19th April, 2028

3rd person POV

The kids, Kaitlyn and Freya had fallen asleep while watching the movie that night. Klaus wakes up and comes downstairs to see all the kids crammed on the floor, lying around asleep while Freya lies on the couch above. Lizzie and Josie are snuggled up around each other while Madeline is lying her head on Ryan's lap. At the very end, he notices Kaitlyn asleep, her head leaning back against the couch while Hope has her head laid on Kaitlyn's lap. He feels his heart swelling with happiness at the sight, he thinks of taking a picture of it but before he could take out his phone, someone else's phone starts ringing.

Everyone slowly starts to wake up and look around to find the source of the noise. Klaus watches the scene, clearly amused to see how pissed off everyone looked at the moment. Ryan finally finds the phone and hands in to Kaitlyn, "mom, it's yours. Who's Bash?" he asks and Klaus' face instantly falls as he walks away from the suite's living room and into the side bar to get himself a drink and calm his nerves.

Kaitlyn gets up to answer the call and slowly, everyone else too get up and retreat to their rooms as it was only 6 in the morning then.

"Hey Bash," Kaitlyn grumbles.

"Hey Lyn, good morning. Did you just wake up?"

"Well, it's only 6 in the morning so," she trails off when she notices Klaus walking back into the living room, with an irritated look on his face.

"Yes but aren't you the same Lyn that used to drag me to Central Park so we could watch the sunrise every morning?" he asks with a chuckle and Klaus' glare hardens.

"Yeah but it's different now. I barely get any rest all day so waking up at 6 is crazy. Plus sunrises aren't fun alone," she chuckles.

"True but you know, all this time, any sunrise I've witnessed without you still made me think of you. I'd think to myself how you'd say 'Bash, look at the sky. It's so clear, so calm. I could stay like this forever,' and it always brought a smile to my face."

Kaitlyn smiles at his words, "good to know I left an impact on you."

"Oh please, you leave an impact on everyone you meet. It's impossible to ever forget you," he flirts from the other side of the phone and Klaus storms away to the living room couches, away from the window Kaitlyn was leaning against.

Kaitlyn notices and sighs, "whatever you say, Bash. Listen I gotta go now but we can plan something for tomorrow?" she offers.

"Of course, I'll call you," he says before hanging up.

When she walks back into the living room, she notices all the kids rejoining them after they've all freshened up. Klaus sits on one couch, not even bothering to acknowledge any of their company as he glares at his bourbon glass.

"Hey mom, since your lover boy decided to wake us up at 6, we thought we'd go enjoy the morning from outside and grab breakfast on the way," Lizzie says and Kaitlyn's eyes widen as everyone else's head snaps in her direction, including Klaus.

"Liz, what the hell," Ryan scolds her but she only shrugs in response.

"What? Uncle Damon told me this guy really really likes you and apparently, once you liked him too so," she trails off when she notices Josie and Ryan glaring at her, "okay chill out! It was a joke. Sorry mom," she apologizes and Kaitlyn nods half-heartedly as the kids then walk out of the suite.

She goes to sit next to Klaus on the couch but he gets up and storms away again. She sighs and sits down, burying her face in her hands and staying that way until she hears sounds of faint tunes coming from the other corner of the room. She walks up to the source of the sound to see Klaus sitting on a piano, in the corner of the living room, randomly pressing different keys in frustration as he tries to follow the instructions written on the card he found on the piano.

Kaitlyn leans against a pillar and watches him with a smile as his back is turned to her and he finally succeeds in playing a note correctly.

A wide smile creeps up on Kaitlyn's face, "you're a natural," she says and Klaus' head immediately snaps in her direction.

"Barely. I bet you're better at it," he replies nonchalantly, as he avoids meeting her eyes.

"Maybe. But that's only because I've had more practice," she replies.

"Will you play something?" he asks, whispering but Kaitlyn hears him and nods, walking up to the piano and sitting next to him so they were now inches apart.

"I could teach you the first song I learned to play," she offers as she looks at him with a smile. Klaus' demeanor instantly softens when he sees her smile and he slowly nods.

She slowly takes his hands and places them on the keyboard, then placing her own hands over his as she guides him along to the tune.

Slowly, they start playing the tunes to "My Heart Will Go On."

Kaitlyn moves a little closer to Klaus, in order to guide his hands better and although he should be looking ahead, his head is turned towards Kaitlyn, as he relishes in the warmth of her hands on his, her being so close to him that he could notice her scent, so close that she could feel his breath on her neck and ear. They don't say a word as Kaitlyn keeps guiding him to the tunes and he gets lost in the sight of the love of his life sat so close next to him. They both think they could stay like this forever if they wanted to.

