The next day Marcel woke up in a clouded state. Had he really spoken to Caroline Forbes last night or did he just imagine the whole thing? He had been so fixated on her lately that he wasn't sure if his memories were real or if what he remembered was just a vivid dream. He got up from his bed and walked over to the large window in this room. With one swift movement, he opened the curtain, instantly flooding the room with sunlight. He could tell by the crowd that his festival was starting off well. The majority of the participating merchants had already set up their posts, the street dancers were claiming their territories, and the street was being cleared for the floats that would soon fill the streets. For some reason, unknown even to himself, Marcel wanted Caroline to be there, to see all that he was capable of, maybe. This festival would be unforgettable.

Caroline got out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She went over to the mirror and wiped the steam away. She stood there, looking at herself. She didn't look any different though she certainly felt like it. All this time with Klaus had changed her in ways she still didn't really understand. Caroline was still trying to figure out if this change was a good thing. She opened the bathroom door and saw Klaus standing in front of her.

"I was going to knock," he said, a bit embarrassed.

"Uh, y-yeah," she said. She was standing less than a foot away from Klaus with only a towel covering her body. He didn't expect to see Caroline half naked when he knocked on the door, not that he actually got the chance to.

Klaus sensed her discomfort and cleared his throat. "There's some sort of parade today and... I just wanted to know if you were interested in going? It would, uh, be good for Marcel to see that he has my support," he said, jokingly, and chuckled.

"Support. Sure," she said, sarcastically. She couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I think he should see me there," she said. "Maybe I could even talk to him about our arrangement," she said in a more serious tone.

"Of course," Klaus responded, mimicking her tone. "One hour," he said, holding up one finger.

Caroline and Klaus arrived at the festival just in time to see the finale of a dance performance. The dancers twisted and turned in unison and occasionally propelled off each others' backs. They admired the dancers from afar, Klaus commenting every now and then on the origin of the dance and why it was unique to this city. Caroline loved it when Klaus gave her mini history lessons on the town. It made her appreciate it more. The dance ended with the dancers forming one big pyramid and everyone burst into applause. Caroline was clapping and grinning.

"That was amazing!" she said, excitedly. "If only I could have ever convinced the cheer squad to do something like that!"

Klaus chuckled. "That, I would have loved to see," he said, with a shy smile.

Caroline looked at him with the same shyness. "What, you're into cheerleading now?" She laughed.

"Of course. Didn't you know?" he said, sarcastically, trying to hide his embarrassment. He was feeling embarrassed a lot today, apparently. "Come," he said, diverging from the subject, "let's go watch the floats."

He held out his arm which Caroline instinctively took. After spending so many weeks with Klaus, this had become the norm. Every once in awhile they would venture out into the town, their arms entwined, sometimes for the sole purpose of getting a task done and other times out of boredom. Though Klaus wasn't the type to waste his time going out into town for fun when he had a mission at hand, he could see Caroline's boredom whenever they didn't take a break for a long while. She never said anything, never complained but he could see the toll it took on her whenever they would spend days, sometimes even weeks, on end doing nothing but working on their plan. He was used to it but she wasn't.

They walked by a group of young vampires huddled together. Klaus, seeing the rings on each of their fingers, knew immediately who they were; members Marcel's inner circle. They, too, noticed them when they walked, not by their rings but by their faces. Everyone in the town knew who they were by now. Caroline smiled as they walked by though Klaus kept his facial features neutral. Behind the cluster of vampires, on the steps, sat Marcel, beaming up at them.

Caroline's smile faded and Klaus gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Marcel," he said, and nodded.

"Klaus!" He hopped out of his seat on the steps and embraced him, the same way he did when they had their reunion many weeks ago. Klaus let go of Caroline before Marcel went in for the hug. He was obviously trying to get under Klaus' skin which Klaus easily ignored. Then, Marcel turned to Caroline.

"Caroline! What a pleasure it is to see you again," Marcel said, as he pulled her into a similar embrace, unsure of it was because he truly wanted to or if it was just because he wanted to frustrate Klaus. He decided it was a little of both.

"Um, hi," she said stunned, clearly not expecting the hug from Marcel. She put her arms around him awkwardly, not really hugging him.

"What do you want, Marcel?" Klaus asked him, clearly annoyed. Marcel got the reaction he was hoping for and stepped away from Caroline, satisfied that he had managed to get a rise out of him.

"Just wanted to greet an old friend," he said, grinning.

"Of course," Klaus said calmly. "Well, consider me greeted."

At that moment, loud music started playing. Caroline looked around, confused.

Marcel noticed her confusion. "It's the dance period that happens before the floats arrive," Marcel said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," she said.

Klaus turned to Caroline. "Let's dance, Caroline," he said, smiling, and held out his hand.

Caroline smiled back at him and gave him her hand. He pulled her away from Marcel into the center of the street where everyone else had gathered to dance. They positioned themselves into a basic dance position and began swaying to the jazz music that was playing. It was a fast-beat track and, though Caroline didn't know how to dance jazz to save her life, Klaus made it easy for her to follow his moves. He spun her around and just when she thought she would spin into oblivion, she was back in his arms again.

"Klaus!" she shrieked in enjoyment.

"Sorry, love," he said. She could hear the smile in his voice. She was laughing now which made Klaus break into a huge grin.

Marcel watched them from a distance, feeling as though he was somehow interrupting a private moment. He looked at Caroline wondering if she remembered their conversation. She looked so happy, full of laughter. He wondered if Caroline could really betray Klaus, if she really had the heart to do it.

One of the vampires in Marcel's circle walked up to him, interrupting his thoughts. "We're all set," he said.

"Perfect," Marcel said, keeping his eyes trained on Caroline, taking in her expression, her happiness. "Let's do it," he said sternly and turned away from the crowd of dancers. He looked at his crew and gave them a wicked smile. "You know what to do." At that very moment, the sirens went off.