Hey guys! We're back! If you haven't noticed yet, I did change my FF name to match my Tumblr url. No more The Deej...but you're more than welcome to still call me that. =)
Thanks to my lovely Betas. Alex, Becky, Miranda and the ultimate hard ass Kristen! You suck and I love you!
You're all probably dying to see what happens, so without further ado...
Every step in the store is accompanied with the sound of shattered glass. It's sprinkled on the floor and on the counters, and with each crunch Klaus' heart sinks lower into his stomach. He's never experienced a panic attack before but as his pulse quickens, his hands begin to shake and the room begins to spin, he's certain he's having one. He stumbles forward to rest his palms on the now broken counter to find balance before his knees give way.
As he surveys the store, the panic only worsens. He notices many valuable items that once had a home in their glass cases, that have now vanished. He looks down and notices his DC collectibles are gone too. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have been nicked, and although they are simple trinkets that were marked up significantly, their loss will certainly add to the financial damage the store has taken.
He can vaguely hear Caroline say his name as he feels her hands wrap around his shoulders and her soothing tone begin to calm him down. As if his surroundings didn't have him worried enough, he still manages to feel a rush of embarrassment as he imagines what Caroline must think of him in this moment. There's no confident and cool Klaus to be found, but instead he's been whittled away into mere shambles of the man he's been transformed into since meeting her.
"Klaus," she says again and turns his chin so he's facing her. "Take a deep breath." She looks firmly in his eyes and nods her head, waiting for him to respond. She demonstrates and takes a solid deep breath through her nose and exhales slowly through her mouth. He focuses on mimicking the rise and fall of her shoulders, breathing right along with Caroline.
"Good, keep doing that." She takes a step forward and gently grabs the back of his neck and places her forehead on his. She takes a few more breaths with him, staying close and staring at the ground, when she notices a drop of red paint hit the floor at their feet. No, not paint...blood. Her eyes travel up his legs and torso when she suddenly snaps his hand off of the counter. "Oh Klaus, your hand."
He didn't even feel the bits of glass digging into his flesh as he rested on the broken display. Blood pools in his palm as she turns his hand to inspect the damage. "Come here," she demands and pulls him behind the counter and back to his office.
She sits him down at his desk and searches for the first piece of fabric she can find. He looks down at his palm and feels his head get woozy. The sight of blood always makes him nauseous, and the fact that it's his own only heightens his senses. He shuts his eyes and tries to focus on something other than the gory display but can't ignore the throbbing pain he's beginning to feel and the queasy feeling in his stomach.
"Will this work?" Caroline asks and he squints one eye open to see what she's holding.
"No," Klaus tells her and yanks his hand away before she can apply pressure.
"Klaus, we need to bandage your hand."
"That's fine, just not with that shirt. It's one of my favorites."
Caroline lifts the t-shirt up to inspect it and notices that she selected one of the first shirts she remembers seeing him in. A faded blue tee with a Captain America emblem on the front.
"That one," he says and points to a black shirt hanging out of the top drawer of his dresser.
Caroline rushes over and grabs it. She takes this opportunity to distract him from the current situation. "You don't like this shirt?" she asks him.
"It's Kol's," he plainly states. "Seeing as he's the daft idiot that left the door unlocked before he left. Seems only fitting."
"Well, in that case…"
Klaus hears the distinct sound of fabric ripping and looks up to see Caroline with a shredded t-shirt in her hands. He's not sure why the idea of her petite frame finding enough strength to rip through a t-shirt turns him on, but he's now not only panicking and bleeding but on the verge of arousal, and he's not sure if he should focus on the throbbing in his hand or the throbbing in his pants.
"She-Hulks got nothing on you," he jokes.
She lets out a soft giggle and her bright smile calms him enough to start thinking rationally again. He looks down at his hand as she gently wraps the fabric around his wound. His pulse is almost normal and by the time she's tied it off he's feeling like himself again. He shakes his head and closes his eyes. "You must think I'm a complete ninny."
"Oh yes." She nods her head in agreement, "Your most valuable possession in your entire world just got ransacked and you acted like a complete and total ninny," she teases then looks up at him and smirks. He shifts in his seat and an amused smile spreads across his face. She throws her arms around him and buries her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry, Klaus," she says sincerely.
"It'll be alright," he tells her but he's not so sure it will be. They stay in each other's embrace for a moment longer before he speaks up. "I should call my family."
