"I hate this. This class will be the death of my sanity." Bonnie smacked her head against the table.
"But you're good at it."
"That doesn't mean she has to defer to me every single time." I laughed at her woes. She wasn't even exaggerating. Whenever Smith had a question or a point she wanted to make she deferred to Bonnie to answer it or explain the concepts. It had gotten to the point where I joked with Bonnie about skipping and she actually considered it for a moment. "She could at least ask someone else, just once."
"You're asking way too much of her. Who's she gonna ask, Klaus?" We dissolve into a fit of giggles. Ever since the incident last week with the bourbon and the threatening Smith had hardly looked in his direction, much less made him answer questions in class. The stupid jerk just got away with bossing his teachers around, god knows why.
"Yeah right. If anything could you ask him to tell her to lay off?" She dragged her head from the table and took a dainty sip of her drink. We were sitting in the courtyard before Politics, taking our time with our white chocolate lattes to avoid going to class for as long as we could. The later Bonnie and I arrived, the less torture we each had to endure. She had to avoid being cast as an unwilling teachers pet and I had to avoid Klaus' flirtatiousness. Even so, we were never more than 5 to 10 minutes late at a time.
It had been a week and my shiny new toy status is definitely dulled down but Klaus was nothing if not persistent. He made a point to sit by my side in our classes together, to forget his textbook when I finally got mine, and just be outright lewd. His attempts to seduce me were honestly laughable.
Speak of the devil, Lexi glared at something over my shoulder, jerking her head in a vague direction where she spotted him. She got up and bid us farewell, not willing to be as late to psych as we were going to be to politics. I didn't bother to look over to where she said he was. I had classes with him. I'd see him more than I wanted to already. I didn't need my break time to be invaded by Klaus as well. Besides he'd seemed super cranky in English earlier.
A few minutes later we gathered up our stuff and got up to go to class. It seemed like we got up just in time to miss the light drizzle that would surely get heavier later. I had adjusted to England just fine. The shops were lovely, the food was edible, and the people were nice but the one thing I don't think I'll ever be okay with is the shitty weather. It was anything but glamorous.
Bonnie and I sat in our usual desk, the one closest to the front, mostly because it was the only on left by the time we generally got to class. Smith gave us a quick glare but kept up whatever monologue she'd entered into. Apparently she was going to give us a certain degree of autonomy for the day. We had to profile any government official of our choice then present it at the end of class.
"I am going to pick your partners and I am inclined to pair my more diligent students with my lesser motivated ones." Everyone groaned as she began to rattle off names. I idly wondered if she found our despair fun. Surely it would be her only source of fun. She was a politics professor for god sake, politicians or rather people interested in politics are never inclined to have fun. "Ms. Bennett, my apologies, you'll be working with Mr. Mikaelson. Ms. Forbes you're paired with Mr. Lockwood."
I shot Bonnie a look of despair. While this Sixth Form was nothing like clique-y high schools back home, Tyler Lockwood defied all of that. He was the most stereotypical jock I had ever met. He was a meathead douchebag with a penchant for inappropriate humor. Not that anyone deserved to have a shattered bottle of liquor geld against their throat, but I could understand Klaus' loss of temper with him. Bon didn't have it any easier. Odds are she'd end up doing all the work, poor thing.
I gathered up my stuff and moved to where Tyler was sitting. He had this ridiculous grin on his face. He was obviously enjoying this. If he thought this would be all on me he was wrong or that this was an opportunity to flirt with me he was wrong. I was not going to be a willing participant in his stupidity. I was about to suggest we get this over with when Klaus came to stand next to Tyler telling him to move. His voice was deadpan and his face was stony. He clearly wasn't in the mood for anyone to push any of his buttons today. Either Tyler caught that or he was still reeling from his last Mikaelson encounter because he just got up without a word and went over to Bonnie. She looked vaguely surprised but went along with it, regardless. Klaus collapsed into the seat beside me without a word. It was uncharacteristic to say the least.
"You look like shit." I wanted to see if I could get a rise out of him. Normally by now he would have tried a line or given a wink or something. I wasn't used to him being so quiet. He was practically acting like a normal human being.
