Title: Neighbours

Rating: T

Summary: Caroline and Klaus live in opposite blocks of apartments. Klaroline AU week Day 4: All Human

About the story: All Human. Written for Klaroline AU week Day 4 on Tumblr. Comes under Romance, Humor. One-shot, it is. Caroline and Klaus will have conversation through

Note: I don't own TVD or Klaroline. Everything I write is for fun and part of my imagination. I mean no offence to anyone. Story is not beta read. Please leave me your thoughts! =)

0o Neighbours o0

As she got down from the car, Caroline wanted to bite her lower lip but she did not wish to suck and erase her bright red gloss from her face.

Wedding jitters!

Her heart was thumping against her chest, gave her impression that it might come out breaking all of her ribs. She smiled at her grumpy looking father, Bill, who was not pleased with her selection of groom and she could understand that much. She had her arm looped into his as they walked on the steps of the church.

"Dad," Caroline sang, gave him a knowing smile. "Stop frowning!"

"I am not frowning." Bill muttered, hiding his irritation. Caroline exhaled slowly, shook her head displaying exhaustion. When they reached the closed double door, he suggested: "Honey, think of it again—"

"He is a complete changed person, dad." Caroline replied, with a patient smile. Bill still did not seem convinced and it exhausted his daughter.

"That's what you told the last two times." The daddy Forbes took out the point she hated most. "Caroline, it is clear he is not the right person for you," he said his voice displaying anxiety. Stopping at the door he turned to his daughter hoping she might understand as well.

"Why do you picture him as a bad guy, dad?" Caroline asked impassively.

"I am not saying he is a bad guy, Caroline. I am trying to put the fact he cannot confine himself to anything in particular. Very unclear—"

"—Dad"

"—irresponsible"

"—Dad"

"—What?" Bill snapped at his daughter.

"Take a breath in." Caroline motioned at him with her free hand while the other was having wedding bouquet. Bill inhaled as he nodded at her, uncomplaining. "Breath out. Good, now repeat it twice." As soon as her father controlled his temper, she asked. "Now you're cool?"

"I still don't like him." Bill made it clear, earning an eye roll from his daughter.

Caroline was ready to retort but then the doors were opened, impeded her.

Oh no. That familiar look on her fiancé's face made her want to groan "Not again."

Uneasiness was all she could find on his face. In his black suit, he walked to her, flickering gaze between the daughter and father. His mother was standing behind him who had Caroline's brief attention. Then she looked at the crowd who were as pale as her.

"Caroline—" he started again.

"Here we go." Bill muttered annoyed, pressed his fingertips to the closed eyes, knowing what would come next.

"—I'm sorry, I tried. I cannot do it."

Caroline gathered herself to respond. "You are calling it off for the third time, Tyler?" she squeaked. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Wedding—it really scares me off. I think I am not ready for it." Tyler, her boyfriend for five years, explained his problem. "I just need some more time I guess." He was so troubled, stepped to her expecting she would understand.

She had tried to understand. She did, which was why she still stood in front of him without knocking him dead. Caroline at that moment began to experience many emotions. Confused, angry, broken, exhausted—what not. She gave him many chances, she spoke to him and managed to understand his trouble. He would propose her to marry him, he was the one to set date but also he was the one to break it off.

The reason was—wedding scares him off.

Right.

She had it all.

Not anymore. Her expression hardened, nodding at him calmly for a moment before she opened her mouth. "You know what you need, Tyler?" she said removing pins from her hair. "A therapist."

"Caroline—"

"Save it." She snapped, annoyed. The callous look on her face did not change. When one of those pins bothered not come, she left it with a sigh. "Tyler, I'm not giving you any chance to explain yourself. I think I'm not ready for it." She repeated his words quietly though from inside she was literally burning. If looks could kill, Tyler would have turned to ashes and disappeared into thin air.

That was the last thing she knew before she took out the engagement ring and threw it on his face.

Tyler let out a heavy groan as she glanced at her father from the corner of her eye.

Bill never looked so proud and happy.

Yeah, but he was not the one going through her situation.

There were guests waiting in the room. This condition would not shock them that much, as they were witnessed twice before now. Her friends—she had been mocked for choosing the same guy who dumped her.

She thought she was being patient with him. Had not she? Probably they were right.

Huffing out loudly she ran out of the place while turning deaf at people who called for her. She went to the car and demanded the driver to give her keys. And when he did with much hesitation, she drove away instantly.

Damn it.

Tyler, a voice grumbled in her head. She went to the city outskirts and before she knew she was driving on one of the paths of a hill. From rearview mirror, she saw a decorated basket of wine bottles and glasses and could not help but feel irritated as the wine reminded her of arrangements she made before wedding.

If you are thinking she is going to die, then you are mistaken.

Caroline strongly believes to kill than to be killed.

