Hello everyone! Wow! I was so blown away by the response to the first part of this, thank you guys so much! I'm so excited you guys enjoyed that first part! :)

Please forgive any errors I didn't catch.

"I've rented us a car for the weekend. The driver should be waiting for us up front to take us to check in to our hotel," Klaus was saying as they weaved their way through the busy airport and trying to make their way to baggage claims.

She nodded her head, eager to get to her hotel room where she would be alone and away from the man walking beside her.

It's not that she hadn't enjoyed his company; in fact it was the opposite. She had surprisingly enjoyed his company more than she expected to and that would prove to be highly inconvenient in her vow to never like the pretentious womanizer living across the hall.

"We could go get something to eat at the hotel restaurant after we check in to our rooms," he suggested, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Um…I'm feeling kind of tired," she lied. "I'm thinking I might just order room service and get some rest before heading to the gala."

He nodded his head but she could see the hint of disappointment on his face before he quickly masked it.

"NIK! NIKLAUS!"

Klaus froze immediately and turned his head so quickly she was genuinely surprised he didn't snap his neck or get whiplash in the process as he looked for the source of the obnoxious yelling.

Before she could question what, or who that was, she saw a tall and gorgeous blonde rushing toward them, well specifically him.

Pfft. Of course he would have his legion of women even here.

Whatever. He could do whatever or whomever he wanted, she didn't care. She was only there for her story and that was it.

"Bekah what are you doing here?" he managed to ask, his voice a bit muffled by the blonde in his arms.

Bekah? Why did that name sound familiar?

"Niklaus, I am glad to see you have made it," came another voice and Caroline turned to see an older woman approaching them, accompanied by a tall guy with dark hair and mischievous grin, the clear source of the obnoxious yelling, and she soon recognized them from one of the pictures she had seen online.

This was his family.

Oh God, this was his family!

She was already meeting his freaking family?! How was it possible that they were all better looking in person?

She turned to glare at him (subtly of course), wanting to yell at him for not warning her about meeting his family this soon but judging by his obviously tense posture and the confused and bewildered look in his eyes, he was caught off guard by this as much as she was.

"Mother," he greeted stiffly. "I was not expecting to see you all here."

"Naturally. You didn't even give us your flight information and you hired a car service to come pick you up but you know that in this family we have a way of getting the things we want," Esther replied with a hint of a smile before stepping closer as Rebekah moved out of the way, and cupped his face with both hands. "It's good to see you my son. It's been too long."

To say Caroline felt uncomfortable was an understatement. Never in her life had she felt so out of place.

"Now, why don't you introduce us to your lady friend," his mother continued, stepping back and finally letting her eyes fall on her, and Caroline could feel herself being judged from head to toe, making her question again why she agreed to do this in the first place.

"Yes Nik, introduce us," the one she recognized as Kol Mikaelson said with a sly smirk she found herself eyeing warily.

"Hi, I'm Caroline," she said with a smile that she hoped didn't appear as strained as it felt because she could feel Esther's and Rebekah's gaze boring into her.

"Caroline," Esther repeated. "And how do you know my son?"

She felt Klaus tense even more and heard him release an exasperated sigh.

"Can we at least wait until we leave the airport before starting with the interrogations?" he asked dryly.

"Don't be so dramatic Niklaus, it's just a simple question."

Klaus rolled his eyes before glancing down at Caroline and taking her slightly by surprise when he wrapped an arm around her waist and then looked back at his mother.

"Caroline's with me. We're together. That's what you want to know isn't it?"

He was not surprised to find the amusement in Kol's eyes, the annoyance and clear distrust in Rebekah's, and wariness but obvious curiosity in his mother's and a part of him suddenly felt guilty for deceiving them this way but he quickly brushed it off.

It was a meaningless lie that would only last through the weekend. What would it hurt in the long run?

"Now, we can continue this conversation at a later time. Caroline and I are tired and would like to check into our hotel before we have to head to the gala," he continued in a firm voice that really left no room for argument.

