Caroline lies awake in bed at night, tossing and turning, trying to sleep. It's impossible. She can't get the images out of her head. The images of Klaus's face when she betrayed him again. The look on her friends' faces when she told them she was sick of playing Klaus's bait. Argh, she rolls over, looking at her clock. It's 4.45 in the morning. She hasn't been able to sleep properly. She keeps waking up and it's incredibly frustrating. As much as she shouldn't, she can't help but feel bad for what she did to Klaus. It wasn't right and she knew it, even though she was supposed to hate him. He had done a lot of terrible things so why should he be shown forgiveness, right? But everyone's done terrible things, even herself, so she shouldn't be one to judge, should she? She knows her rights and wrongs and what she had done to Klaus wasn't fair. She had told her friends this and knew what they would think. Her mind flashbacked to their earlier conversation that day.

*Flashback*

"I'm not doing it anymore," Caroline said with a firm voice.

Elena and Damon's faces were all scrunched up like she had just killed someone, Bonnie just sat there and Stefan just looked like he understood but was waiting for her to continue.

"What the hell do you mean you're not doing it anymore, Caroline?" Elena was confused, but clearly not happy.

"Yeah, Blondie, have you lost your freaking mind?" Damon looked like he was about to explode.

"I will not be used as Klaus bait anymore. I am sick of you guys using me! Making me second best. The only time I'm put first is when you need something from me, like when someone needs to risk their life and it is always my ass on the line. I will not do it anymore." Caroline was getting angry now.

"Caroline, have you been compelled or something? Have you forgotten about what Klaus has done to us? To me?" Elena sounded like she was pleading.

"No, I haven't forgotten, Elena, but have you noticed he hasn't done anything bad lately without a reason? The only reason he has been like this is because you keep provoking him and forcing him to retaliate. I mean, what did you expect to happen, him to not do anything about it?" Caroline was very angry now.

"Of course not. We just want him gone. I mean, for god's sake, Blondie, it sounds like you've switched sides to Team Original..." Damon was looking at her like she really had gone insane.

"No, I haven't 'switched sides', Damon! I am just sick of everything. All the fighting and plotting against each other. So I'm done. I will not fight, plot, scheme or be used as bait again!"

Caroline finally stormed out of the Salvatore boarding house, but before she got far, she heard someone come up behind her.

"Caroline," Stefan said, chasing after her.

She halted, ready to hear another outburst, but Stefan didn't have a go at her. He just calmly said, " Care, I understand what you're saying. I'm starting to feel the same way he doesn't deserve this. Neither does his family and I can see what you have going on with him,"

Caroline's brow furrowed, but before she could answer, he started talking again. "I know you think there's nothing going on, but he cares about you. I can see it and you can see it too, even if you don't want to admit it. I know you care about him, too."

Caroline didn't reply, but a small smile appeared on her face when she realized Stefan was right. She said her thanks to Stefan he smiled back and went back inside.

When she reached her house, all she wanted to do was have a shower and a drink, so she headed upstairs, but before she could even undress, someone knocked on the front door. As she walked back downstairs, she thought to herself, Oh, great, probably Elena or Damon here to continue the fight', but she was surprised when she opened the door.

"Bonnie?"

"Hey, Care. Can we talk?"

She nodded and Bonnie started to talk. "First of all, I wanted to say sorry for not saying anything back in the house. I was just a bit stunned by what you were saying, but I understand."

Caroline was shocked. This was not what she was expecting to come out of Bonnie's mouth.

" When I say that, I mean because I have been spending a bit of time- okay, a lot of time- around Kol and well, he's really sweet and fun and I know what you mean when you say they don't deserve this, and I want you to know that it's okay, whatever you have going on with Klaus."

"Thanks, Bonnie" Caroline said, pulling her into a hug before pulling back and holding her by the shoulders. "Wait, you and Kol? Huh, that is interesting. How's that working out?" Caroline had a sly smile on her face and Bonnie blushed.

"Aha, it's a long story but we're just… frieendss at the moment."

Caroline and Bonnie both smiled, knowing it was very complicated and needed a good debrief, but just as she was thinking that, Bonnie got a text.

"It's my dad, Care. I have to go. I'll talk to you later." Bonnie gave her a quick hug with a smile and then left.

