A week after the big first date, Caroline and Klaus were taking their packed bags, or in Klaus's case bag, to Klaus's car. It was a 1999 black Lincoln Navigator, one he said he had gotten before he joined the marines. Caroline thought it was roomy, and perfect for a road trip. Damon and Elena had taken his car. She had been surprised to hear that Klaus had offered to go along, but the brunette had also understood why riding in the same car would be stressful.
So Caroline had packed a bag full of road trip snacks for the drive to Virginia, one that would no doubt be a long trip, considering the city traffic and the length of the drive itself. Caroline knew how to get back to her hometown like the back of her hand though. It might have been a while since she had been there, but that didn't mean she had completely forgotten.
After sitting in traffic for what seemed like a lifetime, the two were out on the open road, and on their way to the town Caroline was born in. Thankfully, the sun was out, and it wasn't a completely dreary day.
"So, what is your mother like?" Klaus asked while he kept his eyes on the road ahead. Caroline shrugged.
"Well, she's my mom, and I love her, but she's been distant, ever since my dad passed. I'm hoping this visit might cheer her up a bit."
"Even if I'm here?"
"I'm sure she'll love you. Don't worry about it."
"That's easier said than done, but I'll try."
"Good," Caroline said, grabbing a bag of Cheetos from her purse.
"How do you have room for all of that?" Klaus asked, amazed at all the stuff she managed to keep packed away.
"I have a Marry Poppins bag, can't you tell?" she asked playfully. He shook his head and turned back to the road. Caroline sighed and decided it was time for some tunes, but Klaus smacked her hand away gently.
"Try enjoying the silence, Caroline," he suggested.
"I just wanted to listen to some music," she pouted.
"Give the quiet a chance. If it still doesn't work…then play whatever bubble gum pop music you want."
"We could listen to music you like, if that's what you're trying for."
"I'm trying for silence."
"That's not entertaining," she said seriously.
"Could be."
"What kind of music do you like? Besides Sinatra?"
"The kind that doesn't make a sound."
"That's not music though."
"Exactly."
"Klaus!" she grunted. He was so stubborn, but she didn't say a word for a good thirty minutes. Might as well give what he wanted a shot. However, it was not easy. Not making any noise was proving to be difficult. She couldn't help that she got a little fidgety.
"Stop squirming," Klaus chided her.
"I'm not squirming. I'm getting comfortable."
"You've been getting comfortable for ten minutes."
"Well that's your car's fault, not mine."
"Go ahead," he sighed in defeat. Caroline smiled and turned on the radio.
"Thank you," she said sweetly.
"One of these days, you'll find being quiet a useful trait to have."
"Sure. We'll see how that goes."
As if. Caroline could barely keep quiet for half an hour; much less use it to her advantage. It's not like she was normally that loud. Being in a car for a long period of time just kind of brought it out of her.
"I have another question," he began.
"Mkay, go for it."
"If Stefan went to school with you, how did he go to his mother's grave with Damon when they were little? Did he not live with you guys in town?"
"Stefan used to live here in New York with his family. His mom died here. They moved to Mystic Falls soon after. Before they moved though, the two would go there. That's what Damon says anyway."
"You talk to Damon?"
"Not a lot, but Elena does. She told me he said that."
"Oh. Caroline?"
"Yes?"
"Is he going to warm up to the idea of me soon?" Klaus sounded a little worried. Caroline wondered how much he really wanted to be accepted by her friends.
"Elena has, if that makes you feel better," she tried to assure him, "Damon might just take a little longer. He doesn't want Elena to get hurt."
"And I'm the monster he's trying to protect her from," Klaus mumbled, shaking his head as he rested his forehead against his hand.
"He just got scared after what happened with Tyler. He'll get there." She rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, trying to let him know everything would fall into place with time. Caroline hadn't expected it to bother Klaus so much, but apparently it had been on his mind more than she had thought.
The rest of the car ride was pretty silent, except for the occasional small talk and passing of snacks. The scenery outside changed from the bustling streets and massive skyscrapers, to one of many trees and beautiful mountains. After a few more hours, they were in the small town of Mystic Falls. Small shops and quaint homes lined the streets as they drove in. Caroline directed Klaus around corners and through streetlights to get him to where the small hotel was located. Her mom had offered them a room of course, but Caroline had declined, saying that they just wanted more privacy. In truth, it was because Caroline wasn't sure when Klaus would have an episode again.
