Caroline sat in a plush chair in the atrium of Woodstock Corps as Alaric and Klaus spoke quietly about the course of action that would be needed to continue the production of the movie. Both men threw secretive glances in her direction every few minutes which she tried to ignore, but her eyes always seemed to sense when theirs were on her.

After about 30 minutes of the silent treatment, Caroline blew out an exasperated breath and stood on shaky, tired legs. She groaned in discomfort and Alaric was instantly at her side, his hands attempting to push her back into the chair.

"What are you doing? Do you need something?" he asked, urgently. "I'll get you what you need."

Caroline sighed heavily. "I need to move. The doctor said that I can't just sit still all of the time because I'll cause myself more damage that way." She looked pointedly at Klaus who had yet to acknowledge her. It was as if the attack never happened and he was back to the way he was before. "I need to pee. Can I pee?"

Alaric blanched and gently moved her in the direction of the bathroom to watch her hobble off. "I'm sorry."

She sighed again, this time sadly. "No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. I'm just irritable because I can't move and I want to move! It doesn't feel right just sitting all day and having people wait on me hand and foot. I've never lived like that!"

"No, I don't suppose you have," Klaus murmured, shaking his head. He scoffed quietly and left Ric's side to walk out of the door in the direction of his trailer.

Caroline felt a lump lodge in her throat and tears brimmed on her lower lashes, blurring her vision. She couldn't understand how he could be so cruel to her after showing her such tenderness. He'd saved her life, cried for her, carried her from her near death bed and had driven her to the hospital. She couldn't begin to fathom how his demeanor could change so drastically in only a matter of days.

"Jesus," Ric muttered, shaking his head. "That boy needs a serious therapy session."

Caroline just shrugged resolutely.

"Don't listen to him, Care. Go to the bathroom and have some lunch. Take your pain pills if you haven't and then we can discuss what's going on with the movie and your role."

She nodded and hobbled off to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and sighing as her head fell back against the wood and tears of exhaustion and anger rolled down her cheeks.

Alaric looked off in the direction that Klaus had retreated to and thundered past the workers to follow his nephew. Klaus was pacing just in front of his trailer when Ric popped up beside him and thumped the back of his head with his palm.

"Ow, what the hell!" Klaus roared, whipping around. "What the hell was that for, Ric!?"

"You know exactly what it was for!" Ric yelled as his face turned red. "I know that you have the superiority complex the size of the entire damn globe, but you need to get the stick out of your ass! Caroline has done absolutely nothing to you except make you nervous about your popularity! This is not your movie, Niklaus! This is my movie! You auditioned, you are perfect for the part, and she's perfect for the part that she's playing! Go back in there, apologize to Caroline, and get some damn counseling!"

Klaus listened to Ric's rant and watched in shock as his uncle turned on his heel and stomped his way back into the building. Klaus expelled and angry breath, pushing it through his lips as they shook around the air. Who did Ric think he was talking to him like that? He didn't know what he was going through! He didn't know the torment he'd gone through the last week watching Caroline progressively heal and become herself! No one knew!

He'd watched Caroline for a week without her noticing. He'd gone to visit her in the hospital as she slept, healing her injuries from the inside out. He'd driven past her quaint duplex every other night to make sure that no one was sitting outside and plotting their next attack. When he'd received the phone call from Elijah telling him about the box Caroline had gotten at her home, he'd been livid. He'd seen red and stomped through his penthouse knocking things off of the shelves as Kol sat on the chair chuckling. Kol had chuckled up until the moment Klaus spat out, "Bonnie opened the package, little brother." That shut Kol up incredibly quickly.

Klaus grumbled underneath his breath as the impact of Ric's words settled over him. He shook off the feeling of remorse and squared his shoulders, jerking his jacket back into place on his shoulders and trudging toward the direction of the door to the set. He was just pulling the door open as Caroline was hobbling towards it, her head down and eyes staring at the ground.

Klaus watched her shoulders tense and then her gaze slowly slid up from the ground, past his toes, to his eyes where hers hardened and her lips twisted into a grimace.

"What?" she spat, limping towards him.

Klaus was overcome with the urge to wrap his arm around her torso and help her in the direction she was headed, but he knew better. He'd done more harm to her with his actions and words than her assailant had done with his or her fists.

"I'm - ," he began, scratching the back of his neck.

"Do. Not. Start," Caroline ground out between clenched teeth.

Klaus' eyes snapped to Caroline's to see that she was tearing up with anger and her face was turning red.

"But I'm – "

"I don't want to hear it, Klaus. I don't want to hear what you have to say. Wanna know why? Because I'm tired. I'm tired of you hating me and making my life miserable. I'm tired of you being nice to me for one second, saving my life, and then treating me like shit the next. What did I ever do to you, huh? Were you afraid, for even a second, that you might actually like me? That I was a good person and maybe we could be friends? Is that why you treat me the way you treat me?"

Klaus sputtered and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" Caroline was seething with anger and Klaus could tell by the harshness of her breathing that she was upsetting her injuries. He reached for her arm and she ripped it away from him, eyes glowing with hatred. "Don't touch me!"

"Caroline, you're in pain – I can see it in your eyes. Yes, surprisingly enough, I can see the discomfort underneath all of that burning rage. Now please, let me take you back to your trailer where you can continue to scream at me if you wish to do so."

