They were interrupted by the loud altercation on the dance floor. Even at their distance, the gasps travelled far and wide at the sudden burst of volume. They turned to see Davina storming onto the small platform area, determination in her eyes as she made her way straight to Bonnie. Bonnie had been slow dancing with Jeremy when she was pulled back by the shoulder to face the red-faced girl.

Klaus and Caroline stood from their seated position immediately as they witnessed the slap to Bonnie's face. An embarrassed Kol was already behind the girl, holding her back from doing any more damage. Still, the pair rushed down to the area to be at the forefront of the commotion.

"What is wrong with you?!" Bonnie was quick to speak. Jeremy stood by her side cautiously.

"With me? I don't know. Finding out that you've been sleeping with my boyfriend really doesn't have me in a good mood, Bonnie," Davina spat as if acid was releasing from her mouth.

In that moment, a pin drop from far away could have been heard in the silence that surrounded them. Everyone, including Caroline and Klaus, were too shocked to even formulate some sort of reaction.

Kol kept a hold on Davina's arm but she shook herself away from his grip, glaring at him profusely.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, stomping off to the main building and leaving everyone to sit in the wreckage of her words.

Bonnie stared with a petrified expression, her body frozen in a tense position.

"Bon?"

The dark-haired girl slowly turned to view a very confused and shocked Jeremy, whose gaze was clinging onto the hope of a misunderstanding. She swallowed nervously, pleading with him through her facial expressions.

Quickly, devastation unravelled on the poor man's face before transitioning into anger as he looked upon Kol.

He stormed his way to him, shouting, "You've been sleeping with my fiancée?!"

"Jeremy, mate—" Kol stumbled back, palms up in defence.

"Don't 'mate' me!"

Klaus made sure to step in, pressing a hand to Jeremy's chest in hopes of quelling the boy's rage and intent to do harm. He was sure that his actions may have been only a temporary solution in that the anger would only continue to build. Still, his brother needed someone to step up for him.

"You are all making a scene," Klaus spoke with a firm voice, like a parent to a child, and looked around at the group. Caroline watched him with wide eyes and he looked at her for a moment with reassurance. Out of all the things that could turn an event ugly, the revelation of an affair was by far the worst on the list.

Jeremy glanced at Klaus' chest. They could all see his deep thought over what action he wished to take next. It was clear what he wanted to do, but thankfully, Jeremy left it at a death stare for the youngest Mikaelson and took Bonnie's hand as he walked away from the dance floor.

"Come on."

They witnessed Bonnie look back at Kol, her eyes filled with tears.

"Rebekah, take Kol home…now," Klaus ordered, his stare now piercing Kol as he faced him.

Rebekah stepped in with a nod and Matt readied his keys from his pocket with a fair amount of fumbling. The female Mikaelson took her brother by the wrist and forced him in the direction of Matt's car. They, too, were then gone from the now badly affected event.

In the midst of the drama, the band had stopped its music and those who still lingered at the event had their eyes on the commotion. Caroline realised this and anxiously paced towards to band, encouraging them to start up their music once more.

"Guys," she pleaded with the band and they abruptly began playing a mid-tempo song in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Caroline breathed out in a panic, her hand pressed to her stomach. The perfect event was now tainted by the recent revelation and people awkwardly stood about, unable to comprehend the situation. Gradually, chattering occurred amongst those left and they soon removed themselves from the dance floor. It was as if there was a mutual understanding that it was time to go. She could not blame them, although she blamed Davina heavily for choosing the event to air her dirty laundry.

"Caroline," the young April rushed to her side, "People are looking like they're going to leave."

"Yeah…" Caroline muttered, staring into the distance, "Let them leave if they want, it's late enough as is."

She attempted to reassure herself that it was eight o'clock at night and the event had been running for a number of hours. Surely, it would have been a sufficient amount of time to leave a good memory in people's minds, despite what had transpired. Caroline watched as the attendees awkwardly attempted to avoid the dance floor.

