AU/AH. Caroline has been Rebekah's best friend since third grade and Klaus has been in love with her for just as long. The only problem? She has no idea.

Slowly shuffling downstairs, Caroline massaged her aching temples and groaned. She and Rebekah hadn't drank that much the night before, but it had apparently still been enough to wake her up at half past ten—way too early if compared to her usual sleepovers at the Mikaelsons'—with a massive headache and annoying, demanding food cravings.

Entering the kitchen, she felt extremely grateful to have not met any of Rebekah's siblings or, worst, her parents on her way downstairs, moving around the room as quietly as she possibly could.

Immediately, she walked to the fridge, carelessly throwing some milk and some cereals into her mug, which she had owned there, right next to Rebekah's, for as long as she could remember. Once she was finally satisfied with the tentative breakfast that she had managed to arrange for herself, she moved to the table, still half asleep.

"Good morning," a familiar, rather amused voice greeted her from the seat right in front of the one that she was just about to take.

Startled, Caroline swiftly looked up.

"Klaus! Oh my God," she brought a hand up to her chest, eyes wide and finally completely awake. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The Brit in question grinned, looking way too smug rather than apologetic for almost having given her a heart attack. He quirked an eyebrow up at her.

"Well, Sweetheart... last time I checked, this is my house," he joked, thanking the Heavens that she had finally decided to sit down, for his self-control was being severely tested by the sight of her in just a pair of skimpy shorts and a loose shirt, underneath which he was pretty sure that she was wearing no bra at all.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. When did you get back from college?"

"Yesterday, late afternoon. You and Rebekah had already left."

"Does she know?" the blonde asked with an affectionate smile, knowing how much her best friend loved Klaus more than any of her other brothers.

"She knew that I was coming home last night, yes. I have yet to see her, though," he answered with a smile of his own, having really missed his little sister.

Picking up a spoon, Caroline started playing around with the cereals in her bowl.

"Soooo, how is Oxford treating you?" she asked curiously, looking up at him from underneath her long lashes as she brought a first spoonful of food to her mouth.

Klaus' breath caught for a moment at the unintentionally seductive sight, and he had to clear his throat and briefly look away to try and regain some of his previous composure.

He was a confident young man—or, at least, that was what he liked to believe—and he had never had any problems with women before; quite the opposite, if anything. But that wasn't just any woman, that was Caroline, and he had been in love with her ever since that fateful day when Rebekah had unexpectedly brought her home with her, announcing to the whole family that her sworn arch-enemy (if eight-year-olds could even have those) had just become her best friend for life.

He had been twelve at the time and he remembered absolutely hating whenever Rebekah invited her friends over, because all they were was whiny and annoying and convinced that they could act as they damn pleased in a house that wasn't theirs. But he also still remembered the faint blush on Caroline's cheeks as his sister had introduced her to the rest of the family, her shy silence during dinner and the politeness in her small voice as she had thanked his parents for letting her stay at their house that day. He had immediately known, without a doubt, that Caroline Forbes was different from any other girl that Rebekah had ever befriended before, although he hadn't yet understood just how different she would end up being for him in particular.

The bubbly, sometimes awkward and clumsy girl had grown into the most beautiful, clever and compassionate woman that he could have ever hoped to know. And, with her, through time, his feelings for her had changed as well—from a mere crush, to infatuation, and then inevitably to love.

But she had no idea, of course.

"Good, thank you," he answered at last, his eyes shifting around the room awkwardly in order to avoid her piercing gaze. He wanted to slap himself for acting like a stupid, lovesick teenage boy, but he just couldn't seem to help himself when it came to Caroline.

"How is Mystic Falls treating you?" he asked back, a wide smirk curving his lips as the blonde raised her head with narrowed eyes, although he could see the ghost of a small smile playing on her features as well.

She sighed, almost wistfully, and the tiny sound alone made his heart ache. She deserved so much more than the wretched, small and boring town that they lived in; she deserved the whole, wide world, and he would have given everything to be the one to show it to her.