Caroline huffed twice and then she visibly deflated, the red leaving her face to be replaced by a pale glow. "Fine."

Klaus wrapped the fingers of his right hand around her wrist and brought his left arm around her waist, bringing her into his side where he carefully held onto her, letting his warmth soak into her skin. She was tense but he could feel the way she was holding herself against him that she was depending on his stability to carry her through the set and out to the lot where her trailer sat.

When the two of them reached the trailer, Klaus pulled the door open and then effortlessly lifted Caroline off of her feet and through the door. She squealed slightly and watched Klaus' face in shock as he gently let her slide down the entire front of his body. Her hands were resting on his chest and his hands on her waist as her feet once again came in contact with the floor, the toes of her slippers barely coming in contact with the scratchy carpet of the trailer.

The air in the room became filled with sizzling electricity as Caroline found her eyes staring straight into Klaus', the blue sucking her in and making her feel as if the entire ocean had washed over her. She felt the most utter sense of calm, more calm than she had been since she'd moved to California and met Klaus Mikaelson.

"What were you saying?" he whispered, the small utterance escaping his lips with the briefest of warm breaths on her cheeks.

Caroline blinked once, twice, three times before she could collect herself. She licked her lips and let her eyes fall to Klaus' mouth, admiring the shape of his lips.

"I don't remember."

"Mm," Klaus murmured, feeling the heat growing in the small room. "I believe you were yelling at me."

Caroline felt her eyebrow pucker. "Was I?"

Klaus wanted to smile. He wanted to chuckle and grin – but he couldn't. He was entirely too entranced by being that close to Caroline. He never imagined he'd be holding her the way he was. That she would let him hold her that way. He could feel her heartbeat through her clothes because she was pressed against him. He could feel the warmth underneath her palms where they rested on his chest.

He could hear the way her breath was coming in short puffs, her trepidation evident. She was nervous – nervous about him – about their close proximity.

"Caroline," Klaus whispered in confusion, not wanting to let the situation go out of control.

Caroline felt herself leaning towards Klaus infinitesimally – only in the smallest of incriminates. Her eyes were pulling closed as her lips were growing closer and closer to Klaus'. Klaus wanted to stop what was happening but he felt himself losing control – the peppermint of her toothpaste and the softness of her pink lips beckoned him in until their mouths were almost touching.

"No," he whispered harshly, gently pushing Caroline away.

Caroline's eyes snapped open and she felt her mouth fall agape at the sight before her. Klaus' eyes were glassy, his cheeks glowing red, and his mouth open as well – harsh breaths escaping from his lips.

"What?" she mumbled, confused.

Klaus shook his head and pushed her away, setting her completely on the ground. He missed her warmth almost instantly, wanting to crush her against him chest and his lips against hers. He wanted to possess her – to own her. He wanted Caroline Forbes more than he wanted another person in a very long time – and he knew that he would lose everything to her if he let her get that close.

"I'm sorry, I must go," he whispered hurriedly, racing for the door.

Caroline watched in shocked confusion as Klaus ripped the door back open and leapt outside, shutting the small exit behind his back. She felt every ounce of energy pull from her body as her knees gave out and she fell back against the little couch cushion underneath her. She was stunned.

Did she almost kiss Klaus Mikaelson? Did she really almost fall for his trick? He'd tried to distract her! Wanted her to forget that she was spitting angry at him! But hadn't he asked her to continue talking? Asked her if she was angry at him? Had that been a ploy? No, she'd seen the look in his eyes. Seen the shock at the feeling between them. She knew that he felt the sparks as much as she had.

Then why had he stopped the kiss? It was going to happen – one more inch between their lips and then they would have been molded together, using each other as anchors. Had he used her? Had he tried to manipulate her into not being angry?

No, Caroline didn't think so. She wasn't the best at reading people – no doubt about that – but she was sure enough about the look in his eyes as he had pushed her away to know he wasn't manipulating her. She'd seen deep sadness, the most crushing type of sadness, in the recesses of his gaze. He'd looked lost – like a little boy whose parents abandoned him. He looked broken – empty.

Caroline shook her head and felt the weight of the past few weeks physically lift off of her shoulders. She didn't feel burdened by Klaus anymore – not even by her attack. Who would have thought that Klaus' hatred for her would have stressed her out more than an attack on her life? She sighed and blew a breath out between her lips that lifted her bangs off of her forehead.

Klaus wasn't as mean as he liked her to believe – like he liked everyone to believe. He was just a broken man, a man who needed someone. Caroline didn't know how to get him to trust her, but she knew one thing.

She wasn't angry at him anymore.


Klaus burst into his trailer and his lungs felt like they were on fire – close to exploding. He never felt this way before, like he was losing control. He'd almost kissed Caroline Forbes, a woman who – as of a few weeks ago – he had thought he had truly hated. The way her eyes had sparkled at him and the softness of her breath on his lips made him forget about what was on his mind, even for the slightest of seconds.

"Agh, what the hell!" he screamed, punching the cushion of his couch. "That was too bloody close."

He couldn't allow himself to get too close to Caroline. He couldn't let himself fall into her trap – even if she wasn't trapping him on purpose. She was a danger to him – dangerous to his heart. He was in no shape to give his heart to another person, especially not someone as easily broken as Caroline.

He was less afraid of her possibly hurting him and more afraid of the fact that he could hurt her. He could break Caroline Forbes' heart and ruin her.

And that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.


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