Things never worked out the way Caroline wanted them to.

Knowing that made things easier. She didn't put too much hope or effort in anything. She knew better than to believe things would work out for her, and that would save her the pain of being let down later.

But if there was one thing worth believing in, it was Matt.

She didn't care how wrong things could go, she didn't care how much she could get hurt, she ignored the little voice inside her head that told her not to get too attached. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was the only thing that mattered.

It was all so unexpected. She had moved to New York when she turned 18, after getting a scholarship at NYU, her dream university, and that's where she met him. At first, they were only classmates. The first time they talked was when Caroline arrived late to one of her classes without a single pen. Then, slowly, they became friends. At one point, they were best friends. They talked about everything and everyone, and even though she knew she was falling for him, she thought it was best not to say anything. And after a few drinks and a long time denying their mutual attraction to each other, they became boyfriend and girlfriend. He was the perfect guy for her - handsome, well-driven, mature enough to know what he wanted for his life yet childish enough to joke around with her for hours while everyone else around them thought they were being stupid. And she used to think she was the perfect girl for him, but she was soon proven wrong.

A year and a half into their relationship, things started to change. Graduation was close. He had plans to go to law school. And she, well, she was lost. During her whole life, Caroline never needed anything she couldn't get. Her parents gave her everything they could, and she was never the kind of girl who asked for too much. She knew where her family stood in the money business, so she took whatever she could, never asked for more and never even wanted more. She was happy. And then, she grew up. She had to get a life of her own, pay for her clothes, her home, her food, everything, and she didn't want that, nor did she know where to start. Matt, however, had his whole life planned out: college, law school, marriage, family, job, and then boom, death.

She didn't want that, though. She loved life, and she didn't want to spend the little time she had to live on boring jobs, working her ass off for money that she knew she would probably spend in 2 days with bills and food and rent and everything she needed to live a "comfortable life", as her parents would say. She didn't want to grow up, study, work and then die, having done nothing but waste life on things that don't matter. She wanted to mean something. She wanted to go places, meet people, change someone's life, laugh, love, experience things, do things. Live her life, but actually live it, not just push through it, consumed by worries like "How am I going to feed and clothe my children? Where am I going to get the money to buy this giant house for my family?"

That was basically Matt. He cared more about money, stability, than about life, and the beautiful things that are out there, and how life is short and you can't spend it on material things. He planned ahead, too ahead for her taste, but the worst thing was his tasteless desire to drag her along that way without asking for her permission. For a while, she shook it off, but then it just became too much. She couldn't break it off, though, because despite it all, she loved him. He was her first real boyfriend. Her first time. Even her first kiss, since she decided to completely ignore that one boy she kissed when she was 15 because it didn't last for more than 5 seconds and it was terrible.

She was afraid. She couldn't remember what she was before Matt anymore, and she had no clue as to whom she would become after him. But apparently, he didn't think that way. So one night, when he came home late and stressed out, he said he was done. He said he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't pretend to love her as much as he once did, and that they wanted different things and it wouldn't be fair to her or to him if they kept going. He said he would pack his things and leave in the morning, and that she could have the apartment seeing as she was all alone in New York and had no place to stay (she lived in college for a while and after they started dating she quickly moved in with him, the fool) and he was born and raised there. And that was the end of it. You'd think Caroline had a back-up plan. A job, places to stay. But she didn't, because despite all their problems, Matt and Caroline were truly in love, and neither really took the possibility of a break-up very seriously. They should have.

Some days she would only feel numb regarding him, feel thankful that they broke up. Other days she would be close to calling him and trying to work things out because it all came back and she started missing him and his eyes and his smile and she just wanted him back. That change made her angry sometimes. Every time she thought she was finally over him, something would happen and she would start feeling like crap all over again. In that particular day, though, she was missing him, but not so much that she wanted to curl up and cry while dialing his number a hundred times only to press the red end button on her phone. She just missed him, and she felt like staying home, and not out "having fun".

