Hello dear reader!

I am here to present you my second story, a short one of probably 12 chapters. Klaus and Caroline are the main protagonists, the primary couple of this story. We have a secondary couple, Elijah and Samara (I just like the name for its meaning - protected by God. The actress that I have chosen for Samara is Tejasswi Prakash, but you can imagine any other person/actress or yourself as Samara).

There will be changes in the original background story but there's this one particular change of events that I would like to mention beforehand. It wasn't on Caroline's graduation day that Klaus promised to be her last love. It happened before, and now on her graduation day, something else will be happening. ;)

Regret.

That was what Caroline was filled up with as she laid down on her bed, her cell phone in her hand. She stared at the last message she had sent him, the source of her regret. Caroline had sent that message during a moment of vulnerability caused by the overwhelming emotions that Caroline had felt since he left. But what brought tears to her eyes was that he never replied to the message that she had sent a week ago. It made her think that all his promises were nothing but a lie. The promise of being her last love, of never forgetting her, and that of waiting for her to take a step towards him; every promise meant nothing. Every word of his was a lie.

Niklaus Mikaelson.

Klaus.

Oh, how much she hated him in for it, for not replying to her message. It felt that he didn't care, and maybe he didn't. Caroline felt stupid for being so emotional about it. She should have known that there was no way the 1000-year-old, wicked hybrid would ever have feelings for a baby vampire like her. Caroline was stupid to believe his words about her being the light in his otherwise dark life, his light. She was nothing to him. He would have had replied to her message if she had meant something to him.

I miss you.

Just these three simple words describe how she felt in his absence. It's been a month and a half since he left after promising her to be her last love. He promised to wait for her to come to him. And no matter how much she hated it, she felt miserable without him. That night when he walked away, he took a piece of her soul with him. And now she had this gaping hole in her soul, sad, depressed, and utterly miserable.

~Flashbacks Begin~

Caroline let out a frustrated breath as she stared at the array of clothes in her closet. She was having a hard time deciding on an outfit to wear for the dinner that Klaus had planned for them. Just dinner, not a date. She didn't know the details of it as to where they would be having their dinner tonight. Klaus was being too secretive about this dinner which she was constantly reminding herself of not being a date. She didn't want to be under or overdressed for this dinner. That's all.

The only reason she agreed to this dinner was to persuade him to let go of Tyler. He had said that he would think about it and promised her that he wouldn't trouble her after that. All that she had to do was have dinner with him. The offer seemed promising, and hence she had agreed.

She didn't ask him about the place where they would be having their dinner. Or what kind of outfit should she wear. Caroline didn't want him to think that she was taking this dinner seriously as if it was important to her. But still, she had spent the last 3 hours going through all her clothes to pick something for dinner with Klaus. Caroline wanted to bang her head against something hard and would have done that if someone wasn't at the door, ringing the doorbell.

Caroline went downstairs to open the door and found a young man holding a gift box in his hands. "Caroline Forbes?" he looked nervous, almost afraid.

"Yes." she replied.

"This for you, from Klaus." he handed her the box gently and carefully as if the box held something fragile. Afterward, he rushed away using vampiric speed.

Caroline closed the door and went back upstairs to her room with the box in her hands. She sat on her bed and opened the box. The contents of it causing her to gasp.

First, she picked up the note that he had written for her;

Dear Caroline,

Please accept this as a token of my gratitude. I'm eagerly waiting for your arrival tonight.

~Yours Klaus.

She placed the note in the lower drawer of her side table. The same drawer where she had kept all the other hand-written messages that Klaus had sent her so far. The drawer also contained the sketch that he had made of and for her. And all the other gifts that he had given her for one purpose or the other.

After putting the note away, Caroline focused her attention on the rest of the items. In the large box that she received, there were four other boxes of different sizes. She chose to open the biggest one first. Inside laid a gorgeous blush pink dress made out of beautiful intricate lace and had tiny silver sequins decorated over it in a flower pattern. It was a knee-length, off-the-shoulder dress with long sheer lace sleeves. The dress was beautiful and exactly her size.

