Hi, guys! Ya'll have been really sweet with the reviews, so thank you so much for that, especially to BehindTheSmiles who left me a really helpful review! I know at least two people wanted Klaus' article to be about Logan escaping, and I never really considered doing that, but I'll definitely take it into consideration! Only one person said they thought the story was moving too fast, so I'm assuming ya'll are okay with it. Hope you enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom!
Caroline knew there would be a few days here and there where she dreaded having to go to work. However, she figured it would be because she didn't get enough sleep the night before or because she had to give some kind of presentation; not because she had almost made out with her coworker the day before.
After she'd fled the locker room yesterday, she had taken to hiding in the bathroom until lunch was over, just to make sure he had no other reason to come to the Lifestyle department. She had put his shirt on, noticing that even after being in his locker for who knows how long, it still had that musky masculine he wore so well. She tucked it into her pants to make it look more fitted and headed back to her desk to finish her shift. She had luckily been able to avoid him for the rest of the day, but she doubted she would get that lucky today.
Walking into work, she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard her name being called out.
"Whoa, sorry, didn't mean to scare you" Rebekah said while chuckling. "Finn's called an emergency meeting and need us both in the conference room right away." Nodding her head, Caroline followed Rebekah down the hall.
"What do you think it's about?" Caroline asked curiously.
"No idea. He's never called one before as long as I've worked here. Maybe Kol finally got offered a real writing job?" she guessed half-heartedly.
"He didn't call one for me when I got hired. Not saying I'm better than Kol, but that doesn't sound like a good enough reason to call an emergency meeting."
Rebekah shrugged her shoulders and said "guess we'll find out soon enough. Although it must be big, considering he basically shut down the paper to have the meeting. Finn's a complete workaholic, the one thing he inherited from our father. Although it seems that's the only thing any of us acquired from him."
Caroline caught the bitter-slash-relieved tone Rebekah had. "You say that like it's a good thing."
Rebekah's walk slowed until she came to a complete stop. Hesitantly, she said "my father never earned a daddy-of-the-year, Caroline." She picked up on the past tense Rebekah used. "He was hardly ever home and when he was, it was never a happy time for any of us. He'd come home complaining about some imbecile who worked for him, dinner not being on the table, or something as small as the remote control not being where he left it. My mother was constantly on the opposite end of his anger for almost my entire life."
Caroline fidgeted slightly, not wanting to press her on the subject. Curiosity got the better of her, however, and she asked bashfully "almost?"
Sighing heavily, Rebekah looked directly into Caroline's eyes. "My father was the editor of London's The Daily Telegraph. Finn and Elijah had begun interning there after they'd both finished with school, while Nik, Kol, and I were still in high school. Mikael hadn't come in for work that morning, which had never happened in the fifteen years I'd been on this earth. Finn and Elijah came and picked the three of us from school and we all headed home. We stepped inside to find the house completely silent, aside from a constant banging noise coming from inside the kitchen. When we stepped into the room, we saw our mother stabbing my father in the chest."
Caroline didn't know what to say, half of her not wanting to hear the rest of the story and the other part wanting nothing more than for her to continue. And continue she did.
"After we all broke out of our spells, Finn took the knife from her while Elijah pulled her off of him. We distinctly heard the sirens in the background getting closer and closer, the doing of our neighbors reporting a disturbance from within our home. All of us, including our lawyer, tried to convince her to say it was self-defense, but she wouldn't say anything then and to this day hasn't said anything. She was ruled mentally unstable and sent to Bethlem Royal Hospital."
Caroline just stood there staring at her, shocked that Rebekah had just unloaded all of that on her. "I'm so sorry, Rebekah" was all she could muster up and it didn't seem near enough.
Rebekah shrugged. "Don't be. It was only a matter of time before Esther got tired of his crap. Granted, none of us expected her to kill him, but still. We've all moved on. But now, I have a question for you."
"And what would that be?" Caroline said skeptically.
"What's going on with you and my brother?"
Caroline felt her entire body tense up and her mouth open in shock. What did Rebekah know? And how much did she know?
"You didn't think it was a secret, did you?" Rebekah took her silence as a yes. Scoffing, she said "c'mon, Caroline. It's our jobs to get to the bottom of things and it was easy to get to the bottom of this. When Klaus came home the other night, it was obvious something had happened with. My siblings and I had never seen him so smitten. But we had no idea who with until Lexi and I saw you two in the conference room the next day. He likes you, Caroline. A lot. More than any other girl who's ever come into his life. And by the way you act around him, you like him too.