*End of Flashback*

Caroline is so happy that Stefan and Bonnie understood but she's pissed about Elena and Damon and annoyed that Klaus had stopped talking to her. She knows he had every right to hate her. She betrayed him… Argh and she still can't sleep. It's almost 5 in the morning. There's no way that she's going to be able to sleep now. So she decides to put on her Timberwolves t-shirt, shorts and runners and go out for a run. She sneaks out of her house quietly, trying not to wake her mum, puts in her earphones and starts to run. The air is cool and crisp, but it doesn't bother her because she is a vampire and doesn't feel it. Her feet pound against the pavement. She's trying to work out her frustration, running through town square, past the Mikaleson mansion and keeps on going past Wickery Bridge and into the forest. Her blood is pumping through her veins, her heart working hard, but thank god she is a cheerleader and vampire, otherwise she wouldn't have the stamina to run this long.

She is running through the woods when she thinks she hears something. She stops and looks around, but can't see anything, so she keeps running, deciding to go to the falls she finally lets her vampire speed break free and runs faster than she ever could if she were still human.

Klaus's POV
He is in wolf form, hunting in the woods. He's angry and pissed and needed a release. He's upset that Caroline had been a distraction, using his feelings against him. He is running, trying to get Caroline and her beautiful blond locks out of his mind, her laughter and smile, but it isn't working. All he can think about is her.

Klaus stops running. He can smell something. His next snack, perhaps? No, he sees a blonde running through the woods with an angry look on her face. 'What is she doing here so early in the morning?' he wondered, 'and where is she going?' He hides behind a bush as she looks around her. She doesn't notice him and she starts running again. Klaus decides to follow her. She looks like she's heading towards the falls, so he silently runs behind her, not too close, not wanting her to see him.

Caroline POV
She is running as fast as her vamp legs can take her, up and down hills, until she finally reaches the falls, moving to the edge of the cliff. She's just in time to see the sunrise. Lana Del Ray's Young and Beautiful is playing in her ear buds. She loves this song and it is perfect seeing the sun rise at that moment, her hands on her head trying to catch her breath from running and her music drowning out everything else.

"Dear lord when I get to heaven, please let me take my man, all that grace, all that body."

Klaus stops before her at the edge of the trees, just before the clearing, watching her, listening to her breath and her music, He isn't sure what the song is but he likes it. Then he sees it, a sliver of sun rise coming up. They both just stand there watching it peacefully. He is smiling. Even though he should me mad at her for betraying him, he can't. Seeing her like this in the light, he cares for her even more. As she starts to turn to leave, he hides, but still watches her as she runs back, heading towards the trail that leads back to town.

Monday Morning
Caroline is again awake at 4.50am and she is pissed. Is her body like, set to this time because that is twice now and it's not fun. So she gets up again and goes out for a run the same path she took yesterday and the same playlist. She goes back up to the falls because she loves seeing the sunrise. There is something calming about it, like in just those moments everything goes away and she wants that again because things aren't any better with Elena and Damon or Klaus for that matter. In fact, she saw Klaus in town yesterday morning after her run. She went to do a bit of shopping and he stood there staring at her. It was a bit creepy. She thought he was going to come up and talk to her but he didn't, which she understands. He's still extremely angry about 'the situation' as she is going to call it from here on out. Before she even realizes, she is in the woods again, running through using her vamp speed to take her back to the same spot as yesterday.

Klaus goes on in wolf mode again that morning after his weird encounter with Caroline yesterday. He saw her walking through town. Before he thought hide, she had seen him. Her eyebrow arched before he turned away. But then as if right on cue, the blonde vampire is speeding past him, running towards the falls and he decides he wants to follow her again.

He finds he in the exact same spot as yesterday except she is sitting down instead of standing and her music is off. They both watch the sunrise together like they did yesterday with him behind her staring at her as the sun rises. He thinks about approaching her. His 'wolf self' has never actually met her, but then he chickens out at the last moment and runs away.

She stays like that for a while, even after the sun rises. Eventually though, she hears a noise behind her. She looks but sees nothing and decides to head back into town again like yesterday.

He hopes that she will be there tomorrow, he that night, painting her as she looked that morning staring out into the sun.

Like he hoped there she is again running past him and once again he is in wolf form. He follows her back to the same spot she has been in for the past couple of days. Her music is no longer playing, she is sitting down again watching the sunrise and he decides that he will approach her, but slowly, not wanting to scare her.

She hears something behind her. She turns around and jumps up into a defence position when she sees a wolf. It's a hybrid. At first she is careful, ready to run if he attacks. She wonders if he is one of Klaus's minions and then she furrows her brow, waiting a minute. His eyes... Is that Klaus? Could it be him? She relaxes a little. "Klaus? Is that you?"

The wolf comes up to her slowly and rubs against her. She relaxes, knowing it's just Klaus. "You scared the crap out of me."

