavy bass coming from the ballroom.
"That must be the DJ," Kol concluded. "I suppose the guests are arriving. That means it's time to get drunk," Kol announced.
Admittedly, she was already feeling light headed from the blood and wine.
"We should probably go out there and make an appearance," Elijah suggested, doing up the buttons on his suit jacket.
"..and check to make sure the final details are in order," Rebekah added.
Kol was already out of the room before Rebekah could finish her sentence.
"I'll be out in a minute. I want to put these gifts away," Klaus said to Rebekah and Elijah.
She offered to stay behind and help.
As they entered his study, she caught a brief glimpse of her scratch marks in his desk, the sight of which made her quiver as she set the box and record over top.
Klaus stored the painting behind his desk.
As she leaned against the desk and scanned over the gifts from his siblings, she almost felt like the ones she had given him were inadequate.
Opening the box of money, he removed a few stacks. He tossed her one and she caught it reluctantly.
She looked at him bewildered.
"It's for tonight. Try not to lose," he joked.
"I don't gamble," she shrugged. "I will lose all of this," she admitted.
He smirked at her as he rounded the desk for her.
"Whether you double it or lose it all is of no consequence to me, sweetheart," he said as he placed his money in the inside pocket of his jacket. "I just want you to enjoy yourself."
She nodded hesitantly as she thumbed through the stack of hundreds. Never had she ever seen so much money up close or held it in her hands.
"You're spoiled," she teased as he placed his hands on either side of her on the desk, pinning her in place.
"I am, but only because you spoil me," he said before kissing the underside of her jaw.
"Compared to what your siblings got you, I definitely didn't spoil you," she disagreed self-consciously.
He shook his head as he placed another kiss on her cheek.
"That's debatable," he protested, kissing her lips.
She scoffed as he broke their embrace.
"As much as I'd rather stay in here and have at you on this desk once more, I'd rather not be interrupted by Elijah again," he said as he extended his arm to her. "Let's go find ourselves a drink," he stated as she linked her arm with his in agreement.
When they entered the front foyer, she was surprised to see it filled with people – all looking like they were having a good time, thanks to Kol.
As they weaved through the people, some nodded to Klaus and a few more even wished him a happy birthday. It was strange. She was sure he knew none of these people. She didn't know them either. While awkward, it was also refreshing. None of these people had expectations of her or Klaus. They could just be...together. They were anonymous really.
Before another thought even entered her mind a familiar voice was calling after them from the front entrance.
She turned to see Stefan approaching them.
"Stefan, hi," she greeted.
Stefan nodded towards them both, as though he was a little apprehensive and out of his element. He had been in a relationship with Elena for a while if you kept track of time in teenage human years. It was probably awkward for him to be alone – especially when Elena was likely with Damon somewhere.
"Happy birthday, Klaus," Stefan said politely.
Klaus seemed genuinely pleased to see Stefan.
"It was good of you to come, mate," Klaus said. "Caroline and I were just about to grab a drink, join us," he urged Stefan more as a demand than a request.
She smiled at Stefan encouragingly and fell back with Stefan as they followed Klaus.
When they entered the large ballroom, the dance music playing in the far corner accentuated the Vegas ambiance that Kol was aiming for.
At the bar, all three of Klaus's siblings seemed to be there waiting for them.
Everyone greeted Stefan before Kol pushed a tray of shots in front of them.
"Shots all around," Kol announced.
The bartender had obviously been compelled to serve those of them who were underage or appeared to be.
She reluctantly took one as did Stefan and the rest of Klaus's siblings.
Everyone seemed to down their shot effortlessly – even Elijah, who she never pegged as a shot taker - but she struggled, wondering if Kol had simply given her straight vodka. It was disgusting.
She coughed a little and wiped the dribble off her lips as she desperately ordered a fruity drink from the bartender to chase the foul taste down.
"That was disgusting," she muttered to Stefan who was leaning against the bar beside her. "I'm sure you needed that though," she added, noting Stefan's distant expression.
She watched as Rebekah seemed to compel one of the party guests before handing him a camera.
"Let's take pictures. Before everyone gets too sloshed," she announced.
