No Beta, mistakes are all my own.

Sitting in my favorite spot at the Mystic Grill, I hugged both hands around my warm coffee, taking the tiniest sip after tiniest mind rolled, continuously, about the day that changed so much. Well, more like everything. Three weeks ago, I, Caroline Forbes, finally gave into my... urges. And I'm not talking about accidentally 'spilling' my red wine all over the latest mean-girl at college at the local frat party who dared to think anyone but 'me' was the queen of campus.

The kind of urges I'm taking about are more... carnal. And involve a very, very bad man. Very bad. I mean, colossally bad. Some would say evil. Some would say terrible. Most would say unforgivable monster.

But me? I would say... holy shit, that man can make a girl's toes curl. Must have been all those centuries of practice.

The way he pushed me up against the tree, I barely noticed the trunk creak in protest. His hands were fast, seeming to touch every inch of me, setting me on fire like I've never felt. The forbidden feeling mixed with that 'ah, finally' release. And boy, was that a release. I practically passed out and turned to jelly. It took both of us to take a breather, after. Even the come-down was enjoyable, as he gently kissed my cheeks, my hair, my neck, my shoulders. Over and over, until we caught my breath. I knew he was savoring, like I was, because we both knew that our 'pact' to end whatever was going on between us would separate us for, well, ever. Or, that was my plan. I wanted to be free of that nagging heat I felt every time he stood near me. How it would flare when I felt his eyes on me. And when our gazes connected? Pure, uncontrolled fire from every direction. The consuming kind, that killed you while it caressed you, became you.

Engulfed you.

I sighed, realizing that I was a little more than flustered, sitting in public, while having myself a rather lovely flashback.

I had to get a grip.

Downing the rest of my coffee, I stood up and snatched my purse off the table and marched outside. The cooler fall air was nice, and being on break from school let me focus on other things.

And a few things I shouldn't have been focused on.

I thought over the conversation I had with Bonnie and Elena, about going somewhere for vacation. It would be easy, since we vampires could go anywhere at the drop of a hat and with very little money involved. Score One for compulsion.

But where? Overseas was out, since we only had, like, five days to our vacation.

It had to be at least in another state. Since we already lived in Virginia, I didn't care much about small town scenery. What I wanted was something big and bright and, well, distracting.

Standing on the sidewalk outside of The Grill, I typed in Virginia into Google Maps. Looking at the neighboring states, I frowned. Nothing that caught my eye.

I tapped my finger on the side of my phone case, staring at the edge of the screen where the state of Louisiana was supposed to be. Sighing, I reluctantly-but not really-typed in "Virginia to New Orleans".

2 hours and 25 minutes, as the crow flies. Or, so the site said. Well, that wasn't too bad. I felt a little tug in my chest, like my heart was telling me to hop on a plane, like now, and fly there to see a certain hybrid. But my best friends would never allow it. Not when they know who is currently there and would no doubt know why I suggested visiting.

Ugh. Secrets sucked. But they hated Klaus. And for good reason. He did unforgivable things to them both.

Great, there was that guilt that I'd been feeling off and on for the past 3 weeks. Awesome.

Well, New Orleans was out.

Maybe somewhere close by...?

"No. No!" I scolded my phone, like it was the one suggesting that I take another dip into that huge ocean of bad, bad boy. I knew it would be like a river, and if I were to slap on my bikini and begin wading through those waters, I was going to be swept away and never heard from, again.

I glanced up to see a couple of people staring at me from their seats outside The Grill.

"Um, sorry," I awkwardly smiled, then quickly shoved my phone in my purse and power-walked toward my car parked across the street.

Oh yeah, I needed a vacation. And a hot boy to get my mind off the bad one.

Rubbing my towel in my hair, I sat on my twin-sized bed, in a room I shared with Bonnie and Elena. They were each on their respective beds, Bonnie reading an occult book and Elena tapping away on her phone, more that likely texting with Damon. The huge smile on her face as she read the screen was evidence enough.

My god, I was jealous. No, envious. She had exactly what I wanted, and I wished I could have that, too. I was happy for her, more than I could say. But... to have that special person is something I didn't have at the moment.

Glancing at my phone that was charging on my nightstand, I bit my lip. No, I couldn't. I shouldn't. I won't.

Pulling out the charger from my cell, I hung my towel up on my towel hook on the opposite side of my bed and slid back to lean my back on the headboard.

