"I keep on falling in and out
Of love with you.
I never loved someone
The way that I love you…"
"There's a whole world out there… waiting for you."
Of all the memories she had of him, his promise of the world beyond Mystic Falls haunted her the most. And at times, when she realized memories were all she had left of him, Caroline let herself resent him for abandoning her. He promised the world and left me alone in it.
But it was okay. She was okay. She had left that Caroline behind in Mystic Falls. The girl that wanted others, needed others, no longer existed. Caroline had learned to take care of herself. And to prove it, she left all the baggage she carried behind fifteen years ago in that miserable little town.
They think I'm losing my mind. Stefan had tried to stop her, said all that she loved was in that town. Matt even tried. Her mom begged. But she couldn't stay, not for another second.
When Klaus had left her staring after him once again in the woods, Caroline had walked home quietly seething. Kol had taken one look and known instantly that something was off.
"Caroline, what's wrong? Who did you go meet?"
"I need to leave," was her quiet response.
"Leave?" Kol asked, confused by the drained look on her face. "But you just got back. Now who do you have to meet?"
"No, Kol," she said, finally facing him with desperation clear on her face. "I need to get out of this town. This place, these people…"
"Caroline. Stop," Kol commanded, shaking her out of the panic she seemed to be in. When her eyes cleared up, he tried to get through to her again. "Who did you go meet?" he asked again.
A flash of guilt went across her features before she admitted, "Klaus."
Kol pulled back in shock, but then understanding set in. Taking a seat, Caroline saw the shutters come down his eyes as he veiled his emotions from her. "Ah, so big brother got a whiff of someone treading on grounds he considers his? And I assume that's why you need to leave? Klaus is back and second best is no longer necessary. Tell me, Caroline, do you need to escape the town or me?"
His bitterness surprised her, and she shook her head to clear it. "Kol, no, you don't understand-"
"I understand perfectly, sweetheart. It's been six years, and you're still drawn to my pathetic excuse of a brother. It just baffles me that you would still want someone who could leave you so easily."
"I'm not leaving with him!" Caroline exploded in an effort to shut Kol up. "In fact, he's already gone!"
Not apologizing for his dramatics, Kol narrowed his eyes and asked, "then why are you running?"
Caroline didn't know how to explain the frustration that Klaus had built inside her. "I just have to… Klaus is gone. Why am I still here? Why am I still here waiting on a man that isn't coming back? I've been trying to hold onto him… to what we had for those few days. All for what? So that he can just waltz back into my life any time he damn well pleases?!"
Unable to stay seated, Caroline stood up and started pacing in her agitation. "He'll never get the chance to leave me again, because I'm not going to be here waiting for him anymore."
Turning to Kol, Caroline let out her first smile since her return. "I'm leaving, Kol. Come with me."
Kol studied the determination in her eyes. "You're running. From Klaus." Coming to a decision, Kol took the seat Caroline had just vacated, preparing for the fight he knew was coming. "Sorry, darling, but I've played that game already. I spent centuries running away with my brother. I'm not about that anymore."
"You don't get it," Caroline said, grabbing his hand. "Klaus is out there. He put all these thoughts in my head, all these desires… I didn't want any of it! I had a good life before him. I had love… He took all of that and made it seem pointless compared to what he would give me. And now he's gone. And I'm still here wanting all of those things. I need to show him that I'm better off without him. I don't need him."
Kol understood perfectly. "You want to stick it to Klaus? Then stay. Stay here… with me. Build a life for yourself. Nothing infuriates Niklaus like watching others have what he's always wanted: love, loyalty, family, and friends." Cupping her cheek with one hand, Kol tried one more time. "You have that here… Just stay."
Caroline stared at him in silence. Taking a moment, she said goodbye to the face that she had grown to love. Kol made her comfortable and he helped her become stronger as a vampire, but he didn't understand her wants and needs. Not the way Klaus did.
And that will always be what separated her affections for Kol and her weakness for Klaus. She was a vampire. Spending an eternity being comfortable did not sound as appealing as the thrills Klaus promised her. She needed to experience the world. And if Klaus wasn't going to show it to her, then she'd see it for herself.
She didn't want Klaus anyway.
"How do you give me so much pleasure?
Cause me so much pain?"
Klaus had never wanted anyone or anything the way he wanted Caroline Forbes. He quickly came to the realization that he never would.
Caroline was not just a desire for him. She had become a need, a constant ache in his mind and body. Time and distance did nothing to erase this.
But he tried. He tried everything he could to forget about her. In a thousand years, Klaus had known many women. Some he took pleasure in, others provided his sustenance. Yet, even with the years apart, Caroline remained his answer for both needs.
No matter how many women he tried to lose himself in, it was always Caroline's face that brought him pleasure. No matter how many women he drank his fill of, his body craved Caroline.
Klaus Mikaelson was immortal, but he was dying in the need of one girl.
It was pathetic.
