Klaroline Drabbles

85

Klaus sighed. Marcel was at it again.
Klaus had just walked into the bar for a drink, alcoholic or blood, he hadn't decided, and perhaps a little subterfuge. It seemed like he spent more time scheming than not these days, not that that was anything new for him. His eyes roamed the crowd, searching for his target, and Klaus shook his head when he saw him. Of course, he was at the mic again.
The hybrid was reminded of his first night back in New Orleans. Same bar, same atmosphere, same crowd. Different song tonight though, it seemed.


Where it began I can't begin to knowin' But then I know it's growing strong

The song sounded familiar, but Klaus couldn't place it. Not that it mattered. He had witnessed this display far too many times now to pay it any mind. After catching Marcel's eye for a moment and giving him a slight nod, keeping up the 'friend' façade, he moved to the bar, deciding on scotch for the moment.

Was in the spring And spring became the summer Who'd have believed you'd come along

Klaus signaled the bartender who quickly pulled out their best bottle of scotch, already familiar with the hybrid's habits, and temper. Something was pulling at the back of Klaus' mind as he waited for his drink. Something about the song. He tried to brush it off, he had probably just heard Rebekah playing it at some point. She did enjoy blaring all types of music, at all hours. You kept me in a box for 90 years, Nik, I have to catch up on all the music I've missed, she liked to remind him whenever he complained.

Hands, touchin' hands
That nagging feeling was getting stronger. What was it about this song?
Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you

He paused with the glass halfway to his mouth. Wait, he knew this song. No, it couldn't be-

Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good

Klaus' eyes widened as his whole body tensed. He half placed, half dropped his scotch glass onto the bar top. No, Marcel couldn't possibly know about her. He had been very careful not to mention anything; he tried not to even think about her. That was, of course, much easier said than done.
Klaus tried to remain calm, to relax his body. If Marcel didn't know about her Klaus couldn't act suspiciously, he couldn't give anything away. But why would the younger vampire be singing that song if he didn't? That would be too coincidental, wouldn't it? Klaus composed himself as best he could and slowly turned his head toward the stage, trying to seem like he was just casually glancing at the crowd.
Look at the night And it don't seem so lonely We fill it up with only two
Marcel locked eyes with Klaus as he sung the next lines. Klaus could have sworn the charismatic vampire's usual smirk was more malicious than usual. He forced himself to break eye contact and pretended to calmly survey the bar, feigning disinterest.

And when I hurt Hurtin' runs off my shoulders How can I hurt when holding you

As he turned back around his brow furrowed and he clenched his fists as he rested them on the bar top. Klaus almost growled before he could stop himself. Instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. This couldn't be happening, he had been so careful! If anything happened to her, especially because of him...

Warm, touchin' warm Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you

He had to know for sure.
Klaus surreptitiously reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. He hesitated for a brief moment, his eyes shifting from side to side, searching for anyone who was watching him too closely before he turned on the screen and punched in his unlock code with his thumb. An Original Hybrid can never be too careful, especially when he has things to hide. Things to protect.

Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good

He quickly found the number he was searching for and pressed the 'call' icon. He held the phone down in front of him, just below the bar top. Any onlookers would assume he was checking texts or some such meaningless activity. He stared intently at the screen as he unconsciously worried his lower lip with his teeth. Klaus used his enhanced hearing to listen as the phone continued to ring for what seemed like minutes. Finally, he heard her voice:
"Hi, you've reached Caroline! Leave me a message and I'll get back to you!"

I've been inclined To believe they never would Oh, no, no

Klaus smiled for a moment at the sound of her perky voice, thinking about how much he had missed hearing it, even when it had been far from cheerful, which was usually the case when it was directed at him. His smile quickly fell when he realized the implications of reaching her voice mail and not her. He ended the call without leaving a message and tried again. And again. Ten times and still no answer.

Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good

The crease in his forehead had deepened with each failed attempt to reach her. He would have to try another approach.

Sweet Caroline I believe they never could

He grabbed his glass and threw it back, downing the last of his drink before he stood. He slowly made his way towards the back hallway, to use the restroom as far as anyone watching him would suspect. He forced himself not to look at Marcel, to appear calm and unaffected, but he swore he could feel the man's eyes on his back every step of the way.

Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good Sweet Caroline...

