Last part. Later than I'd hoped, but I got distracted by all the Klaroline trends on Twitter. But still, woo-hoo! Celebrating the Klaroline Petition is trending worldwide! Link to my twitter is on my profile, I'd love to follow any other KC fic writers/readers. And they've been nominated for World Couple for TV Guide Canada. Voting for them is Monday 30th!

Disclaimer - I do not own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, or any of it's characters. If I did, Caroline would be the Queen of Nola by now.

Clarity part 3

Quite a difference from Tuesday, Caroline practically bounced down the hallways as she made her way towards the exit of the building. The sun was shining brightly and felt warm on her skin; representing her current mood befittingly. She dropped her bag on the grass, and sat down in an area where most students frequented during the good weather; already there were students littered across the area, some alone, some in pairs or groups, some working, some not even attempting and just enjoying the sun. Being one of the latter since all of her essays were up to date, Caroline leaned back, resting on her hands behind her as she surveyed a couple across from her being all, couply. Kissing and teasing; a few days ago Caroline would have compelled the pair to knock it off with the PDA, now she was in a better mood and only slightly envious she didn't have anyone to be wrapped up in her own little bubble with. Which only got her onto thinking about the main reason for her good mood.

Initially, being awoken at a god forsaken hour, only to check her phone and see it was Klaus calling, let's say there'd been a brief moment where she considered throwing her phone out the window. But then, curiosity, and her desire to hear his voice won out. Damn, his voice was like velvet, all soft but husky. She couldn't deny it gave her shivers. Or the fact that it had been two days since that phone call, and she hadn't stopped grinning like a child. She should not be this happy to have heard from Klaus of all people, let's face it he was probably who some cultures had based their idea of Satan on. God, she told him she regretted making him promise not to come back, what the hell had she been thinking?

Smiling softly, she remembered how instead of making her feel like some awkward child with a silly crush, he was gently teasing but seemed to sense her discomfort, and so set to put her mind immediately at ease.

"I've missed you too Caroline."

Why was it that every time he said her name she felt like melting like ice-cream? Seriously, did he have some magic Hybrid powers that made her go weak at the knees whenever he spoke? He was half werewolf, and definitely an alpha male (which she totally didn't secretly find extremely sexy), maybe it was pheromones?

Not wanting to contemplate that further, she thought back over the remainder of their conversation. Tired of basically always hurting him to lie about her feelings, she figured if their "agreement" was still withstanding, then she could continue her whole honesty thing. Admitting that she missed him, instead of making her panic and want to knock herself out for her foolish words, she felt liberated. It was freeing, to be able to be honest with him. And his response was a definite plus; she remembered releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and laughing in honest relief. He seemed to share her sentiments and laughed along with her.

Instead of the conversation turning awkward, she asked him about New Orleans. He seemed to take great pleasure in telling her about his city (and yes, he did call it his), and in only the way an artist could, described to her the streets drenched in culture and historical influences from across the world, including Europe. He told her that walking through the French Quarter alone was like a melting pot of art, music, beautiful smells of the most delicious cuisine, and people of every calibre. He told her he was standing on his balcony and vividly described to her the view; the architectures, the sights, the smells, the noise, it felt like she was there, standing next to him. She'd never heard him speak for so long a time, usually he turned the conversation around to her. His love for the city he told her he'd built was evident in every word, his passion for its vibrancy and ongoing prosperity clear to anyone who would listen. She could have listened to him for hours.

He then asked her more about college, and she had to laugh and admit that compared to what he just described, Whitmore was severely lacking and she was looking around at everything in distaste. His "not-even-an-option" offer to join him suddenly was looking more and more enticing, and quick to jump on an opportunity, he once again reminded her she did have an unremitting invitation. To which she jokingly wondered aloud if she could leave the elegance and luxury of the Mystic Falls/Whitmore lifestyle.

Discussing her friends and his family was sufficiently uncomfortable at first. He was intrigued to discover that Elena had apparently made her decision and gone with Damon instead of Stefan, and she enjoyed teasing him about being a "Stelena" shipper, before admitting that she was too. She enjoyed listening him complain about Elijah pestering him, and playfully said that someone needed to keep him in line. Asking about Rebekah out of politeness became immensely disconcerting when he told her that Rebekah was gone; having discovered a betrayal of hers, something he wasn't able to tolerate or forgive, he had gone after her in anger, before telling her to leave New Orleans.