Kol and Klaus protested but they were no match for Rebekah's insistence.
There was a group shot that included Klaus and his siblings, along with her and Stefan, while another shot was just of Klaus with his siblings. Rebekah took a few with just Klaus and then Klaus with Kol and Elijah, before she pushed Klaus in her direction.
"Nik, I want a picture of you with Caroline," Rebekah said.
Klaus was reluctant at first, but succumbed to Rebekah's demand and leaned in and put his arm around her waist. This was the first photo taken of them together, she realized. She would make a point of asking Rebekah to see it later.
After a few more photos were taken, Kol cajoled Klaus into taking another shot, before Rebekah dragged him off somewhere – likely to show off the work that went into putting this all together.
Returning to Stefan, she gave him a faint smile.
"I'm glad you came," she said.
"I needed to get out of the boarding house. Damon and I got in a fight last night after I got home...and Elena is there now," Stefan explained.
She nodded.
"Well it's an open bar. Feel free to drink as much as you like," she offered before sipping gratefully from her mixed drink.
Stefan chuckled before adhering to her suggestion and ordering himself a drink.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get through to Elena last night," she apologized. "She was still really defensive; she just didn't want to listen to anything I had to say."
"It's okay," Stefan said. "I knew there was a chance she would react that way. I appreciate you trying though. I'm sure it wasn't easy," he acknowledged.
Before should talk further about Elena or even bring up the topic of prom, Rebekah returned with Klaus.
"Come on, Caroline, let's go dance. I love this song," Rebekah urged as she tugged on her arm.
She looked between Stefan and Klaus. They both shrugged as she was led to the dance floor by Rebekah.
It's not that she was opposed to dancing, in fact, she was just buzzed enough that she could dance freely without the nagging suspicion that she was making a total fool out of herself, but she was worried about Stefan and taken aback by Rebekah's overtly friendly behaviour. Perhaps Rebekah was buzzed as well.
Seeing Klaus with Stefan made her relax a little bit and she let herself begin to move to the beat of the song, careful to keep her drink upright as Rebekah danced enthusiastically in front of her.
"This is so much fun," Rebekah shouted over the music.
Yes, Rebekah was also buzzed like she was – if not more.
She laughed and nodded in agreement as Rebekah's infectious excitement began to rub off on her.
Tonight was about fun. She could afford to forget about all the problems facing them for one night. She could even let her complicated relationship with Rebekah resolve itself for the night she thought, as Rebekah grabbed her hand and tried to spin her.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually glad you're here," Rebekah said.
She arched an eyebrow at Rebekah's backhanded effort to be nice.
"I mean, who would I have to dance with if it was just me and my brothers? Nik and Elijah hate this kind of dancing, and Kol will only make an effort if it's with a woman he wants to lure into bed," Rebekah explained laughingly. "You're fun."
"Thanks?" she said with amused uncertainty, still unsure about this latest side of Klaus's sister.
"You're good for him too," Rebekah started. "Nik," she clarified, glancing over at Klaus and Stefan.
She followed suit and noticed him staring in her direction. She smiled briefly at him before turning back anxiously to Rebekah.
"He's just calmer...maybe even happy? It's refreshing after centuries of brooding," Rebekah admitted. "That's probably why he and Stefan ended up getting along so well," she quipped, clearly trying to quell the awkwardness of her sincere admissions.
She laughed along with Rebekah and they continued dancing to a few more songs.
"I'm so excited to have prom here," Rebekah said.
"Me too," she agreed.
Even though she wanted to leave, this was the perfect venue for prom and she was excited to see it come together.
"I just hope I can get Matt to come around," Rebekah confessed. "Thanks by the way for sticking up for me tonight," Rebekah added, referring to the altercation with Kol at dinner.
"No problem. Kol was out of line," she said confidently, knowing Rebekah would agree rather than take her thoughts as insult.
They had gotten themselves another drink and had danced to a few more songs when she noticed Matt walking anxiously through the crowd by the bar.
"Maybe he is coming around..." she said to a confused Rebekah.
She nodded her head in Matt's direction and Rebekah turned to look.
Rebekah froze instantly and glared at her.
"What should I do!?" Rebekah asked in panic.
