Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries

minor detail: written before 4x16 aired so disregard Klayley sex...or don't- who's to say Klaroline hasn't hooked-up when we don't see them on screen;)

chase

how she loved it when he sprinted right over the lines and reduced her boundaries to smithereens

Between the constant supernatural war and the normal, high school drama it's something she hasn't done since before she Turned. She never has a free moment anymore, never a second to just drop all the pretenses and let her hair down. So, when she wakes from a fitful, restless sleep filled with dreams of Bonnie killing twelve people, Jeremy's body burning with the Gilbert household, the new (and definitely not improved) no-humanity Elena, Tyler out on his own in the world, and her drunken tryst with Klaus, Caroline pulls on a grey t-shirt that reads Timberwolves across the back, a pair of Nike shorts, laces up her neon pink sneakers, and heads out the door to greet the dark as quietly as possible.

She jogs down the street in the brisk morning air. It's barely six o'clock so the town square is dead silent but the music blasting in her ears makes it less eerie and foreboding than a town filled with destructive supernatural beings should be. A slight breeze whistles through the trees as the sky begins to turn from black to grey to foggy blue, the sun barely beginning to peak over the horizon and through the tree branches as she continues on her way towards the Wickery Bridge.

It's a full five miles from her house to the bridge, Caroline knows, but she barely makes it the entire way when she screeches to a halt at a driveway framed by large sandstone pillars and an iron gate. On any other day she would have snorted- one, because it's so him to have the first thing people see coming into quaint little Mystic Falls is his fortress, sitting just over the town boundaries like a stamp of ownership. And second, really? Are the gates even necessary in a town where half the residents possess inhuman abilities?

But this time, her cornflower blue eyes stare at the driveway in front of her feet, the pristine white pavement antagonizing her.

She treats it like a dangerous snake lying in her path and balks like a frightened horse. She turns on her heel as fast as she can and sprints back the way she came.

The next Saturday, Caroline wakes early again. She pulls on shorts, a t-shirt, throws her curls up into a ponytail and laces her sneakers up. She jams the headphones of her iPod into her ears and takes off running down the street in the predawn chill.

This time it isn't nightmares plaguing her sleep. It's pure worry. Well, one part worry and two parts guilt.

Worry because it's been a month. One whole month since she and Tyler said 'until we find a way' on the Gilbert's front porch that has since been burned to a crisp. One whole month since she heard a peep out of him. He could be dead for all she knows and the worry and guilt eat her alive. Worry for the obvious reasons- as in Klaus has been very quiet lately. Very, very quiet; as in an 'I'm up to no good' kind of quiet because the 'no news is good news' rule does not apply to Klaus, whatsoever.

Guilt because, first and foremost, she cheated on Tyler. She cheated on her boyfriend (whom she still loves very much) with the man who sent him scurrying out of his hometown with his tail between his legs.

Guilt because she enjoyed it. She enjoyed the way Klaus caressed her, the way his lips and large hands left fiery trails across her skin, the way his eyes traveled up and down her body with such adoration and passion and oh so earnestly at that. Caroline enjoyed the unadulterated affection he showered her with even if their hook up was fueled on by her drunk and upset state of mind.

She lies to herself and says that's not why she's guilty. She tells herself she's guilty because she didn't do more to fix it. Maybe, just maybe, if she had tried harder, had treated Klaus better the day prior to Tyler's departure, things would have turned out differently. No pestering or pushing over his brother's corpse would have meant no nearly fatal encounter, no pulling teeth over the translation of the sword, no begging, no goodbye. Simple as that.

At least that's what she tells herself. Every time thoughts of Klaus' lips and his gentle touches, the memory of his weight pressing her into his mattress possessively and lovingly at the same time while his hips rolled into hers and filled her up, her nails raking down his naked, muscular back in encouragement break through the music blasting in her ears she tells herself that she's a bad person, an unfaithful girlfriend. She forces thoughts of Tyler into her frustrated brain.

