it would be impossible not to notice you

*****

"Welcome to the Good Place. Sponsored by: otters holding hands while they sleep. You know the way you feel when you see a picture of two otters holding hands? That's how you're gonna feel every day."

[The Good Place, season 1, episode 1]

*****

"I'm not supposed to be here."

Klaus rolls his eyes, decadently sipping the bland whisky they have been served. "Of course not, sweetheart. It's such a lovely party and yet you dragged me to a broom closet..."

"No, you don't understand," Caroline hisses, raising on her toes to whisper against his ear - he tries to ignore the shudder that follows. "I don't belong here - in the Good Place. That's why everything is messed up and Silas is stressed out and I made shrimps rain! And I can't even do anything because Bonnie is always nearby-"

"Did you call?"

They both jump, turning to the mysterious entity - not a human, not a robot - whose only purpose seems to be accomodating their needs and/or potentialy spying on them. Her sudden apparition has made the closet all the more cramped, squishing them together.

"No, Bonnie, thank you. You may go," Caroline tells her wearily.

The - Bonnie - continues to smile brightly. "Okay." And she's gone.

Caroline puts some space between them as she glares at him, in a see-what-did-i-tell-you kind of way.

But Klaus is frowning, evidently thinking back to what she has just told him. "What do you mean, you don't belong here?" He keeps a low tone of voice, for which she's grateful. "And why are you telling me this, instead of - your soulmate, for example? Aren't you afraid I might go to Silas?"

He then blinks, perplexed, when Caroline puts her hand inside her dress - rummaging around her décolleté - until she fishes a folded note and hands it to him, nervous. "This is why."

Klaus abandons his glass on a shelf near the door and carefully opens the note, fingers smoothing the paper with her pretty handwriting on it.

Caroline - find Klaus.

She twists her fingers as she waits for his reaction, hoping that her past self had made the right choice in pushing her towards this man - a man who wasn't even her own soulmate, according to what Silas claimed. Not that Enzo wasn't great, but there was something in the back of her mind that kept nagging at her and made her question everything.

Caroline just wishes that he has the answer she's looking for, because otherwise she might just resign herself to the fact that she's going crazy in her life after death.

She speaks again before he has the chance to. "I think - something may have happened here, and I lost my memories, but before that I left myself that message. And honestly I feel that it's the only thing that makes sense, for me to trust you, so I'm with my gut feeling on this. And, and... I'm scared, okay, I don't want to end in the Bad Place, and I don't know what to do, and it seems like you have your life - or, well, death - together. So, that's why I'm here."

They remain in silence for a few agonizing seconds, looking at each other, Klaus holding the note close as if it were something precious instead of a random scrap of paper. A muscle twitches in his jaw and suddenly his hands grab her shoulders, delicately, drawing her near.

"Caroline, love, take a deep breath," he instructs, speaking softly. "Now, listen carefully - there is no need to be scared. I'm on your side, alright? We're friends. And I think you're right - something is definitely wrong here, because I can remember my life perfectly well and I assure you that I am not supposed to spend eternity in paradise."

Caroline widens her eyes, caught off guard. "What - you too? How is that possible? And how, how..." She stutters, on the verge of a panic attack. "Are they going to punish us when they find out?"

His thumbs are drawing small circles on her skin in a soothing way. "None of us will end up in the Bad Place if I can prevent it, sweetheart. Look - we should probably go back to the party, in case our soulmates or Silas are wondering where we are, and then we'll meet up later to discuss it, okay?"

She nods, biting her lips. "Yeah, sure, that's a good idea. I mean, it's not as if the neighborhood is falling apart, right? Mistakes happen all the time, why would heaven be any different?"

Klaus tries to smother a smirk. "Yes, exactly. Are you feeling a bit better?"

"I mean, I'm already dead, what's worse?" Then she closes her eyes, wincing. "Wait, don't answer that."

He smiles a bit, fondly, then takes a step back and slips her note in the inside pocket of his jacket. "Let's go now. Meet me afterwards at the lake behind our houses?"

Caroline nods again, then grabs his sleeve before he can open the door. "Klaus - thank you."

His answering smile keeps playing in the back of her mind for the rest of the evening, quieting her inner turmoil and making her feel hopeful for the first time since she has woken up in this place.