"Good, I guess. Prom is just around the corner."

Klaus smiled, knowingly. It definitely was no secret that both Caroline and his sister had been waiting for prom since basically their very first day of middle school.

"Shouldn't the prom-Queen-to-be be more excited about it?" he chuckled lightly, indulging in a spoonful of his own cereals.

Caroline snorted, her shoulders slumping dejectedly against the chair that she was occupying.

"If I had a date, maybe," she mumbled her reply.

At that, Klaus frowned, eyebrows furrowing together in plain and utter confusion.

Much to his own annoyance and dismay, Caroline had been dating Tyler Lockwood since her first year of high school. He had never really been able to understand what she saw in him—the boy was way too cocky and conceited than he had any right to be, and he never really treated Caroline the way that she deserved to be treated—but, for some reason, she had been head over heels with him since day one, and nobody (Rebekah had tried, and tried, and tried) had ever been in any way able to make her change her mind about the damn quarterback.

Therefore, the fact that she suddenly had no date to prom came as quite the shock to Klaus.

"What about Tyler?" he tentatively asked.

"We broke up."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He wasn't, not really. He was not at all sorry that she was no longer bound to that worthless imbecile—the fact was actually an event to celebrate, as far as he was concerned—but he could see the faint hurt in her usually vivid blue eyes as she spoke, and he could never be genuinely happy about something that was obviously causing her pain.

He swore to God, if that fucking asshole—

"I'm not," she said, tone suddenly more confident and interrupting his line of thought.

She had to have noticed the utter surprise coloring his expression then, because she started laughing right after.

"You thought that he had dumped me, didn't you?" she teased, no trace of animosity in her voice.

"Uhm, no. I mean—" he somewhat stuttered, feeling a tad embarrassed, "it just looked like you really loved him, that's all."

"I did," she sighed, and Klaus just couldn't help the pang that he felt in his chest as she admitted that. "But he wanted me to go with him to NYU; he was even willing to pay for my tuition, just to get me to agree. I know that might sound like a nice and romantic gesture, but there was something about the way he told me," she shook her head to herself, "about the way he had everything already planned out for me... that's not what I want. And I guess I always sort of knew that he wasn't the one, but it was nice to have someone by my side, you know?"

She shrugged and, unsure on what to say, Klaus gave her a small smile before they both refocused their gazes on their respective bowl of cereals.

The Brit felt a huge sense of relief, knowing that she was the one responsible for the break-up, but he still hated to see her so sad and insecure about herself. No matter what curve ball life had thrown her way before, Caroline Forbes had always remained happy and optimistic and full of light, and he just wished that there was something he could do to bring the characteristic beaming smile that he loved so much back on her beautiful face.

"I guess I should have at least waited until graduation," she joked bitterly after a few moments of silence, her voice quiet and shaky. "Bekah and I have worked so hard to make prom perfect, and now I barely even want to go."

Suddenly, Klaus felt at a crossroad, and he found himself blurting out the first words that he could think of before he had even had a chance to properly process them.

"I could take you," he offered, Caroline's surprised gaze immediately snapping up to meet his. "If you want. As friends, of course," he quickly amended, swallowing thickly through his nerves.

The blonde remained speechless for what felt like an eternity, lips slightly parted and eyes stunned and wide. Klaus was just about to take back his proposal, when she smiled, nodding her head with resolution and making his heart leap hopefully underneath his ribcage.

"I would like that," she finally answered, a hint of shyness—something that she had never before shown around him—coloring her features as she blushed; she was worrying her plump bottom lip in between her teeth, the action almost sending him into overdrive. "Thank you."

Klaus was about to say more, but Rebekah chose that exact moment to come barreling into the kitchen, lamenting the same headache that her best friend suddenly didn't feel in the slightest anymore.

And as the younger Mikaelson started making herself some coffee, Klaus and Caroline shared one last coy smile over their own breakfast. After all, who knew, maybe 'as friends' wasn't going to last forever.