It happens a lot as she runs down the streets of Mystic Falls, her breath coming out in puffs of smoke, the morning dew shining on the grass. A lot more than it should, embarrassingly enough.

She becomes so absorbed in her inner turmoil that Caroline doesn't even realize she's sprinting across the pavement of the interloper's driveway and across the Wickery Bridge. Before she knows it, she's taking a sharp right into the woods and running down the old trail that's used by Mystic Falls' High cross country team, the one that she's known about since her childhood days as a Girl Scout, the one that they would take to get to the best and most secretive party spots in Middle and early High School; the one that loops back around into town if you follow it long enough.

She doesn't think for a moment how it loops back into town. All she knows that being in the woods awakens the dormant monster inside of her. She doesn't understand why- her acquired 'Spidey Senses' aren't tingling and she knows for a fact it isn't the pattering of hearts of all the various wildlife surrounding her (she downed two bags of B+ before she left this morning, thank you very much).

Caroline attributes it to being alone. She's away from the prying, judgmental, or innocent eyes. It's just her in the quiet of the woods and she takes advantage of it. The ball of frustration and guilt and worry that's been sitting in her chest explodes and she pushes herself faster, faster, faster. She lets her vampire instincts and abilities take over and she's flying over the leaf-covered trail faster than any organism on the planet. She comes bursting into an opening in the tree line just as the sun peaks over the horizon, warming the landscape and Caroline smiles.

She laughs and spins around in circles with her arms open wide, basking in the bright morning light because it felt so good. She can't remember the last time she used her induced speed just because she could and not because her life depended on it. She smiles because, probably for the first time since she's been turned, itfeltgoodto be a vampire. The unharnessed power and thrill of it has her adrenaline soaring and she's ready to make a dash across the open space in front of her to keep the elation pumping through her veins alive for as long as possible.

At least until she notices the outline of a mansion gleaming in morning sun. At least until Caroline makes out the silhouette of a person standing a long ways away, looking into the pond. She doesn't need to be any closer to realize whom it is standing there and his scent on the breeze only confirms what she already knew. Just as his intoxicating, intrusive scent breaks through her senses, he must have caught hers because she sees him look up in her direction.

They stand there and look at each other, regarding each other like deer in headlights for a moment before Caroline turns and speeds back through the woods.

She doesn't stop until she's across the bridge and well past his driveway.

"I didn't take you as one to go for a brisk, early morning jog. Don't you teenagers like to maximize on your sleep these days?"

"Go away," she says, not looking up from the Prom 'to-do' list she's studying, her fingers absentmindedly stirring the straw around her the rim of her Diet Coke.

Klaus only chuckles and pulls out a chair, sitting down across from her at the table. Caroline takes a chance and looks up, her eyes meeting his imploring gaze and her walls go up immediately. Just because he's gotten under her skin and invaded her thoughts doesn't mean she has to give him the time of day when reality sets in.

"Seriously," she scoffs. "I'm busy."

"Clearly," Klaus counters, an amused smirk on his face as he gestures to the empty table.

"What do you want?" Caroline huffs, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

The door opens before he can answer and Caroline doesn't know whether to be angry that April Young and Samantha Carmichael are late and this pointless, two minute conversation even happened or to be happy because they're perfect timing will save her from the Big Bad Wolf knocking on her door.

"I want to show you something. Tomorrow morning," Klaus says and then he's standing up and walking away before April and Samantha are within five feet of the table.

Caroline just stares at his back in confusion like she's done countless times before.

She starts to think walking away is their 'thing'.

She doesn't know if it's stubborn pride or something else entirely but Caroline doesn't wake up early the next morning. A refreshing, restful sleep finally comes her way and she takes full advantage of it- she stays in bed well past noon, only waking because the sun is too bright for her blinds to keep out.

Caroline stretches, looks at her alarm clock and smiles sleepily to herself.

Hey- it was Klaus who said that teenagers liked to maximize on sleep.

