Caroline stood awkwardly in Rebekah's room, eyeing her borrowed outfit in one of Rebekah's full length mirrors. Rebekah was checking herself out in another mirror and there were two more in opposite corners of the spacious room. How many full length mirrors did the Original need, anyway? Shaking her head, Caroline returned to checking herself out, mostly in attempt to distract herself from the nonsense with Klaus earlier that day. And it had definitely been nonsense.

Why was he always so moody, no matter what? He had no right to be angry with her and Caroline knew if the roles were reversed he wouldn't have told her either, not right away. Besides, what did any of it matter? The witches were dead, Caroline had stuck by his side and they were still together. All in all, it seemed like a win win situation, so why didn't it feel like one? All Caroline felt was lousy when instead she should have been having the time of her life. Her best friend Stefan was with her, they were in a new city and they were about to go partying in New Orleans without a threat of any sort lurking over their heads. She was going to enjoy herself, whether she liked it or not. And Klaus could... Well, he could suck it. She wasn't going to let the 1,000 year old whiney pants bring her down.

"If you looked any more somber one might assume you were attending a funeral." Rebekah piped up from the opposite end of the room, using one of her many mirrors to watch Caroline. The young vampire rolled her eyes before smoothing out a few lines in her borrowed dress. Caroline then took time smoothing her curls before she answered the Original.

"Yeah, well. I can't help it that your brother is an ass." Rebekah smiled to herself before running a hand down one of her tight little black dresses. Caroline had to admit, she looked stunning, which was probably for Stefan's benefit more than anything. Now that all the witch threats had ended, Caroline didn't think it would take much time for Rebekah to make a move on Stefan, and to be honest, Caroline couldn't see Stefan turning down any of Rebekah's advances.

Caroline took one last look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled into it's usual style, she had just enough make up on to make her look refreshed and alive, she had on a short blue sequined dress with a plunging neckline and no sleeves, no back and some killer red pumps that made her about five inches taller than she was normally. She turned slightly, letting herself glance the back of the dress. Her skin was clear and glowing, no doubt courtesy of her vampire genes. The back of the dress only covered her ass, showing off her back quite nicely. Caroline whistled lowly to herself. She had to admit, she looked pretty sexy.

Leaving the mirror, Caroline turned to the desk near her and grabbed one of Rebekah's clutches, putting her cellphone, a couple twenty dollars bills and some lip gloss inside of it. Caroline shook her shoulders loose, hoping to also shake off all the anxiety she was feeling about the events from the past few days.

She was a hybrid now. Just like Tyler and Klaus. It would have been laughable if she hadn't woken up earlier that day caked in mud and bunny blood with a few vague memories of running through the bayou. She had no idea how she was going to tell any of her friends back home. It was one thing to tell Bonnie, who practically already knew everything and Stefan had been in New Orleans with Caroline so he was up to speed. But Elena? Klaus had killed her aunt and tried to make her his personal blood bag before she had been changed into a vampire. Caroline doubted Elena would put on a happy face and support Caroline in that new chapter of her life.

Caroline sighed, doing her best to forget anything and everything about Mystic Falls, if only for the evening."Thanks again for letting me borrow one of your outfits." Caroline smiled to Rebekah, her clothing savior. Caroline had plenty of clothes for a night out on the town, but unfortunately for her they were all in the room she shared with Klaus. The room he had told her she wasn't welcomed in. And as much as she would have loved to storm in there and had another brawl before her night out with Rebekah and Stefan, she decided against it. With her luck, Klaus would have forbidden her from going out she would have told him off and he would have knocked her unconscious. It wasn't the worst thing he'd ever done to her.

"No problem, darling. I've dealt with Nik's temper tantrums for a thousand years and it's always best to stay away for a day or two. Let him cool down." Caroline nodded in agreement. Rebekah turned, sliding on her stilettos before heading to the bedroom door. "Besides, I doubt he could ever stay mad at you for long. You've even tried to kill him on occasion and yet here you are, sharing his bed a year later."

Rebekah flashed from the room, leaving Caroline all alone.

Well, when Rebekah put it like that, surely Klaus would be over it by the time she got home from whatever club they were heading to.

Caroline was bored out of her mind. Seriously. She couldn't have been more bored if she'd tried any harder.