"Pardon my haggard appearance, love, I was entertaining twins last night. Savannah's stamina was only rivaled by Svetlana's agility. Both were fairly flexible." I curled my lip in disgust. Disgusting. He couldn't have just said 'I was up late' and left it at that? Klaus glanced at me sideways. "I was joking. I've just had an incredibly tiring day. But I do adore your concern."
"Lucky Savannah and Svetlana, dodging the bullet of your company. And I wouldn't say telling you that you look like shit is showing concern."
"Oh, no, the twins weren't the joke." He shot me a cheeky grin.
I scoffed at him and insisted we get on with the project. Perhaps if we got through it quickly enough it could put him off talking, or thinking, about his conquests. I began to rattle off the names of politicians I knew that wouldn't be exceedingly difficult to profile, but it was no use. I wasn't from here, this would probably be a lot easier if Klaus fucking helped. I took a deep breath to calm myself. If he wasn't going to help I wasn't going to do shit. Then we'd both fail.
"Don't make me smack you upside the head. Put in some effort here!"
"I assure you, darling, I like it rough. Besides what's in it for me?" I thought about it for a minute. A good grade would definitely not entice him to help. I think I know what would though. I reached into the back of my mind and pulled out old Caroline. I could take her for a tiny spin without getting too carried away. I was settling into my new routine quite nicely. She was better left back home where she belonged, but she was still useful if I happened to need something, like now.
"You help, I'll kiss you." I can tell I've finally caught his full attention. He'd put down his phone and was now staring me down.
"How much?" I don't miss a beat.
"Depends on how much of the project you're willing to do." The second the words come out of my big mouth I regret everything. I roughly shove old Caroline back in the box in the back of my mind and pray Klaus didn't get any wrong ideas. For all I knew he'd do the whole damn project. Then what? I shook off my apprehension. No. This was all just harmless fun, I was overreacting. Klaus could be a perfect gentlemen when the mood struck him. I had no doubt he'd behave when the time came for me to hold up my end of this silly little deal. Sadly the fact that he was grinning to himself like a cheshire cat and had returned to playing with his phone told me otherwise.
Twenty minutes later Kol barged in the class, completely ignoring Smith's protests. She demanded to know why he was interrupting but he shot her a look and she shut right up. Kol came straight over to us and slapped a spiral notebook on the table. Klaus thanked him with a smile as he slid the book over to me. When the time came to do presentations Klaus shook his head no, telling her we would go last. She didn't argue. Klaus' hold over this teacher, whatever it was, was strong. I don't know why he didn't just tell her that he wasn't going to do the project. I doubt she would have said anything other than okay. Pathetic.
After we finally did give our presentation, which I had to admit was pretty good, Smith showered us, mainly him, with praise. For her praise meant not nitpicking every single thing that was wrong with it and assuring us that we got full credit. i was tempted to tell her it wasn't ours and that Klaus had to be bribed with a kiss to participate but it wouldn't do me any good. She'd probably revoke the grade or reprimand me for solicitation.
Klaus and I left the classroom immediately following the presentation. He's got a really irritating shit eating grin too. I want nothing more than to slap it right off his smug face but settle instead for kicking him in the shin. I expected him to grip his leg or at least cry out but he just hooks his leg around mine, tangling me up so that I trip. I brace myself for the fall, thinking I'd land flat on my butt, except Klaus shoots his arm out to catch me.
"Now what was that for, sweetheart? I got the project done." He looked so amused and that just made me even more frustrated. He was right, he got the project done. He didn't do it, but he got it done. We aced it. I had no right to be as annoyed as I was. Suddenly Bonnie came out of the classroom, putting something neatly in her folder.
"Hey, Care, do you wanna—" Bonnie stopped short when her eyes landed on the two of us. "What're you doing"
Klaus' arm that had for some odd reason still been around my waist smoothly slithered away and he shoved his hand in his pocket. Bonnie still caught it though. Klaus smiled down at her sweetly greeting her as Bon Bon. She stared between the two of us for a second before shaking her head and walking away. I'd catch up with her later, or text her later, to explain. She probably just wanted to grab a bite to eat after classes were done or go shopping or something. Klaus returned his attention to me. He slowly getting closer and closer like a predator stalking its prey. He was about to lean in when his phone began blaring a rather annoying tune. He smashed his fist against the wall. I couldn't help but smile as he answered it. We'd been interrupted twice already. It was a sign that the universe seriously didn't want us to do anything.