Another week passes and Caroline doesn't hear from a disgruntled hybrid. He doesn't even show his face, at least as far as Caroline knows. But, in her defense, she runs around trying to keep April, Samantha, and the rest of the Dance Committee from ruining her senior Prom on top of keeping her grades up (because sacrificing her GPA isn't an option. She's graduating with at least a 4.0, thank you very much) while trying to keep Bonnie from going off the deep end.

And none of those are an easy task, mind you.

So by the time she heads out the door for her Saturday morning run, she's honestly forgotten Klaus' request from a week ago and she unknowingly runs straight into the lion's den.

It doesn't take Caroline long to reach the Wickery Bridge; she's always been a fast runner even without supernatural enhancements. But then she's flying, racing through the woods with her unrestrained speed. It's become part of her weekly routine, running through the woods and not hiding her true nature. And she likes it. She revels in it, the way she's aware of everything from the slight rustling of leaves to the pattering of several hearts. She's even aware of how much longer she has until the sun peaks out over the tree line- she can feel it in her bones almost as if her vampirism is warning her of an impending doom.

But that's not the only thing she's aware of.

Caroline.

Her name said so quietly, like a whisper on the wind.

She registers another presence, one that's running much faster than she is. Her eyes narrow as she slips into defense mode. Her course changes almost before she can register. Then she's weaving around trees, running as silently as possible with all the dead leaves, pine needles, and twigs littering the ground underneath her but she trusts her supernatural, predatory instincts to get her out safely.

And they don't fail her. She comes hurtling through the trees into a small clearing and stops on a dime. She stands like a statue and listens. She sniffs the air, her eyes darting back and forth until she's certain that she lost whoever was chasing her. A smile breaks out across her lips and she stifles a giggle because she did it. She proved to herself that she isn't some damsel in distress, that she's not girly little Caroline anymore; she's a vampire, a predator of the night- cunning, cognizant, and lethal.

She turns around, still smiling to herself as she changes the song on her iPod, preparing to continue on her way when she hears it again and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Caroline.

She whirls around, her fangs dropping with a threatening hiss only to find the small clearing empty. Caroline stays still and narrows her eyes, focusing intently on the woods in front of her, grey and foggy in the early morning light.

An arm wraps around her middle and she feels warm breath on her neck.

Caroline doesn't scream because she's not a helpless girl. She may be a baby vampire but she's not helpless. She grabs the wrist that grips her hip and twists until a sickening crack is heard and she feels the bone snap, the hand hanging limply in her vice like grip. Whoever holds her lets her go and she moves away, spinning to face the interloper with legs splayed and fangs on display in her open mouth.

"Easy, love. I mean you no harm," Klaus says, holding his broken wrist, his face twisted between a smirk and a grimace.

Caroline doesn't move from her defensive stance as she watches Klaus pop the bones back into place and shakes it out for a miniscule moment, wiggling his fingers and rolling the joint to regain the temporary loss. He looks up at her when he's done, holding his hands out, palms up, much like he had the night he approached her on the Gilbert's porch after Tyler left and he escaped his prison.

"Jackass," Caroline snarls before taking off into the woods again, disappearing in a gust of wind. She hears Klaus chuckle before she he runs after her.

It's all too easy for him to catch up with her. She may be a vampire but he's a hybrid. Where she's simply just a predator of the night, he's also a predator of the forest; the best of both worlds molded together to create the perfect hunter.

But that doesn't mean Caroline's any less competitive- she's never been one to go down without a fight. She pushes her legs as fast as they can go, speeding up their high-speed chase through the woods just because she can, because she feels powerful enough to challenge the most formidable being on the planet. And Klaus plays along, racing through the brush. His presence on her heels spurs her on faster- whether it's to beat Klaus at his own game or escape the knots his presence is twisting in her gut she doesn't know.

