I arrived home right after C got home from prom clean-up. She was bursting from the seams to tell me about prom.

"How was last night?" I asked.

"Wonderful. Amazing. Magical. Perfect." C had a ridiculously dreamy look on her face as she listed adjectives.

"I'm so glad to hear that."

"Can you believe I actually made it through an entire school dance without getting kidnapped, tortured, vervained, or almost staked?"

"Shocking." I decided to share C's shock at the normal, supernatural-free prom — and the fact that any Mystic High school dance could be so normal — and pretend I was hearing about it for the first time. C may be upset if I mention the fact that I had already heard about this from Rebekah this morning.

"Even Rebekah was well-behaved. It really was the perfect evening, Ri. You should have been there."

I shook my head. "I'm not sorry I didn't attend, C. But it is great that you had such a wonderful time."

"How was your night with Klaus?" C gasped. "Are you just getting home now?" She gasped again. "You were wearing those clothes yesterday!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "My night was great. And yes, I'm just getting home but no, it's not like that."

"How could you possibly spend so much time with him? What do you talk about, how awesome he is or how great his hybrids are?"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes again. "Do you seriously think that's all he has to talk about?"

"I have no idea."

"The guy is over a thousand years old; he has better things to talk about than himself."

"Well, whatever. I have better things to discuss now than Klaus."

"Good. Like what?"

"Your father."

I was curious as to why C would bring up Lewis. "What about him?"

"I cannot believe he's a warlock. And you could have been a witch. Was he really the one who caused the accident that killed you and your mom?" C bit her lip; I could tell she didn't want to upset me by asking, but she was insanely curious.

I nodded. "Sure was. Apparently he had been checking up on me, periodically throughout my life."

"Creepy."

"I know, right? And when he noticed that I was coming into my magic, he killed me."

"He didn't want you to have magic?" I nodded. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. When Lewis told me that he caused the accident — that he created it — I was so shocked and appalled that I didn't — couldn't — ask any further questions." I shrugged again. "But in the end, he killed me. The explanation of why is never going to erase the sting of knowing that he killed me."

C and I spent the rest of the day together, hanging out and catching up. The next day, C left to go hang out at the Grill. Aunt Liz was working, as usual.

I should have been studying, for exams were this week, but I just couldn't. So I went to the Mikaelson mansion. Maybe I could hang out with Rebekah, even though honestly I just wanted to spend more time with Klaus.

I've never met someone I've wanted to spend so much time with. Usually, I would crave alone time and I would cringe at the thought of having to be around people for any prolonged period of time. But with Klaus… I don't know. Everything was different with Klaus. Everything felt different.

Good different.

Great different!

Rebekah wasn't home. So I spent some more time with Klaus.

We were sitting on the couch in the front living room. "I must confess something." He paused, and I didn't speak; I waited for him to continue. "Last night was torturous, not having you here with me." I felt my heart rate increase, and I wasn't sure if I was flattered by the comment or just loving the incredible honesty that seemed to exist between us.

"It was rather cold," I agreed, "waking up without you."

"Who knew we could develop such a dependency upon one another's presence, after only one night."

"Rather pathetic, aren't we?"

"We are not unable, love; just unwilling."

I didn't respond, but I felt the truth behind what he said.

"You should know that you're not the only one who feels overwhelmed by this — by what's going on between us."

"Really?" I felt a flood of relief to know that he was overwhelmed too.

"I don't recall ever feeling such protectiveness for someone who is not my family. And unlike them, you are far more fragile."

"I'm not that fragile, Klaus."

"But these feelings of protectiveness are both intense and engulfing. Logically, I know I am just being emotional. But the emotional part outweighs the rational part, leaving me only able to think about how I am unwilling to risk losing you again."

He chuckled softly before continuing. "I would have thought, after a thousand years, that I would have experienced every emotion. But these are new; when I am around you, I find myself experiencing new emotions. These ones leave me confused. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy spending time with you, and I enjoy the way you make me feel — including experiencing these new emotions — but I don't know what to do with them. I cannot process them properly, and they take over sometimes."

I knew exactly what he meant.

I was sitting on the front porch, studying, after school on Monday; it was too nice to sit inside while studying. There was not a breath of air, so when I felt wind rustle by, I knew it was from someone supernatural.

I looked up and found him standing in front of me on the front porch, leaning against one of the poles.

"Klaus."

"Come with me."

"I can't." I held up my notebook. "I have to study."

"Let's have a study break."

"Nice try, but no thank you."

Klaus grabbed my hand, pulled my notebook out of my other one, and dropped it onto the chair as he pulled me to my feet.

"Klaus!"