"Hey, Care, we'll help liven the party," Katherine spoke up, moving to pat the girl on the shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll be inside for a moment, if that's alright," Caroline pressed her lips together firmly. They all nodded in response to which Caroline immediately headed indoors.

Not long after she entered, tending to decoration removal of the inside, Elena appeared with a sigh.

"It's been such a perfect evening," the brunette began, helping her friend remove the tightly knotted ribbons from the bannister.

"No one was really around, and anyone who was, was completely wasted," Elena continued, comforting Caroline.

Caroline looked up with a small smile, fingers lingering on a ribbon that Elena also held, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Her smile grew a little larger at the reassuring tone.

"You know, it's a shame Cami wasn't here. I couldn't work my magic with her and Klaus tonight," Elena turned the conversation around, smiling playfully.

Caroline's facial expression dropped. After everything, Elena was still thinking about turning the cogs within their friendship circle.

The blonde moved away from the bannister, her fingers slipping from the ribbon, and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, real shame."

Elena then frowned slightly. She had finished untying the ribbon and clung to it as she followed the girl away from the stairs.

"I'm so shocked about…it all," Elena continued to speak, now, with a saddened tone, "I thought Davina and Kol were perfect for each other…and Bonnie and Jeremy… I can't believe the couples I put together are falling apart."

Again, it was all about her and her matchmaking. Caroline had listened to her speak about the most trivial and senseless stuff regarding their friends and who they were dating for years. There was not a single feeling of care within Caroline. Even in the tragedy of it all, Elena focused on herself and how she was so sad that her magic love fairy nonsense did not pan out.

She let a scoff slip and she replied with a smirk, "Well, you can't always be right, Elena, just like with me and Tyler. You're being mopey over something so stupid. This is what you get when you waste your life focusing on people's love lives."

As she trailed on, she sauntered across the room, her voice dripping with a bitter tone.

There was a pause, but Elena soon replied harshly, "Cut it out."

The blonde immediately turned her focus to the girl. This was a new feeling within her speech that Caroline had not received before.

"You are being so…self-righteous!"

Caroline blinked out of confusion, unable to reply as Elena ranted on.

"You know, I see you judging me! Ever since I dropped out of school, you have judged everything I've done!"

Elena stomped up to meet Caroline physically, standing only a meter away, "I like to pair people up. So, what? You're just bitter."

The blonde laughed and rolled her eyes, "Bitter?"

"Yeah! You're bitter because there's no one left for you and the only chance you had walked out!"

Caroline stood there, mouth agape, but quickly her face twisted in anger, "What the hell, Elena?!"

She stepped back from her friend, widening their distance.

"You even judge me for deciding not to have children!"

"Well, yeah because it's not your decision! It's his!" Caroline rebutted.

It was Elena's turn to scoff, which she did in the most dramatic way she could.

"You act so holier than thou, Care," she started, her voice cutting deep as she pointed a finger at Caroline, "But you're not better than me just because you got a degree and are 'elevated' above us 'town-folk'. No wonder Tyler left you."

The blonde stared, at a complete loss for words. Her brain attempted to decipher the tirade of words hauled her against her by someone who she had thought was her best friend. In the time since Tyler had broken up with her, or even prior to that, not once had she voiced such displeasure over Caroline's actions and opinions.

"I'm leaving," Elena finished their dramatic scene, throwing the ribbon in her hand to the floor, and exited through the back to find Damon.

Caroline looked down at the ribbon and scowled.

"Caroline…?"

She was interrupted by Klaus' appearance behind her.

"I…" she breathed out, refusing to face him.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the lights on the fountain have stopped working and…from what I've witnessed, I'm guessing Elena is intending to leave."

She slowly turned, looking at him with hurt in her eyes.

"Hey," he quickly said, his hands grasping at the sides of her arms.

"I need to go get my bag from upstairs," she blinked aggressively to fight away tears and pulled back from him, making a swift move to the stairs.