The next box held a pair of fancy white pumps with silver metal floral decoration on the heels. Even the shoes fit perfectly. By now, Caroline was excited to see what was in the other two boxes. One of the leftover boxes was square, while the other one was rectangular. She opened the square one first.

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted as she stared at the simple yet elegant pieces of jewelry. Tucked inside the box was a pendant set made of diamonds and pearls encrusted in platinum. The pendant and the earrings were of a teardrop shape, the pearl placed inside the teardrop shape formed by small diamonds. Her fingers caressed the pieces of jewelry for a few seconds before she moved onto the last box.

Caroline groaned and then chuckled and then groaned again as she looked at the bracelet she found in the last box. It was the same bracelet that Klaus had gifted her for her birthday. It was also an apology for almost killing her. The same one that she had thrown away.

A part of her wanted to return all these items to Klaus. But the other one desired to keep them all. Klaus always did this! He would always confuse her; with him, she always had contradictory thoughts debating in her mind. One moment Klaus would give her a glimpse of the human inside him, and the other, Klaus would be ready to kill her friends. He was a gentleman to her, always calling her sweet names, helping her with stuff, and just so perfect! But Klaus is also the villain in her friends' lives. Especially in Elena's, whom he wanted to use as a 'Hybrid Making Machine' or an exclusive 'Hybrid Blood Bank'!

Sometimes she wanted to give him a chance, but then he would do something that would scare away all the thoughts of giving him a chance. He was a puzzle to her with certain pieces missing. Something that she wanted to fix but was afraid to begin even. For the next hour, Caroline just sat there on her bed with all the gift boxes surrounding her. She would run her hands over them, count the number of sequins on the dress, calculate the cost of the jewelry, and stare at the gifts.

It was when the alarm buzzed that she realized that she should be getting ready for dinner. Caroline decided to wear the dress that he had sent her along with the jewelry and the shoes. He had promised her that he wouldn't trouble her after this, so she decided to do it his way. Just this one last time. Caroline took the next an hour and 45 minutes to get ready. She was putting in great efforts while dressing up for this dinner (not a date) which meant nothing to her. Or maybe she was trying to fool herself by thinking so.

And later on when she was cursing herself for not even asking Klaus about the venue, she was interrupted by the doorbell again. This time Klaus had sent a car for her.

The first thing that she noticed when she arrived at the venue wasn't the lovely decorations. It was Klaus. Her eyes found him first, and the surroundings became dull like always. Caroline looked at him with appreciative eyes and a natural blush coloring her cheeks. Klaus looked charming and perfect in that black suit with a crisp white shirt and a blush pink tie.

"You look ethereal, love." Klaus smiled as he approached her. His smile, widening into a grin when he noticed the bracelet on her wrist.

"You look good too." was the response that Caroline managed to mutter before Klaus was pulling her over to the table for two. He had chosen this perfect spot in the woods. Fairy lights decorated the surrounding trees, and a few pendant lights hanging just over the table and supported by the tree branch. There were candles as well, medium-sized and scented, sparsely placed on the ground, and two on the table as well. Everything looked so beautiful and so natural. Minimal, simple, and perfect.

Klaus pulled a chair for her to sit before taking a seat himself. Sitting opposite to her, Klaus gave her a dimpled smile, his features relaxed, and his dark blue-green eyes full of warmth and light. He looked unlike his usual self, and it made Caroline uncomfortable.

"Forgive me if I am causing you discomfort, sweetheart. It's just you look so enchanting that I am finding it hard not to stare at you." Klaus's words made Caroline bite her lower lip. She tried to divert the conversation onto something random, like the food they'll be having and how pretty the decorations were.

