Unfinished Symphony - Caroline Forbes & Klaus Mikaelson

CHAPTER XVI: "Success is dependent on effort"

Fredrick was nervous. After all, it was his "now" or "never".. It was his last chance to either gain redemption or admit he was doomed. He knew, that whatever Adeline would decide, he'd have to silently agree with it, but.. He couldn't hide, that he was scared of her judgement.. Not only scared, but also uncertain. At first, he was sure, that Adeline would never forgive him, that she has already sold his life out, and condemn it to misery, and misunderstand.. But, then he saw something inside of her big, glowing eyes. The doubt of what thing was right to do.. Of what choice would be the best for her: forgiving Frederick, and moving on, or leaving him with his past, and living what was old. The matter wasn't simple.. After all, Frederick didn't hurt someone indifferent to Adeline – he'd hurt her sister. He hurt her, and there was no going back.. So, the least he could do to both forgive himself, and honor Evangeline, was to speak the honest truth. Without hiding sad, and awful details.. He had to be honest for the good of him, and Adeline. They both needed to analyze what went wrong, and what led to Evangeline's death.. So, that's exactly what Frederick decided to do: purge himself from the lies, by telling the story of his life:

- Evangeline was always unavailable. Whoever had a chance to talk to her, had luck.. I never really looked at her the way some did. For me, she wasn't special.. At least, not at the beginning. I was a lonely person.. Sure, I was in the local basketball team, and had friends from there, but.. I usually liked being alone. So, I could be the only one with my thoughts, and not put anyone in danger.. As a young werewolf, it was easy to anger me, to annoy me. At first, I thought it was just the stage every young person goes through, but as it later turned out.. It wasn't.. One day, when I was alone in the canteen, eating my breakfast in peace, Evangeline walked up to me. She sat beside me, and at first I was ignoring her.. Or, maybe I just didn't want to notice her at all. Instead, I could see her friends somewhere at the back of the canteen, smiling from ear to ear, and laughing.. Back then, I should've known, but.. She played it well. Evangeline played me well.. – Frederick started, not daring to look at Adeline.

- What happened after.. ? – Caroline asked, encouraging Frederick to speak his truth, while Adeline stayed silent.

- Then, everything went down.. – Frederick answered, looking at Caroline with pain written inside his eyes.

- In what way ? – Adeline finally spoke out loud, with a sad tone of voice.

- Well, Evangeline introduced herself, told me I shouldn't worry about her friends, because they often do that to her. Laugh, because they don't understand her.. I questioned that, and the very reason on why she was talking to me. But, she told me she didn't like seeing people alone, and I seemed friendly.. I smiled to her, and then she.. Laughed, adorably. Weeks went by, and we were talking to each other, spending time with each other, hanging out with each other.. Being honest, truthful, and sincere. It almost felt like the two of us understood one another without saying anything.. One look was enough to guess what, and how the other was feeling. Kind of like soulmates do.. Or, so I told myself. I trusted her, told her all of my burdens, troubles, and worries.. Told her the story of my life, about my family, the expectations everyone has from me. She, trusted me.. Told me about her story, about her family, and the expectations people had from her. That, she had to be this perfect person.. That, everyone thought she was perfect, and that she had to stay that way. That, she wanted to escape from that.. From her life, from everything, that was troubling her.. She.. Evangeline hated her life – Frederick replied honestly.

- No, she couldn't have said that.. You're lying. She can't have.. She wouldn't.. She didn't say any of that.. She never complained about her life. No one had any expectations towards her.. She was.. A free soul, and an independent person. Besides, if she was struggling with something, she would've told me.. I would've known – Adeline responded, but the second she did, uncertainty appeared inside of her heart.