Chances

Chapter Eleven:The Bet

And oh we started

Two hearts in one home

It's hard when we argue

We're both stubborn

I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature

Wherever I go, you bring me home

Sweet Creature - Harry Styles

There were moments now that Caroline almost forgot what had happened, basked in the familiarity of the mansion. Of course, these moments were rare and rather short. Reality would soon catch up with her and remind her of the dreadful months she had spent in emotional pain and uncertainty. Life could not have been more different from what she had pictured for herself more than a year ago. Before she was forced to get to know Klaus Mikaelson and all the baggage he brought with him. All she had wanted back then was to finish High School with her best friends, go to college with them and stay close to her mother before life would catch up with her in a way it would never catch up with Caroline herself.

Instead, she had become a part of the oldest family on earth. Now she was raising a child with the one person she and her friends had sought to kill before everything went wrong. Life could be strange sometimes, that much was sure.

Being back in Mystic Falls felt good nevertheless. Sharing a home with Klaus was less stressful than she had anticipated, too. He was really invested in making up for his wrongs. May it be him being a better brother to his siblings or him trying his best to be a good father. Needless to say, Caroline had a hard time to keep things between him and her platonic. Still, her mind often wandered to the short time they had spent together before. Struggling not to get stuck in an endless loop of what-ifs.

But tonight, Caroline looked forward to hanging out at the Grill with the others. Once in a while, Liz would pick up her grandchild to spent some quality time with him alone. This meant that Caroline had almost an entire day and all night to do the things she could not do with her child around. Namely, having an uninterrupted lunch with her friends and a night at the Grill that included alcohol.

"You look pretty." Henrik's voice snapped Caroline out of her thoughts.

"Why, thanks, Henrik!" Caroline grinned. She wore a tight black shirt with a dark red leather jacket and black skinny jeans with some heals.

"Henrik, what are you doing? You now that Elijah will have both our heads if I fail to deliver you to that sleep-over on time." Klaus joined them, chastising his little brother lightly.

"I know. But don't you think he would be mad if I had not complimented a Lady on her beauty?" Henrik shot back with a grin.

The hybrids eyebrows shot up and he was clearly fighting a smile before looking over Caroline herself.

"You know what? I think you're right. It would be a crime not to compliment this Lady for her beauty," He winked at Henrik.

Caroline giggled, shaking her head at the display.

"Well, as much appreciated as your comments are, I have places to be. And so do you." Caroline pointed out.

"Of course, come on, Henrik." Klaus sent one more smile in her directions before heading to his car.

"See you tomorrow, Care!" Henrik gave her a wave and hurried after his brother.

Caroline checked her appearance in the mirror again, checking her make-up and making sure that the curls on her head were still as perfect as she wanted them to be before leaving the mansion as well.

As was to be expected on a Saturday evening, the Grill was already packed with all kinds of people. She had just spotted her friends in their usual booth when a stranger approached her.

"Hello there, gorgeous." He greeted flashing his white teeth.

"Excuse me, but am I supposed to know who you are?" She had literally just walked in when he walked up to her oozing confidence.

"Not yet. But how about we change that over a few drinks?" He asked and Caroline saw his pupils change.

"Did you seriously just try to compel me?" She growled.

He looked startled for a moment before chuckling.

"Looks like they were right. This place is crowded with vampires. Sorry, gorgeous. Let me buy you a drink to make up for it?"

"How about you leave while you still can? Because, honestly, the only thing keeping me from stabbing you right now are the humans surrounding us." Pictures of Damon and how he had used her when she was still human flashed through her mind, fuelling her anger towards the stranger.

"Feisty. I like it." He didn't let up.

"Caroline, is there a problem?" Kol had watched the two of them and seen Caroline tense up at the stranger's words.

"No, Kol. Everything is fine." Caroline answered, not breaking eye contact with the man. To her surprise, a flicker of recognition flashed his eyes at their names.

"So, you are Caroline? It's my pleasure." He grinned once more before turning to Kol. "Which means that you are a Mikaelson."

"Come on, darling. The others are waiting." Kol addressed Caroline.

The strangers just watched them walk away curiously.

"You sure you're alright?" Kol asked again. "You looked pretty tense."

"No, really. I'm all good, don't worry." Caroline assured him again.

They joined the others and Caroline was quick to banish the thoughts of the creepy stranger to the back of her mind. That was until he was joined by none other than Elena and her boyfriend Damon.

Elena used to be her best friend. But lately, they kept drifting further apart. Elena not happy about her relationship to the Mikaelsons, most of all Klaus. While Caroline totally abhorred the fact that Elena had chosen Damon over Stefan.

"How do you think they know him?" Rebekah asked, eyeing the trio as well.

"Beats me." Caroline shrugged.

