Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with The Vampire Diaries in any shape or form, nor do I have any fiscal stake in writing this story. It is purely for creative enjoyment. The only things I own are my original take on TVD universe and any original characters if I feel like adding some.

Author's Note: I've been working on this specific story/concept since My Brother's Keeper, the Miss Mystic episode from season 4. Obviously outside of that I really have always longed for more between Klaus and Caroline, so ideas have been floating around since her birthday episode when he saved her and my love for their pairing sprouted.

I really don't like when people just use dialog/the exact same story from the show or whatever they're writing their fiction for and add one or two things and are like "here's my story". That being said, this first chapter revolves around Miss Mystic, so about half of it is original from the show and half is new/added by me. I just want to clarify that this is most likely the only chapter to do that. I just wanted the base solid and it will develop from here into it's own thing.

I really have been disappointed with the second half of season 4, so while some of it will have to remain the same, ei. Silas/the race for the cure, there will be a LOT of differences and I wouldn't hold your breath for Klaus/Hayley baby. (p.s. What the hell was up with that? I mean, I am a Klaus/Caroline person, but that wasn't even my issue with this plot "twist". It was just so unbelievably stupid. Plus I just think Hayley is the most useless thing I've ever witnessed and can't believe they're trying to make her relevant. *gag*)

Last thing, this first chapter isn't the most exciting because it is more a spring board/solid foundation for the rest of the story, but chapter two, which will hopefully be up by later tonight, will give you a good idea of where this is going. I'm already about 20K into this story so chapter two is already done, I just need to re-read and edit. Basically I'm asking you to stick with me cause I promise, I'm going somewhere with it.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to review (and leave comments on your feelings with the backdoor pilot if you feel so inclined; I'd love to know what other fans thought). I don't have a beta so I just write, re-read and edit about 20 times before uploading, so forgive any mistakes you find. I try to get them all but I am human, so they're in there, I'm sure.

So thanks again for reading, I hope I do all our favorite characters justice and I that you enjoy my story.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop!" Caroline all but shouted, holding up her free hand to signal for the young girls on set-up crew to halt their actions. "What are you doing? Those clearly go in the back on the tables and you would know this if you took the time to memorize the floral charts." When they stared blankly back at her, she rolled her eyes. "In the back. Go on, go. Thank you," she huffed sarcastically as she went back to checking the list of prep work she needed to complete before the Miss Mystic Falls pageant would be ready.

"Now how did I know that I would find you at the helm of this ship?"

Sighing at the familiar, overly charming voice, Caroline flipped to the second sheet, not even feeling the need to look up at the Original. "Go away. I'm busy," she mumbled, scribbling down a note to keep an eye on the flower girls.

"I was just wondering what time I should come pick you up tomorrow," Klaus said, unaffected by Caroline's cold demeanor, his hands folding politely behind his back.

Caroline looked up from her clipboard, sparing a critical glance over her shoulder at the vampire beside her. "How about a quarter to never?" she asked, turning her attention back to her work.

"I was promised a date in return for one of my hybrids," he smiled, unwilling to let Caroline's blatant rudeness damper his good mood.

"Yes," Caroline nodded, turning to face him. "A date. Like to the movies where we don't have to talk and I can put at least three seats between us."

Klaus smirked to himself, loving the verbal sparing she always provided. Under normal circumstances, if any person tried to talk to him that way, Klaus would've had no problem with setting them straight. For some reason the blonde baby vampire standing before him created a startling exception to his usual rules. Where anyone else would've been laying in a pool of blood decapitated, Caroline's snark made her endearing to him.

"I cannot believe the reining Miss Mystic Falls will be hosting this party alone and I am assuming that you will not be taking Tyler after the indiscretions with his lady werewolf friend," he said innocently, looking up at her from under his long eyelashes.

Caroline eyed him suspiciously, pursing her lips together in agitation. "Fine," she finally sighed, giving up. "If you insist on coming, meet me here at 2 p.m. Black tie optional," she breathed, turning to start up the stairs into the house. Spinning back around, she pointed her finger at him threateningly as a thought dawned on her. "I already have a dress so don't you even so much as think about getting me a corsage, got it?"