The only reason she came to this party, this stupid nightclub where people drink and dance - no, not dance, they rub themselves on sweaty, disgusting strangers - was because her friend, April, practically dragged her out of her apartment, saying she was taking Caroline out for some "deserved fun" and would not take a no for an answer. She decided to put up with her friend's wish. She regretted it the minute she arrived, though. A couple of years back, when she was in high school and she was a popular cheerleader and all the boys wanted to be with her, she liked partying. But now, at the age of 23, close to turning 24, Caroline would rather stay home than go out partying. That was one of the few traits she lost from her teenage years. She saw that as a good thing.

So while everyone was on the dance floor and the music was so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts, she sat at the bar, a drink in her hand and a bored expression on her face. She would be home soon, she thought. Just a few more minutes.

"Hello, love." A stranger said, close to her ear, startling her.

"Hi." She answered, staring at her drink. She didn't want anyone to disturb her, but she knew it would happen eventually.

"A beautiful blonde like you, sitting by herself? I take it these American boys don't have their minds set the right way."

She decided to take a look at the guy with the strong British accent, because, really, if there is one thing Caroline isn't is rude, and being heartbroken and bored was not going to change that. He was good-looking. Bright eyes, cute accent. Maybe I can have some fun tonight, she thought. Show Matt what he was going to be missing in a while, which he would – he would miss her, he had to, even if he was the one who broke it off. She smiled.

"I know." She locked eyes with him. "What can I do, right? I can't exactly throw myself at them."

"Can't you?" He smirked. "I'm Klaus."

"Caroline."

Fifteen minutes later, she was kissing him in his car and his hand was travelling around her body and she almost felt bad when Matt's face suddenly appeared in her mind, but she shook it off and told herself he deserved it. They broke apart, and when she thought he was going to let her breathe for a while, he started kissing her neck and sucking on it, sending shivers down her spine.

"We're not going to have sex, you know that, right?" She said, because it didn't matter how hurt she was or how much she wanted to get back at Matt, she still had some dignity left.

"Oh, don't worry, love." He replied, looking at her eyes with an expression that sent shivers down her spine again – but this time, not the good kind. "That's not what I want from you."

Next thing she knew, she felt something tear at her skin, pain shooting at her and a gasp leaving her mouth. Did he just bite her?

"Hey, that hurt!" She said and broke off Klaus' hold, who locked his eyes with hers. She looked back at him, only to discover blood all over his mouth. Her eyes went wide with panic. He had veins sticking out under his eyes, too. What was happening? She brought a hand to her neck and gaped at the blood on her fingers. She blinked in shock, rubbing her fingertips and feeling the texture, as if she were trying to find another explanation for what she was seeing. She looked back at him, and he was smiling, fangs sticking out. That's when it hit her - fangs! She panicked again.

"Don't scream." He said, staring at her.

Why wouldn't she scream? The freak had just bit her, for God's sake! And he had fangs! But then, she found herself completely unable to scream. She had only one constant thought: Don't scream. A part of her wanted to scream, to run away, but she couldn't. Her mind was racing, panic still took over her, but for some reason, she couldn't control her body anymore.

He was back at her neck, sucking in her blood. What was he? A vampire? That was the only explanation – a freaking vampire. That was ridiculous, she knew that. But he had fangs, and he was drinking her blood. What else could he be? She tried breaking off of his hold on her, but he was strong. So strong he didn't even move an inch when she tried her best to push him away. Too strong.

She started feeling dizzy, then. Her vision started to blur, and then everything around her started getting darker, and she knew she was about to faint. She tried one more time to push him off of her with whatever strength she had left, but it didn't work. The last words she heard were "Klaus, stop it, you are going to kill her." It was a male voice. She blacked out the moment he let go of her neck.

I don't own The Vampire Diaries or these character. Sadly.

I have this entire story already written out. It took me pretty much the entire year of 2013 to write this, but since I'm constantly changing things here and there I haven't yet been able to post the whole story.

Please, comment! Tell me what you think so far. Also, I apologize for any grammar mistake. I know how annoying it is to read something in English with the wrong usage of words and grammar, but unfortunately, English is not my first language. I do the best I can.

Hope you like this.

- Anna.