A/N: First things first, that episode, seriously, I was literally crying with happiness whilst dancing the happiest of happy dances especially when Klaus said "I wouldn't have let him" Swoon x1000! I can't wait until the next episode!

Secondly, thanks to all of you who have followed, favorited and reviewed this fic, it means so much that you took time out on a new writer like myself. Now everyone look in the mirror and tell that person staring back at you "You're amazing!"

And here's chapter two:

He couldn't get out of her apartment fast enough, after a mumbled introduction, he excused himself but not without taking one last glance at her. It was like he never truly woke up from his dream. How was it possible that she was here now, in his building, down the hall? It was like he wished her here and she appeared.

The problem was that he never thought of her as aging, or as a real person. She was like a fictional character that he had developed as a crutch to help him deal with the loss of Hendrik and the hefty task of moving on with his life when such a big part of it was missing. He took the picture of Caroline off of the fridge and tried to spot the changes to the woman he had just met. In many ways she looked the same, more mature, more experienced but the happiness and light that reflected off her was still there.

At the moment he saw no real difference between the picture he had idolized and the beauty down the hall but what if it changed the more he got to know her and he could no longer look upon the picture for support? No, he had to stay away from her. No matter how much she mesmerized him and even though he felt like a moth drawn to the light, he decided that his acquaintance with Caroline would not go further than a nod of greeting when they saw each other in the hallway.

Caroline hung up the last of the artwork that she owned; it was a dark piece that her father had bought her when she graduated from high school to decorate her college dorm room. It was by an unknown artist and heavily contrasted with the bright colors that populated her apartment but Caroline loved it – not only because it was gift from her father but also through all the pain that the painting insinuated there was a sense of hope like the painter believed that he or she would one day make it through the hardships and Caroline felt inspired by this.

For the first time, her life seemed to be going good. After years of worthless boyfriends who dated her as a back up plan or who cheated on her, she had found someone who truly loved her and now she was going to marry her college boyfriend, Tyler. She had moved into her own apartment and she had just been promoted from an intern to an Editorial Assistant at the magazine publishing company that she worked at. No, things were going great. For once in her life she was truly happy.

Her thoughts wandered to her neighbor. Tyler had said his name was Klaus; it wasn't a name she would easily forget. His good looks were the first thing she noticed about him, like any warm-blooded female she could not help but admire his hotness. But it was the way he looked at her that caught her off-guard, like she was a ghost. After the initials introductions he looked as if he couldn't get out of her apartment fast enough, as if he was scared of her. This was something she wasn't used to; everyone liked her because she had a way of making others feel comfortable and welcome, remnants from her perky high school cheerleader days. Perhaps she had just made a bad first impression on Klaus, maybe Tyler had said something to scare him off, he always gets jealous so quickly. Caroline knew she had to make this right if she didn't want awkward greetings in the hallways for the next couple of months and it helps to have the closest person to her on her side if there is ever an emergency.

Caroline picked up the box of cookies that her father and Stephen had bought her as a housewarming gift, left her apartment, walked up to number 107 and knocked gently. She heard shuffling on the other side and within seconds Klaus appeared opposite her, he looked surprised and a little terrified. Not wanting to be discouraged she gave him a bright smile and said, "Hey, so you ran out so quickly earlier, we didn't even get a chance to get to know each properly, seeing that we are going to be neighbors. So I brought over some delicious cookies and I thought we could chat?" She looked up at him hopefully.

He looked like he was struggling with an internal battle but he grudgingly said 'Yes sure' and ushered into his apartment. After closing the door he hurried past her to do something in the kitchen. She guessed it was probably to clean something up quickly so she took her own time walking through the living room, observing how plain and simple his apartment was, it had lots of browns and mahogany. Essentially it was just like any man's bachelor pad except for the beautiful artwork that adorned the walls. Caroline walked up to take a closer look at one of the landscapes when Klaus cleared his throat from the doorway. "Um…Caroline," his English accent seemed to make her name sound so delightful, "You can come in here." He beckoned to the kitchen.

"So do you live here alone?" Caroline asked while seating herself at a bar stool at the kitchen counter, "No wife, girlfriend or three illegitimate but charming children?"

He chuckled, "No, it's just me, I'm kind of the loner type."

"Really? I would have thought with your looks and the British accent some forward American girl would have snatched you up ages ago."

He smiled to himself. "I don't really have the time for a relationship at the moment and I'm kind of married to my job. Plus I'm only 25 now, I still have plenty of time!"

"You better get moving on, you're not getting any younger. So what do you do in this splendid time-consuming marriage that you're in?"

"I'm an architect, I have an unnatural passion for the contours of buildings."

"Interesting passion to have, but it explains your good taste in artwork. I'm an Editorial Assistant I'm saving the world one wrong shade of lipstick at a time. I actually just got promoted. What are you doing tonight?"

"Probably going to catch up on work, that I should be doing now"

"Awh I can't be such a bad distraction. I believe it is healthy to balance work with fun. Your marriage is becoming too one-sided. You should come out with my friends and I tonight, we're going to that new club, Paramour to celebrate my new job and finally getting my own place."

"Uh I don't think so, I'm not really one for group activities especially when I don't know anyone."

"You'll know me, you'll be a guest of the celebrant. Plus you know Tyler too and I pretty much think you're his hero after you saved him about seven trips of carrying my cargo."

"I'll think about it," he said grudgingly.

She knew he was about to give in and she smiled to herself.

"So how long have you and Tyler been together?" he asked interrupting her private victory party in her head.