I must have stared at his name in my contacts list for... well, at least a minute straight. It felt like forever. But I managed to get up enough gall and opened a texting screen.

Hey.

Hey? HEY? That's all I could come up with? Nothing sultry or alluring? Nothing interesting to attention grabbing? What was I? Twelve?

My phone blinked for a moment, flashing Klaus' face across my screen, pulling me out of my sheer panic and self lashing.

Hello, Caroline. It's lovely to hear from you. ;)

Oh god, the winky face. This conversation was already killing me.

I was just wondering how it's going. I assume you made it home okay?

Again? Okay, girl, get it together. Stop sending stupid texts. Get creative! Get brave! Get a grip!

Yes, I did. I'm delighted that you're thinking of me.

I had never internally screamed like I was internally screaming at that point in my existence. I glanced up at the girls, who were none the wiser, since one was engrossed in her book and the other in her phone. With all the tight swirling going on in my chest, I swore one of them should have noticed.

But for now, I was safe.

I sat, staring at my phone, at every single letter he had typed, trying to find something to say back. What was going to be smooth enough? Was it going to sound needy? Too aloof?

I never remembered texting being this hard.

My screen shifted upward, a new text coming through.

I've been thinking of you, as well. I can still remember the feel of your supple skin in my hands.

And there it was. The moment I died. Again. I had to steer this away from 'sexting' territory, or I'd never be able to keep this a secret. I'm pretty sure me orgasming on my bed only feet away would catch at least one of their attention.

So, how's the weather in New Orleans? It's getting colder, here.

There. Take the hint.

My screen shifted, again, within seconds.

It's rather hot, here. It makes for lovely sunbathing on the terrace, outside my room.

I found it a tad concerning by how fast I made that image fly into my head. Klaus, shirtless, laying on some lounge, maybe sunglasses on. Enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin. Hell, depending on the privacy, he could be doing it naked...

Oh, hello gutter. We need to stop running into each other like this.

I wouldn't know. I don't have a terrace.

Would you like to? I heard you're on vacation. It sounds to me that a trip in is order.

I could practically see his smirk from here.

As nice as that sounds, Bonnie and Elena want to go together on a trip. So, I'm booked.

I have plenty of room in my home to accommodate for you and your friends. It would be no trouble at all.

Ha. Ha. Ha. No trouble.

You're made of trouble.

Oops. I didn't mean to send that.

That may be true, but I assure you, I'm the fun kind. As you've witnessed.

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit! He's like quick sand. No matter how hard I try to steer clear of any kind of flirtations, he always pulls me back in. The thing is, I don't think I mind it, and that alone scared me.

I really don't think Elena and Bonnie would be too excited about the travel destination.

What's not to like? Music, food, culture. I heard Elena enjoyed her time here while with her current Salvatore lover.

I frowned. Sexy talk was one thing. Taking small pot shots at my friends was another.

Sorry, but we're picking a place, together. And I doubt it will be Louisiana.

That's a shame. My offer still stands, whenever you'd like to take me up on it. I even have your room picked out, right next door to mine. We would even share a balcony. The view at night is spectacular.

Uh huh, I'm sure it is. But there was no way I was going to go... even if I wanted to. Okay, I kind of wanted to.

Maybe next time. I've got studying to do, so talk to you later.

Studying? Yeah, totally believable, since I was on VACATION. This was by far the worst texting conversation I've ever had.

Until next time.

I just stared at my screen. Even his goodbye was smooth! How dare that cheeky little...

"Um, Care?"

I let out a gasp and almost dropped my phone.

"What? What?" I sputtered, looking wide-eyed at Elena. Her brow was raised, Bonnie's almost an exact copy.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked. "I can hear your heartbeat, and it sounds like you're about to have a heart attack."

"And you look like you were just caught with your hand in the cookie jar," Bonnie added, her tone changing from concerned to suspicious in one sentence.

"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head quickly.

"Who were you talking to?" Bonnie asked, her gaze landing on my phone for a moment.

"No one," I answered maybe a tad too quickly. I had to get a hold of myself.

Their looks said that I wasn't doing a very good job convincing them.

"Do you have a new boyfriend?" Elena asked, coyly. She sat up from her elbows and slid her legs off her bed to stand up. She edged toward me, pointing at me, with a knowing smile on her face. "I bet it is."

My fingers gripped tighter to my phone, holding it against my chest. I tried my best to keep my panic at bay.

"No, nothing like that."

"So he's a friends with benefits?" Bonnie asked, wiggling her brow at me.

