Aria is laying on the bed speaking to her friends from Mystic Falls on a group video call. "So how has life been treating you, Aria? Is your stepbrother treating you well or should I send Klaus to sweeten the waters a little?" Caroline asked as she paints a toe nail a deep shade of red.
Aria laughs, adjusting the camera angle slightly before shrugging with a sigh.
"Stiles is being the same obnoxious brother he's always been. But I can handle him. Trust me. He can be a lot to handle, but he's actually pretty sweet."
"Did I hear you correctly? Are you actually referring to Stiles as obnoxiously sweet?" Elena asked in a mock tone.
Aria flushes slightly, glancing away from the screen before rolling her eyes—too quickly, too dramatically. "Okay, okay. He's annoyingly protective and sarcastic like it's his life purpose… but he means well. I just wish he'd stop trying to scare off every guy that looks at me."
She pauses—her fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the blanket. "And maybe… just maybe I've caught... him staring a little more than usual."
Caroline gasps over the screen, dropping her paintbrush in mock horror. "Ohhh no. You didn't just say that. Aria Vanderwaal! Are you crushing on your stepbrother?!"
Aria jerks upright, flustered. "What?! No! That's—I wasn't—I meant—"
Elena bursts out laughing, while Bonnie quietly sips tea with an unreadable expression.
"Staring a little more than usual? Since when do you care who Stiles stares at?"
Aria groans, throwing a pillow over her face. "I hate all of you so much right now."
But under that pillow... the one hiding Aria's complexion. Her lips betray her—tugging into a small smile she doesn't let them see. Because it wasn't Stiles' stare lingering on her mind tonight… It was someone else's.
Completely unaware of it, Bonny looks down into her tea cup. She gasped slightly. "Oh my, oh my. You've been holding out on us."
Aria freezes beneath the pillow, her breath hitching at Bonnie's sudden tone. "Wait… what?"
She slowly lowers the pillow, eyes wide as she sees Bonnie's face—no longer amused, but serious. Focused.
Bonnie sets her teacup down gently, fingertips still brushing the rim where steam curls into ghostly shapes.
"You might not have mentioned him," she murmurs, "but I saw him. The moment you spoke of someone staring—it flashed in the leaves. Tall. Dark hair. Eyes like fire in the shadows."
Caroline leans forward, closer to the screen, nail polish forgotten. "Who? Who is he?!"
Elena watches silently—knowing that look on Bonnie's face all too well.
"My intuition doesn't lie. And it doesn't show visions for no reason either."
Aria swallows hard, voice barely above a whisper: "His name is Derek Hale… And I think… I think he wants me just as longingly."
A beat of silence passes before—Caroline shrieks: "Derek Hale?! Like 'I-burned-down-my-entire-family-and-now-I-have-perpetual-resting-bitch-face' Derek Hale?! That one?!"
Aria's cheeks are ablaze.
Bonnie exhales deeply, fingers tightening around her cup. "Then we have a problem. Because something just stirred in my intuition when you said his name... Like fate pulling strings across two towns... two worlds apart."
Both Elena and Caroline knew that it's more than just plain intuition, but knowing how oblivious Aria is, they've always tried their hardest to keep her innocence intact.
"Strings of fate... Come on Bonnie even your intuition couldn't be that accurate," Aria scoffed being in complete denial.
Bonnie's eyes flash with a solemn intensity. "You don't know what this intuition can see. And when it comes to something like this... it rarely, if ever, is wrong." She leans forward. "Aria, listen to me: You need to stay far, far away from Derek Hale."
"But..." Aria started only to be cut off.
Bonnie raises a hand to halt Aria's protests. "No 'buts,' Aria. This isn't a game. This isn't love at first sight like with Elena and Stefan—this is real... and more complicated than any of us can imagine."
She pauses, studying Aria intently. "Promise me you'll listen. Promise me you'll stay away from him."
Her voice is firm.
"Promise me."
Her friends looks back at her, awaiting her response, which didn't come for a second to long.
Aria stares back at Bonnie, her heart pounding so hard it feels like a drum. Something in Bonnie's eyes—dark and knowing—strikes a deep chord within her.
"I… I promise." She forces out. "I'll stay away from Derek."
"Good, seeing how that's been handled. When do you start college?" Caroline broke the eerie silence.
Aria glances at the clock, using the change of topic to regain her composure.
