Hello all!

Hope you are all continuing to enjoy the story! Here's chapter 7!

(I do not own the Vampire Diaries! I know...boo me.)

Happy Reading...


Neither of them had any idea when they had fallen asleep but when Nik pried his eyes open the next morning it was clear they had been led close together.

He felt something warm and soft on his chest, it should have hurt, the weight on his battered and bruised body, but he was surprised it did not. His body was stiff from the beating and the cold but the soft weight was rather soothing. He looked down to find Caroline with her head lying just under his chin, her slender arm wrapped around his torso, gripping his side and her leg was brushing against him own.

He could not help himself, he smiled at the sight. Her hair was scuffed with dirt and ruffled with the nights wind but her face looked so peaceful and calm you could never tell she had slept so uncomfortably.

She was beautiful.

He had always thought so, he thought, even as a child she enthralled him – not just with her looks but everything about the free-spirited, confident, kind girl had caught his eye. She was full of such tantalizing light it was hard for him to notice anything else when Caroline was around. Her heart was pure and kind and good whilst his had been tarnished by the brutality of Mikael. He was no good for her, he knew that, but after what had transpired the previous night – her lips so dangerously close to his own he could feel her cool breath on his face, he had never wanted her so much as he did then…but it had all gone array and he thought perhaps that was a sign that his feelings were not reciprocated, that he was a foolish young man, beating above his weight. – But what if perhaps she felt the same, felt how they could not function without each other...that they were one.

Nik had hid his feelings for his best friend very well over the years, he had never told a soul of his emotions towards the beautiful orphan, it was a grave fear of his that Mikael would use Caroline against him and he could never let anything happen to her, especially at the hands of such a man.

His thoughts were interrupted as the protagonist of his thoughts began to stir. Nik bent his head down and looked into her drowsy eyes.

A smile crept across Caroline's face and he could not help but smile back.

"Morning" she croaked, her voice rough with sleep, she blushed slightly and cleared her throat.

"Good morning to you too" he replied in an exaggerated deep voice, mocking her.

"You're so nasty, I cannot help it!" She chided, now blushing profusely, Nik couldn't help but admire her in such a state, the red heat running across her cheeks, it was so very sweet his hands itched to cup her face.

"How are you feeling…this…er….morning?" She asked, her voice a little strained towards the end and Nik furrowed his brows in confusion. Caroline got up from his chest and turned away, looking at the trees in the distance, her action vexed him.

"What is it?" He asked a little too harshly, his healing ribs were beginning to ache again and he rubbed at them.

She turned around sheepishly, her face red as a ripe tomato and pointed towards the ground. Nik followed her gaze with his eyes and just saw dirt and leaves.

"What about the dirt Caroline?"

"No…erm…" She dropped her eyes to him and trailed them down his body before reaching his abdomen and nodding her head before turning back towards the expanse of the forest. He looked down at himself…oooh.

Ooooh.

He chuckled, and the chuckle turned into a laugh and the laugh soon turned hysterical. His ribs screamed at him to stop but he couldn't. Innocent little Caroline, Oh how sweet she is!

"Whatever is so funny Niklaus?" She scorned, whipping around to watch him. She crossed her arms over her chest and held her head high in the air, as if she were sniffing something sour - which made him laugh even more.

She rolled her eyes and muttered something which sounded like: Insolent fool. After a few minutes Nik's laughter finally subsided and he wiped at his running eyes until a perplexed Caroline came into view. He grinned up at her and she huffed at him.

"It is perfectly natural Caroline, it happens to all men in the morn." He told her, trying to capture her gaze, but her eyes were averted from him, in embarrassment or vexation he did not know.

He gave up after a few minutes of silence and no eye contact, he stood up swiftly and groaned in pain at his body screamed and clicked at his sudden movement. Leaning against a tree for balance he lifted the bottom of his cotton shirt up over his stomach to investigate the damage done on his ribs.

A sharp hiss of breath being expelled caught his attention and he snapped his head towards Caroline whose eyes now surveyed his ribs. He looked at them and thought it could be worse. He told her as much.

Caroline shook her head and moved towards him. "Niklaus, look at you. Those bruises shan't be gone in weeks, oh how you must hurt! Sit down you silly boy." She told him in the authoritative voice of hers he had become so accustom too, this time it was laced with worry and he didn't want her to worry about him.

