𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒, klaus mikaelson

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄

┏━━━━⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪━━━━┓

THE MAN FROM THE DREAM

BY THE TIME CAROLINE WAS DONE SPEAKING, CHARLOTTE FELT LIKE SHE'D BEEN PLUNGED INTO COLD WATER.

After having her chat with the youngest Salvatore brother, Charlotte had rushed to the Forbes residence the very next afternoon. Her fists were pounding against the door, demanding answers from the sheepish girl who answered.

The blonde told her everything— everything from when she'd woken up at the hospital after being killed by Elena's doppleganger to the present Original Vampire situation at hand. Every scary story Charlotte ever heard as a child about the supernatural was suddenly true.

A rush of emotions were filtering in and out of Charlotte's body, but as they sat in a beat of silence once Caroline was finished, there was only one thing on the Henry girl's mind. 

She was devastated.

"So, you're dead," she breathed out, eyes trained on the coffee table in front of them rather than her friend.

Caroline had a pinched look on her face, sadness washing over her. "Technically speaking, yes," she answered, also in a softer tone.

"You died and I—" Charlotte sucked in a breath, her hand trembling as she looked to the other girl, "I had no idea." 

Voicing that aloud was what finally pushed Charlotte over the edge, tremors racking her body as her head fell into her hands. The entire time, Caroline certainly looked alive and well, but she now knew the truth.

The blonde faltered. "Oh, Charlie," she whispered, immediately taking hold on the brunette and wrapping her arms around the mourning girl. "I'm still here. That's gotta count for something."

Sure, she was there, but they both knew it wasn't the same.

"Everything is screwed up right now," Charlotte complained through her heaving. "You're a vampire, Bonnie's a witch, and the Lockwoods are creatures bound to the freaking moon... next thing you know, I'm turning into an abominable snowman every winter."

Caroline's face twisted up. "Yeah, those aren't real."

"Well considering everything that's going on in this town, I wouldn't count it out," she grumbled in response, using her thumb to wipe away the water coming from her eyes. She waved a hand, "sorry, I'm fine. I just had to have a freak out."

"I totally get it," Caroline nodded. "It took me some time to adjust to this, to everything. The Klaus situation definitely isn't helping."

Charlotte's stomach tumbled at the mention of the man. "This is a nightmare," she stressed, "it's gotta be, especially since Ty's not answering any of my messages."

"Tyler's M.I.A," Caroline said with a worried crease in her brow, trying to fill her in as much as she could. "I haven't been able to reach him either..."

Charlotte's hands were in her hair again, pulling at the strands as she let out a groan of frustration.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

⋆౨ৎ˚

It was the next day, and the bags under Charlotte's eyes had indeed been covered up with as much concealer as humanly possible.

After Caroline left, she hadn't slept a wink. She tossed and turned, every creak of the floorboards and rattle of her window panes sending her nerves into hysterics. She'd managed to leave the house by order of her mother, though it was just a brief visit to the post office to retrieve the mail she was currently holding.