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Klaus tapped the handle of his paint brush against his chin as he stared at the painting before him. There was something missing in his rendition of the famous Bourbon Street and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. It was irritating to say the least considering he’d been working on the painting for quite some time.
He’d retreated to his art studio a few hours ago after an early morning argument with his siblings. They’d been in a tizzy ever since he declared today was not a day for waging war. But he had awoken in a sour mood, unwilling to deal with the witches, baby talk or war with Marcel. Sadly, everyone didn’t share his position. Was it so wrong for him to take a break from scheming? One day wouldn’t make or break his cause. It’s better to give Marcel time to relax anyway.
Sophie apparently disagreed. She had arrived bright and early demanding that the Originals develop a move for Davina, threatening to hurt herself, and Hayley, if they didn’t. The stupid witch could piss off for all he cared; he knew the bint wasn’t going to kill herself. It was clear as day that Sophie didn’t have the guts for suicide, what with her constant whimpering about Marcel’s rules every time they required a little magic. It was ridiculous really. How did she expect to liberate her people from a tyrant if she wasn’t willing to endanger herself from time to time? Once again he was regretting not intervening in the murder of Jane Anne Deveraux. At least that sister appeared to have some backbone. It was extremely insulting having such a weak willed woman like Sophie trying to control him. He didn’t appreciate all her secrecy either. He had half a mind to torture her and find out what she was hiding, but he couldn’t be bothered with the repercussions of such actions. The witch was lucky she was tied to the pregnant she-wolf, otherwise he would have removed her head from her shoulders months ago.
Klaus frowned at the thought of Hayley. Just another thing he was trying not to think about today. He was finally willing to admit, begrudgingly of course, that the idea of a child, correction daughter, was…a little appealing. But that didn’t mean he was 100% on board. There were some days when the girl walked into the room and all he could think about was eliminating the weakness that she represented. True, they had shared a few moments here and there the last few weeks, but he still found her presence annoying overall. He didn’t like her poking around in all their belongings. He was restraining himself around her, trying to be…nice as she put it, but it was difficult. Nothing about this situation was ideal, nothing at all.
Klaus sighed in annoyance and dropped his paintbrush in the water filled jar beside him. He came in his studio to get away from these thoughts and yet they continued to plague him. Working on his art had not improved his mood in the slightest and now his inability to finish the painting was only elevating his frustration. He grabbed his glass of bourbon and collapsed on the couch behind him. He continued to stare at the painting. God, what was missing?!
His train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. He removed the device from his pocket and peered at the screen. His lips spread into the smile as the name “Caroline” flashed on his screen. Well, it looked like the day was looking up.
They’d spoken on and off since her graduation, mostly through text messages, but phone calls were a little rarer then he’d like. He couldn’t complain though, the fact the she spoke to him and allowed him to hear her voice at all was enough…For now. He was definitely thrilled to see her take the initiative this time; it had been a few weeks since they last spoke.
He pressed the talk button and grinned as he held the phone up to his ear. “Hello, love. How’s college life? No more dead bodies on campus I hope.”
“How dare you!” Caroline hissed.
Klaus paused, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“You heard me!” She screamed into the phone.
Klaus yanked the device away from his ear, shaking his head slightly to get rid of the ringing. Why was she so angry? He hadn’t done anything, at least nothing that would affect her anyway. “How dare I what, Caroline? You’re not making any sense, sweetheart.”
“I’m not making any sense? I’m not?! You! You’re the one who doesn’t make any god damn sense!” Caroline's voice screeched through the line.
Klaus growled at her constant screaming. This was getting annoying. A phone call from the baby vampire was meant to improve his mood, not make it worse. She could at least inform him of his supposed crime before she started berating him. “Caroline, if you don’t stop yelling in my ear right now and tell me what you’re problem is, I swear I’ll-.”
“You’ll what? Bite me again? Or maybe you’d like to stab me with another lamp?”
Why was she bringing up old stuff? They had a silent agreement to let bygones be bygones regarding past indiscretions against each other so he was truly baffled by her accusations. “Caroline why would you-.”
“OR Maybe your big secret threat is a nice hard fuck! After all, that’s all the punishment that backstabbing wolf-bitch got isn’t it?”
Klaus froze instantly, eyes wide and mouth agape. She knew.