"Please, love. Just this once, please stop arguing against everything and come with me."

Something in the way he said please, or just the fact that he did say please, made me agree to go along with him. And I supposed I could use a study break.

Klaus held my hand throughout the entire walk through the woods. I was incredibly curious as to why we were walking through the woods, but I didn't say a word.

"What are we doing here?" I asked when we stopped. We were standing in the clearing, the one that used to house Klaus's village when he was human. "I thought you didn't enjoy coming back here?"

"I said I had mixed feelings about being here," he corrected. "But this is the best place: it's open, clear, fairly flat, and very private."

"This is the best place for what?"

"To learn how to fight."

"You are going to teach me how to fight?" I asked with a slight smile as I crossed my arms against my chest.

"I do recall you asking me to teach you."

"I did?"

He seemed to ignore my question. "And it's a valuable skill to learn."

"I really should be studying for my exams, Klaus."

"You need to know how to defend yourself."

"I know how to defend myself."

"Barely."

"Excuse me?"

"Sure, you fought off that one vampire, but you didn't come away from that unharmed. And with the hunter still around town, and with Lewis lurking on the sidelines of your life, you need to learn how to better defend yourself, Riley."

I hated to admit it, but I could see the logic of his point.

"And it would make me feel a lot better, knowing you had more self-defence training. Since you won't let me keep you in my sight every moment."

I rolled my eyes at his absurdity. "Fine," I reluctantly gave in. I did need training. I couldn't rely on my vampire strength and speed. And who was better at escaping danger than Klaus. "You're right; this will be a good thing to know. Let's do this."

"Begin by spreading your legs a little more."

"Excuse me?"

"Calm down, love, and follow what I say: spread your legs."

I did so. "Why?"

"It helps with your balance; it spreads your weight out evenly."

Klaus walked slowly in a circle around me. I didn't move, but I was watching and listening to his every movement: every step, even breath, every movement of clothing. "If someone is going to attack you from the side, you'll want to turn this way, not this way," he explained, pushing me into the positions he mentioned. He ran his hand down my back in order to help me turn appropriately. "Otherwise you'll fall and most likely receive a stake in your heart."

I felt stupid for even acknowledging that his touch sent shivers running throughout my body from wherever he touched me. It was silly, and it was inappropriate timing.

We spent the next couple of hours in that clearing; Klaus showed me several self-defence moves. I'm not going to even attempt to deny the fact that feeling his touch on various parts of my body as he showed me the different positions was not shiver-inducing.

He showed me the basics: lead with your strong leg or arm, lean forward, keep your arms up to block oncoming attacks, and thrust your fist up to punch.

It almost felt like choreography, it was so easy to learn.

That's why I panicked when he said "Okay, let's try it."

"Wait, what?" I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Yes, Riley. We'll run through some hypothetical scenarios." I groaned in frustration. "If not, then all the time we've spent here this afternoon was for nothing."

I stamped my foot, annoyed, and slumped my shoulders. "Urgh! Why do you always have to be right?"

He smirked and stood still, directly in front of me, about four feet away. I straightened up and put myself into a fighting stance.

I was able to take a deep breath before he threw himself at me. He didn't use his full speed or else I wouldn't have been able to see him coming. I couldn't even think about what to do, or what I'd been taught; I was running entirely on instinct. I grabbed his shoulder and turned the way he taught me. (I only realized I had followed his directions after the fact.) I was able to grab ahold of his shirt, and if he had been human — or at least not an Original — I would have been able to get him off his feet. Or at least cause him to stumble.

But, because he was so much stronger than I could ever be, my 'defence' probably had the same effect as if I had merely wanted to run my hands down this shoulders and chest.

Klaus stepped back, away from me. "Not bad, love; not bad."

I gave a little half curtsey in mock recognition of the praise.

He chuckled and walked a few steps away, towards the edge of the clearing. I stood still and watched as he reached for a nearby branch and broke it away from its tree.

I knew what he was doing, but I couldn't stop myself from asking. "What are you doing?"

He held the piece of branch in this hand, as if to test its balance. "You're a vampire, love. No one who comes after you will come without a stake." I felt my eyes widened, but I didn't comment. I knew he was right, but I didn't say anything. "No fear here, sweetheart. Both ends of this are blunt." He held the stake out, as he spoke, to show me the truth of what he was saying. And indeed it was rather blunt; he had broken off the splintered ends making it dull and almost rounded.

"I would never let anything happen to you. Now show me what you've learned."