As they finish playing, Kaitlyn looks down at where Klaus intertwines their hands and leans in so his nose brushes against her cheek. Her breath hitches in her throat as she feels Klaus' breath on her face and his lips brushing against her cheek.

"Love, look at me," he whispers against her cheek.

She slowly turns her head and they find themselves in the same position for the second time in the last 24 hours.

Kaitlyn doesn't move as she waits for Klaus to make the first move. Klaus slowly leans forward, so their noses brush and their lips slightly touch but not fully yet.

"I want to give us another try," he whispers against her lips.

Kaitlyn looks down at his lips and then looks back to meet his eyes, "we should take this slow," she whispers back.

Klaus immediately closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers for a while before, reluctantly, moving his face away from hers and nods.

Kaitlyn releases a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She slowly gets up from beside him as he watches her every move.

She turns to walk away but before taking another step, she turns around and places a small kiss on Klaus' cheek. Then, she swiftly turns on her heels and run-walks to her room upstairs.

As Klaus watches her walk away, he unconsciously touches the spot where she had kissed him just now and a smile creeps its way on his face as he replays the last few moments on repeat in his head.

Upstairs, Kaitlyn enters her room and as she shuts the door, she leans her head against it and slowly settles down on the floor. Her hands unconsciously move to her cheek where she had felt Klaus' lips a few moments ago. A smile creeps its way on her face as she replays the last few moments on repeat in her head.

They both wonder where they will go from here. Wonder what the future could have in store for them. Could they finally be together? Or did fate have something else in mind for them? Will they end up getting more than they had bargained for?

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It was the same evening when everyone was already dressed up and ready to go watch the match Ryan wanted this trip for. They get into their two cars and head towards Barclays Center where the New York Knicks vs Chicago Bulls match was scheduled. Ryan had already gone there beforehand and compelled the entire group tickets to the match with some of the best seats available. Damon and Elena decided Stefanie was too young to sit through the entire match so instead of joining them, they had invited the group to their place for dinner that night.

Upon reaching the venue, they take their seats and wait for the match to start. Rafael is seated on the first seat by the aisle, followed by: MG, Landon, Hope, Penelope, Madeline, Ryan, Lizzie, Josie, Freya, Kaitlyn and Klaus; in this order.

Soon, the match starts and everyone is engrossed in the match as the Knicks were in the lead with 110 points. Klaus casually slips his hand into Kaitlyn's ask they both watch the match unfold. He was almost scared she would push his hand away but when she didn't, he smiled to himself and held her hand tighter.

Soon, the Kiss Cam starts to scan the crowd, looking for couples to put on the spot. After a few unknown couples, the camera lands on Ryan and Madeline as Madeline was resting her head on his shoulder and his arms were wrapped around her. Madeline immediately looks up at him and kisses him and the crowd cheers. As they pull away, both of them flush red looking at Lizzie and Josie's reaction and then remembering they had adults here, although the embarrassment goes away when Kaitlyn gives them a genuine smile before looking back at the match.

A little while later, Kaitlyn feels Freya nudge her and she looks at her with a confused look on her face. Freya motions towards the cameras to see her and Klaus were on the Kiss Cam. As soon as the rest of the group notices, the kids practically burst into giggles and silent-cheers, all except Ryan who's face grows irrigated.

Klaus and Kaitlyn look at each other, not knowing what to do. When Klaus realizes the camera won't move from them until the crowd got what they wanted, he slowly leans in and kisses Kaitlyn's cheek before moving his face away and smiling at her as she looks at him with a dumbfounded expression, her cheeks slowly turning red.

The crowd cheers and the kids break into a series of 'aww that was so cute' statements. Klaus gives Kaitlyn's hand a reassuring squeeze as the camera moves away from them and they all turn their attention back to the match.

When the match was over, the Knicks had won and Ryan had compelled himself a signed Basketball from the entire team. They then got into their cars and drove towards Delena's place to attend their dinner invite.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

Upon reaching there, Stefanie instantly rushed into Kaitlyn's arm, "Auntie Lyn!" she cheers as Kaitlyn picks her up and spins her around.

"Hey there munchkin, you've grown up so much!" Kaitlyn exaggerates and Stefanie giggles.

"Okay Stefanie, stop hogging my best friend," Elena says as she walks to the entrance with a wide smile on her face.

