I wanted to get this out yesterday, but I just had to get one more scene in there. To the reviewer who wanted more Klaroline, this chapter is full of great Klaroline moments as we start to move into the plot to make them fall in love with each other!
Caroline spent the entire evening trying to think over what she had heard Klaus say. It was driving her crazy, the way that he had worded things, just like she had said them a few nights before. It was true, she did find him annoying that first night, but she had over exaggerated to the masked man. It was a habit that she had been trying to break, overdoing things, telling stories to make them seem more exciting or suspenseful than they really were. When Elena told her that Stefan and Klaus knew Rebekah, Caroline knew what she had to do.
Caroline never really cared for their neighbor, the high-class socialite Rebekah York. Actually ever since they moved into the building, Caroline found her to be a pain. She was loud and obnoxious and obsessed with proving that she was better than Caroline, to the point where the girl often went after the same men to prove her superiority. Today Caroline had to humble herself if she wanted to get her questions answered, something she can't say she really enjoyed doing.
Knocking on the door Caroline waited with a hand on her hip. She knew Rebekah was home she could hear the pop rock music that was playing inside the girl's apartment. Rebekah answered the door and scrunched her nose, obviously disappointed by the sight of Caroline. "I'll turn it down, god Caroline, you are such an old lady sometimes…"
Rebekah turned around and headed towards the large stereo system. Caroline took a step inside the apartment and waited. "It's not about the music," she said as she closed the door behind her.
Now Rebekah was just confused. There was really no reason that she could think of that would bring Caroline into her apartment. "What is it about then?" she asked sharply.
"I heard that you knew the Mikaelson's," Caroline mentioned, trying to sound casual.
"Yeah, what about them?" Rebekah answered. She knew that Caroline was over here for more than just a nice chat. Nice chats were Elena's thing, and Rebekah barely put up with those.
"I am working for them now, as a Public Relations Intern and I was just wondering if it was going to be commonplace for me to cover up their personal lives, that's all," Caroline said trying to ease into the conversation.
"When it comes to Klaus and Kol, the short answer is yes. Why don't you sit down, if you want to properly do this job you are going to need some serious help," Rebekah gestured to the couch as she walked into her bedroom. She came back out with an old yearbook and a stack of photos.
"Who's Kol?" Caroline asked.
"Kol is the youngest Mikaelson. Biggest prat of the bunch, but I might be a little bias since I dated him," Rebekah explained. She opened up the yearbook, which Caroline could now see was to an elite Manhattan prep school. She pointed to a picture and handed the book to Caroline before sitting down next to her. "Him."
"Activities: Lacrosse, rugby and soccer. AP Chemistry, Calculus and Physics. Quote: Work Hard, Pary Harder. Yeah, he seems like a keeper," Caroline read out loud. She then paged through the book to find Klaus's entry. "Niklaus Mikaelson. Heading to UC Berklee. Varsity Soccer, President of the Art Club and Theater? Did not expect that… Future Business Society. AP Studio Art, Art History, French, English Literature, and Economics. Quote: Everything popular is wrong. – Oscar Wilde."
Caroline read it again and looked at the smug smile on the teenager in the photo. It was strange to see him so young, without the scars of whatever has happened to him since. The boy in the picture had his life in front of him, the world at his feet. The man he was now was not the boy in this picture. Something had happened to this boy.
"So basically here's what you need to know about the Mikaelsons. Elijah has been and always will be the good one. Even as a kid he was straight A's never got in trouble did everything daddy told him to do. And their dad was an asshole, so I'm sure that wasn't easy," Rebekah started rambling. "Then you have Niklaus, who basically realizes their dad is a dick and decides to stop doing anything that is asked of him. He brings Kol with him down this rabbit hole. Instead of sports, Klaus moves to art, instead of math and business, he went to literature and poetry. It's not a surprise that the guy loves Wilde and Hemingway, he took on their lifestyle pretty young. Drinking and sex and 'enjoying the beauty of life' that was his motto."
"That explains the girls and the bar fights…" Caroline said under her breath.
