Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

Slight Chance of Rain Ahead

by: ObsessiveCompulsiveImpulsive

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"Tyler."

Tyler Lockwood's lips formed a pleased smile upon hearing Caroline say his name. Not even a trace of anger, he mused. Looks like things were going to go the way he wanted them to this afternoon. Good.

The lawyer, dressed in his distinctive red oxford shirt and sleek dark suit with a black necktie proudly bearing the Lockwood Law Firm's famed insignia, walked his way leniently to Caroline's seat. Teal eyes slightly widened in surprise as the woman found herself receiving a gentle kiss on the cheek.

What was her ex-boyfriend doing?

"Thank you for letting me see you today." Tyler said warmly. "And I'm sorry for being late. There was an emergency at work that I immediately had to attend to. But I promise to make it up to you."

Caroline just looked at Tyler, unable to speak.

It had been years, but he looked like he never changed. The six footer was still robustly built- she had no doubt that he never gave up working out regularly. He kept his jet-black hair the way it had always been, short enough to complement his ever decorous image but long enough to have something to run your fingers through.

What she noted the most was his eyes. The light brown irises still seemed as deep as ancient wells, and she very well knew that he could probably still give her that look that could make her stop whatever she was doing and jump right into his arms (or his bed), like how he did during those five years that they were together.

"I-it's alright, Tyler," she said, hating herself for stuttering and obviously showing him how much effect his mere presence had on her. "I… I was a bit early."

Klaus frowned to himself. This man who just arrived could only be Caroline's ex-boyfriend, the asshole who left his woman for a lingerie model and was abominable enough to inform her of this over a phone call while he was a thousand miles away and during the day of their fifth anniversary.

Why didn't Caroline seem even just a bit angry at him? She let him kiss her and couldn't even speak straight sentences to him.

Klaus didn't like it at all. He had to do something.

So he coughed.

Tyler heard the unexpected noise and turned to the source's direction. He finally noticed that his ex-girlfriend was with somebody else. "Hello. Caroline didn't tell me that she was going to be with someone today. My apologies for not acknowledging your presence immediately."

Her ex-boyfriend's statement seemed to have snapped the silent woman out of her trance. "Oh, I'm sorry. Tyler, this is Klaus. Klaus, please meet Tyler Lockwood… my… ex-boyfriend."

"It's a pleasure, Klaus." Tyler graciously said, extending his hand.

The waiter stood up and pleasantly shook the lawyer's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Tyler. So, you're the jerk who dumped Caroline for a Victoria's Secret model on the day of your fifth anniversary?"

Tyler froze, mouth left slightly open in aghast.

Caroline's eyes widened, and her face was suddenly pale. "Klaus! I –"

"It's okay, Caroline." Tyler broke in, trying to look unaffected. He turned back to Klaus, eyes narrowed. "I guess that would be one way to put it, Klaus. Although I'll have you know that I don't appreciate it very much."

"That's alright, mate. I wasn't thinking of gaining your appreciation when I said that, anyway." Klaus replied, looking satisfied with himself. He smirked challengingly at Tyler as he gestured at the loungers. "Make yourself comfortable."

Caroline watched the two men take their seats, never taking their eyes off each other, like two lions circling one another before they lunged at each other's throats. She secretly groaned as she took her own seat, wondering how on earth she got in this situation.

Tyler made the first move at the offensive.

"You look wonderful today, Caroline. You've always looked good with flowers." He said, eyeing Caroline's floral print gathered-front dress appreciatively.

"Thank you." The woman replied, tucking a loose strand of wheat blonde hair at the back of her ear.

Klaus nodded approvingly. "Yes. Always believe complements that come from former partners, love. Most of the time they're true. It would be ridiculous to suggest that they only say good things to get on your good side again, right?"

A vein popped on Tyler's forehead, but he restrained himself. "How are Bill and Liz? I hope they're doing fine." He continued, determined not to pay attention to any of Klaus' comments.

"They're both well, Tyler, thank you for asking. And Richard and Carol?"

"They're actually on a vacation in Aspen as we speak. Father's getting more free time these days, with me co-managing the firm. But of course Uncle Mason acts as the big boss while Dad's gone."

The blonde frowned upon hearing Mason Lockwood's name.

"Your family manages a firm, then?" Klaus asked, equally determined not to let the other male take over.

"'Owns' would be the correct word." Tyler scoffed arrogantly. "THE Lockwood Law Firm."

