A/N This is the start of a series of drabbles I'm going to do for Klaroline as snapshots of their life and burgeoning relationship. Some will be longer than others. Either way, I do hope y'all enjoy them. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions/requests. 3 Further drabbles will be uploaded as additional "chapters" of this, or you can find them on tumblr such-endless-stars

A Day In The Life

"Why do I always have to be Klaus-bait?"
"Because he's obsessed with you."

She thought back as she studied the ceiling of her room, and in her head she could hear his voice, dancing with the promise of things she'd never dreamed of. "I'll take you," he told her, "Wherever you want." Blue eyes closed and once again she was being whisked around a dance floor in the most beautiful dress she'd ever owned. "Rome. Paris. Tokyo." To be honest, she'd never really considered it. In Caroline's mind she believed that high school would be the best years of her life. Her glory years—and after that she'd settle down, get married, have children, coach the cheerleading squad…but now? Now there was eternity. There would be no children, and she didn't see marriage as a real possibility either. Who would want to be stuck with someone for eternity? It had been easy enough for Sage to say she loved Finn, but she didn't actually have to put up with him for 900 years. She sighed and opened her eyes, looking over to the dresser where there was a drawing of her and a horse. "I'll take you…" That was it, though, wasn't it? It was so simple: The answer to all of their problems, or at least a temporary solution. Let him take her. He was willing—more than willing. It would get him out of Mystic Falls and give Bonnie time to figure out how to break the blood ties, if she could at all, or for them to figure out another plan. Elena had martyred herself more than a few times (granted, so had many others), but Caroline decided that perhaps it was her turn to step up to the plate, at least on this. She knew Elena (or Bonnie, or Matt, or Tyler—wherever he was—or Sane Alaric) would never let her do it. She figured Damon would be all for it, and Bloodoholic Stefan would only oppose because it meant that he didn't have immediate access to revenge. Caroline rolled out of bed and grabbed her notebook and then settled in on her floor with her back against her mattress to start writing the letter to say her goodbye-for-nows.

Elena,

Please don't be mad. Ok, you're going to be mad, but just hear me out. We need time to figure out what to do without Klaus trying to make you a walking blood bag for his psycho hybrid breeding program so…I'm taking him up on his offer. He said he'd take me anywhere I wanted to go, so I'm going. I don't know where. I'll keep my cell phone though, I hope, but if not I'll find a way to contact you and let you know I'm alive. Don't try to find me, no one else needs to be in danger because of this, and for now you'll be safe. Kind of. As safe as you can be here. I love you, and Bonnie, and Matt. I'll be fine. Just try not to take forever in figuring out plan B. Ok? Tell my mom I'm sorry and tell Tyler, if you hear from him, that I'm sorry and I love him and I'll be back.

Hugs and kisses,

Caroline

She sealed it up in an envelope and took a slow, measured breath to reaffirm her decision. It really was the best this way, just to get him away for a little while. Her heart fluttered a little, but she quashed the sudden excitement instantly. This wasn't something meant to be enjoyed, this was business. Strictly business. Her luggage set was packed down with clothes, shoes, makeup, and hair accoutrements and then loaded into her car. In the back of her mind she questioned whether or not he would actually be willing to take her at this point.

She parked her car in front of the large mansion that Klaus had procured for his family to live before they had scattered like ashes in the wind. Rebekah was still there, though Caroline was hoping that she wasn't home. She sat in the car and stared out past the steering wheel, and planned what she would say, how she'd appeal to his ego, when to challenge him, how to best sell the whole idea. She didn't bother to try and quell her uncertainty, because it was natural and would help her cause—so long as she didn't let it get the best of her. The sound of the car door shutting made her jump even though she saw it close. Okay, just breathe, she told herself as she made her way to the front door, working herself up as she went. By the time she knocked there were tears in her eyes threatening to fall and she'd perfected the near-hiccup breath to indicate that she'd been crying and was just calming down. Caroline should have been an actress.

Knock Knock Knock

She waited, chewing on her lower lip until the door opened. Klaus looked momentarily surprised to see her—surprised and a little annoyed considering the way things had left off. "Caroline," he said, the edge of his voice was tense and it made her rethink what she was doing. It was too late now though. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" she trailed off and let her gaze drop and when she did the tears that had been clinging to the ends of her lashes fell in single rivers down each cheek. "I don't know. I just…I didn't know where else to go."