Before she had even made it to the top of the winding stairs, Klaus was behind her. Concern was written over his face as he followed her to a corner study. He had not seen such a damaged expression from the usually strong and confident blonde.

Caroline groaned as she searched for the room's key, finally huffing as she found it hidden in one of the plants on a mahogany side table. She wiggled it in the lock forcefully, nearly falling into the room as the door opened unexpectedly. Klaus reflexively held an arm out but sighed out of relief as she regained her composure.

"Caroline," he said softly, entering the room behind her, and shut the door.

"Mm?" she hummed in response, rummaging through the bag she left on the study room's desk. Being the only one with access, she had taken it upon herself to use it as her private coat room and panic room if the event became too much. At this point, it was safe to say there had been panic. Fortunately, Caroline had become less panicked, but unfortunately, this panic was replaced with what she could only call rage.

Klaus watched her pull out her phone and dismay at what he presumed to be a lack of messages.

Caroline unlocked her phone and made a quick text to April. She could not handle the clean-up of the event on top of her frantic emotions.

"I—" she started, but immediately stopped before slamming her phone on the desk surface, "I can't believe her."

"No?" he replied in an effort to spark conversation.

"Apparently, I'm self-righteous!" she threw her arms in the air, "That…bitch!"

Klaus' eyes widened at her language and he stepped forward in a gesture of reassurance.

"Surely, it was just a heat of the moment thought."

Caroline shook her head instantly, "Nope. Obviously, it's been brewing in her mind for like, forever, along with the plans to pair people up like little dolls and follow Damon around like a little puppy!"

"Well, perhaps…"

"Perhaps?"

She challenged him with her piercing eye contact to speak further, feeling the distance close between them.

"Caroline," he once again had his strong hands placed on her arms. The warmth flowed onto her skin and she felt a slight sense of calm.

Caroline and Klaus shared a long gaze as they both searched each other for something. What that was something was, she could not tell. Neither could he.

"Do you agree with her?" she asked suddenly.

Klaus held his thought for a long moment but soon answered, "I do not believe I have the knowledge required of your relationship with her to make that decision."

Caroline looked down, nodding slowly.

"Hey, look," he tilted his head slightly to encourage her eye contact, "Whether she is right or wrong, who cares?"

I care… she thought to herself, looking at him silently. She cared. She did care. It seemed like there was nothing that could deter her from caring about what Elena thought.

The whole altercation was racing in her mind a million times over like a rogue DVD player stuck on a loop. Every single thing Elena had said was piercing into Caroline's mind: being called self-righteous; being called holier than thou; being called bitter, and then she mentioned Tyler. Caroline clenched her jaw at that thought. The girl had made sure to stick the knife where it would hurt most of all and twist it until no more could be bared.

Caroline looked at Klaus in the eyes and then looked away, contemplating. She was also a pawn in Elena's game and by being left by Tyler she had obviously put a spanner in the works. There was no way she would let herself be a pawn. Not anymore.

Purposefully, she looked Klaus in the eyes once again and slipped from his grasp, key in hand as she walked to the door.

"Klaus," she said, her emotions weighing heavily on her words.

He raised an eyebrow, taking a number of steps behind her. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he heard her lock the door and test it with a gentle wiggle of the handle.

"Caroline?"

Caroline turned around, leaving the key in the lock, and reached to unzip her dress as she moved forward. Surprisingly, it was effortless and had not been met with any hitches of the fabric snagging. She thanked whatever there was to thank for letting no awkwardness occur.

"I've stopped caring now," she stated tenderly, her gaze becoming sultry as she let the dress fall to reveal her scantily clad body.

Klaus swallowed, scanning the curves of her familiar frame. He allowed her to take his hand along her upper thigh and graze it over her red lingerie. Her panties were a simple lace, something she had not thought through completely. In all honesty, she had picked the nearest set of clean lingerie and called it a day.

"Are you sure?" he muttered while her own fingers trailed up his jacket teasingly.