"Yeah, basically any PR person that family has spends a majority of their time cleaning up the boys messes. Good news for you though, they pay generously those who keep their secrets," Rebekah said rubbing her hands together. "Are you having any trouble with them since you started working?"
Caroline didn't want to mention the tone that Klaus had taken with her in the office so she phrased her answer carefully. "I can't say he's been the easiest person to work for," Caroline finally answered.
"He's being a prat, is that it?" Rebekah concluded. Caroline nodded. "I'll sort him out, I am meeting him at the office tomorrow for lunch. But don't say I never did you any favors."
Caroline thanked Rebekah and stood up. She headed back to her apartment and walked to the fridge, pouring herself a glass of juice. Something about the yearbook was jumping out at her. Theater. Klaus did theater in a New York School. Placing the glass down she ran back over to Rebekah's apartment and knocked on the door.
"What plays was Klaus in?"
"What?"
"It said theater in the yearbook. What plays was he in?" Caroline asked again.
Rebekah shrugged. "Like I remember. Here, just take the whole book, I know there's a page for it somewhere." Rebekah walked over to the coffee table and picked up the yearbook, placing it in Caroline's hands. After a quick thank you Caroline walked back to her apartment and started to riffle through the pages.
She finally found the page for the plays for that year and saw a number of pictures of Klaus from a one-act play festival. Turning the page she found the major production. Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men'. On the page was younger Klaus in costumed American Military Uniform. American. Caroline had seen the movie, she knew that it was about men in the military at a trial and the catch phrase 'You can't handle the truth'. And at that moment, Caroline couldn't handle the truth.
Klaus knew how to speak in an American accent. He was the right build and height for the man in the white suit. And he had called her sweetheart. She should have realized this sooner, she should have known the second he said it that it was Klaus behind that mask. After everything they had discussed that night he hadn't tripped up once, but how could she have not known.
Her mind was spinning when she dialed the office on her phone, asking to be connected to Klaus. "Klaus Mikaelson speaking," Klaus said sternly on the other end of the line.
"It was you!" she yelled into the phone.
"What the hell? Who is this, and what did I do this time?" Klaus asked confused.
"You. You were in 'A Few Good Men', you can speak in an American accent," Caroline said as she started to gain control over her breathing.
"Caroline," Klaus said with a sigh, realizing what was going on. How she found out about his activities in high school, he was unsure of but he knew that it was Caroline and that she was upset. "Yes, I have played an American a few different times over the years I was in theater."
Caroline shook her head in disbelief. She could not believe that the man that she had found so interesting that night was the same man that she spent the week cleaning up after. "I can not believe you, making me think you were…"
"Making you think I was what?"
"It doesn't matter," Caroline recovered instead of saying 'attractive and romantic'. "Why did you do that to me? Fake an accent, get me to say all those nasty things about you and then still spend the rest of the night with me?"
"Because I didn't know it was you at first, love," Klaus admitted. "I didn't realize it until the end of the evening actually. And despite what you said, I found you quite intriguing that night. Most women would have grown bored with my talk of paintings and history. You did not."
Caroline thought of their conversation that night and had to admit that he was rather fascinating. She loved learning about the history behind the pieces, and now she was able to connect that to Klaus's interest in Art History. "Why didn't you just tell me when you knew?" Despite how well their conversation had gone, she was still angry about the whole thing. Plus, it didn't negate the fact that he was going on a tour of the city that was inappropriate and immature that she was being forced to clean up.
Klaus took a moment before he answered, and Caroline thought for a moment that he might have hung up on her. "Because of what you said, about me being nothing more than a man using tricks to bed women. I knew you would think it was all a lie, all an attempt to sleep with you, but it wasn't. That was me, Caroline."
Caroline felt guilty about what she had said. She had judged him too harshly based on the few conversations that they had had. "If that man was you, who is this boy that can't seem to behave himself?"
"That's also me. I'm very complex but don't worry sweetheart, Kol is coming to town tomorrow, and he should be able to keep you so busy you won't worry about me at all," Klaus said as he hung up the phone.