Klaus let Caroline do the most talking as he focused his attention and energy on listening to her and memorizing every detail about her. He had ordered her favorite food and the best wine from his collection that he knew would suit her taste. They had a great time which surprised Caroline. She enjoyed his company now that she wasn't playing the blonde distraction. They talked about ordinary things avoiding all the supernatural stuff. He asked her about her plans, her choice of career, everything about her.

She enjoyed being with him so much that she forgot about everything else. She hadn't been this much happy in a while, never had someone made her so happy. That's why when the time to part ways arrived did Caroline felt an ache build up inside her. He drove her back to her home, and all through the drive, Caroline remained silent.

"I had a great time tonight. You are surprisingly good when you aren't the big and bad Original hybrid." Caroline avoided looking at Klaus as she traced the edges of the bracelet on her wrist.

Klaus smiled, not a smirk but a genuine smile, his dimples showing, "Well, I am glad to give you a pleasant last impression, at least."

That made Caroline look up at him, staring directly into his eyes as she asked, "The 'last' impression? What do you mean?" her eyes widened as the thought of his leaving Mystic Falls formed in her mind.

Klaus continued to smile, "I am leaving, Caroline. As I said, I won't be troubling you anymore."

"What? Why? Don't you need to make more hybrids now?" the words just came out of her mouth before she could even think about it.

A chuckle, "Weren't you the one who didn't want me to make more hybrids?" the intense emotions in his eyes scared Caroline.

"What I mean is that I don't believe that you'll leave like this without making a fuss about - anything! What happened to your plan of a hybrid army?" Caroline spat angrily, and the pain in her voice went undetected.

His lips were still curved upwards, but he wasn't smiling like before, "We made a deal. The Salvatore brothers, the doppelganger, and I."

"What deal exactly? And why the hell wasn't I informed about it?" her anger grew with every passing second like the pain in her chest.

"One doppelganger blood bag each month, and all I have to do in return is; leave this town and never interfere in their lives, in your life." every word of his was breaking her heart. "I do not know why they didn't let you in on this when even the Bennett witch and young Gilbert were made aware of the deal." and that just elevated her hurt to the next level.

"So you are leaving, like really, really leaving." she spoke softly. "And you won't be coming back?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." his monosyllable of an answer made her clench her fists to rein in her emotions. "Isn't this what you wanted, love?" Caroline had no answer for that.

Klaus let out a mirthless laugh before he said, "Though I wanted to offer you a first-class ticket to New Orleans, something tells me that you won't be appreciative of it. So I am granting Tyler freedom from my vengeance. He's free to come back here, to you."

Caroline's eyes grew misty, but not for the reason Klaus had in mind. Instead of feeling happy about her boyfriend getting his freedom, Caroline was saddened by the news of Klaus leaving. But she didn't tell him that. He stepped closer and held her hands in his, "I understand that he's your first love, Caroline, but I don't think you'll settle on that. Small town, and small-town boy, so not your thing."

"I'll wait for you, love, for I intend to be your last love. No matter how long it takes, one day, maybe a year or a century later, you'll come to me." he gave her that genuine dimpled smile that made her slow beating heart flutter.

"You're so sure of yourself. Overconfident, I would say." Caroline breathed, her eyes never leaving his.

Klaus leaned in closer, "It will happen, sweet Caroline. One day, you will arrive at my doorstep, and then I'll take you to see the world just as I promised." his lips brushed against her lightly in a soft peck, "I'll wait for you, love, no matter how long it takes." he kissed her cheek before turning around as he walked away.

He didn't turn around to look back at her, sat in his car, and drove away while Caroline couldn't move from where she was standing. She just stood there as the ache in her chest grew to a point where it was physically hurting her. She placed a hand on her chest where he heart rested, her fingers clutching onto the fabric of her dress.

"Ah!" a painful shriek escaped her lips as she knelt, both of her hands pressing onto her chest, her breath coming in short pants. Tears rolled down her cheek, and she failed to comprehend how and why Klaus's absence affected her.

