Friday was such a beautiful and sunny afternoon that I couldn't pass on an opportunity to enjoy it. I normally don't like sunny days (insert some vampire joke or comment here) — I actually never have — but today I felt the need to be outside. Instead of going home after school, I went to Town Square. I found a bench and sat there, reading and enjoying the warm sunlight. I realized at that moment how lucky I was to have my bracelet that let me, as a vampire, walk in the sunlight. From what C told me, most vampires didn't have this luxury — though the vampires of Mystic Falls were not good statistical indicators for this; I didn't know any vampires who didn't have some piece of jewelry, usually a ring, that allowed them to not burn in the sun.

My musings were interrupted by Klaus. "Are you ever without a book?" He was standing in front of me; I had to look up to see his face.

"I try not to be."

"Are you going to spend your eternity reading?"

"You ask that as though answering yes would be a bad thing," I responded as I closed the book I wasn't really reading.

"Not necessarily. Losing oneself in great literature is never bad; however, there is much more you could do, see, and experience."

"You keep saying that."

He sat down on the bench beside me. "You might be surprised with what you see if you'd only take a chance."

I nodded. "I know, but now is not the time for me."

"Why not now? You're only holding yourself back, Riley."

It was a clichéd comment, but I responded anyway. "I can't just leave Mystic. Caroline is here. And Aunt Liz. And I have school."

"You don't have to leave forever. Just for a while. Go somewhere new and experience something exciting. Your cousin and your aunt will be fine without you. And you know you can finish school anywhere. At any time."

I rolled my eyes, pointedly, at him. "I want to do it here. I want to finish high school properly."

He turned his body more towards mine. "You're a vampire, Riley. You don't need school. You should be out enjoying what the world has to offer."

"Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean the goals I made as a human have to change. This is something I want to do."

"Why? Why is this so important?"

"Because it's what my mother wanted for me!" I yelled out. People walking nearby stopped to look at us. I paused and took a deep breath, searching for control. "She wanted me to finish high school. I feel like this is the last thing I can do to make her proud."

"Why does it matter what she thinks? She's dead."

"Yea, well, so am I."

"You know what I mean."

"Are you seriously getting angry with me for wanting to stay here and finish high school the normal, human way?"

"Yes! Because you are more than this!" It was Klaus's turn to yell out in frustration. "You deserve more and you are so much better than this stupid, mundane little town."

I paused to process his statement. More? Better? Really? I don't see what he sees. "Thank you. And I don't disagree with you; I have no plans of staying here any longer than I have to."

"Yet you are still here." It was not a question, just a statement.

I sighed. "Seriously, why is it so important to you that I leave town? I want to finish high school here," I could feel my anger rising again. "I might want to go to a football game someday, or at least watch C cheer on the team, or maybe even go to the stupid Prom, and—" I let out a breath of air. "—I don't know, pretend that my life has some shred of normalcy left in it before I let all this immortality stuff truly sink in." I folded my arms and laughed bitterly. "Not that you would even remember what human normalcy feels like." I stared at the grass below my feet. It was mean, but I said it; I couldn't retract that statement now.

"Riding a horse," he said after a moment, his voice low and gravelly.

My head snapped up. "What?"

"Riding a horse," he repeated. "It was something I used to enjoy before I became a vampire. And I held onto that pastime for a few centuries, until…"

I turned my body slightly more towards his. "Until what?" I prompted.

His face darkened. "I spent a thousand years running from my father. During one of his many retaliations against me, he severed the neck of my favourite horse with a sword. As a warning."

We were silent for several minutes before Klaus spoke again. "Sometimes a new start is exactly what's needed," he said, obviously drawing attention away from the little bit of personal information he actually shared, willingly.

I leaned back into the bench. "Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with you; I just have some things to finish before I can make that new start."

He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Apparently we have reached an impasse, love."

I didn't respond; I wanted to stop having this conversation/argument with him.

Why am I always arguing with people? I fight with C about Klaus; I fight with Klaus about staying in town…

I stood up and shoved my book into my bag. "I've had enough arguing for now," I said with a sigh. "I'm going home." I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked away. I only made it a few steps away from the bench before Klaus was walking in-step with me. "You don't have to walk me home."

"I know."

"But you will anyway, regardless of what I say?"

"Yes."

"At least we're both on the same page now," I muttered, very well aware that Klaus could hear me.

"There are rumours of a vampire hunter in or near Mystic Falls. We all need to be cautious."

"And this is you, what, protecting me?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Yes," he answered, with blunt honesty. I stopped walking from the shock. Klaus stopped and turned back to face me. He stepped closer and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, letting his hand linger there. And even more shocking was the fact that I let him. I actually let him. "I will never let any harm come to you, Riley."

I was speechless.

"Plus, Rebekah would try to kill me if I let anything happen to her friend," he said with a smirk before dropping his hand, turning, and walking in the direction of my home. I gaped for a few seconds, still in shock, before I regained my senses and caught up with him.

