What exactly possessed her to end up at his doorstep will forever remain unbeknown to her. But she just couldn't stay in that town any longer. There was nothing left for her there, no point in staying when all the town caused her was insufferable pain and loss. Sure, Elena was here, and Stefan. And Tyler. What would Tyler say? There was barely a spark left in their relationship, but surely he wouldn't be happy. But she couldn't stay. She wouldn't.

Two weeks before

Caroline awoke to a scream in her house. She checked the time quickly before going to see what the problem was; it was 3:30 in the morning. Her mom had most likely just gotten back from her night shift. She probably had just seen a spider. Her mom may seem to be all big and bad most of the time, but little did many know the sheriff had a deadly fear of spiders. The irony, she thought.

"Mom? You okay?" she loudly whispered through the darkness of the house. She called out once again when there was no response, only to once again be faced with nothing but the sounds made by the annoying floorboards under her feet. Caroline grew anxious. She ran through the house, looking in each room for her mother, until she came to the bathroom. She let out a scream at the ghastly sight.

If vampires could faint, Caroline was sure she would've. Nothing could've prepared her for the sight in front of her. Her mom laid in the tub, head hanging off the side with her body haphazardly strung over it and blood spilling everywhere. Caroline ran to her side. After checking for a nonexistent pulse, she bit into her wrist, forced it down her mother's throat, and waited. Nothing. Her brain seemed to just stop working. She couldn't even process what had happened, let alone think of what to do. A silent tear slipped down her cheek. Then another. And another, until she burst into desperate sobs and bawled into the deafening silence of the night. She slept right next to the tub with her mother cradled in her arms.

Caroline awoke two hours later. Knowing there was nothing supernatural that could bring her back, she left the bathroom to call an ambulance. She just couldn't bare the sight of her mother like that any longer. After finally getting her message across to the operator through her sobs, she dialed the last person she had called without really looking at the name. When she noticed whom she had called, it was too late.

"Klaus," she managed to get out.

"Caroline? What's wrong?" The genuine concern in his voice made her tear up even more; in that moment, she instantly regretted not giving him a chance, because now she could tell that she was more than an infatuation for him.

"Caroline, love, I can't understand what you're saying," said Klaus, impatiently yet worriedly, after she had tried and failed to explain what had happened.

"My mom, Klaus! She slipped in the shower and hit her head I guess and she's dead Klaus! My mom is dead!" The tears just came rushing back. It was when Klaus didn't say anything that she realized he had hung up. A minute later, he burst through her front door and was at her side, capturing her in a huge embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline. I'm so, so sorry," he whispered against her hair.

The ambulances arrived ten minutes after. Klaus had managed to calm Caroline down a little, and he made sure to keep her in her room as he watched the EMTs carry the sheriff out the house and into the ambulance. Caroline came outside and sat next to Klaus on the porch just in time to see it leave with its lights and sirens turned off. She leaned into Klaus as he wrapped his arm around her.

"You know what the ironic part is?" she asked looking up at him. She continued without waiting for a response.

"That in a town full of vampires, werewolves, and hybrids, my mother fell victim to a bathtub."

They sat there looking out into the sky, Caroline softly crying, until she fell asleep in her worst enemy's comforting arms.

The funeral was more unbearable that anyone could've imagined. Caroline almost didn't go, but Stefan convinced her to. Everyone was utterly distressed, even Damon, who had grown close to Liz over the years. Caroline didn't cry though; she was all cried out already. She took it like a big girl and said "thank you" with a small, fake smile when people apologized for her loss. Like it was their fault. Like it was anybody's fault.

As Caroline watched almost every citizen of Mystic Falls place flowers on her mother's grave, she felt Klaus come and stand next to her.

"Isn't this a little contradictory for you? You take lives, you don't mourn them," she said with a vile tone. She really didn't mean to be rude, but she had to let her anger, frustration, and sadness out on someone. When he just stood there without a word, but instead with a pitiful yet understanding look, she couldn't help but just break down and cry in his arms. She found it strange how the arms of the person who had caused so much of her and her friends' pain were the arms that she felt the most safe in.

