Hello my angels :) First of all, a big thank you to alwaysnnever, crazypomegranate, sweetdreams705 and LucyRider17 for reviewing on the last chapter. You guys are awesome! :D Secondly, only four chapters left after this! Finally, for those of you who read my other story 'The End Where I Begin', I will try to have an update for you soon. i have major writers block for that story so I apologise for the wait!

I hope you enjoy this chapter :) xxx

Waking with a pounding in her head, Charlotte rolled over onto her front, burying her face into her pillows, and groaned. Her mouth felt dry and she was parched. However, the numerous side effects of the hangover were nothing in comparison to the ache in her chest. Klaus was mad at her. No, Klaus was pissed and he had every right to be.

In the cold light of day, the reality of what she'd said and done the night before, whilst under the influence of alcohol, hit her and she felt tears prick at her eyes when she thought about Klaus's hurt face.

Pain and regret shot through her as she recalled the events of the previous night. She had so far crossed the line that the line was no longer visible to her; it was a dot on the horizon. Waking up to an empty bed bothered her more than she thought it would have and she realised how dependent she had become on Klaus; how much she needed him by her side.

The pounding in her head continued as she sat up in bed and shook her head lightly, trying to get rid of the grogginess she felt. As she did so, Charlotte heard another pounding; this time, coming from outside her bedroom door.

"Charlotte?! Are you in there?" Charlotte heard Damon shout.
"Yes, Damon!"

A sudden rush of air entered her room as Damon opened her bedroom door and stepped inside. Damon stopped for a moment. He surveyed a bedraggled looking Charlotte; her hair wild from sleep and her under eyes caked with mascara. Resisting the urge to make a sarcastic comment, Damon spoke only when he noticed the absence of Klaus.

"Where's Klaus?"
"At his apartment." Charlotte stated, simply.
"Why?"

Damon could tell from the exhausted and worried look on Charlotte's face that something had happened with Klaus, but with his wedding to Elena taking place the next day, he just didn't have the time to deal with his sister's relationship crisis.

"Fine. Don't tell me. Just make sure it's fixed by tomorrow."

Lifting her eyes to meet her brother's, Charlotte nodded slightly and instantly regretted doing so when a new round of banging began from inside her head. Damon took in the appearance of his sister once more, when he noticed her wince, and wondered why she looked so rundown.

"Where were you last night? You look like shit."
"Oh, cheers." Charlotte replied with a dry laugh. "I was at Emma's."
"Does it have anything to do with why Klaus isn't here?"
"Maybe." Charlotte stated, simply.

She felt no desire to go into the specifics of the night before with her oldest brother. If he knew what she had done to Kol's car, he would most likely berate her and she wasn't in the mood to receive another telling off.

"Look, Damon, it doesn't matter what happened last night. I'll sort things with Klaus and your wedding will be perfect. I promise."

Damon frowned. The big brother part of him wanted to pry further and find out why Klaus wasn't with his sister at that moment. Since the accident nearly two weeks before, Klaus and Charlotte had been inseparable and Damon figured that something bad must have happened to make Klaus leave his sister, if only, temporarily.

Yet, Damon was practically an expert were Charlotte's behaviour was concerned and he knew that pushing her to explain further would not go down well. Swallowing his curiosity, Damon gave his sister a small, compassionate smile and took his leave; instructing Charlotte, on his way out, to not be late for the family dinner that night.

Leaving the warm water of the shower behind, Klaus turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Small droplets of water fell from his dark blonde hair as he walked down the hall towards his bedroom.

Now that it was a new day and noon was fast approaching, Klaus didn't feel so enraged anymore. He completely understood why Charlotte had vandalised his brother's car. She was protecting her friend and he could not be mad at her for doing so. After all, her flare, boldness and spontaneity were all reasons for why he loved her; why every moment he spent with her made him yearn for more.

Klaus was sure that Kol would have seen the state of his car by now and was most likely crying like a baby. A slight smirk played on Klaus's lips at the thought; Kol deserved it for treating Emma badly.

Drying off his body, Klaus barely glanced at his healing scar as he dressed quickly. He was no longer angry at Charlotte but he was still hurt by her words regarding his brother, and he desperately needed a drink before swallowing his pride and going to see his girlfriend.

A knock at the door to his apartment interrupted his thoughts and Klaus left his bedroom to go answer the door to his unknown visitor. Upon opening the door, Klaus was faced with a sorry looking Charlotte.

"Hi."

Her voice sounded small and weak and Klaus was overcome with the urge to take her into his arms and comfort her. But he didn't. He resisted his urges. He was still hurting.

