Hello lovelies :D For those of you who follow my other stories, I know that I currently have three on the go and I'm yet to write the last chapters of The End Where I Begin but I missed writing about Klaus. So, I came up with this :) I hope you all like it. Fanfiction is the oly thing keeping me sane during exam period.

I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. It's late and I really just wanted to get this posted.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own The Vampire Diaries, Klaus or the beautiful Joseph Morgan. All rights belong to L.J Smith and CW. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little bit of fun.

Ps. This is dedicated to the wonderful alwaysnnever who inspired me to write this and who selflessly lets me run all my ideas by her. She is one of my best readers and reviewers and so this is for her :) xxx

Groaning as rays of sunlight hit her eyelids, Lacey forced herself to open her eyes and keep them open. The sting of the morning air, as it rushed over her and hit her sensitive eyes, caused another small groan to fall from her lips. She did not try to move from her position on the bed yet. The guy's grip on her waist was too strong for her to remove herself from and she knew from past experience that it would be futile to do so.

"Keep groaning like that, love, and I won't be held responsible for my actions."

Lacey rolled her eyes dramatically, not even bothering to look at the man lying beside her in her bed. It wouldn't make a difference either way; the smirk would be plastered on his face regardless of whether or not she turned to look at him.

It was like that every time. Every time either one of them had a nightmare they would climb into bed with the other and sleep there until morning; finding comfort and solace in each other's embrace. Then, they would awaken and the usual teasing would begin. It would be as if the night before had never happened.

That night it had been Klaus's turn to be plagued by nightmares of childhood abuse. When he had awoken, panting heavily and covered in a cold sweat, he had immediately pulled himself from his own bed and went straight to Lacey's room, down the hall from his own. Like many times before, she had welcomed him and held him tight until he felt calm enough to sleep. Neither cared that the other was wearing only their underwear. They were best-friends. Not lovers. Their bond ran so much deeper.

"Get off me, you man-whore."
"Your words hurt me. Is that any way to treat a gentleman?" Klaus asked teasingly as he rubbed his stubble-laden jaw against the soft pale-skin of Lacey's cheek.

Shooting Klaus a look of disapproval, Lacey tried not to laugh as the stubble began to tickle her skin but failed; earning herself a smirk from the man next to her. She felt his large, rough hand splay across the bare skin of her tummy and pull her in closer to his body.

"Stop that." she lovingly scolded, referring to the ticklish torture she was receiving. "Besides, you're no gentleman, Niklaus."

She tried to wriggle free of his hold, conscious of both the fact that they would be late for work if they did not leave soon and of the hardened length that was poking against her lower back.

"Stop wriggling and I'll show you just how gentle of a man I can be."

Lacey sighed and once again rolled her stormy blue eyes. A smile tugged on the corner of her mouth. She couldn't help it. Klaus had always been such a flirt and she had always given as good as she'd gotten.

Many had thought their relationship to be weirdly inappropriate; shocked by their closeness, constant flirting and highly charged sexual innuendos, but there was nothing to it. Their friendship was strictly platonic. It was natural for them to act in such a way. They'd been best-friends since Lacey was eight and Klaus was ten and now, fifteen years on, their friendship was solid and suited to them. The opinions of others never bothered them.

"In your dreams, Nik." Lacey replied; sticking her tongue out playfully at Klaus and elbowing him in the stomach.

Klaus groaned in pain. The action had left him winded but it did not stop him from responding as he clutched his stomach and watched Lacey stand.

"Always, babe."

Grabbing her travel mug filled with coffee, Lacey smoothed down her black, pinstripe dress and shouted for Klaus to hurry up. They had to be at work in less than half an hour and Klaus always had a habit of making them late.

"Calm down, love. Don't rush me. I was busy." he said smoothly as he glided into the room, dressed for work in his usual attire of a suit and open collar shirt, and winked at the brunette girl.

Handing Klaus an identical travel mug, Lacey grabbed her bag and began swatting him with it harmlessly. In response to his best-friend's feeble attempts at violence, Klaus chuckled and stole the bag from her.

"You're disgusting."
"It's your fault. You should know better than to leave a man wanting more." replied Klaus mischievously.

Stealing back her bag, Lacey stared into Klaus's ever familiar ocean-blue eyes and wondered to herself how she had not killed the man yet.

"We seriously need to get you a girlfriend."
"No, thank you. Besides, no woman except for you will put up with my bullshit."

A particle of serious truth slipped from Klaus's tongue and Lacey frowned a little. They were just a messed up pair; never having had a proper serious relationship between the two of them. Each one had had a varying number of conquests but none had ever turned into a serious, committed relationship.

"What happened to the last girl? What was her name? Caroline?"

By now, they were out the door of their shared house and heading towards Klaus's beloved black SUV.

