Previously on ATCL: "Bon? Yes, it's Care. Listen... Yes, I'm alive. Look, I have a huge favor to ask of you..."
Caroline paced the airport, checking the screens every few minutes to see if the flight was on time. When she had called her best friend asking if she could drop everything and come to New Orleans, she hadn't actually thought Bonnie would literally drop everything and catch a flight, but that is what she did. From her friend's tone on the phone, it seemed that she needed a break from everything in Mystic Falls. Everyone needed a break from that town, really. There were too many memories there and not all of them good.
So here she was, just over twenty-four hours after she called Bonnie, waiting for the flight to land. Caroline had missed her best friends more than she let on. Rebekah and Katherine were great, and they were quickly becoming good friends, but they could never replace Bonnie and Elena. Those two were her sisters, and nothing could come between that. Caroline checked the flight information screen again, and her undead heart jumped. Bonnie had landed. Now it was time to face the music, and see if her friend was going to hate her for this.
A few minutes later, the familiar face of her best friend appeared, and Caroline smiled as she rushed over and hugged the girl. "Bonnie!" She squealed. "Ohmygod you cut your hair! It's so cute! How was the flight? Are you tired? Wait, can you even get tired?" She babbled happily.
"Take a breath, Care. The flight was fine." Bonnie laughed. "I'm glad you like the hair. I decided to be spontaneous and just chop it all off."
"Well I think it's adorable. You have my approval." The blonde girl teased. "How did you get here so fast? I had thought it would have taken you a couple days to get flights."
"Surprisingly, Damon is the reason." Bonnie said. Caroline scoffed, and she nodded in agreement. "I know, right? Anyways, Elena and I went to the Boarding House over the weekend, and we were right in the middle of lunch when you called, and ever since you pulled your crazy disappearing act," here Bonnie fixed Caroline with a disapproving look "everyone's been wondering how you're doing."
"So now everyone knows about what's going on down here?" Caroline looked worried. "That's not exactly what I wanted."
"Only Elena knows the full story. I gave the guys an abbreviated version considering they aren't exactly big Katherine fans." She shrugged as they picked up her luggage and headed to Caroline's car. "Anyways, there weren't any more direct flights for another week, and the connecting ones had me stopping at like three airports with a ton of layovers, so Damon called in a few favors and got me a spot on an early flight through Atlanta."
"Look at Damon, doing something right for once." Caroline snickered. Then her heart dropped. They knew what was going on now, back home, and who knew what their reactions were? Was she hated now? God. This was a mess. "Bon… Do you want to grab a coffee? We've got a lot to talk about."
"I was just about to suggest the same thing." She smiled.
Fifteen minutes and one tiny coffee shop on the outskirts of the city later, the two friends were sitting across from each other, miles apart. "How… How did they all take it?" Caroline sighed. "Do they all hate me now? I mean, I ran off two nights after you came back to life for god's sake with Katherine of all people to New Orleans where Big Bad Klaus & Co. live!"
Bonnie stared at her cup, playing with the straw. "They don't…hate you, per se. But Care, you didn't even leave a note! You were missing for almost a full day… Your mom was ready to send out a search party. And then all we got was a short voicemail where you basically told us that you were alive! The only reason we even knew where you were is because Stefan identified Klaus in the background! Everyone was really scared, okay?"
She ran a hand through her hair. "I know, Bon. I know. I didn't want anyone to come after me, though. It felt right, to get away from home. New Orleans is… I can't even explain it." Caroline smiled, as if in a daydream. "The city is beautiful and so full of life. And I've been meeting people. There was this gala that we all went to and a ton of really old vampires were there, and I wasn't just Caroline Forbes anymore, you know? I wasn't held to the standards of my past, and instead was allowed to make a name for myself that didn't rely upon my great-times-whatever grandfather signing a document that formed a town." She took a sip out of her double espresso with a shot of mocha and extra caffeine. "Everything is just so different here." She shrugged.
"You're happy." Bonnie smiled softly. Needless to say, it was surprising. Caroline was living in a house with a group of people that she had once professed to hate, and she seemed to be glowing. Whether it was the city, or even Klaus himself, something had happened to her best friend in the week that she had been down here, and it seemed to be for the better.
