Chapter 13

"You're here." Caroline breathed out, not quite believing that he was standing right in front of her.

"Of course, Sweetheart." Klaus moved forward so that he was about a foot away from her. "Rebekah said that she was worried about you and mentioned that you were going to the Boarding House to meet with the Doppelganger. She said that you seemed uneasy about it, so I thought you might need som -"

He was cut off as she rushed forward, burying her face in his chest. She couldn't hold back the sobs that racked through her entire body. Klaus seemed taken aback that she was hugging him. He didn't really know what to do with his hands; he wasn't the one most people went to when they needed comforting… After several seconds, he rested his hands on her back and drew her closer into his chest. He rubbed her back with one of his hands as he let her continue crying.

"It's alright, Love. Let it out." He said, trying to offer her some sort of reassurance. "You're home. You're safe. It's okay."

After several minutes, Caroline was able to even out her breathing and get her tears under control. She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and noticed that she had gotten his henley wet.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry! I just ruined your shirt." Caroline exclaimed, grabbing a tissue and trying to dab some of the wetness out of his shirt.

"Love," Klaus gently grabbed her wrist and took the tissue from her hand. "It's a shirt. It's not important." He led her over to her bed, and they both sat down. "What happened, Sweetheart?"

"I - it was -" Caroline tried to find the right words to describe everything she felt in the past hour. "It was bad, Klaus, really bad."

She saw his eyes flash and his fist clench. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "You can tell me anything, Love."

"I know, I'm just still processing it."

"Perhaps talking about it will help you to understand it better." Klaus suggested.

Caroline took a deep breath and wiped her eyes once more, sending herself a silent thank you for waking up late and having to skip her mascara and eyeliner. "So when I got there, they were all sitting on a couch. Elena, Stefan and Damon. Just sitting there staring at me like I was on trial or something. I asked what Elena wanted to talk to me about and she said that she wanted to give me the chance to change my mind and call off the truce. I was so confused, Klaus. I really hoped that she wanted to tell me that she was still nervous about it, but would try the truce out. Especially after Alaric told her about you not wanting her blood anymore. I was so sure that that would make things right. It just went downhill from there. Damon said I was dumb for believing you. He said that right to my face after everything he did to me, and Elena and Stefan just sat there. They didn't say anything! One of my best friends since preschool just sat there while the man who hurt me so much called me dumb. It brought back everything, every degrading thing he had said to me, every horrible thing he had done to me. I held it together, Klaus, I still tried to be calm and talk to Elena and Stefan. I tried to explain how nice the past few days had been without the constant fear of someone getting hurt. Things finally felt normal for the first time in over a year. Elena was pissed! She said that eating lunch with Rebekah wasn't 'normal.' You know what else isn't normal? Elena glaring at me every time she sees me. And then Damon decided that he needed to interject." Caroline's fury came back as she remembered what he did. "He said that you weren't normally in my bedroom at one in the morning and that he didn't remember you and I having sex being part of the truce."

Klaus' eyes flashed gold. "He needs a reminder of his place in this world." He growled.

"I couldn't believe him! I was furious, I still am. But, it's all okay, want to know why? Elena told him to 'look out' for me. Elena wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt me so she sent Damon to protect me. What the fuck is that? I lost it. I told her that if she genuinely believed that she was right in doing that, then she didn't listen to anything I said on Saturday. I told her that I felt safer with you than I ever had around him. That you have never hurt me. I told her -" She cut herself off, her eyes going wide as she realized that she had almost revealed the worst part of what Damon had done to her. "I - Shit! I almost told her about him making me… about how he compelled me to sleep with him. Stefan was there. He tried to see if I was okay." She thought back to the look that Stefan had shot his brother. "He knows. Or at least he suspects. Dammit! This is why I don't talk about this. I don't want everyone knowing; I don't want their pity."

"Caroline, stop right there." Klaus said sternly. "You have nothing to feel bad about. You shouldn't need to hide your feelings just to make other peoples' lives easier. Especially if those people claim to be your 'friends.' I know I haven't been doing this friend thing very long, but even I have come to realize you don't push others' feelings aside when something is really bothering them. That's not right, Sweetheart. I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I feel as if we never made this truce, that this never would have happened. Perhaps it was a mist -"

"No," Caroline said firmly. "I don't regret our truce. The past week has been great. I mean that. It wasn't just the truce that brought all of this up. Elena has been getting closer to Damon for months now. I tried to tell her to be careful, and I told her some of the things he did to me. Obviously, she didn't listen. This whole situation has been a long time coming. You're right. It's wrong that she's been pushing my feelings aside."