Caroline was more than worried about what it meant that the youngest Mikaelson was coming to the city. Everything proved so far that he was going to be a handful and Caroline didn't know if her PR skills were ready for the kind of damage that Kol could bring.
When Caroline got to the office the next morning she heard a new voice amidst the crowd of men she was accustomed to hearing. Keeping her head down, trying to avoid Klaus she almost made it to her office before being stopped.
"And where have my brothers been hiding you?" the young man asked. Caroline looked up on Kol's face and knew immediately who he was. He looked like Elijah with dark hair and brown eyes, but he had a mischievous smile like his other brother.
Caroline frowned and pushed her way past him, opening the door to her office. The last thing she needed was another Mikaelson making her life miserable. "They haven't. I'm new to the firm, just an intern while they are here working with the Gilbert Trust."
"Sticking to just the facts, I see. Do you have a name, beautiful?" he asked as he stepped into the office, leaning against the doorframe.
Caroline started up the computer and looked down to see if there was any pending work for her to do. Klaus had kept his promise; he wasn't in any trouble today. Caroline would be able to work on her schoolwork for awhile and maybe even look into the possibility of getting a press release out about the firm's event from the weekend before. "Caroline, and as nice it is to be in your company, Mr. Mikaelson, I really do have work to get to so if you could kindly leave..."
Instead of doing as she asked him to, Kol walked into the office and closed the glass door behind him. He took a seat at the other desk in the office and threw his feet up. Caroline tried her best to ignore him, but he was doing everything in his power to distract her. Sighing and repositioning himself to keep her from her work. "How about you and I get out of here and get a drink?"
"It's ten-thirty in the morning, Mr. Mikaelson," Caroline said not looking up.
"Tonight then, and call me Kol," he answered.
Caroline shook her head, trying her best to tell him that she was not interested. She started to state her answer when Klaus appeared in the doorway. "Sorry, Kol, but she already promised me to go out with the lovebirds tonight."
Kol frowned, "Well, you can always meet me after. Here's my number, love."
"Piss off, Kol."
Kol stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Klaus alone with Caroline in her office. Caroline gave Klaus a questioning look as Kol departed from her office space. "Are we really going to dinner with Stefan and Elena? Because I live with the girl, and I am about to throw up at the amount of fluffy love crap they do."
"Unfortunately, yes we are. That was the reason that I stopped by, actually. Saving you from the grips of my younger brother was just a bonus for you, but you can thank me for that later."
Caroline was going to thank him for helping her but after he said that she kept her mouth shut on the subject. She wasn't going to make him think that she only said it because he wanted her to. "Is he always that… slimy?" she asked.
"Not that I'm aware of, but he has always had a thing for blondes, so it might just be you, love," Klaus told her, still standing in the doorway. "Now for this evening we have reservations at 6th Street, if that is okay with you."
Caroline tried to keep calm, but she was shocked. It was the most expensive restaurant in the city by far, and she had never had the chance to even step inside let alone eat there. "It's suitable. What time will you be picking us up?"
"Eight," Klaus said as he turned on his heel and left the office. He had a thing for abrupt departures, Caroline noticed and it was something that she found both mysterious and annoying.
Caroline spent the afternoon working on the press release to talk about what the firm had done for the young women's group they raised money for. She had called Elena after her friend's class and confirmed the dinner for the evening, trying to sound annoyed at the unexpected invitation. "Look, I am only doing this because it's the best restaurant in the city. I can't figure out why you thought we should join you on your date anyway," Caroline told Elena.
"I thought you would want to get a free meal at 6th Street," Elena pointed out. "Am I wrong?"
"No," Caroline grumbled. "That doesn't mean I like the idea of you setting me up with that annoying idiot."
"Oh, come on, he's not that bad," Elena replied. "Plus it's only a few hours. Just try and enjoy it."
Realizing that there was no way she was going to get out of this disastrous double date, Caroline decided she would just have to make the most out of it. When she got back to the apartment after work she started looking through her closet for something to wear that would be suitable for such a fine restaurant. Deciding on a red low cut cocktail dress she took a shower and started working on her hair.
