"I love you,"

Those short, infamous three words slipped from her tongue, catching the two undead beings off guard.

It wasn't supposed to be this awkward after someone admits his or her love for the other. It wasn't supposed to be this silent…

It had been at the end of her shift at the Grill when he came. She was cleaning up one of the messier booths, humming absentmindedly. The restaurant was practically empty so she should have heard him enter. She placed the last of the used utensils into the container then turned to the kitchen.

"Miss me?" A languid voice floated to her ears from behind.

The typically alert vampire jumped and whirled to find the object of her wandering thoughts sitting at one of the many tables' seats, holding a glass of what was probably some type of alcohol.

"Klaus," Her surprise quickly transformed into irritation. The hybrid had been MIA for the past five days. She refused to let him evade the consequences.

"No welcome back kiss?" He brought the glass to his lips, an eyebrow raised.

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry. Did you expect me to rejoice after you've been missing for five days straight?" He drank from the glass.

"Duty calls, love. We've been through this before,"

"Duty doesn't stop you from calling me, love, " Her eyes narrowed, her tone thick with sarcasm.

"Have I mentioned how lovely you look when you're furious with me?" His lips turned into his familiar, infuriating smirk.

"Not since the last time I wanted to throttle your throat," She shot back, turning towards the kitchen.

"Must you always be so hostile towards me?" He replied, setting his glass onto the table next to him.

She froze mid-step, her pale fingers clenching around the tray and breaking the plastic. She turned to face him.

"I am not hostile!" Her voice raised an octave at the end of the sentence, "I am annoyed and I have every right to be! You left for five days. Five whole days, Klaus! With no text or phone call!" Her fingers dug deeper into the plastic at the memory of finding his apartment empty with no trace of where he was. "You could have been dead for all I knew!"

His countenance remained blank throughout her speech. She knew she was talking to a wall, nothing she said mattered to him. He was an Original. Why would her young vampire emotions bother him?

"So I'm not hostile," She finished, tucking a loose strand of blond hair behind her ears, "I'm just annoyed."

Suddenly he was there, standing in front of her with his sea green eyes boring her eyes. "You were worried about me, " He said it slowly as a statement, not a question. His lips tugged upwards slowly. "Now that's interesting,"
She rolled her eyes at the hybrid's smile," Grin all you want but you are not changing the subject. You left without a trace for almost an entire week. You know, I love you but you can't just-" She stopped her lecture, her sky blue eyes wide at her own words.

Did I just say what I think I said to who I think I said it to? Her heart thrashed within her chest and her eyes fixed on a spot on the wooden flooring. Why did I do that? Why did I say that to him! Her thoughts scrambled to form a coherent reason. Abruptly, it dawned on her. Oh my God, I really am in love with him. And she was and had been for sometime. She loved the Original hybrid, every part of him, the good, the bad and the evil. Realizing this, her embarrassment disappeared because she may be oblivious at times, but Caroline Forbes was not a coward. If she loved him, which she did, she would tell him over and over, which is what she planned on doing.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her head and opened her mouth to repeat those three words without fear and on purpose this time, but found herself alone.

He was gone without notice again.

For a moment, she did nothing and just stared at where he was, where he should have been. Then, slowly, the brave-hearted young vampire changed into a broken hearted teenager.

I know. I know. I know. That was horrible of me to do. But there are casualties in this game of war. DON'T WORRY! Two chapters left and next up in Klaus's point of view. Don't start hating him yet and read on. And review! :D Thanks for reading.