The Way the Wind Blows

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Dairies, nor am I making any money from this. Title from "Windows" by AWOLNATION, because reasons.

A/N: This plot bunny would not leave me alone. I don't know what this is. It's a weird mixture of dark and romantic, and I'm honestly probably the only one that will like this. I spent so much time working on this, however, that I'm posting it, goddamnit.

This is most definitely an au, Klaus and Katherine set aside their differences…somehow.

She's dancing, her hair done up in a messy bun. Ribbons are braided into her hair, and brush against her shoulders. Her dress is white and flows around her in lace clouds as she's twirled around. Faceless persons dance around her. Klaus twirls her around, his handsome features relaxed and glowing in the candlelight.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart." Klaus murmurs, his breath hot against her cheek.

"You look handsome, too, I suppose." Caroline teases. Klaus laughs and kisses her cheek.

"We can be as happy as them." Klaus whispers. He sucks her earlobe into his mouth, and she gasps, her body tightening, as he bites down gently with his teeth. Klaus turns her head gently, and her eyes widen as she catches sight of the two people dancing to her left.

Even though she's had dozens of dreams over the last month, and she knows she should be used to seeing them together, she never is. She shakes her head in firm denial.

"Yes, Caroline, we can."

"No!" Caroline says, adamant. "He hates her! They'll never be happy together! It's impossible!"

"Yes it is." Klaus says, firmly, and turns her face back towards his. Slowly, giving her enough time to pull away if she wants to, and Caroline should, she really, really should, Klaus presses his lips against hers. Caroline hates herself for the way her body melts against his. She hates the way her arms wind around his neck, the delicious thrill that runs through her body as her nipples harden and press against the filmy material of her dress. She definitely hates the way his tongue caresses hers. She keeps kissing him, though. She can't stop herself.

To her left, Stefan dances with Katherine, a loving smile on his face. When Katherine tilts her face upwards for a kiss, Stefan happily presses his lips against hers.

Klaus and Caroline sway together and continue to kiss, lost in their own world.

((()))

She awakes, her body on fire and tears running down her face. Her phone chimes with an unread text message. She screams and presses her face into her pillow, and sobs for a few seconds. Her body continues to hum with desire. Once she's regained control of herself, she reaches for the phone, and reads the text message Klaus sends her every night, after she's awoken from the dream he's sent.

I'm waiting for you, sweetheart. You know where to find me, when you're ready to be mine forever.

She sends back the same response she's been sending for a month now.

Never.

She wonders if Klaus knows she's weakening.

He probably does.

((()))

Caroline leaves her house for school three hours later, and finds a dozen red roses spread across her windshield. She scoffs and knocks them to the ground, though she can't resist keeping one, and tucking it under the visor.

She's tired and grumpy that morning, and Elena and Bonnie steer clear. Stefan looks just as tired as her, and they exchange smiles that fail to reach either of their eyes. Bonnie attempts to talk to her during science, and Caroline's walls are crumbling enough that she admits she's been having nightmares about Klaus.

"What kind of nightmares?" Bonnie whispers. She scribbles down what the teacher writes on the chalkboard. Caroline doesn't even attempt to take notes. She's too tired.

"I dreamt that we were dancing and kissing." Caroline grumbles.

Bonnie seems confused. "That sounds more romantic, and not at all like a nightmare."

"It's a nightmare because it's Klaus. He's hurt us all so much." And he wants me to be his forever, and he won't leave me alone at night long enough to get a decent night's rest. And I don't know how much longer I can resist.

She should tell Bonnie that, she knows she should. But she can't seem to speak the words. Klaus has been enveloping her in a world of make-believe where they're together and so very happy. If she wasn't so attracted to him, it wouldn't be a problem. If she didn't actually want to be with him so bad that her heart ached, she wouldn't be having so much trouble saying no. But it's Klaus, and he's evil, so very evil, and she needs to stay strong. She just has to.

But for how much longer can she?

Lunch time is a quiet affair, with only Elena talking. She's gushing about her date the previous night with Damon, and showing off the necklace he bought her. Stefan is pushing food around on his tray, a pinched look on his face, and Caroline feels bad for him. It can't be easy hearing his ex-girlfriend talk about how happy she is with your brother.