She didn't get to see him after that day. Caroline even went to the Mikaelson mansion to see if he was there, but she found no one there. He had left already. Klaus had left Mystic Falls along with his siblings and a piece of her soul. It felt as if a part of her was missing, and it caused her nothing but pain.

Unlike her, her friends were celebrating Klaus's exit from Mystic Falls. All that mattered to them was that Elena was safe, and she only had to donate her blood once a month. Everybody had gathered at the Salvatore House for the party, Tyler as well. Seeing him, Caroline momentarily forgot the throbbing in her chest as she concentrated on her boyfriend. He took her away to a corner, and Caroline thought that he wanted to spend some time alone with her, but that wasn't what Tyler had in mind.

"Hey." she smiled.

Tyler gently held onto her arms as he started speaking, "Hey, I know I just got back, and I honestly want to spend time with you, but there's something I must settle first. I have to leave, Care."

"What?" Caroline's eyes narrowed, "Why, and where?" she raised her hands to rest them on his chest.

Tyler cradled her face in his hands and explained, "Klaus might have allowed me back here because he got what he wanted, Elena's blood. But there are things he needs to pay for, Care. He turned me into this creature, murdered my Mom, those guys whom I considered as my pack! Klaus needs to pay for all he's done, for everything!" his voice held so much hatred that it frightened her.

"Tyler," Caroline tried to say something, but Tyler didn't let her.

"And he hurt you too, Care. It scared me whenever you had to distract him, to keep him away from us. Even the thought of him hurting you -" he shuddered visibly, and Caroline stepped closer to comfort him.

"Klaus would never hurt me." Caroline realized that she misspoke, so she tried to explain it to him but was interrupted again, "You think that Klaus wouldn't hurt you, Caroline? Don't tell me that you believe that he's interested in you?"

It shouldn't have hurt the way it did, "That's not what I meant, Tyler!" she exclaimed, "If he had wanted to, he would have hurt me last night, but instead, he gave up on his vengeance against you."

"He gave up on his vengeance against me." Tyler scoffed as he spoke by stressing each word, "What did he have against me, Caroline? It's him who took away everything from me. I am the victim here, Caroline, not him! And what exactly happened last night?" his muscles tensed beneath her hands, "Were you with him? Did you spend last night with Klaus? Is that why he's so generous about everything?"

"You don't get to talk to me like that!" Caroline snapped as she pushed Tyler away from her. She hated what Tyler was hinting at, for it was an insult to what she and Klaus shared.

"Huh!" Tyler started laughing, but the sound of it wasn't pleasant, "I see it now. Klaus isn't the only one who has a thing for you; it seems like you feel something for him as well. Don't you?"

"Stop talking!" warned Caroline, but Tyler continued, "I guess being Klaus's distraction didn't take much of an effort. Clear this up for me Caroline, did you cheat on me? Did it happen last night, or were you together even before that?"

In an instant, Caroline had Tyler up and against the wall with her hand curled around his throat, "I did not cheat on you. We just had a nice dinner, that's it. But can we say the same about you, Tyler? You and that wereslut seemed to be quite cozy. Can we be sure that nothing happened between you two?"

Tyler's nostrils flared, and he pushed Caroline down using his hybrid strength on her. His fangs were out on display as he threatened to bite her, but before he could do something that stupid, he was pulled off Caroline by Stefan and Damon. "This isn't over, Caroline!" he snarled at her while still being restrained by the Salvatore brother.

"No, this is over, Tyler. We are over." Caroline announced before leaving.

That happened about two weeks ago. Caroline had broken up with Tyler, and he had immediately left Mystic Falls. She alienated herself from everybody and focused on her studies, projects, and random stuff that could take her mind off Klaus. She didn't want to think about him, but unfortunately for her, he was the only person she had in mind. Not having him around her was making her go crazy. He wasn't there, but still, he was everywhere. And the hallucination she was having of him; God! it hurt so bad.