He moved at me and raised the stake above his head. He used his stupid Original speed to take me off guard. I fell back and landed on my butt. He lunged on top of me, pushing me fully on my back, and pressed the stake softly against my chest, right over my heart. He grinned at me, his face close to mine. "And you're dead, love," he said with a tilt of his head.

I growled a little and pushed him off of me before I jumped back onto my feet. "That's not fair; you didn't give me a chance to get ready."

"You think your attackers will give you a head's up that they're going to attack?" He scoffed. "Unlikely, sweetheart. They will try every sneak attack possible. You need to always be prepared." He now spoke through gritted teeth.

He came at me again. This time, though, I stepped forward to meet him head on. He raised his hand that held the stake, and I thrust my arm up; my forearm collided with his, stopping the path of the stake. I leaned forward, into him, and pushed him back a step. I brought my other hand up and I thrust my fist upwards until it collided with his chin.

He stumbled backwards. I smirked, proud that I had gotten one in. But Klaus was relentless. Before I could blink, he had grabbed my wrists. He twisted me around so my back was flush against his chest. He brought the stake up to my chest.

He ducked his head, bringing his mouth close to me. I felt his lips brush against my hair as he whispered in my ear, "Dead."

My knees weakened and I felt his breath on my skin. I tilted my head to the side, away from him, exposing my neck to him. He leaned his head down further. Right as he inhaled my scent, I took advantage of his distraction by thrusting my elbow into his abdomen. He gasped as I knocked the breath out of him and took a step back, freeing me from his grip. I spun around and felt my lips curl into a satisfied smirk.

It would never last though; I would tuck, roll, and kick to escape his grasp, only to be foiled immediately after, and wind up "dead" each time.

It had become an adventure, a dance, a game. With each entangled embrace, as our bodies moved together and mixed with our heavy breathing, the tension between us, and the chemistry between us, was growing.

It felt like a game, but I could also feel the serious undertone of this 'training.' I could feel his protectiveness towards me with each frustration whenever he 'killed' me. I could see the concern in his eyes that grew with each stake to my heart.

I needed to be better. And stronger.

"Better," he said as he rubbed his ribs. "But you died before you elbowed me."

I scoffed. "I'm just glad I got one by you; that's enough for me for right now." I smiled hugely.

"Is that so?" He was now eyeing me as if I were his prey.

"Can we call it a day?"

He shook his head and began pacing back and forth in front of me. "Not yet, love. How about one more go 'round?" He phrased it like a question, but I knew I couldn't say no, so I kept my mouth shut and watched his movement intently.

This time I would be ready. I would fend him off with all my might to prove that I was ready for whatever any attacker had planned for me.

He stopped pacing and began to circle me, slowly, but I didn't move. As I did before, when we lost eye contact, I relied on my other senses to know where he was. The air was tense.

I may have been the prey, but I wouldn't give up without a fight.

He lunged at me from behind, coming up to my right side. I spun to my left and he sailed past me. He landed with a crouch and slowly turned to face. He came at me head on.

Suddenly, the moves Klaus had been showing me all afternoon were coming second nature to me and a shot down each of his attacks.

He reached out to grab at me, and I ducked down to the ground. As I spun around on the ground with my leg out and knocked his feet out from under him. He caught himself before he full out hit the ground and began to laugh. For some reason, his laughter at this moment made me feel more aggressive. I jumped on top of him and attempted to pin him down with every bit of strength I had left.

He grabbed my wrists and with one swift motion, he reversed our positions.

My back hit the ground floor and I began to squirm, wrestle, and even kick, all in search of some way to break his hold, but to no avail.

He was stronger. He will always be stronger.

"Not fair," I panted out as I stopped writhing under him and finally gave up trying to free myself. "You're always going to be stronger than I am."

"Life rarely is fair, love." It was also not fair how he was not panting. Not at all.

I finally met his eyes as he remained still while leaning over me.

I expected his mouth to crash down against mine with as much passion and fervor as the scrimmage we had just experienced. So I was surprised when he slowly bent bend and hovered his lips over mine. I held my breath with the anticipation. The intensity of his gaze made my chest feel tighter.

He closed the gap between us, placing a tender kiss upon my lips. I could feel the passion and the fervor still there, just under the surface.

His hands let go of my wrists. I ran my hands along his arms as he kissed me again, this time using more pressure. Our mouths parted at the same time.

He leaned forward, onto his elbows, and brought his hand up to cup my face. I found that I could still be mesmerized by the tenderness of his touch.

I ran my hands along his shoulders and tilted my head, bringing our mouths deeper into one another. His tongue traced along my lips, leaving a tingly trail in its wake.

He pulled away slightly, but pressed his forehead against mine. I met his gaze with a smile once we had both reopened our eyes.