In Rome, the dimming sunset glowed down on Klaus as approached the local hospital. He'd been so entirely consumed by Caroline's presence that he'd almost forgotten that he was a hybrid. He'd remembered what it was like to be human again. However, both Caroline and Klaus had been so enveloped in marvelling each other that they'd resisted feeding for an entire day. They could resist no longer. Klaus strode down the almost too clean, white corridor with a slight air of over-confidence. A petite woman stood relaxingly near the doorway, fumbling with a large pile of folders. He moved past her so quickly that it was impossible for the human eye to notice. He sensed that she did, however, feel fear. Humans had a natural instinct for danger. Their body reacted instinctively to possible threat. The woman turned on the spot slowly, her eyes darting around the corridor. It was growing darker and darker outside, and she was alone. Fear coursed through her veins.
"Hello?" She yelled, her voice echoing off the walls of the long, empty corridor. "Is anybody there?"
Luckily for the woman, Klaus was in an extremely tolerable mood of late, and he didn't necessarily wish to harm her. Still; when the woman turned Klaus found him-self instinctively moving to stand directly behind her, so that their bodies were almost touching. He noticed the woman's eyes widen startlingly, and her rigid pose relax slightly.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Klaus smiled charmingly.
"That's ok." She exhaled with relief. "What are you doing in the hospital at this time?"
Klaus ignored this stern question; he could do without a telling off. "What's your name?"
"My name? Jade." She muttered, "but you still haven't answered my question."
"Well, Jade." He began, brushing her hair from her face. "You are my internal struggle. I'm conflicted. I don't want to hurt you, because of her. And yet…" He paused, wonderingly, and flashed a brilliant, false smile at her.
Confusion washed over Jade's face, her heart beating wildly. Klaus assumed that until now, she had been torn between finding him a handsome, charming stranger or a risk of danger. Now, her decision was clearly visible in her features. As the reality of the danger finally caught up with her, horror shone through her eyes. "Please don't." She whispered.
Humans, Klaus thought. They were so innocent and naïve. Klaus wished to feed on her, more than he'd ever desired to feed on a human before, but he resisted the urge. Caroline had learnt not to kill, and for her, he'd attempt to do the same. He wanted to be worthy of her.
Coming to a decision quickly, Klaus focused his eyes on Jade's, willing her mind to succumb to his. "I was never here. This conversation never happened." He muttered, turning away.
"You were never here." He heard her voice echo robotically, and he continued to the exit of the hospital, blood bags in hand. He had overcome the temptation; he thought exultantly, pride washing over him in waves. He'd give up anything to obtain Caroline's love.
Caroline sat serenely on the vintage-style bench outside Klaus' villa. He'd informed her earlier today that he had owned it for years, and she wasn't as such surprised by the information. She did, however, find it difficult to imagine Klaus the hybrid spontaneously taking off to enjoy a relaxing vacation in Rome. She giggled to herself at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Klaus asked quietly, appearing in the doorway to the balcony. She hadn't even noticed his arrival, but she certainly noticed him now. He looked so stunningly handsome that it cast her mute. The moon lit him in a dim silhouette, and yet his eyes shone out brilliantly. His sharp cheekbones were emphasised even more so in the moonlight as he approached her; and his hair appeared so soft and longing to have hands run through it. He certainly was something else, Caroline thought. He was dressed in dark colours; soft black jeans, black boots, black suede jacket and a grey vest. The necklaces that he always wore lay still at his chest. She'd wondered about those necklaces and their origin, but had been too cowardly to question him.
Caroline shook herself out of her reverie to find Klaus gazing at her peculiarly.
"Lost for words?" He asked; "that's not like you, Caroline." He grinned at her devilishly.
"Yeah, well, you surprised me." She replied, not caring to admit that she had been admiring his appearance for the past 5 minutes. "Where have you been?"
Klaus smirked, and Caroline suspected that he saw right through her lie. Of course he did, she thought, she was the worst liar imaginable. Klaus raised his right hand up until it was level with her face. Caroline's gaze transfixed itself on the two bags. She hadn't realised how violently hungry she'd been.
"Getting these" Klaus replied. "Join me for a drink, love?" He gestured inside the villa.
Caroline stood and smoothed out her clothes. She had changed into a long, white, strapless dress, and she heard Klaus' sharp intake of breath when she'd stood. Coyly, she turned to face him, to calculate his reaction. He was gazing at her with pure admiration.