She finally truly understood how Elena had felt during the months following her parents' death. The empty feeling, the hole in her heart that her mother had filled could never be repaired. Although Caroline had already experienced this once with her dad, this was somehow different. She concluded it was because she had properly said goodbye to her father, whereas her mother was viciously ripped from her life. Caroline wasn't sure how she would live her life from then on.

The next couple of days were spent holed in her room with her friends stopping by to make sure she ate by leaving her food at her bedroom door. Eight days had passed since Liz's death. It was the moment when Caroline was looking for her diary to write in that she came across a five year old picture of her and her mom in her drawer. Looking at the picture, she came to a realization. He mom wouldn't have wanted this for her. She wouldn't have wanted her mourning her so badly, cutting herself off from the world. Liz would've wanted her daughter to continue living her life, no matter how hard it would be- to travel, to learn, to live. And in that moment she knew what she had to do.

Klaus walked toward his front door after someone knocked. He already knew who it was when her overwhelming scent of vanilla and lavender filled the air. He would never tire of that scent.

"Caroline. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked with his signature smirk, eyeing the bags in her hand questioningly.

"Pack your bags," she responded with a hint of uncertainty. "We're leaving."

Klaus stood there for a minute, unable to process what she had just told him to do. Caroline Forbes, the object of his fascination since he had returned to the wretched town he called home, was at his doorstep, asking him to show her the world, just like he said she would. Klaus came out of his trance of happiness and triumph long enough to try to appear nonchalant.

"Have you finally decided to take me up on my offer, love?"

"Please, Klaus. Don't make me regret this. I just need to leave. I need to leave all of this behind. Even if it means leaving with you."

Despite her last comment, his usual witty demeanor disappeared and was replaced by an overpowering desire to comfort her. Klaus had been waiting for this moment since he had met the girl. She's just a little crush, nothing more. He knew he couldn't keep lying to himself. Caroline brought out a side of him that he hadn't shown in a thousand years, and the thought terrified him, but he wouldn't allow himself to think too deeply into it. However, Klaus knew he couldn't leave behind the only thing keeping him in town.

"Well, you know I can't leave Elena. Not without a blood donation large enough to last until we get back."

His comment made Caroline come back to her senses. What in the world had she been thinking? Why would she even think about leaving with the monster that was constantly terrorizing her best friend for her blood? But then the reason she was even at his doorstep also ran through her mind. She knew she absolutely couldn't stay in this town any longer, even if she would end up coming back anyways. For her own sanity and well-being, Caroline needed to explore, to get her mind off of everything bad that has happened to her. But she didn't want to do it alone, and while he was the reason for mostly everything that had happened to her, she knew he was the only person who could show her the world and truly take her mind off of things. She just hoped he didn't get the wrong message by her taking him up on his offer.

"She'll be here when you get back, Klaus. Surely, you can survive for a couple weeks without making anymore of your little minions."

Klaus hesitated, but she was right; it's not like he didn't have enough for the time being. He gave her a small nod and went to turn around to pack, but stopped when Caroline called his name.

"I don't want you getting the wrong idea from this. I just need to get out of here. So don't think that I'm falling for any of your little drawings and gifts and such," she said with a cold stare. Klaus just smirked, annoying Caroline even further. When she sat down on the couch in the luxurious living room, Klaus sped up the stairs to pack.

"Ready, love?"

She responded with a slight nod as he descended down the stairs. Klaus stood there and took a long look at her. He could see the worry, anxiety, and pain etched clearly on her face. He wouldn't let her change her mind. He would show her the world, and hopefully in the mean time she would warm up to him. He decided to lighten the mood and ask where she would like to go.

"I don't know, Klaus. Anywhere. You choose."

"Italy?"

Klaus watched as her face lit up at his suggestion. She gave him an eager yet shy nod and they walked out the door without a word.