"Just ignore them." Bonnie said.

"Don't you want to go and say hi to Elena?" Caroline asked, slightly put off by her friend's comment.

"Why would I?" Bonnie huffed, much to Caroline's surprise.

"Spill. What happened, Bon?" Rebekah nudged.

"I met her earlier. We were catching up when she suddenly tried to berate me for helping Henrik with his magic. She told me that he would only use it against us in the end and how irresponsible it was of me to actually teach a Mikaelson." Bonnie explained. "I mean, I told her that he is just a kid, and a nice one, too. But she wouldn't have it."

"I really hope she knows that she is dead if she tries anything to put our baby brother in danger. " Rebekah growled.

"She wouldn't do that." Caroline argued.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure that Damon will come up with a plan to get rid of Henrik should he feel threatened by his power. And the doppelganger would surely support him. No matter what." Rebekah pointed out.

"Even if that were to happen, I'm sure Henrik would be capable of taking care of it himself. He is a quick learner and really powerful." Bonnie said, getting nods from the rest.

"Just imagine Elena's shock when she finds out that you have finally agreed to go out with me." Kol grinned.

"It's one date, Kol. Don't get too excited." Bonnie smirked.

"And a pity date, too." Rebekah joined in.

"Hey, that's not true!" Kol objected. "Bonnie just finally realised that she cannot resist me any longer."

"Yeah, right." Rebekah shot back.

"While you guys talk it out, I'm going to use the bathroom." Caroline announced, not in the mood for the sibling's banter. Plus, the stranger's attempt to compel her before still made her uncomfortable.

She checked herself in the mirror once again, mentally giving herself a small pep talk. Reminding herself that she cannot be compelled anymore. That she will never have to go through something so terrible ever again. With one last smile toward her face in the mirror, she exited the bathroom again.

But once again, she was confronted with the stranger.

"Ugh, seriously! Are you following me?" Caroline asked, exasperated.

"I can't help myself. You're beautiful." He shrugged.

"And not interested." Caroline pointed out.

"I'm sure I can change that." He grinned before trying to close the distance between them.

Caroline's body moved before her brain caught up with the movements. She grabbed his right wrist and twisted the arm until a loud cracking indicated that she had successfully broken at least one bone.

"Fuck." he groaned.

"Take the hint now, will you?" Caroline snapped while increasing their distance.

"What can I say, I like them feisty." The stranger said again and Caroline could not believe him.

When he tried to close the distance again, Caroline prepared herself to do some serious damage. Only that she didn't have to. Before he could come close enough, his limp body collided with the ground.

"Are you okay, love?" Klaus was there, towering over the fallen body.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline replied.

"Book night with Elijah got boring very fast." He shrugged. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm fine. In case you didn't notice, I had already broken some bones before you swooshed in. I could have handled him alone, you know?"

"Why was it necessary anyway?" Klaus wanted to know.

"He wouldn't take a hint." Caroline said, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I know from experience that not taking a hint alone does not make you violent." Klaus pointed out.

"Can we not discuss this right now?" Caroline turned around only for Klaus to flash in front of her.

"No. Not this time, Caroline. Every time I'm trying to have a serious conversation, you feed me some excuse for why you don't want to talk about it this moment. I'm done waiting. I will not let you walk away right now when I know that something is wrong." He announced.

"And I'm done with you treating me like I can't do anything without protection. Because, newsflash, I can. I'm stronger than you make me out to be!" Caroline yelled.

"I just want to know you're safe! Maybe you forgot that one time you died in front of my eyes, I certainly didn't!" Klaus growled back.

"But I didn't even die!" She snapped.

"That's not the point!"

"No, that is absolutely the point, Klaus!"

"Looks like we're interrupting quite the spat." Caroline could not control the groan that escaped her instantly. Why couldn't she have one goddamn night for herself, without someone doing their best to annoy her?

"What the hell did you do to Enzo?" Damon asked, spotting his friend's lifeless body on the ground.

"He got what he deserved." Caroline snapped.

"No need for you to be rude, you know? But from what I can see he lost our bet." Damon shrugged.

"Bet?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah. Since you and Barbie aren't a thing anymore, I bet him that he couldn't take her home. He said he could." Damon shrugged.

"You!" Caroline pushed Klaus out of the way, marching straight up to Damon and slapping him as hard as she could. Honestly, she was surprised his neck was still intact.

"Caroline!" Elena gasped, coming to her boyfriend's aid. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me? Are you serious right now, Elena?" Caroline shrieked. "Did you not hear what Damon just said?"

"He meant no harm." Elena insisted.

"No harm, really?" Caroline crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And I guess Damon conveniently forgot to tell him who I was, not to mention that I'm a vampire, right? Because that douche over there tried to compel me!"