"Can I do anything to help, Love?" He asked.

"I don't really know what else can be done about the situation. Before I left, I told Elena to reconsider the truce because I think she's making a mistake. I also told her not to send Damon to do anything for me." She looked away from him, shuddering. "I can't believe he's been watching me for the past few days. I had no idea… Shouldn't I have been able to sense him or something? I mean I was turned with his blood… I know I'm not sired to him, and thank God for that, but shouldn't I be able to feel it when he's near me? Or at least hear him sneaking around and following me? I'm a freaking vampire! I can hear conversations a few houses down the street."

"Siring and blood lines don't work that way, Love." Klaus replied gently. "I can't even feel when the hybrids are near me. I didn't hear him or see him the other night when I was here either. To be fair, we were both distracted by our discussion. I'm sorry, Sweetheart, I should have been more alert and attentive to our surroundings."

"No, I didn't mean it was your fault or mine. It's Damon's fault, Elena's too."

"There is something I could do to help you." Klaus began tentatively. "I could train you."

"What? Train me how?"

"I could work with you on your vampire skills. Help you fine tune your new abilities. Has anyone even shown you how to use them to their full potential?"

"Well, I mean Stefan taught me how to hunt when I first turned. I couldn't really follow through on his bunny diet, but he showed me how to hear an animal and track it through the woods." Caroline explained, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Oh, Sweetheart, there's so much more that I can show you. What do you say?" Klaus asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"I say… yes." She smiled at him. "I want to learn how to protect myself too. Can you teach me how to fight?"

"Of course I can show you how to fight, Love." He smiled at her. "You won't need to fight anyone though. I meant it when I told you that I would be there to protect you from now on."

"I know that you did. I just want to know how to do things myself too."

"Well then I suppose we'll have to arrange some additional time together to work on all of that." He agreed, a smirk appearing on his face. "Speaking of which, I would like to ask you if it would be okay to move up our date on Friday from 7 o'clock to whenever you get done with school?"

"A daytime date? That's different." She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I like to be different, Sweetheart."

"I think I noticed that about you. Something about being the original and only hybrid, the most powerful being in the history of all of humankind!" She teased and waved her hands at him with a flourish.

He chuckled. "Something like that. So as to abide by your date request I would like to pick you up after school and start the date then. It would be extremely casual as well. If I could make a suggestion, I think it would be beneficial for you to wear a pair of jeans and perhaps those boots you are so fond of."

Caroline quirked an eyebrow when he said to dress 'extremely casual,' what did that even mean? She didn't expect that from him. "What are we doing for this day date?"

"Nope, Love. That is a secret," he smirked.

"How is that fair? How do you even know that I'll like what we do?"

"Oh, I know for a fact that you will like it, Sweetheart."

She blushed at the innuendo in his voice. "Fine. I guess we'll just have to see about that. I have high standards, you know." She informed him.

"Oh I know, Love. I would expect nothing else from the lovely Miss Mystic Falls." He winked at her.

She dramatically tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Damn straight."

He laughed. "So are you going to let me go after the Salvatore boy after this incident?"

"No, Klaus." She rolled her eyes at him. "No matter what he did to me in the past, Elena still cares for him. Being a good friend sometimes requires being the bigger person."

"As much as I love your light, Caroline, sometimes I think you are too nice for your own good."

"Yeah, well being too nice is a thousand times better than being bad." She responded.

"I don't know, Sweetheart, sometimes being bad can be quite fun, if you know what I mean." He said in a husky tone of voice as he winked at her, and was pleased when she turned a deep shade of red.

"Anyways," she cleared her throat and glanced away from him for a second before meeting his eyes seriously. "Be honest, being nice for the past few days has felt good, hasn't it?"

It was Klaus' turn to sigh dramatically, "It hasn't been terrible, I suppose." She laughed. "It really has been a pleasant change, Sweetheart. It is nice to have my family back together and not being constantly paranoid and looking over my shoulder. This was what I always wanted when we were on the run from Mikael. I just wish my mother wasn't out there somewhere plotting who knows what."

She frowned at the reminder of Ester and the potential looming threat. "Well, when or if she comes back or makes a move, we'll be ready.

