Hey guys! I'm sorry for the lack of Klaroline in the last chapter, I hope this one doesn't disappoint. Thank you jessnicole, that's exactly what I think Klaus is doing! (I'm not too sure myself of Klaus' intentions so it's a surprise to me too) & as for Elena being bitchy to Bonnie and Caroline about the Mikaelson's, we'll see that all in later chapters. I hope nobody minds this fanfic being a tad long. I didn't realise when I started that it would be 10+ chapters.. I'm glad everyone liked Bonnie/Kol's date, I'm sure you'll like the coming up chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. It is pure entertainment.

With a flutter of her eyes Rebekah found herself in unfamiliar surroundings, she quickly sat up from the bed and looked around. Only then did a smile trace her lips as the memories from last night finally came back to her. She looked around the small room, it was smaller than what she was used to with very little content, just a dresser on the opposite wall and a few posters of cars.

She was snapped from her thoughts when the smell of breakfast came from the kitchen, forcing her to get up from the warm bed. With a smile she found Matt at the stove with only pajama bottoms that hung loosely on his hips.

"Morning," she greeted, and wrapped her arms around the boy's bare chest.

"Hey, look who's finally awake." A soft moan escaped the boy when he felt Rebekah's lips on his back. "I thought I'd be a gentleman and make you some breakfast."

Rebekah laughed, "Why thank you."

They sat at the table, Matt practically dove into his food but the vampire just watched. She couldn't put to words how she felt in that moment, but there was something in seeing the morning light hit Matt's blonde hair and filled the kitchen with its morning glow that made everything seem right. There was something about this moment that she had to take everything in, she had a feeling times like this wouldn't come around again.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, with a mouth full of eggs.

"And just like that you ruined the moment." Rebekah laughed when the boy swallowed his food and gave her a big smile.

"You haven't touched your food." Matt pointed to her full plate then suddenly the boy's eyes went wide. "Oh… did you need something else?"

Rebekah looked at Matt with a questioned look until she realized, "Oh, no! I'm not that kind of hungry. The food looks great."

"Then what is it?"

With a deep breath, she asked the question that lingered on her mind. "Last night… Did you mean what you said? You'll help me find the cure?"

"Yeah." The boy had a lingering smile on his lips. "I meant what I said."

Rebekah smiled, hesitating again before asking, "How about after that… do you regret that at all?"

The boy shot his eyes at Rebekah, "What no. Why? Do you?"

"No," she said and shook her head. "What does it mean? What does it make us?"

Nerves built up inside Rebekah at Matt's straight face, he looked at her in the eyes before a smile made it's way to his lips, "I think it means this," he said and leant across the table to place a kiss on Rebekah's soft lips.

After it turned into a deep kiss Rebekah pulled away with a smile, "Do you mind if I get cleaned up here?" The girl asked. "My brothers would never let me hear the end of it if I came home looking like a trollop."

xxx

Kol clutched his side at the sight of his sibling that walked through the door. Finn had finally come home wearing the same outfit he wore when he left the house three days ago. His hair ruffled in a mess and his shirt wrinkled, all of which Kol immensely teased him about.

"Now Finn, in today's society this is called the walk of shame," Kol teased, only getting ignored by his older brother when his laughter echoed through the house causing the rest of the men to come and see the scene. "Now how come Miss Sage hasn't made an appearance? She is more than welcome to come here and display her own walk of shame – Elijah's little trollop already has."

This earned him a smack on the back of the head from Elijah.

"Katerina was here?" Finn asked and he looked between his older brother and Klaus, who wore a deep scowl on his face. "I see I've missed quite a bit."

"Oh you haven't even heard the best part," Kol beamed. "Guess who has a date?"

No one bothered to answer.

"Me!" Kol boasted.

"Did you compel her?"

"No!"

"Was she drunk?"

"No!"

"Was there bad lighting? Perhaps she didn't realize it was you."