"No, you should call the police," Caroline insists. "I'll call your family for you." She stands up and puts her hands on her hips. "And in the meantime, you should start taking inventory of the things that have been stolen. Make sure not to touch anything else, we want to be certain that we don't disrupt any evidence. Oh and we should call Kol first and make sure it was, in fact, him that left the door unlocked and that's how the burglars got in."
"It is," he says with a hint of venom behind his tone.
"Are you sure? I mean, you did come back to the store to get your comic books to show me."
"Yeah, he was still here counting the till. I even reminded him to make sure everything was locked up and he just sort of waved me off." He can't believe this has happened and his anger toward Kol starts to grow.
"Hm," Caroline responds calmly. "Well, come on. Let's try and make this process as painless as possible."
Klaus stands up and reaches out to grab Caroline's hand. "Thank you," he smiles and cradles her small hand in both of his.
"For what?"
"I kind of lost my cool there for a minute. You took my mind off of it...you brought me back."
Caroline reaches up with her free hand and brushes away the curls from his forehead, just like he's done for her so many times. "You're welcome."
\-[0]-[0]-/
"It's like this bed is a soft, pillowy cloud and we're soaring above the earth."
"Naked."
"Yes, like little naked angels, rolling around in the clouds."
"And doing dirty, naughty things to each other."
"Or kittens, who found the roll of toilet paper and made a mess of things."
"Dirty, naughty kittens."
"OOOOOR, like this is my harem and you're my beautiful concubine."
Kat feels like this would be a good time to be offended, but she's too high to care, so she just goes with it.
"A dirty, naughty concubine, who lives to please her Sultan of Sex."
Snorting laughter fills Kat's bedroom as her and Elijah continue their "provocative" conversation. The plate of cookies is nearly gone and they've built a quasi-fort out of the sheets, hiding them from the outside world. The sheet is neatly tucked behind the headboard and hovering over their heads and they've scattered every pillow in the house behind them and under them and at their feet. They roll onto their sides to face one another, and Elijah runs a hand through her hair and she traipses her hand down his chest.
"You're the most beautiful angel I've ever encountered."
She scoots closer and rubs her nose against his, giving him a sensual eskimo kiss. "I think we both know that I'm no angel," she thrums.
Elijah skims his knuckles gently down her cheek and becomes transfixed on her face. "Speaking of angels, did you know that Elijah means 'God is Lord'?"
"No, I didn't," she giggles and transitions right along with him to the next topic of conversation. "Did you know that my name isn't really Katherine?"
"What is it?" Elijah's eyes get wide with astonishment, as if this is the most interesting news he's heard in quite some time.
"Katerina."
"Katerina," he repeats. "I like that. Katerina...Katereeena...Kah-tuh-reena," he says her name again and again. "You are certainly a sexy naughty angel with a name like that."
"Well ironically it means 'pure'."
Elijah bursts into laughter. "Does it?" he asks between hoots and cackles.
"Yep."
"Hahaha, Katerina the Pure! Hahaha!"
The two of them fall into a barrage of laughter once more, neither one being able to form complete sentences. The turn in conversation moves from sexy to hysterical but it suddenly halts when Elijah puts a finger to Kat's mouth and listens intently to a peculiar sound.
"Do you hear that, my Katerina?"
"What?" she holds perfectly still.
"It's as if the heaven's above are ringing celebration bells of our love."
Kat rolls her eyes and laughs, swatting him on the arm. "That's your phone, silly."
"Oh."
"I'll get it." Kat crawls over him and lifts the sheet up. Her head and arms are out of the fortress but her lower half is draped across Elijah's torso. She picks up his phone and slides her finger to answer it.
"Elijah 'Sultan of Sex and God is Lord' Mikaelson's phone," she answers cleverly. "Oh, hey Care...wait...why are you calling Elijah's phone?"
There's a pause in conversation and Elijah runs his hands up her naked body. He grabs her ass then spanks it.
"Oh no...okay...OOOOWEEE, ELIJAH STOP THAT...no, I'm here...okay...yeah...we'll see you soon."
Kat hangs up the phone and just in time too as she feels herself being yanked back under the blankets.
"We have to go," she tells him seriously.
"But I don't want to. I want to stay right here," he pouts and Katherine presses a kiss to his cheek.
"Your brother needs you at the comic book shop. It seems you've been robbed."
The correct response would be fury and rage, or at least concern, but all Kat gets out of Elijah is another uproar of laughter.
"That...hahaha…is terrible news...Katerina...hahaha!"
\-[0]-[0]-/
"Okay, I finally got a hold of Bekah, she and Jeremy are on their way."
"Why is she with Jeremy? I thought she would be with Bonnie."
