Chapter 5
A/N: I'm sorry guys for the short chapter. It's shorter than usual but I felt the need to end it where it has been. Writing's been hard because I'm not doing well with my studies and I need everything to be relatively calm in my life so that I can write peacefully.
But let's celebrate the new upcoming crossover of Stefan Salvatore to the originals with this chapter! Yaaay! Hopefully they'll talk about Caroline! *fingers crossed*
P.S. I have good news to share regarding my own life. Actually two. First, my sister gave birth to my beautiful baby nephew and secondly, I'm doing very good, health wise. Thank you for your prayers everyone! Love you all and thank you so much for your support. I wish I could thank all of you by name and hug each and every one of you.
Onto the chapter now. (Sorry for my rambling)
Lunch was not how Caroline had expected it to be.
First off, she was supposed to be sitting across Elena and not Klaus.
Secondly, Elena -Klaus- wasn't supposed to be staring at her with such a heated gaze. It made her squirm uncomfortably in her seat.
Thirdly and lastly, the menu card behind which she was hiding her face, wasn't supposed to be snatched away from her by the waiter who gave her pitiful smile.
"I'm glad to see you've finally decided to stop hiding behind your menu card" Klaus' comment made her head snap to him.
Clearing her throat, Caroline jutted her chin outwards. "I wasn't hiding behind the menu" she denied, petulantly.
"Of course not" Klaus replied, with his dimpled smile on display, as if he was cooing a small child.
"I wasn't" Caroline responded, annoyed that he wasn't taking her seriously. Even though, she was lying because she was hiding behind her menu, but he didn't need to know that. When he raised a suspecting yet mocking eyebrow at her, she sighed and slumped in her seat. "I was… just trying to make you look away" she mumbled, discreetly rolling her eyes.
"And why would you want me to do that?" he asked, perplexed by her sudden demand.
"Because it's creepy" she burst out at him, leaning forward to make him understand that, him, staring at her like that was seriously ticking her off. "Can you stop?" she told him, not really caring about his answer.
"Is it crime to observe someone so beautiful, love?" Klaus asked, his voice laced with amusement and waggishness.
"Yes it is. When you're looking like a … a creep!" Caroline spluttered out, without missing a beat. "And stop calling me that" she couldn't help but add, childishly crossing her arms over her chest.
Klaus smirked and kept his eyes trained on her. "Alright, lov- He stopped himself before completing his endearment and gave her a tight smile before murmuring. "… Caroline…"
Caroline breath caught at the way her name sounded through his lips. Coughing, she started. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, trying to divert her attention elsewhere. Anywhere, really than how her name rolled off his tongue so beautifully.
"I want to talk about you" he said, sounding very confident yet intrigued at the same time. "Your hopes, your dreams… Everything you want in life" he expressed as he sat forward in his seat.
Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, in response before leaning forward so she could tell him what she was sure she needed to. "Just so we're clear" she started, whispering conspiratorially as if sharing a dirty secret. All the while, he gazed at her amused. "I'm too smart to be seduced by you"
He smiled back at her, showing his dimples and then blinked. "That's why I like you" he replied back without missing a beat.
Rolling her eyes and she shook her head and sat back in her seat. "You know I get that you're… trying to woo me or whatever but it's not going to work" she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're Rebekah's brother and things would never work between us" she clarified, shaking her head.
Klaus, however, remained cool and was hardly affected by her words. He always got what he wanted, no matter who stood in the way. "I wouldn't be so hasty in making assumptions, love" he said, disregarding her earlier comment about pet names.
"I'm not hasty. I just happen to be very practical" she replied with her head held high. "I have plans… a future that I've considered ahead of me. A future which does not involve you" she said, being as straightforward as possible. It may be harsh but she didn't need any boys in her life right now.
A small voice in her head told her, though, that Klaus wasn't just a boy.
She chose to ignore that voice.
Leaning forward on his elbows, Klaus let a small smirk appear on his lips and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Maybe I'm not trying to woo you. Maybe I'm simply trying to access your character to see what kind of a person my baby sister's roommate is" he countered, coolly.