"Go talk to him," she laughed encouragingly. "You invited him here," she reminded Rebekah.
"What do I say?" Rebekah wondered.
She shrugged.
"Hi, for starters," she mused. "Thank him for coming. Get a drink with him...talk to him," she advised.
Rebekah nodded as she stared in Matt's direction anxiously.
"Just keep it casual. Don't overwhelm him," she added.
"Okay," Rebekah said decidedly, as if working herself up to approach him.
With Rebekah off towards Matt, Klaus nowhere to be seen, and an empty drink, she headed for the bar.
Klaus was probably in the other room spending the cash Kol had given to him. She had yet to use hers. It was tucked securely between her leg and her stocking.
She found Kol sitting there nursing a drink.
With her drink ordered, she turned to Klaus's younger sibling.
"Have you seen Klaus or Stefan?" she asked.
He frowned.
"They're playing poker with Elijah...I was playing with them," he informed her, "until I lost."
She tried hard to suppress a laugh. Kol had been so confident earlier.
"Where are your Vegas girlfriends?" she asked. "Isn't this their scene?"
"They're around," Kol said, with a mischievous voice that almost made her nervous.
In the distance they both spotted Rebekah walking out of the room with Matt.
"I hope you didn't take what I said about your friend Matt earlier personally," Kol said. "I was only picking on my baby sister."
"Matt's my friend; I was defending him," she reasoned before taking a sip of her drink.
Kol nodded.
"I think this is a record for us," she laughed.
"What do you mean?" he wondered.
"I think this is the longest you've gone without harassing me," she explained, taking another drink.
Kol chuckled as fingered his liquor glass.
"I only harass you because you perplex me," he mused.
She arched an eyebrow.
"I perplex you? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, feigning offense.
He shrugged as his lips pursed.
"You're not a girl I can sleep with or feed from, you're not my sister; you're my brother's lady. I've never had one of those in my life before," he chuckled. "I mean, there was Tatia, but Elijah and Nik's relationship with her was under the radar...and I wasn't around Finn much during the Sage years..." he said. "You perplex me. I don't know how I'm supposed to act around you."
She laughed some more at his absurd explanation.
"And I can't really bug Nik about you directly, so I suppose I do it indirectly..."
- "...by bugging me."
He nodded.
"I probably asked the wrong question earlier. It's not really that hard to see why my brother fancies you – you're easy on the eyes, lively, tenacious and loyal. It's harder though to discern what you see in him," Kol pointed out.
His comment surprised her a little. Wasn't Kol Klaus's brother? Shouldn't he see the admirable qualities in him?
"Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but I don't always like him," he laughed.
She nodded as she tried to put herself in Kol's shoes. Klaus had kept him in a box off and on for much of his millennium of life. Kol couldn't be blamed for his lack of understanding. He didn't see Klaus how she saw him.
"Klaus is also tenacious and loyal. He's enlightened. He's genuinely interested in who I am. He makes me feel safe. He is also easy on the eyes," she confessed, trying hard not to blush as she tried to put into words what she saw in Klaus.
Kol smirked.
"Shallow one you are," Kol teased, pausing with his glass against his lips as something, or someone caught his eye.
Bonnie was walking towards them.
Kol looked over at her.
"Speaking of shallow, while I'd like to think that dark skinned beauty in the sexy green dress is approaching me, I have a feeling she knows you," Kol said under his breath.
She smiled at Kol's smitten reaction to Bonnie before greeting her quizzically.
"Bonnie..." she trailed off, caught off guard by her appearance.
"Hey," Bonnie said self-consciously as she looked between her and Kol. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here. Matt kind of invited me in case things with Rebekah went south," she explained.
She shook her head readily and understandingly.
While it seemed like her friendship with Elena might be unsalvageable, it seemed she had made more progress with Bonnie than first thought in the past day.
"Of course we don't mind," Kol stammered as he stood from his bar chair and pulled it out for Bonnie. "The more the merrier," Kol added as he took the seat beside Bonnie.
Bonnie looked at her uncertainly, while she smiled back at her innocently.
"Kol Mikaelson," Kol said, extending his hand.
