A/N: A little klaroline one shot, All human with Dark!Caroline. Thanks to klovec for her amazing beta skills. Warning on mature language and mention of drugs.
Bent
Caroline Forbes was in a downward spiral. Or more like having fun. She wasn't one for labels. She was once upon a time but, things had changed. She had changed.
Once the spunky, neurotic blonde, planning social events and being proper and lady-like. Now, the burn-out, the alcoholic, the life of the party.
She had hit a breaking point. One where she gave up everything she once cared about and let it slip through her loose fingers. Waving goodbye as that ship of innocence set sail. Burning every bridge she could get her hands on until she had no one but herself left. Because in the end, when you're cold and dead and six feet under, you'll have no one left but yourself. And with the way Caroline was acting, her dangerous party ways, she could be dead within the week.
So instead of going to school, her senior year, she stayed home. She was out all hours of the night, partying, coming home at dawn and sleeping until midafternoon.
Her friends wouldn't understand. But then again, what friends? She had pushed every single one of them away.
Alone.
In the end we are all alone. She was just getting started early.
Reason for her spiral? Well numerous things. The love of her life cheating on her. Her parents' divorce. Her mother spending every waking moment working. Her best friend wrapped up in her own cozy little life to spend any time with Caroline. There was that and a thousand more reasons.
Maybe her main reason was she was tired. Tired of being perfect. Tired of trying to please everyone. Tired of trying so damn hard to fit in, to be better than little miss perfect Elena.
Well, Caroline was done with trying. She was changing her ways and she was loving her new life style. The fact that no one even cared that she wasn't at school pursued her further into her new life. Or the fact that her mother hadn't bothered to check in with her the past week, she wasn't even sure if she had made it home once in the past 72 hours.
Caroline was just done with everything. Goodbye former neurotic, control-freak Caroline and hello to party girl Caroline. With all of New York City at her feet, she was finally free.
Cue her favourite club, Red Eternity. One of the places on her most frequented list of clubs that she had stashed away. The bartenders loved her, the alcohol was always free and the drugs were plentiful.
Some nights, Caroline liked to play a little game. How messed up could she get before passing out. Or another version being, getting as messed up through drugs and alcohol as she could and then find her own way home. In the games she plays she will always win.
Self-destruction? Self-mutilation? Caroline was just trying to live her life. This wasn't a downward spiral. It was a life change.
While other children her age were settling in for the night, finishing off their homework, Caroline was finishing off getting ready and preparing to go out.
After giving herself the once over in the full length mirror that was located inside her walk-in closet, she set out. Slipping out of her penthouse suite, her mother finally home for the first time in days, but hadn't uttered a single word to her.
Caroline brushed it off. She didn't need her mother. Nor did she need the father that had so easily walked out of her life months ago. Just like the friends that didn't mind distancing themselves from the disgrace that was now Caroline Forbes.
Half hour later, a cab ride across town to the Lower West Side, Caroline stood outside her favourite club Red Eternity. It was a little run down on the outside, black paint peeling off the walls and windows tinted with grime.
When she walked inside the place, it was anything but run down. Vibrant red covered the walls with black and gold accents in the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling.
Caroline walked right to the VIP section upstairs, being let in right away. She was well known there, she frequented the club at least a few times a week.
She saw the usual customers occupying the section and when she sat down was greeted with a vodka tonic. Her friend, Katherine, fellow daughter of a socialite, just like Caroline, was currently bent over the table in front of her. A dollar bill rolled up and under her nose as she snorted a line of coke.
She sniffed loudly, rubbing her nose before turning to Caroline. "Want some?"
Caroline nodded, finishing off her drink before grabbing the rolled bill and sniffing another line off the table. If Caroline had a drug of choice, it would be cocaine. Marijuana wasn't strong enough and Heroin was a little too life ruining. As another drink was placed into her hand, she listened to Katherine talk about her latest run in with her parents.
After the third or sixth drink, she wasn't really sure and had lost count, grabbed Katherine's hand and dragged her towards the dance floor. It was hot with a heavy crowd of other people dancing.
They moved into the middle, swinging their hips to the rhythm of the music that blasted through the speakers. She felt someone slide up behind her, grabbing her hips as they pulled her against their front. She turned her head to the side to see a male, not good looking but not horrible to look at either.
She reacted by sticking out her butt slightly, grinding into his pelvis as she threw her head back against his shoulder. She relished in the high she was feeling, almost like she was being carried away from everything that ever bothered her. It wasn't exactly the high she was seeking but the escape.
