AU/AH. People in Mystic Falls whisper about the mob boss and the schoolgirl.

Caroline Forbes is seventeen when Stefan and Damon Salvatore come to town.

She realises later that the two of them have a truckload of issues between them but at the time they're both hot and she's single and she just wants to be someone's first choice over Elena.

Stefan turns her down flat, already caught up in Elena (after thirty seconds of conversation at most) and so she turns to Damon, who is charming and a total bad boy and reciprocates her hints.

(of course, she later finds out he's also all about Elena and she is, yet again, a second choice).

Caroline and Damon are almost perfect for all of ten minutes and then she realises that he might be cool but he's also an asshole.

An abusive asshole at that.

So Caroline has bruises and bite-marks and hides them because she might be queen bee at Mystic Falls High School but Damon has eight years on her and a whole lot of muscle.

And then her mom is almost gushing about Damon and how he's trying so hard to be a good guardian to Stefan and that he wants to get involved with the town and all Caroline can think about is why her sheriff mother can't see the half-hearted attempts of her daughter to cover up marks she really wants someone to see.

Eventually her friends notice and are suitably outraged and tell Damon to leave her alone but then they promptly forget the entire thing ever happened and Elena starts talking about how much Damon has grown and how he's always there for her when she fights with Stefan and Caroline swings between wanting to cry and the desire to remind Elena that despite what everyone else seems to think she is not actually the centre of the universe.

A few months later, after hard work at self-defence classes three times a week, Caroline walks up to Damon (who still hasn't apologised) and punches him in the face.

Then she runs like hell because he still scares her a little bit.

She dates Matt for a while but she's his Elena replacement and she feels like even though she should be used to that it still hurts.

She dates Tyler and she thinks she could love him.

Then the Mikaelsons come to town.

Everyone has heard of them. The oldest of old money, business interests all over the globe and a very shady (but nothing's ever been proved) reputation.

No one knows what they're doing in Mystic Falls. They say they want a break from New York but if the rumours are true (and yes they definitely are) then the Mikaelsons are pretty much the mob and they wouldn't be in Caroline's small hometown unless they were looking for something.

There's an older brother somewhere who doesn't associate with his family but all the other Mikaelson siblings are there. Their parents are dead – accidental deaths according to the official reports but everyone knows that isn't true.

Elijah lives in designer suits that are always spotless, he's polite and charming but Caroline still gets the impression he could kill someone without getting a hair out of place. He's married to Katherine, Elena's sharper (and infinitely more interesting) cousin and everyone assumes that she's the reason the Mikaelsons are in Mystic Falls.

(but Caroline remembers Katherine, whose way of effortlessly ruling the school she tries so hard to emulate, and she couldn't get out of town and into New York fast enough. This isn't some cheery trip home – it's something else entirely).

Kol is a bit of a maniac who is fond of wielding a baseball bat but always manages to talk his way out of trouble. Rebekah is the same age as Caroline but she doesn't go to school with them and thank god because Caroline has to admit she might give her a run for her money in terms of ruling the school. Still, Caroline admires the girl's effortless style and her ability to stay sane while surrounded with so many brothers. Henrik is the sweetest of them, only fourteen and clearly not as crazy as the rest of his siblings, but Caroline doesn't see much of him because he's apparently a bit shy.

Then there is Klaus.

She doesn't see him for a while, only hears rumours. She hears a lot from her class about how hot he is, how cool his car is and how amazing his accent sounds.

Her mom gets really tense and there are a lot more town meetings than usual. No one tells her anything, which isn't new, but she knows that despite the warm welcome the town council formally offered the Mikaelsons they're scared of something.

Bonnie and Elena are always on edge now and both Salvatores hover over Elena like they're worried for her. Caroline is clueless. Elena might be at the centre of their little town's world but it's ludicrous to think she'd effect a family who have never even met her before.

But the Mikaelsons are apparently always starting weird conversations with Elena and Katherine, who has never made a secret of her distaste for her cousin, is suddenly being friendly and very curious about all the trinkets the Gilbert family has from days past.

Caroline realises that everything got strange just after Mr and Mrs Gilbert died in the car accident on Wickery Bridge and she starts to think that maybe the Mikaelsons are actually in Mystic Falls for Elena and what was this girl, some kind of special snowflake, the second coming?

