Hey guys ! So how did you like our little incursion in Klaus' mind ?
I'm so sorry I've taken so long at updating, but something kind of horrible happened to me, and I was in no condition to write or edit this chapter. I'm really sorry.
In answer to goldenhummingbird, there will be some Team Barbie moments coming up … Spoilers ! However, there won't be much Katholine action. Sorry !
As for my first guest review on chapter 8, yes, he was planning on breaking it off with her, but he also hoped that she would be relieved (which we all saw that she wasn't, and who can blame her) and maybe a little happy ?
Thank you to Stempley, SweetyK, tippy093 & modelgirl267, I love you guys.
Also, I'm scared for Klaus' pet bunny (called Marcel because obviously) now.
Okay, so we're back with miss Forbes and I hope you'll like this chapter :) As usual, thanks for all the follows and the favourites :)
On Saturday morning, Caroline Forbes woke up a little later than she was used to.
The boys had kept her awake until early that morning, getting her to play games like Life or Monopoly, feeding her endless strips of bacon, and trying, very hard, to get her to think about something – someone – else. They laughed, traded stories, playing like children, and even though Caroline felt good and relaxed, she could not help but notice that Rebekah should be here. She still couldn't believe how she could have lied about her family, but a small part, a growing part, of her understood why she did it. And she kind of missed her there. Tyler left around midnight, but Stefan and Caroline remained on the couch, talking and cuddling. Since Caroline had told him about how she felt towards her, they had briefly discussed Rebekah, but Stefan being Stefan, he shook his head and put her needs before his.
"Thank you." Caroline simply stated before holding him tighter. "But you really shouldn't feed my addiction to people, you know."
"I don't know what you mean." Stefan answered, with an angelic smile hanging on his lips. Caroline poked him with her elbow.
"Yes, you do. And I appreciate it."
"I can't help it if you grieve better with friends around."
Caroline scoffed. "And you think grieving alone is better ? Anyway, that's not what I wanted to say. What I meant was, I'm okay. I don't have anything to grieve over. I mean, it's not like he tricked me or cheated on me or anything."
"Well, he didn't exactly tell you he was engaged just a few days before."
"And Rebekah didn't exactly mention she was a Mikaelson." As she spoke, she felt Stefan tense up between her arms, sitting back upright. Caroline could tell she had hit the spot, and wished she could take her words back, but he cleared his throat and declared : "No, she didn't." Caroline tried to steer the subject away from Rebekah, to make him feel a little better. She nudged him with her shoulder.
"See ? No one is perfect. We all have secrets we'd rather not have spilled out."
She chuckled, while Stefan smiled up at her, turning to face her.
"Yeah ? What's your dirty secret, little miss Caroline Forbes ?"
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.", she teased, trying to make him laugh. He only smiled, though, and put on an air of false modesty.
"Me ? I don't have any dirty secrets. You know I can't keep anything from you."
"Aw." Caroline pouted, pretending to be awed and grateful. Stefan chuckled, poked her elbow.
"But I have a feeling that I don't know your latest quite yet."
Caroline rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
"You can't hide from me, Forbes."
Caroline refused to speak, at first, looking away and acting like she couldn't hear him. Stefan snorted and tickled her stomach until Caroline, who was laughing and shrieking, help up her hands in defeat.
"Fine, fine ! You win." She sat upright and stared at her friend, declaring: "Klaus may have been engaged last week, but at least he wasn't sleeping with her." Caroline looked at Stefan from underneath her lashes.
"What are you saying, Caroline ?", he frowned, crossing his arms against his chest.
Caroline squeaked, very quickly. "I'm saying I slept with Tyler."
Stefan was silent for a second, not showing any emotion. When he finally spoke, he did it softly and after a sigh.
"When ?"
"When he came over last time. The night of the ugly pj's."
"And you broke up with him the next day ?" Stefan exclaimed.
"I know, I feel awful about it. I'm a terrible person."
Stefan shook his head, took her hands in his. "No, you are not, Caroline."