"But she could only try; she wouldn't be successful," I pointed out.

"True, but it would be incredibly annoying.

"Speaking of annoying," he continued, "I'm surprised my hybrid hasn't knocked down my front door, demanding a test of the sire bond. Or, at the very least, I've been expecting a confrontation with the lovely Caroline."

When he didn't say any more, I realized he was waiting for me to comment. My brain still wasn't working properly; I had trouble processing his change of topic. "I don't know what you mean."

"I figured your cousin or her mutt would have confronted me after you told them the truth about the sire bond."

"Oh." I shrugged. "I didn't tell C. And I certainly wouldn't say anything about it to Tyler."

"Why wouldn't you tell Caroline? I thought you trusted her."

"Of course I trust her. But you don't."

Klaus stopped walking. He had a confused look on his face, as if he was having difficulty processing the fact that I kept his secret, especially when he hadn't asked me to.

"I don't know what you're expecting in return, but it will never happen. You chose to keep this from Caroline; this was your decision."

I groaned. "I'm not expecting anything. Seriously, hasn't anyone ever done anything for you just because they wanted to?" Once the question was out of my mouth, I realized I didn't need him to answer it. His face went from angry to hurt, but he quickly masked it with an emotionless look. "No one has, have they?"

Instead of responding, Klaus stepped around me to resume walking. Faster. More aggressively. His actions gave away his answer; I didn't need to hear the words. No one has ever done a favour for him without expecting something in return, without hoping to gain from it. It's inconceivable to him that I could be doing something for him. Just because.

I wrapped my hand around his wrist to stop him from walking further away.

"If I were you, love, I would think twice about vexing an Original."

"Stop it." I said, dropping my hand from his arm. I could see what he was doing. He was trying to frighten me. That's what he does; if any bit of his humanity starts to show, he tries to cover it up with hate and anger. His inability to trust, coupled with the tiny piece of information about his past that he reveal earlier, must have him way out of his comfort zone. "I didn't tell Caroline anything because I knew you wouldn't want me to. You seem to like your secrets. And I'm not one for gossiping anyway." I continued walking home.

"You have me all figured out now, do you?" he asked, sarcastically, while walking slightly behind me.

"Don't do that," I said as we walked up my street. "Don't act like you care one minute and then pretend not to the next. Just stop it."

"I don't care."

I stopped, whirling around to face him. "Liar." And before he could utter another witty remark to cover his emotions, I walked up the front walkway, into the house, and shut the door. All without looking back at him.

I walked straight from the front door to my bedroom and found Klaus on my bed. I stood in the doorway, shocked. I looked at him with my arms crossed, saying nothing; I was waiting for him to speak first.

"That was very brave, Riley. Most people don't speak to me that way."

"Well, they should. You need to be told when you're being stubborn and insufferable."

"Fair enough," he acquiesced. Then with a wink, he said, "but you're the only one I'd let get away with it."

"Wow, that was cheesy," I responded with an eye roll. I let out a heavy sigh and closed my bedroom door behind me. "What are you doing here?"

"I can be here if I want to be," Klaus replied, continuing to lounge comfortably on my bed.

"That's brave, waltzing into the sheriff's house. Just because you've been given the invitation does not mean you can come and go as you please."

"Actually, that is exactly what it means."

I shook my head. "All I want is to lay down and read. Or rest."

Klaus opened his arms up. "I'm not stopping you, love," he smirked.

Seriously?

"Oh, so you're being funny and pleasant again."

"It's a rare occurrence," Klaus mused.

I rolled my eyes before sitting on the bed and laying down beside him. I didn't know if he was being sincere or trying to be amusing, but I decided to see how far I could push him. I think my reaction caught his off guard — he paused only momentarily before wrapping his arms around me. But that momentary hesitation was enough to tell me that I shocked him. I smiled at the idea that I, the baby vampire, could surprise an Original.

"I like you like this. All light and almost caring, even. You were so grouchy earlier."

Klaus didn't respond to that — I didn't expect him to. But he did tighten his grip on me, just a bit.

Rebekah woke up on Saturday morning. Once she was dressed and ready for the day, she headed downstairs and found her brother in the living room, sketchbook in hand.

"Don't worry, Nik," she said by way of greeting. "I'll be out of here momentarily. If Riley comes over, say hello for me."

"You don't have to leave Rebekah; this is your home, too."

"So Riley isn't coming over, then?"

"I never said that."

"You're letting me stay at the house when you might have a visitor? Did Riley get to you?"

He smirked.

"She's good for you. And I'm not just saying that because she's my friend. I'm glad you two stopped being so stubborn, finally smartening up and realizing you belong together, Nik. It was about time." Klaus smiled at his sister's misguided approval. "But you're also good for her too; people don't realize that — or perhaps they don't want to realize that. She's a better person for being with you. She's stronger and braver because of the lessons you've taught her, because of what you bring to her world."

"We're not 'together,' Rebekah."

"Not yet," she replied.