What will it take to forget her? He thought to himself as he searched the crowded bar for his next prey. All these centuries I spent never needing a single being, and in the course of a few months Caroline has totally bewitched me. Unacceptable.
His eyes scanned the women dressed to impress scattered throughout the room. He caught a few of them glancing his way, but none of them sparked an interest. Not like Caroline does.
The night was turning out to be a bust. Klaus sighed as no prospect intrigued him. Giving up, he took stock of how well the bar was running that night.
He had bought the bar shortly after moving back here to New Orleans. It wasn't the bar he was particularly interested in, but rather it was the business he had running underneath. The better the bar ran for the locals, the better it was for his more lucrative business.
Satisfied with what he saw, Klaus decided to call it a night. Making his way to the door, Klaus shut his mind off to the thoughts of the girl he couldn't replace. And for a second it worked.
Because in that second, the door he was walking towards opened up to let in a beautiful blonde woman whose eyes went immediately to him. Instantly Klaus knew he had found what he was looking for that night.
His next prey.
Grace, she said her name was. A pretty name for a pretty girl, he had told her. Klaus took his time with Grace, but he didn't stop until he had wined, dined, and seduced the girl into his bed.
Only, she wasn't Grace when her head fell back on his pillow. The long curls were shortened, the sharp features had softened, and all Klaus could see was Caroline.
It was his Caroline reaching out to him. His Caroline smiling up at him. Caroline who raked her nails down his back. Caroline who breathed his name. Caroline who sighed in pleasure.
Caroline. Caroline. Caroline.
"Who's Caroline?" Grace asked as Klaus collapsed next to her.
Turning his head, Klaus glared at her audacity to speak Caroline's name. "This was fun, love, but if you value your life I suggest you leave now."
But the girl couldn't leave. Something about the tortured look on his angelic face caused her to reach out and try to soothe him.
Her mistake.
Klaus didn't ask twice. Instead, he pulled her over his lap and placed a kiss on her neck. As her head tilted back, filling his hands with the curls that weren't Caroline's, Klaus bit in and drank.
He drank until there was nothing left in her body to give. Then he placed her back on the bed, as he got up to walk to the canvas set up in the corner of his room. Letting the thoughts of Caroline that plagued him throughout the day overwhelm him, Klaus brought his paint brush to the bare canvas.
And this was it. This was his life in the past years since Caroline.
In a thousand years Klaus had learned to control his urges. He didn't need to rut like a dog every day, but he never made any claims to celibacy. Though, try as he might, he couldn't get Caroline's face out of his head even when he was with another woman. He had yet to find a woman who could help him forget the alluring girl he left behind.
Every woman he indulged in would leave him feeling hollow. To drive out the feeling he'd lose himself in his art, always hoping that if he painted enough, one day he'll have spent all the emotions he had and finally find peace in numbness.
"Just when I think
I've taken more than would a fool,
I start fallin' back in love with you…"
All this time Klaus was trying to forget her, Caroline had managed to put him out of her mind almost completely. Almost. Travelling the world, Caroline had seen breathtaking waterfalls, explored hidden caves, and tasted exotic food. And people.
Her life had become all that she had wanted it to be, all that Klaus had told her it could be. But there it was. Klaus. She could run from him forever, but at night, as she thought over her adventures of the day, she thought if this was the life Klaus had imagined for her. What else would he want for me?
She would turn over and bury her head in her pillow, hating herself for still letting him have control of her life. She had hoped that once she had owned the enticing life he described, the hold he had in her mind would dissipate. No such luck.
Just when the mindless adventures got boring, Caroline got a call from an old friend. Bonnie. She needed to do some research on an extreme form of magic, and it required traveling. Was Caroline down for it?
God, yes. Just because she left Mystic falls, didn't mean she didn't miss her friends and family. She had seen Stefan and Rebekah every now and then as they also liked to go on their own adventures, but she hadn't seen Bonnie in a few years, and she missed her. So freaking bad.
So when Bonnie suggested a Euro-trip, Caroline was more than ready. She hadn't been able to bring herself to visit Rome, Paris, or Tokyo, afraid that thoughts of him would overwhelm her until she had to seek him out, but maybe with Bonnie it wouldn't be so bad.
They met up in Ireland, where the druids once dwelled. Bonnie was now 40, but still looked like the young woman Caroline left behind 15 years ago. "Looking good, Bon." Caroline commented.
"I didn't know I was vain until Damon pointed out that I was fast approaching my wrinkling stage. I decided to use magic to delay aging. I mean , if I got it, why not use it?"
Caroline laughed, but asked quietly, "You still see Damon and Elena? How are they?"
Bonnie saw the ache in Caroline's eyes for the friends she left behind. "You could come home and see for yourself, but they're good. Damon's annoying as always, but Elena's happy."
Caroline nodded and asked after the one person she missed the most. "And Kol?"
This one made Bonnie pause, causing Caroline's mind to play through a thousand unwelcome scenarios. "Kol is… Kol," Bonnie shrugged. "He stuck around for a few years after you left, but once Stefan and Rebekah started moving around, Kol left as well. He comes back every now and then, hoping to find you back I think. He seems more and more frustrated every time, but that's his life now."