Caroline honestly didn't know how to respond. Had they really been that obvious? She wasn't naïve enough to think Klaus didn't like her, but more than any other he'd ever met? She had just figured she was his latest chase. She had never expected to be thought of so highly by him. And Caroline knew she liked him, too, but after yesterday, she had decided to stay as far away from him as possible.
Rebekah was standing there, waiting for Caroline to say she was wrong. Imagine her surprise when she didn't.
"I do like him, Rebekah. But we can't happen."
Rebekah's eyes scrunched up in confusion, noting Caroline's serious tone. "Why not?"
Caroline so did not want to get into this right now. Or ever for that matter. The less she knew, the better.
"I have a lot of baggage, Rebekah. It's complicated and I don't want Klaus getting mixed up in all of it. He deserves someone who can be honest with him and whom he can build a life with. I'm not that someone." Hearing the words come out of her own mouth hurt Caroline more than she thought it would. She'd basically repeated this to herself over the last five years, but this was the first time it'd ever been put into reality. Thinking of Klaus with someone other than her broke her heart, but better hers than his.
Caroline looked at Rebekah and heard the wheels turning inside her head, trying to come up with scenarios that would fit her statement. Giving up, she sighed and said with a sense of finality "my brother won't care about you past, Caroline. He'll just want to be a part of your future." And with that, she walked into the conference room.
"Not if he knew he would end up dead" she murmered before following Rebekah.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?
Klaus had just got a message from Finn, calling an emergency meeting. He was about to round the corner when he heard Rebekah and Caroline talking about him. He hid behind the wall and continued listening.
"I do like him, Rebekah. But we can't happen."
"Why not?" Yeah, why not?
He listened to the rest of the conversation, fighting the need to jump out and tell Caroline she was being an idiot. Who the hell did she think she was deciding what he did and didn't deserve? Shouldn't that be his decision? And here she was, deciding it for him. He heard Rebekah walk off and was about to reveal himself Caroline, but then he heard her say that. Forgetting everything that had transpired between them, Klaus followed her. Before he could reach her, however, Finn was rushing him into the conference room.
"Niklaus, hurry and take a seat! We haven't got all day!" Finn yelled before Klaus even had the chance to say her name. She had sat between Lexi and Rebekah, and every seat remotely close to her was taken. He was forced to reside in the seat next to Finn, which normally wouldn't have bothered him, but he had questions he needed answered and needed answered now.
Everyone had finally found a seat at the enormous round table, so Finn began to speak. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you hear, and I assure you: it's well worth your time. Just a few moments ago, I received a phone call from none other than Mr. Stefan Salvatore. As most of you know, he is the editor of the New York Times and every year, he selects five newspapers to attend his yearly fall gala." Everyone had become tense, anticipating what Finn was going to say next. None of them wanted to get their hopes up, but being invited to this event could make a newspaper. Stefan Salvatore was the youngest editor of the New York Times since it was invented, but was also the most brilliant they'd ever had. He hadn't used any connections or dirty tracks to get to the top, which was rare and nearly impossible in this career. "Ladies and gentleman, we have been selected as one of those newspapers" Finn finally said, making the entire room burst into cheers and applause.
"How did this happen? We've tried for years to get Stefan to get Stefan to even pick up one our newspapers, let alone be invited to his gala" Rebekah stated enthusiastically.
"We actually have our newest writer to thank for that" Finn spoke, gesturing towards Caroline. "While on the phone with Stefan, he mentioned that one of the main reasons for selecting was because of Caroline. He said the 'Ask Amy' column was quickly becoming the highlight of the entire paper" Finn said proudly.
Everyone began congratulating Caroline and praising her for her hard work. They were all excited: the girls about shopping for dress and the boys about the potential connections they could make. Caroline, on the other hand, felt like she was going to throw up. She said a few more thank yous and then excused herself to go to the restroom. Before leaving, though, she caught Klaus' eye and all she saw was concern and worry. However, she rushed out before he could question her.
Once she was alone, she essentially started hyperventilating. A stranger would just assume she was nervous about what Stefan had said and the pressure that was now put on her. But in reality, it had nothing to do with the paper, but everything to do with Stefan Salvatore.