Doing his best to hide the overzealous smile that was threatening to break through his normally cold exterior, Klaus let his eyes fall to his feet, nodding his head like a chastised schoolboy. Smirking triumphantly, he glanced up at where she had already turned and started towards the house. "I will see you tomorrow, Caroline!" he called after her rapidly retreating form.

The rest of the day passed quickly and before she knew it, Caroline was at home washing her face and getting ready for bed. Glancing down at her phone, Caroline saw she had a new text from Elena. Opening it, she smiled, laughing quietly to herself.

Pick me up tomorrow morning on your way
to the pageant. Someone needs to keep you
from a nuclear meltdown during last

minute prep.

-E

Caroline quickly typed out a response, flipping off the lights to her bathroom and padding into her bedroom.

Meltdown? Me? Never.
Thanks Elena, you're the best.
-C

Sighing, Caroline inspected her dress for the next day from where it hung on her closet door. Subconsciously her eyes drifted to where the sketch Klaus had left for her after the ball lay on top of her dresser. Thanks for the honesty. "Ugh," Caroline scoffed, shaking her head at herself as she pulled back the covers and shut off the light. Tomorrow was another day. A day that she, Caroline Forbes, had a date with Klaus. Oh well. She'd just have to suck it up and try to make the best of it.

Her head was throbbing. She couldn't remember the last time she was this sick. Had she ever been this sick? Caroline's whole body ached. It felt like fire was rushing through her veins. As she forced her eyes to close tighter, she silently prayed for it to all just go away, for everything to get better.

Caroline's ears vaguely picked up on quiet footsteps approaching her bedside. Blinking a few times to clear her vision, she stared up in disbelief at the vampire standing in front of her. "Klaus? What are you doing here?" she murmured.

"It's your birthday, love," Klaus said quietly. "You are sick and I wanted to come help you, to heal you. Don't you believe me?" Caroline studied him carefully before finally deciding what she was seeing was a mixture of sadness and embarrassment.

Never being one to not speak her mind, she frowned back at him. "No."

Sighing, Klaus took a step towards the bed, his right hand carefully pulling back the covers that were hiding Caroline's neck from his view. For the briefest of moments, Klaus actually grimaced and averted his eyes to the wall behind the bed. "That looks uncomfortable," he breathed quietly. "I did all this before I knew you, before I fully understood how special you are… how important." Seeing she was unmoved by his words, Klaus' lips twitched into a regretful smile. "You know, I love birthdays," he shared softly, reaching out to inspect the charm bracelet on her right wrist.

"Yeah, we've already had that conversation, remember?" she asked, her brow scrunching in confusion as beads of sweat pooled on her brow.

Frowning, Klaus carefully perched himself on the edge of Caroline's bed, folding his hands and setting them atop his knee. "My apologies, Caroline. Should we talk about something else? Perhaps how your hybrid boyfriend attacked you?"

"He didn't mean to," she whined, the throbbing in her head intensifying. "It was all your fault."

Nodding absentmindedly, Klaus's hand came up to gently push a few stray locks of hair out of her eyes before laying his hand against her forehead. "You are burning up, Caroline. You need to be healed."

Taking a deep breath, Caroline tried to blink away the fuzziness that was affecting her vision. "We've already done this. You healed me already. I don't understand."

"I have?" Klaus asked, squinting his eyes in confusion. "Then why are you still sick, sweetheart?"

"I don't know," she hissed, trying to fight off slipping into unconsciousness. "I just- God," she groaned, grabbing her head. "Everything is spinning. Why is the room spinning?"

Frowning, Klaus scooped Caroline up in his arms, propping her up on his raised knee. Pulling back his sleeve, he held up his wrist to Caroline's lips, gently running his fingers through her hair. "It will be alright," he shushed, gently kissing the top of her head. "Here, drink. It will make it all better, I promise."

As Caroline leaned in, fangs extended, everything changed. The wrist from in front of her face was gone and she was in a crowded room in a large house that seemed familiar. Everyone was in tuxedos and ball gowns. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, spinning around to find Klaus standing and facing her, his eyes dancing with excitement. She was back at his ball at his house. "Not this again."

"You look positively breathtaking, Caroline," he smiled brightly as he approached.

"Yeah well, blue's my color," she retorted, automatically looking for Elena or Stefan to gravitate to.