He looked down at her and she gave him a small but appreciative smile that he found himself returning.

"Yes, about your hotel, I've had Kol cancel your reservation," Esther replied simply, ignoring both of their reactions completely. "Don't worry, I've had the guest room drawn up for you, the one with the view you really like-"

"Mother, why would you do this without even thinking of consulting me first?" Klaus asked through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't about to let my son, whom I have not seen in over a year, stay at some hotel when there is room for him and his companion," she said the last word warily, "at our home."

"This wasn't your decision to make," Klaus shot back.

"You're right," Esther replied with a sigh. "Perhaps I should have asked before I proceeded. I think I got carried away with my excitement when I heard that you would finally be paying your family a visit after so long. I was simply hoping to get to spend as much time with you as possible," she continued, turning her attention back to Caroline. "For who knows when he his next visit will be," she finished solemnly. "I apologize my dear, like I said, my excitement got the best of me."

Caroline knew exactly what Esther was up to but still, there was that damn need inside of her to want to make everyone around her happy.

"I understand," she found herself responding, much to Klaus' surprise. "My mom's the same way every time I go visit her," she took a small breath before continuing. "Thank you for opening up your home to us."

"Caroline-"

"My pleasure, dear," Esther happily responded, cutting Klaus off. "Kol, why don't you help your brother get their bags and we'll start heading toward the car?"

While they went ahead, Klaus tugged on her arm and turned her attention back to him.

"Caroline, we really don't have to stay with my family. Don't feel obligated to do this simply for my mother's sake," he quickly assured her. "I can call and get us reservations at another hotel if necessary-"

"No really, it's fine Klaus," she insisted, truthfully trying to reassure herself more than him. "It's just one night, two days, I think I can manage. And this way you get to spend a little more time with your family that's obviously missed you."

He looked at her unconvinced but she moved to follow after the other Mikaelson's before she lost her nerve and decided to opt for the hotel instead.

While Klaus was putting his bag in the back of the car, he noticed Kol hanging around with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Bummer about those hotel reservations isn't it?" Kol said with a mocked sigh, mischievous glint in his eyes. "You guys had such great rooms too. Funny though, you two are dating and it must be pretty serious if you're bringing her home to meet the family, yet you two were staying in separate rooms and when I spoke to Marcel today, he had never even heard of your sweet Caroline."

Son of a bitch knew.

Klaus glared at him, the threatening look in his eyes speaking volumes but Kol appeared unfazed.

"I suppose it's a good thing our dear sister hasn't spoken to him. I do offer my congratulations though brother," Kol continued with a cheeky grin. "She does look like a tasty little thing."

With that, he quickly dodged out of Klaus' way with a laugh and made his way to the car, leaving an irritated Klaus following close behind him.

When they reached the Mikealson manor, Caroline was more than ready to get out of the small space and away from, well, all of them.

Kol had been making lewd jokes almost the entire ride while Esther had been drilling them with questions every chance she got (thank goodness they had gone over their story on the plane)-

"How did you two meet?"

"You're neighbors? How interesting."

"What are you living arrangements now that you're dating?"

-Rebekah had kept eyeing her like she was expecting Caroline to steal the expensive designer purse she was carrying and Klaus, well, he seemed to be making the most out of the awkward situation they were stuck in.

She was sandwiched between him and Rebekah in the backseat and when he threw his arm over the seat she tried not to focus on that. It was a small space and this gave them a little more room. Then she felt his thumb lightly stroking the top of her shoulder and even through her sleeve, she could feel the heat radiating from his touch but still, she went along with it. They were pretending to be a couple after all and they did have an audience.

Then came the brushing of the leg against hers. The first time she wrote it off as being accidental but after the fourth time, she put her hand on his knee and gripped it with just enough force she could tell he had to actively refrain from visibly wincing. She did all of this with her charming Miss Mystic smile that turned into a smirk when she saw the clear annoyance in his eyes.

Yes, Caroline was more than ready to get out of the car and away from them for at least a little while.

