Caroline awoke around sunset feeling no where near well rested. Exhausted was more like it. She had almost forgotten how horrible it felt to cry heself to sleep. Her heart had completely broken when her Dad had died yet this felt different. Her Dad had loved her but didn't want to be a vampire. Gradually, she had come to accept that. Tyler, on the other hand, had simply chosen Hayley over her.

Stupid wolf bitch

Caroline's anger had abated only slightly after snapping Tyler's neck. Except it wasn't enough. She almost wished that their roles were reversed: Hayley a vampire and she a werewolf. That way, she could bite Hayley's skanky neck, watch her slowly die only after hallucinating and suffering a vast amount of pain. Caroline smirked, imagining Tyler and Hayley asking Klaus for his blood.

Klaus. Her thoughts kept returning to him. If Tyler hadn't done what he did, how long would they have actually have stayed together? Before something came between them...

Like your feelings for Klaus...

Feeling frustrated and confused, Caroline threw off the covers and headed to the shower. The hot water felt incredibly soothing; she almost wished she could stay in there all day. The prospect of the real world seemed both daunting and horribly unappealing. Her friends probably hadn't even heard Tyler was back and now she had to explain why he was gone again. They hadn't even lasted twenty four hours.

Not entirely your fault. He was cheating on you. He probably wouldn't have told you if you hadn't found out.

Realizing this, she lashed out with her fist, smashing a plate sized hole in the porcelain. She watched, detachedly, as her skin first bled, then healed. Watching the blood swirl past her feet and down the drain, she wished that the porcelain was capable of repairing itself just as her hand had. This was her second violent outburst in less thn twelve hours. Caroline frowned; usually she exercised more control. What would happen when she came face to face with Hayley? Pondering this, she began to get dressed before looking up the number for some one to fix the shower wall.

It all seemed too much. Normally she wasn't a quitter. Caroline Forbes saw things through. She wouldn't be quitting per se; she just needed a break. Perhaps she could travel? Take the year off before college? The more she considered it, the more appealing it seemed. Her decision was made for her when she saw all the missed calls and texts on her phone. The most recent was a text fromTyler. Opening it, she read that he was sorry he had hurt her but he couldn't help the way he felt. He apologized once more before he explained he was done running and that he saw no sense in leaving again when he had a house and a life here already.

Translation: that's whats happening and either you need to deal or leave town yourself.

"That insensitive little fucker!".

Caroline took several deep breaths, attempting to calm herself before she destroyed more furniture. However, Tyler's total disregard for her wishes only made the decision to leave easier.

Caroline had heard through the grapevine that Stefan had been left heartbroken too. Perhaps the two of them could travel together. Stefan was her best friend. She enjoyed his company. Besides, he wouldn't be nagging her to cheer up and move on. He would let her sort through it herself; wait for her to bring it up. If anyone knew about introspective brooding, it was Stefan. She scrolled through her phone, pausing when she reached his number, her hand hesitating over the call button. In the end, she closed out of her contacts. She needed to do this alone.

Caroline vamped around her room, packing a reasonably small suitcase, ratonalizing that she'd simply buy more clothes later. Pulling out her phone charger, she spotted the sketch Klaus had done for her the night of the Mikaelson ball. Without giving it a second thought, she carfully packed it. Giving her bedroom a quick once over, she headed into the kitchen to scribble a short note to her mother. With the threat of Silas now gone, she didn't feel so guilty about leaving her mother home alone.

Caroline couldn't decide wher to start as she hopped into her car. She could go anywhere. At the more moment, she felt more inclined to drive than to fly. Switching off her GPS, she decided that she would simply drive until she found somewhere that appeared intriguing. She blew a kiss to the "You are now leaving Mystic Falls" sign on her way out, for once not having every detail planned out.

Three weeks pass. Four. News filter in. The pain of hearing about Tyler and Hayley has faded but still she doesn't return. She just continues to drive. She talks briefly with Bonnie and Elena; they act supportive but continue to pry into when she was planning on returning. How many times did she have to tell them that she just needs some time? Why couldn't they respect that? Her mother did. KInd of. She does drop numerous hints about being lonely. The only one she doesn't hear from is Stefan; this worries her slightly. She assumed he was in a bad place like she was and was ignoring his phone (just as she had in the beginning).

Nothing from Klaus. He'd said his peice. He'd leave her be until she was ready. She thinks about his life in New Orleans. What if he'd met someone else? This thought crosses her mind constantly and each time it hurts just as much. It was hard to deny her feelings for him especially now that her and Tyler were through. It wasn't just a physical attraction; he seemed to get her in a way that neither Tyler nor Matt had.

Like she had many times in the past month, Caroline pushed away all her Klaus related thoughts. She wasn't denying them; she just didn't particularly wish to dwell on them right now. Or yesterday or the countless other times his handsome face had popped into her head over the past month. Past several months even...

Caroline slowed down as she approached a sleepy town that looked promising. Her whole "See the world" plan had been downscaled to "find small towns with trusting occupants on which to feed". She hadn't completely fogone her bunny diet: she'd recently discovered that she possesses enough self control for a quick feed-heal-compell. Sleepy towns such as these were perfect for just that. They tended to be filled with kind men who insisted on walking unaccompanied women back to their hotel for their own safety. Sure, she felt a little guilty. Not guilty enough to stop though. She justified that it wasn't so bad; only taking enough to sustain herself. Usually that meant feeding from one person a week and sticking to blood bags for the remainder.

It was during one of these ritual feedings that Caroline began wondering which town she'd head to next, when it hit , she quickly healed and compelled the man she had been feeding from. The man left almost cheerily as Caroline came to grips with her epiphiny; she wasn't travelling aimlessly to escape from Tyler and the rest of her friends. She was gradually, subconsciously making her way New Orleans. To Klaus.

Carloline realized that now she knew exactly where she was going, it was pointless to make any more stops. She walked back to her hotel , excited yet anxious. Walking at a human pace felt excruciatingly slow but there were too many locals lingering in the street to risk using her vampire speed. However, once she was safely in her hotel room, she vamped around the room quickly collecting her possessions. In next to no time at all, she was behind the wheel of her car, bags thrown carelessly in the back seat.

Suddenly Caroline didn't feel so confident. What if she showed up and Klaus rejected her? What if when he said "However long it takes" he had meant: "I assume you'll take your time so I'll preoccupy myself in the meantime?". She felt both physically ill and insanely jealous of the thought of him with another. Hee hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Klaus was hers.

Although she had thought that in a moment of jealously and insecurity; she knew in her bones that it was true. Truthfully, she always felt that way towards him even before his beautiful speech to her at graduation. Not to the same extent but still. She pulled out her phone replaying his voicemail for the hundredth time.

"All I can think about is sharing it with you. Perhaps someday you'll let me".

Someday had finally arrived.

Caroline programmed the GPS, knowing she wasn't far away, before pulling onto the road towards New Orleans. Towards the man she loved.