She hears what almost seems to be a chuckle out of him, so she sits back down and he sits beside her. "Are you going to stay like that the whole time?" she asks.

He simply looks at her and tilts his head which she takes as a yes, so she continues on. "Well then, I will say this is the friendliest encounter I have had with a wolf." With a smile, she turns to him and he lies down. She begins to pat him down his back and she hears a slight noise from him which she takes as him enjoying it. They sit there for a while and then eventually she speaks "I. I'm sorry, Klaus, about what I did. I shouldn't have done that to you and I know it was wrong but I also didn't know what they were planning but that is still no excuse but I shouldn't have done that and I won't again I am done with being 'bait'"

She looks at him with a sad smile, hoping he won't attack. He doesn't. Instead he turns his head and licks her hand as a sign of forgiveness.

She smiles happily before standing up. "I have to go. Maybe I'll see you here again tomorrow. She gives him a departing pat and runs from the clearing.

Klaus sits for a while thinking after she leaves. She obviously feels bad for what she did to him. He could see it in her eyes when she was apologising and he slightly chuckled when she said 'bait'. He also couldn't wait for tomorrow.

The day went past and before they knew it, early morning was upon them again and they were both at the same spot as yesterday. She sat there stroking Klaus's fur where he was lying down next to her as she talked about all different things; her troubles with school, her mom, her friends, how she was still fighting with Elena and Damon, although she doesn't really care about Damon not liking her. She is pretty sure he didn't like her from the beginning. They carry out the same routine for the next four days. It's like an unspoken agreement, watching the sun rise, her talking him. He just listens until Sunday morning comes.

That Sunday morning, she is sitting down again in the same spot as she always is but this time he walks up to her as himself, not wolf form. She turns around, surprised to see him like that. "Hey, you're not a wolf today," she says with a smile.

He returns the smile and sits down to her. "Nope. I thought I would be me today. You know, I have quite enjoyed our little talks these past mornings, sweetheart."

She blushes and looks away. "Yeah, I have, too."

" I accept your apology from last week if you didn't notice."

Caroline laughs. "Yeah, I took you licking me as acceptance. Although, why did you stay in wolf form for all those mornings."

He sighed. I enjoyed listening to you and me not being able to talk, it was… nice, I suppose."

She looked at him and smiled, before a thought crossed her mind and she asked him, "How did you find me that first morning? I mean, I didn't think anyone else would be up at that hour, let alone in the woods."

He had one of his guilty smiles on his face. "I saw you last Sunday morning running through the woods the first time and I followed you here. Then Monday I wanted to approach you but couldn't bring myself to do it. Then finally Tuesday I got up the nerve to face you. By the way, sorry for scaring you. He chuckled.

"Ah, so you were staring at me creepily for two days and following me. That makes sense," she joked. "And it's okay for scaring me. Like I said, I haven't had the best encounters with wolves in the past.

They both smiled at that point. "Are things any better with you and Elena and Damon?" he asked.

"Stefan had a talk with them. I mean, they aren't thrilled with the idea but Elena was a bit more accepting than Damon."
"That's good to hear, love, but can I ask you why? Why now did you decide to not be used anymore as 'Klaus bait'?"

She paused for a second, and then looked directly at him. "Well, I saw how much I hurt you last time and I realized it wasn't fair. No one should be used like that." She looked away from his gaze.

"It sounds like you're speaking a bit from personal experience, love?" he asked, sort of knowing the answer but not wanting to push it.
"I might be," she said and he got the hint to drop the subject.

As the sun started to rise, they fell silent as they watched. Caroline broke it after a while by asking something that had been bothering her. "Why were you so quick to forgive me and keep coming back here all these morning?"

"Well, love, as much as I tried, I couldn't stay mad at you, especially when you started to pat me," he said with his smirk on his face.

She laughed. "It was kind of nice seeing you in wolf form."
Klaus smiled.
"So are you going to stay like this each morning or should I expect you back in wolf form again tomorrow?" she asked.

"Ah, you want to see me to tomorrow, do you?" he asked with a smirk, happy to hear it.

She laughed. "I have enjoyed this past week talking to you."

"Me too, love, and tomorrow I will be by normal self. You shared your stories with me. It's only fair that I share some with you," he said with a wink.

She smiled and stood up about to leave when she turned and said "Well then, same time tomorrow and I expect one hell of a story." She returned his wink before she ran off in the same direction as she always did.

He watched her leave with a smile on his face, thinking about what tomorrow might bring.