Now that she was spending most of her nights with him, the fits were rare, but they still happened. There had been at least a couple of memorable nights where he had gotten a flashback, or seemed out of it completely. The last thing she wanted for her mother or for Klaus was for the two of them to be under the same roof while he went through one. Especially since her mom was a cop. With Caroline's luck, she'd think someone was breaking in and bring her gun out, worsening the situation.
The room they had gotten was tiny, but it was clean. The walls were white, with a couple lamps and paintings on the wall to make the room feel cozy. The carpet was a soothing green color. The sheets and curtains matched the carpet, and the furniture was a white oak looking wood. There was a dark brown couch by the window, with a square table in front of that. A television, a small refrigerator, a microwave, and a desk also adorned the room. The bathroom was all white, and very clean, just like everything else.
Once they had checked into the hotel, and gotten their bags situated, the two immediately left and went to Caroline's house. Liz would be expecting them anytime, since she had taken the whole day off to greet Caroline and meet this new man in her life. The plan for the day was to go to Caroline's house for the morning, and then meet Elena and Damon at her Aunt Jenna's house to have dinner there. It would most likely be some kind of take out, since if Caroline remembered correctly; Jenna couldn't cook to save her life.
Caroline and Klaus walked up the porch steps to stand in front of her old house's door. She took a deep breath before looking to Klaus.
"This is it. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. I'm still not entirely sure about this. I'm not good with people, Caroline."
"Baby steps, Klaus. I'm not asking you to do everything at once."
"The dinner this evening says otherwise."
"You don't have to come to that." Klaus sighed, shaking his head.
"I couldn't do that to you. I came here because you wanted to. So…I'll try. But I'm not promising anything."
"I don't want you to. This will be good for you though." Caroline gave him a reassuring smile before knocking on the door. Through the screen, she could see her mother walking around the corner, clad in a simple sweatshirt and jeans. Liz's smile showed just how happy she was to see her little girl.
"Mom!" Caroline grinned brightly, hugging her mother as soon as the door was opened.
"Good to see you too, Caroline," Liz smiled, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Caroline pulled away gently to introduce the man who was standing behind her.
"Klaus, this is my mother. Mom, this is Klaus. Klaus lives in the apartment above mine, and that's how we met." No need to share the details with Liz.
"It's nice to meet you, Klaus," her mother said in a friendly voice. Klaus nodded to her and waved before walking into the house. Her mother seemed puzzled by his quiet nature, but Caroline quickly filled the silence. This was one of those times her rambling came in handy.
"Shall we go to the living room?"
"Sure can. I didn't make anything since we were going to Elena's house later. Is that okay?"
"Of course, Mom. We need our appetites for later."
Liz smiled and walked down the hallway toward the living room. Caroline turned to Klaus, who was already messing with his hands. She took them carefully into hers, and placed a small kiss on them.
"You're doing great," she whispered.
"I'm not sure I can do this," he said, his voice a little shaky, "I can barely talk to your mother, much less at the dinner tonight."
"I'm going to be there the whole time. Don't be nervous. Elena and Damon know you don't talk much, and the others will learn fast enough."
"They're going to think I'm a freak."
"Then they will be the ones missing out. Hold onto me," she said, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers, "I'll be there. Right beside you."
"Now I need my girlfriend to hold my hand just to talk to a group of people?" His voice expressed how ashamed he was of his predicament.
"Don't think of it like that. Eventually, you aren't going to need me there. You'll be able to walk all on your own." She smiled, and led him into the living room without another word. Caroline felt him give her hand a gentle squeeze though, and that was enough to let her know he appreciated her effort.
"How was the drive here?" Liz asked them as they took a seat.
"Not bad. Long, but not bad."
"Well that's good. So, how long have you two been dating?" Liz asked. She was probably the happiest Caroline had seen her in a long time.
"We've been on and off for a few months," she said, looking at Klaus to gauge his reaction to her answers, "but we've finally made it official."