"It's not her fault, you fucking—no. I said no, just stay there." He cussed under his breath and slid the phone back in his pocket when he was done berating the person on the other end. He kissed the back of my hand just like he had before. "I've got things to take care of. Don't worry, I'll collect my kiss before the day is done."
Just like that he left the building. I didn't bother mentioning that we had math next. He probably had that professor wrapped around his finger too. Whatever. At least I didn't have to share a book with him and suffer through him being unnecessarily close to me and 'accidentally' bumping his thigh against mine under the table. He was always super warm and smelled vaguely like vanilla. Anyway I guess he had the right idea skipping out on math. We had an extremely hard pop quiz and a huge packet he made due at the end of the week.
I left class with a desperate desire to just go home, pour myself the worlds largest glass of wine, and run myself a bubble bath. I'd just gotten a huge haul from lush and was suddenly very eager to make a dent in it. Just as I remembered I had to text Bonnie to see what she had wanted after class someone reached out and grabbed my hand. Next thing I know I'm pressed flush against Klaus and his hands on the small of my back are keeping me steady. When he saw that I wasn't trying to weasel out of his grip, I was caught off guard and still recovering from the shock, he moved his hands from my back to my hips and smirked down at me.
"Told you I'd come back to collect my reward."
I pulled myself away from him abruptly. He had said something to that effect. I furrowed my brow and sized him up. Fine, I had promised him a kiss in exchange for his compliance with classwork. Fine. I gripped his shirt in my hands and jerked him closer to me so that our bodies were once more pressed against each other. I tangled my hand in his curls and brought our lips together, possibly a little too forcefully. Klaus' response was immediate, he took control of the kiss, or at least attempted to. He swiped his tongue across my bottom lip asking for entrance but I was relentless and didn't budge. I got a kick out of teasing him and smiled briefly but he didn't seem to like my refusing to submit. He pressed me against the wall and growled a little, nipping my lip as he did. Finally I cut him some slack and opened my mouth for him to explore. I don't think I'll ever admit it but I let him take control of it after that partially because I was getting a little dizzy and partially because I wanted to know what he tasted like (chocolate by the way).
I felt Klaus start to deepen the kiss and took the opportunity to pull away. He grunted his disapproval but let me go all the same. I readjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and wiped my mouth of with the back of my hand rather dramatically. I was trying to get the point across that all of that was trivial. It meant nothing. A simple fulfillment of a deal struck, a simple slip between old Caroline and new Caroline. God forbid he takes this as a stamp of approval on his pursuit of me. He could take this as a win, check the little box next to my name on his list of conquests and move on, like I would.
"Looks like you may need a cold shower." I took in his appearance. He was glaring at me with this dazed expression on his face, and panting rather heavily. "Or two."
When I got home there was a note on the island from Stefan saying he got called in for a meeting. I didn't mind much. I'd expected this from the beginning really. Stefan was sure to be available for me during my adjustment period, that was all I could have asked for really. He still had an important job and semi-important photo shoots to attend to. As a grown, presumably attractive single male he shouldn't have to stay home to babysit his little sister.
I needed some relaxing me time anyway. I raided Stefan's glass liquor cabinet in the hopes of finding a nice harlan estate merlot. Sadly all he seemed to have was vodka, whiskey, and champagne. I took the champagne and shoved it in a bucket of ice pending me running my bath. New Caroline wasn't as fond of vodka as old Caroline was and if Stefan came home and found out that I'd drowned out my day in whiskey he'd flip a shit. At the risk of sounding far too New York for my own good in addition to purchasing a fuckton of lush items I'd also treated myself to some ladurée macarons, 30 of my favorite flavors all wrapped up in an incredibly cute box. I was in for an insanely good treat. With champagne, macarons, a lush bubble bath, and some music literally nothing could spoil my mood.