Unfortunately for her-

"Take their bags and lead them to their room, the same one Niklaus stays at when he does visit," Esther instructed one of the servants.

Their room? As in singular?

Well fuck.

"Don't worry, I've placed your aunt in the guest room in the opposite hall from yours. I know you two aren't fond of one another, so Finn and Sage will be in the other guest room by yours," Esther said turning back to Klaus. "The food will be ready shortly. I'm presuming you two are hungry?"

Not anymore.

"Is the regret starting to sink in right about now?" Klaus tried to tease as he studied her every move and reaction closely after the servant left them alone in the room they would be sharing. "Not too late to change your mind. I know this wasn't part of our arrangement."

"Right, cause it's not like that wouldn't look bad or anything," she answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes when Klaus simply shrugged.

"Does it really matter what it looks like? It's not like you actually need them to like you, love. After this weekend, chances are you'll never see any of my family again."

He didn't know why, but he found himself frowning slightly as he said it.

"No, but parents like me okay?" she retorted with an incredulous glare as she moved closer to the large four poster bed, mentally trying to figure out if there were enough pillows to create a barrier between them or if she should just take the floor. "And your parents will not be the first to think that I'm not good enough for their son!"

"Well my father won't be a problem seeing as he'll probably pity you for thinking you're with me," he replied sardonically but before she could question it, he quickly continued. "Why does it matter since we're not actually dating?" he asked with an amused undertone.

"Yeah but they don't know that."

He couldn't stop himself from chuckling at her adorable pout, something he'd never thought he'd ever think of a woman.

'Pouting' and 'adorable' were two words he never thought he'd pair together. Hell, 'adorable' was a word he never thought he'd use.

She glared at him and he tried to stop laughing but it was clear he was having more than a little difficulty with that.

"I think you're giving this more importance than it's worth, but I have no doubt you'll be able to win my family over," he told her, voice still laced with amusement. "I have complete and utter faith in the former Miss Mystic Falls. When you do win them over however, will you also promise to aspire, inspire, and perspire-"

"Oh my God! Where did you hear that?" she exclaimed, feeling her face begin to flush and glaring at him when he started laughing.

"Well after you mentioned in your notes more than once that you were crowned Miss Mystic Falls, I got a little curious. Did you know that their website still has all the acceptance speech videos from every former winner?" he asked, grinning at the way her face became more and more flushed. "I really enjoyed hearing your speech love, you were very confident. I'm curious though, did you find a shortage of words ending in –spire?" he teased and laughed while easily dodging one of the throw pillows she threw at him.

"Yeah, it's hilarious," she said sarcastically but he could hear the hint of laughter in her voice and could see it on her face.

"I thought it was rather adorable."

"I'll show you adorable," she retorted, throwing another pillow that did manage to him in the face that time making her laugh triumphantly.

"You brought this on yourself, love," he said while playfully glaring at her.

As he moved towards her, she quickly grabbed another pillow and threw it but he successfully dodged it and when she turned to grab another, she let out a mix between a laugh and a squeal when she suddenly felt his arms around her, pinning her arms in place so she was unable to grab, let alone throw another pillow.

Just then, they were interrupted by a loud knock and the door quickly being swung open to reveal an amused looking Kol. They both quickly broke apart and she could've sworn she heard Klaus release what sounded like a frustrated sigh.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds," he started, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But mother wanted you to know the food will be served soon."

"We'll be down shortly," Klaus responded curtly.

"Alright, just remember mother doesn't like to be kept waiting," Kol replied in a sing song voice.

"We'll be down shortly," Klaus repeated, a clear warning in his tone that made Kol snicker before leaving them again.

"I should probably take the opportunity to apologize in advance for my family," he said turning back to her once he was sure Kol wasn't hanging around eavesdropping. "You might end up hating me more than you already do after spending the weekend with them," he added jokingly but she could hear the underlying seriousness in his voice.

"I've dealt with my fair share of 'boyfriend's crazy families' trust me," she shrugged.