"We danced last night." Stefan whispers, suddenly. Stefan's eyes burn as they meet hers. "You were dancing with him." Caroline nods. "I'm falling apart. I don't know how much longer I can resist her."

"We need to stay strong." Caroline says, determined. She clasps Stefan's hand. "They can't have us."

Stefan frowns, his eyes dimming. "It's because of her, that I didn't fight harder for Elena. I hate her, but we kiss, in the dreams, and suddenly us, together, is all that matters. She's all I can think about the next morning. What is she doing to me?"

Stefan sounds so desperate, that Caroline wants to hug him and take the pain away. She understands how he feels, though; even now, as Stefan pours his heart out about Katherine's manipulations, her mind stays firmly with Klaus. He's infiltrating her day hours, now, and invading her nights, too.

I'm waiting for you, sweetheart. You know where to find me, when you're ready to be mine forever. Klaus' text said. She can be his forever. Does she want that? Looking into Stefan's eyes, shadowed with desperation, she isn't sure.

((())

They're at a Led Zeppelin concert, of all things, this night. Robert Plant belts out the words to "What Is and What Should Never Be", and Caroline snuggles closer to Klaus. Though they're surrounded on all sides by faceless people, no one so much as brushes against her. She can see, out of the corner of her eye, Katherine's curly hair. She can also faintly hear Stefan's laugh.

"This is really a strange place to try and win me over." Caroline says, when the silence, aside from feakin' Led Zeppelin playing onstage, gets to her.

"I admit, sweetheart, that I usually influence your dreams. I decided tonight I'd let you decide where we'd meet. You fell asleep listening to the oldies station. So here we are."

It's so absurd that Caroline laughs. "Unbelievable."

Klaus' smile is blinding. "I am." To her horror, she finds herself laughing along with him.

She bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, but that is the wrong thing to do, because Klaus' eyes darken with lust, and he's turning his head and pressing his lips against hers. His tongue sweeps across her lips once, cleaning away the blood, and then he's devouring her mouth. He pulls back when Caroline is breathless.

"I don't know how much longer I can wait for you, sweet Caroline."

"You'll have to wait for me forever." She snarls.

Klaus seems amused. "Luckily, I am a patient man."

Caroline pulls back from Klaus, though she can't help staring at his lips for a long moment. "It doesn't matter how many dreams of mine you invade, I'll never be yours."

Klaus presses a soft kiss against her cheek, then nuzzles her neck. Caroline can't stop herself from baring her neck. Klaus nips her skin with his incisors. The sting makes her breath catch, and her blood heats as Klaus licks away the blood.

His words are dark velvet seduction. "But you will be mine. Your body will be mine. Your blood will be mine. You'll stay with me forever."

"And forever we'll rule the world, blah, blah, blah."

Klaus laughs. "As delightful as that would be, sweetheart, that's not what I want. I simply want to take you to my family in New Orleans."

"And where do Stefan and Katherine fit into all of this?" Caroline asks.

"They may come with us, or they may strike out alone. I don't care, as long as you're with me. Say you'll be mine, Caroline."

"Never." She tries to draw away from Klaus. His fingers tighten for a moment, before he reluctantly lets her draw back.

"Just one more kiss, before your alarm goes off, if you please."

She should say no. Why isn't she saying no? Instead, she tilts her chin up, and opens her mouth for Klaus' tongue.

((()))

She wakes up to her alarm ringing shrilly, and a waiting text message.

I'm waiting for you, sweetheart. You know where to find me, when you're ready to be mine forever.

She stares at Klaus' text for almost five minutes before she sends back:

Never.

The Rollingstone's "Sympathy for the Devil" plays on her Pandora station on her laptop. Of course.

((()))

There's an authentic Led Zeppelin record sitting on her windshield when she steps outside her house that morning. She sees the record jacket's been signed by the band members. It must be worth a fortune. Though she's probably going to be late for school now, Caroline still takes the time to run back up to her room and put the record on her bed, where it'll be safe until she figures out what she wants to do with it.

She never even considers throwing the record out.