"Anyways, that was my dirty secret." Caroline tried to laugh, but she only managed a small chuckle, and was trying to avoid Stefan's gaze. She knew he would not judge her, and she knew he would not hold it against her. But she knew that, now that it was out in the open, it could no longer be silent. It would follow her, wherever she went, and she would have to deal with it. She could no longer hide from it. She sighed, looking down at her legs. Stefan kissed her forehead, and softly declared :
"You are still the best person I know, Caroline Forbes. And I love you. But own up to what you did. Put things in perspective."
"When you say own up, you mean totally ignore it and never tell anyone else, right ?" She looked up to him with a small lopsided smile. He chuckled and squeezed her hands.
"I mean tell Klaus."
"Right." She rolled her eyes and pulled him in a hug. "Stop being such a good person, Salvatore. It's embarrassing for the rest of us." They had laughed for a while after that, and Stefan soon left her to go to sleep.
Caroline, still in her bed despite the alarm blaring for her to get up, yawned and stretched, hitting the snooze button once more. She opened her eyes to the sun, smiling. Saturday. The last day she had to go through before she would be free to get drunk with her friends and dance on tables. Or, rather, get her roommate to Tyler's bar, have a few beers and then go to bed at eleven, cursing her boss for making her work too hard and making her too tired. She sighed. She couldn't believe it was only the end of her second week; she felt she had started to work forever ago. On the other hand, she was secretly glad of how she felt : if the rest of her career would make her feel as alive as the first two weeks had, then she couldn't wait to live through it. She was born for this. For the pressure, the excitement, the running around, the never ending parade of things that needed to be done ASAP. Sure, it didn't feel nice going through it, but once you had, it felt like paradise. Like she had earned feeling this good.
The only 'problem', so to speak, was her boss. She couldn't make her mind about him, even when he occupied a vast majority of her thoughts. It was crazy, to be as infatuated as she was so soon after meeting a person. She couldn't tell if it would last or not. Nor did she know whether she wanted it to or not. So, she did exactly what she knew she wanted : she got up, got dressed, and got to work. Subway, Starbucks, Office.
Even with only two weeks under her belt, Caroline felt as much at home here, in the firm, as she felt when she was with Stefan. She could see herself grow old in here. In the big, glass office, mind you, not on the secretarial desk. Her victory with Mason Lockwood made her swell with pride. Yes, she could do this, and she could do it well. And in style, too.
She was in such a good mood that morning that she grinned at everyone who came in for something or other, even the ones who came to yell or complain. And her smile was so infectious that everyone came out of there wearing it too. That didn't mean, however, that her work suddenly became easy, no. But she didn't mind. The harder it went, the harder she fought to do it well. To do it better. She handled the clients, handled the phone calls, handled the paperwork. She even handled Klaus' little brother who kept calling and calling, even after she told him that he wasn't here. She wondered if he had Klaus' cell phone number or if she should give it to him to have peace, but in the end, decided to use her charm to tell him to fuck off.
There weren't many legal firms in New-York City that would let her swear on the phone, Caroline mused, and her smile grew as she realized she had found the perfect place for her to work.
It came to no surprise to her that Klaus didn't show up that morning. She had asked him for that much, she remembered, but she missed him all the same. It surprised her, it angered her, but she did. She missed the way he took up so much space in her head. Today, she felt that space nagging at her in the back of her mind. It just stayed empty, like a sullen child who still wants to be acknowledged. She wondered if she was that small child to Klaus. Then, she wondered who she was to Klaus. Who Camille was. Who they both could be. If choosing between her and Camille was easy.
And when she saw that he was actually there, in the flesh, she was secretly – very secretly – relieved. "Hi."
He was leaning on the wall opposite her desk, staring at her. She didn't know how long he had been standing there, but she felt her heart doing the splits. He looked dashing in this suit – he looked dashing in any suit – but it was the fact that he wasn't wearing a tie, that he hadn't shaved, that he looked tired that really grabbed Caroline's attention.
"Hi." She answered in a small voice, before falling silent. A few seconds passed before she had the courage to speak again. "Are you here for work ?"
"No."
The answer fell like a blade, unwavering and resolute. Another silence filled the room as Caroline watched Klaus walk to her desk, putting his palms against the smooth surface. She had to speak before he did if she wanted to keep her head on her shoulders.