They immediately rush towards each other and hug. The others then greet each other one by one and although it was a little awkward for Klaus, things were going well as Damon led them all into the living room.

Just then the doorbell rings, "you're expecting more guests?" Kaitlyn asks Elena and she shakes her head 'no', looking confused as well.

"Oh that's probably Bash, you know he moved back into his old apartment next door," Damon answers with a smirk.

Klaus looks irritated while Elena and Kaitlyn glare at Damon's back while he goes to open the front door.

"Hey, everyone's here," Sebastian says as he walks into the living room with Damon following behind.

"Hi Bash," Elena greets him as he hands her a bouquet of flowers and gives Stefanie a box of chocolates, "you didn't have to bring anything," Elena tells him politely.

"Oh please, like I would come emptyhanded to greet this little munchkin here," he says as Stefanie giggles in his arms.

Sebastian then sets her down as she drags all the kids to her playroom to show them her Princess castle.

"Well, you guys chat while I set up the dinner table," Elena says as she walks away.

"I'll help," Kaitlyn tries to follow behind but Damon stops her.

"Nonsense, you're our guest. I'll help my wife while you keep the others company," he tells her with a smirk and she rolls her eyes at him.

"Lyn, guess what I found in my old apartment," Sebastian says as he brings out a bag from behind the living room couch.

"What?" she asks as he pulls out a photo album from inside the bag and charmingly smiles at her, "please don't tell me that is what I think it is," she begs.

"It is! I thought your kids would want to see their mom's pictures from years ago so I brought it along," he tells her as she groans.

"Dinner's ready!" Elena's voice rings out through the living room.

"I guess we'll save this for deserts then," Sebastian teases Kaitlyn as she smacks his arms and walks ahead into the kitchen. From behind them, Klaus continues to glare daggers into Sebastian's back, not liking how close they were or how he kept trying to get closer to her, especially since Lizzie's comment this morning.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

Most of the dinner goes by peacefully as the adults sit on the dining table and the kids all lounge on the living room couches.

"Hey, what's this?" Landon's voice rings out throughout the house as all the adults turn to look at him to see he was holding Sebastian's photo album in his hand.

"Oh my god, is this Miss K?" he asks, astonished as he flips through the pages. This draws the attention of all the kids to the album in his hands and they all audibly gasp.

Sebastian looks at Kaitlyn but only gets a glare in return.

"Yep kid, sure is," he answers as he gets up from the dining table and walks towards the kids.

"Mom used to model?" Josie asks with a surprised tone.

"No I didn't," Kaitlyn answers as she too walks towards them, with all the others following behind her.

She sits down on a couch and Klaus plops down next to her before Sebastian can.

Sebastian rolls his eyes at him but Klaus only smirks in return.

"She modeled for Bash only," Damon replies as he and Elena settle down on the couch opposite Kaitlyn's. Freya sits on the other side of Kaitlyn as Sebastian stands there with all the kids surrounding him, as if he was going to tell them a bedtime story.

Elena nudges Damon, hearing his comment.

"Ow! What? It's true. Bash has pictures to prove it," he points at the album.

"When was this?" Ryan asks Kaitlyn.

"Early 2019, I think. When I stayed with Damon and Elena for a while to help with Stefanie," she replies precisely.

"You modelled for 4 months?" Lizzie exclaims, "and you never felt like telling us?"

"There was nothing to tell. I didn't actually mode, I was just helping a friend out," Kaitlyn replies nonchalantly.

"Mom! Have you seen these pictures? You look amazing! Why'd you stop?" Lizzie exclaims again.

"Because I was done helping," she replies and Lizzie rolls her eyes.

"No, it's true. She was helping me with a shoot for my sister's fashion company," Sebastian cuts in.

"But she looked beautiful!" Madeline speaks up and everyone else nods.

"I agree," Sebastian says.

"Well I would agree too but I haven't seen the pictures so," Damon says.

"We should put this on the projector so everyone can see," Sebastian suggests and him and Damon set up the photos from Sebastian's phone and into the projector.

"These are 'Behind the Scenes' from the shoots, Lyn and I used to goof around the studio all the time and my sister would get so pissed at us," Sebastian says as another page of the album projects into the wall.

"Remember when we played Princess with Lilian?" Sebastian asks as he looks at Kaitlyn and she smiles widely and nods, "she used to tell everyone you're her favorite princess," he elaborates.

"And you were her favorite prince," Kaitlyn reminisces and he laughs.