((())

She shares another forced smile with Stefan, but otherwise they don't speak, until gym. They're half-heartedly tossing a basketball back and forth to each other, and pointedly not looking each other's way. This time, it's Caroline who breaks the awkward silence.

"I can't stop thinking about Klaus during the day time, it's the same problem you're having with Katherine, I know. I'm so close to cracking, Stefan, and Klaus knows it." Stefan tosses the basketball her way viscously, and if she wasn't a vampire, she wouldn't have been able to stop it.

Stefan seems reluctant to speak, though he eventually does. "She asked me last night if I could picture us together, forever, and I couldn't say no. She was so happy. God, Caroline, how can I hate her so much, but want her so badly, at the same time? Why do I want to be with her?"

Caroline dribbles the basketball before bouncing it back to Stefan. "The same way I hate Klaus but want him so badly my body aches."

"We'll stay strong. They won't win, Caroline." Caroline nods, like she's agreeing with Stefan, but she hears the hollowness in Stefan's words. She's as close to cracking as Stefan.

((()))

"I feel like "A Whole New World" needs to be playing." Caroline laughs. She stands, Klaus' arms holding her steady, and spreads her arms out. The sea breeze blows across her face, and she tilts her head back, and looks at Klaus.

Klaus smiles at her fondly, and presses a kiss against the back of her neck. "I think "My Heart Will Go On" would be more appropriate, sweetheart."

Caroline frowns at him. "No. I hate that song. And the almighty Original Vampire knows Celine Dion?"

"I may be ancient, but even I saw "Titanic". I think everyone has seen that movie."

"If this ship sinks, you're staying in the freezing water." She teases.

With great flourish, Klaus lifts her from the ship railing, spins her around, and settles her on the boat deck. He bows from the waist, and says, "It would be my honor, m'lady."

Despite herself, Caroline is flattered. "You're too much."

He waggles his eyebrows outrageously and says, "I've heard that declarations of love will get you everywhere."

"What are you talking about?" She doesn't fight the arms Klaus wraps around her waist. She presses her face into his chest, and sways side to side with Klaus. "It doesn't matter." She assures Klaus, when he doesn't answer.

"I'd do anything for you."

"Except leave me alone."

Klaus' arms tighten around her, and he rubs his chin against the top of her head. "If I truly thought that's what you wanted, I would stay away."

"What if what I really need is for you to stay away."

Klaus' voice is steely. "It's not what you need. You need me just as much as I need you."

"Klaus—"

"No, love, you need me so very badly. You've been just as alone as I have been, waiting around for your other half. We complete each other. You're mine, just as much as I'm yours."

"You're mad." Caroline declares.

"Perhaps." Klaus agrees. "However, your body sings for mine just as much as mine does for yours. It won't be long now; you'll be mine soon. I can feel it."

Caroline can't find the words to argue. She turns her head and watches as Stefan and Katherine talk, or perhaps argue, on the staircase behind Klaus. Whatever they're talking or arguing about ends rather abruptly, with Katherine pulling Stefan into a heated kiss.

"I'll never be yours." She denies, closing her eyes to Stefan's plight. She can't help him any more than she can help herself.

"You will, love. Just give it time." Klaus kisses the top of her head.

(((())))

The same text awaits her after she wakes that morning.

I'm waiting for you, sweetheart. You know where to find me, when you're ready to be mine forever.

She doesn't send her usual reply until after she takes the boat oar off her car's windshield. Klaus is definitely mad.

Never.

((()))

The smile Stefan gives her during lunch is manic, and his hands shake as he pulls out his lunch. Elena and Bonnie give up and talk amongst themselves after the first ten minutes fails to draw either Stefan or Caroline into conversation. Elena and Damon have a double date with Bonnie and Jeremy, and both girls are excited for it.

"Katherine is—" Stefan starts, and then trails off, at a loss for words.

"Klaus." Is all Caroline can bring herself to say.

"Fuck." Stefan concludes.

"Yeah." Caroline breathes. "Fuck."

((()))

Caroline lays with Klaus, up on a hilltop. It's chilly, but she's warm with Klaus' arms wrapped around her. The stars shine brilliantly in the nighttime sky. Stefan and Katherine lay not too far from her and Klaus, and Caroline knows that if she tries she could listen in to their conversation. She should try and help Stefan, but Klaus' very presence charges the air and demands all of Caroline's attention.

