Here's kind of a different chapter! Had a lot of fun writing it, kinda random, as you can see my story is kind of all over the place, but I like it and I hope you all do too. Remember to let my know what you think in the review, constructive criticism and suggestions always welcome :) Thanks for reading and -Cheers.
"Are you cold?" Elena asks, sliding a little closer to me, sharing a large portion of her sleeping bag with me. I shiver a little, watching the coals in the fire pit smolder, glowing bright orange as the flames slowly die.
"A little," I say, tucking my feet close to hers.
The fire at the beach was my idea. Everyone had wanted to go home after a long night talking about our next move. It's seemed all we do these days is plan and run and hide and fight. I had begged that we all come here for a couple of hours, maybe let the left over drama and the fear from our conversation dissipate a little before we all go home to be alone with our thoughts.
I hear Bonnie's laugh at something Stefan said, and look up. I've missed her laughter. It's a rare and magical thing these days— when we can find something to laugh about.
Bonnie showed up at my house two days ago in the middle of the night. The same night of mine and Klaus's heating argument at the grill. I'm honestly surprised we're still aloud in the place, with as much commotion we seem to cause on a weekly basis.
"Jesus Bonnie, you scared the crap out of me." I hurry to open the front door and let her inside. "Where the hell have you been?" I envelope her in a crushing hug, before leaning away and planting a hard punch to her arm. "We've all been worried sick!"
"I know," She sighs, shaking her head, "I feel awful, but I can't exactly tell you..."
"What do you mean you can't tell me?"
"Look, you just have to trust me," She places her hands on my shoulders, "Everything's going to be okay."
I nod, reluctant to let the subject of her whereabouts for the past three weeks go, but force myself to be glad that's she back and safe.
"Plus with this," She pulls Hannah's book from her bag and holds it up like a beacon of hope. "We have a good chance of ending this thing."
I bite back tears, remembering what Hannah said about Bonnie's certain death.
Now she's poking a stick into the hot coals, a melting marshmallow turning golden brown on the end of it. She's smiling like she doesn't have a care in the world.
"This is so messy it's almost not worth it." Rebekah complains, licking her sticky fingers.
"Here, give it," Matt takes the marshmallow from her hands, gently tucking a piece of dark chocolate into the center of it, and pressing it between the crackers before handing it back to her.
She examines the smore with pursed lips, before taking a bite of it.
I can see my breath in the dim light of the coals, the chilly night seems to have gotten even colder in the last few minutes, I readjust, uncrossing my legs , and kick my foot out of the blanket. It's begun to fall asleep, my toes tingle with the beginning of pins-and-needles.
Klaus is stretched out beside me, his legs crossed at the ankles, and his feet resting near the fire.
I glance back and see that his hand is drooped over face, his breathing even. I smile a little, quite enjoying of watching him sleep. This is the time when the angry, coiled up hybrid living inside this human man falls away, and it's just a body, resting after a long day. I find it hard to pry my eyes away from him.
"What's the verdict?" Matt asks from beside Rebekah, giving her shoulder a small nudge.
"Not bad," She takes another small bite and smiles, taking a side glance at him.
Recently there have been several of those stolen glances between the two of them.
"Looks like someone's turning in early." Bonnie comments; referring to Klaus resting quietly next to me in the sand.
"Ah, give him a break, he's an old man." Damon interjects passively, walking over with the chocolate, dropping down next to Elena and offering her a square. She smiles sweetly at him and plucks the chocolate from the palm of his hand.
"Ancient." I mumble.
"A very awake old man." Klaus grabs a handful of sand and throws it in mine and Damon's general direction, all without lifting his other arm from over his eyes.
"Hey!" Elena shouts, laughing as she brushing off the sand that landed in her lap, I shake my hair out, smiling along with her. I look down at the peaceful original; his mouth relaxed in his usual straight faced expression. How serious he is, even in an atmosphere such as this.
How did we get here? Living these lives, making these friends? Sharing beloved melted marshmallows and chocolate with people we've attempted to murder on several occasions, and vise-versa. Sitting next to a man we spent so many times fearing, now lying nearly six inches away from me, and I feel almost, at ease.
I raise my hand to my mouth and cover a yawn.
"Still not sleeping well Caroline?" Elena asks, licking some chocolate from her fingertips.
I shake my head as I finish yawning, and sigh.
"It's like I'm exhausted all day, and as soon as I lay down, my mind just won't let me rest." I shrug my shoulders, and reach for a graham cracker.
Klaus rubs his face with both hands, before moving them through his hair, scratching his head absentmindedly . He pulls himself up, resting his elbows on his knees, his abrupt proximity is distracting.