"Bonnie Bennett," Bonnie replied, reluctantly shaking his hand, now fully realizing that this was one of Klaus's brothers.
Kol's eyes seemed to light up.
"You're Caroline's witch friend. I recall Nik mentioning you," Kol said.
"That would be me," Bonnie responded. "The witch," she said almost disdainfully.
"The very pretty witch," Kol added with a twinkle in his eye.
She glared at Kol's audacity. The last thing she needed was Kol alienating the friend she was trying to win back.
However, Bonnie didn't look completely disgusted. In fact, she seemed equal parts disgusted and flattered.
"And you're Klaus's...shameless flirt of a brother?" Bonnie countered.
Kol shrugged as she laughed at Bonnie's response.
"Can I order you a drink?" Kol asked.
Bonnie rolled her eyes and flagged the waiter down herself.
"Sex on the beach," Bonnie requested from the bartender.
Kol's smile widened.
"My favourite kind," he said.
Bonnie scoffed and turned so she was facing her more than Kol.
"So Rebekah and Matt..." Bonnie said ignoring Kol.
She nodded hesitantly, worried about Bonnie's reaction, even though she should have expected it to be mild since Bonnie showed up with Matt in the first place.
"Yeah," she replied. "What do you think?" she wondered.
Bonnie sighed and paused before responding.
"If Matt can begin to forgive Rebekah for what she did to him, then I guess I can too; give her the benefit of the doubt," Bonnie shrugged. "That if you can forgive Klaus...maybe I can," she added.
A weight was instantly lifted from her shoulders with Bonnie's words. Did she hear Bonnie right? Was Bonnie actually trying to accept Rebekah and Matt? More importantly was Bonnie trying to accept her and Klaus?
"I just want my friends to be happy," Bonnie said.
She couldn't help the large smile forming on her face.
"Thank you, Bonnie," she said, leaning in to hug her friend.
It was a bittersweet moment. This is how she would have liked her conversation with Elena to have went.
"Stefan told me what happened yesterday night," Bonnie mentioned, "about him and Elena...you and Elena."
She let out a stressful exhale and ran her hands through her hair.
"We don't have to talk about it. Stefan just told me you confronted Elena again with disastrous results," Bonnie explained.
"Disastrous would be an understatement," she groaned. "I tried to get her to talk to me...I tried to get her to open up...but she can't see past Klaus. I can't change the way I feel about Klaus any more than Elena can change how she feels about Damon. She doesn't seem to see the similarity. I'm done trying to force something Elena clearly doesn't want," she said.
Bonnie nodded sympathetically.
"Elena's being distant with me too," Bonnie admitted.
"I'm just gonna give her space," she said defeated, as they sipped on their drinks for a few moments.
Kol was eavesdropping intently behind Bonnie, and she had to smirk at how obvious he was being.
"So where is Klaus?" Bonnie asked curiously.
"Playing poker apparently," she said, a little uncomfortable with Bonnie's casual talk about Klaus as though he was no longer an issue.
"I think Klaus is cheating," Kol said sorely.
Bonnie looked back at him with an unimpressed stare.
"Kol's just upset because he was put out of the game first," she informed Bonnie.
Bonnie smirked.
"This place looks amazing," Bonnie complimented as she looked around.
Kol smiled relentlessly.
"The whole thing was my idea," he declared.
Bonnie arched an eyebrow at his bragging.
"It really was," she corroborated.
"Have you gambled yet?" Bonnie wondered.
She shrugged.
"Klaus gave me some money to buy chips or coin for the slot machines, but I haven't tried. I'll just lose it all," she laughed.
Kol rolled his eyes at her.
"My brother gave you some of his birthday money? Why aren't we trying to double it, right now?" Kol said excitedly.
She rolled her eyes.
"Because the chances of that happening are zero," she laughed.
"I only said try. Nik obviously wants you to spend it," Kol said as he hopped of his chair. "Come on girls, I'll show you some games," he urged.
Bonnie waited for her approval, which she didn't really hold back.
Whether it was the alcohol talking or the need to have a good time, she couldn't tell. She was just thrilled that she had made progress with both Bonnie and Kol in the past hour.