(so maybe her thoughts are a tad uncharitable, but Caroline has lived in Elena's shadow her whole life and she's entitled to some annoyance).

Caroline meets Klaus when he crashes senior prank night for some nefarious reason.

And really, what is going on that some mob boss can get into their school and terrorise the students.

He is after information from Elena, which is so typical, but Caroline notes that he really is as hot as everyone has been saying and his accent is possibly one of the most beautiful things she's ever heard.

It doesn't stop her from ranting to him about ruining her plans for the perfect prank because he can't exactly shoot (or bludgeon or whatever he does) her in front of so many witnesses.

He doesn't even get angry, though, he just laughs and calls her sweetheart and goes back to threatening Elena.

It's very confusing.

Tyler turns into Klaus' lapdog and yes she's not exactly been focusing on him in her worry over her friends and the Mikaelsons, but she still loves him (she thinks) and he's siding with the guy who is clearly out to get Elena. Caroline might get irritated with her, but Elena is one of her best friends and she's not about to let her get disappeared.

Apparently blackmail was involved and Tyler disappears off into the wilderness soon after the prank night debacle in an attempt to find a way to deal with the problem of whatever Klaus is holding over him.

And Caroline is left with an absent boyfriend who won't answer her calls and a (probable) mob boss who starts to pop up wherever she goes.

She gets an invitation to a ball the Mikaelsons are hosting and she has no plans to go even if the dress Klaus sends is gorgeous and the bracelet that turns up on her bed (creepy much) on her eighteenth birthday is too beautiful not to wear.

But Elena decides she needs to go in order to figure out Klaus' evil plan and since none of their other friends have been invited Caroline gets to play bodyguard.

(not that it matters, because Stefan and Damon both show up uninvited anyway and she should have seen that one coming from a mile away).

Then Klaus is being charming and is a really good dancer and yes his art is pretty amazing but she has a boyfriend she loves and Klaus is the reason he's gone.

But there are horses and god she loves horses and she's in the mansion of a mob boss not fearing for her life – there's something wrong with that statement.

She gets angry with Klaus because he's obviously never had lessons on how to interact in socially acceptable, non-stalkery, non-threatening ways and throws the bracelet back at him (even if she really loves it) and leaves.

The bracelet is back on her bed before she even arrives home and again, creepy, but she does really love it and what's the harm in keeping a present he obviously won't accept back.

The next day she finds the drawing, the rendering of her face that makes her wonder if he really sees her that way, if she really looks that radiant to him.

The horse shows her that he remembers what she likes and his words, 'thank you for your honesty', make her warm a little to him.

He's still a stalker, obsessive and dangerous, probably a killer.

But he also sees her and likes what he sees and that's all she's ever really wanted.

Tyler comes back.

He finds the drawing and everything gets tense very quickly.

He doesn't notice the bracelet or the dress, or if he does he assumes they're hers. She's relieved.

The drawing doesn't help matters because now Tyler thinks Klaus is moving in on her and sure that's true but she wasn't reciprocating and what is Tyler going to get from a confrontation with Klaus except possible a cement bootie (and yes, it's cliché but it could totally be true – when Klaus found out what Damon did to her, and she has no idea how he discovered the information, the older Salvatore was in hospital for a week and he hasn't said a word to her since except sorry).

Tyler goes away again and she's starting to think he isn't the guy for her and then he tells her he's definitely not coming back and it's all over.

Klaus doesn't have the decency to hide his smirk.

He steps up his game after that and how is this her life. She is eighteen, still in high school. He is nine years older and the most dangerous man she has ever met.

Everyone talks, because obviously they have nothing better to do but gossip about her. No one says a word about Elena and her complicated 'something' with both the Salvatores, which isn't fair because that kind of situation should be generating at least half a dozen rumours about threesomes.

She reminds herself that Elena is her friend.

(she's always liked Bonnie better).

She's beyond confused because she should not like Klaus. In fact, she should run far away from men like him.

It gets harder, though, and she somehow finds herself spending time not only with Klaus but with his family too.

Rebekah and Katherine decide Caroline is the only semi-tolerable person in town. She thinks they admire her forceful personality and the fact that she runs the majority of her school's clubs and a number of the town committees while maintaining one of the best grade averages in her year.