She snorted at that. "You wouldn't have let me anywhere near Rebekah if you didn't already believe me to be harmless" she replied back without missing a beat. "Please, your entire family has met me. I'm as harmless as they get"
"Perhaps I don't trust Elijah's judgment on this matter" he continued on with a smirk on his face as he leaned too close to her and played with a strand of her hair that had fell on her forehead. "You could fool anyone with this innocent face" he said, darkly.
An uninterested look appeared on Caroline's face before she narrowed her eyes and slapped his hand away from her face. "There's no chance between you and me so you should stop trying" she said firmly. "We can't…" she added, frustrated at him.
"I don't understand why not" he said calmly. "You don't have a boyfriend, you're not seeing someone else…" he rattled off.
"Maybe I- I'm interested in someone else already" she lied, smoothly.
Luckily or unluckily for her, he bought that and only clenched his jaw with a curt nod. "Regardless of what you think, Caroline, I'm not trying to woo you" he assured her, steadfastly. 'Not now, anyway' he thought somewhat bitterly.
Caroline blushed and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear shyly as she looked at her plate.
They remained silent for the rest of the time until their meals arrived and both of them dug into them, ignoring the awkward silence. Choosing to get rid of the awkwardness, Caroline spoke up first. "So Rebekah told me you've lived in London for quite some time…" she said, starting some general conversation. "Are you here for expansion or just visiting?" she asked, offhandedly.
Klaus seemed pleasantly surprised by her effort at some civil conversation and only smiled slightly as he began to answer. "Off the record sweetheart, I'm here to take over" he whispered with a tiny smirk playing on his lips.
"That seems… nice" she said, obviously unimpressed.
Klaus frowned at that. "You don't seem to be too enthused by the idea?" he questioned lightly. "Should I be taking personal offence to this?" he added jokingly.
She shook her head at that, toying with her fork. "No. I didn't mean it like that" she assured him. "Does Rebekah know you'll be shifting back here?" she asked, knowing that he would probably live here full time now since he was taking charge of the offices in the States.
At that Klaus smiled sheepishly. "I haven't announced it yet within my family" he admitted, wiping the corner of his mouth with the napkin.
"Aaaand you want my help to break the news to Rebekah?" Caroline guessed with a fake sarcastic smile.
He simply grinned back. "So much more than a pretty face" he murmured with a hint of pride in his voice.
She chose to ignore it. "It's your family's business. I'm not sure why you need my help" she said with a shrug.
"Rebekah is… not an easy person" he said, wincing when she scoffed at the 'not-an-easy-person' bit.
Caroline rolled her eyes at that statement. "I'm her roommate, tell me about it" she muttered, shaking her head.
"I'm going to take Rebekah shopping a few days later to tell her and I want you to join us" Klaus said with finality.
Caroline glared him at that. "A please here or there wouldn't be too much to ask for" she piped in sarcastically at his authoritative tone.
Klaus playfully rolled his eyes in return. "Alright, love" he conceded. "Would you please accompany Rebekah and I to our shopping trip?" he asked, putting pressure on please.
"Don't you think that would be slightly awkward? I mean she's your sister. She would love to know that you're back" Caroline reasoned not understanding him one bit.
"She liked knowing I wasn't here so she could fool around without any check and balance. But now- he was cut off by Caroline though.
"It simply means that you're supposed to let her live her life without any interference." She explained, hoping to change his way of thinking so Rebekah could get some freedom.
Klaus pondered at that thought for a few minutes as they both silently finished their meals.
"What are your thoughts on Stefan Salvatore?" he asked abruptly, making Caroline look up in surprise.
She raised her eyebrows in shock and shook her head. "Stefan's the best man there ever could be. He's loving, caring and so kind" she rattled on, thinking he was asking all this information to see if Stefan was the right guy for his baby sister. She made sure to ignore Stefan's more irritating and annoying qualities, prattling on about how good he was.
Klaus, on the other hand, saw this as her hidden affection for Stefan. So his doubt was confirmed now. Caroline did have an interest in Stefan and judging by the way, Stefan's eyes lit up when he saw Caroline, he was sure that the affection wasn't one sided.