Stefan and Rebekah had been spending most of their time on the dance floor, which was a big surprised to Caroline. Stefan hated dancing, but with Rebekah he acted like he was enjoying himself, especially when the blond practically started dry humping him on the dance floor. Caroline had blushed and turned away, making her way to the bar and ordering a few shots of whiskey, slinging them back in the hopes of burning the image of Stefan and Rebekah from her mind.

After several shots of whiskey Caroline determined the alcohol did little to hide the images from her mind. If anything, all the alcohol did was make her drunk and miserable, wishing she was the one going wild on the dance floor with Klaus.

Klaus...

What was he even doing? Probably throwing a fit in some sort of rage somewhere or sucking women dry and then leaving their corpses on the sidewalks throughout the French Quarter. He was possibly even finding a new curse to break as he terrorized a bunch of teenagers from a small town.

Caroline scoffed, raising her hand to the bartender for another shot. She didn't care what he did. He was most likely back at the compound painting something dark and depressing, a reflection of his state of mind. Hell, maybe he was even reading.

A shot slid across the crowded bar, landing almost perfectly within her reach. Caroline tossed a bill on the counter and threw another shot back. When she straightened her head she was pleased to see the bar sway back and forth dramatically.

The dizzy, free falling sensation was what Caroline had been looking for and she loved it; relished it. It was almost as heady a sensation as when she and Klaus kissed, but not quite as engrossing.

Suddenly, Caroline decided she'd had enough of the evening. Wooshing behind the bar, Caroline grabbed a bottle of Jack before giving Stefan a quick wave goodbye as she exited the club, ignoring cat calls as her heels clacked quietly along the pavement.

Caroline drank as she walked, deep in thought.

Would Klaus still want her now that she was like him? Did it matter? Did she matter? Did anything?

She was still completely beyond annoyed that he, OF ALL PEOPLE, was angry with her because she had kept one teensy, tiny thing to herself. He had kept a BABY from her and did she freak out on him and give him the silent treatment? NO. She'd acted like an adult and been find with it. Sure, she was extremely curious to know how adorable a baby sired by Klaus would look like, but she still had a right to feel pissed. He'd been professing his endless love to her and yet he'd had a baby wit another woman. Not just another woman, but HAYLEY. And she hadn't flipped out on him. Oh no. She'd been super rational. So he had no right to think he could just ignore her and that she would let him. Or that it bothered her, because it didn't. Not at all. Besides, good luck with his plan to ignore her for the rest of eternity because she'd told him she planned on staying and she'd be damned if she left so soon. She'd enroll in school, do a lot of club activities, party it up all day and night, graduate as the valedictorian and then she'd go wherever the hell she wanted and she'd just IGNORE HIM if he didn't like it. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea.

Was she even planning on going to college in New Orleans? Now that all the threats in the city were pretty much eliminated, Klaus excluded, then wasn't New Orleans pretty much her oyster?

Wasn't there some phrase about an oyster? She couldn't remember.

Taking another pull from the bottle, Caroline sighed happily as the liquor burned slowly down her throat, almost like it was burning away any impurities she might have had in her life. Sometimes alcohol was like that, taking any and all imperfections and for a short while making them perfect.

Caroline stumbled across the pavement, leaning against a brick wall and hoping like hell it would steady her. The cold wall helped wake her body up slightly, which was better than nothing at all. Ever since she'd had that crazy hybrid thing happen, she'd been having a hell of time with feeling either too hot or too cold. She just figured it was a way for her body to adjust to the new werewolfness of it all.

"You look like you could use a bit of help." Marcel appeared next to the drunk blond vampire, smiling politely down at her as he held out a hand. "You're not lost are you?"

Caroline scoffed, pushing herself from the wall and rolling her eyes as she teetered from one foot to another. "Are you following me?" Caroline heard her heels clacking along the pavement before she had even realized she was moving again. How much had she had to drink? She glanced down at the bottle, noticing it was nearly halfway gone. Surely she hadn't drank that much? Yeah, she'd probably spilled a bit on her walk back to the compound.

Marcel smiled sheepishly, falling in step next to the blond, finding her pace easy to match. "Well, when you were leaning outside of my apartment, I figured I'd come see how you were holding up."

"I'm on my way back to the compound, so you can run along and tell Klaus, your lord and master, that. If he even cares. Whatever." Caroline kept walking ahead, making sure he head was looking straight as she walked.

"If you're planning on being back at the compound anytime soon, then you should probably know you're going in the wrong direction." Caroline stopped and looked back at Marcel, a curious look on her face.