"I see. So you're a lawyer?'

"Corporate, yes."

"Are you a good one?"

Tyler sneered. "Good enough for her Catholic parents to allow us to share an apartment."

"Apparently, thought, you aren't good enough for her, hence your current title 'ex-boyfriend'. Klaus countered.

"For your information, I was the one who broke up with her." Tyler answered back.

The waiter's lips formed into a victorious smirk. "Now that you've mentioned it, would you mind telling me why you broke up with her?"

Caroline's eyes flicked at Tyler's direction. Good question. She wanted to know the answer too.

Almost half a minute of silence passed before Tyler could answer.

"That was a mistake."

"Really." Klaus jeered.

Tyler looked at Caroline, his eyes pleading. "I screwed up. I hurt you and I'm sorry. I know we can go back to what we used to be if we try."

Caroline looked away before he could make her say 'I forgive you'. She could not deny that her feelings for Tyler had not yet entirely disappeared, even after all those years, but she knew that he should never deserve a place in her heart again. No, not after what he did.

Klaus's eyes narrowed at Tyler. "Maybe you don't know her like you think you do."

"You are the only person who thinks I don't." Tyler snapped, having taken quite enough from the stranger. "And I suppose you think that you know her, don't you? My, aren't we full of assumptions."

"I don't remember saying anything like that. Do you, Caroline, love? You seem to be the one full of assumptions, Mr. Lockwood."

"Gentlemen, please –" Caroline cried, looking stricken.

"It's okay, Caroline." Tyler interrupted for the second time. "So, since you seem to be her number one fan, would you mind telling me just how much you know about her?"

Klaus complied. "Not much. We just met, you see. I know she likes animals and reading and hates snobs and sleeping with the lights off. That's about it."

Tyler shook his head disgustedly. "And you think I'm the one who doesn't know her? I suggest you consider your choice of words carefully. You're the one who doesn't know her at all."

"For example," he continued, "Did you know that she graduated from Duke with a degree in Biology with high honors? Or that she's currently a surgeon at Northwestern Memorial?"

"No." Klaus simply said, never taking his eyes off Tyler.

"Oh. I didn't expect that. Well, let me tell you more about her. She was five years old when she decided that she wanted to be a doctor. Now she can perform cardiosynostectomic procedures but she can't tell salt from pepper to save her life. She brings her own steel chopsticks when she eats in Asian restaurants because she feels guilty about wasting trees. She'll use a handkerchief only if it's white but she will never wear pants of that color. The only sports team she has the patience to watch is San Antonio, but she does that only because she completely adores Manu Ginobili."

"Tyler, that's enough." Caroline said, now looking frustrated. "This is all pointless."

But Tyler would not listen. "Oh, and you know what? The first time I fucked her was two days before her first med school exam. She enumerated the parts of the oculomotor nerve while she came."

Unfortunately, the statement came out during an ill-timed lull. Customers and waiters nearby all heard it and soon their eyes were on Caroline.

Caroline cringed, burning in embarrassment, fully aware of the glances now being thrown at her by almost everyone who heard what the lawyer said. "Tyler, please… just stop."

Klaus sent a deadly glare to a male customer who kept looking at the mortified blonde. The man immediately looked away.

He turned back to Tyler. "That was just wonderful, Tyler. I'm sure Caroline will never forget this day." He retorted sarcastically.

Tyler looked repentant. He did mean to rub the fact that he and Caroline had been intimate to the annoying Brit's face, but he never mean for Caroline to be embarrassed like this. "I'm sorry, Caroline, I-"

"However, I believe that despite your better knowledge of this woman, I still have two advantages." Klaus interjected, raising his chin up confidently.

Tyler promptly stopped talking to Caroline and frowned distastefully. "What are you saying?"

"First, I don't think I've ever put a woman in as much shame as you did a few seconds ago. Second, I am genuinely in love with her and I have no intention of hurting her like you did."

"What?" Caroline said, taken aback.

"Excuse me," Tyler broke in, black eyes sharply glowering at Klaus. What did this man think he was doing? "What is your relationship with my ex-girlfriend again?"

Klaus shrugged carelessly. "Nothing. We're not related, actually. I told you we just met, didn't I?"

Tyler turned back to Caroline, demanding an explanation.

"H-he's a waiter here, Tyler. He was just... w-waiting for me to decided what I was going to have," Caroline tried to explain, her mind still absorbing what Klaus just said. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten about ordering anything altogether since Klaus sat with her.