However, he had also noticed the crush his sister harbored on the younger Salvatore.
How would she feel now to know that her best friend, whom she was trying to defend, had intentions towards her crush?
"Thanks for lunch. I hope you got all your questions answered" Caroline said, almost teasingly as they both exited the restaurant.
Klaus gave her a dimpled smile at that. "Some of them" he answered mysteriously. "But thank you for having lunch with me, Caroline" he said, genuinely turning to look at her. "Now let's get you home before Rebekah files away a missing person's report" he joked, placing his hand on her back, urging her forward towards his car.
"Oh, no. That's okay. I have to meet a friend who'll drop me home. It's okay" she said, obviously not wanting to burden him an subtly trying to ignore his hand on her back.
Klaus raised his eyebrow at that.
"What?" she asked, frowning.
"You're going to have to tell me more than that, love" he argued, clearly not leaving it alone. "What friend?" he elaborated.
Caroline narrowed her eyes at that. "Excuse m- she started her rant but Klaus cut her off.
"I'm simply asking because you should know that I wouldn't just leave Rebekah here all by herself even if she gave me the very same answer that you just gave me" he explained, calmly. "You are precious to me, just as much Rebekah is" he murmured looking at her with his puppy eyes. "Besides, I don't want to tell Bekah that I left her friend here, whom she considers a dear sister and when you get randomly kidnapped, I be held responsible" he said, teasingly.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Elena Gilbert. My and Rebekah's high school best friend" she explained, sighing. "Not so much Rebekah's now though" she added absentmindedly as an afterthought.
Klaus nodded and filed that information for later. He would have to search up this Elena Gilbert, later.
"I'm meeting her over at the coffee shop just two blocks down" she said, randomly pointing towards that direction. "Thanks again for the offer though. Now is this much information enough to sate your curiosity?" she inquired back, mockingly.
"Allow me to drop you off at the coffee shop then?" he offered with a full charming smile, ignoring her last comment. If only she knew that he would never be bored with new information about her.
"It's like five minutes away!" she spluttered, not believing him right now.
"Excellent. It won't take much time then either" he grinned before extending his arms motioning for her to start walking. "For your safety, love" he added, giving her a wide eyed innocent look.
"Fine!" she conceded, thinking how right Rebekah had been about her brother. "But just so you know, the feminist in me is going to kill me for this later" she added, petulantly.
Klaus laughed at that but started walking after her as she started moving down the street.
Within minutes, they reached their destination which was in front of a busy yet quaint little coffee shop. "Well, thanks again" Caroline said, looking at him with a grateful smile.
"I hope you have a good day, sweetheart" he wished her, bending down to press a kiss against her soft, smooth cheek which lasted much longer than necessary. "Goodbye" he said, finally backing away but not before catching the look of utter surprise on her face.
Blushed cheeks, flushed skin, wide beautiful eyes and parted lips.
How he wanted to kiss her at that moment!
However, he restrained himself and with one more grin planted on his face, he backed away towards his waiting car.
Rebekah sighed as she heard an impatient knock on her door followed by a series of ringing of the doorbell. "Bloody hell… Caroline I'm coming!" she murmured angrily as she marched towards the door, barefoot and opened it to find her brother standing outside.
"Why am I not surprised?" she questioned sarcastically, with an unimpressed glare on her face as she let her brother in. "Where's Caroline?" she asked, doubtfully.
Klaus smirked at that. "With a friend of hers. Elena Gilbert, I believe" he answered with a mysterious glint in his eyes.
Rebekah rolled her eyes at that and went to sit in her living room. "Why are you here then?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
"To ask you how many boys are exactly after Caroline?" he asked, sitting down next to her.
She frowned at that. "Last I remember there was this British guy whose trying damn hard to get into her pants" she muttered sarcastically.
"I'm glad you find this amusing because I have news for you that you might find even more hilarious" he jabbed back at her, folding his arms behind his head.
She raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to explain which he finally did with a long suffering sigh. "Caroline is interested in Stefan" he told her, with an edge in his voice.
