"Nothing is with me now but a sound,
A heart's rhythm, a sense of stars"
- W. H. Auden, Compline
In which Charlotte Salvatore wakes after a 145 year slumber and is thrust into a supernatural world before she can cope with the modern one.
(THE VAM...
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Much to Stefans dismay, there was a little less animosity between Charlotte and Klaus after that night. They still seemed to bicker like children, snapping unnecessarily at one another, but Charlotte didn't seem to hold the same distrust and disgust of a few days earlier and Klaus seemed less likely to snap her neck.
They'd made a few more pitstops since the school, but Klaus hadn't made Charlotte attend any of them. It hadn't even been a question, it was a statement.
The day after the incident school they had another lead to chase before moving on to Florida. Charlotte had known it was coming but when they met in the hallway of the hotel she was confused to only see Klaus waiting for her.
"Shouldn't we wait for Stefan?" she asked when Klaus began leading them down the corridor.
"Stefans gone ahead, love."
"But, without us? I thought that we were all going and–"
Klaus cut her off, with a cruel quip he knew would annoy her. "Yes, but darling we can't have you pass out every day."
"I passed out once, because I thought you were going to rip my heart out."
Klaus turned at this, Charlotte was so close behind he had to reach out his arms to stop her falling. He looked down at her, his arms still held her, he was so close she could feel his breath on her face as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"I'd never rip your heart out darling," he could hear how fast her heart was beating, "No, I'd tear out your pretty little throat."
Charlotte stepped back, she was flushed and terrified again, her arms clutched her sides and she broke eye contact with Klaus. Taking a moment to compose herself, she looked back up to see Klaus striding away, proud of himself for her panic.
She didn't want to let him know he'd won so after a deep breath she quickly began to follow again, "Well what are we doing then?"
"Getting you something other than a gas station worker or college girl."
It was later that day now and Klaus and Charlotte were at another diner along a highway, it was nearly two am and they'd been sitting here for more than three hours.
She'd been sleeping in the front seat of the car when she felt it pull to a stop. Her eyes blurry as she saw Stefan leave the car whilst Klaus took his place in the drivers seat, pulling away from the curb before Charlotte could react. When they'd finally been seated and she'd asked where Stefan was Klaus only rolled his eyes and asked her what she wanted to eat. She didn't know if Klaus avoided her questions because he didn't want her to know or if he just liked how frustrated she got through not knowing.
They ate and Klaus continued to dodge her questions, finally conceding when he watched her fingers tapping nervously on the table they were at.
They were sitting in a booth at the back, Klaus was fiddling around on his phone and ignoring Charlotte who sat opposite him with her knees pulled to her chest, resting her head on them. They were waiting for Stefan to return from his most recently assigned chore and Charlotte was both bored and exhausted.