"Yeah, why is Bekah with Jeremy?"
Klaus and Caroline turn their heads to see a confused Kol standing in the threshold of the shop. His mop of hair is in disarray and his brow is low and knit together.
"Kol, you stupid son-of-a-bitch!" Klaus takes three large steps toward his brother, his anger boiling forth at first sight of the dimwit. Kol swiftly moves out of the way of his brother's oncoming storm, dodging his grasp and sliding on shards of glass and debris to get to the other side of the store.
"Whoa, settle down Klaus!"
"Settle down? Settle down?! You forgot to lock the door, and look what happened," he screams and gestures out to the destruction surrounding them.
"I'm sorry, I could've sworn I locked it."
"Well obviously you didn't!" Klaus moves toward Kol again, reaching out his hands to throttle the nuisance.
He dodges him again and throws back his own thoughts on the situation. "You were right next door, how could you not hear what was happening over here?"
"Are you kidding me?" Klaus spits. "Are you seriously trying to blame me for this?"
"Well, if you weren't so busy getting busy with her," he points at Caroline, "Then maybe you could've stopped this before it even happened."
Klaus can't believe what he's hearing and Caroline's mouth drops open in astonishment. She's trying to be the level headed one in this scenario, but Kol's pushing buttons and she feels her own anger start to rise.
"Listen here you little shit," Klaus points a finger at him. "What happens between Caroline and I is none of your fucking business."
"Oh, I didn't realize your little tryst had become so secretive. Silly me for thinking that you're just having a little fun with the blonde tart next door."
The defensive screech that comes from Caroline, is comical in nature, but fueled with offense. "Tart?!" It's Caroline's turn to rush at the boy, fists clenched and ready to rumble.
Klaus steps between them, holding Caroline back. He doesn't go for Kol again but glares at him with more warning than any fist could muster. "Not that it's any of your business, but I happen to be in love with that 'tart', you stupid ass!"
Caroline lowers her fist and stops struggling to get at Kol. She stares at the back of Klaus' head, not sure she heard him correctly or if she should be offended that he too called her a tart. Did he just say he loved her? The scene seems to simmer, and just in time, as the distinct blue and red lights of the police car out front reflect into the shop.
"Stay here!" Klaus tells Kol and turns to meet the police officer at the door.
Kol sighs heavily and looks over at Caroline. He lowers his head and shifts a pile of debris around with his foot. "Sorry I called you a tart. I don't really think that."
"It's fine," she says but doesn't hold back the displeasure in her voice. She isn't sure she's ready to fully commit to his apology.
"Caroline?"
"What?"
"Why is Bekah with Jeremy and not Bonnie?"
Caroline shifts in her place and swallows hard. This really couldn't be a worse time to have this discussion. "Uummm," she fumbles for the words. She looks over at Klaus who is in the throes of conversation with the cop, to avoid looking Kol in the eye. "I'm not...I'm not really sure."
She leaves it at that and quickly walks away, leaving Kol feeling horrible and confused.
"Worst night ever!"
\-[0]-[0]-/
After about an hour, the cop has gotten all the information needed, as well as the list of missing items that Klaus made earlier, per Caroline's insistence. He gives the shop and all clear after rendering it of any evidence there may be. He said something about it being a concise robbery, with little to go from other than the items that were specifically stolen. There was no evidence of prints, just a smash and grab sort of job.
"A lot of these small time robberies are typically solved. Especially since this sort of occurrence rarely happens in town. Most likely we'll be able to track the thief by finding the items they stole on Ebay or sometimes Craigslist. In the meantime, perhaps you should invest in some security cameras, and an alarm for your door."
"Thank you, Officer. We'll definitely consider it."
The cop drives away and Klaus turns back to the shop. Caroline has wasted no time at all in beginning to clean the shattered glass and start putting things back in order. Kol is doing the same, a pity look on his face as he sweeps some glass into a dustpan. He's about to join them when he hears another car pull up behind him. A yellow taxi's doors open and Elijah and Katherine step out.
"Klaus!" Elijah says and walks over and wraps his arms around his younger brother. Klaus freezes in place with his hands at his side as his body is forcefully pushed into the embrace.
"Hey Elijah," he says hesitantly and looks over at Kat and mouths, "What in the world?"
"Katerina," Elijah beckons Kat, "come and embrace Klaus."
"That's alright, Elijah, I think you're doing a fine job."
Elijah straightens up and leaves his hands on Klaus' shoulders. He looks at him sincerely and tilts his head. "Klaus, brother?"
"Yes, Elijah?"
"Don't worry, we've got insurance."
