I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

A/N: This is my first fic for The Vampire Diaries that isn't a Damon pairing! Go me! I'm evolving lol That and even though he's totally bad, Klaus is SO hot. 'Nuff said. Also, in my story, Caroline and Tyler are just friends.

Perplexed

Chapter 1

Caroline's eyes fluttered open when she was jolted awake by hitting off something hard. She was staring at some kind of wall.

"For God's sake, Rebekah! Driving isn't difficult!" She heard him yell. She realised then that she most likely had been kidnapped. This was starting to become far too frequent an occurrence for her to really worry about this yet. She wasn't dead... Well, any more than usual. So that was a start. Her neck hurt a little so she moved her hand to rub at it then sat up and leaned against the wall. She saw Klaus watching her intently from where he sat a few feet across from her. She was sure he expected some kind of reaction, different from the silent one she was giving him. She looked around and saw a couple of coffins. They were in an enclosed space and they were moving.

"Are we in a truck?" She asked him curiously and he looked at her with a hint of surprise. She saw he wasn't big on the emotions so she must have seriously surprised him.

"Yes." He replied and she nodded.

"Huh." She replied. "What's with the coffins? Isn't that kind of cliché?" She asked him and his lip twitched in amusement.

"Family." He replied. "Can't live with them, can't risk leaving them somewhere for some idiot to just take out the daggers." He smirked deviously and she couldn't help a little chuckle from escaping. She saw he looked a little surprised again to have amused her at all.

"You know the tomb spell?" She asked him and he looked at her a little perplexed.

"Are you referring to the barrier?" He asked and she nodded. "Yes, what about it?" He asked her.

"Wouldn't there be any way to kind of... uh... reverse it?" She asked him curiously and he looked at her in confusion.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"You know, to keep people out? Like on human homes but one that would keep everyone out and not just vampires?" She asked.

"Well... yes. A witch could do that." He nodded unsure where she was going with this.

"Well couldn't you just put the coffins somewhere and get a spell like that put around them? That way nobody could get near enough to pull out the daggers?" She asked him and his jaw dropped a little. Was she... no... she couldn't be... could she? It was kind of ingenious and he was slightly furious at himself for never thinking of it before.

"Are you trying to... help me?" He asked her confused and she shrugged.

"Just seems like a bit of a drag having to take them with you everywhere you go. It's kind of hard to be impulsive and just nip off for a weekend away when you have to cart your relatives around, don't you think?" She asked and he couldn't help it. He laughed. She offered him a small smile for being able to make him laugh.

"Yes, I suppose." He nodded in agreement. He saw her rubbing her neck a little.

"Why does my neck hurt? I thought vampires didn't get aches and pains." She said and he was trying so hard not to laugh again. This little baby vampire was highly amusing.

"Rebekah snapped your neck." He replied matter-of-factly and she looked a little surprised.

"Huh." She said. "That's a new one." She said and his lip twitched in amusement again.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" He asked her cocking his head to the side and she looked at him for a moment.

"No." She replied and he saw that she truly meant that. That surprised him.

"Why? I could kill you." He replied and she nodded.

"Yeah, but as Damon likes to frequently point out, I'm a baby vampire." She replied and he found he was quite perplexed with her all over again. "So, he could kill me, you could kill me, your sister could kill me, werewolves could kill me, more recently my father almost killed me... just because you're like a millennium older than Damon, doesn't mean I would be any more dead." She said and he was shaking with silent laughter at her explanation. "All that gets really tiresome to think about constantly, so I'm not going to waste any time or energy worrying about it. There's no point in being afraid of you. I mean, if you decided right now to kill me, what could I do about it? Nothing. So, what's the point in being afraid?" She asked him in a ramble and he couldn't help a little chuckle from escaping.

"You are quite perplexing." He said to her amused.

"Yeah." She sighed. "And bossy, neurotic, blunt, a bit of a control freak... Damon says I'm annoying and shallow and useless and I talk too much. I was shallow as a human, I suppose, but becoming a vampire puts things in perspective a bit. He was right about the talking though. You sure you know what you've done by taking me? Just because you're 'Klaus' doesn't mean I won't talk your ear off." She said to him with air quotations and everything. He chuckled at that too. He found he didn't really mind the thought of her talking his ear off... few people ever spoke to him willingly.

"You haven't even asked why I took you." He pointed out and she shrugged.

"I'm sure if you wanted me to know, you would have told me." She replied surprising him.