"Guys, there's no guy!" I insisted. "I was just texting... um, Matt. I wanted to know how his police training was going."

"Then why were you so worked up?" Elena asked, sneaking closer.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I scoffed, putting my phone down on my nightstand and crossing my arms.

"Oh?" Elena asked. She glanced to Bonnie, where they shared a smile. Using her vampire speed, Elena snatched my cell from it's resting place before I could stop her.

"No!" I gasped. "Give it back!" Elena danced away, toward Bonnie's bed, where the latter was eagerly awaiting a peek.

"Let's see who you've been-"

Flitting from my bed, I snatched the phone from her hands like my life depended on it.

"I said no!" I shouted. I looked down to see the screen on, and a new crack down the middle of the glass. Though, the crack didn't cover up the name at the top, or the picture that went with the texts.

"Klaus?" Elena asked, almost in disbelief. Her teasing attitude was quickly replaced with one of concern.

"Klaus?" Bonnie echoed, in the same tone, her eyes snapping from Elena to me.

Oh no. Oh no, no... My secret... they were going to hate me... A moment ago, it felt like my heart was running a mile a second. Now? It felt like it had stopped.

"It was only him doing his usual Klaus thing," I said, rolling my eyes and trying to brush it off. "You know how obsessed he is with me-"

"Yes, we do," Elena said. "And texting with him isn't exactly a way to tell him to get lost."

"He's harmless," I insisted.

"Harmless?" Elena scoffed. "You know how many people he's killed?"

"Do you know how many Damon has?" I snapped, regret slapping me the second I uttered that last word.

Elena looked like the one who took the hand across the face.

"Damon's different," Elena began, but I took a step toward her, anger taking over me.

"How? He's killed hundreds of people. Hell, WE have killed people, Elena! But that only matters when Klaus does it, right? Don't forget that Damon's killed Jeremy once, too! But somehow, you've managed to forgive him for that! Why should Klaus be any different? Because you're not the one screwing him, so he gets to stay in the 'monster' category?"

My chest was heaving so hard I thought I was going to throw up. My expression felt wild, and my anger was battling it out with my guilt of my horrible words.

Elena nodded, slowly, in shock, her own anger taking over, but she remained silent. What was there to say? My words were hurtful, but true.

"You're sleeping with him?" Bonnie asked.

Turning to Bonnie, I opened my mouth to deny it. But what was the point?

"Once," I whispered, unable to look her completely in the eye.

"Why... didn't you tell us?" she asked, betrayal breaking her voice.

"Because of this," I said, gesturing to them. "Because of the judgements and anger I knew I'd get."

"Like when you heard I was with Damon?" Elena accused, her eyes tight and her arms crossed. "You couldn't help yourself when you'd talk trash about him for five months straight."

"Oh, maybe it was because Damon used me for sex and food?" I shrugged. "Could have something to do with it."

Pain slipped quickly over her face, before she could recover. "He's not like that, anymore, and you know it. Has Klaus changed? Has he shown any sort of restraint from causing pain and suffering to literally everyone around him?"

"Actually, yes," I replied, my nose tipping into the air. "The day Katherine died, he came to Mystic Falls with Rebekah. Instead of doing what he was planning and ridiculing her as she died, he didn't. Because I asked him not to, he left her alone."

Elena closed the distance between us, locking glares with me.

"The difference between Damon and Klaus? I don't have to 'ask' Damon not to do horrible things. He decides not to, all on his own."

Shaking her head at me, she pushed past me and to the door, slamming it on her way out.

I sat heavily on my bed, feeling the anger still simmering on my gut.

Bonnie stood, sighing. "Listen, if this is how you feel, Care, then fine. But don't act like Klaus is anything but a monster." She then followed Elena through the door, leaving me alone in the room.

I couldn't believe them. But what did I expect? Elena was in love with Damon, and Bonnie was one of his closest friends, if not the closest. They would never understand and see things for what they really were. And for that, I was looked at like I did something wrong.

I huffed, looking toward my phone, laying mildly broken in my hand. I noticed a couple new cracks in the top corner to match the one going down the middle.

You know what? To hell with them and their judgement. I was, for once, going to do what I wanted without feeling like I was doing something shameful or bad. It was my life, not theirs. They got to go after what they wanted at whatever cost, I should be able to!

Tapping the screen, gingerly, I them held the phone to my ear.

"Hello, love. Done studying?"

"When can you book me a ticket to New Orleans?"