When she wasn't focusing on other things, Caroline would stare at the gifts and notes that Klaus gave to her. And she would think about how different her life would have been if Klaus hadn't arrived at Mystic Falls to hurt her friends. That particular thought always made her cry because if they weren't standing on the opposite sides, then maybe she would have had a chance with him. All this is what made her message him.

I miss you.

She was crying and overly emotional as she missed him so much that it was causing her physical pain. She had slept that night, hugging the phone to her chest, hoping he would text her back. But that didn't happen.

~Flashbacks End~

Tomorrow was her graduation day, and Caroline didn't want to look like a zombie, so she switched off her cell phone and decided on a hot water bath before sleeping. She would not let anybody or anything destroy her graduation ceremony. Caroline chose to wear the same outfit that she had worn for dinner that night, her last dinner with Klaus.

She had prepared for everything, thought about every single detail. But she wasn't ready for the surprise that she got the moment she stepped down the stage after her valedictorian speech. There he was, dressed up in a similar suit as he had worn for their dinner, but this time he was wearing a black tie instead of a blush-pink one.

Klaus.

He was here.

Niklaus Mikaelson was really here.

Making her way through the horde of students, Caroline rushed over to where Klaus was standing as humanly fast as she could. And when she reached him, for a moment, she just stood there in front of him. She was trying to decipher if he was there, or was this another of her illusions. It felt as if the time had slowed down, it had stopped perhaps, as the two of them stared at each other. Caroline's eyes were wide in surprise, her lips parted, and both of her hands clutching onto the fabric of her graduation gown as she took in his appearance.

"Hello, love."

Caroline's eyes fluttered close, and she began breathing heavily. The hole in her soul seemed to be filling up, the gap closing in as Klaus covered the distance between them. She felt her hands slide onto her cheeks, cradling her face softly, "Are you okay, love?" hearing the concern in his voice made Caroline weak in the knees.

Silent but happy tears rolled down her cheeks as Caroline opened her eyes, "You are here." she breathed.

Her reaction puzzled Klaus greatly. The intensity with which she was looking at him astounded him. Just what had happened in his absence that made Caroline react like that?! He had thought that Caroline might not like him appearing in her life again but will act tolerant of him. Klaus had come prepared to answer all the questions and doubt she might throw at him, interrogating him about his intentions and what not! But this was so not the reaction he had in mind.

"Caroline," he called out her name in a soft voice, and the next second she was in his arms while hers wrapped around his neck in a tight hold. "You are here!" she exclaimed happily, resting her head against his shoulder, her face buried against his neck. "You are here." she repeated like a mantra, and Klaus lost the control he was trying hard to keep.

Klaus pulled her closer as he held her by her waist. Closing his eyes, he hid his face in her soft blonde curls, inhaling her unique scent. Something flowery, something fruity, and entirely exclusive to Caroline. Now that Klaus had her in his arms, her arms and her scent enveloping him in their warm embrace, Klaus finally felt complete again. The emptiness that had settled inside him the moment he turned his back on Caroline vanished the moment she had hugged him. Klaus hadn't felt this much hollowed even when his wolf was locked away. Caroline's absence was so much more tormenting than anything else he had gone through in his life.

He was there.

She was there.

And nothing else mattered.

"I am here." Klaus whispered against her neck before placing a tender kiss on her neck. The gesture made Caroline shiver slightly, and she responded with a slight hum while nuzzling his shoulder. They stayed in the same position for the next few minutes, basking in each other's presence, until Caroline remembered a particular text message.

She pushed Klaus away from her slightly so that they were face to face but made no movement to get out of his embrace. "Why are you here?" there were many things that she wanted to ask him, but that one came out first.

"I got your message. 'I miss you'." Klaus spoke of her three-worded message in a low and husky voice.

Caroline rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the happy smile tugging at her lips, "The message you didn't reply to." she complained.