“Isn’t it, Klaus?” Her voice dropped a few decibels, but the fury remained.
She knew. She knew. She knew! It was the only thought running through his head. He couldn’t speak. He swore his dead heart had climbed into his throat because he couldn’t utter a sound. His mind raced a mile a minute, unsure of how to proceed. Part of him knew that he should be worried. If the secret was really out, then he had far more dangerous people to worry about than Caroline. But he didn’t care about those other people because the one person he wanted to hide the truth from knew. But how did she find out? Who told her?
“Love, where did you hear that?”
“Don’t avoid the question, asshole.”
Klaus jumped to his feet. “Caroline, who told you that?!” He barked, his patience worn thin.
“I overheard your sister talking to, Matt. She was complaining about how much of an ass you were because you caused a bunch of drama by daggering Elijah again and also tried to strangle the mother of your child.”
Klaus’ chest rumbled with a deep growl. He lashed out with his foot, kicking a chair straight into the wall. “Goddammit Rebekah!”
“I don’t know why you’re mad at her. She’s not the one who couldn’t keep it in her pants!”
Klaus released another growl. He didn’t like her judgmental tone at all. He balled his hand into a fist at his side and took a deep, unneeded breath. “One, that is completely in accurate. Rebekah can be quite the strumpet. Two, I am angry because I have absolutely no desire to have this conversation with you.”
“Well I don’t really care what you desire, Klaus. And you better believe we’re having it you LIAR!”
This was ridiculous. How could he lie about something that they never even discussed?
“And what exactly did I lie about, sweetheart? I never said I was celibate and you’re out of your mind if you expected me to do so. However, would you like me to sit here and list every woman that I’ve ever slept with in the last millennia? Cause I can assure you, love, we’ll be here all damn day and then some.”
“Ew, no! I’m talking about graduation you man whore!”
Klaus’ eyebrows shot up in surprise. What did this have to do with graduation? Did she think that’s when it happened? Was she actually…jealous? Was Caroline worried about Hayley taking her spotlight perhaps? His lips slid into his usual cocky smirk.
“Aw, sweetheart, don’t worry. It was just a drunken one night stand. It happened weeks before your graduation. In fact, it was before we even started this friendship of ours so there’s no need to be jealous, love. “
“Jealous? You think I’m jealous?!” She screamed once more.
Klaus paused, now he was confused. What other reason could there be? “Well, why else would you be so upset?”
Caroline let out a sharp laugh, “You’re a real piece of work. How the hell can you be so full of yourself?”
Klaus frowned and stared at the phone. He didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t really know how to deal with this conversation period. That’s why he had avoided it at all costs. He would be snapping Rebekah’s neck as punishment for her blabbing ways. Elijah be damned.
At his silence, Caroline shrieked, “Oh my God, you know what? You’re right, I am jealous. I’m jealous that in the midst of wreaking havoc on me and my friends, you decided to start this alpha male pissing contest with my boyfriend. I’m jealous that Tyler had to leave Mystic Falls to break his sire bond because you couldn’t stop being a slave-driving dick! And then you had the nerve to take advantage of his absence and try to buy your way into my pants. Do I look like some gold-digging whore to you? No! I’m jealous that upon his return; SHE came trailing after him like a love sick puppy. I’m PISSED that he decided to trust her judgment over mine and go along with THE stupidest plan in existence, a plan which would ruin our relationship just to get rid of YOU. I’m jealous that after I FINALLY talked some sense into him, that BITCH broke my neck and left my temporarily dead body in a PUBLIC bathroom of ALL things. Seriously, how disgusting! And then she ran off to tell YOU everything as if she had nothing to do with it. Fucking backstabber! I’m jealous that even after you KILLED HIS MOTHER, you still forced Tyler to run for his life and leave me, claiming it as some twisted bullshit form of mercy. And I’m SUPER jealous that Hayley the wolf-WHORE betrayed ALL OF US, you included and you KNOW it, and yet she’s still alive and kickin’. She’s the one who coerced Tyler into changing the plan from free the hybrids to let’s kill Klaus. It was all her! Now we know the real reason was because of that Silas bullshit, but so what?! Instead of revenge, she gets a drink with a side of dick and then gets to go about her business. OH! And the best part is now she gets to be a mom and you guys are gonna be one happy little family. How is ANY of that fair, Klaus? HOW?!”