She smirks when she sees a deer run coming up on her right and swerves onto it, leaving Klaus behind. It's Caroline's turn to laugh and laugh she does as she crashes through the end of the deer run seconds after she started down it. She bursts through the end of the trail, her laugh as bright as the rays of morning sunshine she basks in. She turns around to look back the way she came from, small giggles still gurgling up from her throat as she catches her breath and listens for any signs of the hybrid. There are none and Caroline feels her smile grow- if that's possible.

She doesn't even think about why she's smiling and why it was Klaus of all people making her smile; a man whom she should hatewith every fiber of her being but the unwanted (or maybe not so unwanted) feelings begin to creep back in and she can't help it. She hasn't felt this happy or free in weeks.

"You're quite the sight for sore eyes, love."

Caroline's eyes widen and she whips around to find the hybrid leaning against a tree a few feet away and Caroline fights the urge to pout. Of course she should have known better, should have realized that losing him, a hybrid, in the woods of all places would be nearly impossible. How stupid can she get, trying to beat a wolf at his own game. She played right into his hands and she knows it, she let him herd her exactly where he wanted her.

At that thought, Caroline fails to keep the pout off her face and yanks her headphones out of her ears. "What do you want, creep?" she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest and standing up straight.

Klaus only chuckles, his smile lighting up his dimples, a playful glint in his bright blue-green eyes as the morning sun ignites the reddish and golden strands in his blond curls. He doesn't answer, only stands there and observes her, bright eyes raking in every inch of her from the pony tail on top of her head to the bright pink laces of her sneakers and Caroline doesn't know what infuriates her more, the fact that he just stands there as if he didn't hear her or the fact that he let her think she beat him.

"Has anyone ever told you you're adorable when petulant, love?"

"Has anybody ever told you're the most obnoxious, insufferable, cheating pest?"

Klaus' brows pull together and he lifts a hand in mock offense, fighting to keep a smile off his face but his dimples are flaring up and he's losing the battle just as Caroline lost with her pout. Soon enough, a laugh escapes Klaus' lips and even though he's a mass murder who ran her boyfriend out of town, Caroline smiles at the sound, so full and cheery.

She smiles because she can make him laugh like this.

Klaus' laugh dies and he pushes off the tree and crosses the small space over to Caroline, stopping a few inches away from her. "You never showed up last Sunday morning," he says.

"Well, you're the one who said that us teenagers like to maximize on our sleep," she counters, making air quotes and imitating his accent while maintaining her petulant scowl. "And besides, I've been doing just fine without you chasing me. That's the last thing I need."

"There's no point in denying you didn't enjoy our little game." Caroline rolls her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips and Klaus only holds out his hand in response. She looks down at it and then up at him with a questioning gaze to which Klaus only raises his brows imploringly. "No harm will come to you, if that's what you're worried about. I wouldn't dare do anything to wipe that lovely smile off your pretty face."

It's an earnest statement, backed up by the gentle but mischievous look in his eyes- like she's the most delicate thing in the world and looking at her with too much malice may snap her in half. His eyes leave her face and look down at his outstretched hand before falling to the ground at their feet as if he's become bashful. And that's what makes Caroline lift her hand and tenderly place it in his- the fact that she makes the world's most powerful man stutter and blush like a schoolboy.

Surprise flashes in his sparkling blue-green eyes when Klaus looks back up at the contact. It evaporates when she gives him a small, fluff of a smile and a look of genuine happiness replaces it; and once again, there isn't much of anything that's genuine besides angst, pain, and sadness going around Mystic Falls these days so Caroline Forbes, 'Little Miss Sunshine' herself, will take what she can get. "So…?" she questions and Klaus snaps out of his twitter patted state.

"Follow me."

He drops her hand with a wolfish grin and then he's gone, the leaves trembling in his wake.

"Seriously?!" She just stands there, gawking at the spot he vacated, palms up in an incredulous shrug before she convinces herself to humor him and takes off with a roll of her eyes.