"You aren't even going to ask?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

"I can imagine being asked incessant questions would get annoying." She said and he smirked.

"So you are attempting to not annoy me?" He asked her amused.

"I doubt I'm doing a very good job of that but yes. If you're planning to keep me with you for a while, there's no point in making things uncomfortable or awkward." She replied and he was seriously surprised at that. He'd kidnapped her from her home and she was still being nice?

"So you are just going to be... nice?" He asked her sceptically and she shrugged again.

"Why wouldn't I be? You aren't being unkind to me." She pointed out and he was kind of seriously perplexed by her again. "Are we going to be back here for a little while?" She asked him and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" He asked. He found he couldn't imagine the next thing to exit her mouth.

"Well..." She replied then bit her lip.

"I thought you were blunt?" He asked her with a small smirk when she didn't continue.

"Alright then. I'm hungry so I was just wondering if we would be stopping any time soon where I could get a bite to eat." She said and he was kind of surprised again.

"You aren't on that wretched animal diet, are you?" He asked with distaste and he was highly amused when she gave him an annoyed look.

"Of course not. I'm not a psychopath." She said to him like it was the most obvious thing in the world and he laughed.

"How does one relate to the other?" He asked her amused.

"Personally, I think killing innocent defenceless bunnies by choice is beyond psychopathic and I won't do it. Never again. I don't care who it is that has a problem with my diet." She said to him and he laughed again. She was so... so... he couldn't put his finger on an adjective to fit her.

"Well, we will not be stopping for a few hours but there are blood bags in that cooler. Help yourself." He pointed to a cooler down the other side of the truck and she smiled.

"Thanks." She replied then stood up and held onto the side of the truck and went over to the cooler and opened in and took one out. "Want one?" She asked and he was surprised by her again.

"Please." He replied with a nod and she grabbed one more then closed it. She stood back up and made her way back to where she'd been sitting as Klaus was right across from her. She handed him one then sat down. "Thank you." He said to her and she smiled. He found his manners were coming through for her as she was just... so...

"Welcome." She chirped then opened the bag and took a sip and he watched her.

"How are you so controlled at your age?" He asked her curiously as she was sipping it like a juice box. He opened his absently then pressed it to his lips. He noticed her face hadn't changed and that surprised him.

"It's just blood." She shrugged.

"Just blood?" He asked her curiously and she nodded.

"I didn't go into a frenzy as a human eating my dinner so why should this be any different?" She asked him and he smirked amused.

"It's not quite the same thing." He pointed out.

"But it can be." She countered. "I couldn't imagine being Stefan and being controlled by your dinner. That's just..." She trailed off. Klaus was all around perplexed by this young vampire. That did not happen often. Perhaps not in centuries. "What do you like to do for fun?" She asked him changing the subject and he couldn't help furrowing his eyebrows at her.

"Pardon?" He asked confused. Caroline figured that if she was going to get out of being kidnapped by Klaus alive, being nice to him might be the only way. That and she was quite internally shocked at how pleasant he was being. He wasn't acting at all like the crazy psycho she'd imagined.

"Well, for example, before you broke the curse and you were busy trying to make hybrids... if you wanted say, a fun night out, what would you do?" She asked curiously and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Just curious. You've lived a seriously long time so I'd imagine you've 'been there, done that' with most things. Thought it might be something interesting." She replied and he couldn't help a little chuckle escaping.

"Are you... trying to... get to know me?" He asked her sceptically and she shrugged.

"Well, pardon my saying so, but there isn't a hell of a lot else to do back here other than talk is there?" She asked him and he laughed at her being blunt. He found hardly anyone was ever blunt with him. It was kind of... refreshing. He stared at her for a moment in contemplation. He found that in just a few minutes, he was thoroughly intrigued by the young blonde.

"True." He replied. "I am partial to jazz bars and clubs." He said and she smiled.

"I grew up listening to jazz among other things. Who do you like best?" She asked and he noticed that he'd genuinely sparked her interest. He was internally shocked that she didn't look at him with disgust. She didn't look at him like he was a monster. Even his own sister looked at him like that sometimes... but she didn't. He didn't really know what to think about that.

"I suppose... I quite like the classics like Louis Armstrong though the small jazz places in the 1920s had a lot of unknown musicians with talent." He replied and she nodded.

"My favourite song is Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's 'Cheek to cheek'." She grinned at him surprised that they had anything in common at all. He wasn't sure anyone had ever grinned at him before... certainly not like that. It was as if she was happy to have found any kind of common ground at all.