"This is so great. How long have you been living in your apartment, Klaus?"
"He's been there since the beginning of August. Long time, considering it's already the beginning of May. Where does the time go?" Caroline chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. Liz looked at her funny for answering Klaus's question, but she thankfully didn't say anything about it.
"That is a long time. Um, how are your yoga classes going?"
"Pretty good. Elena is getting better at her poses, but she isn't there yet. This one strangely seems to be flexible."
"Oh, wonderful! You've been going to her classes?" Liz asked Klaus.
"We've just been doing poses in my apartment, or in his. It's mostly females in my class."
"That's a good point. I could see why Klaus might not want to go. What about work? What do you do?"
"Well…he-"
"Doesn't have a job," Klaus finished quietly, bringing Caroline's hand up to kiss her knuckles softly, "I'm unemployed."
Caroline smiled. He was getting there. Slowly, but he was still getting better.
"That's okay," Liz said, smiling at the fact she finally got a word out of Klaus, "Sometimes it takes people a little longer to find a job than others."
"Speaking of, how have you been mom? You tell me you're always working."
"Just trying to keep myself busy."
"I hate when you work so much though."
"I'm fine, Care. I just like my job."
"Still…" she trailed off, a thought occurring to her as she sat there for a moment, "Oh! I almost forgot. I got you something. Actually, it's from the both of us." She could see Klaus about to protest, but she gave him a pointed look. There would be none of that.
Caroline reached into her Mary Poppins purse and pulled a small, gift-wrapped box out. It was wrapped in blue paper with a purple ribbon. She handed it to her mother. Liz looked surprised to be getting anything, but she nodded gratefully, slowly opening the present.
"Oh Caroline…it's beautiful," Liz said in awe, carefully taking the snow globe out of the box and turning it over in her hands. The glass sphere was on a black base, where a rectangular gold plate was placed, with the words 'New York' written on it in a decorative fashion. Inside the glass sphere were a few skyscrapers, and the statue of liberty herself.
"Yea…I thought so too. Stefan suggested I get a present from the gift shop for you. I remembered you like snow globes."
"How thoughtful of him! Is he doing well? How is Tyler doing too? Everybody has been gone for so long."
"Tyler is good. Stefan…he kind of…passed away," Caroline said quietly. She felt Klaus squeeze her hand gently, and her mother looked at the floor, her mouth opened in shock.
"I don't know what to say. I never would have thought…he was so young. I'm sorry, sweetie. I know you guys were good friends."
"It's okay, mom. He's with his mom now, and that's the best place to be," she smiled, grabbing her mother's hand with her free one. Liz smiled back and tried not to let her emotions show.
The rest of Caroline's visit with her mother consisted of small talk, and staying away from the topic of death. It was good to be back in her old home, and great to be seeing her mother again. If there was one thing Stefan's passing had taught her, it was that life was too short. Why not take every opportunity to enjoy it and tell those around her that she loved them?
Caroline, Klaus, and Liz went over to Jenna's house around five o'clock, all three of them riding in Klaus's car. As they pulled up, Caroline counted four cars. One was Damon's car. The other was Jenna's car. Who did the other cars belong to though?
The three of them walked up on the porch and waited after Liz knocked a couple times. It was Elena who came to the door, greeting Liz and Caroline with a firm hug.
"Hey guys! Just in time. Pizza got here not too long ago," Elena said, stepping to the side so she could usher them in.
"I hope there is some cheese in there for us. Hey, whom do the other two cars belong to in the driveway?"
"I'm guessing you mean the cars that belong to Jeremy and Alaric?"
"Who is Alaric?"
"My Aunt's boyfriend. He's actually really cool. Damon and him have kind of been having a bromance since we arrived. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not."
"I can't say I'm sure either," Caroline joked. Her and Elena laughed as the two hooked arms. Liz had already gone into the dining area and was being introduced to all the new guests. Caroline looked behind her to see Klaus looking around the house at the pictures on the wall and the rooms they passed. He was always the observant one who checked his surroundings. It must have been a procedure that was burned into his brain after the military.
"Caroline!" Jenna exclaimed as she came shuffling over to where the blonde was. Caroline grinned as she unhooked her arm from Elena's and wrapped her arms around Jenna.