Caroline realizes, much too late, that this chase is about to become the world's hardest game of hide and seek. Yes, wolves have a certain, underlying smell that she's come to notice and that's putting it lightly. It's a constant stink akin to that of a wet dog- yeah, it's gross, like beyond gross. Maybe is has something to do with being a vampire for longer than he's been a wolf but Klaus is definitely much better at hiding it. Tyler was more of a quick, 'hang on. I have to put deodorant on' kind of guy and Caroline's sure that his constant involvement in football and wrestling didn't help it at all. With Klaus it's almost nonexistent. He hides it with delicious smelling colognes that make you bat your eyelashes and get your flirt on while the muscles in your stomach twist and coil instinctively (not that Caroline pays attention to something that trivial…). But get him out in his element, in the woods, and he blends in so well even her heightened senses can't properly track him and she thinks for a second that she may have waited too long to run after him.

(Hey, at least she followed thistime.)

She slows her pace down, comes to a dead stop, and waits to catch some sign of the infuriating hybrid.

He doesn't leave her waiting for long- he never does.

Caroline.

Her name's a whisper on the wind once more and she darts in the direction it comes from, following the sound as the waves reach her ears. Before she knows it, she's reached the falls. She's seen them a million times but this is an 'up close and personal' view, much closer than she's ever dared to go even as a vampire, and it's so loud she has to come to a stop again.

She's waiting with the roar of water in her ears- much louder than ever before thanks to her heightened hearing. And the longer she waits, the more she fears that it won't ever come. It reminds her when she was in First Grade and her mom told her if she didn't start behaving at school, she'd be a permanent resident on the naughty list- waiting for Christmas morning that year had been the absolute worst. Just like her mom had been, Caroline knows good and well that Klaus is toying with her, not in a menacing 'I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike' way but in a playful 'how can I best push your buttons' way. And Caroline smirks because she's patient- thanks to her vampirism, she can wait Klaus and his games out; human Caroline would have pouted, rolled her eyes, stomped her foot, and snapped in frustration at this point.

Caroline.

She turns in the direction of the sound and waits, her eyes closed in concentration, focusing on the sounds around her- waiting for a misplaced footfall, the crunching of leaves or twigs under his boot, a breath, a rustle of clothing, anything that would alert her to his location. But he's a thousand years old; he has centuries of hunting, of honing his senses to utter perfection, on her newborn abilities. She can picture him though, circling her in the shadows with measured steps and hooded eyes, a small, dark grin plastered on his face and it's almost like she can feel him, she's drawn to his presence like attracting poles of a magnet.

Over here, love.

She smirks and her head snaps in that direction and she can feel his intense, blue-green gaze on her lithe form, she can hear his grin turn into a smirk.

Clever girl.

And then she hears it, a gust of wind to her left that signifies his departure. Her eyes snap open and she takes off in the direction Klaus went.

Caroline ends up in a small, concealed field right by the river where the water is beginning to slow from its tumble over the edge of the fall but still moving swiftly enough to gurgle and babble and it makes for the only sound in the area. The whole space is bathed in the morning sunlight, illuminating the dead leaves and grass, sparkling and dancing on the water. It's a truly beautiful sight to behold with the sky so blue above her, the white sunlight breaking through the new blooms on the trees.

A small breeze rustles around her as she takes in every inch of the space she's come to and she smiles, warm and genuine. In all the doom and gloom, the death and destruction, the goodbyes that frequent Mystic Falls it's hard to remember that beauty and peace do exist.

Suddenly he's there. His scent- like leather, musk, and pine- invades her senses, it overwhelms her and she feels his fingertips press into her hips with such gentleness, hardly using any pressure to pull her back to him. They're barely touching but Caroline feels the warmth radiate off his body. It's pleasant warmth that reminds her of the sunshine. It's (not so) new and comfortable where Tyler was always just grossly hot. It's a welcome difference between the two hybrids and it's all Caroline can do to stop herself from closing the millimeters that separate them and melt into the comfortable planes of his chest.

"Where are we?" she breathes.