"You have a few messages. Some paperwork to sign. All of which can wait until Monday." The words tumbled out of her, and her heart was beating like crazy. She could smell the cologne – the same he had worn just two days before – on his skin, and she fought to keep her eyes open, fought not to give in.
"She's gone. Back to London.", he whispered, trying to get her to look at him, but couldn't see the shiver that ran across her back. She cleared her throat.
"You do, however, have a message from NYSAR which you should probably get. It's on your desk."
"Did you hear what I said ?"
She could hear the smile in his voice, but chose not to look.
"Oh, and one of your clients came by this morning -"
"Caroline." Klaus interrupted, extending a hand to invite her to stand. She hesitated a moment before taking it, going round her desk, and planting her feet in front of him. He forced her to look at him by taking her chin between his fingers, lifting it up gently. "She's gone."
"Are – Will you be leaving too ?" Caroline fought to keep her voice level, tried not to let him see the fear in her eyes. He frowned.
"What ? No. I love New-York."
"Okay."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her."
"Okay."
"Are you actually at a loss for words ? Because that would be an international disaster."
He chuckled, and she hit his stomach playfully. "Shut up." He laughed again, harder, and pulled her in to him. She hid her face in his chest, reveling in his scent. She heard his heartbeat, fast and strong, against her skin, and closed her eyes. Just one more second, she promised herself, one second and then I'll move. But she couldn't move. Not that he wouldn't have let her, no; just because for the second time that day, she felt at home. "You shouldn't be here.", she moaned softly.
"Where should I be, then ?" He had crossed his arms on her back, holding her tight, his face against her head. She realized that he, too, treated this hug as a probable last chance at touching her. It all hanged in what would be said next. She wanted to hide in him, not decide the rest of their relationship. It was too heavy, and she didn't want that burden. "I don't know.", she breathed.
"Because I want to be here."
"You can't -"
"Oh, I can."
"No, listen." She pushed him back, leaving his touch. She had to look at him, or she would never be able to say what weighted on her mind. "I have something I have to say before I lose my courage and I can't have you be, you know, you and cutting me off and kissing me."
"Okay." He frowned, not knowing what would come next. The words came out of her before she could think of how to say them, impatient to be out in the open. Impatient to be on an equal footing with the man she was crazy about.
"I slept with Tyler. Before I knew about Camille. Before you and I kissed."
An incredibly long – at least that's how it felt – silence crept in after her declaration. Klaus didn't move away from her, which was something – to Caroline, it felt more like everything – but he didn't exactly seem okay with it, either. After a second or two, he finally spoke.
"Why is that a problem ?"
Caroline was so desperate to explain herself that she almost jumped in after he finished talking.
"Because I liked you. Because I wanted you, not him. I used him and I feel horrible about it. I acted so fucking high and mighty when I had no right to. I used him because I wanted to be distracted. And I convinced myself that it was okay because I didn't want to feel guilty about it and feel like a lesser person for it, but the truth, the ugly truth is that it isn't okay. I used someone and that should never be okay. And if it isn't okay for you to be engaged, then it isn't okay for me to go around sleeping with people."
"Do you go around sleeping with people ?"
"No, I don't. What I meant was -"
"I know what you meant, Caroline. I was playing with you." He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, don't, because I'm really emotional right now and you shouldn't be here. You should be running off after your future wife."
"She's not my future wife."
"You can't throw seven years at the window."
"I can. It makes me feel awful, and unworthy, but I can. Listen, Caroline, even after seven years living and breathing next to her, I don't feel as strongly for her as I do for you."
Caroline looked down and blushed, very aware of her body and her heartbeat. What Klaus said next, however, she never expected.
"Nothing good ever comes easy, Caroline."
She looked back up, surprised, not knowing what to think. She still had the image of Camille nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn't ignore what she wanted. What she felt. She couldn't ignore that he was in her thoughts, always, and that she felt incredibly close to him. She couldn't call it love because it was too soon for either for them to feel this strongly, because they didn't know each other well enough, because they had never seen each other at their worst. But she could call it infatuation, she could call it obsession, she could call it lust. But, in the end, it didn't matter what she would call it. All that mattered was that they were here, in this room, and that they could look at each other, realize that they are not perfect, and that they didn't want to walk away from the other. They still were into each other. So when Klaus asked her if she as hungry, Caroline didn't hesitate; she took her purse, took his hand, and led him outside.