"Mine is 'La Vie En Rose'." He replied and she nodded.

"That is a wonderful song." She commented and he couldn't help a tiny smile at that. He didn't know why he liked that she liked his favourite song. He didn't know why he even told her in the first place. "Were the twenties as romantic as they're made out to be in movies?" She asked and he smirked.

"I suppose they were." He nodded. "Though I am not a romantic so my sister would be better to ask." He said and she shot him an amused look. "What?" He asked curiously.

"Everyone is a romantic to some degree. There's nobody in the world that doesn't enjoy love." She replied and he chuckled.

"You are very young." He commented and she nodded.

"Maybe, but there's no way you can like jazz and not even have a speck of romance in you." She pointed out and he was shocked to his very core that she would be so blunt.

"You say that like you know anything about me." He countered and she shrugged.

"You may be an all powerful hybrid, but you're still a person." She said. "You're pleasant to speak to so it's not like you're remotely evil." She replied and he stared at her. She didn't think he was evil? He was sure she was the only person on the planet who didn't think he was evil. He even thought he might indeed be evil. He didn't like this one bit. He shouldn't have told her about the jazz. He didn't even know why he had.

"You are very blunt." He warned her and she could hear in his tone that she'd pissed him off but she was kind of past the point of caring. She figured she'd hit some kind of nerve.

"Yes and I told you that already. I did warn you that I'd talk your ear off." She reminded him. He was kind of amused by what she said but his amusement was mixed with shock that she hadn't backed down. She hadn't cowered. She wasn't afraid. Before he had the chance to think up an answer, her phone rang. She was visibly surprised that her phone was even still on her. She took it out of her pocket and scowled at the screen. "What do you want, ass hat?" She mumbled and Klaus chuckled.

"Ass hat?" He asked and she nodded.

"Damon." She replied and he laughed.

"Are you going to answer it?" He asked and she sighed.

"No. I have no will to speak to him." She replied then pressed the cancel button which shocked him considering she was currently in the process of being kidnapped.

"He may be calling to find out where you are." He pointed out and she nodded.

"And I'd rather go bunny hunting than be rescued by Damon Salvatore." She said and he laughed at that considering he was now aware of her feelings on 'bunny hunting' as she put it. Her phone just rang again immediately and she rolled her eyes. "What?" She answered annoyed.

"You just cancelled my call." He replied just as annoyed.

"Yeah? And what are you going to do about it? Bite my dad? Oh, that's right. You already did that." She scowled and Klaus was watching her curiously.

"You are seriously trying my patience, Barbie." He said angrily and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh is that so? Are you inconvenienced, Damon? Tragedy." She said dryly and Klaus bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh. He was shocked that she wasn't telling Damon about who she was currently with. He'd been surprised that she answered the phone right in front of him. She had serious guts and he liked that. He was impressed with that which surprised him as he wasn't impressed by much.

"You are so infuriating." He snapped. "Where are you?" He said and she could just tell that he was gritting his teeth.

"And how is my whereabouts your business?" She asked him and Klaus had to concentrate so his jaw wouldn't drop.

"It's my business because Elena won't stop nagging at me to find you." He said annoyed and she laughed.

"Aww, did she snap her fingers for your obedience again? That's cute. You're like a little golden retriever." She said and Klaus' jaw did drop then and they both heard Damon growl down the phone.

"I am going to kill you." He snarled and she laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. So you keep saying." She smirked.

"WHERE. ARE. YOU?" He yelled each word separately.

"I'm blonde, Damon. Not stupid. You just said you were going to kill me. Why the hell would I tell you where I am?" She asked and Klaus couldn't help a little chuckle at that.

"Who was that?" Damon said to her immediately his tone changing to concern.

"None of your business, Salvatore. Now fuck off, you're annoying me." She said then hung up and Klaus laughed. He was highly amused by her telling Damon to 'fuck off'. He was shocked that she didn't tell Damon who she was with. She'd hidden it... He just didn't know why. Caroline had been thinking it over since she woke up and she figured that she was taken for the same reason Stefan had been. Klaus wanted friends. She knew that. She'd overheard his comment to his sister about not wanting to be alone. She figured that there were two ways she could go about that, she could either accept it and make the most of it and just maybe things would be okay... or she could fight it like Stefan had and things would just be made worse and her family and friends could die. She decided to accept it. He wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Maybe it could be okay. She'd already noticed little glimpses of him being capable of some kindness. She figured being alone with no friends for a thousand years would make anyone crazy so she didn't really hold it against him. She wasn't a judgemental person before and she wasn't going to start now.