Basically, the thing is—she had no idea where she was going. All she required was a desolated place to chill down and think again. So on the way she stopped at a bar and bought beer enough to keep her sedated for the rest of day. Whenever she was stressed out, she would definitely prefer beer to bring her back. And yeah, she ignored weird looks she got from fellow people because of her dazzling appearance.

Her entire body trembled with dark fury and she would not give damn about the rest of world.

She was at the edge of hill when she hit breaks. A panting Caroline got down and collected one of the drinks. The wedding dress seemed heavy all of sudden and she wanted nothing but to tear it into two at that point of time. Her fancy wedding shoes delayed her stormy walk on that uneven surface. So at once she halted actions to remove them with a grunt and threw them away with all the strength she could gather. Not like she would get married.

No.

Not now.

In fact she would never get married.

Ugh, she would start hating men from that point.

The veil behind began to irk her as Caroline messed with it so much that she had no choice but to leave it hanging till she gets back. Settling down, she hung her legs from the cliff and scowled at the city outline in front of her eyes before she gave attention to one of beer bottle.

Damn she forgot the opener.

Closing eyes in irritation, Caroline tried to control her temper. But she could not. So she screamed at the top of her lungs as a way of letting all of her emotions out.

Nudging the bottle away in disappointment, the blonde exhaled completely. Bending her head down, she buried her face into her palms and in result the previous situations started to rewind in her mind.

Tyler.

If she had seen him again, then Caroline would make sure to have her sandal on his face.

Bastard.

She took a moment to notice that how drastically her thoughts had changed within past few minutes.

The running sound of a car had her attention. Turning to it, she found an unfamiliar silver car stopping beside her. Caroline frowned, waiting for the driver to get down and the person did.

A smirking Klaus was standing there at some distance and it stunned her to the core. Well, you could not expect the person who lives in the apartment which was in opposite block after your wedding was crashed.

"You look like you tried every drink in the world, sweetheart." For the first time, she heard him speaking and it sounded like a sweet melody to her ears.

As he approached her smoothly, Caroline turned her head back to the city and grumbled. "If you are here to taunt me, Klaus, then I suggest you to run away and come back after sometime."

Caroline wished to hear nothing then. Not from him.

A surprised Caroline was signing the papers.

She asked if the delivery guy was at wrong place because Caroline recently moved into that apartment and did not remember giving her address to anyone. Moreover the sender was a stranger—Klaus.

And binoculars?

Seriously?

Not even a letter.

After the delivery guy left, Caroline walked into the kitchen totally perplexed as she undid the package and took out a pair of binoculars. Going through the details about it, she moved into the open balcony that was attached to her kitchen. She watched her the other blocks of apartment through magnifying lenses, bit her lip.

No one was outside of their apartments except one.

A man, waving at her, was at his balcony, in one of the blocks. Caroline peeled her eyes from binoculars and looked at the small figure under naked eye. He was living exactly opposite to her.

Once again she watched him through binoculars, and saw him bending down and taking a placard which displayed: Hello, Caroline.

Caroline could hardly believe and she instantly figured out who the interested person was—Klaus.

Another placard was exhibited: We should meet for a coffee…?

The blonde raised a brow mockingly when he watched her through his own pair of binoculars. Then she slowly shook her head and wiggled her index finger as no.

Conversation through binoculars—she never did it and so, she was kind of excited. Containing her smile, she looked through lenses to see his reaction.

Klaus smiled a dimple smile and quickly gave her puppy dog eyes, making her chortle out loudly.

"I believe you need this." Klaus replied, took out an opener from his pocket as he sat down beside her. Caroline treated him with deadpanned look as he removed the cap and passed beer to her. Yanking it from him she took two gulps of drink quickly.

"Are you following me?" She asked without glancing at him.

"From the church." He replied, watching the city along with her.

Caroline ceased her actions and gaped at him. "You— you were there at church?" To which he answered with a shrug, with a smirk. "Unbelievable."

Klaus swung his legs as he chuckled softly. "Perhaps you have forgotten, love. It was you who invited me for your wedding."

Of course, he did take it for serious. Caroline closed her eyes in irritation as she remembered that day.

Biting the apple in her hand, Caroline smirked as she watched Klaus struggling hard to get her phone number.

It had been almost fifteen days and still their mode of communication went through binoculars. No, Klaus did not stop by at her place. It was dark and with the help of lights they could see each others' faces. He was writing something on mini board.

Just a cup of coffee. He wrote with marker and displayed it to her.

While Caroline used notepad to write down certain things which she could not convey him with hands.

I prefer beer over coffee. She put it on view and shrugged her shoulders apologetically, as he watched her through lenses.

He sighed, disappointed with her. But he immediately coped up and rubbed the board to write: Fine, beer then…?

Caroline rolled her eyes as she got inside and brought her wedding invitation and showed him. Klaus did not peel his eyes from binocular. And when he did, she could only find disappointment washing over his face.