Realizing she felt a burning hunger just beginning to itch the back of her throat, Caroline stood to head back towards her dorm room, still lost in her thoughts. Hearing Klaus talk of his sister's betrayal had stirred something inside of her; sympathy and another feeling she couldn't place. Thinking about how many times Klaus had daggered his sister and stuck her in a box, she briefly considered admonishing him for being surprised that Rebekah would have wanted her freedom, but held her tongue as even she couldn't quite believe that Rebekah would have gone so far as to summon Mikael of all people to actually kill her brother. She suspected it had never occurred to Klaus that he would ever actually kill his own sister, as to him daggering them was his way of protecting them. His own creepy, psychotic way of being a good brother. So for his own flesh and blood to have wanted him dead and gone, she knew Klaus must have been hurting deeply.

"Maybe it's for the best." She told him, "Not that she called Mikael, but that you've let her go now."

"I have spent over one thousand years with my sister by my side, give or take a few centuries, only to find out that she betrayed me to someone who'd wanted me dead for my entire life." His tone was sarcastic, "I dare say yes love, it is for the best."

"Independence." She interjected. "And some space and time away from each other, it could be good for you both. And it's not like you'll never see her again. You're immortal, both of you, you have eternity to forgive each other."

In her dorm, Caroline dropped her bag, going straight to the mini-fridge for her blood-bags. Another gift from Klaus at the beginning of summer; a brand new mini-fridge already stocked with bags of B+ since he knew that was her favourite, and also some bags with his blood, with a note saying "In case of emergency". A sweet gesture, one of many that made the warm feelings she had towards the Hybrid only increase and flourish. She smiled and recalled the way he suddenly began to compliment her generosity towards two people who had done nothing more than earn her contempt; his attempts to redirect the conversation back to her wasn't as subtle as usual and she suspected he was more unsettled by the deep turn their conversation had taken than he would let on.

She had just taken a seat on the couch, ready to relax for an hour before her next lecture, when she looked towards her right at her desk. Strange to have missed them, but there, lying quite innocently on top of an envelope were several roses, all a different colour, held together with a white ribbon. She couldn't ignore the tendrils of anticipation that crept up on her, and made a quick look towards the door, using her vamp hearing to try and detect if either of her room mates were nearby. Of course not, Elena was in Mystic Falls checking on Jeremy and wouldn't be back until tonight and Bonnie had English Lit for another hour. Taking another gulp of blood, Caroline held herself back from hurling herself across to her desk. When she picked up the roses, she lightly gasped at just how exquisitely beautiful they were. They were six, artfully arranged, all a different vibrant colour or shade, their petals delicate and lovely. They each had a long stem, and Caroline appreciatively noted how the thorns had been left intact, something she recalled mentioning as her preference to him when he once asked her about the flowers she liked. She personally knew the meaning for each of the colours, having looked this up years ago when she first started arranging town events so that she would be able to have suitable decorative flower pieces. So her undead heart was racing as she took in the message being sent to her.

A yellow rose; meaning friendship, joy and caring, also to "begin anew". Caroline smiled as she contemplated that message, taking a deep breath as she noted the other colours. A lavender rose; something rare and visually stunning, it meant to represent enchantment or "love at first sight", the mysterious or unattainable. A light pink rose; to represent admiration for beauty, deep affection and also a token to express recognition, appreciation and gratitude. An orange rose; they represented fascination, an open declaration of desire and passion. The red rose. Anyone with a brain cell knew the red rose was a global symbol of being in love with someone. It represented the desire and passion the sender carried, their adoration, respect and appreciation for the recipient.

And a white rose. White having always been synonymous with purity, to send a white rose was also to express purity in affections. Stepping away from the passion of the red rose, the white rose was meant to symbolize an everlasting love, something sustained by reverence, loyalty and humility and expresses a capacity to worship until death.