"I am." Caroline laughed. "I really am. For the first time in a while, actually." She sighed. "It's not to say that everything's peaches and cream, but really, it's been wonderful. You're probably going to die again because of this," The dark-skinned girl gave her a mock-affronted look "but I'm actually becoming friends with Rebekah and Katherine."
"No!" Caroline couldn't tell whether or not her friend was teasing or being serious, but she went with the former.
"I am! Not even kidding!" She giggled. "We went shopping for the gala and then had an epic girl's night and really they're quite fun!"
"Oh." Bonnie remembered. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but have you heard from Tyler lately? Matt was wondering if he had called you since you two broke up, and he wasn't answering his phone." Caroline's face dropped. "I guess that means yes."
"It's more like he's working with Marcel—you know, Klaus's enemy that I told you about—and we fought at the gala which was hosted by Marcel; anyways, he basically called me a whore and accused me of cheating on him with Klaus back home. Oh, and apparently I've betrayed you all." The blonde ranted. She looked at Bonnie's wide-eyed expression and sighed. "Sorry. I'm trying to get over it."
"No, no, it's okay. I'm just surprised that Tyler said that."
"Well I'm not. But anyways, you might see him around the city, so it's probably good that you know." Caroline huffed angrily, pushing a curl behind her ear. "Anyways, Klaus," She smiled slightly, remembering the insolent hybrid who had been just so damn sexy that evening "had impeccable timing and managed to get me away before things got any more heated and we disrupted the party." She avoided Bonnie's gaze, staring at the table.
"Care…" Bonnie started, knowing that look.
"What?" The aforementioned snapped. She was more than aware of where this was going.
"Care, do you… You know, like him?"
"Bon, honestly, why on earth would y—"
"Caroline, cut it out." Bonnie said sharply. "I can tell when you're hiding something. Now, it's a yes or no question. Do you have feelings for Klaus or not?" Caroline, of course, did the unexpected thing and burst into tears. She sighed and grasped her crying friend's hand. "Go on… Let it all out."
"I don't want to feel this way, okay?" The vampire sobbed. "I mean… He's done a lot of terrible things. Like, really, really, shitty stuff, and he's killed a lot of people and just, god, I never asked for this!" She dabbed at her face, trying not to smear her makeup as she calmed down. "But then he draws me ponies and talks about hummingbirds and his feelings and he's genuinely interested in me and my hopes and dreams, and somehow or another, I'm not afraid of him even when like… I really should be, you know? And I really, really like him, Bon. Hell, I may even be in love with him." Caroline sniffled, nibbling on her half-eaten cinnamon scone for comfort. "Does that make me a bad person?"
Bonnie just sat stunned as her best friend let it all out. They had always known that Klaus had a thing for Caroline, and to be honest, Bonnie had felt that the feelings were not completely unrequited, but in love with Klaus? That was a lot to take in. "Are you sure? You aren't just rebounding from Tyler, right?"
"I hooked up with Jesse the Sexy TA at Whitmore. I've done the rebound thing." She retorted dryly. "This is different. He's been on my mind for a while, but I don't think I ever really like acknowledged what I felt until I was around him 24/7." Caroline sighed. "He's not the monster around me. And this isn't because I like… Want to save him or anything. It's because he's fun and romantic and he gets on my nerves like every minute of the day but that just makes me like him even more, and I really didn't want this, Bon. You're got to believe me. But it happened."
Bonnie played with the hem of her shirt, trying to figure out how to respond. Clearly Caroline had been holding all of this in for a long time, and it wasn't time to judge right now. Not when if, god forbid, anything between Care and Klaus did happen, the backlash from everyone back home wouldn't be the greatest. No, it was time to be a friend. "Well," She sighed "other than the speech that I should be giving you on the evils of Klaus,"
"Tyler gave me that one, so you really don't have to bother." Caroline interjected, attempting a smile.
"You could never be a bad person, Care, okay? Ever. I just think this is something that you need to figure out slowly. Klaus is a scary guy. And I don't think anyone should get involved with him, but at the same time, I want to see you happy. So just… Make sure that you're one hundred percent sure that he's it for you before going into anything. I don't want you to get hurt, especially when it comes to that man." She fixed her friend with a look. "I still don't think it's a good idea, though."