After a few songs, the guy's hands began to wander south, unnerving her slightly. Even if she was high, she wasn't a girl to put out so easily, she still had her standards.
Yet, as she moved this guy's hands back up to her waist, she couldn't get the uneasiness feeling to go away. He just moved them right back, lowering down her front but then back up, one hand cupping her breast.
Caroline quickly moved his hand back to her hip, throwing her head back against his shoulder. "Let's go outside to talk," he whispered.
With eyes closed, enjoying the bliss of the high, she nodded. The guy that was behind her quickly pulled her outside, Caroline smiling goofily behind him.
It didn't worry her that she didn't know the guy, or that she was too out of her mind to comprehend what was going on. Caroline was worried about her high though, she felt herself coming down slightly and was desperate for another fix. But the thought was tossed from her mind as she was dragged into the street.
The fresh air hit her, her mind clearing up momentarily before she was pushed against the wall of the club. A pair of lips attached to her neck, hips digging into hers as she was pushed flush against the wall. An automatic moan slipped from her lips, arms wrapping around the guys' shoulders to pull him closer.
They weren't talking and somehow Caroline didn't care that he had taken her outside to hook up against the wall. The drugs that she had taken wouldn't allow her to care but only to feel immense pleasure of his body against hers.
It felt good but felt better when he grinded his hips into hers or when his hands began to wander lower and across her body. Her eyes opened and she gasped when a hand slipped past the elastic of her panties.
When her eyes opened she was met with a familiar set of steely grey eyes, boring into hers. As she was able to process who exactly was watching her she pushed the guy away. "What the fuck?" He snapped, glaring at her.
"We're done here," she said dismissively, shoeing him away. The guy grumbled under his breath as he turned and walked back in the club.
Caroline turned around to come face to face with the man standing five feet away from her. She was surprised to see him on the lower west side. "What are you doing here? Looking for a slut to fuck?"
"I got a call from a Katherine from your phone saying she was worried about you," he said, ignoring her initial question.
"That bitch!" She yelled, patting down her sides to find her phone missing. Caroline rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the wall and decided to head home.
He was beside her in seconds, grabbing her arm, "where are you going?"
"Home," she replied glaring at him.
"Wrong way, sweetheart," he smirked, turning her around.
Caroline grumbled but continued walking, not liking the dampening of her high. He was still following her which annoyed her to no end. "What do you think you're doing, Niklaus?"
"Making sure you get home alright. I'm worried about you, Caroline" he answered, his voice laced with honesty.
She snorted. "Yeah right. You lost the right to be worried about me when you slept with that whore."
Her hands began to shake, the drugs and alcohol she had consumed earlier in the night wearing off. She desperately dug into her jean pockets, praying to find something or anything to hold her over until she got home. Caroline smiled triumphantly, pulling out a small white pill[O1] .
It was so close to her mouth but, just as she was about to plop it in a hand grabbed at her wrist pulling it away. The pill slipped from her thumb and forefinger and fell to the ground. Before she could grab it a shoe crushed it into dust.
"What the fuck was that for?" She yelled, turning on her former boyfriend.
"Ecstasy, Caroline? Really?"
"Well I'd much rather snort some coke but I'm out at the moment and E will have to do," she shrugged. Caroline turned on him, causing Klaus to take a few steps back. "Why do you care what I do? We're over, you ended things when you slept with that skank while we were together."
"I love you, I don't want to see you like this. Just because we broke up doesn't mean you have to act like this!"
Caroline screamed, letting out her frustrations. "God! You have no idea why I act like this. You have no idea what is going on with my life. You lost the right to care and love me when we broke up. So get over yourself and leave me alone!"
She turned to her right, ready to cross the road and was all of two feet from the sidewalk when she was yanked backwards. A cab sped by where she was standing merely two seconds ago.
She swallowed.
"You're going to get yourself killed, Caroline! If it's not the drugs or alcohol, you'll find another way and I won't let you do that to yourself."
"You're a little late for the whole white knight act," she sneered, pulling away from his grip and began to head home. She knew he was following her but didn't care and made sure she was two steps ahead.
Caroline realized her mistake only five blocks down the line that she was too far from home to walk. She flopped down on a bench at a nearby bus stop. Klaus sat beside her not saying anything, staring ahead.
She leaned forward, head falling into her hands. "I don't feel so good," she groaned, her stomach rolling with an uneasy feeling.
"Maybe you shouldn't have had so much to drink," Klaus stated.
