Okay, so this is my first piece of writing in some time. Which is why I'm just going for a one-shot for now, although this will actually be a two-shot. Please let me know what you think, I appreciate any feedback.

Disclaimer - I do not own the Vampire Diaries, or Gossip Girl, nor any of the characters named. I wish.

"What is wrong with you, you jerk?!"

"The worst thing I ever did. The darkest thought I ever had. You said you would stand by me through anything."

Caroline scoffed and tossed her glass back as she swallowed the remainder of her wine.

"This Blair, this is anything."

Caroline shook her head at the characters on the screen, curled into her pillow as she watched their break-up.

"I never thought the worst thing you could do would be to me."

"Preaching to the choir." Caroline grumbled. She hated this episode. It always made her sad when it seemed to be the end of "Chair", without a doubt her favourite pairing on the show. But she had committed herself to a weekend marathon of Gossip Girl and so forced herself to watch the gut-wrenching scene of Blair saying goodbye and walking away from Chuck. She went to take another sip of wine, only to remember she'd just drunk the last, and uncurled herself from around her pillow to sit up, shaking away the slight dizziness the vast amount of alcohol had incurred. The ending credits were rolling so Caroline didn't feel the need to pause the episode and simply stretched as she lazily made her way over to the mini fridge.

"Damn" She muttered under her breath. Out of wine. Plenty of blood bags, but not a drop of alcohol in sight. She was sure she'd prepared some for this weekend.

She had arranged for her, Bonnie and Elena to spend some quality girl time together this weekend. It was all planned out; they all had Friday afternoon free, and so would go out for a bite to eat and some drinks before coming back to the dorm for some much needed chill time; junk food, blood-bags for her and Elena, and Gossip Girl. On Saturday they would spend the day shopping before getting pedicures and manicures, then getting dressed up for a night out in the next town over. Then Sunday, Caroline had planned for a pamper day to come down from any hangovers (especially Bonnie). She and Elena could drink a blood-bag to rid themselves of any post-clubbing head trauma, but their Witch-Anchor friend could not. Of course, Caroline was nothing if not one for her plans, and she had been determined that nothing would come in the way of their weekend. She had missed spending time with her girls, and felt that Elena spending all summer with Damon had soon extended into her spending any-time she wasn't needed at college with the elder Salvatore as well. Bonnie, Caroline would let off the hook. Her friend had not so long ago come back from the dead, and before that Jeremy had been dead himself, so they were making up for lost time, but Caroline had missed her too. She'd spent all summer wondering how Bonnie had managed to drop off the face of the earth, and devastated didn't even cover how she felt when Jeremy finally confessed the secret; Bonnie had died just before Graduation. Caroline had been dying for the three of them to spend some quality time together like they used to before all of the supernatural mess ruptured their lives. And she had been sure to tell them of her plans the week before so they'd have no excuses.

But, lo and behold, Damon wanted to whisk Elena away to a romantic B&B somewhere in Charlotte, and Elena was so loved up and enamoured by his suggestion that she cancelled on Caroline with no more than a "I'm sorry, but we can do our girls weekend any other time."

Caroline grinned as she recalled the bottle of Bourbon she had stashed in her cabinet, for emergencies. She practically dived to the side of her bed in her glee to rip the god damn door open. A full bottle, too, her night was beginning to look up. If she was going to be sad and pathetically alone, then she should be drunk, sad and pathetically alone. She settled herself back on her bed as the next episode was just starting, unscrewing the cap and at first considered getting a glass before shrugging and drinking from the bottle. No need for glasses and manners; there was no one around for her to impress.

Bonnie, to her credit, had looked genuinely remorseful when Caroline told her it would just be the two of them since Elena bailed with "that man-skank she calls a boyfriend".

"Jeremy suggested we go up to his parents cabin for the weekend. He wants to get away from Mystic Falls for a bit, and it would be nice to spend some time away from all the crazy drama." Bonnie rubbed Caroline's shoulder in comfort, offering her a sweet smile.