Originally, she had only intended on exchanging a hundred dollars for chips and coin but Kol persuaded her to do more. Her sober self was lambasting her for how insane this was, but her drunk self, with the help of Kol, convinced her it was an excellent idea.
With part of it in coins, they tried out a few slot machines first. She gave Bonnie some money and they both went to town in feeding the machines while Kol tried to impress upon them useless strategies. She easily managed to spend two hundred dollars in barely the first half hour. Bonnie fared no better.
When they paused to grab another drink and during their informal gambling intermission, she caught sight of Klaus at one of the card tables with Stefan. Both of them looked deeply consumed in the game they were playing. She noted that Elijah was no longer there and Elijah's absence made her wonder where Rebekah and Matt were.
Those thoughts left her though once they reached the roulette table that boasted a few other players.
After Kol was done briefly explaining to her and Bonnie how to place bets and what type of bets to place, they caught the hang of it and readily traded their cash for unique coloured game chips and were having a great time. That was partly because it was easier to win at this game than the slots. She kept her bets contained to the spots with the highest probability of turning up with any given number. Bonnie, however, was a little braver with the chips she had been given. Before long, Bonnie was out of chips, but somehow she herself had managed to hover around the thousand she started with.
"I broke a thousand," she said excitedly as the roulette wheel slowed and revealed the next number.
Turning to her left to show off her excitement to Kol and Bonnie, she found them missing. Frowning, she scanned the room of people with no sign of them. Perhaps they had gone back to the bar to grab another drink. That's what she hoped at least. She knew Bonnie could pretty much handle herself as a witch, but if Kol was getting into any kind of trouble with her, she might consider daggering him herself. If she was soberer she might have thought to look for them, but she was too caught up in this game and whatever drink concoction the bartender had recently made for her.
She was on a winning streak, when she felt two hands slither in between arms and hips. She shivered when his lips pressed to her shoulder. Honestly it could have been anyone behind her, but she could tell by the spicy scent of his cologne that it was him – the birthday boy. She could also smell the whiskey on his breath which explained the ease with which he was publically displaying his affections for her.
"Have you gambled away all the money that I gave you yet?" he wondered.
"Actually, if I hadn't given Bonnie any of it to play with, you would owe me about fifty dollars in addition to what you gave to me initially," she quipped.
He seemed impressed.
"I lost some of mine to Stefan," he admitted. "Why are you here alone?" he asked.
She shrugged as she daringly placed a hundred dollar bet on the table with her chips.
"Rebekah is off with Matt somewhere, Kol stole Bonnie away, and you were otherwise occupied," she mused as the dealer announced no more bets and she waited for the wheel to slow.
The dealer called out a four, which was a black number, the colour she had bet on.
She jumped.
"I won again!" she squealed excitedly as she spun around and pulled a startled Klaus against her by his jacket lapels.
She kissed him eagerly, and surprisingly he kissed her back fervently, deepening the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers. Clearly the alcohol was having an effect on him too. He never would have kissed her like this in front of a bunch of people – especially when his siblings were roaming around. She revelled in the kiss, effectively distracting herself from the game, taking her body right back to where they had left off when they had been interrupted by Elijah earlier.
He left her gasping for breath when he parted the kiss, and the roulette game no longer seemed appealing. She wanted to play a different kind of game.
"Can we go upstairs?" she whispered forwardly into his ear.
Klaus turned to the dealer and instructed him to cash her out, exchanging her roulette chips for casino chips.
"You owe me over a thousand dollars," she said to him jokingly as she collected her chips and her drink.
Just by the way he grabbed her by the hand and offered her no reply, she knew exactly how he would take her first; hard and fast and that's how she wanted it. There would be no pleasantries exchanged; they – she especially – had waited long enough.
But just as they left the roulette table to head for the stairs, they practically ran straight into Damon and Elena, who, judging by their bewildered expressions, had just been privy to her moment with Klaus.
A/N: So there's the second part. Caroline and Klaus just can't get a moment alone, can they? lol. I guess that's why my fic is called, Love Interruption heh. I'm so funny.
I hope Caroline's interactions with the other characters make up for the lack of Klaroline. The third part should be posted soon! :D