I didn't mean to have another chapter up so soon but this story is writing itself! That and some spare time helps….
Keeping Up Appearances
Chapter 5: O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum - for my German readers)
December 24 2014 4:47pm: Gary, Indiana
"Okay this is ridiculous." Klaus hissed as they looked from tree to tree.
"I thought this was going to be fun. That was the word you used right?"
"Yeah I had no idea what I was getting myself into. There are hardly any trees and what they have is pretty dismal." He groaned fingering the thin needles.
"What did I say?" She shivered pulling her trench coat around her tightly. Even though she'd now accessorised with her thick Chanel scarf and tan leather gloves it was still freezing.
"What do you want me to say I told you so?" He mimicked and she poked her tongue in his direction. "Yeah real mature Caroline."
"The only saving grace is that Indiana is one hour ahead of Illinois so we've got some extra time on our hands. Although I'm not sure that's going to help given what we have to work with here."
"Yeah the Christmas trees certainly don't look like the ones in the movies."
"Don't tell me you've never seen a real Christmas tree?" She asked in shock.
"Well yeah in the stores and stuff." He mumbled obviously embarrassed. Caroline shook her head, the longer she travelled with Klaus the more she was discovering.
She always complained about Christmas and her family but after hearing about his family life Caroline was beginning to think she was lucky. He pretty much had no parents and the relationship with his siblings sounded strange to say the least.
Given all that she shouldn't have been surprised that he had never experienced a real Christmas. Caroline had to admit his enthusiasm about the tree was very cute but the defeated look on his face right now was anything but. For some reason it just made her that much more determined to get him a good tree.
She scanned the surrounding area picking apart each tree in her head; too short, not enough needles, not green enough. This was hopeless.
"Excuse me can I help?" A male voice inquired breaking Caroline from her trance.
"I'm not sure anything can help." Klaus muttered. Caroline flashed the young guy her biggest smile.
"Don't mind the Grinch over here. We were after a Christmas tree obviously. Um preferably one that is about yea high, green and dense. Do you happen to have anything that might match that description?"
"Well we are at the end of the season so there's not that much available unfortunately."
"Yes I wouldn't usually get a tree on Christmas Eve it's just that my mother, who is super organised usually, did buy a tree but then my grandma decided to turn up the heating and now her tree is kind of wilted and she's sent me on this impossible errand and…"
"Woah breathe Caroline." Klaus interrupted. "Long story short her mother is not in the most Chrismassy of moods because of said dead tree and we desperately need to find something to impress the dragon."
"Are you calling my mother a dragon?" Caroline shot back.
"It's an endearment." He stuttered pathetically. "So any assistance would be much appreciated."
"Yes things can get extremely stressful this time of year." He smiled obviously amused by their story.
"Tell me about it."
"So how about that one?" He pointed to one about five metres away. Caroline looked at it closely, it certainly seemed like the best of a bad bunch.
"No that won't do, it's not tall enough." Klaus observed.
"Okay how about that tree? It's probably the tallest we've got left in stock." He gestured to another.
"Yes it's tall but not nearly full looking enough." Klaus criticised. Caroline gave the man a sweet smile then pulled Klaus to the side.
"Are you going to pick at everything?" She whispered. "You are worse than my mother."
"Which is exactly why I'm being this picky." He drawled. "Do you really think she would have been happy with either of those choices?"
"No but it doesn't look like there's much else to choose from here."
"Look I don't usually do this but you seem kind of desperate." He said making them look on in interest. "We actually have some other trees about ten minutes' drive from here over that ridge." Klaus looked at him curiously.
"Over the ridge?"
"Yes they're definitely what you'd call fresh; I can take you in my truck if you like." He suggested pointing to it parked nearby.
"Well that sounds promising; your mother won't know what hit her." He grinned. "I'm Klaus by the way this is Caroline."
"I'm Jesus."
"You're who?" They both asked in surprise.
"My name is Jesus." Caroline thought if anyone was going to make a miracle happen it was someone names Jesus.
"Great let's get going." Klaus smiled pulling her towards the truck excitedly.
"So you folks aren't from around these parts I take it?" Jesus asked smiling at them as they traversed the snowy road.
"How did you know?" Caroline asked.
"You don't seem dressed for the environment I guess you could say." He said looking briefly at her tan Jimmy Choo boots.
"Well let's just say I didn't imagine the ensuing cross country adventure when I boarded a flight to Chicago yesterday." Caroline groaned.
"We're from New York but trying to get to Chicago, to answer your question."