She actually had no idea where Stefan was; he hadn't answered his phone, and when she began to get worried he sent her a text to say he couldn't come to see her as something had come up. Vague as always, she suspected Stefan was being his old broody self, perhaps over Elena and Damon. She hated when Stefan got broody, especially since he would rarely open up and accept any form of comfort or consolidation. Caroline had left him a message telling him to call her if he needed her and that she would be in her dorm all weekend if he wanted to hang-out.

It's not as if they were her only option. Caroline being ever the Queen Bee, had successfully made a few friends in her short time at college, despite all the drama she got caught up with and that it was a miracle she got to spend any time at college. No one she was particularly close to; but she always had an invitation to whatever party or social event was happening around campus. Elena and Bonnie called the girls who always yelling "Hi!" to her in the hallways her minions.

But she was being mopey, and feeling sorry for herself so opted for the girls weekend, flying solo. Which, to be quite fair, she did well. Fly solo, that is.

It's not as if she could go find Matt; he'd either be working, or with Tyler. And Tyler still had a hard time being in the same room as her without making a snide comment that made her want to stuff his words back down his throat.

It was odd how since their relationship came to it's final end, she was able to see Tyler how she used to see him, before they were together. She always thought he acted really arrogant, and was kind of a bully. In short, a jackass. It saddened her that they had come to that, and she missed the time when he was one of her closest friends but Tyler was still pissed about her sleeping with Klaus. He'd been spitting with rage when he first found out, she was so sure he was going to lose his temper and bite her until Stefan intervened.

Then she'd have to call him and ask him to break his promise to come back and heal her with his blood.

Surprisingly, Klaus had been making very good on his promise. Since their day in the forest (which Caroline had not been thinking about at all) he had kept his word in every sense.

No more texts with photographs of New Orleans attached that she'd saved to her phone but rarely replied to.

No more returning to her dorm to find someone had snuck in to deliver a drawing or any surprise gifts; the earrings which matched her bracelet to perfection, the coffee machine sitting on her desk, and then of course there was the time she'd come back to find a $500 gift card for her favourite store with a note saying "You choose the dress this time."

No more surprise deliveries; the first flowers he sent were eleven red roses, with one white rose, and a card saying "In every dozen there is one unique – you are that one". Slightly corny, but she had blushed like crazy, made her excuses to the girls and rushed off to put them in water.

He loved flirting with her, and was always determined to give her things and say things to her to make heat rush to her cheeks and her eyes widen with surprise.

However he had taken his promise to never come back very literally. For three weeks now, he had been officially out of her life. Not the slightest hint of any contact from him. And she'd rather set herself on fire than confess so, but she missed it. Missed him. It wasn't even the gifts she missed, she wasn't that superficial. It was just, nice. She used to think that his gifts were an act to buy her affections, but then she realized that he genuinely liked doing things for her. It hit her back in Mystic Falls when he'd helped her with the big Prom dress crisis; she'd caught him watching her for a reaction and how pleased he looked when she smiled. It was nice, knowing there was someone who cared enough that he would take the time to do something that would make her smile, just to make her smile. Knowing there was someone who cared enough.

It was frustrating as hell; she had made him promise to go away and not come back. She got him to make that promise. She'd been going crazy trying to deny how he made her feel. When he had just shown up out of the blue, she hadn't been prepared and had to hold herself back from full out beaming at the sight of him, and instead whooshed away at the sight of his face.

Caroline sighed. She was such an idiot.

She had figured, "What's the worst that can happen?" She could let herself go, just that once she could do something just for her, and admit how she felt, even if it wasn't with words. And it would only be once, right?

Caroline took another swig and grimaced at the strong taste as it burned her throat.

She'd been so wrong. Just one time? By the time they finally came up for air, it had gotten dark and her energy was completed depleted. For a vampire, that's saying something. But she smiled lightly as she recalled how he wasn't exactly in any better shape. He eventually collapsed on top of her, both of them panting despite not needing the oxygen, and her body cradled his as he clung to her and rested his head on her breast. They'd taken a moment to catch their mutual breath before Klaus rolled them, pulling her into his strong arms. And that was the moment that no amount of denial, bourbon or compulsion even could ever wipe from her mind.

She hadn't felt so safe since before she met Damon.