"Elijah and I found this place. He was about your age. I was barely of age according to our village's standards. We frequented this place quite often throughout the years- he always knew when I needed a getaway from Mikael's hand and this place…it became a kind of sanctuary. It's the only place I've known that has been constant and concrete throughout the centuries. I came here to hide from Mikael, after Elijah and I had our falling out over Tatia, after Henrik…. I woke up here after my first Transition. After I killed my mother, my hybrids. Finn's death. Kol's death. It's always been here to hide me from the world when I needed it," he whispers, his sweet breath fanning over her skin, nose brushing a loose strand of her hair along her cheek.

"Why bring me here?"

He stays silent and Caroline looks up at him over her shoulder and with their lips a hair's breadth apart, the intimacy of the moment, the spell they're under, doesn't go unnoticed as Klaus' eyes drift down towards her lips.

"When you informed me you were spiraling I…I wanted to fix it. I just didn't know how." His voice is still a hushed whisper but he lifts his chin and pulls away from her shoulder. Caroline watches him, his eyes looking straight ahead out over the gurgling river, and after a second she turns her face away and stares down into the flowing water as well, thinking the spell is broken. A few months ago she would have considered pushing her luck and pushing him for more but he's given her a mile when she asked for an inch so she lets it go and leans completely back into his chest, relishing the comfort he brings her even though she knows it's wrong, that she shouldn't want his comforting presence.

But part of Caroline simply doesn't care anymore.

And besides, who's here to see?

Klaus stiffens for a moment at the contact between their bodies before she feels his arms slowly snake around her waist, holding her to him. It's not a sensual or seductive move on his part, it does nothing to make her skin tingle from a fiery trail created by the friction. It's gentle and casual, careful and kind and it makes Caroline smile. He's still unsure but he's learning, he's trying and that's what matters. She moves again, leaning her head back onto his shoulder and completely relaxes against him. The pulse in his carotid artery pounds in her ears, the sweet smell of his blood mixing with his cologne; it's that smell that prompts Caroline to tilt her head up and run her nose along his jawline and down his neck, adding a much more intimate and sensual undertone to their embrace. Klaus exhales and brings his lips to her forehead.

"I wanted you to have a sanctuary, a place where you can come and hide from the pretenses, drop your guards. You're so strong, Caroline. But even the strongest among us have our days," he whispers, nose burrowing into her hair, his lips moving against her skin.

Caroline's breath catches in her throat and it's not because he places a ghost of a kiss on her forehead before pulling away to rest his chin on her shoulder.

She makes a point to frequent the little field on her Saturday morning runs. Or whenever she really feels like it. She goes on days she's tired and off and would rather not snap at her friends. She goes when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. She goes after Tyler comes back for Prom (another doing of Klaus') and they break up- it's not that she's all that upset about them breaking up, it almost felt inevitable, but she just needs a good cry.

She's honestly more upset at how fast things are changing.

She's only a baby vampire, just over a year old. She had prepared herself to see change over time but that doesn't make it any less overwhelming when she realizes just how much she's been through in a year and a half.

She's not girly little Caroline anymore. She's older, more mature. She strong. Ageless. Fearless.

It's this moment when she's leaning up against a tree with her legs pulled up to her chest and mascara running down her face when it really sinks in.

Sometimes Klaus is there and sometimes he isn't.

Sometimes one of them is in a mood and they sit in easy, companionable silence, always ready to listen if the other decides to open up.

There are days when Klaus makes Caroline so mad she storms off and vamp speeds away. There are days where Klaus snaps at her and storms around, growling and making nasty, snide comments that Caroline narrows her eyes at. There are days they disagree about any and everything, they fight and snarl in each other's faces.

But most of all, they enjoy each other's company. Sometimes they talk and laugh and just enjoy the peace of mind and freedom from the latest Silas or Elena drama.

They're still growing and learning but that's the important part- it gives them meaning and makes it the good days worthwhile. It's been a long time coming and it's still in the works.

None of their fights or moods add up to the very bad day, though.

