Chapter One:

A/N: There is only one small tweak I made to this Chapter in Reposting! I had a very polite guest remind me of alcohol poisoning and I chose to make a few small changes in the amount Caroline had drank and the amount of time Caroline and Klaus were at Rousseau's. I did not intend for it to seem like such a small amount of time that they had spent at the bar. They were there for quite some time and Klaus had a bit to drink as well, it's just not described within the chapter. Sorry for the confusion and thank you to the guest reviewer for leaving constructive criticism so I could make my mistakes right! Happy Reading!

The brisk summer night breeze whisked Caroline's golden locks away from her face as she approached the entrance to Rousseau's Bar. She'd arrived in New Orleans about a week before and figured tonight was as good as any to begin exploring in the night life.

When she first arrived, she had immediately felt peace and like she was finally home. She couldn't wait to explore such a historic area.

As Caroline entered the bar her stomach began to flip. There was something eerily familiar about the space and she was excited to begin her new journey in her new home. When she approached the bar, she was floored. She suddenly understood why the placed seemed so familiar. In front of her, behind the bar, she found Klaus Mikaelson. He had been her best friend near the end of high school and they'd suddenly lost touch about a year ago. She couldn't bare to tell him about everything that had happened with Tyler, her ex-boyfriend. Klaus and Tyler had never gotten along and if Klaus had known that she'd found Tyler in bed with another woman and that he'd been cheating on her for the past four years, things wouldn't have been pretty. Things with Tyler became violent the day she caught him in the act. He'd put her in the hospital. How was she supposed to tell anyone about that? This night was about to get interesting.

"Do my eyes deceived me or did Caroline Forbes just walk into my bar?" Klaus smirked as he stopped in front of her. He rolled up his sleeves and looked her up and down. "What can I get you, love?"

He was as beautiful as she remembered, and he still wore those beaded necklaces that she'd found herself dreaming about in recent months. She couldn't believe this was happening. She hadn't known where Klaus had ended up after his trip over seas he had taken after graduation. She'd been dodging his calls at the beginning of the year before he had suddenly stopped calling. He'd left her one final message: 'When you're ready to talk, give me a call. I miss you. I hope you're alright.'

He was always looking out for her, even when she was ignoring him. But he'd stopped calling and she'd never had the courage to call him back, but she had missed him. It was nice to see his face, no matter the shock it was that she'd stumbled upon him in her new town she planned on calling home. At least for the summer.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline finally replied.

"Well, love, I work here." He smirked at her again. Caroline rolled her eyes at him. "Can I get you a drink? If you stick around, we can catch up. I'm almost done here."

Caroline contemplated leaving but decided against it. She wasn't going to let him deter her from having a good night. "I'll take a vodka seltzer with a twist, please"

It didn't take Klaus long to return with her drink. He was whisked away quickly as another patron needed a refill. Caroline took a deep breath and picked up her glass. She took one look at it and downed it in two minutes flat. She'd already decided that if she was going to deal with a Klaus Mikaelson interrogation then she was going to be drunk. Really drunk. Before she had the chance to ask for a refill, another bartender had already given her another drink. She picked up the glass again and chugged it again. Maybe this wasn't as bad as she thought after all.

Klaus rushed over to her stool about forty-five minutes later and Caroline had already had a few drinks in her. As he approached Caroline rose from her seat and threw her arms around his neck in a hug. Klaus steadied her sways with his arms. "I've missed you" Caroline murmured.

"And I you love. Why didn't you return any of my calls? I even called your mum and she wouldn't tell me a single thing. It's been a year Caroline." Klaus's eyes bore into her.

'Here we go'

Caroline sighed as she looked at him with glossy eyes. She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't. "I don't know…"

"Come, let's sit." Klaus guided her to a booth off to the side of the bar. "What are you doing here Caroline?"

"I took an internship for the summer with Salzman and Salvatore. I just moved here." Caroline answered as she picked up her new drink.

"You're living in New Orleans?"

"Yes. Now stop questioning me! What are you doing behind a bar? I thought you took that trip to pursue your art!"

"I'm still pursuing art but this place, it's mine. I bought it about six months ago. I fixed it up a bit and reopened." Caroline grabbed her glass again and chugged the remainder of its contents. "Slow down love."

Caroline shook her head at him and went to stand and get another drink from the bar. Her knees buckled underneath her, and she landed in Klaus's lap.

"Come love, let's get you home."

Klaus walked her out of the bar and to the curb to hail a cab. When one stopped Caroline looked back at Klaus. "Will you come with me?"

Klaus stood stunned. Her eyes looked sad and lost. He grabbed her hand and let her drag him into the back of the cab.

Caroline quickly snuggled into Klaus's chest and took in his musky scent. She couldn't figure out why she had suddenly felt the need to embrace him, but it felt safe. It felt like home. Her breathing began to mellow out as she dozed off on his chest after she slurred out her new address to their driver.

When the cab pulled up to her apartment building Klaus had to maneuver Caroline out of the backseat. He scooped her up, tossed the driver their fare and carried her to the door. He'd already fished out her keys on the cab ride over and used them to get into her apartment building. He was grateful she was on the first floor from the looks of the directory in the lobby. As Klaus unlocked the door to her apartment he began to take in his surroundings. He observed that she was already completely unpacked from her move and had begun hanging things on the walls. He carried her down the hall to a bedroom and upon luck had stumbled upon her bedroom. He placed her on her bed and tucked her in. He sat at the foot of her bed and began to take in all her features.

She was still unbelievable beautiful but there was something different about her. It didn't take him long once he began to concentrate and saw a few minute scars underneath her chin and some across her shoulder blades. He sat in wonder as to what had happened to her. It worried him.

He began to lift himself from the bed as Caroline stirred. "Klaus?" She mumbled in her sleep.

"Shh, love. You're home and you're safe. Get some rest."

Caroline's eyes drifted shut as she hummed in content. He sat with her for a little while longer to assure she was fully asleep before he began to rummage for a pen and paper to leave her a note. He scribbled something down, grabbed a glass from the cupboard to fill with water and placed to aspirin on her bedside table before he made his exit.

When Caroline awoke the next morning, her head was pounding, and she couldn't remember how she had arrived home. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and began to take in her surroundings. She found a glass full of water and two aspirin on her bedside table. She quick threw them back and realized there was a note beneath her glass.

Caroline-

I'm sorry to have left you but I needed to get home. I hope you're not upset. It was great to see you last night and I hope you aren't hurting to much this morning. I'm glad I ran into you. Please give me call. I've been worried about you. I'll even show you all the best things about your new home.

Yours,

Klaus.

Damn Him. Caroline shook her head and crumpled up his note. She couldn't believe what she had done. How could she have let him know where she lived now? She wasn't ready to face him. She wasn't ready to let him in. She wasn't ready to let anyone in. She couldn't tell him what had happened. She was going to have to try hard to avoid him for the remainder of the summer. He would never know about what Tyler had done to her. He couldn't.