The two of them are sort of terrifying but also pretty amazing and even if the three of them argue all the time they really do make good friends.

Kol likes to tease her. His innuendo makes her blush and she's fairly sure he belongs in an insane asylum but when he uses his pick-up lines on her it gets Klaus amusingly riled up. Plus, she is fairly sure he has a massive crush on Bonnie and Caroline thinks the two of them would be perfect together if Bonnie would just stop threatening to castrate him.

She doesn't see Elijah much but he nods politely to her and always looks pleased to see her and constantly asks her round to their mansion for dinner. Katherine says he likes the better (but never nicer) side she's brought out in Klaus, a side that has apparently been dormant for well over a decade.

And Henrik just likes to talk to her about Klaus. He hero-worships his big brother and while Caroline will always insist that she doesn't care about Klaus she rather enjoys hearing the stories and realising he really does have more to him than just the persona of mob boss.

(although it has the unfortunate side-effect of starting to crumble her resolve to stay strong against Klaus' advances).

She's falling for Klaus, she can admit that to herself even if she can't to anyone else.

But she also cares about her friends and she does what could turn out to be a very stupid thing and asks him why he's in Mystic Falls.

She knows he has feelings for her, but she also isn't entirely sure how far his feelings extend and what he might do if he thinks she knows too much.

It turns out that she need not worry because he tells her quite happily. Apparently all her friends are aware of the real reason the Mikaelsons are in Mystic Falls, everyone but her. She hates how she always ends up out of the loop and makes a mental note to have a serious talk with her friends about sharing important information.

In a safety deposit box there are papers that could be exceptionally valuable to the Mikaelsons in their (less than legal) business interests. The Gilberts are the only ones allowed to open the box and that means only Elena and Jeremy have access. Since Jeremy isn't yet eighteen it is currently only Elena who can retrieve the documents.

Thus Klaus has been trying to 'persuade' Elena to hand the papers over to him. Caroline knows him well enough to realise he wouldn't feel much guilt over killing both Elena and Jeremy so that Katherine inherited the box but common sense (or Elijah's advice) won out and he tells her that he accepts that not only would it look suspicious but that his family tries to avoid the killing of innocents (again, Elijah and his morals).

Klaus defends his persuasion techniques when Caroline's smile tells him that she thinks he should easily be able to intimidate Elena. Apparently, in an unfortunate (for Klaus) twist, both the Salvatore brothers and the new boyfriend of Elena's aunt Jenna have FBI links they won't hesitate to use if they can prove any sort of threat against Elena.

So Klaus has to be sneaky, which he's good at, but he is still finding it difficult.

Caroline is just a little relieved. She really did think Klaus was out to kill Elena and sure threatening her to get his hands on documents she knows will probably get a lot of people killed is bad but it could be a whole lot worse.

Klaus kisses her then, probably to try and distract her from what he's just told her about his plans to coerce Elena but also because she knows he really wants to.

She really wants to kiss him too.

She's not about to tell him that. His ego needs no assistance.

She kisses back, though, because Klaus is an excellent kisser.

It escalates from there and it just feels really good to kiss him and to be honest she's been wanting to jump him for months.

They do not have sex in the woods, no matter what Damon later tries to insinuate. It's admittedly a close thing but they manage to control themselves enough to get to a building and an actual bed because she does not want to get her back scratched up by bark while having sex with Klaus.

It's a glorious experience, though she's known for months that it would be.

She's thankful it happens at her house when no one is there because someone is always around at the Mikaelson home and the whole family seem to have freakishly good hearing and that would just be embarrassing.

Klaus seems just as delighted by her as she is by him and that does all kinds of positive things for her ego because he's an older and definitely experienced guy and she's an admittedly insecure teenage girl.

(and now she's reminded of all the disapproving looks she's going to get. It was bad enough with Damon and the town actually liked him).

She has sex with Klaus again and she refuses to be judged for it. She's not one to sleep around but when she's found a guy she likes she sees no reason not to enjoy all the perks. Besides, she has a feeling that Klaus will be around for a long time.

Meanwhile, people in Mystic Falls continue to whisper about the mob boss and the schoolgirl.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.