Laughing musically, Klaus slid his arm around her waist and began leading her towards the ballroom. "Yes, I know."

"What game are we playing now?" Caroline questioned as they stopped in the middle of the room.

Giving her an amused look, Klaus turned to stand directly beside her, slipping his unoccupied hand into hers. "No games, love. In case you did not hear, my brother has explained that it is a tradition for us to dance. We were instructed to pick a partner-"

"Well pick someone else," Caroline scowled, weakly trying to pull her hand from his.

"I don't want someone else," Klaus breathed, craning his neck down so that they were at eye level. "And seeing as though this is my party at my house…"

Blinking, Caroline was confused to see she was outside standing in front of a horse. "What the hell," she whispered, reaching a gloved hand out to pet the creature's mane.

"You like horses?"

Sighing, Caroline looked to her right to see she was not as alone as she previously thought. Beside her stood Klaus, his hands folded behind his back. "How are you doing this?"

"Throwing a ball?" he asked, looking at her like she'd grown a second head. "It's quite simple really. You of all people should understand the logistics. You plan high school dances all the time."

"Give me a break," Caroline hissed, rolling her eyes. "Not throwing a ball. Making me see things, going back to times when we spent time together."

Letting out a short laugh, Klaus stopping beside her. "I haven't the foggiest as to what you're talking about, Caroline. Perhaps you've had a bit too much to drink."

"Oh come on," she mumbled, giving him the evil eye. "What do you want from me, really?"

Flashing her a toothy grin, Klaus shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I fancy you, Caroline. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," she said, completely exasperated. "I don't understand this at all. I'm not your type."

"Why not?" he challenged, taking a step towards her. "You're beautiful, you're strong… you're full of light." Looking her over once more, his eyes landed firmly on hers. "I enjoy you, immensely."

Caroline frowned at his words. Even though she knew feeling anything less than hatred for Klaus was wrong, she couldn't ignore that there was something there. It freaked her out and completely terrified her, but it was definitely there. "Well, I'm spoken for, by Tyler."

"Ah, but I thought you two ended things," Klaus countered, studying her closely.

"Yeah, because of you and your freaky sire bond crap," she frowned, pulling her wrap higher on her shoulders.

"So then you aren't spoken for," Klaus smirked as he leaned in closely, his lips hovering over hers.

Gasping for air, Caroline shot up in bed, her eyes widely searching the room. "Oh my God," she breathed, clutching her chest as she tried to get a hold of herself. Taking a few steadying breaths, she leaned back against her headboard and closed her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

As Elena approached Caroline's black Ford Focus, she couldn't help but notice her blonde best friend looked a little on edge. "Hey Care," she greeted, smiling as she slipped into the car, buckling her seat belt. "You look… awake."

With her eyes narrowed to slits, Caroline glared over at Elena as she pulled out onto the street. "Yeah, well, a Klaus nightmare will do that to you. Woke up at three and could not fall back asleep."

"What?" Elena questioned, adjusting herself in her seat to face Caroline. "What kind of nightmare?"

"Well, it wasn't really a nightmare per say, but any dream containing Klaus should automatically receive that label," the blonde vampire muttered as she checked both ways before making a left hand turn.

Elena frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not a mind reader, Caroline. You're going to have to go into a little more detail than that if I'm supposed to contribute to this conversation."

Sighing, Caroline glanced over at Elena. "I guess I haven't exactly been super honest with you lately." Seeing Elena opening her mouth to protest, Caroline cut her off before was able to begin. "Before you get all angry and jump to conclusions, let me finish."

"Alright," Elena nodded, leaning back against the door of the car. "Spill."

"I may or may not have been having dreams about Klaus," Caroline said quickly, wincing at how crazy her statement sounded, even to her. "Like, for a while."

"You've been what?" Elena questioned, her face shocked. "What kind of dreams?"

Taking a deep breath, Caroline tried to think of how to explain things without making herself seem strange. "First thing is first; no telling. I mean it Elena, not anyone," Caroline said seriously. "I can't let it get out that I'm Klausing it up in my sleep every night."

"Every night?" Elena hissed nervously, completely taken aback. When Caroline shot her an angry expression, Elena held up her hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm sorry. It's just a lot to take in. I won't tell a soul, promise." Giving her an innocent expression, Elena gave her a small smile. "No judging. Please, continue."

