Beauty And The Beast // Klaroline AU

Chapter 34

Caroline's POV

"A dinner? You mean like eating and conversing? With your family?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

Klaus takes my hands in his, a normal thing he does by now.

"It's going to be fun, love. Trust me, okay?" he smiles, kissing my cheek.

I blush, still not used to his affection. Klaus really is a romantic, unable to keep his hands off me. I can't complain, though. The attention only boosts my ego, and I have to admit he's adorable when he smothers me in kisses and hugs which has become quite a habit of his.

We're not exclusive. Actually, I have no clue what we are. All I know is that we both like each other, and that's enough for the both of us for now.

"I do trust you."

"I can tell when you're nervous. Look, everything's going to be fine. You know them all well enough," he assures me.

"What if they ask about us? What am I going to say then? They're already skeptical there's something going on between us. I'm not ready to share what we have with your entire family- especially Kol. I would never hear the end of it," I roll my eyes just thinking about it.

He smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ears, "they're going to find out eventually."

"I know."

"It'll be fun, okay? Don't worry. Now go get ready, I can already picture how exquisite you're going to look tonight," Klaus grins while kissing my lips, wiping the frown off my face.

• • •

I walk downstairs, adjusting the skin tight red dress which falls just below mid thigh.

"Why hello, gorgeous," Kol smirks from the end of the stairs, the siblings all beginning to gather into the entryway.

"Hi Kol," I roll my eyes, a fond smile on my face as I reach up to hug him.

I admit Kol is attractive and knows how to make a girl blush, but the minute Klaus walks out of the kitchen, my thoughts are solely focused on him.

"Hey," I smile, turning to Klaus who's eyes are wide as he looks me up and down.

"You look... absolutely stunning," his breath hitches and I giggle.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

Rebekah coughs, interrupting the two of us while bringing me into reality.

"Hey!" I hug her, getting the attention off of Klaus and I.

"Hi, how are you?" Rebekah smiles.

"Good, you?" I reply, waiting for everyone to finish greeting each other.

"I'm good. I can see you're feeling great," she winks. I furrow my eyebrows, unsure of what she means, blushing when I see her gaze land on Klaus, her eyebrows wiggling teasingly.

"Rebekah, nothing is going on between Klaus and I. That's final," I whisper, my voice barely audible over the sound of everyone else in the room.

The two of us begin to follow the rest of the crowd into the dining room where candles and fancy plates, napkins, and name cards are set up. I find the seat with my name card, looking to my left and right to see who I'm sitting next to. Rebekah and Klaus, great.

"Hello everyone. I'll try and remember who likes red and who likes white but don't get too mad if I get it wrong," Emily smiles sweetly, pouring the respectable wine into everyone's glass.