Yo! Update! Enjoy!
Notes at the end ;)
and special thanks to Kady aka Klausykins for being awesome and talking me through everything when I hate it!
*spelling/grammar mistakes are 100% mine and I am sorry.
"I take it you enjoyed your reunion," Elijah chuckled over the phone. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's snarky laugh as he strolled through the aisles of the one supermarket in all of Mystic Falls. Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had set foot in any sort of grocery store, his family had always had personal chefs for that. In LA, he rarely kept food in his house because he travelled so often, but housekeepers and assistants would stock his fridge when he was staying at his apartment long term. Caroline had left him at her house that morning, when the alarm clock on her nightstand had rudely awoken them too early the next morning.
"I have work," she had explained when he tried to pull her back into bed with a demand to turn the damn thing off.
So, Caroline was at work for the day, and Klaus was stuck at her house. He shouldn't have left, but without any distractions he soon became bored. Caroline had mentioned that her mother would be sleeping through most of the day until she got home, and Klaus had no desire to have a run in with her sheriff mother. Something told him that in spite of his fame and Caroline's good opinion, his multiple arrests wouldn't endear him to the sheriff. After rummaging through the cabinets in her kitchen, Klaus realized the Forbes's alcohol supply was non-existent, so he took it upon himself to gift their residence with a viable stock. If Caroline was going to be his girl, he would introduce her to the finer things in life, starting with wine. He walked through the racks of wine in the back of the market, trying to discern an acceptable bottle.
"I'm sure we enjoyed our reunion as much as you and Elena enjoyed your alone time." Klaus knew that would shut his brother up. Elijah never liked to discuss his sex life or even allude to its existence; he was horribly Victorian in that way. An attendant announced over the store intercom that a customer needed assistance in aisle five.
"Where are you?" Elijah asked, overhearing the announcement.
"Supermarket," Klaus said, settling on a bottle of Merlot that struck his fancy.
"You must be joking," Elijah said.
"Don't sound so shocked brother," Klaus said, "I have been in supermarkets before."
"You misunderstand me," Elijah corrected, "I meant that you must be joking about being out in public right now. Where anyone could see you?"
"I'm not a monk Elijah. I can go outside," Klaus replied. He smiled at the teenaged cashier and handed her his credit card to pay for the wine. She took it, not even bothering to ask for idea or glance at the name. In fact, she barely paid him any attention at all. Klaus often relied on how unobservant people could be of those who surround them on a day to day basis. Klaus took back his card and the wine and headed toward the exit of the store. "No one is going to expect me to be in Mystic Falls, Virginia so no one will be looking for me."
"Small town," Elijah argued, "easy to notice an outlier."
Klaus groaned, not wanting to have this argument any more. "I just popped out for something, I'm headed back to Caroline's now."
As Klaus walked out the automatic door, he smacked into something hard. His phone went flying out of his hand and he almost lost his grip on the bottle.
"Watch where you're going man," an angry voice shouted at him.
Klaus looked over the tops of his sunglasses at the man glaring back at him. He looked younger than Klaus, perhaps around Caroline's age, with spiked brown hair. Klaus studied his face for a moment, realizing that he looked familiar to him…but unable to place him until…the glare in guy's face slipped into one of shock before settling back into contempt. With that slip of emotion, Klaus knew exactly why the man before him looked so familiar. He had been scowling at a picture of him earlier that morning that still hung in Caroline's bedroom before ripping it away from its place and depositing it in the waste bin, along with the rest of the rubbish where it belonged.
Standing in front of him was an annoyed looking Tyler Lockwood.
"Sorry mate. Didn't see you," Klaus said, slipping into an easy-going attitude.
Tyler's jaw ticked back and forth in consideration. Klaus knew he was trying to decide whether or not to admit that he recognized him. Although the boy had no idea about his relationship with Caroline, he still would have the advantage in announcing Klaus's identity to other citizens walking by, going about their days.
"No harm done," Tyler said, bending down to retrieve his phone off the ground, which had fallen next to Klaus's. "You're not from around here are you?"
