Suzanne was having a shitty day so far.

She was stomping much too hard on the pavement. She accepted this, and didn't plan on stopping her melodramatic actions. Seeing as Suzanne was in New York City and wearing heels, however, she had to acknowledge that her endeavor was treacherous.

Louie was pulling lightly on his leash, and not for the first time that day Suzanne was glad that there weren't too many people on the paths of Central Park to weave through with her dog. Evidently the late afternoon of a Tuesday wasn't the peak of foot traffic.

When Louie abruptly stopped to sniff at an absolutely fascinating patch of grass, Suzanne sighed and finally slowed down to an ambling walk.

Her day was going very poorly, and Damon Salvatore was at fault.

Okay, not completely, but he was a perfectly viable option to lay blame on. She would only be out of the state for five days, and he chose to mix things up when she was gone. It was incredibly rude. Damon knew that Suzanne had been looking forward to hearing all about the Mystic Falls drama first hand when he first integrated into the weird little town, and he'd already gone and killed a nearby couple to spook his brother before his first day at high school.

Now Suzanne would be out of the loop for the next two days. It wasn't safe to talk about what he was up to over the phone, but she was desperate for information to distract her from her crappy afternoon.

She'd driven up to New York to visit Scotty. It was a long drive, but she took Louie everywhere with her and driving was easiest. Besides, Suzanne was a fan of group or solo road trips. She'd gotten a chance to see her brother for almost two days straight but his job was fairly demanding, so they had already said their goodbyes.

Damon Salvatore may have initiated her bad mood, but her closest friend from college shooting her a text last minute saying he wasn't comfortable with their lunch plans was the straw that broke the bitchy receptionist's back. Suzanne hadn't seen Jay in about two years, and she'd been mildly interested to hear from him and get updates on their old classmates.

Friends weren't her forte. Thus far in Suzanne's life, people left once they got to know her better. So it was sort of habit to keep her distance before the inevitable end of the friendship. Dating wasn't her forte either.

Did she even have a forte? She had abandonment issues aplenty, sure, and that was probably why she and Damon had almost immediately become immensely codependent on each other but –

Suzanne's train of thought was cut off when out of nowhere Louie lurched forward and she lost her grip on his leash. The old dog took off, running faster than she had seen in years.

Unfortunately, his reason for excitement became clear when he leaped at a blonde pedestrian, whose beverage spilled all over his clearly-expensive shirt.

It was official. Her life was a fucking cliché romantic comedy.

Klaus was having a fantastic day so far.

His negotiation with the coven of witches situated in Manhattan had gone incredibly well. Not only had they sworn fealty to him; they had given him the names of other covens that had been discussing an uprising against himself and Elijah. He was looking forward to decimating them in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, it had been becoming more and more obvious in the last decade or so that he would have to distance himself from Elijah. His brother had been angry when Klaus had daggered their siblings, and to Elijah's knowledge they were lost at the bottom of the ocean.

Of course they were in a secure location known only to him, but he wasn't going to correct his brother's assumption. It was safer to have leverage later to hold over him if Elijah did indeed betray him. Klaus needed only people he could trust completely when he broke his curse. Everything had to be perfect when the doppelganger was found – there could be no liabilities or unpredictable variables whatsoever.

Lost in thought, Klaus only had a moment's warning before a deranged mongrel collided with him.

His seltzer spilled down his shirt front and he immediately was relieved he hadn't been drinking anything that would stain – this was one of his favorite shirts. When he had a second to stare down at the dog, he saw that it was an old, spotted Dalmatian that was now enthusiastically wagging its tail. Animals – especially canines – were typically skittish around him, so he was admittedly curious about the animal.

"Louie, no! Jesus fucking Christ I swear to god this isn't some Disney plot to entangle you, I wouldn't risk paying for that outfit –"

The blonde woman heading toward him looked genuinely annoyed, but oddly enough it didn't seem like her ire was directed at the dog – Louie, if he'd heard right. She was moving startlingly fast considering her high heels and reached them in only a few seconds.

" – I mean seriously, I have a shitty friend whose rants have educated me in men's fashion to the point that I know that t shirt has to be at least three hundred dollars, which I think is a huge waste but whatever. To each his own terrible financial decisions I guess."

Klaus was unused to the boldness she was showing. The people he interacted with always had a delicious streak of terror to their words, but the little spitfire in front of him had absolutely no knowledge as to who he was and therefore found it appropriate to criticize his spending habits.

Klaus handed back the leash to the dog as soon as she was close enough with an enormous smirk on his face. Her own expression went blank for a second, as if forgetting what she had done that would earn that look from a stranger before she lit up with realization.

Completely unashamed, the woman stuck her hand out to shake and said, "Oh, sorry. I'm Suzanne, this little monster is Louie. He's usually pretty apathetic to everyone who isn't me, but it looks like you're one of two exceptions. Is that going to stain? I've got to be honest, if that's the case I'm going to kick off these shoes and book it to avoid the consequences."

Klaus found himself snorting with surprised amusement at her entirely blunt honesty and decided that this woman was the most entertaining thing he had come across in quite a while. It didn't hurt that she was quite pretty in an untraditional way. Her features were a bit sharp, and when she grinned it looked somewhat threatening.

He was unrepentant of the fact that it was incredibly attractive to him. He reached out with his own hand immediately and they exchanged a firm handshake.

"I'm Nick. I'm drinking seltzer so there won't be a stain, I'll send it off with the rest of my dry cleaning tomorrow. There's no need to run off, though I may insist you buy me another drink. I feel it's only fair after being assaulted by your companion, Suzanne."

Suzanne narrowed her eyes at him as she looked him up and down. Her gaze was equal parts appreciative and assessing, and she looked so focused that he was almost startled when her eyes darted up to meet his and she broke the silence.

"Are you asking me on a date? I'm not in New England for very long."

Klaus nodded and responded in what he hoped was a convincing relaxed tone when he said, "I'm not here for much longer either, I travel quite often. But I can't pass up an opportunity for drinks with a pretty girl, now can I?"

Suzanne looked strangely shy for a second, but quickly schooled her features into an expression of nonchalance when she said, "Well Nick, you've made a convincing argument. But just a heads up, it's four thirty in the afternoon, which means all drinks provided will be alcoholic."

"You are becoming more and more enticing, love."

Anyone see that coming?