Giving her one last look, Caroline sighed in defeat. "I've been having dreams about Klaus." Caroline looked down at her nails in embarrassment as she waited for the light to change to green. "I don't know why and I've tried to not have them, but no matter what I do every night when I close my eyes, bam! There he is."

Trying her best to not sound judgmental, Elena watched her friends face closely. "These dreams aren't like, fantasy style, are they?"

Her mouth dropping in horror, Caroline quickly glanced over at her best friend in shock. "Come on! No!"

"Hey, no judging, remember?" Elena reminded, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to keep her face neutral. "I mean, he's completely deranged and a psychopath who kills people for no reason like it's no big deal, but that's cool if you're into that sort of thing, I guess."

"I mean, at least not yet," Caroline's voice squeaked quietly. Elena literally bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying something she knew would upset Caroline. "I usually wake up before anything happens, thank God, but I think that's where they might be going," she shared nervously. "What is wrong with me, Elena? He's crazy and evil."

Pursing her lips together in thought, Elena shook her head. "I don't know. These aren't something you want though? You aren't… attracted to him, are you?" Even saying that sentence made bile rise in Elena's throat.

"No, no," Caroline said firmly, shaking her head. "I mean," she mumbled, putting her car into park in the Lockwood's driveway. "I can't, can I? Ugh, what is wrong with me!" Caroline shouted, her head falling onto the steering wheel of her car as she silently cursed herself.

Elena placed a comforting hand on Caroline's back. "Caroline, be honest. Do you, you know, like him?"

"He's awful Elena," Caroline cried, sitting up and turning to face her friend. "After all the bad things he has done to you, to our friends? He's killed people we care about, and I'm with Tyler. I love him and I would never cheat on him. This is just some weird vampire thing, right? Maybe it's because I drank his blood. That's always where the dream starts. That could be it, couldn't it?"

"After Tyler bit you on your birthday?" Elena asked, her face serious.

Caroline nodded. "I never really went into details with that I guess, did I?" she mumbled, her hands twisting in her lap. Elena silently raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "Well, I was dying and he just showed up in my room acting apologetic and sorry. It was really strange. He was completely different than I've ever seen him, Elena. At first I thought it was a hallucination because there was no way he would actually come save me in the first place and never in a million years would my mom ever invite him into our house, but there he was. So he is all 'Caroline, I'm sorry, you're collateral damage and I never meant to hurt you. It's your birthday, I love birthdays' blah, blah, blah," Caroline explained quickly, doing her best Klaus English impersonation. "And I'm like, 'yeah right buddy, I don't believe you'. So he starts saying all this crazy stuff Elena, like how he wants to show me the true beauty of the world and how I have so much to live for."

"That is so weird Care," Elena mumbled, believing every word her friend was saying but finding it hard to digest. To Elena, Klaus was pure evil. He killed Jenna and was responsible for what happened to Alaric and her. He had done nothing but terrible, self-serving things since he arrived in Mystic Falls and as she guessed, long before as well. Why would he save Caroline? What was in it for him? More importantly and stranger still, why would he waste time talking to her? Why not just heal her and be done with it? Why sit and chat her up saying such personal things? He must want her to owe him and would try to cash in on it later. That was the only reason Elena could think of.

"I know!" Caroline exclaimed, her eyes wide as she threw her arms up into the air. "I tell him that I don't want to die and just like that he gives me his blood. Just rolls up his sleeve and holds it in front of my face like it was nothing."

Letting out a huff, Elena stared off into space as she thought over the story. "Has he ever asked for anything?"

"No," Caroline shrugged looking utterly baffled. "And the strange part is, he has saved me twice now. Once from the Tyler bite and once from Alaric in the school."

Sighing, Elena shrugged as well, shaking her head. "I don't know what to tell you Care. Maybe he actually likes you, as strange and completely off-putting as that is."

"Ugh," Caroline growled, throwing her head back against the headrest. "Why is this happening to me?"

"I don't know," Elena chuckled, gathering her things in her arms. "But we better go get ready for today. Don't worry about it, Caroline. We will figure everything out," she said, offering words of comfort to her friend on what was sure to be a stressful enough day without worrying about her Klaus dreams.