Caroline whipped out her phone and began dialing Elena's phone number, praying she answered.
"Caroline? Shouldn't you be at work?" Elena asked, knowing Caroline's schedule and knowing she shouldn't be calling right now.
"Elena….." was all Caroline could get out, feeling completely out of breath.
"What's wrong? Caroline, talk to me? What happened?"
Caroline continued breathing like she'd just run a ten-mile marathon. She shouldn't be freaking out like this. She was overreacting and scaring Elena, but she couldn't help it.
On the other end, Elena was becoming panicked herself. "Caroline, breathe. Focus on the sound of my voice. Block out everything else around you and focus on my voice." Concentrating on Elena, she finally began to calm down. "Good. Now, tell me what the hell happened?"
She took a few more breaths before finally answering her. "Stefan happened, Elena."
Elena became completely silent on the other end, not fully understanding what she meant. "What about Stefan?"
"When was the last time you saw him?" Caroline asked.
"The last time you saw him, Care. Five years ago. Why? Did he call you or something?"
"In a way, yes. Apparently, Stefan has made quite a name for himself these last couple years. He's the editor of the New York Time and every year, they throw a big party for a select few newspapers and the Chicago Tribune is one of those select few. My boss told me that Stefan said I was the main reason for why we got chosen."
Elena hesitated for a moment and then said "well, first of all, congratulations. For only being there a month and a half, you sure have made a name for yourself. Second of all, Stefan probably just realizes what a talented writer you are. I'm sure he's over everything by now."
Was she high? "Elena, I'm the reason his brother is an alcoholic. That's not just something someone gets over. He hates me."
"Okay, maybe you're right" Elena admitted. "But this gala could be his way of trying to make amends."
Caroline doubted that. The Salvatore brothers were two peas in a pod: Damon the popular jock and Stefan the nerdy writer, their social statuses not changing anything. Damon and Stefan were always together in high school. Damon had been dating Bonnie when she died, and he definitely hadn't taken it well. She had found out later that Damon had been planning on proposing to Bonnie the night she died, which obviously didn't help. After her death, Damon had taken to getting drunk every night to relieve his pain, which in turn, had cost him his job and his football scholarship. He lost everything that night and he blamed Caroline, which also made Stefan blame her.
"He's not looking to become friends, Elena. It's not like any of us were ever really that close to him in high school, even with us being on the paper together. He was so focused on his school work, we hardly ever saw him while Damon and Bonnie were together. This is him trying to out my entire past to the whole news staff. I can't go."
"Yes, you can. This isn't just about you and Stefan, Caroline; it's about the newspaper as a whole. And if the only reason they got selected doesn't show up, it could destroy everything you guys have worked for."
Caroline knew she was right, but she had a feeling the night would turn out worse if she did go. "How am I going to face him? After everything I've done to him and his brother."
"One: you didn't do anything. All of this is Logan's fault and the sooner Stefan figures that out, the better. You didn't choose for this to happen to you. Two: facing him will be easy because Katherine and I will be there to help you."
"What? Elena, I can't ask you to do that."
"You're not asking, I'm offering. You're my best friend and you need me. Plus, I haven't seen you in forever and this gives me the perfect excuse. I'll text Katherine and let her know. Don't try to argue cause you'll be wasting your breath. I'll call you and let you know when I'm coming. Love you!"
Elena hung up the phone before Caroline could say anything back, but really, what would she have said?
She walked out of the bathroom, began walking back to her desk when she felt herself being pulled into the supply closet. Her first instinct was to pull out the pepper spray she kept in her pocket, but her assailant turned the light on before she could, revealing himself to be Klaus.
"Klaus, what are you doing? You scared the hell out of me! Why did you-?"
"I heard you talking to Rebekah earlier" Klaus said angrily, cutting her off.
Caroline stared at him, not knowing what to say at all. She finally decided on "I don't know what you're talking about."
That response only seemed to infuriate him more. "Stop lying, Caroline! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
"Klaus, I-"
The door was suddenly thrown open and an angry Finn was on the other side. When Klaus and Caroline began to explain themselves, he simply held up his hand and said "just get back to work. Both of you."
They swiftly walked out of the closet and were about to part ways when Klaus grabbed her elbow. "This isn't over" he whispered, almost menacingly and walked away.
No, it most certainly wasn't.
Wow, this chapter was a lot longer than I intended it to be, but hopefully you guys like it! let me know, xoxo!