"I've never been more sure," she replied and removed his jacket forcefully, allowing it to hit the creaking floorboards.

He absentmindedly ran his hands up her arms and along to the straps of her bra, staring intently at her. The one thing that had almost made her stay that time in the car was now a fond memory in her mind. She returned his gaze, her breath slowing in the newfound calmness.

"I want you," she whispered before roughly pulling him in for a kiss.

He could not react as she took his lips in with her own, moving with a passion that he instantly returned. She felt soft against him, her lips melting into his and vice versa. He took the moments of clarity to unbutton his shirt and remove his tie as she drew her body closer to his. Caroline aided in pulling his shirt down and immediately took to removing the thin shirt underneath, exposing his chest of tattoos and unanswered scars. She removed herself from him only to slip out of her heels and he took that as a cue to remove the rest of his clothing and shoes. It was a rushed process with the only end game being that she would find herself wrapped in him once more.

They stumbled further back, attached to one another, and she hoisted herself up onto the large desk.

"If I have to be naked then so do you," he teased, his words muffled under her lips.

Caroline giggled softly, "Then why don't you help me?"

Klaus grinned without a reply, slipping the bra straps off of her shoulder and unclasping the back of the garment. He helped her throw it away before returning to the heated dance of their lips. His fingers twiddled about with her panties as he focused his mouth to the curve of her neck. She groaned softly and draped an arm over his shoulder to encourage him.

Caroline froze as her embarrassing Spice Girls ringtone played out to the side of them. Klaus stopped, his lips hovering over her skin, and began to laugh.

"Big fan, are we?"

The blonde covered her pink cheeks with her hands and reached for her phone, taking a look at the caller ID.

"It's April," she whined, answering the call to Klaus' dismay. However, he momentarily smirked, taking the opportunity to kiss along her shoulder once she had already answered the phone.

Caroline scrunched up her nose in frustration, "Hey, April!"

She bit her lip, feeling his teeth run lightly across her collar bone.

"Did you go home? Would have been nice if you'd have told me in person instead of a text," an annoyed April replied.

"Mhm—" Caroline's fingers curled in an effort to subdue her pleasure, "You can handle cleaning up, right? The other volunteers will help—"

She held the phone away for a moment; Klaus had begun to lay kisses over her breasts. Placing the phone next to her ear once more, she listened.

"That's the thing; no one's listening to me!"

"I really have to go, April, okay? You'll be fine! Consider this hands on training for your own event," Caroline attempted to put her mind at rest.

"But—"

"I'll see you Monday," she finished, hanging up, and threw the phone off to the side. It landed alongside her bra on the floor. She only hoped there would be no damage, but her worries were soon dispelled as Klaus groaned into his kisses.

"Someone's going to have to sneak out of here undetected," he spoke, a dark playfulness in his voice, and looked up at her.

"Shut up and do me," she commanded firmly.

Klaus grinned, both of his brows rising.

"Please," she continued sweetly.

He licked his upper lip gently before roughly removing the items on the desk with a swift arm movement. Caroline laughed, shifting back on the desk with a devilish glint in her eyes. Klaus moved forward, returning to kiss her on the lips. She let her fingers hold against his cheeks as his tongue explored her mouth. She shivered at the touch of his hands making their way down her torso to meet her panties once again. He broke free from their kiss only for his mouth to follow the path of his hands, his lips making sure to appreciate every inch of her.

Caroline bit her lip in anticipation, watching him slowly remove her panties and pull them down her legs.

"You're the worst," she giggled, her hair swaying as she shook her head.

"My," he started, slipping her panties off completely before kissing the inside of her thigh.

"Mm…"

"We had better change that," he suggested, his lips choosing their spot to mark.

Klaus bit down on the area gently, sucking with a force that undoubtedly teased the blonde woman more. At least, she thought, he was generous enough to mark her in a discreet place that only the two of them could see.

"Making your claim?"

When finished, he kissed the spot and glanced at her, an unapologetic smirk on his lips. Before she could speak further, he was quick to shut her up by returning to kiss closer to her delicate centre and eventually take his claim over that as well.