"For about four years, we started dating in college. We were very casual in the beginning but after his dad passed away something changed between us. He proposed at our college graduation," she said with a smile.

"So when's the big day?" he asked.

"Not for a couple years. Tyler still has to finish law school but he wants to go into Congress like his dad so he thinks having a fiancé instead of just a girlfriend makes it sound like he's serious about his future or something. But he said he always wanted to marry me," she said proudly.

Klaus looked at her skeptically and she nervously took a sip of the juice he had given her earlier, not wanting him to voice the doubts she already felt.

"So Klaus is an interesting name, do have some German ancestry as well as British?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"It's actually short for Niklaus, a character in one of my mother's favorite books or something, I don't think they gave it a lot of thought, I have, I mean had, five siblings," he cast his eyes downwards and she sensed it was a sensitive subject.

"So can I call you Nik?" she asked brightly.

He chuckled. "I suppose so Caroline."

"So are we friends now that I gave you a cool nickname?"

"You never really gave me that nickname, many have come to the conclusion that Nik is another form of Niklaus…"

"Well you ate up almost all my cookies so I think that is code for 'I really really want to be your friend Caroline!'" she said in a mock British accent.

Klaus just laughed and shook his head.

She was like a drug. As much he wanted to stay away from her, he couldn't. That was why after years of living a closed-off life he was getting ready to go to a club of all places. He thought of Kol, he would have relished in this moment. Always eager for a party, he had been trying to get Klaus to join him on his expeditions to pick up women for years, for Klaus to be his 'wingman' but Klaus had no interest in trawling bars and clubs filled with pretentious people…until now.

He wanted to turn her away when she came to his door earlier but when she smiled at him it was like all his resistance melted away. He couldn't use the excuse that time with her would spoil the image he created in his head because after their earlier encounter he knew that the two Caroline's were different people but he also knew that he preferred the Caroline he had met today. She had shown interest him, she had made him comfortable and she had made him laugh, something he felt like he hadn't done in a long time. He couldn't understand his attraction to her. Yes she was beautiful but he had encountered many beautiful women and he was not stupid enough to like a woman who was engaged, especially a woman he has known for less than a day. He figured it must be because of his five-year obsession with her image and letter; he had a perverse need to know more.

After he was dressed he walked into his kitchen and pulled out the picture and letter that he had stuffed in one of his draws urgently when Caroline had appeared at his door. He took the picture and letter, the items he had treasured so much and put it away amongst his clothes in his chest of draws in his bedroom. He will no longer let his feelings be led by a five-year-old image that he had randomly stumbled upon. Tonight he will be going out with a new friend, no unnecessary emotions attached, he will simply have fun and not entertain anymore fond thoughts of Caroline.

Determined with his new found revelation, Klaus made his way to his door when he heard a knock. But what was waiting for him on the other side disputed everything he just decided on. Caroline was wearing a short tight strapless red dress, which hugged all of her curves perfectly. Her black stiletto heels elongated her legs and her perfect smile seemed to cement the fact that the reason the blonde had taken residence in his mind had nothing to do with the picture and everything to do with the fact that he desired her.

He looked good. She couldn't deny it. He was wearing a white shirt, black jeans and a black leather jacket and she could see about three necklaces peeking out of the collar of his shirt. He seemed to ooze sexiness in a way that most of the wannabe-womanizers that she was constantly surrounded by in bars and clubs could wish for. The way she was looking at him made her feel like she was doing something wrong, but looking was free and she would be blind not to admire the fine specimen of man standing in front of her even though he heart completely belonged to Tyler.

"Hey Nik," she smiled at him, "I thought I'd meet you right at your door so that you don't flake on me. Tyler is still busy studying on campus, he said he'll join us at the club later."

Tyler had been studying late a lot over the past couple of weeks. Caroline knew he was serious about his future, and doing well in law school had become his first priority but she couldn't help but feel cast aside when his visits and phone calls became less frequent. Even when he was with her he seemed distracted and disinterested as if there was somewhere else he would rather be. Caroline was used to playing a supporting role though. She was always second choice with her high school boyfriends, her mother often put her job before her daughter, her father moved across the country to live with his life partner, and so Tyler putting his studies first was not a new experience for Caroline but yet it still saddened her.

"Evening love, you look ravishing," he said while she blushed profusely, "Shall we be on our way?"

She nodded while Nik locked up his apartment. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the elevator. His touch seemed to burn her whilst she found herself feeling increasingly hot. But no matter what party her hormones were having inside of her, she knew that she was in control of the situation and she would not let her mind wander into Nik-related territory, especially if said territory is only meant to house thoughts of Tyler.

A/N: Tsk tsk Caroline, don't' tempt fate by assuming you have control over the situation. Please review to make this author a very happy girl, even though she doesn't have her own personal Klaus. The next chapter will depict the party, some Tyler jealousy like he is prone to, the introduction of some of our other favorite TVD characters and more.

Caroline's comment about Klaus perhaps living with "three illegitimate but charming children" was taken from Love Actually I have just been feeling very festive which explains my tumblr handle: klaussxmaspresent, follow me there for updates on the story. Also join the-klaroline-campaign on Tumblr and Twitter to become involved with fun ways to make our ship happen.

P.S. Check out the beautiful cover for this story made by Lauren from shipper-graphics. She is too awesome for words.

P.S.S I'm also in the market of looking for a Beta, I'm getting frustrated at my stupid mistakes, if you are keen PM me.