Caroline kept her pageant smile plastered on her face as she stood up on the stairs waiting for Jeremy to show. When he didn't and Matt stepped up to escort April, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Well thank God for that," she mumbled, quickly descending the stairs to where Klaus stood waiting for her.

"Where's Elena's brother?" he questioned quietly as she came to a stop in front of him.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," she hissed, bypassing him and heading in Elena's direction as the dance portion began. As if it wasn't bad enough that the staff was sucking at their jobs and Tyler was holding hands with the werewolf bitch, now Jeremy was missing and Klaus was the closest thing she has to a stable presence. That was a pretty unsettling feeling.

"Hey," Caroline whispered sweetly, coming up behind Elena who was on her cell phone. "What's with the last minute escort change? Where is Jer?"

"I'm calling him right now but he's not picking up," Elena said, looking nervous.

"Do the math," Damon interrupted, coming to stand beside Caroline who glared openly at him. "Emo teen plus an open bar. It's fine."

Elena sighed as she put her phone back in her clutch. "Matt said Jeremy has been having dreams about killing vampires and has been hiding it from me."

"What?" Caroline hissed, completely shocked, dropping her calm, cool and collected pageant demeanor.

"Relax," Damon mumbled as he glanced around. "I'm sure he's fine."

"I don't know," Elena said, shaking her head. "I have a bad feeling."

Damon put a hand on Elena's shoulder gently. "If I'm not worried you shouldn't be worried. Let it go. I'll go look for him."

Caroline and Damon shared a fake smile with each other as he left. As soon as he was gone, Caroline leaned forward to talk directly to Elena. "Ok, you go home and I'll start asking around here. We will get to the bottom of this faster if we divide and conquer."

"I don't know Caroline, maybe Damon is right," Elena shrugged. "Maybe Jeremy just grabbed a bottle from the bar and snuck off to the woods or something."

"No," Caroline challenged, completely not believing what she was hearing. "Maybe Damon is never right. Damon is sneaky and manipulative and rude, but he's never right. Elena, please tell me that was a joke."

Elena's calm face melted away into one of annoyance as she looked past Caroline to where Klaus was slowly making his way through the crowd over to where they were standing. "Not really, Caroline."

Caroline's mouth dropped open in shock, no longer caring if people could hear their conversation. "Seriously? Ok, fine. Friendervention," she scowled. "I think your so-called feelings for Damon are really starting to cloud your judgment and I don't like it. Oh yeah, and the thought of you two together really makes me want to barf."

"Easy there, love," Klaus whispered from where he now stood to Caroline's left. "You're starting make a scene."

Elena eyed Klaus and then Caroline like they were the most disgusting things she'd ever seen. "Wow, Caroline. Are you serious? You are going to judge me when you're here with him?" With that, Elena turned and stormed away.

As she watched Elena walk away, Caroline pursed her lips in agitation. "What just happened? How did I become the bad guy?" she asked out loud, more to herself than anyone.

Moving to stand in front of her and offering up his arm for her to take, Klaus flashed her a sympathetic smile. "Let's get you a drink. I can tell you all about being the bad guy."

Exhaling loudly in defeat, Caroline rolled her eyes and slipped her arm into Klaus's. "You are annoyingly smooth today, you know that?"

"I've had a thousand years to practice, but you're not so bad yourself, sweetheart," he said, patting her hand lightly as he led her to the bar. "A bottle of your best champagne and two glasses please," Klaus said, compelling the bartender.

"Right away, sir," he said robotically, fetching what Klaus requested.

"So, what seems to be the current crisis of moment for Mystic Fall's favorite friendship circle?" Klaus asked Caroline as he accepted the bottle and glasses from the bartender and began slowly walking towards the lake as she fell into step beside him.

Caroline sighed, shaking her head. "It's Elena. She has these ridiculous feelings for Damon and the guy is a complete sleaze. I mean, she's always had them, but ever since she's turned it's like the multiplied."

"Are you sure you aren't just being a tad bit overprotective?" Klaus inquired, listening intently to every word Caroline was sharing with him.

"No," she huffed, thinking over her choice of words. "It's like, when Damon says jump, Elena asks how high. It sucks." Klaus nodded, indicating he was still following along. "I mean, I'm her best friend, or at least I'm supposed to be. It is my job to warn her when she is making a giant mistake, right?"