He shrugged nonchalantly before dropping his shirt and covering the black and blue bruises which littered his right side. She – once again –rolled her eyes at him before stepping closer, her gaze now fixed on his. Earlier embarrassment forgotten

"You, my dear friend, are impossible."

"And you, Caroline Elsa Forbes, need to stop worrying about me."

She was taken aback, as if the notion of doing such seemed impossible to her. Nik furrowed his brows and pushed his hands off of the tree to face her.

"I shall forever worry about you Niklaus," she admitted, her caring eyes looking into his. "I cannot help it."

Nik both loved and hated the expression on Caroline's face as she said those words. It was a mixture of adoration and fear. No one had ever looked at him in such a way and it forced him to take a few steps closer to her, his toes almost touching hers on the dewy grass.

"Caroline I…-"

His words were drowned out by another ear-splitting growl. It almost rustled the tree's it was at such an octave. Caroline whimpered covering her hands over her ears and squeezing them. Nik shot his eyes in the noises' direction hoping to see once and for all who (or what) was making such a sound.

He did not have to wait long.

A paw, easily double the size of his hand, stepped out from behind the trees of the forest to the right of them, followed shortly with another. Nik heard Caroline shriek and instantly stood in front of her as a beast he had never beheld before took form in front of them. Its fur was a deep brown, with stripes of a lighter brown threaded through the long hair. Its head was long and its snout sniffed at the air.

Nik felt Caroline lean into him from behind and he took her hand on instinct, squeezing it reassuringly.

The beast had not seen them yet, which was a small miracle. Its snout continued to sniff at the morning air, and its eyes were dark and focused upon something in the distance.

Caroline squeezed his hand so tightly he almost winced but refrained, not wanting to bring attention to them.

They stood there, the two humans and beast for what felt like hours, the two daren't move for fear of the beast noticing them, and the beast seldom moved, staying terrifyingly still, it is was not for its blinking Nik would have thought it to be dead. That and the fact it was standing.

The breeze flushed through the clearing and the beast shook his large head as if trying to to stop it. In the process of doing do however, his eyes caught sight of the pair…Nik noticed as it stilled. He waited.

The trees rustled in the wind and Nik could hear Caroline's bated breath against his ear, but his eyes never left the beasts as it turned its large, shaggy head and met his eyes with its deep black ones. His own breath was becoming ragged now, but he daren't show his fear to Caroline. He was strong. He was going to be strong for her. Always.

Strong.

Brave.

Strong.

Brave.

He chanted in his head as the beast before them took a step forward, in their direction, Caroline's hand gripped his as if it were her lifeline. In other circumstances it would make him smile, but not this.

If you had blinked, you would have missed it, but the beast before Nik twitched, and he grabbed Caroline around the waist and flung the two of them to the left, slamming onto the dirt just as the animals fang ripped into the tree which, seconds ago, was behind them.

Ignoring the splitting pair from his ribs Nik scrambled from the ground, Caroline clinging to his shirt. He gripped her hand like a vice and fled the clearing, his legs running under him, as faster than his injured body could take them.

Yet, he ignored the pain vibrating around his aching body and focussed upon the trees ahead and the beautiful, weeping girl, clutching his hand.

Caroline almost fell to her knees when they broke through the trees and found the house. She had never wanted to see it so much in her life, yet as Nik tugged her to him, his features still tense, she knew he was not nearly as relieved as she.

He drew her towards him and kissed the top of her head, his arms curving their way around her waist. They were trembling, or maybe that was her body, or both? She leant her head against Nik's chest, her ear picking up his erratic heartbeat. She kissed the place over his heart and he squeezed her. Realising the very intimate gesture she had pulled, Caroline blushed and hid her face in the crook of his neck. She could not believe how their seemingly innocent friendship had changed so drastically into something so passionate in such a short while.

"How are you?" His voice broke her away from her thoughts.

She stayed silent for a moment, wondering what to say. Finally she decided on the truth. "Terrified."

All was quiet, but she felt him nod his head and kiss her hair soothingly.

They stayed like that, their bodies moulded together for what seemed like a lifetime, yet not even a second. Until Rebekah's tentative voice broke them apart.

