A Soulmate (Klaus Mikaelson)

○ Chapter Ten ○

He flips the pancake, or at least attempts to. He dramatically fails as he looks down at the remainder of it on the floor, not in the least bit appetising on his marble flooring. Damn it.

"Klaus, I'm not hungry." Avery speaks up with a soft smile, not in the least bit bothered by his little failed flip. He sighs but nods.

"I have to go anyway, Stefan and Damon will be worrying about me." she continues, silently hoping that they weren't worrying about her.

"They will always worry about you Avery, you are their family after all. Maybe not by blood, but by a bond even I could never come between." Klaus approaches her, speaking up in response to her silent questions and feelings. Avery tilts her head at his words, suddenly curious as to how he knew what she was thinking.

"How did you-?"

"I feel it. Whatever you think or feel, I can sense it. It's hard to explain, do you not feel it too?" he wonders. He eyes her, suddenly feeling confused as to why she hadn't shared his feelings.

"I don't think so, I mean I feel different, something is there. I can feel it. I just don't know if I'm ready to open myself up to it yet." she admits, her head dipping down guiltily.

"Avery-" Klaus growls in annoyance as his phone buzzes beside them, on the countertop. Avery chuckles and shakes her head as she reaches for his phone and checks the caller ID.

"Its Damon," she informs with concern. Klaus takes the phone and answers the call.

"How is she?" Damon speaks first with both concern and hatred laced in his voice.

"She is alive. No thanks to you." Avery frowns at Klaus, why was he trying to instigate an arguement with Damon?

With a glare in the hybrids direction, she takes the phone and turns her back to him. "I'm here, Damon. I'm okay. I'll be home soon."

Damon sighs in relief, "good to have you back, little lady." she smiles at the sound of his familiar tone, she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Pick me up?" she sheepishly requests.

Damon chuckles on the other end of the line and nods, not that she could see it. "Sure, you have a lot to catch up on."

She thanks him and finishes the call, feeling relieved to know he wasn't angry with her. Then her annoyance returns and the culprit clears his throat. She turns with a look of annoyance, feeling her previous happiness evaporating quickly.

"Why do you have to do that? Why do you have to instigate conflict? Why, Klaus? Tell me cause I don't understand it." she gestures with her hands as she speaks. Klaus frowns, he could feel her annoyance and hurt in this moment.

He stands tall, now feeling his own annoyance eat away at him. "That's who I am, love. Whether you like it or not. He doesn't deserve my respect, even if he is close to you." Avery shakes her head and storms past him. She scoops up her bag and heads for the door, now feeling stupid.

"Avery?" his soft voice causes her to pause, he sounded so afraid in this moment, so desperate. But why?

She waits for him to speak up, still remaining in her position with her back to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." his voice is soft in nature.

She sighs in defeat, she really didn't want to leave him like this. She didn't want to end their morning in this manner. "I know," she turns to him, not surprised to see him only feet away. "But like you said, he is my family so that means that you have to try and be civil. I need you to do that for me because if I have to chose between the two of you, he will win. Everytime." she meets his strong gaze, making sure to empathise how true her words were.

She cared for Klaus, dare she say that she was falling for him. But Stefan and Damon are her family, her brothers and that meant they came first. Always.

"I can't promise you that, Avery. It's not in my nature."

"I'm not asking you to promise me. I'm just asking you to try, Klaus. If I mean anything to you then you will at least try to be civil for me. Okay?" She strokes his cheek and smiles. He leans into her touch and closes his eyes, then he nods.

"Okay." he whispers.

"Look at me,"

He opens his eyes, revealing the emotions swirling within them. "I'm here, this is me. This, whatever it is, is real for me. I'm not going anywhere, I want this with you. But we have to be able to make it work together. Now I'm ready for that, but are you? Am I what you want, Klaus?"

He hesitates for a moment, then speaks. "Damon is here," he informs her through a sigh whilst making sure to avoid her strong gaze.

He hadn't answered her. Had she made assumptions too soon? Had last night meant more to her than it did to him?

"Right," she steps back and drops her hands to her side, then with one last look his way, she turns and leaves.

●●●●

Stefan sits himself on his bed and stares down at his phone, confused as to why he was calling his phone. He couldn't think of a reason, nor did he particularly want to know. He answers the phone anyway, mainly because something told him it was of importance.

"What do you want, Klaus?" he frowns at the silence on the other end. "I don't have time for this-"

"Wait." Klaus demands. His voice weaker than usual. Stefan frowns in confusion at his tone, this wasn't the Klaus he had grown to know and despise. "Watch over her. Protect her. And tell her I'm sorry." Stefan's frown deepens once more. He didn't understand what Klaus meant.

Klaus sat outside the Salvatore boarding home, watching as Damon and Avery pulled up outside the home and stepped out of the car. His eyes were fixed on her, admiring her for one last time.

"Klaus, I don't have time for another one of your games. I'm over it." Stefan speaks through the phone, but it doesn't faze Klaus.

He watches her. Memorizing her features. Her smile. Her laugh. Everything about her. And with one last sad smile in her direction he speaks into the phone and then ends the call.

"Tell her I love her."

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