"So, you just followed to mock at me now?" Caroline said, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, go on. Have fun while doing so."

Klaus gave her flat look, "I think you are not yourself."

"I was dumped by a guy I loved for five years." Caroline said with bitter smile. "Not once but thrice." He did not comment anything on that. Waving her hand, she looked back at the city. "I just made fool out of myself in front of people— and my dad." She gulped her sorrow. "I turned deaf when my dad clearly said he was not the right guy." Inhaling loudly, she added.

A minute or two went in silence and Klaus broke it at last. "Well, seems like your father is right. Everyone deserves a better partner." She let out a snort. "And it turned out as Tyler is not suitable man for you."

"You know, men are so annoying." Caroline raised her finger as she argued with a fake smile. For that Klaus let out an annoyed huff, rolled his eyes toward orange sky. "I just—I just am so furious—" clenching her fists, gritted her teeth.

"Come on, love." Klaus obstructed her, signaled at his body as he suggested. "Not every man." When she gave him a pointed look and snorted, he nudged her. "Just tell yourself that you did not meet Mr. Right for you." He stated after observing her for a minute. "—I must say that I was surprised when you did not punch Tyler in the face."

By judging his tone, Caroline felt like she missed that part. "Do you think I should?" She elevated her brows. When Klaus smirked in response, she blinked at him, averted her gaze. Sighing loudly, the blonde shook her head. "I admit I was blinded by rage but now when I re-think I feel like I should not wash my hands and put blame on him completely."

His playful manner disappeared after that as he listened.

"Tyler is having some commitment issues, I knew it but I was over-confident about him, about us." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she mumbled. "Learned my lesson. It is time for me to let go of certain things and focus on my career."

A confused Klaus raised a brow at her. "So, that's it?" When Caroline treated him with a questioning look, he let out a huff of smile. "Is it that simple to move on in your life?"

Scratching her cheek, she asked sardonically. "What, you want me to cry forever? Oh, please—" she purred softly, as an arrogant smirk crept to her features, "I have a life to live. Moreover, I just did let out my anguish. So now I'm all better than before. I need some more time to put everything behind but yeah I'm ok now." It seemed like she was talking to self. Klaus was lost in his world and when a perplexed Caroline snapped fingers in front of his eyes, he returned. "Did you seriously come to console me?"

Klaus chuckled and exhaled as he nodded at slower pace. "When I had failed in love, I turned into the worst." Caroline looked at him with pure disbelief. This guy can't be serious, she thought. "It took me years to come out of that depressive state or preferable word is aggressive." Turning to Caroline, he smiled slightly embarrassed from the way she gaped at him. "It was my first love and that was in high school. She played my brother and me in parallel. I had a hard time."

Now, Caroline was truly surprised. "Yeah—first love. First love is precious." Having no idea of how to respond to him, she murmured taking out another beer. Removing the lid with opener, she passed it to him. "That explains a lot." She muttered doing the same for her. "How old are you?" She was suddenly curious.

"Twenty nine. Why did you ask?" Klaus replied hesitantly.

"You sound like you don't belong to this generation." Caroline shrugged to the slightest. "I'm twenty seven, by the way."

"I am old fashioned, yeah." Klaus declared, nodded looking down. "At last, I got a date with you." He said earning a soft chuckle from her.

"On a lovely day." She commented dryly.

Klaus sighed. "I know it is not an appropriate time."

"I said I'm fine." Caroline said, completely exhausted. "It is just I'm anxious about facing the people who love me."

"If they really love you, without any doubt they will understand you, sweetheart."

That made her to look at him. "Why did you not try to approach me?" She asked after a moment. "And binoculars? Seriously?"

"It is fun isn't it? I saw this movie and immediately grew fond of that idea. Phone conversations bored me out." Klaus chuckled, took another sip. "And one day I saw you moving in and must admit you caught my attention at the very first sight." He paused to smile at that memory. Caroline suppressed her urge to bend her lips into another smile when he shifted gaze to her face. Pulling that expressionless face, she listened to him. "After my high-school crush, I did not show any interest in women and then you came into my life. I thought to know more about you so—" he discontinued, raised his hand a little to sigh, "I guess you knew the rest of story."

Caroline droned quietly as she peeled her gaze and looked up. "In that case—" she said trying to arrange her dress to get to her feet, "—I will see you tonight." Klaus braced her as she stood up, while he flashed her with his own dimpled smile. "Same time." After taking two steps she halted to turn around and made something clear. "We are not even friends, Klaus. Just neighbors. I want you to understand what it meant."

Klaus, who was watching in her way, gave her a curt nod and crooked smile. "No crossing limits, neighbor." Then he saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

Caroline chuckled softly. "See you."

"Don't forget, I will be the one with binoculars."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Same time." Klaus hollered smugly as she began to progress toward her car.

Caroline rolled her eyes without stopping. "I remember the drill!"

0o Neighbours o0