Leave it to Elijah to still be a tad rational even when he's not in his right mind.
"Thanks, Elijah."
"And Klaus?"
"Yes, Elijah?"
"Did you know that Katherine's name is actually Katerina?"
"I did not know that."
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"What in the world is he on?" Klaus turns and asks Kat.
"Cookies!"
Elijah and Kat look at each other and begin to laugh again.
"Such good cookies," he exclaims and grabs her by the waist, pulling her close and kissing her with a little more passion than necessary in public.
"Ew, get a room!"
The two part ways and turn to see Bekah and Jeremy coming up to the scene.
"Jere Bear!"
"Kit Kat," he replies with her own nickname, but with half the enthusiasm.
"Jeremy, I'm probably going to be very cross with you in the morning, but right now I'm going to tell you that those were the best cookies I have ever had the privilege of eating."
Jeremy reacts similar to Klaus and just stands there as he is brought in for a hug from Elijah. He pats him on the back and laughs, "No problem, man."
Bekah looks over at the shop and covers her mouth. "Oh dear, what a mess." She moves to peer inside when she's confronted with a disgruntled Kol.
He looks between her and Jeremy and says, "What the hell, Bekah? Where's Bonnie?"
With all the chaos of the night and the rush to get down to the shop, Bekah didn't even think about what response Kol would have seeing the two of them together. Last he knew, she was with Bonnie, and playing for the other team.
"Oh...hey, Kol," Bekah says hesitantly. "It's not what it looks like, well...it is what it looks like, but I can explain."
"Why are we explaining?" Jeremy questions. "It's not like Kol's had issues with us sleeping together before."
"Jeremy?!" Rebekah scolds him.
"What?"
"If you're still sleeping with Jeremy then what the hell happened with Bonnie?" He's not sure he gets what's going on but what he does know is that either Bekah has denied Bonnie's feelings for her, or...
"Listen, I think Bonnie should explain-"
"Explain what?"
The entourage looks over at the sound of Bonnie's voice. The girl saunters toward them and covers her mouth to yawn. "What's going on?"
"I'd like to know why the hell Rebekah is still sleeping with Jeremy, if the two of you are supposedly together?"
Bonnie freezes. This is not what she was expecting when she was called into work at one o'clock in the morning. She was here to help clean up the mess and answer any questions about the evening that Klaus may have, not be confronted about her and Bekah's shenanigans. She's saved from explaining herself for the moment when Elijah pipes in, disrupting the tense conversation.
"Bonnie's here! Look, Katerina, Bonnie's here!"
"I see that. Hi Bonnie, you look awful!"
Bonnie glances down at her pajama bottoms and hoodie and rolls her eyes, "Wow, it's nice to see you too, Kat."
Klaus has remained quiet during the exchange of his family and employees, but figures it's time to take the two potheads away for their own safety. "Okay you two. Why don't we go help Caroline clean up the mess?"
"Yes, that's a brilliant idea, brother. Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving!"
"Oh my God, me too!"
Klaus touches them both on the shoulder and guides them inside the store. He looks over at Bonnie and mouths, I'm sorry, and brings an imaginary joint to his mouth to explain their lack of manners. She nods in understanding and can't help but smile. If it weren't for the extremely uncomfortable situation she's in, she thinks she'd enjoy interacting with a high Elijah.
Bonnie turns her attention back to Kol and starts to explain. She starts with the simple truth. "Kol, I'm not...I'm not gay."
Kol's face turns to stone and he closes his eyes. He doesn't scream at her, which surprises him, he seems to be more hurt than anything else. It takes him some time to respond but when he finally does he speaks in a quiet, almost gentle tone. "Why would you lie about something like that?"
"It's just…" she's not sure where to start. "I didn't think that…I didn't mean to…"
"Bonnie?" Kol interrupts with exasperation. "Tell me why you would do something like this?"
Jeremy clears his throat and looks over at Bekah. He's pieced it together a lot quicker than Kol, and realizes that whatever transpired between the three, the reason behind it is because Bonnie has feelings for Kol. "Should we head inside too, Rebekah?"
Bekah looks over at Bonnie, not wanting to leave her friend if she still needs her support. Bonnie nods at Bekah, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's fine."
Jeremy wraps an arm around Bekah and they step inside to help the others.
Kol turns back to Bonnie, expecting her to say something, and when she doesn't he reacts to her silence. "So?"
There's no more skirting around the issue, it's time to tell him. She's terrified. So worried that he is going to reject her, and that the damage that's been done may be too much to even restore their friendship. "Kol...I have feelings for you."
