AN: Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter, reviewed or voted for my story in the Burning Diamond Awards! Congratulations to all the other winners!

Anyway onto the story.

Ch.36

Bella POV

Feeling hopeless, I turn my head from my closed window to my clock. It's a little past nine o'clock in the evening and ever since Rebekah left this morning I've been hoping and silently begging for Klaus to come over. Even though I've explained my reasons to him yesterday at his house, I know he didn't understand. Maybe if he could come over I could try again to get him to understand. But there is a small part of me that whispers mockingly that due to my secrets I've lost Klaus forever and he won't ever forgive me.

My eyes sting with the beginnings of tears but I bite down harshly on my lower lip. The pain distracts me from the present and the tears dry up. I stand up and head for the bathroom to start getting ready for bed. Being on edge all day has drained me of energy and I just want to sleep the night away now. I turn on the tap and start washing my face when I hear a faint thunk. I lift my head, eyes closed against the soap and listen harder but can't hear anything. Just as I finish washing the soap away, I definitely hear someone knocking at the door.

I scrub my face dry and walk to the front door, not caring that my hair is pilled messily on top of my head. The curtains are shut on the door so I just see a tall male standing on the porch and I inwardly hope that it is Klaus.

I open the door and my heart drops to my feet. Klaus is leaning against my door jam and is looking as gorgeous as ever. He gives me a small sad smile and asks, "Can I come in?"

I nod to him and step back in silence. Klaus steps over the threshold and looks as if he wants to walk towards me but stops himself. As much as I want to go to Klaus too I remember how I felt leaving his house and how I felt when he screamed at me.

I cross my arms over my chest, trying to protect myself before anything can happen. "Am I going to have to explain my choices again or have you gained understanding in the past day?"

Klaus looks at his shoes and slowly shakes his head, "I'm sorry." He says and my heart drops and I'm sure that he's going to tell me to leave and never see him again.

I hold my breath and silently plead for Klaus to continue. He lifts his head and locks his eyes with mine as he takes the two steps that separate us and we are now inches apart. "I'm sorry I was such an ass yesterday. I should've understood that you never meant any harm and that I would've done the same thing in that situation."

"You're damn right you were an ass yesterday." I take a deep breath and calm my temper, getting angry won't help this situation. I purse my lips, "Thank you for the apology but you can't take all the blame, I'm at fault too. I should've told you about myself from the beginning because I was being a hypocrite expecting you to be truthful when I wasn't."

Klaus lifts a hand and gently cups my face, "Can you forgive me?" He asks in a whisper.

"I forgave you the second I left your house," I say equally as quiet. Klaus then does my favorite thing, he smiles. It's not the mocking one he gives to other people; it's the genuine smile I've only seen maybe twice. I exhale a sign of relief and give Klaus a small smile before punching him lightly in the shoulder. His eyes widen in shock and I let out a little chuckle. He asks, "What was that for?"

I raise an eyebrow, "That was for almost giving me a heart attack a few seconds ago and for being an ass yesterday." I smile at him though so that he knows we are all good now.

He smiles back and pulls me into an embrace. For a moment I'm stiff with shock before I relax into his strong and warm arms. I turn my head and press a soft kiss into the scruff of his cheek and whisper, "I'll tell you anything you ask me, no more secrets. I promise."

Klaus hugs me tighter for a second before pulling away, "I like that idea." He says and then pulls me down the hall and into my room. We plop down on the bed together and we lay facing each other but not touching, "Tell me something about you that no one else knows."

I smile sheepishly and look off into the room before speaking, "Once when I was seven and lived in Phoenix with my mom I really wanted a puppy but we didn't have the money. So one day as I was walking home from school I saw this stray puppy and once I saw his perfect little face I knew I had to have him. So I took him home, gave him a bowl of water and fed him a few pieces of bread while we waiting for Renee to come home. Just before she came home though I let the dog out to go to the bathroom but he never came back. I never asked for another dog after that." I finish and Klaus grabs my hand and squeezes it in understanding.

I sit up on my bed and look down at Klaus. "Now you have to tell me something Mr. Big-Shot."

Klaus rolls his eyes at my nickname. "Well you know about how I grew up from Elijah but you don't know that when I was a teenager I went through a bow and arrow fascination. I fought better with a sword but I didn't just want to be limited in my fighting abilities. So I carved my own bow and arrows and practiced for hours every day to improve my accuracy and speed. After a few months the bow was second nature to me and I liked to play tricks on people with it. One day Kol was setting a trap for our supper when I shot the rope he was using and broke it in two. He was so shocked he never imagined it was me. I did all sorts of little tricks on the other villagers until one day my father found out so he took my bow and broke it over his knee. After that day, I decided I would never touch a bow again and I haven't broken my word yet."

Klaus' eyes are staring off into space as he relives the memory himself and my heart breaks for the little boy who just wanted to be loved. I squeeze his hand tighter, hoping that now that I'm in his life he won't ever feel lost again.

Klaus blinks and I know he is back in the present again. He looks up at me and smiles, "I'm glad you trust me because I really trust you too."

My heart pounds in my chest as an enormous smile covers my face. A piece of hair falls out of my rushed bun and Klaus gently touches my cheek before reaching up and tugging my hair from its binds. "Now, I was told I had to ask you about your past because Elijah is too much of an honorable man to reveal anything."

I fiddle with a stray thread on the hem of my sleep pants as I quickly give Klaus the background on my life and how I lived with my mom until I moved to Forks for the last semester of my junior year. "When I got to Forks it was everything I remembered: cold, wet and green. I soon met Edward Cullen and we didn't exactly have the best first meeting you could say. He avoided me and it was later I found out why. He was avoiding me because I was his one and only singer, the person who's blood smelled the best to him. I started figuring out what he and his family were after he saved me from being crushed by a van. A few days later after I was told a Quileute legend about Cold Ones I connected the dots.

"I confronted Edward about my thoughts the next day and he confirmed my idea. He and his entire family were Cold Ones that drank animal blood. I dated Edward for almost nine months but when I was injured at his house on my birthday he believed it would be best for all of them to leave me." I lift my eyes to Klaus and shrug my shoulders, "I was heartbroken. Edward was my first love and he told me I wasn't good enough for him or his life. For weeks I was numb to the world but when a vampire attack killed a teacher of mine I woke up and told myself I would never be like that again. Then Elijah came into town to take the open job. You probably have been caught up from there."

Klaus stills my hand that is trying to pull the thread from the fabric and I force myself to look into his eyes. "You being pulled into this world at your age was not fair."

I shrug because I have accepted my life as it is now. "I'm used to my crazy life now. I mean, what's interesting in life without being threatened once in a while." I joke and chuckle but Klaus flinches slightly before continuing to stare at me seriously.

AN: Thanks for reading and the next chapter should be up sometime next week. Have a good day.