"To be honest, I didn't think that message was for me." his words and that doubtful tone melted her heart. Caroline trailed down her hands from his neck and started rubbing them up and down his arms in a comforting manner.

Klaus let out a deep breath before continuing, "I yearned for you, Caroline. After leaving you at the doorstep of your house that night, a part of me remained behind with you. Yes, I did get your message, but honestly, I thought that I wasn't the one to whom you had intended to send the message. Why would you miss me, Caroline, when you had Tyler."

"But I missed you." Caroline confessed and raised her left hand to caress his stubbled cheek, "I missed you so much, and damn! I don't even know why I did. But I was so miserable without it, and it was physically painful. While everybody was happy and partying because you had finally left the town, I, on the other hand, felt despondent." Caroline sniffled, and a lone tear ran down her cheek, only to be brushed away by Klaus.

"And don't you dare talk about Tyler! I am still mad at him." Caroline angrily muttered as she placed her head on his chest.

Klaus frowned, "What did that stupid Lockwood boy do now?" he asked, already making plans against his first hybrid in his mind.

"Tyler and I broke up the very next day. He wanted to go after you, and I didn't share his sentiments. We broke up, and Tyler left." she informed, and Klaus couldn't stop himself from grinning widely. He wasn't worried about what Tyler was planning to do or how he would be retaliating against him. What mattered to Klaus the most at that moment was that his sweet Caroline was no longer attached to that stupid boy.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart." even though he didn't mean it, Klaus just said that comfort Caroline.

"Oh, puhleeze! I know you aren't sorry about it, not that you have to be. You are, in fact, ecstatic that Tyler and I finally broke up." Caroline murmured against his chest, loving the rumble caused by his laughter.

Caroline raised her head a little, tilting to the right so that she could see his laughing, happy face. "You look beautiful." she said while tracing the dimple on his cheek with her finger.

"Beautiful?" Klaus tilted his head, and for some reason, it looked adorable to her, "I don't think that's a suitable word to describe how I look."

"Nope! Beautiful is the correct word." she whispered, tilting her head upwards so that she could kiss him on the cheek, "You look beautiful." she repeated.

Caroline bit on her lower lip as she looked at Klaus, recognizing the emotions shining in his dark eyes. Especially that need, that desire, that she knew mirrored in her own eyes. Both of them started leaning into each other, eyes fluttering close in anticipation of what was to come next. But before anything could happen, they were interrupted by a loud shriek.

Klaus scoffed, "I was wondering where your dear friends were. Things were going too smooth; not a normal thing when you are at Mystic Falls."

Caroline groaned and got out of his embrace grudgingly as her friends approached them. "What are you doing here?" hissed Bonnie as she came to stand beside her while Stefan came to stand in front of Elena.

Klaus raised his hands in surrender, "I am not here to cause you and your friends any trouble. I just came to visit a dear friend of mine." he spoke while eyeing Caroline. That cheeky smile on his face made Caroline want to laugh and smack him at the same time.

"A friend? You don't have friends, Klaus. You have acquaintances or minions. Didn't we have a deal? Your blood bag will be sent to you the next month on the fixed date, you -"

Klaus didn't let Stefan continue speaking and spoke up, "I honestly am here to meet a dear friend of mine. I brought a gift, actually, a graduation present." he held onto Caroline's hand and pulled her to his side. Leaning in close as he whispered against her cheek, "I'll wait for you at the mansion, sweetheart."

He placed a soft kiss against the corner of her mouth before walking away. Caroline subconsciously ran her tongue over the same spot, not caring about anything.

"Would you mind explaining that, Caroline?" she hated the tone in which Elena spoke. She didn't need to give them any explanation, not that they deserved any. Whatever it was between her and Klaus, it was their personal matter, and no one, not even her friends, get to interfere.

Caroline just shook her head before rushing away at vampiric speed. She wanted to be selfish this time and won't let anything or anybody stop her from doing so.