Rebekah paled for a moment before casting a cold look on her face. "Nice try Nik but I'm not falling for this" she sneered, hatefully.
"There's no point in denial now, love" he cooed, gently. "Does she know that you've been harboring a crush on Stefan Salvatore since forever?" he asked, mockingly with a hint of seriousness in his voice.
Rebekah stayed quiet, mulling over the facts in her head. She had noticed that Stefan and Caroline were awfully close but that's what best friends always were… Close.
She was also friends with Enzo and then she hooked up with him.
"How do you know?" she asked her brother, quietly.
"She told me herself, today at lunch" he told her, simply. "You are more than welcome to observe for yourself in future" he offered, openly.
Klaus seemed to notice how his sister deflated after his confirmation of the relationship, no doubt thinking she had no chance with Stefan now. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.
"She's got nothing on you, Rebekah" he whispered, encouragingly. "Besides Stefan Salvatore isn't the end of the world" he said, pressing a kiss to her hair. When she didn't reply, he sighed and pulled back. "I didn't want to hurt you Rebekah. I simply wanted you to know who your family is and who your friends are" He clarified himself, diplomatically.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard her voice. "Caroline isn't the end of the world either, Nik" she replied, softly. Well, to others it might seem soft but Klaus could clearly detect the coldness and maliciousness in her voice. He had no doubt that Caroline and Stefan would have a hurricane coming their way.
And he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it.
Maybe I was wrong about them.
He quickly shook that thought away. The awe and admiration in Caroline's voice has been undeniable.
They were definitely interested in each other. Too bad that they were both of the center of the affection of two Mikaelson siblings.
Caroline and Stefan didn't stand a chance.
With that thought in his mind, he headed back to his office, knowing he had a lot work to do but he could leave the rest to Rebekah.
"Well that wasn't totally awkward" Caroline commented as she clicked in her seatbelt and waited for her friend to do the same.
Stefan laughed as he reversed his car out of the parking lot and got straight onto the main road. "Elena's changed" he commented with a sigh of relief. "She's not the same childish Elena she used to be" he murmured, remembering the old times.
"I'm surprised she called you though" Caroline admitted she had been shocked to see Stefan arrive at her and Elena' coffee meeting. She had been even more surprised when Elena told her that she'd invited Stefan herself wanting to soothe everything back to normal. Their breakup had been nasty and they had basically cut off all communication since then. Till now, that is. "Maybe she wants to rekindle her past high school love" Caroline teased with a hint of a smile on her face.
Stefan smiled, unknowingly, at that. "Maybe she does" he murmured quietly.
Caroline whipped her head to glare at him. "STEFAN SALVATORE!" she screeched loudly. "Are you still interested in Elena Gilbert?" she asked in shock and surprise.
Stefan shrugged guiltily.
As much as Caroline wanted to be happy for Stefan, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to Rebekah. She knew the other blonde had some feelings for Stefan. "So you don't have anyone else in mind?" she asked, curiously.
"Well, there is this one girl…" Stefan said mysteriously as he parked his car once again and they both got out.
"Well? Who is she?" Caroline asked, excitedly, thinking he was about to admit his interest in Rebekah.
Stefan smirked. "Blonde, tall, so fun, sometimes extremely bossing…" he listed off and Caroline nodded, fitting all these descriptions in Rebekah's traits. "She's also a nut job most of the time and I don't know why but she's my best friend" he joked which caused Caroline to stop and bump into him.
"Seriously!" she groaned out loud at being played by him. "I'm going to kill you" she hissed playfully.
Stefan smiled with an evil glint in his eyes before he swooped down and picked her up in his arms, ignoring her flailing and cries of surprise. "Not if I get you first" he joked, moving towards her apartment door and ringing the bell with Caroline still laughing in his arms.
Not two minutes later, the door opened and Rebekah came face to face with her best friends who looked far too close to each other for her comfort. She gave them an icy glare before crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well well what do we have here?"
Stefan dropped Caroline from his arms on the look Rebekah was giving them. He'd seen far too many girlfriends giving him that look when he'd been hanging with Caroline. So he didn't need to see it twice to know what it meant.
War.