Charlotte tried not to feel disappointed when Klaus remained silent. She supposed he had every right to be angry with her but she had hoped he wouldn't be; a silly hope she now realised.

"Can I come in?"

Without speaking a single word, Klaus moved aside; his body movement signalling his silent invitation to Charlotte. The moment she had stepped over the boundary to Klaus's home and she had heard him shut the door, Charlotte began apologising profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Klaus. I was stupid and irresponsible and I acted like a child.".

Silence.

"What I did was wrong but I know you understand why I did what I did to Kol's car. However, I get that you're pissed at me and you have every right to be. I just- I need you not to be."

More silence. Klaus stared at Charlotte but made no attempt to speak. There was not even a change in his facial expression as he watched his girlfriend apologise.

"I need you to forgive me. Not for ruining Kol's car but for the things I said. I didn't mean a single word of it. Please, Klaus. Please, you have to forgive me because it's killing me knowing that you're mad at me."

Tears began to fall from Charlotte's blue eyes and she fought to control them; not wanting to cry in front of Klaus. The mere sight of Charlotte's tear-stained face was more than enough for Klaus's stern composure to crack and he sighed heavily before pulling Charlotte into him.

Her face hit his chest with a soft thud, her arms wrapping themselves around his waist, and Klaus felt his t-shirt dampen with Charlotte's tears. The sound of her sobs filled his ears and he felt his heart tug with pain.

"Please, don't be mad at me." Charlotte almost whispered.

Twisting his fingers into her raven coloured curls, Klaus lifted Charlotte's head away from his chest and forced her to look at him. Her eyes were red and a little puffy from the effort of crying but Klaus did not care about how she looked.

"I'm not mad at you. I-"

Sighing heavily, Klaus pressed his forehead to Charlotte's and squeezed his eyes shut; not sure if he was willing to show such weakness with his next sentence.

"I'm just… hurt. My brother-"
"I don't want Kol. I want you." Charlotte interrupted.

Opening his eyes, Klaus stared into Charlotte's.

"What you said last night…you can't say things like that to me. They hurt. They hurt more than you know. The thought of someone else touching you… it drives me crazy. You're mine and I don't want anyone to have you. Every time Kol looks at you, I want to punch him. It physically pains me to see him look at you in that way."

It was then, as Klaus was baring his soul to her, that Charlotte realised what Klaus's issue was. He was jealous. In the months they had been together jealousy had never been a problem. They only had eyes for each other and it had never occurred to Charlotte that Klaus was a jealous man.

"Klaus…" Charlotte said, pulling back a little so she could look at Klaus properly. "…you're jealous."
"Of course I am, love. Have you seen you?" Klaus asked, rhetorically; his tone making it seem as if was the most obvious thing in the world that he would be jealous.

Smiling, Charlotte pressed her lips to Klaus's.

"You have nothing to worry about. I love you."
"I know." Klaus replied; nuzzling his nose into the crook of Charlotte's neck now that he was feeling happier. "I'm sorry for storming off, love."
"I'm sorry too."
"Let's just forget about it, okay?" Klaus asked; placing a soft kiss on Charlotte's neck.

Charlotte nodded her agreement; glad that Klaus, it seemed, had forgiven her.

"How about we go for some lunch?"

Klaus's suggestion was met with a smile of approval, and he slipped on some shoes and a jacket before taking Charlotte by the hand and leading her from his apartment.

Walking into The Grill, with her hand tucked into Klaus's, Charlotte immediately spotted Dean sitting at the bar and from the smile on his face, she knew he had spotted her too. Smiling back at him, she hoped he would know to stay away while she was with Klaus. With their argument only just resolved, she didn't want to risk another one and she had a feeling that her boyfriend would not be a fan of Dean.

Their lunch date passed quickly, with Charlotte catching Dean staring at them on a number of occasions; his face holding a curious expression. It was only when Kol walked in, scowling at Charlotte as he passed the table she was sat at, did she tear her gaze away from her friend.

Turning back to look at Klaus, Charlotte noticed the frown he wore.

"Klaus?"
"My brother's a dick."
"I did ruin his car. He has every right to hate me."
"It's not that. Even now, he's looking at you like he wants to fuck you."

At Klaus's words, Charlotte let her attention wander over to where Kol was sat and saw him staring at her. His eyes were concentrated on her and she felt them bearing into her; making her feel incredibly uncomfortable. She had thought vandalising his car would have deterred Kol. Clearly not.

Klaus was gripping his bottle so tightly his knuckles were beginning to turn white and he glared at his younger brother. For a second, he wondered when he become such a jealous man. Sure, he had always been naturally jealous but what he felt where Charlotte was concerned was on a whole different level. It wasn't just jealously; it was the need to possess her, protect her, and the way his brother was mentally undressing his girlfriend fuelled a rage inside of Klaus.