Caroline comes to a halt when she catches his scent on the air; she smiles when she spots Klaus standing in the grove of trees right before you come across the. She takes her headphones out of her ears and begins to walk towards him with her smile still on her face. It's only when she's close enough to make out the tense set of his shoulders and realize that the birds aren't chirping despite the perfectly sunny morning. He's the king of the woods and if his mood is rotten enough to affect the other wildlife, it must be bad. Caroline's smile falls off her face and she approaches with more caution and less pep in her step.

She stands beside him silently and waits for him to acknowledge her, all the while noticing the tension in his body, the stony, emotionless look on his face, the way his hand grips the bark of the tree it's resting on.

Caroline loses track of how long they stand there in the dead quiet. Something like this normally wouldn't be a problem but the silence is uncomfortable and full of tension and she doesn't know why. And being the neurotic, control freak she is, Caroline starts to internally panic and rightfully so because when Klaus finally looks at her, there are so many different emotions clouding his blue-green orbs it's unsettling- she'd stopped taking store by the stony and cold look on his face a while ago. She'd learned that it's all in his eyes. They're the one part of him he can't ever lock away and hide behind his internal fortresses.

"I'm leaving."

It's a statement that once would have had Caroline jumping for joy, throwing a party, and sprinting to tell her friends the good news. But now…now so much has changed she's not sure how she feels, how she should feel when the words register with her brain.

"Leaving?" she asks, trying her hardest not to gape at him.

There's a tick in his jaw when he nods, his mouth set in a firm, tight line.

"Just like that?"

Another nod.

"Where are you going? Why?"

"There's a group of witches in New Orleans plotting a revolution to overthrow me in favor of a former…student of mine. Action must be taken and they must be put into place."

"Sounds easy enough. I mean, you're freaking indestructible," she says, letting a small, airy laugh escape her throat and she mentally crosses her fingers in hope her lame joke would lighten the mood.

"That's what I used to think. And then I came here," he says, turning to face her.

Caroline feels her heart drop through her stomach. "What do you mean?" Her voice comes out in a hoarse whisper- she can barely recognize it for the way her throat's begun to close up. She knows what he's going to say- if he chooses to say anything, that is. Expressing himself when he's angry or upset is not his strong suit- and Caroline dreads it.

He doesn't answer but his eyes confirm it when he gives her an almost apologetic look before he places his large hands on her shoulders and Caroline thanks her lucky stars she took a chance and got to know the man behind the monster a little better. If she hadn't she wouldn't have known the warning signs.

"Don't you dare," she half warns, half pleads. He does nothing, only continues to look at her, waiting for the opportune moment to make her forget any and everything he chooses. She starts fighting against his vice like grip, wriggling under his hands and doing anything to avoid making eye contact with him. He growls at her attempts to escape but Caroline knows he won't let go of her to grab her chin, if he does, she'll be able to throw him off her. She's upset and angry and scared- scared because he knows; he knows how she feels about compulsion, how she's terrified about losing her free will- he doesn't know the fine details of the situation that made her that way (cough cough who the guilty party was cough) but he knows enough.

But most importantly, she's scared because she doesn't want to forget. One day way back when, she would have been all too happy but that day has come and gone. She doesn't want to forget him. Not now and not ever.

Caroline snarls and drops her fangs with a hiss. She turns her head and takes a chunk out of his wrist. It isn't much but it's enough for him to loosen his grip and Caroline manages to twist out of his hold. She flashes back up to him before he can regain his bearings and before she knows what's happening, a loud smack resounds through the field- their field- and he pins her back against the thick trunk of a tree.

Caroline opens her eyes to see the fading red mark on the hybrid's cheek. Danger flashes in his now golden eyes and his four large fangs hang threateningly in his mouth as he snarls in her face, his hands squeezing her arms with enough force that she can feel the bones begin to splinter. She visibly flinches and tears fill her bright blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whimpers, daring to look at him before she squeezes her eyes shut. "Please…Klaus please don't do this to me."