"No," Klaus replied, "just visiting my girlfriend…wanted to surprise her with a bottle of wine and dinner." Tyler nodded. The disinterest clear on his face, but it was obvious that through years of being groomed as the mayor's son, he was unwilling to be directly impolite. Klaus was enjoying his discomfort too much to let up. "Her last boyfriend didn't do very much for her in the way of gifts and surprises."
"Nice of you," Tyler said, casting a glance to the side. Klaus knew it wouldn't mean much now, but he was sure the insult would resurface again later. "Anyways, sorry for running into you."
Tyler rushed into the store before Klaus could respond. He smirked and bent to retrieve his own phone, slipping it into his pocket.
Caroline frowned, rocking in her desk chair. She had just called Klaus and he had answered and hung up on her without saying anything. Now she was dialing him again, but his phone had gone to voicemail.
"Okay, not sure why you are being weird and not answering, but I'll be home soon. Just checking if you wanted anything for dinner, I'll grab something on the way. Call me."
With that Caroline hung up her phone and started to finish up her work for the day. She had been out of the office most of the day, overseeing the set up for the film screening that night. So far, everything was coming along according to her high standards of perfection. The weatherman had predicted rain earlier that morning, but Caroline kept a vigilant eye and there had been nary a cloud in the sky.
After returning a few of the Mayor's messages and calling April to double check that she had completed her duties, she packed up her purse and headed out for the day. She would have one short hour to run home, eat, and change into her southern belle costume before having to be at the screening.
On the way home, she stopped by The Grill and picked up her take-out order from Matt.
"You coming tonight?" Caroline asked.
Matt shook his head. "No can do. I'll be here again. Another double."
Caroline made a disgusted face. "That sucks. Why can't they hire more people? You work too much."
"I know but I need the money," Matt said, "so I assume you'll be seeing Tyler tonight."
Caroline bit her lip and nodded. It was unavoidable. Tyler would be at the event tonight as well, dressed as a confederate soldier. She knew this because she had seen his mother earlier that day when she came into the office to pick up his costume. And also overheard the argument over the phone with his father about wanting to skip it. But Richard had insisted that the people of Mystic Falls would expect them to be there as a family.
"Yeah," Caroline said, "how is he anyways?"
"Honestly?" Matt asked and Caroline nodded. He tossed aside the rag he was using to wipe the bar and leaned in to answer her, lowering his voice. Caroline, sensing the secrecy, leaned closer to him as well. "He was really upset at first. But I think he's moved on."
"You do?" Caroline asked, incredulous. It wasn't that she didn't want him to move on, but she hadn't expected him to do it so quickly. In spite of jumping into things with Klaus, she had still had her qualms about ending their relationship.
"Yeah, I caught him sneaking out of Vick's room the other night when I got home from work."
Caroline blinked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Vicki? Tyler's dating your sister?"
"I wouldn't call it dating…" Matt said trailing off. Vicki Donovan had never had the best reputation in high school, unlike Matt who was the golden boy, all-American football player. Vicki hung out with the stoners and the partiers and the class skippers. She also liked boys…a lot. A lot more than Caroline and her friends did when they were younger and a lot more often too. Caroline remembered how hard it had been for Matt in high school hearing his friends talk about his sister like that.
"Well I hope they are very happy together." It was the most diplomatic thing she could think of to say.
Matt chuckled, grabbing another beer glass and wiping it out. "Don't look so offended. It's not as if you haven't moved on already too."
"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.
Matt laughed again. "I've been waiting tables a long time Care, I know how to eavesdrop on customers, and you and Bonnie aren't as stealthy as you two think you are."
"Crap," Caroline said, now fully aware that she was busted, "Tyler doesn't know right? Or anyone else?"
"You think it would still be a secret if anyone else knew," Matt said, his brows raised over his baby blue eyes, "and no Tyler doesn't know."
"Good," Caroline said, "I want to tell him. I just want it to seem less like I rejected him for Klaus. Which I didn't!"
"Tyler will bounce back either way," Matt reassured her.
Caroline thanked him for the food and the discretion and headed out. She checked the clock in her car and realized that she had spent too much time at The Grill talking with Matt; she was really going to have to rush if she planned on making it to the event on time.
A few minutes later she quickly pulled into her driveway and threw the car in park, grabbing the take out food from the front seat and hurrying to the front door.
"Klaus!" She called out.
