Everybody Talks: A Klaroline Fanfiction

Chapter 13

"I take it you enjoyed your reunion," Elijah chuckled over the phone. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's snarky laugh as he strolled through the aisles of the one supermarket in all of Mystic Falls. Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had set foot in any sort of grocery store, his family had always had personal chefs for that. In LA, he rarely kept food in his house because he travelled so often, but housekeepers and assistants would stock his fridge when he was staying at his apartment long term. Caroline had left him at her house that morning, when the alarm clock on her nightstand had rudely awoken them too early the next morning.

"I have work," she had explained when he tried to pull her back into bed with a demand to turn the damn thing off.

So, Caroline was at work for the day, and Klaus was stuck at her house. He shouldn't have left, but without any distractions he soon became bored. Caroline had mentioned that her mother would be sleeping through most of the day until she got home, and Klaus had no desire to have a run in with her sheriff mother. Something told him that in spite of his fame and Caroline's good opinion, his multiple arrests wouldn't endear him to the sheriff. After rummaging through the cabinets in her kitchen, Klaus realized the Forbes's alcohol supply was non-existent, so he took it upon himself to gift their residence with a viable stock. If Caroline was going to be his girl, he would introduce her to the finer things in life, starting with wine. He walked through the racks of wine in the back of the market, trying to discern an acceptable bottle.

"I'm sure we enjoyed our reunion as much as you and Elena enjoyed your alone time." Klaus knew that would shut his brother up. Elijah never liked to discuss his sex life or even allude to its existence; he was horribly Victorian in that way. An attendant announced over the store intercom that a customer needed assistance in aisle five.

"Where are you?" Elijah asked, overhearing the announcement.

"Supermarket," Klaus said, settling on a bottle of Merlot that struck his fancy.

"You must be joking," Elijah said.
"Don't sound so shocked brother," Klaus said, "I have been in supermarkets before."

"You misunderstand me," Elijah corrected, "I meant that you must be joking about being out in public right now. Where anyone could see you?"

"I'm not a monk Elijah. I can go outside," Klaus replied. He smiled at the teenaged cashier and handed her his credit card to pay for the wine. She took it, not even bothering to ask for idea or glance at the name. In fact, she barely paid him any attention at all. Klaus often relied on how unobservant people could be of those who surround them on a day to day basis. Klaus took back his card and the wine and headed toward the exit of the store. "No one is going to expect me to be in Mystic Falls, Virginia so no one will be looking for me."

"Small town," Elijah argued, "easy to notice an outlier."

Klaus groaned, not wanting to have this argument any more. "I just popped out for something, I'm headed back to Caroline's now."

As Klaus walked out the automatic door, he smacked into something hard. His phone went flying out of his hand and he almost lost his grip on the bottle.

"Watch where you're going man," an angry voice shouted at him.

Klaus looked over the tops of his sunglasses at the man glaring back at him. He looked younger than Klaus, perhaps around Caroline's age, with spiked brown hair. Klaus studied his face for a moment, realizing that he looked familiar to him…but unable to place him until…the glare in guy's face slipped into one of shock before settling back into contempt. With that slip of emotion, Klaus knew exactly why the man before him looked so familiar. He had been scowling at a picture of him earlier that morning that still hung in Caroline's bedroom before ripping it away from its place and depositing it in the waste bin, along with the rest of the rubbish where it belonged.