"Marcel? When did you get here?"

Marcel raised his eyebrow before flashing over to her and tugging the bottle of Jack away from her. "I think you've had enough of this for tonight. How about I call Klaus and have him come and get you?"

Caroline rubbed her arms, shivering at the thought. "I doubt he'd come and get me, anyway." Marcel looked at her questioningly. "Earlier... He told me not to bother speaking to him and he pretty much kicked me out of our bedroom. I don't think he wants to see me right now. Which is fine. It's not like I care." Caroline realized her eyes were watering and she quickly rubbed them before speeding over to Marcel and grabbing the bottle from him. She smiled at the older vampire before taking another long swig. "I'll be fine by the time I finish this little guy up, I promise."

"Caroline..." Marcel turned the blond in the proper direction of the compound, slinging a comfortable arm around her shoulders as he did so. "Klaus is a peculiar individual." Caroline snorted at that. "Whatever you've done that has upset him, I'm sure he'll come around. Besides, he's a fool if he actually kicks you out of your shared bedroom." Caroline looked up at him, her eyes glazed from the alcohol.

"Do you really think so?"

"Oh, absolutely. Don't sell yourself short, kid. You've got the most powerful creature in the entire world pining after you, probably a mess back at the compound as we speak."

Caroline straightened her shoulders at the small pep talk. Marcel was probably right. No, he was definitely right. She'd always had Klaus, the Original Hybrid wrapped around her little finger and there was no way in hell he would actually get rid of her. Most likely.

"Marcel, what time is it?"

He looked down at his free arm, his watch reflecting off the moonlight. "Looks to me like it's a bit past midnight."

Caroline groaned. "It's not even one o'clock in the morning and I'm this drunk?"

"Drunk as a skunk, I'm afraid." Caroline giggled, pushing him away from her. She was grateful when he reached out and caught her before she tripped and fell.

"Are you saying that when I drink, I stink? Because that's just rude."

"I would never say that, Caroline. Merely imply it."

"Seriously?!" She shoved him away from her again, this time laughing hysterically when she fell back on her ass from her antics. Luckily, she had enough willpower to save the bottle of alcohol from the cold ground, but her butt wasn't so lucky.

"Now, now. I think it's time you went inside to face the music."

Caroline looked up, only then noticing they were standing outside of the compound walls, the giant 'M' for Mikaelson etched into the walls and doors. She sighed before she let Marcel help her up, staring at the horror with worry. What if Klaus was doing something on the other side of that door she wouldn't be able to forgive him for? She'd had boyfriends cheat on her before after a fight and she always felt worthless afterwards. And those guys she didn't even like. What if Klaus was in there with another woman? What would she do? Caroline didn't know but she would be devastated, no doubt about it. She'd fallen for one of the classic blunders and now Klaus would either make her or break her. She wasn't sure if she was prepared to face whatever waited her inside those four walls.

Caroline heard a noise and turned around, her hand on the door. She glanced at her companion curiously.

"Marcel, what are you doing here?" The man before her sighed and dropped his shoulders in defeat.

"Yeah. I think I'm just going to walk you inside, just to be on the safe side."

Caroline shrugged a shoulder before walking into the compound, wondering where the hell she'd been the past few hours. What was she even wearing? Caroline looked down at her smoking hot dress and shrieked in delight when she noticed the alcohol cradled protectively in her hand. She didn't hesitate to take a drink from it, savoring the taste as it poured smoothly down her throat.

"I think you've probably had enough alcohol tonight," Marcel commented as he led them up the stairs and into one of the living rooms, no doubt looking for someone.

"What are you, the drink police? I think I'm fine." Her words slurred slightly, causing her to laugh at herself.

"My, my. What do we have here?" Marcel asked and Caroline's laughter stopped abruptly as they entered the room Klaus was currently occupying. He looked up from the book in his hands and once he noticed her, his eyes immediately shot back down to his reading, almost as if he couldn't be bothered by her presence. Caroline felt her heart contract painfully, but she was a bit relieved to see him by himself and not with a horde of women clinging to him.

"Marcellus. Might I enquire as to why you're here?" Klaus asked without looking up, simply turning a page in his book and continuing with his reading. Marcel shot Caroline a sympathetic look before speaking up.

"I was just escorting the lovely Caroline home from a fun club outing."

She looked at him curiously. "You walked me all the way home from the club? That's sweet of you, Marcel!" Caroline grinned happily at her companion. Walking over to Klaus, she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, sighing dramatically when he ignored her. "Well hello to you too, grumpy gills."