"Maybe you should stay the fuck out of my life."
"Harsh, darling, I'm wounded."
"Fuck you," she spat, turning her head slightly to give him a dirty look.
"Really, you wound me with you words," he smirked, egging her on. Clearly enjoying the fact that she was talking to him at all. She had been ignoring him for so long[O2] .
"Fuck off," she snapped, her leg beginning to shake as she looked around trying to avoid him. "What do you want?"
"I want to know what's going on with you," he said
She tried to stay strong, keep her walls up and hold off until she got home to break down but she didn't care anymore. As she came down from her high, all emotions she had been feeling came bubbling to the surface in the form of tears.
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she buried her face even more in her hands trying to hide from Klaus. "Caroline," he whispered, rubbing her back as he bent over with her. "Talk to me. What's going on?"
She shook her head but began talking anyway. "I just want to escape. The drugs, the partying, the alcohol; it's just a means to get away from life for a few hours and feel good about myself. But it doesn't work," she cried, trying to wipe at her tears.
"Everyone left me. You left when I needed you most. You betrayed my trust when you slept with that girl. You knew that my dad just left us and my mom wouldn't talk to me and you didn't care."
"Sweetheart, I care more than you could ever know."
She sat up, pushing his hand away, the tears ceasing. "You care? Why sleep with that girl then?"
He sighed shakily, "I was scared. I love you, Caroline and I didn't know what to do. So I ruined it."
Caroline snorted, "You were scared?"
"I was," he replied simply, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I have never been in love before, never even had someone love me as much as you have. I knew I was going to mess it up eventually; it's in my nature. The whole thing with Mikael, it was engrained in me; I can't have anything pure."
Klaus took a moment, resuming after a heartbeat. "I love you, Caroline and at the time I didn't know what to do with it. I was frustrated with myself and took it out on you by sleeping with the first girl I saw. I was so scared out of my mind that I messed it up and lost you."
"Well you got what you wanted."
"What I wanted was you, you are all I've ever wanted. Caroline. I love you."
"Don't."
"I'm not going to leave you again, I promise. We'll work through this together, you and me." he tried, putting his hand on her upper arm which she shook away.
"Don't. Just leave me alone."
Klaus let his hand drop back to his lap and tried to figure out what to do next. After a few minutes, he got up and hailed a cab, one appearing seconds later. Caroline got in, not in the mood to argue, and Klaus slid in beside her telling the driver her address.
Twenty minutes later Klaus was carrying a passed out Caroline up to her penthouse apartment, greeting the doorman on their way. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her head rested on his shoulder.
When they made it up to her room, he gently laid her down on the bed, slipping off her shoes and tucked her into bed. Klaus sat on the edge of the bed, running his hand over her hair.
He took in her appearance, make up smeared and blonde curls tousled but he thought she was still beautiful. The redness had disappeared from her face, her skin look a little pale for his preference. He checked her forehead and then her pulse. It was beating a little slow which worried him.
Klaus knew no one was home for the night and he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. So he removed his shoes and jacket, depositing them on the floor and climbed into bed beside the sleeping blonde. He may get in trouble tomorrow but it would be worth it just to make sure she was safe.
He settled his head on the pillow, his body a few inches from hers and turned to the side to watch her chest rise and fall with each breath. Eventually he drifted off to sleep to the sound of her soft breathing.
Klaus woke up to the light streaming in from the curtains followed by a pillow hitting his chest. His eyes flew open to see Caroline kneeling on the bed looking at him with wide, scared eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
Klaus pulled himself up in the bed, leaning against the head rest smirking at her. "I was concerned after all that you had ingested last night, thought I would stay the night." He then grew serious, his smirk disappearing. "I was serious when I promised that we would get through this together. This is me showing you I'm not going anywhere, let me in and be there for you."
"I-"
"I won't let you down this time. I won't run away or do anything to jeopardize us because I want you and only you. I hope you can forgive and learn to trust me again."
Caroline nodded hesitantly, sitting back down on the bed. Klaus leaned forward, pulling her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head, his hand smoothing down her messy blonde locks. "I love you, Caroline, and I'm not letting you go."
"Okay," she squeaked, the back of her eyes pricking with tears.
Him promising to be there for her would be enough for now, would give her strength to turn things around. All she needed was someone to be there for her and believe in her.
As much as she loved the new way of life filled with partying, she had to admit, it was exhausting. All she wanted was to snuggle up at night with someone who loves her. Maybe he would be what would get her through the hard times she was going through at the moment.