"In here love," she heard him say from the direction of the kitchen. She threw her purse on the table and walked toward the kitchen with her brown take out bag. Klaus stood there at her kitchen table, having created quite the set up. Fancy candles were lit on her mom's small table, plates of delicious looking Itlaian food set out, with a basket of bread and a bottle of olive oil. Klaus was in the middle of pouring the wine when she entered the room. He looked up at her and smiled.
"What's this?" She asked, feeling a bit embarrassed by the take out she was still holding onto. "You cooked?"
"No," Klaus said, "I ordered."
"From where? There aren't any Italian restaurants in Mystic Falls. Unless you count pizza."
"I can be resourceful," Klaus said as he finished pouring, "sit."
Klaus took her bag from her and put it on the kitchen counter as she sat down and grabbed the glass of wine. "I tried calling you about dinner before I left the office but you didn't answer."
"Yes well, I had a run-in with a very interesting bloke this afternoon while I was out buying the wine," Klaus said, "it seems we accidentally swapped phones."
"Interesting bloke…" Caroline's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "who?"
"Tyler Lockwood."
Caroline almost spit out her wine. "You saw Tyler? What happened? How did you know it was him?"
"The photograph on your mirror love."
"Hmm," Caroline said picking up her fork, "something tells me that if I went upstairs right now, I wouldn't find that photograph on my mirror anymore."
"I don't know what you mean…" Klaus said, diverting from the subject of the now trashed photo, "he recognized me, but didn't say anything."
"Well I'll see him tonight, I can get your phone back."
"You'll see him tonight?" Klaus's eyebrows shot up.
"He'll be at the screening," Caroline said. Klaus continued to stare at her, the way he did when he was displeased, his lips pursed together as if it was taking a great amount of effort not to verbally lash out. "Don't give me that look. He has to be there. His father is the mayor, so they all have to show up."
Caroline scarfed down her dinner and wine, much more quickly than Klaus would have liked. She didn't have a chance to take much notice of his scowling as she hurried upstairs to change into her costume. It was similar to the dress that Scarlett O'Hara had worn to the Wilkes' barbeque in Gone With the Wind. Caroline had chosen that particular costume primarily because of that fact, much to the chagrin of the other girls involved. However, she channeled Scarlett on a daily basis and was in charge of the event and therefore entitled to first pick on whatever costume she chose. There wasn't enough time to do her hair how she normally styled it for this event, so she simply rolled the sides of it back and clipped it up so it looked a bit more period to go along with the costume. With a little bit of blush and some lip-gloss she was ready to go. Glancing at her clock, if she left then, she would be right on time; which meant ten minutes early.
She walked out of her bedroom and toward the living room, where she saw Klaus standing and staring out the window with his glass of wine. It hadn't escaped her notice that Klaus never seemed interested in watching TV.
"Well," Caroline said calling his attention to her, "how do I look?"
Klaus turned toward her and she did a little spin for him, so he could get the full effect of the dress. She appreciated the way his eyes widened, and raked over her in approval. He sat the wine glass down on the coffee table and stepped toward her.
"Ravishing love," Klaus said, "I'm thinking I might not let you out of the house."
Klaus leaned down to kiss her but Caroline managed her face so he caught her cheek instead. She knew if she let him get started, she wouldn't want to stop. It had been a test to leave him in bed that morning-when he was looking all naked and delicious-and go to work. But, if she gave in now she would be late.
He dragged his lips toward her jaw, his fingers wrapping around her where her dress cinched her waist, pressing into her flesh.
"Seriously Klaus," she said pressing against his chest, trying to keep her voice even, "I'll be late."
Klaus backed away, but kept his hands on her torso, frowning at her, which made her laugh. For being an alpha male, he could be such a child sometimes. "Look, I'll leave early, at intermission. April can take over from there."
He didn't miss the catch in her voice. Caroline was a control freak and she didn't want to give up her event. But he was selfish and since she offered…
"Then I'll see you when you get home," Klaus said dropping a hot kiss to her mouth, hoping to give her a reason to rush back that much sooner.