He smells like fresh air and smoke from the fire. I can immediately feel the warmth radiating off of his arm as it come close to my own. I have this sudden urge to lean over, closing the small gap between us, and rest against him. My entire body tingles with wanting, but I stay glued to my spot in the sand.
"I need to go home," Bonnie's statement makes me flinch, forcing me out of my daze.
Another cool breeze cuts off the water and across the beach, causing myself and Elena to shiver in unison.
"Me too," Elena glances at me, I nod and smile, before she gathers the blanket we are sharing in her arms.
I go to stand, pressing my hands into the sand, before Elena pulls me into a hug.
"Oh," I say, patting her arms that are awkwardly wrapped around my shoulders.
"Thank you Caroline," She says into my shoulder, "You were right, this was a good idea." And with that, she takes the hand that Damon offers her, and stands up. I notice they continue their hand holding as they walk down the beach.
After a few minutes, almost everyone has disbursed; although Klaus hasn't moved from his spot in the sand. I stand up, brushing sand off the back of my jeans as I lean down to collecting the remaining blanket.
"Thank you," He says, his deep accented voice slicing through the silence like a sharp knife.
I turn to look at him; in the dim light of the coals his eyes are shadowed and dark as he stares at the fire pit. His eyelashes casting shadows across his cheeks, he becomes so quiet I begin to wonder if I had imagined him speaking.
"For what..?" I whisper, hugging the blanket close to my chest.
His eyes shift to mine for a split second before he runs his hands down his face with a heavy sigh.
"For reminding me what life is like when you take time to sit still. Caroline, I've spent so many days on this earth sometimes I forget to live them." I take a step back and sit down on the log Matt and Rebekah sat on for most of the evening; my mind working on absorbing his words.
"You help me remember what life was like... Before." His eyes finally meet mine, and they are filled with such sadness and wonder, that for a second, I forget to breathe. "And the other night at the grill—"
"You really scared me." I snap, breaking the beautifully peaceful moment with my sharp tone.
He opens his mouth, the way he does when he wants to say something, yet can't seem to find the words.
"Look I'm not like you, okay? Unlike I haven't had a thousand years to figure everything out, I'm still a teenager, I don't have all the answers yet. Hell I'm not even graduated high school for crying out loud!" I throw one hand in the air, the other still clutching the blanket and other supplies.
"I think that's why you fascinate me," Klaus interjects, removing his elbows from his knees and resting back on his hands almost casually. "You, you are everything that I'm not. You're young; you're full of hope and light... You seem to find joy even in the most insufferable places. And when I can be with you, even just stand near you..." His dark tone sounds menacing, though his words are like silk. He says each word slowly, as if to instil meaning into each one.
With quiet deliberation, I stand up from my spot on the fallen tree; my footsteps are silent against the sand. The combination of him, and the cold night, raises goose bumps all over my body as I sink to my knees at his side, placing the blanket in my lap.
I stare at his chest, watching it rise and fall, feeling his breath on me, his face only inches from mine.
"Where do you hide, when you're so angry and frightening..."I can hardly hear my own quiet words. "Where does this part of you hide..?"
When a couple seconds pass and he doesn't answer, I draw in a unsteady breath. I lift my hands, sliding them around the sides of his neck, tangling my fingertips into his hair at the nape of his neck, willing my hands to stop shaking.
I lean towards him, quickly, before I change my mind, and brush my lips against his, so lightly I hardly feel the touch. My chest flushes, as I feel the heat of his breath mixed with mine.
His hand grasps my waist, pressing me closer to him, my lungs tighten as the kiss deepens. My hand slick against his neck grazes against his stubbled jaw down to his chest, gently pushing against it, putting space between our lips.
"I need to go." My breath is short, my attempts to catch it are feeble and useless as his hand stays on my side, electricity moving through us like lightning.
"No." He captures my lips again, just for a second, and I can't help but return it. When he pulls back only slightly, a test I'm sure, that I fail when I lean into him, follow him.
"Yes," I break the kiss, and lean back on my heels, letting my hands drop from his chest, already missing the feel of his breaths against my palms.
His hand drops from my side only to slip around my wrist, holding me there.
"Please stop running away from me."
Never having heard the word please escape his lips, I hesitate, searching his eyes in almost complete darkness now.
Pleading; frustration; lust; wonder...
"I'm not running away," I remove his fingers one by one from my arm, and as he gently lets go, I can see my eyes soften as my words sink in.
He brings my hand to his mouth, kissing the inside of my palm, before releasing me from his magnetic touch.
I rock back on my heels and stand up, wrapping the blanket in my arms around my shoulders as I begin to make my way back down the beach, towards town. I look back over my shoulder, seeing an expression that looks close to happiness cross his features, before he lies back down in the sand, letting out a heavy sigh that nearly sounds like relief.