He growls low in his throat and Caroline shakes her head to hold in a sob, the bark sticking to her hair and scraping her scalp, tears squeezing out of her closed eyes. She whimpers out another apology, another pleading statement and then she's dropped to the ground and when she opens her eyes, she's alone- Klaus is gone. He's gone and she doesn't know when or if he'll come back.

She doesn't know if she'll ever see him again and there's just so much she should have said, that she wishes she could have said.

Caroline curls up against the trunk of the tree and sobs.

She avoids the field. She avoids the woods.

When she goes on her morning runs, she sticks close to home. Caroline doesn't dare go past the Town Hall.

But that doesn't stop her from seeing him. She'll feel his eyes on her constantly and it unnerves her for several reasons. She's afraid- waiting for him to corner her alone so he can tie up his loose ends but she doesn't want him to. If he does, it's like he's moving on.

Caroline's come to terms with the fact he's leaving.

It's fine. Whatever. 'One day, perhaps in a year or even a century' and all that jazz.

She scared because she wants to remember him, to remember the reason she's looking forward to that one day- whenever it is. She doesn't want him to move on from her.

But when she accidentally catches his eyes one day while she's eating lunch at the Grille with her mom, the look in his eyes tells her it's okay. He'll leave her be, let her keep her memories.

She's able to give him a small, sad smile and has to excuse herself to hide the tears that threaten to well up in her eyes and the reason they well up from her mom.

That's the last she sees of Klaus. He's gone when she sits back down.

Caroline knew this day would come eventually but it doesn't make her heart hurt any less.

She starts running through the woods again- even coming home as much as possible from her rigorous academic and cheerleading schedule at UVA to make her escape to the confines of the forest.

She visits their field, dances in the sunshine, and, sometimes, when the wind blows just right, she thinks she can catch his scent- like musk, leather, pine, with a hint of bourbon and smoke thrown into the mix because he's in New Orleans.

It's just a figment of her imagination but Caroline doesn't care. She holds onto it in hope that he'll come back or she'll gather her courage and go to him, whichever comes first. But she's stubborn and if Klaus is really such a chivalrous gentleman (don't get her started on the irony of that) he won't make her do all the work.

She holds onto his lingering, imagined scent and relishes in the comfort and promise of 'one day'.

It's been months and she hasn't heard a word- not that she expected to or anything. He didn't owe her that much, Caroline knows. They were in nothing more than a working friendship when he left but that doesn't mean she doesn't think about him, worry about him and how he's doing with his witch revolution; that doesn't mean she doesn't wonder if he thinks about her.

Caroline comes home for spring break, ready for a week of rest and relaxation in her hometown, and plops down on her bed. It's barely 5:00 but she nestles down into the mattress and pillows (there's really nothing better than being in your own bed) and could seriously fall asleep in minutes. She lets out a contented sigh and forces her eyes open, reminding herself about the 'reunion' dinner Bonnie's planned for all of them tonight.

Her eyes find something lying on her bedside table and she sits up, reaching for it but she already knows. Caroline would recognize the aged looking parchment anywhere. She picks it up, enjoying the weight of it in her hands, and smiles when she opens it.

She hasn't been home for five minutes but she's out the door before she can think twice.

The late spring afternoon sun basks the blooming field in a golden light as it prepares to sink below the horizon. The light dances through the branches and reflects on the clear, flowing water in the river. The birds chirp, getting the last news of the day out before they take cover for the night. The breeze rustles the new growth on the branches behind her, plays with her blonde curls as she stands and takes in the warm sunlight.

She hears a sound behind her and smiles brightly as familiar, strong arms wrap around her waist and envelope her with familiar comfort.

A/N: A fun afternoon hiking with my K9 friend in the sunshine, two weeks and nearly 7K words later...but I loved every moment of it and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, though:)

thanks to originalfangbanger over on tumblr for beta-ing! follow her if you're on tumblr- she's kinda awesome:)

thanks to you for reading and please leave a review if you have a minute- it's much appreciated!

Until next time, loves:)