By the time eight o' clock rolled by she was ready to go, sitting on the couch waiting for Elena to finish working on her makeup. The buzzer to the door rang and Caroline walked over to the speaker. "Hello."
"I am here to pick up a Miss Forbes and a Miss Gilbert," a strange voice answered.
"That's us, just give us a minute and we'll be right down," Caroline answered. "Elena, come on the car is here, we need to go!"
When the girls got into the car they were surprised to see their dates were not with them. The driver told them that the men were to meet them there that business had run later than they had expected and they were at the hotel changing clothes. When they arrived at 6th Avenue the girls were still alone, so they took the time to have a drink at the bar.
Caroline felt a hand on the small of her back as she saw Stefan walk around her to Elena. A voice in her ear told her, "Are you going to play nice tonight?"
Caroline turned in to be face-to-face and chest-to-chest with Klaus. "I will if you will."
The dinner was awkward at best with Stefan and Elena spending most of the evening ignoring their friends and leaving them to their own devices. Going against what she said to begin with, Caroline was quick to find objects of debate with Klaus to keep her from complete boredom. "You can not tell me that you actually think that Hemingway is a better writer than Fitzgerald. That's just idiotic. Hemingway was a misogynistic drunk."
"And Fitzgerald was a drunk with a bipolar wife!" Klaus snapped back. "At least Hemingway was always honest about who he was. He never pretended to be anything he wasn't. I respect that in a man."
"Doesn't change the fact that the man was an asshole," Caroline retorted. "And don't even get me started on Wilde, who I am sure is your idol."
"Wilde was a genius, way ahead of his time, and you know it," Klaus answered her. "Let me guess you think that Austen was some kind of literary genius."
"You think I'm that shallow? I know that her novels are entertainment, nothing more. Charlotte Bronte though, she was ahead of her time."
"Girls like you always think Jane Eyre was the best thing to happen to literature."
"I actually like Pride and Prejudice," Elena piped in.
"You just like the guy who plays Darcy in the Kiera Knightly version," Caroline turned to face her friend. This was not a discussion that Elena could really get herself into, and Caroline shot her a look to tell her to keep her mouth shut.
"Why don't we discuss something a little less… controversial?" Stefan asked trying to calm the situation. "Like politics."
The rest of the dinner went along the same chord, with the end of the night leaving Caroline frustrated and exhausted from spending the evening defending her beliefs. She couldn't get out of the car and back to her apartment fast enough, and Klaus felt a rush of relief while he watched her get out of the car.
The trip back to the hotel was even worse, as Klaus was left alone with Stefan and Elena. "You didn't have to fight with her the whole evening," Stefan said as soon as the car pulled away.
"That was not fighting, that was healthy intellectual debate and conversation, mate," Klaus told him. "If you hadn't left us to our own devices the whole evening maybe it wouldn't have been a problem."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you and Elena there spend the entire evening staring into each other's eyes, like there was no one else in the room. We had to amuse ourselves somehow."
Stefan and Elena didn't reply to his statement, both feeling guilty because of its truth. As they pulled into the hotel Klaus exited the car quickly, and the couple followed after. It wasn't until they were safely in Stefan's room that they discussed what they had seen that evening.
"There was so much sexual tension at that table I thought I was going to explode," Elena finally told Stefan.
Stefan nodded as he poured two drinks. He handed one to Elena before taking a sip of his own. "I felt that too. As much as they are determined to hate each other, you have to admit they are well matched."
"Too bad Caroline doesn't believe in love."
"Neither does Klaus, interestingly enough. But I think that if he met the right person he might be swayed to change his mind. Someone that stimulated him intellectually and he found physically attractive."
"The night of the masquerade I thought that Caroline finally met someone worth her while, but she never found out who the man in the white suit was."
"A white suit?" A smile widened on Stefan's face. "Red mask?" Elena nodded. "Elena, I think I have an idea…"
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