Kol glared at all his brothers and scowled like a five-year-old child with folded arms. He was oddly reminded of his human life, his older brothers constantly teased him when he was a boy but he never appreciated it. "It's pathetic, you all think you're funny but you're not."

His brothers wore a smug grin but before they could say anything the front door opened. They all watched as Rebekah tiptoed through the door, she was completely oblivious to the watching eyes on her back until she turned and found them all staring at her with raised brows. Everyone simply wore an expression of surprise as they stared at each other.

Kol's usual grin soon surfaced his face again and he was, of course, the first the break the awkward silence, "Now that's a walk of shame."

"Go to hell," Rebekah cursed and shoulder barged her brother to walk upstairs.

"Where were you?" Klaus hissed when Rebekah passed him.

"None of your business!" Rebekah snapped.

"Don't speak to me like that!" Klaus roared and stood an inch from her face.

"I can speak to you however I please!"

"Enough!" Elijah's voice echoed through the foyer, it forced everyone to still. "This dispute between the both of you will end. Now. Niklaus we are your family, we will stand by your side, always and forever."

Klaus gave his brother a smirk.

"But if Rebekah stands true to her decision then she will take the cure if she so pleases," Elijah said with a stern face, he was settled on his decision.

"What?!" Kol bellowed, the look of utter confusion on his face. He stared between all his siblings, looking at them to explain what he had obviously missed.

"Oh Elijah thank you!" Rebekah beamed and hugged her brother, ignoring her brother's deadly glares.

"I wouldn't celebrate quite yet, sister." Klaus' voice came lowly from where he stood on the staircase and watched his family turn to him with gaped expressions.

"What did you do?"

Everyone looked up at Klaus, who stared back at his family with a hard stare. Then slowly a devilish smirk surfaced his lips before he whispered, "I killed him."

xxx

Rebekah had immediately run to her room, Finn following her closely to comfort his baby sister. Klaus had left shortly after, not in the mood for another scolding from Elijah, who had watched angrily as his brother stormed off. The eldest Mikaelson soon walked out as well, this time outside and drove away in his car. That left Kol in the foyer rather baffled that for once he wasn't the cause of an argument or affected in any way. Klaus killed the hunter so the cure wouldn't be used, so safe to say, he's happy.

The soft breaths of someone forced the young Mikaelson to glance at the entry. He found a rather stunned Caroline, her hand still raised about to knock on the door. In his huff Elijah had left the front door wide open and the girl was too afraid to enter without permission.

"Come on in, darling," Kol said with a dark chuckle when he saw Caroline turn as if to leave, obviously a witness to a private moment between the family. "Nothing to be afraid of, just a little family spat."

"It's okay, I'll just come later…" Caroline said in a small voice but before she could even turn Kol stood beside her with a smirk.

"Really sweetheart, it's fine," Kol insisted, he led her inside. "I assume you're here to see my brother."

"Yes…" Caroline was hesitant, for two reasons. One, the obvious tension that still hung in the air from the previous family outburst she hadn't meant to witness or overhear. Two, Kol was being nice. She couldn't tell which one made her more wary. "What was going on?"

"Rebekah's being a spoilt brat as usual," Kol said casually. He acted as though his family didn't just have a massive blowout. "So, are you thirsty? We have some blood bags in the fridge? Elijah is making us drink them, something about being a part of the town and all that nonsense. Between you and me, nothing beats the real thing but you obviously know that."

He watched Caroline's face turn from stunned and somewhat scared to confused and somewhat disturbed. He gave her a nice smile but that only seemed the make the young vampire more suspicious of his behavior.

"What… do you think you're doing Kol?" Caroline asked slowly, slightly frightened from the pod Kol.

"Offering you a drink?" The innocence in his voice only confused the vampire even more. "So…" Kol began, tapping his knees awkwardly. There was a silence between the two, it was the first time they had actually spent more than 5 minutes in the same room. "You're Bonnie's best friend right?"