"Personally I could care less about the love life of Elena Gilbert, but I suppose if you feel that strongly about it, then your reasoning is justified," he shrugged, looking over at her. "Come to think of it, it's almost as if becoming a has vampire changed her."

Caroline turned to him as they continued walking, eyeing him suspiciously. "Being a vampire doesn't change who you are, it just amplifies it. It doesn't turn you into a completely different person unless she flipped the switch, which she didn't. Wait, can it?"

Klaus flashed her an all-knowing smile. "It certainly is peculiar."

Chuckling at his odd behavior, Caroline raised an eyebrow in question at him. "What does that even mean?"

"You are a very intelligent woman, Caroline. It will all make sense in time, and knowing you it will be sooner rather than later," Klaus breathed, gesturing for Caroline to sit on an old stone bench overlooking the lake.

As she watched him set down the two glasses, Caroline frowned. "Whatever. Just hurry up and find the cure, would you? I want my best friend back."

Klaus smiled brightly down at the blonde vampire as he sat down himself. "Rest assured darling, I am working on it."

Caroline watched Klaus with mild interest as he worked at opening their bottle of champagne when something came to her. "Would you ever, you know, take it?"

"Now why would I want to cure myself of being the most powerful creature on the planet?" he asked, chuckling as he popped the top of the bottle.

"So there hasn't been a single moment in your entire life that you haven't wanted to be human?" Caroline prodded, not quite believing him.

Klaus gave her a humored expression as he poured them each a glass. "How about you?"

Accepting the glass from the Original, Caroline sipped it as she contemplated the question. "Yeah, a few times. But being a vampire hasn't been all bad."

"Shocking," Klaus teased, earning a slap in the shoulder from Caroline. "You're telling me you don't miss the days of being chair of the Mystic Falls Beautification Committee?" Caroline blinked at him in confusion as he pulled a folded up piece of white paper from his jacket. "And-let's see here… the director of the policeman's yearly Christmas raffle-"

"Is that my Miss Mystic application?" Caroline shouted, lunging for the paper.

Klaus, being much older and faster than her jumped to his feet and stepped out of her reach. "When I am chosen, I plan to redefine excellence. Now I am really enjoying your use of the word 'when' here. It's very confident," he smirked, waggling his eyebrows at her in attempt to rile her up further.

Caroline sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as Klaus smiled back at her. "And above all I promise to aspire, inspire and perspire- obviously we've run into a shortage of words ending in –spire," he chuckled as she grabbed for the paper again.

"Very funny," Caroline laughed as he hid the paper behind his back. "It's hilarious," she grumbled, trying to give him a mean look but failing miserably when she saw the genuine happiness on his face. She couldn't help but take note of the first time that she had seen him smile before. Sure, he smirked at her all the time, but this was different. Klaus actually seemed happy, and in this moment, Caroline actually had a hard time believing this was the same murderous vampire everyone had been living in fear of.

"Do you concede?" Klaus asked as Caroline took up her seat once again.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline patted the spot beside her for him to sit. "I can't believe you would compel some poor pageant person just to get my application. What's the point anyway? You just wanted to embarrass me?" Klaus sat quietly, his eyes drifting over her face as Caroline fidgeted. "What?" she asked finally, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Is there something on my face?"

"Hardly," Klaus breathed, simply smiling back at her as if all were right with the world. "Caroline, may I ask you something?"

Letting out an un-lady like snort, Caroline shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Klaus's smile lessened and turned into more a look of concentration as he studied her face carefully, wanting to cement this moment in his memory for all time. Caroline was here with him of her own free will, and she was smiling, laughing and actually seeming to enjoy herself. It was something he never wanted to forget. "Why do you involve yourself with all of these projects and committees? Why Miss Mystic Falls? It's not as though you could possibly be passionate about every single item on this list," he muttered, holding up her application.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, still smiling as she took a sip of her champagne.

"Director of the policeman's yearly Christmas raffle?" Klaus questioned, raising an eyebrow over at Caroline as he read from the paper in his hand. "Some of these are just ridiculous. And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't a lot of these things spousal activities?"

"What are you trying to say?" Caroline asked, amusement written all over her face as her mouth hung open in mock offense.