"You are beautiful." He whispered huskily. If she was a human, she would have flushed uncontrollably. Instead, she smiled up at him and took his free hand in her right, interlocking their fingers in a twist, and led him inside the villa.
The vampire and the hybrid were silent as they drank deeply, revelling in the satisfaction of fresh blood energising their bodies. Caroline drank until every drop was gone, and sighed happily. A feeling of contentedness flowed through her, along with a sudden rush of emotion towards Klaus. He had brought her here, he had provided for her, and he made her shine. Realisation hit her like a strike of lightning. She genuinely loved him. The feelings had come to her so suddenly that she didn't even have time to process them before the words had escaped her soft, red lips. Klaus dropped the blood bag to the tiled flooring of the kitchen, where it burst and leaked silky looking red liquid until a pool surrounded him.
Klaus' mind was lost in Caroline's passionate words. He'd heard the "Klaus, I love you" uttered from Caroline's sculpted mouth, and dropped his dinner in shock. She loved him. Why were those words such a shock to him? He'd sensed that she did from the way she'd watched him, and yet to hear the words as a sentence, as a speech of admittance; lit him up. Nobody had ever told him that they loved him, nor cared for him. To hear his own feelings requited and echoed back to him meant more than anything that had occurred in his life before now. He wasn't an abomination, he was loved. He mattered.
Before Caroline could even blink, Klaus had crossed the room in one large stride, and she was in his arms. His mouth found hers and he kissed her passionately, ferociously. His love for Caroline was reflected in his kiss; intense, desperate and irrevocable. She returned his passion equally. Until now she had simply kissed him back. Now, however, she truly responded to him. Their minds glowed as one as they caressed and embraced one another. There was no going back from this, Caroline realised, and she found that she was okay with it. Klaus meant everything to her. She stroked his back gently, and pulled him closer to her. She wanted no distance at all between them. Not now, not ever.
Klaus was experiencing feelings that he'd never once experienced as a vampire or a human. He'd loved as a human, of course, but never had he felt these intensely heightened feelings of pure love that vampires felt. Not until now, at least. He'd never understood the utmost desperation and passion that Stefan had felt towards Elena. He'd never empathised. He'd often wondered why Stefan was willing to die for Elena, to do whatever it took to protect her. He realised this, for he felt the same way towards Caroline. He knew he could never leave her in harm's way. He would do everything in his power to protect the girl, even if that meant dying for her. He was lost in the rush of these intense feelings, his hands stroking Caroline's hair gently. After what seemed like a lifetime, Klaus reluctantly retrieved himself from their entanglement and led her back upstairs to the beautiful bedroom of the villa. It was there that the dark of the night consumed them, and they succumbed to it gladly.
"He's with Caroline." Rebekah repeated to Elijah, whose eyes had narrowed in wonder. Nicklaus didn't love, Elijah thought. He had once, but since he became a vampire, Nicklaus only cared about his self and his self alone. Nobody had mattered to him. Even his family, whom he claimed to love, had been stabbed with a dagger as punishment for disappointing him. Elijah could not fathom how that very same man, that very same monster was capable of feeling love. Maybe he didn't know him as well as he'd thought.
"Do you know where?" Elijah replied, his voice quavering slightly. He was still shocked.
"No, but you know Nick. He will have thought of something extravagant." Rebekah scoffed. Elijah sensed that she was envious of the attention Nicklaus was giving Caroline. In the years that had preceded this, Rebekah had always claimed every ounce of her older brother's attention, and to have that stolen from her by none other than the girl who's life she envied initially, must be a horrid awakening for Rebekah.
"So, we leave him. He's out of our lives; it's what we all wanted. Where is the problem?" Elijah muttered, folding his hands into the soft, black fabric of his trouser pockets.
Rebekah appeared scandalized. "The problem is that Nick has never left me before. Temporarily killed me, yes, but he's never abandoned me. That tramp is not going to come in here and ruin our family." She yelled abhorrently.
There really was no controlling Rebekah's temper or envy, Elijah smirked to himself.
Caroline woke early the next morning, stretching in the bright sunlight. Her head rested against Klaus' bare chest, and his arm was wrapped around her protectively. She couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across her face widely. This was where she belonged.
Joseph Morgan aka Klaus just retweeted me on Twitter. Dying right now.
New chapter will be along soon :)