Fortunately, the hall was empty, as were the bathrooms, according to Klaus' hearing. He pulled up a new contact on his phone and tried them instead. Only Stefan didn't answer either. Klaus was visibly irritated at this point. Where the bloody hell is everyone?! A half dozen tries later and Stefan still didn't pick up.
Klaus contemplated who to call next. The doppelganger? Damon? He frowned harder, if that was possible. He was really scraping the bottom of the barrel of options at this point. Maybe he should just go check on her himself... No, he couldn't risk it. If Marcel didn't actually know anything, if he was just fishing, Klaus would lead him right to her.
He decided to try her number again, one more time, before attempting the unpleasant task of trying to reach her through those two. He realized he was pacing as he listened to the phone ring, once, twice, three times-
"Ugh, what do you want Klaus! My god, this better be good!"
Klaus stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her voice, his undead heart beating rapidly, due to what emotion he didn't dare to think on.
"... Hello?! Klaus! Are you even there?"
Klaus quickly composed himself. "Love, are you alright?"
He heard her sigh. Loudly. "What are you talking about? Are you telling me that you've been blowing up mine and Stefan's phones for the past few minutes just to ask me how I am? Seriously?"
"Stefan's there?" Klaus asked, frowning. He wasn't sure why that annoyed him.
"Uh, yeah, I'm teaching him how to have some fun, without killing anyone." He could practically see her rolling her eyes. "But that's beside the point, what do you want, Klaus?"
Klaus frowned in confusion. What was she talking about, was Stefan back to being the Rippah? What exactly had he missed all summer? Pushing aside the surprising twinge of guilt he felt, he quickly became serious again. He had to make sure she was safe.
"Sweetheart, I need you to listen carefully. Have you seen anyone strange around lately? Someone out of place?"
She scoffed. "Klaus. This is Mystic Falls. Strange is normal here. You're going to have to be more specific. What's going on?"
Klaus sighed. He really didn't want to get her involved, any more than she might already be, at least. "I've made some... acquaintances around here who would very much like to exploit any weaknesses of mine, and I wanted to make sure they haven't found out about Mystic Falls."
"Why, what's here that's your 'weakness'? Are you talking about the white oak stake?"
Klaus opened and closed his mouth for a moment before he found the words to speak. Was she feigning ignorance or did she really not understand what he had just told her? "I think you know that's not what I'm talking about, love."
"I'm really not in the mood for guessing games, Klaus, so could you just-"
"You, Caroline," he interrupted. "I'm talking about you."
He thought he heard her breath catch. "Oh."
He could imagine the blush tinging her cheeks as he smiled at the silence coming from her end. Well, silence save for what he could swear was the sound of someone chuckling in the background.
She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Um, well, I haven't seen anyone out of the ordinary around. Should I- do I need to worry?"
Klaus considered the question. Marcel most likely wouldn't have openly taunted him unless he actually had Caroline as leverage or else he knew Klaus would just be enraged, and enraged Klaus was even less predictable than normal Klaus. It appeared that Marcel had just been bluffing. Perhaps he had heard her name from one of his family members (and if that was the case he was going to have a very stern 'talk' with them later), and decided to test the waters and see how Klaus would react. Hopefully Klaus had done a good enough job at hiding his true feelings, whatever those were, to throw Marcel off the scent.
"I don't think so, Love. But please do be careful. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."
"I... I will." Her voice was quiet.
Klaus cleared his throat. He was probably pushing his luck being on the phone with her in such a public place, he should end the call now that he knew she was safe. "I'm glad you're safe, sweetheart," he said quietly as he lowered his head. "If you suspect anything, or need anything, please let me know."
"Klaus..." she began before pausing.
He held his breath, wondering if he had gone too far.
"Thank you." she finished. "I might take you up on that," she added quickly, as if she couldn't say so otherwise.
Klaus smiled again. He had genuinely smiled more in the few minutes on the phone with her than in the entire few months he had been in New Orleans. He opened his mouth to give her one of his signature playful quips, but paused when he felt someone behind him.
"Ah, so this is where you ran off to! You missed my entire encore!"
Klaus schooled his face into a neutral expression before turning around to face Marcel. Klaus didn't answer him, instead quickly ending his call to Caroline before Marcel could listen in. "Rebekah, I must be going now."
"... I assume you'll explain that to me later?" she mumbled, taking his cue that he didn't want whoever the other man was to hear her.
He smiled, she was always so smart. "Of course, sweetheart." he answered before he ended the call.
He returned his phone to his pocket before he walked over to Marcel. "So sorry about that Marcel! But you know Rebekah, if she calls you must answer." Klaus joked, fixing the false smile he had all but perfected at this point on his face.
Marcel looked at Klaus for a long moment. Klaus was sure he was searching for any sign that he had hit his mark with the song earlier. After another moment Marcel's signature smirk worked its way across his face. "Oh, I know too well, my friend," he laughed as he put his arm around Klaus' shoulders. "Now come on, the night is still young! Let's have some fun."
Klaus allowed himself to be pulled back into the crowded bar, satisfied that Marcel had dropped the issue of Caroline. He thought back to his conversation with her and let another genuine smile replace his false one. If it hadn't been for Marcel who knows when he would have heard her voice otherwise? Most likely not for a long time, not until he had sorted everything out here. Perhaps it had been a blessing in disguise. He wasn't sure what exactly had come out of tonight, but he felt good about it. Well, he did know one thing that had come out of it; a new favorite song.