"I won't be rushing into anything." Caroline wiped away the last remnants of tears. "I know better than that."
"Good." Bonnie smiled.
Caroline ran a hand through her hair, calming down from the emotional conversation. "Anyways, here we are and all we've really talked about is me. Please, vent all you like because you've totally earned it after that cry-fest!" The blonde giggled. "Oh, how are you and Jeremy? Anything I should know about?" She winked.
"Caroline!" Bonnie gasped. "I just came back to life! We haven't exactly made time to like… Fall into bed!"
"Which is exactly why you should have! You've been going without on the Other Side. That's nothing that a good night with the boyfriend can't cure!"
"You are ridiculous." Bonnie shook her head, having missed her friend's antics. "Anyways, Jeremy and I haven't exactly defined what we are. I've been busy with college and adjusting to life again, and while we've made out a few times, we never really had the talk, you know? I mean, last time we dated, he cheated on me with his ghostly ex-girlfriend. I need to be sure he won't do that again."
"I agree. You two need to be careful and not repeat mistakes."
"I'm glad we agree." Bonnie smiled, and they went back to their drinks and idle chatter.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Hello? I saw the cars so I know you all are home!" Caroline yelled as she and Bonnie walked in the manor. The newcomer was looking around, eyes wide at the grandiose of the house. "It's a pretty house, isn't it?" The former smiled. "It was built back in the 1800's or so."
"Actually, make that the 1730's, love. This house was built for the governor of the New Orleans settlement around ten years after the colony was legalized in 1718." Klaus swaggered down the stairs, smirking at the glare that Bonnie sent his way. "Little witch."
"Klaus." She nodded curtly. "And you can call me the anchor, now. Not so much a witch, anymore."
"How devastating." He shot back.
"Can you two play nice please?" Caroline sighed. "We're all adults."
"Who's here?" A voice sounded from upstairs and someone leaned over the banister. "Another one of them? What is this, invasion of the Scooby Gang?" And the head popped back to where it had come from.
"Who's that?" The brunette was vaguely familiar to Bonnie, but she couldn't quite place her.
Caroline arched an eyebrow. "That's Hayley. Friend of Tyler's. She was working with Shane to release Silas and is the indirect cause of the second sacrifice." At Bonnie's confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Klaus knocked her up. That's why she's here."
"Is that even possible?"
"Clearly so." Klaus intoned.
"You forgot to mention her in your phone call, Care." Bonnie smirked at the glare her best friend was shooting upstairs.
"That's because I try to forget she even exists." Caroline smirked. "Now, because I really don't feel like talking about the wolf right now and I hear everyone in the parlor, we're going to go there." She headed in that direction, the thought of Hayley and Klaus together putting a bad taste in her mouth. Bonnie decided to take the more polite route and simply avoid talking to the hybrid, and followed after her best friend, the man trailing in her footsteps.
A short time later, the entire group was settled in various chairs, talking. Bonnie was getting acclimated to the atmosphere in the manor. The dynamics had shifted from how everything was in Mystic Falls; the lines between good and bad were blurred. It was different, seeing everyone in an unknown element. Engaged in a conversation with Elijah about the Other Side, she suddenly shrieked at the whisper in her ear. Whirling around to face the intruder, she scowled.
"You." Of course it was him. Of course.
"Miss me, darling?" He asked, that damn grin plastered on his face.
"Bon…" Caroline asked, and she sighed. Everyone in the room was looking at her now. "What was that?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I'm the anchor now, Care. I can see and touch and talk to everyone on the Other Side. And a certain dead person won't leave me alone." The last part she directed at the person who had been behind her, her tone full of malice.
"Oh please, you enjoy my attentions." He said, causing her to roll her eyes.
"You wish." Bonnie glared at an empty chair near Elijah's.
"Oh my god" Rebekah gasped. "It's Kol, isn't it? He's here." At her female friend's looks, she rolled her eyes. "There's only one person that I know is able to fully irritate a woman as much as Bonnie currently is, and that's my charming brother. It's him."