"You really are perplexing." He said to her, his face full of curiosity and a little bit of disbelief considering Damon was almost a century and a half older than her.

"Not really. He's an Elena doormat like everyone else so he won't kill me because he knows she'd never forgive him for that." She smirked at Klaus deviously. "So it amuses me to no end to piss him off as much as possible since he really is an ass hat." She said and Klaus laughed again.

"He's your sire, isn't he?" Klaus asked and she sighed.

"Unfortunately. It was his blood that turned me but Katherine was the one who killed me." She said. "God, I hate that bitch." She scowled at nothing in particular and he smirked.

"As do I." He agreed and she looked at him for a second in contemplation. "What are you thinking?" He asked amused.

"Can I be blunt again?" She asked and he was far too curious to disagree.

"By all means." He replied and she nodded.

"Why didn't you just kill her?" She asked him. "I overheard that you were going to make her death take half as long as she spent running but is it really worth it? She's devious and clever and irritating and she will always put a kink in any plans. So keeping her alive to torture her might be satisfying but if she's dead, she can't cause anymore problems. Isn't that better? For Katherine, the worst thing that could ever happen to her would be dying. If you, for example, bit her so she died of a werewolf bite, it would be like the worst fate ever for her considering she'd have to know for like two days that she was definitely, one hundred percent going to die and there would be nothing she could do about it. She'd be terrified and haunted by her past. Wouldn't that be revenge enough?" Caroline asked him and he stared at her again. She made an excellent point. He hadn't thought of it that way before. If Katerina was dead she couldn't screw with him any longer...

"Perhaps you are right, Caroline. I will consider that." He nodded and she looked surprised. "You are quite insightful, it seems." He added.

"Not really. I just want the bitch dead." She said and he laughed at her frankness. "You know, if you put a little couch back here and maybe a CD player or something, this could be quite a cool way to travel." She said looking around and he chuckled at her randomness.

"You think I should decorate the truck?" He asked her amused and she shrugged.

"Well, it's quite open in here. It could be quite comfortable actually with a few touches. Especially if you're planning to hold onto the truck for a while." She said and she was already redecorating it in her head. Klaus noticed her scanning every detail of it.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"As wacked as it sounds, I'm mentally redecorating." She said and he laughed.

"Do tell." He said clasping his hands together as he watched her with extreme curiosity. She was just... so...

"Well..." She said putting her finger to her cheek. "Are we talking with or without the coffins?" She asked him and he smirked.

"Let's say with." He said and she nodded then thought about it.

"Well, coffins are kind of morbid so you could partition an area up the back and keep them there so they don't have to be seen then put down a large rug to insulate a little and keep it warm. A couch could be put along this wall." She pointed to her side. "Maybe a little portable TV over there and a CD player. The couch could even be a fold out in case anyone wants to get some sleep." She said. "It's kind of dark so maybe some lighting along the walls. Maybe even a little fridge to keep blood and alcohol in. It could be kind of nice." She smiled softly as she thought about it. Klaus felt like he truly had to stop being so baffled by her as it didn't seem she would stop being interesting any time soon.

"I like that idea!" They heard Rebekah shout from the driver's seat and Klaus smirked.

"Well, since Rebekah doesn't shut up until she gets what she wants, we will most likely now need to decorate the truck." Klaus said to Caroline amused and she smiled. Just then Rebekah swerved the truck and something fell off a shelf and hit Klaus on the head hard and it knocked him out. Caroline's jaw dropped at that as his head was bleeding. She shuffled down to the cooler and grabbed a blood bag, closed it then hurried back. She looked around then and didn't see anything she could wipe the blood with.

"Rebekah?" Caroline called.

"Yes?" She called back.

"A box fell off the shelf when you swerved and knocked Klaus unconscious." Caroline called back worriedly. She didn't want them to think she had something to do with that. She noticed Rebekah pulling over immediately and Caroline kneeled beside him with the blood bag in her hand. Seconds later the back door opened and Rebekah looked kind of shocked that Caroline was waiting with a blood bag. She could have busted through the doors and taken off... but she didn't. "There's nothing back here to wipe the blood away." Caroline said to her. "How could he get knocked out? He's Klaus." She said to her confused and Rebekah looked amused.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I'll keep that in mind for when he annoys me." She said and Caroline chuckled.