Chuckling, Klaus shrugged his shoulders, downing the rest of his drink. "I'm not trying to say anything. I am, however, implying that your chosen activities would be something a group of retired wives or stay at home mothers do for fun to get out of their homes and away from their children, not a young woman." Hearing Caroline laugh made the corners of his mouth twitch into an unconscious smile.

"Yeah, alright," Caroline smirked, laughing outright at his playful jab. "I'm a middle aged spinster, I get it."

"No, that's precisely my point, Caroline. You are a vibrant, lively young woman," Klaus argued, gently nudging her shoulder with his. "Why aren't you out living your life instead of planning, running and overseeing every social event of this town?"

"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Caroline asked, giving him a disbelieving look.

Shrugging, his ears picked up on Mayor Lockwood calling Caroline's name from over in the bustle of the pageant. "I believe the judges have come to a decision," he said, looking away back towards the tables of people. "Your constituents are searching for their reigning Miss Mystic Falls."

"Yeah," Caroline mumbled, standing and smoothing out her dress. "Shall we?"

Klaus blinked up at her, momentarily caught off guard at her invitation for him to accompany her. "Yes, where are my manners," he said, rising to his full height, re-buttoning his sport coat and holding out his arm for her.

Once the winner was announced and everything had settled down, Klaus asked Caroline to take a short walk around the property with him, promising that it would be his final request of her for the day. Most of the walk was spent in a surprisingly comfortable silence, the pair walking arm in arm enjoying the sunshine. When they began to head for the general population, Klaus felt a sadness growing in his gut knowing his coveted date was drawing to a close.

"Klaus, can I ask you something?" Klaus was pleasantly surprised when Caroline broke the silence.

"Of course," he murmured, nodding. "Ask whatever you want."

"Ok," Caroline breathed, trying to build up her courage to tackle what would most likely be an incredibly awkward conversation. "Do you remember my birthday?"

A reserved smile slid onto Klaus's lips as their pace slowed. "Yes."

Looking up at the sky, Caroline squinted into the sun's bright glare. "I wanted to ask you something about that."

"No need to beat around the bush, sweetheart," Klaus encouraged when Caroline looked as though she was choking on her words.

"Ok, but you can't laugh at me," Caroline said sternly.

Holding up his right hand, Klaus did his best to look innocent and trustworthy. "Cross my heart."

Giving him one last critical look, Caroline swallowed hard. "With the whole, vampire blood sharing thing," she whispered, leaning in closer to him as to not be overheard. "What specifically does that do?"

Squinting in confusion, Klaus looked over at Caroline. "It healed your hybrid bite," he muttered. "Why? Do you think it has done something else?"

"No," Caroline blurted out. "I mean, did it? You don't have some kind of vampire 'you owe me' voodoo hold on me now, do you? I don't owe you a life debt or something, right?"

Letting out an amused laugh, Klaus shook his head. "Perhaps letting you drink to excess was a poor idea." Looking her over once more, he gave a slight shake of his head when he saw she wasn't appeased. "If there is something specific you'd like to share, I'd be more than happy to help, but unfortunately I have yet to learn the art of mind reading."

"I just need to man up and say it, right?" Caroline mumbled, mostly to herself.

Amused at the expression, Klaus let out a chuckle. "Perhaps not too much of a transformation, love. I rather prefer you with your feminine charm and appeal."

"Ha-ha," Caroline sarcastically laughed, rolling her eyes. "Fine. I'll just say it. There are no other side effects of blood sharing, especially with an original, are there?" Klaus shook his head, a smirk on his face. "You wouldn't lie about it, would you? Because I am grateful you saved me, but ever since the night, things have been… different."

Halting them in their movement, Klaus turned to face her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Consider my interest peeked. How are things different, Miss Forbes?"

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone, she gave him a serious look. "I-I've been having strange dreams," she shared tentatively.

A wicked grin slid onto Klaus's face at her words. "I'm going to infer that since you're asking about blood sharing and that you're asking me, I have been present in these dreams."

"Oh please," Caroline scoffed, crossing her arms in defiance. "Not like that."

"Come on," Klaus's smile widened as he raised his eyebrows at her suggestively. "You just admitted to having dreams about me. How can you expect me not to jump to conclusions?"