"Caroline? Nik?" She ran from the front door of her house to meet them at the forest opening.

"Where on earth have the two of you been?!" She chided as she drew closer, slapping Nik on the arm and giving Caroline a pointed look that made her want to take a step back for her friend.

Caroline said nothing, her hands and body still shaking from the ordeal. She waited for Nik to answer his sister.

After a few tense moments, of glaring and sighs he did. "We took off collecting wood and time just passed by. It was far too late to come back in yesterday so we decided to stay outdoors, then we woke up this morn and came back." His voice was steady and calm, which Caroline knew was the opposite of how he felt at this moment.

Rebekah rolled her blue eyes at her brother. "You do not see me as so naïve as too believe you I hope?" She glared at them both, her piercing eyes seeing through their lies.

Nik shrugged beside her, as his shoulders lifted so did her right hand, causing her to realise she still clutched it like the lifeline it had been. She quickly took her hand from his and had to resist the urge to snatch it back at the emptiness she felt.

Rebekah, all watching, all knowing, Rebekah, did not miss it and commented. "The two of you look like you have just run around the earth and back…" She left the comment hanging heavily in the air.

"We-"Caroline attempted to argue, but a presence at the front of the house stopped her.

Nik drew in a sharp breath and tensed – Caroline knew who it was and her shaking was no longer soley attributed to the beast.

It was Mikael. Esther rushed out a few moments later, Henrik at her heels.

The 3 Mikaelson's surveyed the two of them for several moments before Esther stood forth and approached Nik and Caroline, her face a mixture of anger and relief on her pretty face.

She stood almost two to two with her son before slapping him across the face. Caroline flinched audibly as Nik's head swung to the side with the blow.

"Foolish children!" Esther bellowed, her face coming within inches of Caroline's before she spoke again. "Where have you been? ...No, do not answer that, for I do not care to know." She took a deep breath and looked back at her husband, Caroline followed his gaze…it was blank – no emotion what so ever, even looking at the man made her leg spasm in pain. His glare was on his son yet Nik did not flinch, she would have trembled, but he did nothing.

"You are a bad influence upon young Caroline Niklaus!" Esther continued her rant, now pacing before them, as if circling a hole in the ground. Caroline shook her head and took Nik's hand in her own but he shook it off.

"I knew you would lead her to trouble. All along I knew, we all knew you would corrupt her bright soul with your bitter ugly darkness." Esther spat, her face a picture of utter disgust. Still, Nik remained unmoving and unemotional. Caroline made to reach for his hand again but he clasped them around his back defiantly.

The rejection hurt, but she did not let it show, she turned back to listen to Esther.

"You are not to see her again! I cannot allow you to tarnish such a diamond" – Esther smiled brightly over at Caroline who kept her face neutral, attempting to keep the loathing for the odious woman under control, it would only make it worse – "with your dirty dirty soul. Be gone Niklaus, Mikael and I have decided to let you stay, but you are now to sleep in with the old outhouse. You have disgraced us by putting such an innocent girl's life in danger."

"He's not, he's not, he's not!" She finally broke, stepping towards Esther, who had a face of disbelief. "You odious woman, h-how can you say such things about your son?! How can a mother banish her child into the unknown! His soul is not dark Esther; it is yours, your soul, and that of your revolting husband which is dark and twisted. How two people can treat their own, flesh and blood as you do is sickening!" She was yelling to kingdom come by the end of her sentence and when it had ended a pregnant silence filtered through the air.

The silence was torn moments later by the sound of a hair tingling howl, each person in the perimeter, including little Henrik who had stood near the house of the door during the ordeal, they all turned and fixed their eyes upon a large, grey haired beast, it's dark eyes looking straight into Caroline's and it's yellow fangs bared.

The beast lunged and Caroline felt a rippling pain down her shoulder before the world turned black before her.


That was chapter 7 guys, what dya' think?

Review, follow, favourite and all that if you want! :)

Thankyou all SO MUCH for the reviews and follows and favourites! Even you people who read it and don't write a review or anything (You know who you are) I thank you for taking your time to read this story! :D

Being from England, I am yet to watch VD series 5 or the Originals, so without spoilers, how's it going? Any good? Any Klaroline? (We wish, right?) ;D

Until next time! :)