"That sounds about right." He nodded his eyes on the road. "So is this your first time meeting the folks?" Caroline was about to speak and dispel any ideas Jesus had before Klaus said.
"Yes it is so you can understand why we need the best Christmas tree ever." He smiled. "I need to make a great first impression."
"I'm not sure a tree is going to be enough." Jesus said.
"Probably but I need all the help I can get." He muttered. "Caroline's mother is let's just say…"
"You realise her daughter is in the car right now." Caroline piped up.
"I was going to say Mrs Forbes has, um, very high standards."
"High standards?"
"Yes high standards, just like her precious daughter." Klaus added. "I mean you are dating me."
"There's that modesty I love." Caroline muttered feeling unusually comfortable with the whole fake boyfriend scenario.
"When I met my girlfriend's parents I thought her father was going to kill me."
"But yet you're alive to tell the tale." Klaus gulped.
"I am but I have to admit seeing his array of guns mounted on the lounge room wall was a little unsettling. As long as there are no guns I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Except that Mrs Forbes is a police officer." Jesus broke into laughter unable to stop himself.
"Good luck with that man." Jesus laughed. "Here we are." Caroline looked out for the first time noticing they were in the middle of what seemed like a dark forest.
"Uh where are we?" She stuttered.
"Over the ridge, you said you wanted a good tree, you can't get any fresher than this." He said getting out of the driver's seat. "I just need to get my axe and we're ready to go."
"Did he just say axe?" Caroline murmured. "This is turning into one of those scary horror films. You know stuck in the middle of a forest with nowhere to go and a crazed maniac with an axe trying to kill us."
"Caroline your imagination is running wild." He said quietly. "Jesus seems like a nice guy."
"Ahhh." Caroline cried as Jesus knocked on her window axe in hand and a smile on his face. "Yeah real nice. This is your fault with all those hitchhiker stories."
"It's going to be fine." Klaus said in a tone that didn't make Caroline feel very safe. "Come on." Caroline opened the door reluctantly.
"The best ones are just through that clearing."
"Clearing?" Caroline mouthed to Klaus who put his arm securely around her shoulders making her suddenly feel warm.
"You might want to be careful Caroline it's pretty slippery." Jesus warned taking another look at her high heels.
"Well I could just stay here then I guess." She suggested shrugging her shoulders.
"No you don't, if I'm going into the woods with a madman you're coming with me." Klaus whispered pulling her with him.
"Wow that's really romantic of you." She scoffed following him into god knows where.
Caroline walked through the trees trying not to slip on the snow. She could feel herself falling a few times but Klaus was there holding her up and every time he did she felt a tiny jolt of electricity.
"Here we are." Jesus said turning around axe over his shoulder. "You wanted the best have a look at these." Caroline looked upward knowing he was right. Her mum would be very impressed.
"So Klaus you want to give me a hand?" Klaus looked at Jesus his surprise evident.
"I'm sorry?"
"Well I can't do this on my own." He said. "I figure out of the two of you you're probably my best bet."
"Hey!" Caroline objected. "I could chop down a tree; I mean how hard could it be?"
"Very." Jesus shot back. "Especially in high heels."
"Yeah fair enough, Klaus help him out." She waved her hands at him. Klaus regarded the tree trying to work out just how to do this.
"Now if you hold on here I'll start chopping okay?" Jesus instructed. Caroline smiled watching Klaus try to do something obviously so foreign to him.
"Are you having fun yet?" She giggled. Klaus shot her a dirty look and then went back to the job at hand. Caroline had to admit his concentration face was adorable. She watched him moving around the tree, even under his coat she could make out the muscles in his arms. She swallowed thinking how much she'd like them wrapped around her.
"Caroline!" She broke out of her trance at the sound of him calling her name. "A little help please? Throw us the rope." She picked it up from where Jesus had dropped it and threw it over watching as they wrapped it around the tree which amazingly enough was out of the ground.
Klaus bent down fastening the rope and she couldn't help but make out his taut behind. She looked away again; Klaus Mikaelson was going to be the death of her.
"Love?" She heard looking up. "Don't think you're going to get out of lifting this." He may have had a great backside but he certainly was no prince charming.
"I see chivalry is well and truly dead." She snorted grabbing onto a branch and pulling with everything she had.
After what seemed like an eternity they made it out of the clearing heavy tree in hand and hauled it onto the truck. At least she was warmer now and could actually feel her toes due to all the exercise.
Jesus, who had now put the axe away to Caroline's relief, was strapping the tree onto the back of the truck. She felt a little bad for thinking he was a psycho killer.