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" The dead Original laughed. "The strumpet wins the prize!"
"Yes, he's here." Bonnie groaned. "Your lovely brother and I met up a few times when I was dead. He seems to enjoy stalking me even now."
Caroline couldn't help but notice the hopeful looks on the Mikaelsons' faces. They could sort of talk to their brother again, and that could be really great. Hypothetically. It was Kol, after all…
"I only met up with you because my family is dreadfully boring, dear, and if I hung around this house all day, I would have perished from their mind-numbing antics." Kol arched an eyebrow. "Tell Klaus that he picked a horrible woman to knock up and that he should have found someone sexier. I find his taste in women poor."
Bonnie crossed her arms. "You're insufferable." He gave her a wounded look.
"What did he say now?" Klaus asked.
"He disapproves of Hayley, and you've got poor taste in women." She abbreviated. "Oh, and all of you are boring enough to make him want to die. Again."
"Please Kol, tell us how you really feel." Klaus rolled his eyes.
"Kol!" She sounded mortally offended. "No. I refuse to say that."
"But darling, it'll be amusing."
"I think that statement would be illegal for anyone under eighteen to hear! I refuse to repeat it." Of course, now everyone's curiosity was peaked, but Bonnie remained adamant.
"But Bunny, dear..."
"Whining is unattractive in grown men, Kol." She huffed. "I'm not suggesting that. Give up. And my name is not Bunny!"
"When it comes to you, Bunny, never." He smirked.
"Come on Bon, what did he say?" Caroline persisted, hoping to draw it out.
Bonnie fixed her with a cold look. "Would you like to hear the Original Jackass's detailed plans for something that would put the time us and Elena discovered and read half of the 'mommy porn' section of the bookstore to shame, or it just me who would like to censor him?"
Caroline flushed bright red, attempting to ignore Klaus's intrigued look. "Never mind. Don't say anything."
"Forbes, I am shocked!" Katherine laughed. "I thought you were always Little Miss Perfect, but here we are, and the truth is revealed!"
"We were eleven, and the covers looked romantic! It's not my fault that the descriptions were misleading." She pouted, and Rebekah laughed. "Anyways, Mrs. Gilbert eventually found one of the books underneath Elena's bed and we never saw those books again."
"But not before you had some…fun with them, right?" Katherine's eyes glinted, winking.
"We were eleven!" Caroline shrieked, blushing even more. "Eleven! We hadn't even been through fifth grade health yet! There was no fun going on! It was more like we were traumatized for life because of those trashy novels!"
"They make you take a class for…that stuff?" Rebekah interjected.
"It's terrible." The youngest vampire said gravely. "I think it was as scarring as the novels. I'll need therapy because of that class."
"Stop being such a pervert, Kol." Bonnie held steadfast against his attempts to get her to relay messages. "It's another thing that I find extremely irritating."
"You just need to loosen up, darling. Have some fun." He cocked his head.
"Or I could stay perfectly normal and far, far away from your definition of fun. I think that sounds like a much better idea." She retorted.
"Kol, leave the poor girl alone." Elijah cut in, overseeing the ongoing conversations in the room.
The youngest brother huffed and replied, causing her to laugh. Bonnie turned back to Elijah. "He says that he'll stop whenever you…" here she refocused on Kol "Ah. That's right. Whenever you 'do us all a favor and go catch that pain in the ass woman. She loosens you up enough to make you tolerable." At Elijah's offended expression—and Katherine's smug look, whatever that was about—she snickered. "Kol's words, not mine." Just then, Bonnie's eyes strayed to the far corner of the room where a young girl had just appeared. She made a show of digging out her phone and checking it, before standing up. "Excuse me… I should take this." Bonnie walked out, her face turning pale as she passed the ghost who followed her out of the room.
Caroline's eyes trailed her best friend, scrutinizing her movements. Something was up with that girl. Bonnie had never been a great actress, but that had to be one of her worst attempts at lying yet. She was going to find out what it was if she had to compel it out of Bonnie herself.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Kol followed the former witch out of his family's manor and into the woods. He had seen the little girl show up, he'd even asked Bonnie about it, but she had just ignored him and left.