"The same families you won over?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well duh, who can resist my charm and charisma?" she joked with an exaggerated flip of the hair that made him chuckle.

She mentally noted how much she enjoyed the sound of his laugh but quickly shook it off.

"Well, we better head downstairs before they send somebody else to come find us," she said and walked ahead of him but stopped at the door and turned to look at him again. "And for the record, I don't hate you."

She caught a glimpse of his smile before she turned around and proceeded to make her way downstairs and could feel him right behind her.

It wasn't until he reached the bottom of the stairs that Klaus realized he was still smiling.

They walked in to the large dining room to find that mostly everyone had already been seated. After Klaus led her to an empty chair, thankfully next to his, Esther introduced her to the rest of the family she had not before.

"It's nice to see you finally bring a girl home again Klaus," the woman named Sage said to him with a smile but Caroline didn't miss the way he stiffened regardless. "How did you two meet?"

"We're neighbors," Caroline answered with a polite smile.

"Yes but how exactly did this lovely little relationship blossom?" Kol asked with a wicked grin Caroline and Klaus both found themselves wanting to beat off.

Aware that they had a very attentive audience in Esther and Rebekah particularly, they both knew that they had no way of skirting around the question. Thankfully they had covered this. As much as Klaus had teased her for it on the plane, Caroline had seen enough rom-coms with fake dating to know to cover her bases thank you very much.

"Well, since we live right across the hall from each other, we can't help but run into each other a lot," Caroline replied. "So you know, we ran into each other enough times that we finally noticed each other and got to talking and one thing led to another and here we are today."

She finished with a smile, mentally patting herself on the back for that flawless delivery if she did say so herself.

"Actually that's not quite true, love," Klaus said from next to her, making her immediately stiffen though she tried to remain natural.

What the hell was he doing?

"What do you mean?" she asked sweetly, despite the fact that she was glaring at him.

"I noticed you since that first day," he replied simply, smirking at her obvious confusion despite her annoyance. "Since that day I was moving in, I noticed the beautiful blonde living across the hall from me."

"We didn't even see each other the day you moved in," she argued with a slight frown, all but forgetting the others at the table.

"Yes we did," he argued with a that smirk still in place, his eyes filled with mirth. "They were doing some maintenance on the elevators that day and you appeared to be carrying a heavy load and were in a rush to get to your work. I believe you nearly ran into my friend at the bottom of the stairs."

She felt her eyes widen and she could feel herself want to cringe in embarrassment as she recalled that fateful day he was speaking of, remembering the particular moment he was talking about.

She had had the morning from hell and that was definitely not one of her proudest moments. She had been so preoccupied with getting to work to set up for the presentation (that wasn't even hers!) that she hadn't even registered who she had snapped at when she nearly went barreling back on the steps. No, she hadn't snapped at Klaus, it had been at his friend but he had been there and she had glanced at him for all of about 3 seconds and in her rush, she hadn't even registered who she was looking at and had completely forgotten all about it by the end of the hour.

Apparently, he had not.

"How about one of you share with the rest of the class instead of rudely acting like we're not even here?" Kol asked and immediately winced when somebody kicked his shin from underneath the table.

Klaus turned back to him with a smug smirk and simply proceeded to pick up his drink and Caroline quickly did the same.

"It's really none of your business," was all he said.

"Saving the story for the wedding I see?" Kol retorted, getting the exact response he wanted when Caroline nearly spit out her drink and Klaus angrily glared at him and Caroline could've sworn she saw his hand twitch toward the steak knife next to him.

"Kol stop antagonizing our family's guests," Finn chided.

Kol raised his hands innocently but thankfully their aunt moved the conversation away from them and onto something else, something Caroline was very much thankful for.

"Still sure you want to stay here, sweetheart?" Klaus said in a low voice only she would hear. "Still not too late to change your mind."

She tried to fight back a smile and playfully elbowed him before turning her attention back to her food and trying to ignore his gaze she could feel on her.