Silence.
“What? Nothing to say now?”
Klaus licked his lips nervously. He didn’t have to explain himself to her, but now he felt like he should. The things she said, from that perspective, it really did sound terrible.
“Caroline…Caroline, I-.”
“I guess if Tyler had a vagina you would have let him go long before graduation. Next time you threaten to kill him, should I recommend a sex change? Will that help save his life?” She sneered.
Klaus scoffed in disgust, “Don’t be disgusting, love”
Her response was to scoff in return. He was sure he could hear her eyes rolling around in their sockets. He licked his lips again. “Look, love-.”
“Stop calling me that.”
Klaus sighed. “Fine. Look, Caroline…everything you said…everything with Hayley…it wasn’t like that. She had information I required. I wasn’t trying to give her special treatment. I don’t even like the girl. Trust me, if I could kill her now, I would.”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t what?” Klaus asked with a frown, gripping the phone so tightly he was surprised it didn’t crack.
“Trust you. I don’t trust you.”
A sharp pain lanced through his chest. Last time they spoke they’d had a break through. She admitted that she didn’t fear him, that for some crazy reason she trusted him to protect her. That’s why she was telling him about the crazy supernatural shit occurring on campus, she needed advice and he was all too happy to supply it. Now she was reneging, taking back one of the things he coveted most in this weird friendship they had developed.
“Bu-but, the last time we spoke-“, Klaus stuttered.
“Yeah, that was before I remembered how full of shit you are.”
“Caroline…”
“You really have some nerve you know…I begged you to show mercy, Klaus. Fucking begged! And you denied me. And then you come to my graduation and give me that speech all the while you have that backstabbing whore at home waiting for you. What was the plan huh? To have us both? Last love my ass.”
Klaus growled and flipped the coffee table over. His hybrid features emerging in his rage. How dare she. Who did this girl think she was talking to? He did show mercy. Yes, it took him a while to let go of his pride, but he finally overcame it because he decided her happiness was more important. She rudely denied him at every turn and still he tried for her. Now here she was throwing his efforts back at him and blaming him for some shit that everyone in the supernatural world considered impossible. He may have amorous feelings for her, but that didn’t give her the right to judge him. Not this time. He didn’t ask for this bullshit! He didn’t ask for these stupid feelings and he damn sure didn’t ask for nature to bless him with death defying sperm and a mystical fetus.
“You stupid girl! I meant every single word that night! And even though the idea of you and Tyler makes me want to vomit, I let him go for you! Because I cared for you! Not her! But what difference does it make whether she’s here or not? You didn’t want me, Caroline! And you know what, you still don’t! So why don’t you stop bitching in my ear about my indiscretion and go whine to-.”
“I wanted you!”
Silence once more.
Klaus’ eyes widened for what felt like the 100th time. This argument was making his head spin so fast, he couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t have heard her right. He didn’t hear her right.
“Wha-what did you say?” He had never stuttered so much in his life, but he was so tongue tied, he couldn’t help it.
“I wanted you…” Her voice whispered softly. Regrettably, brokenly.
He couldn’t believe it. She wanted him, she wanted him. So he was right, she was jealous. She was righteously angry as well, but jealously still played an important role in her outburst. He couldn’t believe it. He was floored. How long has she felt this way? Why did she wait so long to tell him?
“Since when?” He whispered back. No response. The sound of her unsteady breaths filled his ears. “Since when, Caroline?” He asked earnestly. He had to know.
“It doesn’t matter…I don’t anymore", she said, the vulnerability gone from her voice.
She was retreating behind her icy walls once more. No, he couldn’t let that happen. She finally admitted it. He had been waiting to hear those words from her for so long, and now she was trying to take them back. He wouldn’t let her. He refused. She couldn’t end things before they even began. He wouldn’t let her.
“No, don’t say that. It still matters.”
“Not to me.”
“But it matters to me!” He insisted. And it did, it mattered so much. ‘Please don’t take it back. Please, don’t sweetheart,’ he thought.
“Enjoy your happy little family, Klaus.”
“No, wait! Don’t you dare hang up on me, Caroline!” Klaus shouted furiously into the phone.
He could fix this; he could fix this, she just had to let him. She had to. ”Caroline!”
Click.