Klaus slammed his book shut, standing from his seat and moving away from Caroline. "You didn't happen upon Stefan or Rebekah?" Marcel shook his head.

"She was kind of stumbling across the street in front of my apartment. Anyways, I walked her home from there."

Growing bored of there conversation, Caroline picked up the book Klaus had been reading, grimacing when she saw the title. She tossed the book towards the desk, wincing slightly when it sailed past and slammed into a nearby wall.

Klaus turned from Marcel, finally giving his full attention to Caroline. "That was a first edition you launched at the wall."

"Sorry?" She tried to look contrite, but she was just grateful his gaze was on her, however brief a time. His eyes wandered from the top of her head, lingering heavily on her plunging neckline, before reaching down to her toes.

"You've had too much to drink, Caroline." Klaus scolded her before turning his attention back to Marcel.

"Well, I believe that's pure rubbish," Caroline mocked in what she hoped was a flawless British accent. From the way Marcel cringed and Klaus straightened his back, Caroline was going to assume that, no, it was not a flawless attempt.

"Mate, I believe you should leave. Thank you for dropping her off."

Marcel nodded and left the room as Caroline said, "I'm not a piece of luggage."

Klaus turned back towards the room, picking up his fallen book before sitting in another chair, keeping a comfortable distance away from Caroline. She set down her bottle of Jack as she yawned. Once she was done, she bent to pick up the alcohol, eyes widening when it suddenly vanished right in front of her eyes.

"What the..." She turned around slowly, wincing slightly when the room swayed dramatically. Looking practically everywhere, Caroline narrowed her eyes when she realized Klaus was drinking the rest of her bottle. "Hey! That's mine!" She rushed forward to grab it from him only to pause when he finished the bottle off in one long pull from the glass. Caroline crossed her arms and sat down on the floor, her heels coming out from under her as her legs turned to jelly. "That was rude."

"As I said before, Caroline. You've had too much to drink." Klaus looked at her, sighing loudly before speaking again. "You should go to sleep. I don't have plans to stay up and be your babysitter."

"Fine, I'll go to sleep." Caroline flopped down on her back roughly, her head connecting sharply with the wooden floor. Shaking off the pounding in her skull, Caroline shut her eyes, willing her body to drift off to sleep.

"You can't go to sleep there." Klaus said roughly, almost as if he were annoyed by her.

Caroline opened her eyes, looking up at the Hybrid who happened to be standing over her. "As I recall, you have banned me from our bedroom, so it's not like I have anywhere else to sleep tonight."

"I'm sure you could find somewhere." Klaus nudged the beautiful blond angel with his shoe, hoping to keep her awake enough for their conversation.

Caroline shot straight up, ignoring the aching in her head as she turned to Klaus, anger etched all over her face. "You don't want me here? Then fine. FINE. I'm sure I could find somewhere else to sleep tonight, and you know what? Maybe I'll just go do that." Caroline turned, clearly intent on leaving the arrogant bastard. Klaus flashed before her, hands gripping her arms tightly.

"You aren't leaving."

"God, isn't that what you just said you wanted?"

"I meant one of the other rooms, Caroline. Not out with someone else." Oh. She'd thought he wanted her gone...

"Oh. I thought you wanted me to leave." Klaus remained silent, his eyes brooding as he looked at her. Caroline felt her upper lip quiver dangerously as she stared back at him. "You just don't want me to be in the same room as you, is that it?" Klaus sighed, stepping away from Caroline and running his hands through his hair. She felt broken, deflated. He didn't need to have another woman in the room while she was out to make her feel like nothing... His silence was saying more than enough.

"Fine... I'll just grab my things from your room and I'll see if I can find a hotel somewhere nearby." She didn't have to stay and put up with him when he was like this. She hadn't done anything to deserve it, she knew she hadn't. Caroline rubbed a tear from her eye, looking down at the floor as she walked towards his bedroom. There was nothing more sobering than the ending of a relationship, and Caroline had a sinking feeling that was about to happen. Why did she put everything into a potential relationship with Klaus? She should have known. Anytime Caroline ever found herself in a relationship, she ALWAYS threw everything she had into it and she always ended up beaten and broken by the end. Hadn't she learned better by now?