They ended up in a small, quirky, cheap restaurant that Caroline had heard made the best southern food in the City. The reality was disappointing, but the company was not. Klaus was charming and outgoing and funny. They ended up talking about all their nice, heartwarming memories of growing up – Caroline talked a lot more than Klaus, but he seemed to enjoy it all the better – deciding not to go near the not-so-nice stuff they should have been talking about instead. It's not that they had forgotten about Tyler and Camille, no; it's just that the evening was warm and inviting, and that their week had been dramatic enough. They had chosen to put it off until Monday, giving them the week-end off.
Caroline did not know that much about dating – with Matt in sophomore year, it had meant hanging out with other people around, and with Damon in her last two years of high school, it had meant yelling at each other everywhere they went, and falling in bed, scrambling to get each other naked – but she felt incredibly at ease and like herself. Maybe because she hadn't had time to worry about it, since they hadn't planned any of it, but she believed it was mostly because she had told Klaus about one of the worst things she'd ever done, and he was still there. He still had asked her out. He still was very much into her.
She felt like her heart had grew up three sizes, swelling up with happiness. She was warm, and calm, and lucky. She couldn't stop smiling and staring happily at the man sitting opposite her. He was telling her about the time he and Kol were running after Rebekah in the garden, determined that she kissed the frog Kol was holding between his hands and turn him into her prince. She was shrieking and running and all three of them were laughing until they couldn't run anymore. Caroline laughed, too, and told him about the times where she was called bossy because she planned and organized her own birthday parties, even the surprise ones. She liked things a certain way, and she liked them done properly. She wasn't ashamed of that at all, she told him, too.
"Control Freak." he joked, sweetly, smiling at her. She almost stuck out her tongue at him, but settled for throwing a napkin at him, which made him laugh.
They talked about their friends, their families, where they had gone to college and the adventures they had there. Klaus was astonished to hear that Caroline had been a wild animal in college; but she assured him that she still had the best grades in her class. Klaus, on the other hand, had been a well-behaved student who had never stepped out of line, which provided Caroline with a great topic to tease him with.
When their meal was over and the bill payed – split 50/50 because Caroline refused that he payed for her, and launched in a feminist rant ("Unless they're broke or have a very good excuse, I do believe women should pay for things too. I mean, it's not the fifties any more.") -, Klaus insisted that he walked Caroline home, even though they were far from Williamsburg. But Caroline was secretly glad : she didn't want the evening to end. They walked, leisurely, hand in hand, debating whether New-York was a better or worse city to live in than London. He asked her about Mystic Falls, too, about who she had left behind to become America's most kick-ass lawyer – her words – and she asked him about all the trips he had made around the world. For Caroline, who had never gone anywhere, hearing him describe his vacations in France and Spain and South-East Asia was magical. He talked about his semester abroad in Hong Kong, and she was so jealous he had to promise her a trip to China for next Christmas. She also swore once or twice that she hated him, but he laughed it off and held her waist as they walked.
Her feet cried for mercy, her legs too; but Caroline was too engrossed by Klaus that she didn't pay any attention to them. She never wanted the night to end, even though they were getting dangerously close to her flat. She'd never let him in, it was way too early for her to, but she didn't want to shut him out.
Klaus took her completely by surprise – again, may she add – when he stopped at the door of her building, not letting her go in, and looked at her very seriously. "Caroline, I don't want to spoil what has been the perfect evening, but I have to. We need to talk about Camille. And Tyler. And Rebekah, too."
"We kind of do, don't we ?" She laughed, sadly, and sat down on a bench – her knees wobbled and her legs couldn't support them any more -. "Where should we start ?" she asked when he sat down next to her.
"How do you feel ?"