"It didn't work out." said Klaus, unlocking the door to his car and clambering inside as Lacey followed suit.
"Why not? I liked her. She was sweet."

A frown creased Klaus's forehead as he manoeuvred his way through the roads. His relationship with Caroline, the beautiful blonde girl who he had pursued and successful stole away from her boyfriend, had only lasted a total of three months before he unceremoniously dumped her four months before. He had never given his best-friend an explanation as to why he suddenly decided to break poor Caroline's heart, despite her incessant badgering.

"It just didn't work out, okay? Anyway, why would I need another woman when I have you?"
"Because I won't have sex with you." Lacey fired back in her usual light and friendly tone; grinning when she noticed Klaus smirking.
"Your loss, sweetheart."
"We seriously need to get you a girlfriend."

Walking into the impressive, stone and glass building that was home to the extremely successful publishing company built up and owned by many generations of The Mikaelson family, Lacey and Klaus remained quiet until they reached the elevator; pressing the button for the top floor where they both worked.

Klaus's oldest brother, Elijah, now aged thirty-two currently ran the company and as a result of his charisma and business knowledge, the company was in its most successful stage to date. Klaus worked closely with his brother; learning how to run the company should Elijah ever wish to step down.

Lacey acted as Elijah's secretary and had done for the past year, ever since graduating from college. There were plenty of other women who were more qualified for the job but Elijah had insisted on hiring Lacey. She was reliable and trustworthy. After all, he had known her for most of her life.

Klaus had been ecstatic when Lacey was hired as Elijah's secretary. Despite being two years older than her, he had hardly spent a day without her. They had attended all the same schools and even moved in together when Lacey eventually started attending college. Klaus had insisted that his best-friend live with him. With their combined pasts and trust issues concerning others outside of the two of them, Klaus had wanted to keep her close by. He could protect her that way and truth be told, he needed her to keep him sane. He had come to depend on her so much over the course of their friendship that being without her for even one day left him feeling defenceless and panicked.

"What about you, huh? I haven't seen you with a guy in months."
"We're not talking about me, Nik. We're talking about you."
"Not anymore, love."
"Don't start this again."

The doors to the elevator opened and Klaus allowed Lacey to exit first, allowing him to sneak a glance at her pert bottom as she walked slightly ahead of him.

"Don't get me wrong, I love having you all to myself." Klaus whispered into Lacey's ear; his breath lightly hitting her chocolate brown locks and causing them to move ever so gently. "But you're so moody when you don't get laid."

Her mouth dropped open and she instinctively aimed for Klaus's stomach. He jumped back before Lacey's elbow could make contact with his body and chuckled loudly at the scowl on her face. Her naturally, plump, pink lips formed a tight line; her blue eyes displayed annoyance and her pale skin was tinged with a angry flush.

"I am not!" Lacey yelled, becoming more infuriated as Klaus continued to smirk at her.
"Oh, but you are. I can help you out if you want. Just say please." teased Klaus.
"I hate you. In fact, I hope the next girl you sleep with has crabs."
"Don't even joke about that. That's not funny, love."
"Who said I was joking?"

Having reached Elijah's office during the time it took for her to have her silly conversation with Klaus, Lacey set her travel mug and bag down on the desk in her cubicle just outside the office and turned to say goodbye to Klaus.

"Niklaus, why do insist on tormenting Lacey?" Elijah asked as he placed a friendly kiss on Lacey's cheek and shook his head at his younger brother.
"I'm doing nothing of the sort, Elijah." Klaus replied with fake innocence before patting Lacey on the bottom and taking off down the hallway to his own office.

Klaus's physical display earned him a stapler flying through the air towards his retreating back as Lacey grabbed the first item on her desk and flung it at her friend. She wasn't really mad at him but it didn't mean she didn't want to throw things at him. Klaus had always had that affect on her. One moment he could be making her smile brighter than the sun and the next, he could be igniting a flame of anger in her that usually lasted for hours.

Elijah rolled his eyes and smiled as the stapler missed its target and fell to the floor with a loud clang.

"What did he do this time?"
"He was himself."
"Well, he's your best-friend, Lacey."
"He's still an ass." she replied with a defeated smile; her annoyance ebbing away rapidly.

Elijah laughed again and went to retrieve the stapler; handing it back to Lacey to apologised sheepishly. Ignoring the unneeded apology, Elijah smiled at the young woman and instructed her on her first lot of errands for the day.

Walking away, he opened the glass double doors of his office and shut them behind him. Smirking to himself, he wondered when Lacey would finally realise what he himself had realised months before; that Klaus was utterly and devotedly in love with her. He doubted it though. The two friends were too stuck in their ways to ever change their relationship and allow it to develop into something more. For Elijah, he only saw two outcomes: either Lacey was going to murder his brother one day soon or she was going to marry him. Elijah was betting on outcome number one.