Reaching the spacious bedroom, Caroline grabbed a few of her toiletries from the bathroom and headed back into the bedroom. She tossed her suitcase onto the bed, opening it to place a few of her things inside. Feeling another tear fall down her cheek, Caroline brushed it away in a hurry. Packing as much as possible, Caroline zipped up her suitcase and set it on the ground. She turned and before she knew it she was pressed down roughly into the luxurious fourposter bed.

Klaus was above her, his entire body pressing comfortably into hers.

"What are you doing," Caroline asked breathlessly. Klaus trailed a thumb down her wet cheek, catching a few of her tears before he brushed them away lovingly. Caroline felt her pain beating at her and once their bodies were pressed next to each other, Caroline could feel his pain too, pressing into her like a wave of misery.

"I don't want you to leave, love." Klaus whispered down at her.

Caroline sucked in a deep breath, her tears falling more freely now. "I don't want to leave, either. But you really hurt my feelings."

Caroline turned from him, lying on her side to keep her face from his.

"We had a little spat, love. I'm over it."

"Well I'm not." Caroline whispered back to him, remembering that exact conversation they'd had after the ball his family had thrown in Mystic Falls.

"I'm sorry about everything. I didn't intend to make you this upset." Klaus rubbed her bare shoulder in a soothing motion.

"But you wanted to hurt me, didn't you?" Klaus remained silent, giving Caroline the other confirmation she needed. Sitting up quickly, Caroline scooted from the bed, no doubt giving him a glimpse of her ass as she did so. Why did her outfit need to be so short? Caroline whirled around, facing Klaus, who was now standing in front of her. "Why is it every time I do something you don't approve of, your first reaction is to lash out and hurt me?"

"Do not turn this in to some sort of foolish argument. You lied to me! I expect if from my siblings, but not from you." Caroline rolled her eyes at Klaus before she turned and grabbed a few more of her things, throwing them over by her suitcase. Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, stepping menacingly in her direction. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm grabbing my things and then I'm leaving." She found a hat and tossed it in the same direction as her other items.

"No you're not." Klaus threw some of her clothing back across the room, smirking at her victoriously as it landed in a heap on the floor. Not giving up, Caroline threw her things back at him, smiling viciously when a shoe hit him in the back.

"I'm not going to stay here with a hypocrite. So let me pack my things and leave." Klaus turned in her direction, taking a few long steps until she had to back up to get some distance from the angry hybrid.

"Hypocrite?!"

"Yes!" Caroline shouted back, thrusting her face practically into his. "Anytime you lie to me for my own good, you think it's perfectly acceptable. I do it once, to spare you the crushing blow of assuming I would leave you, WHICH I DIDN'T, and you just freak out, kick me out of OUR bedroom and then think it's a good idea to purposely hurt my feelings just so you can try to feel better?"

Without answering, Klaus turned around and marched over to her suitcase, ripping it open and throwing all of her things across the floor, ignoring her shriek of indignation as he launched the suitcase out of the open window of the second story bedroom.

Caroline picked up another shoe and hurled it at Klaus, fist pumping the air when it smacked him right upside the head. "You owe me a new suitcase, you jerk!"

Klaus stared at Caroline for a moment more before a small smile started with his mouth before it reached his eyes. "I don't think anyone has ever hit me with a shoe before."

Caroline looked at him sheepishly. "Yeah. Well. Suck on that."

Klaus chuckled a bit to himself before he came over and wrapped Caroline in his arms, not caring when she protested slightly. "I'll give you whatever you desire, just please don't leave."

"Don't leave the compound or don't leave you?"

"Both. I've been a fool and I apologize." At his words the anger melted out of Caroline and in its place was exhaustion. She looked up at him, noting how sad he seemed compared to moments before. She wasn't feeling too wonderful either.

"I just want you to trust me. After all the terrible things you've done to my friends and to me, I've still found it in my heart to forgive you and to start a life with you." Klaus rested his forehead against hers. "Just." She let out a shuddering breath, realizing that she was practically freezing in the room. "Just don't hurt me on purpose like that again. I deserve for you to be better. For me."

Klaus wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and taking her to their bed, lifting the covers and setting her protectively inside before he removed his clothes and slid in next to her. Wrapping his arms around her small waist, Klaus kissed her forehead, her hair, her cheek. Anywhere he could, he left a trail of gentle kisses to mark his forgiveness.

Caroline sighed happily, curling her body into his as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"I'll do better, love. For you." Klaus whispered down at the sleeping beauty. "I love you, Caroline."