"You're so beautiful, Caroline, you take my breath away." Klaus murmurs. His lips are warm against hers, and send sparks racing through her bloodstream.

"Klaus, stop saying things like that."

Klaus nips her bottom lips, and licks away the hurt. "It's true."

"You know I can't be with you. I won't." She blinks away tears and stares up at the nighttime sky.

"I'd give you everything, if only you'd let me. We'd be so happy together."

"No, we wouldn't."

"Only you believe that, sweetheart, and you're lying to yourself." Klaus says. His lips are satiny soft against her cheek. Caroline's breath catches.

"I hate you." She says, fiercely.

"And I love you." Klaus says the words so simply, like it's the simplest truth in the world. She shakes her head in denial. Klaus smiles tenderly, love shining in his eyes. "I've loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you."

"No." Caroline can feel tears dripping down her cheeks, and she's powerless to stop them. "It's not true."

"Beautiful, fierce, loyal, sweet Caroline. You're beautiful inside and out, and I've wanted you for so long. I love you so very much." Klaus declares.

Tears continue to slide down her cheeks, and she gasps out, "I still hate you so much." Klaus catches a teardrop on his finger, and brings the teardrop to his mouth, and sucks it off his finger. It should look ridiculous, it should, but for some reason, she finds the action unbearably sexy.

"I hate you!" She cries. She clenches her fists, and yells, again, "I hate you!"

"And I love you." Klaus sits up, and pulls Caroline into his arms. She sobs wildly, unrestrained, against his chest. Her tears subside after a long moment. Klaus tilts her head back, and kisses her tears away.

"I hate you so much, but I love you, too." Caroline whispers, finally, after a long, pregnant pause.

Klaus' smile is as blinding as the setting sun.

(((()))

I'm waiting for you, sweetheart. You know where to find me, when you're ready to be mine forever.

She reads Klaus' text four times, before she's finally able to respond with: I hate you so much, but I love you too, you bastard. I'm yours.

She fastens the silver heart necklace waiting for her on her car's windshield around her neck. She misses first period, because she's sobbing in the parking lot. She's Klaus', now, just as he's hers, and she both loves and hates him so much. Her warring emotions are churning in her stomach.

During gym, her and Stefan both sit on the bleachers, neither wanting to change. Stefan's face is pale, as if he hasn't fed, and perhaps he hasn't, but she thinks he's just as conflicted as she is. Stefan turns to her right before the teacher dismisses class.

Caroline speaks before Stefan can. "I'm his."

Stefan blinks a few times, his eyes sad and determined, just like hers. "I'm hers."

Their fate is sealed.

((()))

She meets Klaus in a wide open field, after school. Stefan follows in his car. Both Klaus and Katherine are waiting, sitting on a fence. Once her eyes meet Klaus', the world falls away. Hate and love ping in her brain, and it's difficult to breathe. Klaus holds out his hand. A few seconds tick by, before Caroline steps forward. Her hand is enveloped by his.

"You're mine." Klaus breathes, as if he can hardly believe it.

"Yes." She agrees.

"I love you." Klaus rests his forehead against hers.

"I hate you." Caroline says. She tilts her head backwards, her face turned towards his like a sunflower's to the sun, and waits a moment before she says, "I love you, too."

Klaus closes the distance, and kisses her. It's horrible and perfect at the same time.

"Come with me." Klaus whispers breathlessly.

"Yes." Caroline agrees.

She follows as Klaus leads her through the field, Katherine and Stefan following hand in hand behind them. She's Klaus' now. Her heart flutters wildly in her chest, and her blood sings in her veins. It's what she wants, her destiny intertwined with his.

She hates him. She loves him. He has forever to erase the hate.

As she looks at him, she knows that Klaus will succeed in doing just that.

The End

I think I'm the only one that likes Stefan/Katherine, but I wanted to write a fic where they end up together, but I'm honestly not a talented enough writer to fix all of the problems between them, so this is what came about.

I may do a sequel for this. Or maybe a prequel. I dunno.