"Classes start Monday. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. Can you believe it? I'm finally going to college and not even with you guys," she added sadly.
Caroline gives her a small smile, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "We'll always be just a video call away. And who knows? Maybe one day you'll transfer to Whitmore."
Bonnie adds, soft but firm: "And until then—remember your promise."
After some more short talk, the group call ended. But on queue Klaus walked into their shared suite. "Love may I ask you something? It's kinda personal!"
Caroline turns, raising an eyebrow at Klaus as he leans against the door frame—unusually hesitant. That alone is enough to make her sit up straighter. Klaus Mikaelson doesn't do 'hesitant.'
"Okay, now I'm worried. What's going on?" She crosses her legs, eyeing him with playful suspicion. "And since when do you have personal questions? Usually you just declare something dramatic and expect me to applaud."
Klaus smirks slightly—but it doesn't stick.
"Touché, love."
He steps into the room, hands shoved in his pockets like he's trying to look casual. "What exactly did Bonnie see in that vision of hers tonight?"
Caroline's smile fades instantly. "Wait… How did you even know about that?"
Klaus gives her a flat look. "I live with witches and hybrids who gossip like fishwives. Did you really think that little scene wouldn't reach me?"
She sighs, rubbing her temple.
"Fine. But don't freak out—Bonnie saw someone Aria might be involved with... A man named Derek Hale."
Klaus freezes—for just a second—but it's enough.
"Derek Hale…"
Distant thunder rumbles outside—even though the sky was clear moments ago.
"Derek Hale..."
"You know him love?" Caroline asked feeling slightly amused.
Klaus doesn't answer right away. His expression shifts—like a storm rolling behind his eyes. The air in the room suddenly feels heavier, charged with something ancient and unspoken.
Caroline watches him, amusement fading fast. "Klaus…?"
He exhales sharply, jaw tightening. "I knew him decades ago. Briefly. In another life—one I'd rather forget. But I remember the name… and the weight it carries. Derek Hale wasn't just any werewolf," he says quietly. "He was one of the few who didn't kneel—not to me, not to anyone. Proud to a fault. Dangerous when provoked. And if fate is cruel enough…" His voice drops lower, almost like he's talking to himself now. "...It's circling back for round two."
Caroline frowns, reaching for his hand.
"Wait—you're serious? You actually know him? Like face-to-face, fought-him-once kind of know?"
Klaus gives her a dark look—the ghost of a smirk touching his lips, but no humor behind it. "Let's just say our paths crossed during one of my less… diplomatic moods."
"He didn't run."
"Didn't beg."
"Just stood there—and growled at me like I was nothing more than an overgrown mutt sniffing around his territory." Klaus shakes his head slowly:
"Most people learn fear quickly when they meet me... Derek Hale? He taught me caution."
Silence falls between them as Caroline absorbs this—eyes widening slightly at what that means.
"And now... he's near Aria." She swallows hard—suddenly understanding why Bonnie looked so grim tonight.
"But... But Aria is so innocent, so oblivious to what's been going on around her... This is going to change her... Completely..." Caroline panicked.
Klaus reaches out, grasping her hand. "I know."
His grip tightens slightly. "But there are worse things in this world than getting involved with the wrong person. And if this Derek is anything like the man I knew? Getting involved with him at all... is dangerous."
Caroline exhilarates slowly—trying to calm her own racing mind. "But I promised Bonnie we wouldn't interfere. If we tell Aria about Derek, it might just bring them closer… or worse... She could disown me for lying to her all this time. I'm mean my true colors, what Damian turned me into..." Caroline can't bare the thought of losing such a perfect friend like Aria.
Klaus squeezes her hand, pulling her close. "Hey. Look at me, love."
She glances up at him, meeting his gaze—full in that moment of worry and vulnerability only he's privy to.
"You're more than your past. You're more than the choices you regret." His tone softens, eyes sincere. "And you're certainly more than what one man turned you into. You're the good in the dark. Don't ever forget that."
Caroline started weeping in the hollow of Klaus's arms.
Klaus wraps his arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair. He doesn't try to stop her tears or tell her to quit. He just lets her grip his shirt—the sobs racking through her body—until the storm subsides and she's left slumped and exhausted against his chest.
He runs his fingers through her hair slowly—almost tenderly. "It's okay… Shhh..."