Caroline arrived at the park and set straight to work. Families and guests had already begun laying blankets out on the lawn in anticipation for the movie to begin. Volunteers were handing out punch and popcorn and some people were taking pictures with the costumed participants. She caught a glimpse of Tyler, wearing his confederate soldier costume. He was standing near his family, smiling for a photo for the newspaper photographer. Eventually, she would have to talk to him, if for no other reason than to get Klaus's phone back. Tyler would have realized by now that the phone in his possession wasn't his, but she wondered if he had noticed her name pop up on the caller ID three times earlier that day. Her plan was to confront him, right before she left, as the movie was still playing. Then if there was any awkwardness, she would be able to leave right away.
She spared an uneasy glance at the sky. It was getting darker and a few clouds were forming overhead. The air didn't have that right before rain feeling in it and Caroline prayed that the storm would hold off and not ruin everything.
The movie started on schedule. Caroline smiled at the turnout. It was the usual crowd, with plenty of tourists. Even more out-of-towners than usual it seemed. That was good. It meant all the extra work she had done promoting the event outside of Mystic Falls had worked. It would make the Mayor and the Council happy which would hopefully mean a raise.
Caroline walked behind the crowd, watching their reactions, not paying much attention to the movie. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it a billion times and could recite it word for word.
"Hey," Tyler said walking up to her.
"Hey," she returned her eyes darting from side to side. They were far enough away from the movie audience where their conversation wouldn't be heard, as long as their voices stayed low.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah," Caroline said, "I've been busy getting back to work."
"Hope my dad isn't working you too hard."
"No he's not. It's just April. She's a little hopeless. But I'll have her in shape in no time."
Caroline smiled at him. The conversation was awkward; there was no doubt about it. Tyler had always been easy to talk to in the past, but she could tell in set of his jaw that he was trying to keep his emotions in check.
"So funny thing today," Tyler said. Caroline gulped. Oh no, here is comes, she thought. "Ran into a friend of yours."
"Oh yeah?" Caroline didn't know why she was bothering with playing dumb.
Tyler titled his head forward, looking up at her, not buying her act. "Klaus. What's he doing here?"
Caroline took a moment to consider her options. She could lie, but she knew she was horrible at it, and the longer she dragged it out the more drama that would be created in the long run. Enough time had passed where she could be honest with Tyler about what was going on without hurting him quite as badly.
"He and Elena are filming their movie here in a couple weeks," Caroline told him, "I just found out."
"So where is Elena now? Aren't they dating?"
"She'll be here next week," Caroline said, not knowing if that was true anymore. The story had holes in it, and she knew there was no way Tyler was buying it. But she was a coward and didn't want to deal with him being mad at her.
Tyler nodded, cutting a glance at the movie on screen, watching the beginning of the Yankee siege of Atlanta. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments, before Caroline couldn't take it anymore.
"I need to go check on the popcorn supply before intermission," Caroline said, walking past him.
"Were you going to tell me you cheated on me with him?"
Caroline stopped and turned back toward Tyler. She looked at the crowd, hoping that the volume of his voice hadn't turned any heads before rushing back to him. "I didn't cheat on you with Klaus," Caroline said, "nothing happened while you and I were still together."
"That's not the story I got from his phone," Tyler said slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out Klaus's cell phone. "What were my favorites? 'Sorry we never got our date in Paris...I'll make it up to you soon. London with you was magical, I'll never forget Rebekah's party. I'll never look at that chair the same way again after we…"Tyler trailed off with a short humorless laugh, "well I'm sure you remember how that one ended." Caroline felt her face flush, remembering the incredibly personal texts she and Klaus had shared after they had parted ways in Chicago. "I'm pretty sure we were still together until you rejected me in freaking Paris."
Caroline's fists clenched at her sides; indignation over-riding her embarrassment. "Excuse me, you broke up with me before that, if you want to get technical about it. You were pissed at me and acted like a child because I wasn't paying enough attention to you."
"Well apparently that was a good decision. Did you hook up with Klaus as soon as we got off the phone or did you wait a whole twenty four hours so you could feel like less of a slut for throwing yourself at the first celebrity you had your chance at?"
Her arms crossed over her chest in defense. "Speaking of sluts, how's Vickie Donovan? How long did you wait until we broke up to jump into bed with her?"