Sucking in a breath, Caroline let her head fall back slowly. Her nails dragged across the surface of the desk without care. In turn, he snaked his arms around her slender legs to hold her close, and made work of his tongue. She gasped quietly, feeling his warmth take over her mercilessly.

"Right…there," she told him in between bated breaths.

Klaus alternated between a slow and fast pace, focusing most of his attention on her clit. Carefully, he removed one arm from her leg and inserted a finger into her, glancing at her face as he did so.

"Fuck," she muttered, her body tightening at the new element at play, before he inserted a second finger.

He smirked in between his contact with her core, quickening his pace once more as he felt her grasp at his hair.

"Oh my gosh—like that—like that."

Klaus took the opportunity to keep his other arm around her leg tightly as he heard her moans escape without respite. Caroline felt her end nearing and let herself rest back against the hard desk surface completely. Her hands grasped at his hair, tugging him further into her.

He took the cue to make his final actions, swirling his tongue and hitting it firmly against her tender spot. The blonde writhed and moaned out louder than she had intended, instinctively placing a palm to her open mouth. She hoped April nor any of the other people working the event had decided to wander upstairs, but goodness, she did not care a single bit.

Caroline gasped as he finally had her where he wanted her; her body tensed at the immense feeling. She whimpered as he pulled his fingers out and detached himself from her heat, running her fingertips along her torso satisfactorily.

With only a moment to recoil, he roughly brought her forward on the desk to meet his body.

"You…" she breathed out, sitting herself up slowly.

Klaus chuckled and picked her up by the waist. Caroline assisted him, crossing her legs around his naked waist and holding her arms around his neck. He carried her along to a near bookcase, holding her against it.

"I think we're in a scholar's wet dream right now," she whispered into his ear jokingly, her fingers teasing his back gently.

"Well, it would be wrong of us not to immerse ourselves in the experience, Miss Forbes," he responded wittily, nipping at her neck.

"Mr. Mikaelson. I hope you've been peer-reviewed," she giggled, internally groaning at her embarrassing response. He laughed aloud, viewing her with a cheeky grin.

"Now," she darkened her tone of voice, taking him by the chin, "I think you have some more papers to grade."

Klaus laughed grasping at her ass, kneading it as he leant in for a kiss. She reciprocated, biting his lip with force, and welcomed him as he inserted himself into her. The pair groaned in unison as they connected with one another. Caroline deepened the kiss further while his strong arms rocked her up and down onto him. He succumbed to a moan inside her mouth, moaning, too, and tightened his grip on her.

The blonde used her own strength to move in time with his movements, removing herself from the kiss only when she felt their movements speed up. She connected their gazes, boring her soul into his as he growled her name.

"Caroline—fuck—"

Hearing his damning accent in the way she had heard it their first night together, she whimpered in delight. Their skin burned in contact with one another. In the heat, he relocated them to the desk, laying her down on the end of it to forcefully move into her with ease.

Klaus grunted as she arched her back on the cold surface, accentuating her curves even more so.

"I'm close," he managed to get out, slamming into her without apology. Caroline moaned, nodding, and stared at him with intense passion. In this, she felt him release inside of her, and gasped softly at the sensation. The strong man's body curled inwards at his orgasm, collapsing over the woman in his grasp.

The blonde breathed slowly, kissing him tenderly as he was brought down to her. After a long kiss, he slipped out of her, taking her hand and pulling her to sit up. She was met with a smiling Klaus, to which she giggled quietly and toyed with his fingers.

"I suppose we should get out of here, love."

A/N: I had intended to let you all suffer on the cliffhanger for a few days at the very least, but seeing the few reviews that came in made me cave haha! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.

I would really appreciate any reviews since this chapter has been so fun to write! It's also my first "full" smut scene so...I tried really hard to write it well.

Side note: I have a lot of things on at the moment so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted. Hopefully it will be soon!