And with that Caroline's face dropped and her stare turned into a glare.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Your family just had a massive fight – one that can be heard from two blocks away, by the way – and you're digging for information on my best friend? She's not going to go out with you Kol." He couldn't help the big smile that spread across his face, much like a mischievous child. "What..?"

"Actually sweetheart, your beautiful best friend and I have a date tonight." He lifted his chin, rather proud of himself, especially at the way Caroline's face turned back to stunned. "I'll let it sink in for a moment."

"You compelled her!"

"Why does everyone assume that?" Kol asked, rather defensive. "I may have spent the last hundred years or so in a box, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to woo a woman."

"Well then she's obviously lost her mind."

"Oh come now darling, I'm not that bad. How about you help a fellow vampire out and just tell me a few things." Kol gave her his best puppy eyes and didn't stop until the girl rolled her eyes, he took that as a good sign and continued, "What's her favorite food? She's not allergic to anything is she? What kind of dates does she like – slow? Cause I'm more of a quick 'keep you on your toes' kind of guy – but I can do slow dates… dinner and a movie I suppose. I haven't seen any movies from this century – what's her favorite movie? Shit. I need to start catching up on modern movies and music."

Caroline stared at the boy with wide eyes. She was surprised he hadn't run out of breath between those sentences. She was speechless when he turned to her with big eyes, as if expecting an answer to all thirty of his questions.

"Umm…"

"Come on Caroline, at least give me something." The boy continued to ramble on before Caroline raised a hand to stop him, a little giggle escaped her lips.

"Wow," Caroline begun. "You really like her, huh?"

Kol stiffened at this, his usual arrogant expression surfaced his face again as he tried to act cool in front of the blonde vampire. He gave a loose shrug of his shoulders and mumbled something under his breath.

She only giggled before finally answering his questions, the ones she could remember anyway. "She likes Chinese food, she is however allergic to shellfish so stay clear of that. You can take her to a movie but seriously Kol," Caroline looked him in the eye. "I think you should surprise her with your kind of date. She gave you a chance, I'm sure she's expecting an Original date."

He watched her laugh at her own joke, but he was too caught up in the information she had given him. He gave her a smile, a genuine one, "Thank you Blondie. I rather approve of my brother's choice." He laughed when the girl only glared at him. "So, you're here to see Nik, yeah?"

"Right, is he… okay?" Caroline became hesitant again.

Kol paused, as though listening for something. "Yeah, he's cool. He's just upstairs in his room. I'd show you myself but I have to step out for a bit." Kol made his way to the front door, thanking Caroline again before speeding off.

xxx

The hybrid had stormed to his room after his argument with his family and pulled out a canvas in the attempt to settle his mind. The quick brush strokes released all of Klaus' pent up anger and the sense of control set his mind at a little ease. Empty bottles of Bourbon scattered around the easel, another in the man's hand as he took another long swig.

In his trance he hadn't noticed the person who stood by his door, too engrossed by his almost finished artwork. His hand froze in the air, paintbrush in hand, when he heard the easy breaths of someone behind him. He turned with a guarded glare, ready to argue with one of his siblings, but instead he was met with an even bigger surprise.

"Klaus?" Caroline's hesitant voice came from the door, she took slow steady steps into the man's room. "I knocked… but you didn't hear me. Did you want me to leave?"

Klaus gave a dimpled smile and stumbled to stand in front of his painting. "I'm a bit of a mess I'm afraid, but we don't spend as much time together as I'd like so please, stay."

The girl smiled at the sincerity in Klaus' tone, but her eyes soon moved to the bottles of bourbon scattered on the floor. "Are you… drunk?"

"Of course not, love, I'm a vampire. We don't get drunk," Klaus slurred, with the wave of his arms he stumbled forward until the blonde caught his body.

Caroline carried the reluctant man to his bed with the smell of bourbon on his breath. She practically had to throw him onto his sheets so he could rest.

"If you wanted to get me in bed, all you had to do was ask sweetheart."

With a scoff she watched the blonde hybrid continue to slur an incoherent sentence. "What's wrong with you? Klaus it's way too early to be drunk."