"And this was from the cooking class you dragged me to," he points at another picture.

"And this one's from Damon's bar opening. I met all your friends there," he points at a picture of Kaitlyn in a red dress, sitting on his lap as he rests his head on her shoulder, both beaming at the camera.

"Remember how everyone thought it was you guys' bar because you were inseparable the entire night?" Damon asks cheerily, making a kiss-face and Klaus rolls his eyes, grabbing another drink to calm him himself down.

"Did you know your mom is a big Literature buzz," he asks as he turns to Lizzie and Josie, "so as a joke, I got this picture of us polarized and put a quote from E. E. Cummings on it. She totally flipped out when she saw it," he tells them and they all laugh, all except Klaus, who's patience was running out and he just wanted to get rid of this guy right that instant.

Kaitlyn notices his demeanor and puts her hand over his, giving him a reassuring squeeze and a small smile, which visibly calms him down.

"Oh and this was from one of our sunrises," Sebastian points at another picture

and then the screen changes to a video of Kaitlyn in a white dress as rose petals drop of her.

"Oh, this was my favorite part of the shoot," she says with a smile.

"You mean the one I choreographer?" Sebastian teases with a smile and Kaitlyn rolls her eyes at him.

"You did not choreograph that, Bash. Stop trying to impress the kids," she replies.

"Maybe it's not the kids he's trying to impress," Damon mutters under his breath, forgetting the room was full of people with supernatural hearing.

"Okay, that's all I have," Sebastian says as the screen turns black.

"Thank god," Kaitlyn jokes and they all laugh.

"So mom, you think you might ever try this again? You looked breathtaking in those pictures," Lizzie asks excitedly as the others nod.

"Maybe someday. Not anytime soon, though," Kaitlyn shrugs.

"Well then, it's getting late so I should head back. Thanks for having me. It was really nice to meet you all," Sebastian says and then turns to Kaitlyn, "I'll call you before you leave, Lyn," he tells her and kisses her cheek before grabbing his bag and walking out the front door.

"Well, we should head back too," Kaitlyn tells them.

"Or...you guys could stay the night," Damon suggests.

"It's too many people, Damon," she replies.

"I can take the kids back to the hotel if you want to stay," Klaus offers.

"I don't know. It's too much trouble."

"No it's not. Come on, you'll be gone in two days and I didn't even get to spend time with you," Elena nags and Kaitlyn finally gives in, staying back while Klaus and Freya take the kids back to the hotel.

The entire night, Elena and Kaitlyn stayed up gossiping as Damon put Stefanie to bed and gave them time to catch up. They talked about anything and everything and even facetimed Caroline and Bonnie at some point. It felt like the old times to them.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

20 April, 2028

3rd person POV

In the morning, Elena and Kaitlyn are sat in the kitchen with warm coffee in their hands as Elena makes breakfast and Kaitlyn reads her book.

Suddenly, Kaitlyn speaks up, "so I think I need to talk to you about something," she says as Elena turns to look at her with a questioning look.

"Two days ago...we...me and Klaus, we almost kissed," Kaitlyn says and Elena gasps, "and then, yesterday, we almost kissed again-"

She gets cut off by Elena, "wait wait, hold on, let me call Care and Bonnie. They'll want to hear this," she says as she dials their numbers and Kaitlyn nods.

"Hi," both Caroline and Bonnie say at the same time.

"Hey, Kaitlyn has something to tell all of us," Elena says as she motions for Kaitlyn to speak up.

"Yeah well, um I...okay, so two days ago, me and Klaus almost kissed," she says as Bonnie and Caroline gasp from the other side of the call.

"Oh my god," Bonnie says, surprised.

"I know right, oh my god. Took him long enough to make a move!" Caroline says cheerily.

"What?" Kaitlyn, Elena and Bonnie ask at the same time.

"Well, I mean this was bound to happen. They're soulmates, for god's sake and we know well enough Lyn never got over him. When I say him in Mystic Falls, I realized he wasn't over her either. I knew this would happen sooner or later. And what do you mean by 'almost'? Caroline rants as Kaitlyn sighs.

"I mean, the first time his phone started ringing and then when we almost kissed yesterday, he said he wanted to give us a chance again and I suggested we take things slow then," Kaitlyn shrugs.

"Are you crazy? You've waited sixteen years! How much slower could you take this?" Caroline complains.

"It's not just about us now, Care. We both have kids and a different life from back then. I don't want to spring this on the kids or jump into a relationship with him not knowing how it might turn out this time," Kaitlyn clarifies.