"Must be a sibling thing." Caroline replied and Rebekah looked at her curiously. She'd overheard their entire conversation and she was very surprised at her brother's replies as well as Caroline's bluntness. Rebekah was quite intrigued by the blonde herself.

"We are quite close to a city and all my new clothes were left in Chicago. Do you know anything about shopping? I had to take advice from my brother and Stefan and neither of them seemed to be paying any attention." She said and Caroline smiled at her.

"I love shopping. I'll take you to all the best places and help you. You know what? We could make a whole day of it. I doubt Klaus and Stefan have a clue at how to really do a girl's day. We can go shopping then go to the salon then have some cocktails. It'll be fun." She said and Rebekah was stunned at her suggestion. Caroline noticed that Rebekah seemed like she was dying to do that but she didn't want to say that. Caroline gathered that Rebekah was starved for company too.

"We kidnapped you." Rebekah tested and Caroline sighed.

"I'm not one to hold a grudge. And to be honest, I could do with a fun girls' day so I can only imagine buzz-kill Stefan has made you feel the same." She said with a small smirk and Rebecca laughed.

"He does brood an awful lot." She replied and Caroline giggled.

"And you haven't even seen him on the bunny diet. He's way worse on that." Caroline replied and Rebekah looked amused.

"What is that about?" Rebekah asked.

"He hates being a vampire." Caroline replied and Rebekah looked surprised.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"He's... just... Stefan is very simple in general. Deep down, his dream come true would be being human, getting married, having a family, growing old and having a simplistic boring life. Stefan doesn't crave excitement. He doesn't crave fun. He'd be quite happy coming home to a dinner on the table then reading a book and having an early night. He's like a pensioner in the head." Caroline said and Rebekah looked at her in contemplation.

"Really?" She asked confused and Caroline nodded.

"I'm pretty sure the only reason he's still alive is because of his brother. He won't leave his brother alone. If Damon died, Stefan wouldn't be long behind." Caroline said and Rebekah looked stunned... but it completely made sense considering his deal with Klaus.

"Do you also hate being a vampire?" She asked and Caroline shook her head.

"No, I like it." She replied. "Though, to be fair, I've only been a vampire for six months." She said. Just then Klaus started to stir a little and he looked up at them curiously. "You know, you should really not have a heavy box that high up. You could have been hurt." She said to him and both Klaus and Rebekah looked at Caroline a little confused.

"I am a hybrid, Caroline. It's not like it would kill me." He pointed out.

"Maybe not, but what if next time you're sitting in here with an ass hat like Damon instead of me? He'd take advantage of you being out cold." Caroline said to him with a hand on her hip as she handed him the blood bag and he stared at her confused. As did Rebekah. Caroline then moved back to where she'd been sitting as she didn't understand the looks they were giving her. They glanced at each other with matching expressions but didn't say anything. Caroline looked outside then for the first time and noticed a sign for Baltimore and she was surprised that she'd been unconscious long enough for a drive like that. It was early in the morning so the sun was just coming up.

"What are you looking at?" Rebekah asked her curiously.

"The sign for Baltimore. I haven't been there in a few years. It's a beautiful city." Caroline commented.

"That was where I was thinking of stopping." Rebekah said to her and she nodded while Klaus shot Rebekah an annoyed look.

"And why are we stopping there?" Klaus asked her annoyed.

"I want to stop there." Rebekah said to him.

"Yes, I understood that. But why?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Caroline is going to show me how to shop in this decade since you and Stefan were just so helpful." She said and he scowled at her.

"You want to stop to go shopping?" Klaus asked her like she was an imbecile.

"All I've heard about since you awakened me is 'hybrids, hybrids, hybrids'. I'm bored of hybrids. I want to have some fun since you now know how to make them." Rebekah said to him and he scowled at her.

"And you think shopping will be fun?" Klaus asked her deadpan.

"Well..." Rebekah glanced at Caroline. "It wouldn't only be shopping." She said and Klaus looked at Caroline for an explanation.

"I suggested a girls' day but if you're in a rush to get somewhere, we can just do it another time." Caroline said and they both looked at her curiously again. Klaus was wondering when the hell Caroline and his sister made plans to 'hang out'. Rebekah was wondering why Caroline wasn't afraid of them... why she seemed okay with going for this girls' day when only hours ago she was snapping her neck...

"One day, Nick." Rebekah said to him and he sighed.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and Rebekah grinned at him smugly since she got her way.