"He did what?" Klaus growled.

"That's not Damon's fault!" Elena argued.

"Wake up, Elena! Your perfect boyfriend and his friend are compelling women to change their no to a yes. That's messed up, to put it lightly. You should be happy I didn't kill either of them!" Caroline announced.

"Wow. At first, I thought you were suffering from a bad case Stockholm Syndrome. But clearly you enjoy your time with the Mikaelsons enough to be just like them." Elena snapped.

"You know what? I'm out." Caroline announced before leaving.

Klaus stayed behind, looking at the pair pointedly.

"You know that as soon as she gives me the word, I will kill you?" Klaus asked Damon. "Oh, and make sure I never see his face ever again. Because if I do, mine will be the last he ever sees." And with that, he hurried after the blonde.

"What's going on, Nik? Where did Care go?" Rebekah asked.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of her. Enjoy the rest of you evening." He answered quickly.

He found Caroline in her room back in the mansion, sitting on the edge of her bed, head in her hands.

"Talk to me." Klaus pleaded.

Caroline exhaled loudly.

"I was too weak back then." She whispered. "And I guess this Enzo just reminded me of the fear I felt. But I'm not weak anymore. I can protect myself."

"I know. But you don't have to. You're not alone anymore." Klaus reassured her.

"I wasn't alone back then, you know?" Caroline looked up at him finally. "Elena and Stefan knew. But they were too scared of what Damon would do if they would try to help. So, they didn't."

Klaus felt anger rise in his chest. That was a detail Caroline had never shared with him.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could say.

"It's not your fault."

"I know. But maybe things would have been different had I met you sooner."

"No. You would not have liked the human me."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me." She said and finally, she smiled at him. "And I'm sorry."

"Whatever are you sorry for, love?" He didn't understand.

"You were right. I avoid talking to you. Talking about us." She admitted.

"Still, it was wrong of me to throw that at you when I knew you were distressed."

"Kind of. But I get why you did it. I probably would have snapped much sooner were our roles reversed."

"Usually, so would I. But I'm trying not to lash out as quickly anymore." He pointed out, smirking at her.

"I know. And you have really worked hard on yourself. I've seen it." Caroline agreed.

"But you still don't acknowledge our need for a conversation. Why?" His eyes were pleading.

"I guess I'm just scared, you know?" Caroline confessed.

And he did. He understood that he might have hurt her one time many times.

"So am I." He admitted.

"You?" Caroline raised a brow at him.

"It's true, love. I'm scared that I have truly lost you. I'm scared that you will refuse to give me another chance." She was surprised at his honesty. He rarely spoke about his feelings, rarely made himself vulnerable in front of others. She knew that.

"And I'm scared that the more time I spent with you, I long to give you that chance more and more. And as much as I want to, I'm scared that history will repeat itself. How can I take care of Josef while mending my heart broken again?" She asked, finally opening up to him as well.

"I cannot promise you that things will go smoothly for our family from now on. But I promise you now that I will do everything in my power to make sure that no one will ever hurt you again. Including me. And should I fail, I promise to be there to help you recover." He vowed.

Caroline stood up and walked towards him.

"And what will happen when you get sick of me? When you find someone new, someone more interesting." She asked and he huffed. "What?"

"I highly doubt that." He explained. "I have lived for a century and no other woman could make me feel the way you do. I have never felt the love I feel for you."

Her eyes grew wide, her heart beating furiously in her chest.

"You love me?" She asked quietly, her expression unreadable.

"Yes. I love you, Caroline." Klaus had had more than enough time to work through his feelings for the baby vampire. Still, saying it out loud for the first time came as quite the surprise to him as well. Not to mention the anxiety he felt now that he knew there was no going back.

"Do you remember the day after Christmas when you were packing your bags for New Orleans?" Caroline asked and he nodded.

"I was so confused about us. I mean, I knew what I wanted. But you were so hard for me to figure out. My mom actually encouraged me to talk to you that day." Caroline remembered fondly. "That day, I wanted to tell you that I love you."

Klaus looked at her with pain in his eyes.

"And it's actually a bit crazy, but that never changed. Even though I tried to fight it all the time. I still love you." Caroline smiled at him and Klaus found that he couldn't wait any longer. He closed the distance between them and finally tasted her lips again. She, in turn, wound her arms around his neck, trying to get him closer.

"Finally!" Rebekah made them jump apart. "About time you two made up!"

Well, hello there dear reader!

I'm guessing there is a lot of OOC things going on in this chapter. Plus, I just used Enzo in a way that would simply benefit the plot. Sorry to all of you who like him. It had to be done.

Anyway, thanks again for everyone that stuck around so far. You are very much appreciated!

If you find the time, please leave a review, they tend to make me very happy!

Lots of Love and stay safe!