After finishing that very interesting late lunch where at some point, Esther tried to continue her interrogation of their relationship-

"How long have you been dating?"

"Have you met her family Niklaus?"

"Do you plan on moving in together?"

-and she was sure that one of the Mikaelson's was going to draw blood, Klaus gave her a quick tour of the house and shared a few stories about him and his siblings that made her laugh. One day with him, not even a full day, and already she was starting to see more than the cocky womanizer who tried to get in her pants. Maybe he still was and these stories and the way he attentively listened to her own stories and asked her questions about herself were all pretense, but ironically enough, she felt like this little lie had actually brought them to be more open and honest with each other than they'd ever been.

By the time they ended up back in their room, she was more than ready for a break to try and clear her head. Thankfully, he left her to rest in their room while he went to the family study to take care of some work.

She must've fallen asleep at some point while texting Katherine because next thing she knew, she woke up and initially panicked when she didn't recognize her surroundings only to realize where she was moments later.

She glanced at the time on her phone and knew she needed to start getting ready for the gala. She wondered where Klaus was and if he had walked in at all while she was asleep, the thought making her feel a little embarrassed.

After she laid out her dress on the bed, she headed into the luxurious bathroom that was attached to their room to take a quick shower where she took a little longer than usual just because she really enjoyed the feel of the hot water against her skin. By the time she finally got out, she knew she was now a little more pressed for time.

After throwing on her tank top and tiny shorts she used for lounging around (she expected to be alone in her hotel room thank you very much), she quickly opened the door only to freeze when she saw Klaus standing across from her wearing only a pair of jeans and going through his own bag.

She had seen him shirtless a countless number of times since he moved in, but this time it was obvious he had just stepped out of the shower too. She took in his wet curls and some of the water droplets still running down his chest that may or may not have made her picture some not so innocent things involving her tongue and that toned chest of his.

Thankfully, some rational part of her brain made her snap out of it and she looked up at him only to see him raking her in as well and she could feel herself begin to blush under his heated gaze.

"I didn't hear you come in," she said, trying to break the sudden tension and also to distract herself from his still very naked chest.

"Sorry sweetheart, I only came in to grab my stuff before getting ready in Kol's room," he apologized. "I uh, I brought you some food, thought you'd might want to eat something before heading to the gala."

She thanked him with a sheepish smile, moving across the room to where her own bag was and trying not to keep stealing glances at him all the while he was struggling to do the same. To say they were both failing miserably was an understatement though.

How in the hell were they going to share a bed tonight too?

"Did you eat anything?" she asked, noticing the tray of food sitting on the nightstand and once again trying to break that thick tension in the room.

Why can't he just put a shirt on?

"I may have stolen a strawberry or two from you," he responded with a smirk, turning to face her.

"You can have some more," she laughed, looking down at the tray to avoid the temptation of checking him out again.

He felt his smirk grow when he noticed her pointedly avoiding looking at him.

Well this would not do.

He had noticed her checking him out when she walked out of the bathroom and a few times since. Just like he noticed her do it almost every morning after she came back from her morning jog. She may not like him but he knew she was attracted to him no matter how much she tried to deny it.

Struck with a sudden idea, he walked over by her and picked up one of the strawberries and he may or may not have purposefully brushed his hand against hers in the process.

"You really should try these, love," he said right before biting down on the juicy piece of fruit, smirking to himself when he noticed the way Caroline's focus was on his lips and the way her eyes darkened some when he slowly wiped some of the juice from the corner of his lips with his thumb before bringing it to his mouth. "Delicious."

When she didn't immediately reply, he smirked, very much pleased with himself.

"I really should finish getting ready though. I'll be in Kol's room if you need me," he added, grinning when she finally met his gaze. "Enjoy, sweetheart."

When she finally heard the door shut behind him after he walked out of the room with his suit and shoes in hand, she let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding.

What the hell just happened?

A little over an hour later, Caroline did one last check in front of the mirror making sure nothing was out of place or needing to be reapplied.