"I feel – I feel like I want to forget. I feel like I received a pretty bad blow when I learned that you had been engaged when we flirted and that you never said anything. I feel like Camille hates me, and I can't deal with that right now. I mean, is she going to, I don't know, tee-pee the office and trash my desk ? She certainly is angry at us."
"She is, but she's gone. She's back in London, by now. If she's going to trash anything, it's the few things I left behind."
"But it's weird, Klaus. When I'm with you, I feel like I won the fucking lottery because you're so great and funny and nice and interesting, and then I go home and everybody expects me to hate you because you did a sucky, sucky thing. But, I mean, we all do sucky things, don't we ? I know I did."
"You're not mad at what I did ?"
"I was, for like five minutes. And I was shocked, and I was sad. I think the main thing that keeps bugging me is that you should have told me, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a hard time taking your word as gospel now, but, other than that I'm not mad, no."
"What are you, then ?"
Caroline shrugged slowly. "Can we talk about something else ?"
"I don't think that we should forget, Caroline. I think that we should keep in mind that we screw up. That we have flaws. I want to build something with you," - Caroline looked up at him, surprised, as her heart skipped another beat - "and I want you to know that I can be an arsehole sometimes. And I want – need – to know that you can forgive me for that." He took her hand, caressing the soft flesh of her palms.
"I want to, Klaus. I do. Because I want to build something with you, too. But, really, I have nothing to forgive."
"I deliberately forgot to tell you that I was engaged, Caroline."
"Oh, I know, I remember. But I deliberately forgot to tell you that I used someone for distraction."
"Loads of people do that, you know."
"Doesn't make it okay."
"We'll just be a couple of arseholes, then."
Caroline giggled softly, playing with Klaus' fingers between hers. "I mean it, though. I have nothing to forgive, you didn't 'belong' to me."
"I kind of did."
"No, you didn't, Klaus. The only person you have to answer to is yourself. And Camille, too. But in the end, all that matters to me is that you're a good person."
"I'm not sure that I am, you know. I try, I really do. I want to be a good person. But I'm not sure that it's in my DNA."
"You try ?"
"I try."
"I can deal with try."
Klaus gazed up at her, a small smile spreading on his lips. "Yeah ?" he asked, softly, and Caroline could not not grin at him. "Yeah."
"I'll see you tomorrow ?"
"No, tomorrow's my day off."
"I know. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see you."
Caroline giggled. "It's my day off. Even from you."
"Ouch." Klaus pretended to hurt badly, and made Caroline laugh harder. "Sorry, but Sunday is for friends. I'll see you on Monday."
"Okay." He leaned forward and kissed her nose. "Call Rebekah, though. I'm sure she feels awful."
"I will. I promise. Now kiss me goodnight."
"Your wish, my command."
He leaned once more towards Caroline, slowly, but she was too eager to wait for him. She grabbed his neck and pulled him to her, found his lips with hers easily. She felt his laughter against her skin, making her blush and shiver, but she was too engrossed in him to care. It was as if her whole body came alive at the same time, blood rushing through her veins, pushing her against him. His kiss, his touch, his tongue, all sent electricity down her spine, and she was hanging onto him to stay still. His fingers brushed against her thigh; her fingers explored his hair, finding their place on the nape of his neck, and her mind shut down. It was just him and their kiss, violent and mind blowing, and Caroline felt transported. She had only wanted a small, simple kiss, but her body refused her that privilege, opting instead for a heart wrenching embrace that would not leave her all through the night. It was magic, it was fate; but it wasn't what was best for them. Caroline, however, could not care less at that moment. She was hoping for more, but Klaus gently pushed her away when their lips parted. He whispered to her, in a raspy voice : "Goodnight, Caroline." He was only inches away from her, and if she wanted, she could still touch him. But she felt paralyzed on the spot, and it was all that she could do to say it back. He kissed her forehead, his hand sliding on her neck, and she closed her eyes to cherish the simple touch. He was gone, however, when she opened them up, and she breathed in loudly. She felt tipsy, even though she only had one drink the entire night – she really didn't want to be hammered for this, whatever it was -. She breathed out, trying to catch her breath, smiling to herself, allowing herself to be love struck for a second or two before picking herself up and unlocking the door to her building.