Standing, Klaus ignored Charlotte's pleads for him to sit back down and stormed over to his younger brother.

"Nik, what do you want?"
"I want you to stay away from my girlfriend."
"What would I want with her?"
"Don't play games with me, Kol."

Kol stared back into Klaus's eyes and resisted the urge to smirk. It was true that Kol wanted Charlotte in his bed and he enjoyed angering his brother, but he knew when to stop. From the way his older brother's hands were coiled into tight fists, Kol could tell that the time to stop had arrived otherwise he would be on the receiving end of a beating.

Deciding a change of subject was in order, Kol took a swig of his beer.

"She ruined my car."
"You deserved it." Klaus's tone was not at all sympathetic.
"I loved that car!"
"It was your own damn fault, Kol. I warned you not to mess around with her friend but you just had to break the poor girl's heart."

Another swig of beer. Kol smirked.

"She'll get over it."

In that moment, Klaus wanted to do nothing more than beat the living daylights out of his younger brother. Instead, he contained himself and settled for giving the young man a look of utter disdain; ashamed to call him his brother.

"Stay the hell away from Emma and stay the hell away from Charlotte. I won't tell you again."

Klaus was about to walk away when he heard Kol speak again.

"You want me to stay away from your girlfriend? Fine. Done. But I'm clearly not the only one who wants her." Kol stated; letting his eyes flick over to the table where Charlotte was sat having a conversation with Dean.

Following his brother's gaze, Klaus turned his head and frowned once more. He took note of the stranger Charlotte was sat with and the way she interacted so easily with him; so friendly in her behaviour.

It was evident from the way that his girl was laughing and smiling that she knew the man intimately, and Klaus wondered how it was she knew him. He was not someone Klaus had every seen in Mystic Falls before and bothered him the high level of interest the stranger was showing in his girlfriend.

Stalking over, Klaus stood silently and glared at the guy talking with Charlotte. Seeing how Klaus was looking at Dean, Charlotte gulped, took a deep breath and slowly opened her mouth to speak; placing her hand softly on Klaus's arm to draw his attention to her.

"Klaus, this is Dean. He's a friend from San Francisco."
"It's nice to meet you, Klaus. Charlotte's told me a lot about you over the years."

Over the years? Klaus's mind began to click over. How long had his girl been friends with this guy and why was it that he had never once heard her mention him?

"I'm sure she has." Klaus tore his eyes away from Dean and redirected his attention to Charlotte. "We're leaving, sweetheart."
"Oh… okay."

Charlotte smiled apologetically at Dean before grabbing her jacket along with Klaus's, watching him throw some money down on the table, and following him out of The Grill. She did not mention Dean's name and she waited patiently for him to speak first.

Upon reaching his car, Klaus spun around and grabbed hold of Charlotte; placing a tender kiss on her lips. For some reason unknown to him, Dean's presence had made him feel not only jealous but insecure, and he felt the need to remind Charlotte that she was his and his alone.

"I love you." He declared.

Charlotte smiled.

"I love you too."

The family dinner was in full swing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves; talking excitedly about the wedding that was to take place the next day. Klaus had spent the entire day with Charlotte, keeping her close by him. However, thoughts of Dean and his relationship to Charlotte had plagued him all day long and he was relieved when he saw Mary excuse herself from the table and walk into the kitchen.

With Charlotte engrossed in conversation with Caroline, Klaus took the opportunity which had been presented to him and followed Mary into the kitchen.

"Mary, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Niklaus."
"Who's Dean?"

Mary's smile faltered. She gripped the top of the worktop she'd been leaning against and took a series of deep breaths.

"Why do you ask?"
"I met him today." Klaus said through gritted teeth; his arms folded tightly over his chest.

If she told Klaus the whole story of Charlotte and Dean, her daughter would never forgive her and as much as she loved Klaus, she wouldn't risk her daughter hating her.

"I can't tell you about him. Only Charlotte can. I do have some advice for you though. Keep him far away from her."

Mary made to move past Klaus but was stopped by his hand on her arm; his face full of concern and confusion.

"Who is he? You have to tell me."
"Klaus, there are things you don't know about Charlotte. Things… happened in San Francisco that she has never told anyone about. They're not important anymore. What's important is that you keep Dean away from her. He's bad for her. If you're not careful, he'll steal her from you. Charlotte may not love him but I can't say the same for Dean."

With that, Mary returned back to her family; leaving Klaus to wonder what it was Charlotte was hiding from him.