"Fair point," Bonnie states and Elena nods.

"Well, I think what Care said is true. You're soulmates so I guess it's bound to happen sooner or later. Just go with your heart. Remember how it took us time to warm up to the idea of him and you? The kids might need some time as well but they'll understand eventually," Elena says and Kaitlyn smiles at her.

"Well, I actually always shipped them. Like from the day they first met, I knew they're made for each other. No matter how much I hated him, I saw how much he loved Lyn and that was enough for me to approve of him," Care speaks up.

"Yeah no matter how much we all disliked him, he was always a better person around Lyn," Bonnie chimes in as Kaitlyn smiles.

"So I guess it's best to just see where things go?" she asks them and Elena nods as Caroline and Bonnie both say yes, as well, before hanging up.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

Later, Kaitlyn decides to go have lunch with Sebastian when he called and asked if she'd like to join. They talk about their lives and the memories they'd shared once before Sebastian brings up Klaus.

"So what's the deal with you and that Klaus guy?" he asks as they continue to talk towards her hotel.

"There's no deal. We're old friends," she replies and Sebastian scoffs.

"Oh please, friends don't look at friends that way," he urges her, "so, what is he?"

"He's an ex. Moved back into town after sixteen years and... it's a long story," she tells him.

"Well, I hope you figure it out. He definitely still cares for you and I think you do too," he points out and Kaitlyn looks surprised, "it's kinda obvious," he shrugs as they reach the hotel's entrance.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now," he says as he pulls her into a tight hug before pulling away and kissing her cheek.

Just then, the kids, Klaus and Freya walk out of the entrance.

Sebastian gives her one last smile before walking away.

"Ready to go?" Klaus asks her and she nods as they get into their cars at drive to Madison Square for the Taylor Swift concert that the girls wanted to attend.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

The kids had compelled themselves front row spaces to the show while Klaus, Kaitlyn, Freya, Damon and Elena took seats at some of the higher rows, far back into the theatre.

After a while, Taylor comes back on stage with an outfit change and a piano pops up on stage.

She sits down and speaks into the mic, "now I'll be playing a few special songs for the night, from my past albums. This first song is called 'Forever and Always' and it's about watching somebody fade away in a relationship. They said they were going to be with you forever, that they loved you, and then something changed in the relationship and you don't know what it is, but you're watching them slowly drift. It's a song that's really special to me and I hope you enjoy this," she says before she starts playing the tune to the song.

"And I stare at the phone, he still hasn't called

And then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all

And you flashback to when he said, "Forever and always"

Oh, and it rains in your bedroom

Everything is wrong

It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone

'Cause I was there when you said, "Forever and always"

Taylor goes on as the crowd signs along. Klaus and Kaitlyn share looks every now and then, both thinking of ways in which this song fit so well with what their relation once was, their promises of 'Always and Forever' to each other. It felt as if the song was written based on their relationship, at this point. As Taylor finishes the song, the crowd cheers. She then moves on to perform two more songs non-stop before she pauses again.

"Now this is one of my most favorite mashups I've ever done for my own songs. This one's a mashup between 'This Love' and 'Peace' and I think the lyrics are pretty self-explanatory on this one. It shows how 'right person, wrong time' is a real thing and about how in love yet paranoid someone can be in a relationship," she says and starts to sing along to the backup singers and the band.

"Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Because this love is good

This love is bad

This love is alive back from the dead, oh, oh, oh

These hands had to let it go free, and

This love came back to me, oh, oh, oh

This love left a permanent mark

This love is glowing in the dark, oh, oh, oh

These hands had to let it go free, and

This love came back to me, oh, oh, oh"

Yet again, Kaitlyn and Klaus look at each other, thinking of the same thing. How they never knew peace in their lives, how their love was good and bad and how it was coming back to them- alive back from the dead and how their love had definitely left a permanent mark on them both. Again, it felt as if Taylor was singing it to them, for them but in reality, it was all just a mere coincidence. 'Or maybe it was fate,' they both thought to themselves as the show went on.

Author's Note

Here's another angsty yet progressive Klaitlyn chapter! Like I already said, I'M A HUGE SWIFTIE and I just had to take this chance to put some TS refernces into the story and these songs seemed perfect! So here you go.

Also, let me take this moment to thank you guys for the IMMENSE support I've been getting on this book. It's crazy and I love you guys so much!

Really, thank you for everything. You guys are the best.

With Love,

Awwmoons.