Tyler glared at her and something told Caroline that it wasn't that long of a wait between the time they had broken up and the time he started screwing around with Vickie. He threw up his hands in exasperation, before turning and walking away. Caroline watched him go, keeping her arms wrapped around herself tight. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt stupid for wanting to cry, but Tyler had been cruel. She couldn't believe he had been so mean to accuse her of cheating on him.
The tears were rising, she could feel them, and she hurried around to hide around back of the movie screen before anyone could see them fall. As the tears slipped out, Caroline realized that she had forgotten to exchange phones with him. Hopefully Klaus would understand that he would just have to buy a new one. There was no way she was attempting to speak to Tyler ever again.
"Caroline."
She turned and almost screamed in surprise, but caught herself, remembering that the movie was going on right on the other side of where she stood. Klaus was there, stepping over the large cables laying on the ground that were hooked up to generators and amps.
"Klaus," she whisper yelled at him, nearly tripping over one of the large black cables herself, "what are you doing here? Someone could see you!"
"Well I couldn't miss out on seeing you this dress," he said, "too good of any opportunity to pass up."
"I didn't know period costumes were your thing," she said with a sniffle.
Klaus stopped in front of her, his expression losing some of its mirth as he realized her cheeks were wet. "Are you crying?"
"No," she said wiping at her face. His brows shot up, indicating his skepticism. "Yes. I just—Tyler. He's being a dick. I don't know why I expected more."
"Shall I talk to him for you?"
"No," Caroline laughed placing a hand on his chest, "since I suspect any conversation between the two of you will include more punching than talking."
"I promise to be perfectly civil," Klaus replied.
"Yeah right," Caroline said, "you both have terrible tempers. Someone would end up bleeding."
"Well it wouldn't be me," Klaus assured her.
"No need to brag. I get it, you're big and tough." She poked her tongue out at him.
Klaus loomed over her, his eye contact and stance asserting a sexy type of male dominance that made her shiver and bite her lip. "I don't like being mocked love. Perhaps I should have a talk with you as well."
His hands ran over her fake corset lighting a fire in her stomach. His palms slid around her waist and he pulled her against him. "Again…I don't think there would be much talking."
Klaus didn't respond, instead lowering his mouth to hers. Her hands slid around the back of his neck and through his curls, her lips parting to let him deepen the kiss. Caroline felt like she was living every Scarlett O'Hara fantasy she'd ever had, wearing her costume as Klaus kissed her. Her heart pounded beneath her pushed up breasts as he backed her up, his hands fisting at the top of her skirts. Caroline was about to separate herself and let him know that it wasn't a good time for a quickie, what with their unfortunate location and her gargantuan ball gown and all, when several terrible things happened all at once.
As her dress brushed against the back of the screen, her mouth parting from his, as her footsteps became tangled in her skirts. She tried to correct her balance, but instead tripped over a group of wires. Klaus's hands shot out and he stepped forward in attempt to catch her, but tripped over the same wires, tumbling into her.
Caroline went down, Klaus following her and landing on top of her. She landed with a loud grunt and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that was a weird movie glitch and not a loud tearing sound she heard as she fell. The pain of the fall and Klaus's weight on top of her took a backseat to everything else.
One eye opened and then the other. Her head tilted back to see the entire Gone with the Wind audience staring at them, their mouths hanging open in surprised. She looked up, over Klaus's shoulder to see a giant rip in the screen where she and Klaus had fallen through.
The movie was still playing, and Scarlett announced that she would never go hungry again, but no one was pay attention to the iconic scene. Instead they were all gaping at the compromised couple laying on the ground in front of them.
"Is that Niklaus Mikaelson?" She heard someone ask. Her had went to her face, wishing she could hide.
"Holy crap! It is!"
Shit, she thought.
The secret was out.
As if it couldn't get any worse, at that exact moment the clouds opened up and it began to rain.
OH no! They've been caught! But maybe not? I don't know! Crazy!
I hate writing Tyler as a completely dick, and I'm nervous that's how he comes off sometimes, especially in this one. But the way I see Tyler's character is that he's always a dick about things right away until he has a chance to calm down.
Also, writing Klaus in a grocery store made me cringe haha I couldn't imagine him doing normal people things, so I added some humor in Elijah's reaction to him being out.
And just so you know, Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite films ever. So yeah.
Let me know what you think!
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