Caroline walked around the other side of the truck not noticing the slippery patch of ice sending her flying into the air, Klaus was quick and grabbed onto her but it was too late as they both fell into the snow.
Her breath was ragged and Caroline knew it wasn't due to the fall but the fact that Klaus was on top of her, his face within inches of hers, his breath tickling her skin. He didn't move, his eyes boring into hers making her dizzy. Klaus touched her hair softly and ran his hand over her face, his index finger slowly grazing her cheek bone. Caroline felt like it was just the two of them all alone in the middle of the forest.
"Uh hem." Jesus coughed making them look up. "As much as I don't want to interrupt this lovely moment, I kind of need to get back to my girlfriend and family for Christmas Eve." Caroline and Klaus reluctantly separated. Caroline felt her head spinning as he helped her up from the ground, again she was pretty sure that it wasn't concussion but Klaus Mikaelson induced.
"Mmmm yeah of course." She stammered getting back into the truck. "Thanks for this Jesus, it truly is a miracle."
"I wouldn't go that far but I'm happy to help out two lovebirds." He said driving out of the woods Caroline looked downward not game to look at Klaus again.
xxxxxxx
"So um Jesus was nice." Klaus said quietly as they drove. She'd relinquished her driving rights after the six foot tree was strapped on top.
"He was." She agreed looking at the road ahead. "Well here we are finally." She said watching the welcome to Chicago sign flash past.
"Here we are." He said and she could detect the nervousness in his voice.
"If you don't want to do this I'll understand." Caroline murmured sensing some hesitation on his part.
"Why don't you want to do this?"
Now they were almost at her house Caroline was beginning to think this wasn't a good idea. It was fine to deceive Tyler and her cousin but she really wasn't too sure about lying to her mother and grandma especially, they were her closest family after all. She had been so caught up in her revenge plot that all reason had flown out the window.
Caroline would be kidding herself if their little moment in the woods didn't have something to do with her change of heart. When Klaus was lying on top of her something happened and Caroline wasn't quite sure what, all she knew was that it felt good. She couldn't help but replay the moment in her mind wondering what might have happened if Jesus didn't interrupt them.
If she let herself get caught up in this word of pretend Caroline could tell she was headed for heartbreak. Klaus wasn't the type of guy who had girlfriends and the sooner she realised that the better.
Although given she'd promised to help him it would seem strange if she backed out now. All she needed to do was get through the next couple of days then life could go back to normal not to mention Klaus free.
"Oh of course." She stuttered. "I just wasn't sure if you'd changed your mind."
"Not after I cut down that tree and lugged it through the Indiana woods." He chuckled.
"Well to be fair it was actually Jesus that cut it down." She teased. "Although I'm pretty happy with the end result.
"So you think I'll make the right impression?"
"Well here's hoping." She said as her cell phone rang.
"Does that ever stop? At least it's not the jaws theme so we know it's not your mother again." Caroline rifled around her handbag and connected the call and placed the phone to her ear.
"I was going to call you back I promise."
"Yeah sure you were." Stefan replied dryly into the phone.
"I was. Let's just say I've had an eventful twenty-four hours in Indiana with limited cell phone reception."
"What the hell were you doing in Indiana?"
"It's a very long story Stefan." She drawled looking at Klaus.
"Well that's good to hear; maybe you can fill me in on the way from the airport."
"What? Which airport?"
"I believe the one in Chicago is called O'Hare, unless things have changed since I lived here." He said sarcastically. "I spoke to Mrs F and she told me you were on your way, I figured you could swing by and pick me up."
"I thought you were spending Christmas in Cabo?" She asked as Klaus looked on curiously.
"Well that's before Tessa decided she'd prefer to spend Christmas without me."
"Ouch."
"That's one way of describing it." He growled. "So I figure we've got at least a half hour to swap stories about cheating ex partners." She smiled thinking about what a great friend he was and how he didn't deserve that. "I know how crazy your mum gets on Christmas Eve so this way I can get a catch up in beforehand."
She laughed thinking how well he knew her. "I guess we could pick you up." She stuttered looking towards Klaus.
"We?" He asked incredulously. "Oh is this the boyfriend you told me about." The last time they spoke, a few weeks earlier, she'd told him briefly about Sam.
"Mmmm something like that." She said distractedly. "Okay I'll see you at the domestic arrivals in about ten minutes."
"Can't wait Care." He said affectionately and she almost cried she was that excited to see him.