It was these last two that caused Caroline to sit down on her bed, still holding the roses and feeling overwhelmed. Something was bubbling to the surface, something she recognized and had been rejecting for months. Now, she couldn't find neither the strength nor the volition to do so. She leaned in to smell and was gifted with a lovely aroma. She picked up the envelope, opening and taking out the card that bore his familiar handwriting. She just got a brief whiff of a cologne that was also so achingly familiar that she was for a moment taken back to a warm afternoon, pressed against a tree, barely noticing the roughness against her back when strong, masculine hands were clutching at her waist, a hard, warm body was pressed to hers and lips were taking possession of hers; his tongue sneaking against her lower lip, his stubble scraping against her jaw in the most sinfully pleasing way. She broke from the reverie to look at the two sentences he had written for her.

I still intend to be your last.

However long it takes, I'll wait for you.

"Damn." Caroline smiled as she accepted defeat.

Klaus had just left Rousseau's when his phone buzzed, and he grinned to see Caroline's name flashing. He knew she'd received the roses today. Either he was about to be effectively scolded, or thanked, and he wasn't sure which he'd prefer. Caroline's frustration was a great source of amusement for him. Opening the message he was pleasantly surprised to see a photo of the roses in a vase with some water, still with the ribbon holding them together and a large card in front of the vase saying "Thank you, they're beautiful!" Klaus felt his spirits lifting as he replied. He had been anxious that his open declaration would not be received well. He knew that sending single roses in different colours would cause her to research the meanings if she didn't already know them, Caroline was far too intelligent to not recognize when there was a greater meaning and the card he sent was as plain as can be. It filled him with a consuming amount of happiness to know that she was happy to receive this small token of his love. It gave him hope that perhaps she could not only reciprocate, but want to accept his offer, if not now, someday.

If she were to visit, he had promised that she would not be disappointed and that he was more than happy to be her host and tour guide. He already had a room at the compound ready for her, which he kept locked at all times to prevent Elijah or Hayley wandering in and messing anything up. Rebekah he'd had to threaten to dagger just to keep her out, not wanting to face her endless teasing and insults over his "infatuation" with the blonde vampire. But he had made his decision to not let her go a long time ago; he may be needed in New Orleans now, and he had resisted contacting her these last few weeks to respect her wishes but he had never any intention of simply moving on with his life and attempting to forget her. He'd learned after just a few weeks of chasing her that such a feat was not possible for him.

Later in the evening, he was relaxing in his bedroom with his sketchbook; the most recent pages filled with Caroline's face and her body, all memories of that day. His favourite was his drawing of her face, as he had seen her right after their first kiss, as she smiled at him. He remembered having been taken by surprise, pleasantly so, and when she had pulled away he had given her a smile more human than he'd ever thought himself capable of. He'd felt true happiness and then she smiled back, radiant as ever; that image would stay with him through the rest of eternity. He looked upon his drawing, pleased that his good memory partnered with his talent for drawing served him well for creating a true likeness of the beautiful woman who had captured his attentions, his affections and his love.

He himself had never been able to understand exactly why he loved Caroline as much as he did. She was infuriating beyond belief; he'd never met anyone to so constantly challenge him at every turn. Even his siblings had learned long ago where the line was not to be crossed with him. Caroline seemed to have seen the line, toed the line, then shrugged her shoulders and would dance back and forth across simply because she could. Caroline would stand up to anyone, and had that wonderful quality of saying whatever came into her head. He was concerned about others who would not enjoy it the way he did, but he would tear apart anyone who dared harm her. Her perfect imperfections, the way her fascinating mind worked, she had him twisting and turning trying to keep up with her. Like painting a new portrait; just when he thought he was finally adding the final touches to Caroline, she would say or do something to unravel him, and he'd realize there was so much more to her picture. She was his greatest distraction, his biggest muse, biggest critic and the only woman in a thousand years for him to fall for. It was disorienting, unexpected, and even somewhat alarming. But wholly exhilarating. She would forever be his weakness, and his drug.

Klaus broke from his reverie as he felt his phone buzz and was pleased to see Caroline's name on the screen once again. Even more elated upon reading the message.

-So what's New Orleans like at Spring Break? X

And, that's all folks. Hope you all enjoyed reading. I've loved writing this. It was more or less a writing exercise since it's been so long since I posted anything. I have some other one-shot ideas before I start writing my full-length fic. In this, I've kept them both as lighthearted as I could but my depictions will likely differ depending on the story setting etc. Thanks for reading!

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