Wrapped in the arms of the Hybrid, the most feared, powerful and dangerous being on the face of the planet, and she felt loved, protected and wholly safe. He would never allow any harm to come to her when she was with him, she knew that much. It had been so long since she had felt that security, in knowing nothing could harm her then, it nearly brought her to tears. Refraining from embarrassing herself and probably freaking the hell out of Klaus, she'd buried her head into his chest, tracing his tattoos with her forefinger as Klaus watched her languidly, gently running his fingers through her hair, occasionally bending his neck to press his lips to her hair or her forehead.

She watched the screen as she continued to drink, not focussing on the characters as she was now wrapped up in the memory of that day. This was why she didn't like to be alone now. She really should have just put on a killer outfit and gone out to one of the many frat parties around campus, pretended to get drunk with everyone else and mindlessly danced the night away.

Instead, here she was, watching TV and drinking alone in her sweatpants and Lady Gaga t-shirt, unable to not think about him and the way his lips had left their burning mark on her skin. Because they really hadn't. Nope, not at all. She was just surprised, is all. When they'd finally parted ways, he'd clutched her to him in one last searing kiss that left her legs buckling and her head swimming before he disappeared. And he hadn't even called her. Sure, so she basically told him she didn't want him in her life. Since when did he listen to her? She scoffed into her Bourbon, stupid Hybrid. Stupid texts that put a smile on her face. Stupid romantic drawings.

Stupid Klaus, "Ugh, This is ridiculous." She should just call the bastard herself and demand to know why he hadn't been plaguing her.

Because that conversation would go down well. "Hi Klaus, you sexy jerk, so I know I told you I had my own plans that didn't involve you, and I wanted you to promise to leave and never come back? Well, then we had hot hybrid-vampire sex for hours and I haven't heard from you since which really pisses me off. What gives?"

She should not even be pissed off. She should be overjoyed that finally he had done as she'd asked and stayed away, and he had kept his distance in every way he could. Her life had been Klaus free for 23 days now, she had actually managed to escape with her life! She should be buzzed out, celebrating and burning his romantic drawings in a gleeful fit of hysteria that he'd finally gotten the message.

That's why she'd shredded the first drawing he'd given her. The bitter ball was the week after their little tryst and she'd only just started to feel the uncomfortable realization that he hadn't been in touch at all since. So she'd taken the drawing with her and shredded it with Elena looking on in bemusement. It had felt like her insides were being shredded right alongside it, and she'd wanted to undo the action as soon as the pieces fell to the waste-basket below.

Caroline sighed as she put the bottle on her bedside table to then lean over the side of her bed, reaching underneath for her memento box.

It was a shoe box which she had decorated cutting out colourful magazine images and glueing them across the box and lid. She kept items that held a special significance to her in this box. Photos, travel tickets, the movie stubs from her and Matt's first official date, the bracelet Tyler gave her for that birthday, her friendship bracelet out of the three that she made for herself, Bonnie and Elena when they were nine. And then there was her new Klaus corner.

Two jewellery boxes; a bracelet, earrings, drawings each with their own message, the card from the flowers he'd sent, a New Orleans brochure, and one shredded and taped back together drawing of Caroline with a horse and the words written as thanks;

Thank you for your honesty – Klaus

Caroline stared at the drawings for about 5 minutes. Her phone lay on the table beside her bottle of Bourbon. She was crazy for even thinking it, but she'd been drinking for hours and even her vampire tolerance had reached it's limit to get her certifiably buzzed, so this seemed like a really good idea. Caroline was never one to wait around for something to come to her; she was a do it yourself type of girl. Insecure, and inappropriate; always saying the wrong thing, but that never held her back.

The blonde held her phone in her hands, turning it over as she thought about what she would say. She couldn't come right out and ask him why he hadn't called her, the answer there was obvious. What she really wanted to know was, did he still want to call her? Was he still interested in speaking to her, in hearing about her hopes and dreams and everything she wanted in life? Last love. He said that he intended to be her last love. Not her next love, not her love now. Her last. As in, should she ever actually die, his would be the last arms to hold her, the last lips she kissed. However long it takes, he said. Was this still true, she desperately wanted to know. Was he still willing to wait for her? Or had he decided that he'd gotten all he wanted from her?