"To your friends. To Tyler," he said, and then added a touch venomously, "but you don't know where he is, do you?" Caroline shook her head in response and didn't look up, but she heard Klaus sigh irritably and could see the door open wider in her peripheral vision. "Come in," he said begrudgingly.

The blond vampire wiped her tears with the back of her hand and entered the stately home apprehensively. Her blood ran cold when she heard the door shut behind her. No backing out now. "I'm sorry," she began, "I probably shouldn't be here at all. No one knows I'm here."

"I'm sure," his tone belied his utter disbelief.

"I'm serious," she said and turned to face him, her eyebrows knitted together. "Elena would have never let me come."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I need someone to talk to—someone that isn't Elena or Bonnie or anyone else. Because they're just going to feel sorry for me. 'Oh poor Caroline, her dad died, her boyfriend ran off because he's sired to a crazy hybrid original'—no offense—but what they're really thinking is how much none of that other stuff matters because I can't die and they can and it's so selfish for me to say, but everyone is so concerned about Elena—even you, that no one can spare a minute to care about the fact that I had this…this," she gestured to herself, indicating her vampirism, "thrust upon me without my choice, got tortured by werewolves, got tortured by my own dad who then decided that he hates what I am so much that he would rather die than spend an eternity with his daughter." She was crying again and was surprised to find that this time there was nothing fake about her tears. She was genuinely upset and it surprised her just how much she'd been holding in. A hand lifted quickly to her mouth to muffle an actual sob that tried to wrench its way out of her throat.

The severe look on his face softened and he guided her to sit on a couch in the living room. He sat with her, but permitted her distance, and he didn't speak, just watched her carefully as she struggled to compose herself. She was careful about cleaning up her face with the travel pack of Kleenex she had in her purse, making sure that it didn't smear her mascara. When she finished cleaning herself up she found a crystal tumbler half-filled with amber liquid sitting in front of her on the table.

Klaus was torn as he watched her kill the whiskey in one shot and the coughing that had replaced the hiccupping sobs. He didn't trust her—how could he? She and her ilk had repeatedly proven that they weren't to be trusted, as had she, and had so willingly made herself a distraction for him to keep his attention off her friends and what they were planning. In spite of all that, she was still the bright and beautiful girl who had captured his interest for the first time in centuries. "Caroline," he started, but then pressed his lips together firmly, hands closing into fists where they rested on his knees. He considered his words. "What would you have me do?" He could kill them all—would have, if she'd asked him to, he realized. He had no love for any of them. Elena was useful, he'd keep her, but everyone else could go. Even Stefan if he had to.

The glass in her hand was returned to the table, but the burning hadn't ceased when Caroline tried to clear her throat to speak. A hand waved in front of her face, willing the fiery sensation to stop, her face scrunched. Definitely a vodka girl. When she thought she could talk without squeaking, she looked up to him, but then averted her eyes almost just as quickly. "Paris, I think, would be nice," she said shyly and bit her lower lip. Caroline risked another short glance back up to gauge his reaction—which looked nothing short of gobsmacked. "I'm serious," she added, "unless you've changed your mind?"

Blue eyes narrowed a bit and he leaned forward, close enough to make her uncomfortable. "Give me some credit, I've lived a very long time, I don't fall for the same ploy twice."

"No ploy—I swear," she said, instantly holding up her right hand, pinky extended until she realized that he probably wouldn't get the reference—and furthermore, she wasn't going to pinky promise anything with Klaus. Sometimes her age showed more than others. Caroline dropped her hand and sighed. "Do it for Elena?" she offered. "You want her to stay safe, and she's just going to get herself killed in some plan or another trying to kill you, so really if you leave she's safer anyway. Stefan isn't going to hurt her, neither is Damon. Rebekah might, but more than anything I think she just wants a chance to be a teenage girl and be accepted and do all the things she never got to do because your dad was a d-bag too and you spent so long running from him. I don't know, I don't care what reason you want to use, just…" she chewed on her lower lip again, "please?"

He moved again, this time to kneel in front of her, his elbows propped on his knees and his chin on his interlaced fingers. "You are reason enough, Caroline," he told her sincerely, but his eyes went steely in the next moment, "but I assure you, that if I find out this is a trick that I will bring you back here and kill everyone you love in front of you and then I will leave you in the basement to rot until you beg me for death."

She swallowed thickly as she watched the change in his demeanor. Everything was heightened as a vampire, and Klaus had a very sore spot for being betrayed. It made him suspicious, vengeful. In spite of that though, she forced a bright smile, "Good! I'm already packed."