"Whatever," she scowled. "It's not like that. It's just… I am having weird almost flashbacks to moments we've had together." Seeing Klaus get ideas in his head and his mouth open to comment, she quickly held up a finger to his lips. "Don't. Just don't start. I just told you that it's not like that. It starts on the night of my birthday and then goes to the night of your ball."

Klaus nodded, watching her intently. Gently he reached up and pulled Caroline's hand away from his lips. "So you are re-living moments spent with me. Very interesting. And you say this started the night of your birthday?"

Caroline nodded seriously. "I know you're not exactly known for your honesty, but what do you think? Is this… normal?"

"No, not in the least, but that's not to say that these dreams are unrelated to you drinking my blood," he murmured, giving her hand a small squeeze before stringing it back through his arm as he began walking again. "I know you don't have the highest opinion of me, Caroline, but I want you to know that I will never lie to you. Despite my age, I can't say I've heard much of side effects stemming from blood sharing, but I will do some digging and let you know if I find anything of value."

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling over at him. "You know, you're not so bad when you want to be. Why can't you be this person more often?"

A sad smile twitched at the corner of Klaus's lips as he stopped and faced Caroline. "I never answered your question earlier, about if I ever thought about being human. I did, once. I was on a trek in the Andes and a hummingbird flew up to me. It just hovered there, staring. Its tiny heart was pattering like a machine gun, and I thought, what a thing, you know? To have to work that hard every day just to stay alive, to be constantly on the verge of death, and how satisfying every day must be that it survived. That was the only time I thought about being human."

She watched him carefully as he relayed his personal story to her and tried to ignore the pull she was feeling on her heartstrings. Despite all the bad things he had done, all the lives he had taken; underneath all the plotting and selfishness, there was quite possibly the loneliest person she'd ever met, and it broke her heart.

Caroline's social strength lied in her intrapersonal skills, so she prided herself on her ability to read people. Klaus, however, was easily the most difficult person she'd ever come across. Everyone else was content with taking him at face value, labeling him a crazy, evil psycho and moving on, but there was something else there. Caroline had seen glimpses of it, and ever since then she found herself unable to forget it. There was a stifling sadness so deeply rooted within him that Caroline wanted to find out what had caused it. But for whatever reason, despite all the pain and mistrust, Klaus kept reaching out to her in an attempt to form a relationship of some kind, and Caroline could feel the walls of defense against him wearing down. He had no one besides his family, and they weren't the best group of people. No connections, no friends. He was desperate for a tie to the world, someone to have a connection with.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she questioned before she could stop herself. "Why me?"

"We've been over this, sweetheart," Klaus chuckled, his hands tucking themselves away in his pockets as he adopted a comfortable posture. "I think you are one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever beheld." When she gave him a disbelieving look, he let out an exasperated breath. "You're smart, independent, driven, kind, devoted to your friends and family… The list is endless and full of desirable attributes. I believe the question we should be asking is why would someone be anything but nice to you? And perhaps further still, why do you have such a hard time believing that you are desirable?"

"But I'm always rude to you," Caroline refuted disbelievingly.

"Yes, and at times you try my very limited patience." Smiling, Klaus stared off over the lake, watching the suns ray's dance across the surface of the water in the late afternoon light. "But your actions, more often than not, stem from your unwavering loyalty to those you love." Confidently, he reached his right hand out to brush the backs of his fingers across her cheek. "You are truly one of a kind, Caroline Forbes. Do not ever change."

Bringing Caroline's had up to his lips, Klaus gave the back of it a feather light kiss. "Thank you for the lovely afternoon, Caroline. It was one I will not soon forget." With that he gave a small bow, curt smile and made his way through the sea of tables towards the house.

Caroline watched him go from where she now stood alone by the lake. She knew there had to be a glitch in her brain to think there was something good in Klaus, but he was different around her. He showed her a side of him that no one else thought existed. What scared Caroline the most was that she knew she was starting to like him.

AN2: P.s. I don't really do song inspired fics and there really are a million songs that feel perfect for Klaus and Caroline, but the title of this story I stole from the Imagine Dragons song Bleeding Out (I don't own that or gain anything by saying that, etc.). If you haven't heard, I'd recommend you go give it a listen.