"Jenna!"
"I've missed your perkiness in this sad, sad town. I'm so glad you and Elena came to visit."
"So are we! It was a much needed trip."
"Oh! Before I forget, this is my boyfriend, Alaric. Alaric, this is Caroline, and her boyfriend…" she trailed off, unsure of his name.
"Klaus," Caroline finished for her. Jenna smiled and waved to Klaus, who gave her a friendly wave back.
"Pleasure to meet you, Caroline," Alaric said.
"It's nice to meet you too. How did you two meet?"
"I'm Jeremy's history teacher. It was pretty much a parent-teacher conference gone great. The rest is…as they say…history," he said, grinning at his pun. Caroline giggled.
"You guys look very happy together," Caroline added, before walking over to Klaus.
She caught the tension between Klaus and Damon as she stood by her boyfriend. Damon was eating his pizza while he talked to Liz, glancing in their direction every once in a while. Oh no. He better not say anything about the scene between Klaus and Tyler. Caroline wasn't ready to tell her mom everything yet. Damon had better not ruin that.
The sound of footsteps coming toward her made her turn toward the entryway. Jeremy came jogging up to her, a large grin on his face as he enveloped her in a bear hug.
"Hey, Care!"
"Well hey big guy! Somebody is taller than I remember them."
"I've been taking my vitamins," he shrugged.
"Obviously," she said, looking over his now muscular body. He wasn't the thin boy with shaggy hair anymore.
"Need a drink? If my memory hasn't gone bad, you like Sprite?" he said, tossing a can of soda to her that he had been holding. She smiled and took the drink gratefully.
"At least you have manners, Jeremy. Elena didn't bother offering me one," she said pointedly to her friend.
"Care, I don't think-" Elena said.
She didn't get to finish though because when Caroline opened the can, soda foamed up and basically exploded all over her hands, dripping to the floor as well. Jeremy, Alaric, and Damon started laughing. Even Elena and Liz were chuckling.
"What are you guys? Twelve? Ugh! Why does this stuff always happen to me?" She grunted, looking at the soda that was all over her now. Caroline shook the excess from her hands, turning around to walk into the kitchen in hopes of finding a towel to clean up with.
Something she hadn't expected to see was a smiling Klaus. Not only that, he was laughing.
Caroline was stunned. His smile was beautiful, and god was it infectious. A smile emerged on her lips because of his laugh. For once Klaus looked genuinely happy, and it made something click in Caroline. It had taken her months to see that smile, and she hadn't realized until now what she was missing out on. She didn't want that smile to go away, even if it got there at her expense.
Klaus had gotten a towel when she had been in thought. He began dabbing at the wet spots gently, that smile still plastered on his face as he did.
"This stuff really does happen to you all the time," he whispered to her.
Her eyes met his as she bit her bottom lip. "You've made a mistake, you know."
"What?"
"Smiling. Now that I've seen it, I will make it my goal to keep it there," she said quietly. Klaus continued grinning, kissing her forehead when he was done cleaning her up.
"It's hard not to around you."
"You two need a room? Or can we eat pizza?" Jenna asked playfully. Caroline blushed as she took Klaus's hand and found her seat beside her mom.
Caroline couldn't let it go though. It was a smile. Why was it such a big deal? Why couldn't she just enjoy the moment instead of over analyzing her feelings? The problem was that…when he smiled, her stomach had done back flips. Those butterflies were still there as she watched him observe everyone at the table, as he nodded and tried his best to interact with everyone who asked him a question. All she could think about was how much she wanted to be the one to make him smile, like she had a couple minutes ago. She wanted to make him feel happy instead of sad and alone. Klaus deserved that from someone.
Her heart began racing and she couldn't stop smiling. Especially when Klaus's eyes found hers. Then, it all clicked at once, making her want to blush more. It also made her realize that Jenna might have been closer to the truth than she had expected.
Hopefully, Klaus had brought that chocolate sauce he kept trying for. Caroline could see it coming in handy soon. Very soon.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Just been busy lately!
Next chapter, we'll still be in Mystic Falls. What shall happen? Hmm.
Until next time!