She was nervous. Not only was she attending an event and trying to get a story for a paper that wasn't invited, she was also attending said event with Klaus while pretending to be his girlfriend.

She thought back on the smug bastard's little stunt earlier sure that he knew exactly what he was doing but she was determined to get the last laugh on that one.

With one final fix to the skirt of her dress, she walked out of the room to go find Klaus downstairs where he told her he would be waiting.

As she started making her way down the stairs in her six-inch heels, she could hear voices coming from downstairs, and she saw Klaus standing by the entryway checking something on his phone.

Since he was distracted, she took the opportunity to admire how undeniably handsome he looked tonight and she had no doubt he knew it too.

Almost as if he could sense her thinking about him, he looked up right then and his gaze immediately fell on her. She had honestly expected a variety of reactions from him but what she had definitely not anticipated was that lust and awestruck look. It was the same way she remembered grandfather looking at her grandmother once upon a time. It was all enough to make her suck in a breath and furiously fight back the blush she could already feel settling on her face and she had to look away.

"You look lovely my dear," she heard Esther say just as she reached the foot of the stairs."No doubt my son thinks so too," she added with a pointed look in Klaus' direction.

Caroline gave her an embarrassed smile and quickly glanced over at Klaus again and saw Kol was now standing with him before turning back to Esther who was speaking to her again.

Klaus had not been able to take his eyes off of Caroline since the moment he spotted her coming down the steps and not for the first time did he wish she really was his.

He was so focused on her, he didn't even notice the presence that joined him just then and it wasn't until he heard his brother's obnoxious snickers that he finally turned away from the stunning blonde.

"Oh, you've got it bad," Kol laughed.

Klaus glared at him and scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

Kol openly laughed, much to Klaus' increasing annoyance.

"Don't be so obvious," Kol shot back, clearly amused by it all.

Klaus walked away from him and headed toward the blonde beauty who happened to look up at him just then and he was pleased to see the flustered look she got as she nervously tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

What pleased him even more however, was the small and almost shy smile she gave him but it was that look in her eyes that made his entire face light up.

For the first time since they met it wasn't filled with annoyance, wariness or even the lust that he had caught on occasion. There was a hint of warmth in them, a hint of warmth directed at him.

"Hey," she greeted with that small smile when he finally reached her, neither one missing the way Esther conveniently excused herself.

"Good evening," he replied with a hint of a smirk. "You look stunning."

She could herself begin to blush again and she internally cursed herself because hello! It's not like she had never had a guy compliment her before so what the hell was wrong with her right now?

Maybe she needed to go see a doctor or she might need to by the end of this weekend if she kept blushing so much.

"Thanks," she tried to reply nonchalantly. "You look good too but you probably already knew that didn't you?"

He chuckled and looked away almost if he were a little embarrassed but before she could comment on it, Esther announced the cars were all up front and it was time to head out.

Klaus felt himself stiffen at the thought that he'd be seeing his father again shortly, luckily having been spared up until now since Mikael had been gone all day and would be meeting them there. He knew whatever encounter they were about to have would not be pleasant and on top of that, he would be face to face with his brother Elijah and his wife again.

"Klaus?"

He turned his attention back to Caroline who was appraising him curiously.

"Ready, love?" he asked, extending his arm out to her.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment longer before accepting his arm and he felt his dark mood lift considerably just with the simple gesture.

As the two walked down the front steps arm in arm to their waiting car, he couldn't help but picture this same scenario happening back home, with no prying eyes around them, under no pretenses and it surprised him how for a brief moment, he craved for it to be real before he shook it off, telling himself he was being ridiculous.

He caught sight of Kol waiting to get into one of the cars after their sister, watching them with a smug smirk and he could practically hear Kol's thoughts.

Oh, you've got it so bad.

He wouldn't admit, not even to himself, that there was a tiny part of him that couldn't help but wonder if maybe for once, the idiot was right.

So it's been brought to my attention that nobody actually reads these things but I'll thank you guys for reading anyway! :)