"Leave me alone, Kol!" She shouted, picking up on his presence.
"Not until I find out why the kid's here." They stopped and he stood in front of her, arms crossed.
She just rolled her eyes and turned around, getting down to the girl's level. The child appeared to be about the age of seven or eight, and from he could tell, was chattering on to Bonnie in Mandarin. "I see." The anchor nodded. "I'm sorry that happened. You're very young to cross over." Bonnie smiled softly and wiped away the little girl's tears. "I was a witch too, you know?" The child looked up and smiled, her grin missing baby teeth. "It'll be safe, where you're going. I promise. All you have to do is walk through me, and you'll be in a happier place." The lady stood, smiled reassuringly at the young ghost, and took a deep breath.
Kol watched as the little Asian girl calmly stepped through Bonnie and disappeared. For a split second it seemed anticlimactic, but then the anchor broke into gut-wrenching screams, her legs giving out. He swooped in and kept her from falling to the ground; she was sobbing from the pain. Eventually she calmed down and straightened up, taking a step back before brushing herself off.
"What the hell was that, Bonnie?" Kol's voice was calm but firm. He was going to get answers, because that was the exact opposite of enjoyable.
She sighed and made eye contact, hands still trembling. "I'm the anchor, Kol. To get to the Other Side, all the dead supernatural must pass through me. And when they do that, I…feel their deaths. Their pain becomes mine." Bonnie shrugged. "It's only happened a couple of times since I was brought back. Sometimes it isn't bad… There was an old werewolf who died in her sleep a few days ago. I just got really drowsy, then." She looked at the ground, avoiding his shocked expression. "The little girl told me that she had found her mother's grimoire, and was trying to do magic. It was just too much, I suppose."
"And you felt her death." He deadpanned. "A very painful one, I see."
"Yes." She agreed, on both counts. "But it's my life, from now on. I chose to become the anchor, even if I didn't know what it entailed. This is my duty."
"I can't imagine that you're excited to experience pain for the rest of your existence." Kol said. He certainly wouldn't be. That looked…miserable.
"I'm not." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "But it is how it is. And I'll deal with it. Besides, I get to see my friends now. I don't have to worry about dying on them. The pros outweigh the cons, I guess. I'll be okay."
"If you say so." Kol backed off, as he could see she was closing up. They started walking back to the manor.
"You know," Bonnie smiled and bumped his shoulder "you aren't half bad when you're not like…killing people or making ridiculously perverted comments."
He laughed. "You secretly like my comments, Bennett."
"Just keep telling yourself that." She smirked. "After all, it's not like your ego can really inflate that much more."
"Keep living in denial, darling, but I am irresistible, and you know it." Kol winked.
AN: Yes, I know, there wasn't any Klaroline or Kalijah in this chapter. Please don't shoot me. *ducks behind buttleproof glass* But don't you loves worry, this story picks up next chapter after a massive time jump, and our favorite couples are significantly farther ahead in their relationships! Which means more lovey-dovey scenes, and more heated ones like in last chapter. I mean, who enjoyed the ridiculously turned-on Elijah in those Kalijah scenes last chapter? I know I certainly did...
And yes, if it isn't blatantly obvious, Kennett's going to be a thing. I haven't decided how exactly to progress them yet, but they're going to move a bit faster than Klaroline or Kalijah. I mean... Jeremy Gilbert isn't the most interesting person in the world (only in my opinion, so again, please don't shoot. I do love both Gilberts like a ton), and Bon-Bon did a bit of Other Side exploring in this storyverse. Ergo, Kol and Bonnie have a bit of foundation for their ship.
Oh, I got the Bunny nickname from another story... I can't remember which one. But anyways, it's totally something Kol would say, so it's in. He's slowly becoming my most enjoyable character to write; he's just so damn pervy and snarky.
This was a big chapter for Caroline, I suppose. She's finally admitted to herself what she feels for Klaus, and she's gotten a bit of emotional support from one of her most trusted friends. It's good for her to have that, I think, and Bonnie can always be counted upon to be realistic and practical.
Anyways, I hoped you loved the Bonnie and Kol as much as I did! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
-Abi