"'We?'" Klaus asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah, actually, that was something I forgot to tell you about when Rebekah and I updated my friends on Monday. Bekah mentioned that even though we were planning to unlink you all, we still needed to be aware and alert for any signs of Ester or her plans. That's how Rebekah said it too. She used the word 'we.' No one disagreed either. Alaric said that he thought that all of us being on alert was a smart idea." Caroline paused and grabbed his hand before continuing. "I can't speak for everyone, but I'm planning to help you and your family fight against your mom. I have gotten to know you and Rebekah, and even Kol, better than I ever thought I would and I count you all as my friends. I think Bonnie is starting to see you guys the same way, well, at least, Rebekah and Kol. I do think she's warming up to you too." Caroline smiled as he raised one eyebrow at her. "I'm serious! I told her some of the things that we've talked about and how you've really been there for me over the past week. She seems to understand our friendship. She even admitted that she was surprised that you apologized for the things that you've done in the past. She said that she thinks that you're kind of turning over a new leaf or showing a different side of yourself."

"Thank you, Caroline." He said seriously, squeezing their joined hands that were resting on her leg. "All our life, it has been my family and I against the world. I have to admit that it's nice having… friends that we can trust to be there for us."

"That's what friends do for each other."

They shared another smile before Caroline noticed her backpack by her bedroom door. She sighed, "As much as I enjoy talking with you, I actually have some homework in a few of my classes."

He smiled at her, "Which classes, Love?"

"Math, science and social studies. I'm pretty good with science work, but math sucks. And there's just so much to remember with social studies."

"Would you like some help, Sweetheart?"

She cocked her eyebrow at him, "You want to help me with my homework?"

"I want to spend time with you." He smiled. "The faster we get through your homework, the more time we have to keep talking." She smiled at him and began to stand up to go get her bag. He reached out and gently took her wrist to stop her before she got too far. "Are you alright, Sweetheart? With everything that happened today?"

She sighed as she sat back down. "I don't like what happened today. Elena is one of my best friends and I hate fighting with her. But, you were right when you said that she's not acting like a friend. She's pushing my feelings aside and that's not okay. I feel better knowing that you'll be teaching me how to use my vamp skills and how to fight. I think it'll help me to know that I can defend myself in case anything happens in the future. I've been kidnapped and tortured more times than I would like to remember. I like the idea of being able to protect myself in case that ever happens again."

"I'm glad that you will feel more comfortable, Love, but I plan to always be there when you need help from now on." They smiled at each other and sat for a few seconds in comfortable silence. "Let's get to that homework of yours, shall we?"

Caroline grinned as she went over to grab her bag. She flopped it down on the bed and pulled out her subject folders. Klaus noticed how each class had its own color scheme and how everything was labeled. It was very Caroline.

She furrowed her brows when she heard him chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing, Sweetheart, your organizational skills are quite the force to be reckoned with. I think you would make a fantastic events coordinator."

"It's just so much easier when everything has its place."

They worked together on her homework for over an hour and a half. Caroline was surprised how good he was at math. She called him a nerd, and he acted offended and told her that he happened to be friends with Einstein and Newton. She quickly finished her science as he lazily looked through her world history textbook. He found great pleasure in pointing out details that the authors had gotten wrong. She wished that she could have used him as a resource in her mini essay about the French Revolution, but she didn't even know where to start when it came to citing him in her bibliography.

As she was repacking her school bag, she noticed his eyes scanning her body. She smiled to herself, content that she had once again caught the eye of the 'all powerful hybrid.'

She cleared her throat and cocked an eyebrow at him, expecting him to get embarrassed at being caught checking out her ass. He simply shrugged and smiled at her, daring her to call him out on it. Caroline rolled her eyes. "Do you want a blood bag? I think we have some leftover lasagna too."

"That sounds great, Love."

They went into the kitchen together. Caroline explained where the blood bags were in the basement, and he went to go retrieve a couple of them while she put the lasagna in the oven to reheat.

"Are you a fan of Italian food, Sweetheart?" He asked her as they sat down at the table with two glasses of B positive and two plates of steaming lasagna.

"I am." Caroline said as she dug into her plate. "Italian and Mexican are my two favorite types of foreign food. I would never turn down a cheeseburger and fries though." She grinned.

"Love, there are so many more types of food out there besides Italian and Mexican. There's steak and kidney pie and beef wellington in London; pelmeni in Moscow; paczkis in Warsaw; crawfish etouffee in New Orleans; beignets and escargot in Paris -"
She cut him off making a face. "No way. Escargot is snails. I am not eating snails, Klaus, no matter how good you try to tell me they are, there is absolutely no way."

He laughed as he took a bite of his lasagna. "Fine, you don't have to try the snails, but I'm taking you to try all the others some day."

"Fine, but you need to add schnitzel in Berlin to your list. I don't even know what it is, but it's really fun to say." Caroline grinned at him.

They both laughed at her comment. Klaus was thrilled. He didn't know if she realized it, but she just agreed that she would let him show her the world one day.