Caroline couldn't remember why she was so mad at Tyler at the minute. She suspected that it had something to do with that Hayley girl who was floating around the hall but she wasn't sure... Why was he here? It was bad enough that he was openly back in town. He knew the decade dance wasn't safe! Klaus could be lurking anywhere…

She felt a thrill of excitement for some reason at that thought and scanned the crowd of high school students nervously. But then Tyler was throwing his arm over her and pulling her in a dance, his hand inching not so subtly towards her butt, making her scoff and push him away.

"Geez, Tyler, what is wrong with you today?" she hissed, still not quite sure why she had this overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.

What was wrong with her today? Suddenly she felt guilty and pulled him back to dance with her again.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's up with me tonight," she sighed.

"Don't worry, we've got bigger problems than your hormones…" Tyler muttered, looking over her shoulder.

"Seriously!?" she hissed. Her hormones?!When did he get so rude?

She clocked his expression and turned around to see Klaus standing there, resplendent in a white suit that totally fit in with the 20s theme. Her breath caught in her throat as he paced towards them though the crowd, so sure of himself, his eyes fixed furiously on Tyler.

"Is this guy bothering you love?" he murmured, knowing full well that her vampire hearing would pick up his beautiful accent.

Tyler grabbed Caroline's hand, "Just leave us alone! This is our first night together- I've just got back into town."

"I don't remember giving you permission to leave town, mate," Klaus sighed, clearly tired of his subordinate's defiant attitude.

His gaze flicked to Caroline for the first time and she saw how his breath caught just as hers had. She found herself unable to look away. Hideously guilty, knowing that she should be laughing at him and turning away, she met his look and could not help but smile at the affection in his eyes. It just seemed so honestly genuine! How could she have doubted his feelings before? She had always laughed at the idea that the big bad hybrid could have a thing for her- she had just used his attitude as her way to play a part in the missions her friends would go on… But she had not understood until this moment what an effect this act would have on her own emotions, her own feelings towards him.

Tyler started trying to pull her away, and still Klaus just stood there studying her face, his mouth pulled up slightly at the corners, clearly enjoying her expression just as much. Her fury at Tyler came back in full force at his attempts to control the situation and she yanked her hand away from his, ignoring the shocked expression on his face.

Klaus held out a hand towards her, "dance with me sweetheart?"

She didn't turn to see if Tyler had stalked off yet, didn't notice if anyone she knew was looking, she just reached out as if it were the simplest thing in the world and took his hand. As he led her away into a free area of the dance floor, the smile on his face grew bigger and bigger, and she felt it warm her heart. Without taking his eyes off her face, he swung her around and into a dancing hold to sway slightly, still holding one hand, her other on his shoulder. She found it quite hard to concentrate on breathing with him so close and tore her eyes away to break the tension with a nervous giggle.

Seriously? She was giggling and dancing with Klaus? What was happening?!

With her eyes free to wander, she noticed the details on his shirt, the scruff on his chin, the way his lips parted every so slightly to smile at her… He'd noticed her staring, oh God! She would have turned away in embarrassment but he pulled her closer, holding her hand to his chest as if he thought she were about to run away, and met her eyes once more. She could not help but smile again at the reassurance in them. He exuded a quiet but intense warmth towards her, his eyes darting down to her lips every few seconds in a way that betrayed the warring passion inside with his own nerves. He was worried that she did not want this as much as he did…

As soon as she realised that, Caroline felt a sudden calm and contentment. There was no pressure here, not with Klaus. She did not have to impress him like other guys, she just had to stay and dance with him and she would have more than exceeded his expectations of the evening. She wondered how he would react if she actually kissed him and found herself smiling at the surprised expression that would cross his face… She realised that he was now grinning back at her, relaxing at the obvious joy on her face.

The music grew quieter, as she put her arms around his neck and drew slowly closer, testing the water as she went. Klaus just smiled at her calmly and a little sadly, she realised. Why should he be sad at this moment?

"I was hoping that you would come with me. I could show you the world Caroline…" She loved the way he said her name.

The music had stopped now but she barely noticed. She tried to say that she would go with him. Hell, she would follow him to the ends of the earth, but she couldn't! Her mouth wouldn't open! And her feet were rooted to the spot as he carefully took her hands back in his and kissed her fingers softly, before letting them go and turning away.

Stop! She wanted to call, Come back! But he was leaving, weaving his way between the other high school couples towards the gym doors. No!

Caroline woke up with a shock in her own bed and sat bolt upright. What was that?! What had just happened? It had all been a dream, but… It had felt so real that she had to remind herself how the night had actually played out. She had scoffed at his offer, she now remembered with regret. She sighed at the realisation that Klaus was now far away in New Orleans and she was stuck in Mystic Falls, still trying to unravel her friends' ridiculously complicated lives. She lay back down and rolled onto her side, only to notice the photo of her and Tyler still sat on her bedside table.

With a huff she reached out and flicked it over backwards. Tyler was long gone. She didn't expect him to come back. They had fought too often after Klaus had left, over the smallest things and… well, it just hadn't worked out. Caroline thought back to her dream and wondered if he was with Hayley now. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something.

She daydreamed for a bit about how powerful vampires could go into other people's dreams and influence them and toyed for a while with the idea that Klaus was sat on the other side of her bedroom wall, sighing now that she had woken up and the magic was over. Those feelings in the dream… they had been so real, so powerful… She wondered where he really was now, what he was doing, whether he had found someone else…

Hmm, that idea hurt more than she thought it would. Now that she was free to do so, Caroline felt a strong urge to stake that claim over the dangerous hybrid. If only he would come back for some reason. She got up slowly, wishing hard that when she fell back to sleep that night a similar dream would come to her.