This was not what I wanted for him. Caroline realized she could have called and asked after him herself, the way she did with her other friends and her mom, but remembering the way she left him, Caroline couldn't bring herself to introduce the pain in his life that Klaus had brought to hers.
"Well," Caroline said, needing to shift topics, "now that we're caught up, Europe awaits!"
They settled into a routine, going from city to city. Bonnie would search out scholars of the supernatural world, and if force was needed for cooperation, Caroline would accompany her. If not, Caroline would spend the day at a nearby beach or exploring the local museums.
By the time they made it to Paris, Caroline had seen so much culture, she couldn't help but thirst for more. So when Bonnie went to seek out her next mystical doctor, Caroline went to the place she had always wanted to go. The Louvre.
Seeing the legendary artworks in person was a breathtaking experience for Caroline. I'm actually here. I'm actually getting to see the world.
She was on a high she could barely contain. She went from paintings to sculptures and back until her face started to hurt from the smile that kept on growing.
And then she saw it and her world started crumbling to ruins around her.
It was newer than most of the art, but she could tell it was a couple decades old. 22 years to be exact. It was a painting of the Falls back home, but none would be able to recognize it. It was painted from a riveting view only available to a select few: the Mikaelsons and her.
Klaus. He was here. Maybe not now, but he had been here. This was the closest she had been to him in the past 15 years, and it brought all the emotions he evoked rushing back to her.
Needing more, Caroline compelled her way to the office of the museum curator. "Zut alors! May I help you, mademoiselle?" asked the startled man, as she barged into the room.
"'Place of Falls.' the artist…. Do you have more?" Caroline asked desperately.
"S'il vous plait, you cannot make such demands in an unsavory manner, mademoiselle," the man explained in his irritated French accent. "You must make an appointment!"
Losing patience, Caroline compelled. "Show me what else you have of the artist. Now."
The man gave a slow nod and walked her down a few hallways into an area with four security measures. Caroline raised her eyebrows at the precautions, but followed him quietly as he led her in to an archive of the museum's collection.
Maneuvering through the maze of aisles, the curator paused in front of a large case that he opened to reveal just one painting. "This is it. This is all we have. It was part of a collection containing the same subject, but the artist would only part with this one."
Stunned to silence, Caroline managed to utter, "leave."
As the curator made his way out of the room, Caroline sank to the floor, unable to handle the onslaught of emotions.
The painting was dark. Black. In the middle of the canvas was a golden couple, lost in each other's passionate embrace. The woman's blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, revealing her bare back to the viewer. Buried in the crook of her neck was the man who couldn't pull away from the woman. His arms wrapped around her, placing one hand on the small of her back while the other cradled her head.
And there was blood. Everywhere. Dripping down her back, seeping through his fingers, pooling beneath them. Caroline could only stare.
She didn't need to see the NM initials in the corner to know that this was indeed Klaus's work. She saw the evidence in every stroke of the brush.
I can't keep running from him. He'll always be there… a part of me. She could fight the feeling. She could manage to distract herself for a few days. But like the pendant he tied around her neck, Klaus was always with her. Out of sight, but always present.
He wasn't her right now, but he was her forever. It was time she stopped running from him and accepted her fate. She could spend an eternity resenting him, but if he stood in front of her right now, she'd want him all over again.
This was a fact she no longer wanted to change.
Sorry for the late update! A lot of you didn't like the Kol angle I took. Sorry :/ Kol won't be a focus of this story, but it'll come in again later on. Please remember that the little details I place in each one-shot will actually be important in the next part of this story. These one-shots are just a set-up for the real story. I'm trying to give Klaroline a darker edge from here on out, don't know if I'm succeeding.
Also, somebody pointed out that my characters are OOC. I hope you understand that these characters are set years into the future and have gone through different experiences than the characters on the show, so they will be out of character a bit. I just hope it's not too much OOC, because I'd rather quit right now than make my characters anything other than who I fell in love with.
Thank you for those who like this story and keep on reading and reviewing! I go nuts reading them each time :) Thanks to:
KlarolinexDelenaxx, kacomu, justine, holl2712, el, patie, glevez25, MoriartyandHisTardis, jessnicole, HelloCutePanda, TwistedType, Mystery Girl3, Laney-Dee, MyBrokenButterfly, Sam0728, Chetopat, Ktclaire99, Hazel21, Booklover9477, Guardian Izz, michaela88, TMPR, and all the guests!
Please keep leaving me reviews to let me know that this story is still worth sticking with! Sometimes I go through rough patches in my writing, but these reviews keep me coming back :)
So review, please and thank you!
P.S. sorry about not having any Klaroline interaction here, but if I ever get the next one-shot out, it'll be all Klaroline! And can someone let me know if I have or if I do dip into the M rating status, because I'm never sure :/ I'm trying not to go there, but oops?