Kol opens his mouth to respond, but quickly closes it. He's not sure how to respond. There are a mix of emotions running through him. First he's furious because of the deceit, second confusion because why the hell would she make up such a crazy lie, and thirdly...relief. He's so relieved to hear that she's not gay, and that there's still a chance he could have her.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I just...I wanted you to care for me because of who I am to you and not because of my new...look."
"So you thought the best way to do that was to lead me to believe that you're a lesbian?"
It's Bonnie's turn to be speechless. It sounds absolutely ridiculous when it's put that way. She puts her hands to her mouth and at first Kol thinks she's about to cry. Which would be the worst because he's never been good with any woman crying, let alone his best friend. But she's not crying, she's doing a terrible job at hiding the large smile behind her hands. Her eyes light up and she can't hold it in and she busts out in laughter.
"I'm not sure what's so funny?" He tries to keep a straight face, but the situation is just so ridiculous that it's not long before he's joining her. "You...are crazy!"
"I know," she agrees. "The craziest...I don't know what I was thinking." The relief that she feels, watching him smile at her and teasing her like he always does, causes a flood of tears to rush to her eyes.
Oh no...tears. So much for not worrying about Bonnie crying.
He rushes over to her and pulls her into a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry, Kol."
"I know you are."
"So, you're not mad at me?"
"I'm furious!" he looks down at her and cups her face in his hands, wiping away a few tears with his thumbs. She peers up at him with those gorgeous green eyes, glistening and pleading with him to forgive her.
"Kol I-"
She doesn't get to finish. His lips are on hers before she can say another word.
\-[0]-[0]-/
Before anyone realizes it, it's 5:30 in the morning and the shop seems to be back in order. The glass has been picked up and the comics are in their rightful place. Bonnie, Kol, Bekah and Jeremy have already left and Elijah and Kat are passed out on Klaus' bed in the back, leaving Caroline and Klaus alone.
Caroline places the broom back in its place and walks over to help Klaus with the final touches on the front display case. It's empty, and they'll need to get all the glass repaired. Thank God they have Elijah. It's never something that he thinks about, so he's grateful for having a brother that does think about those behind the scenes details of running a business.
Caroline yawns and glances at her watch. "Wow, I can't believe we stayed up all night."
"I'm sorry, you didn't have to help."
"Don't be silly, I wanted to." She yawns again and laughs, "Not sure how I'm going to get through the day next door. We might have to close a little early."
He places his hands on her shoulders and brings her in for a hug and kisses her on the head. "Well, I know what would help."
"Mmm, what's that?" she asks and snuggles into him.
"Coffee!"
"Yes!" she exclaims, "such an awesome idea."
"I'll run and get some. Don't go anywhere."
"I won't." She smiles up at him and he leans down and kisses her.
He heads out the door to cross the street to the coffee shop and her heart beats a little faster when she remembers his words earlier. She hasn't brought it to his attention yet, but the fact that he said he loved her has been playing over and over again in her mind. She thought that perhaps she was the only one who was feeling it, and was worried that it was too soon, but now that she knows how he feels, she's more keen to reciprocate his feelings.
\-[0]-[0]-/
"Good morning, Klaus. You're here early!"
Klaus smiles at the barista. "Yeah, we had a little incident at the shop last night."
"Oh no, I hope everything's okay."
"It will be," he tells her and leaves it at that. He has no desire in filling in the details, as he's too tired to even formulate words. He orders their coffees and sits down at one of the tables to wait.
He stretches his legs up and grabs the magazine sitting on the table. He casually flips through it but stops when he sees a familiar face.
At the top of the celebrity gossip page, he sees her. Caroline is sitting in a car and leaning in to kiss a way too good looking blonde guy in the passenger seat.
What the hell?
He snaps forward and stares at the photo, which is paired with another one of Caroline and the blonde, Matthew Donovan, walking hand in hand down the street. The title reads:
Is Matthew Donovan Rekindling the Flame With His Ex?
\-[0]-[0]-/
Well well well. You all thought Matt Donovan was out of the picture, didn't you? Bahaha!
Please let me know what you think! I need your reviews like Elijah needs to get high more often.
Oh, P.S. - don't do drugs! Unless it's wrapped in a warm gooey cookie! Haha, I'm the worst role model. Don't be like me. ;-)
I'm also in the running for a couple categories in the Klaroline Awards, on Tumblr. If you have a minute, pop on over and vote on the Tumblr blog klarolineawards. Your fan support for all categories, would be awesome!
Until next time!
*Flies away*