"What makes you think something is wrong, love?" His eyes sagged almost closing as he slurred. "With you here I don't think anything has felt more right."

Caroline watched Klaus drop a sluggish hand over his face, groaning as he rolled in bed. She'd never seen him like this, in any other circumstance she would've found this funny but she couldn't help but notice the look of despair in Klaus' features. She only caught a few words when he continued to mumble to himself, Elijah and Rebekah.

She gave Klaus a sad smile before glancing around his room. It hadn't changed since the ball, minus the empty alcohol bottles. His room still full of his paintings and art supplies, it was in organized chaos much like how she'd imagine his mind to be like.

She was smiling to herself when her eyes came across the new painting on the easel. The loud gasp that escaped her lips forced the hybrid to open an eye from his almost slumber. He sat up so fast he almost flew out of bed, he watched Caroline slowly walk toward his painting with a stunned expression.

"What is this?" Caroline whispered.

It was her. The painting was of Caroline, in her stunning dress from the night she spent with Klaus, she had a soft smile like she was about to laugh and was looking over her shoulder. The light of the moon highlighted the top of Caroline's blonde hair, emphasizing the glow around her. The brush strokes were clean and gentle, capturing Caroline's soft features perfectly. She didn't know much about art but she can appreciate a beautiful painting when she saw one, and despite being the figure, she found the painting stunning. She hadn't realised how talented the man was.

"A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts," Klaus said softly from the bed. "Or in this case, painting."

She turned to Klaus with gaped lips.

"Who knows, maybe one day this painting will hang in a gallery and that dress wouldn't have gone to waste." Klaus smiled at Caroline, but the girl remained speechless. "What brings you here Caroline?"

Caroline finally snapped out of her thoughts and sat beside the man, who watched her so intently she was afraid to move any faster. After a moment she pulled the piece of parchment from her pocket and placed it on the bed.

Klaus looked down and found a little drawing he had made of Caroline. "You can't just go into my room and just leave me things Klaus."

He had forgotten how he snuck into her room when she had left to see Tyler last night. "I had meant to give it to you at my family's ball but considering you banished my family and I to hell I didn't think it was the right time." He gave a dry chuckle. "Do you not like it?"

She gave a sad smile at the disappointment in Klaus' voice. "It's not that… I just have to give it back to you." Klaus gave Caroline a questioned look, a little hurt when the girl took his hand to place the drawing in his palm. "I just shouldn't. I'm dating Tyler, Klaus. I can't keep accepting gifts from you."

His eyes snapped to the girl and looked at her through his lashes. He grounded his jaw and tried to take steady breaths, through his drunken state he couldn't pin point the look that lay on Caroline's features but it concerned the hybrid deeply.

"Caroline?" Klaus called but she kept her eyes on the drawing that was now in his hands. "There's another reason, isn't there?"

It took the girl a moment before she answered, "It's Tyler… he found it and he doesn't want me to keep it." He'd never heard her voice so small before that it infuriated him, how she let a boy force her down to that level. She was stronger than that.

"You let Tyler dictate your life." Klaus' harsh words caused the girl to look up at him quickly, anger and hurt in her eyes, but whether out of anger or through his state he found himself saying, "I thought you were stronger than that Caroline."

"How dare you say something like that to me!" Caroline snapped, and it surprisingly caused a smile back on Klaus' lips. The fire he knew and loved was back in the girl's eyes.

"Now, that's more like it."

"You don't get to talk to me like that Klaus." Caroline stood from the bed, the anger in her expression deepened. "I don't let Tyler dictate my life. No one dictates my life, not anymore. I am strong-"

"Then prove it," Klaus hissed and edged toward Caroline until his face was inches away. "Keep the picture Caroline, you obviously like it."

"It's not fair on Tyler," Caroline countered.

This fuelled the anger back up in Klaus, he clenched his fists and through his teeth said, "Why should you care for him? He doesn't care for you, Caroline."