Tyler's eyes narrowed even more. "You're a waiter she just met and you're telling me that you're in love with her? That's bullshit!"

"Look who's talking. You broke up with her for a lingerie model over the phone and never even as much as looked back. And voila, today you're here saying you're sorry and you can go back to what you used to be if you try. That, Mr. Lockwood, is what you call bullshit. The fact that I have feelings for this woman I met just an hour ago is what you might call love at first sight."

"Tyler, Klaus, stop it!" Caroline shrieked desperately.

"You heard her." Tyler growled. "Now if you don't mind, waiter, I'd like to do what I cam here for. Which is to talk to Caroline Forbes alone. Now."

Klaus did not seem the least bit intimidated. "Sorry chap. I haven't taken her order yet. I'm staying here until she decides what she wants."

Caroline closed her eyes and pressed her forehead with both hands in exasperation. She went here just to talk. Now everyone knew how she itemized the parts of a skull nerve while having an orgasm and a waiter was declaring that he was in love with her. What was happening to the world?

Tyler glared hard at Klaus. "Try this for an order, asshole. I want fifty cups of the coffee that takes the longest to prepare. I want them served to everyone in this coffee shop one fucking cup at a time."

Klaus stared at Tyler for a minute, and then stood up. He couldn't argue with the customer that what he said wasn't an order, so the waiter had no choice. He took one last look at Caroline, and then the waiter left.

"Good riddance," Tyler muttered. "Are you alright, Caroline?"

Caroline looked up at Tyler furiously, tears of shame and confusion almost welling in her eyes. "Am I alright? Of course I am, Tyler. Why wouldn't I be? You just announced to the whole coffee shop that I enumerated the parts of a cranial nerve while in orgasm. Then you picked a fight with a waiter and wasted your money for a hundred cups of coffee to make him go away. Why did you have to do that?"

"Relax, Caroline, you're just stressed by the situation." Tyler coaxed. "Don't you see what kind of person you let sit with you? Please, promise me you'll never do that again."

"I know who I should and shouldn't talk to!"

"Calm down, Caroline. We can't talk like this."

Caroline groaned and forced herself to quiet down.

Tyler let a few minutes pass before asking "Are you okay now?"

"Let's skip the diplomacy talk, Tyler." Caroline answered bluntly. After everything that happened this afternoon, all she could think of was ending this engagement and going home, where people were sane and talked about sensible things. Hell, she would even prefer operating for thirty straight hours rather than sitting with two crazy men in an obnoxious coffee shop. "Why did you ask for this meeting?"

Tyler sighed. "If you insist. The truth is, I've been thinking about us for the last few weeks. It's just now that I finally had the courage to ask if I could see you. I've realized how horrible I've been to you all these years. I want to ask for your forgiveness."

Took you long enough, Caroline thought crossly.

Tyler took her hands into his. "Caroline, now I know that you're the person I really want to be with, not anyone else. Back then I was immature; all I thought about was making the most out of my youth and enjoying whatever I could. But now I've realized that I shouldn't think of just the present – I have to consider the future too."

He looked sincerely into Caroline's eyes and smiled weakly. "And whenever I think about my future, I can't imagine it with anybody else but you. I love you, Caroline. And I want to prove that I'm the right man for you. Will you take me back?"

For the n-th time that day, Caroline didn't know what to say.

Tyler was about to tell her that he didn't need her answer right away and that he was willing to give her time to think, but suddenly the sharp-tongued waiter who had become the bane of his existence appeared again, pushing the serving cart that carried a cup of coffee.

Tyler rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why wouldn't that damn waiter just leave him and Caroline alone?

"One cup of Swiss vanilla and caramel affogato," Klaus said, serving Tyler the steaming cup of coffee. "forty-nine more cups to go."

The next events happened so fast that Caroline didn't know what she saw anymore. The next thing she knew, coffee was spilled all over the table… and on Tyler Lockwood's very expensive suit.

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TBC. Review if you want me to continue or I'll just assume that you're not interested so I should probably leave it like this and write a new story!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1 namely Jwakeel, AAG2649, EmmaRedVelvet, KatieDesignerShades, breathe. smile. laugh., VerusSanguis, dee, shanynde, NikMik, loveklaroline, WeasleysGroupie, xForgottenxFlamex, 1485Becks, sydkiwi, HelloCutePanda, CarolineFan, nolechic512, Mizplayst, melyna1864 and all the guests!