"So how is Stefan?" He asked his disapproving tone not lost on her.
"He's at the airport, which happens to be on our way. I couldn't really say no Klaus."
"No he is your bestie after all."
"Exactly." She smiled. "Thanks." He nodded as the car descended into silence again. Caroline felt a knot forming in her stomach realising their act was about to begin for real. For some reason though she didn't feel that good about it.
Xxxxxxxx
"Stefan!" She cried enveloping him in her arms. He felt just as good as she remembered. "It's been way too long." He pulled back flashing his dimples at her.
"You can say that again." He smiled. "So is there any reason you have a massive Christmas tree strapped to your roof?"
"That's a long…"
"Story yeah I figured, although I'm pretty sure it has something to do with your mum." He laughed placing his bag in the boot and climbing into the back seat.
"So it's um, Simon right?" Stefan asked obviously searching his memory.
"Klaus actually." Stefan mouthed the word Klaus at her.
"Yes that's what I told you when we spoke on the phone remember?"
"Oh okay." He replied obviously unconvinced. "So uh Klaus what is it that you do?"
"He works in the art industry." Caroline answered on his behalf.
"Really?" He asked curiously looking between them. "So how did you two meet?"
"Through work." Klaus blurted out the same time as Caroline answered.
"At a party."
"Oh so it was a work type party?" Stefan asked his face breaking into a grin.
"Yes at a work party." Caroline stumbled thinking they hadn't worked out the most important part of their plan. They really were novices at this pretend relationship thing.
"Interesting so you met at a work party and that was when?"
"Five months ago." She replied.
"Four months ago." He guessed at the same time.
"Men! They never remember anniversaries." She groaned trying to cover her tracks.
"Okay if you two are going to convince anyone you're a couple you are going to have to get your stories straight." Stefan said shaking his head.
"What do you mean Stefan?" Caroline replied feebly.
"Oh come on Caroline you are the worst liar, I should know after all this time. Your voice gets all high pitched and squeaky." Caroline rolled her eyes thinking how transparent she must have been given Katherine accused her of the same thing earlier that day.
"Yeah it does get pitchy." Klaus said unable to keep the act up any longer.
"You sold me out!" She groaned whacking him on the arm.
"You did that all on your own love." He chuckled. "I'm the fake boyfriend, nice to meet you man." He said greeting Stefan properly.
"You too, you're not a, um, professional are you?" He mumbled.
"A professional what?" Caroline cried turning around to face her best friend.
"I think he's asking if I'm a male escort." Klaus concluded in amusement.
"You really think I'd do that Stef?"
"Hey I remember all those chick flicks you used to make me watch where the girl is trying to make some guy jealous by bringing in an expert." He said. "I mean art industry, what exactly does that mean?"
"It means art industry." Klaus baulked. "Heard of Christies before?"
"And how exactly did you meet then?" He asked. "And I'm talking about the true story."
"After our flight from New York was grounded in Indianapolis he pushed in while I was finding out our flight was cancelled."
"Only because your whinging was taking so long princess."
"Then he stole my hire car."
"I did not steal you hire car. It's not my fault you were too busy dreaming about yours truly and slept in love." He joked. "Anyway I was nice enough to give you a ride."
"Is that what you call crashing into a paddock full of cows?" She snorted
"Only because you were distracting me with whiny chick music. Turns out Caroline here loves Miley." He groaned looking at Stefan in the rear vision mirror who was equally unimpressed. "We did manage to get to the nearest town and find a mechanic."
"After riding in a truck full of chickens." Stefan howled with laughter obviously knowing about her fear.
"Grumpy did get the car fixed though." Klaus said making Stefan wonder just who that was. "Then we were on our way to Chicago when…"
"Mother decided her tree was dead and we needed to track down a new one." Caroline finished his sentence.
"That's when we ended up in an Indiana forest with a guy with an axe called Jesus." Klaus laughed.
"He did get us the best tree." Caroline said smiling at Klaus. "Then you called."
"Well by the sounds of that bickering not to mention the cute way you finish each other's sentences you might be able to do this acting thing." Caroline looked at Klaus her face heating up slightly at his observations.
"However if you are going to convince anyone, including Mama Forbes, you need to work on your act." He said. "You do realise she interrogates people for a living?"
"Great way to make me even more nervous." Caroline gulped.
"Look I'm more than willing to help, anything to get back at this douche Tyler." Stefan added. "But we need to start on this first meeting story if you're going to have any chance."
"Well what do you suggest?" Caroline asked wondering what she'd gotten herself into.