Caroline felt tears begin to well up, and she furiously fought them back down. She didn't even want to ask herself why these questions were plaguing her, why she cared so much whether or not he still cared. She was genuinely afraid of looking carefully at the feelings she had for Klaus. Oh she knew they were there, she just didn't want to to think too hard or put any label on them for fear of allowing them to get stronger. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that if she didn't hold them back, her emotions would consume her.

Swallowing her pride, Caroline typed in her pass code to unlock her phone before bringing up her contacts. She went back through some of the texts he'd sent her, grabbing the bottle and taking a gulp to calm her nerves. Jesus she hadn't even done anything and she was close to a panic attack.

I should just text him. Easier than a phone call, he won't be able to tell that I've been drinking in case I accidentally slur my words, and I think about what to say back to him instead of going silent with panic, or worse, word vomit.

Smiling at this decision she brought up the last message he sent her, and the reply bubble.

What should I say?

-Hi. How are you?

She stared at the screen for moment, took another gulp of her drink and pressed send. There. Done. She threw down her phone and stared at the screen trying to catch up with what she'd missed in the episode. She was not going to stare at her phone until he replied. Everyone knows that's how you make it take longer.

Shaking out her long hair, she tried hard to pay attention to the TV, and not focus on the phone lying innocently at her feet, not buzzing a reply. She looked at her clock. Only after 9pm. Reasonable time. No, watch Gossip Girl, Caroline. Just wait for him to text back, he might be busy or not have his phone on him anyway.

Caroline rolled her eyes at herself and her nerves over sending a silly text message. Sure it was to Klaus, but it's not like it was a novel-length letter declaring her undying love for him. She just said Hi; she's entitled to say Hi to the people in her phone book. It's her phone and she'll text if she wants to!

Slightly more calm, Caroline busied herself with putting away the box and decided to go get some food. It was a good fifteen minute walk if she didn't vamp speed it to the nearest grocery store. She could leave her phone, and would surely have a reply by the time she got back. Pleased with this, she took a look at herself in the mirror; her hair was falling around her shoulders in soft, blonde messy waves and her her clothes looked casual enough for a quick outing. She would do.

Grabbing her keys and her purse, Caroline paused the TV and locked the door as she left. She was a jumble of nerves over something so silly. Klaus would probably be confused as to why she was texting him, and may even bring it up, but he wouldn't be rude. Hopefully his ego would be satisfied that she was the one breaking the silence first enough so that he wouldn't feel the need to tease her over it.

Yeah, right.

The queue was surprisingly longer than Caroline first thought it would be, and she briefly considered just compelling her way to the front before biting her lip with a small smirk. Bad Caroline. She could just imagine him standing behind her, his breath hot on the back of her neck, his stubble grazing her cheek as he leaned in, his voice rolling like velvet as he encourages her to use compulsion; like a Devil on her shoulder.

She'd been pleased with her idea to come for food, even if it was to distract herself. Now she was nervous as hell, but she had nachos, Ben and Jerry's and a large chocolate bar to cool her down. How much did she love her vampirism for allowing her to eat anything and not have to worry about her weight or her skin? Lots!

When she finally got back to her dorm, it had been over half an hour since she had sent the text. She'd been lying if she said she didn't totally leap at the bed where her phone was as soon as she got through the door. Unlocking the screen, she eagerly checked her missed messages.

She had one from Elena;

-Hey sweetie, how's your night going? Feel bad for bailing on you but this B&B Damon brought us to is great. X

Ignoring that, she checked the text she'd sent to him in case her notifications had missed the reply.

Nope.

No reply. Text sent at 09:27pm. It was now 10:06pm.

Okay, so he must be busy. She tried to reason. It's not like I can expect him to just drop whatever' he's doing just to reply to my text.

No matter how much she really wanted him to.

Lying back in her bed, she unpaused the TV and grabbed for the ice-cream in her bag. So he might not have great reception down there. He probably hasn't been able to check his messages. Klaus isn't really the type for checking his phone every five seconds. Nothing to worry over.

So she waited.

And waited.

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.

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.

And fell asleep.

This will be a two-shot, the next part should be up in the next few days. I'm thinking of starting a series of one shots before I start my story since I haven't decided yet which plot idea I want to work on first. Feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks for reading. please review x