Caroline's POV:
Caroline silently cursed herself for agreeing to accompany her mother to the Annual Art Gallery display as she watched her mother having an animated discussion with people she didn't recognize. She swivelled in her chair her facial expression projecting the depth of her boredom. She fidgeted, plastering a false smile on her face every time the customers looked in her direction. Caroline sat up abruptly her sixth sense confirming to her that there was a vampire nearby; she looked up to see Klaus walk into the gallery. Her brow creased, her expression conveying a mixture of confusion and anxiety. What was he doing here? He looked up at her and flashed her a dazzling smile that rocked her back on her heels, okay so he was attractive. To her dismay, she saw him sauntering towards her and her body immediately transferred itself to her hunter mode. Her posture straightened, her eyes focused on him alone and she placed her hand protectively over her bag which contained a stake.
"Calm down sweetheart, I don't mean no harm," he cooed raising both of his arms up in a sign of peace.
"What are you doing here, vampire?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him her hand still grasping her bag ready for a fight if required.
"Klaus Mikaelson," he corrected her, an expression of fury passing over his features briefly.
"You haven't answered my question."
"I'm here to see the art, just like everybody else," he told her sincerely.
She raised an eyebrow, surprised – she hadn't really thought about what vampires did in their spare time. She always just thought of them as murdering creatures. "Oh…" was all she managed to get out, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"And what are you doing here? Let me guess, you were forced to attend?"
"Guilty as charged," she admitted reluctantly, she didn't exactly want to stand here, chatting with a vampire but what better options did she have. The other option was to sit and sulk in dire boredom. "What gave me away?"
"You looked miserable," he shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes travelled to a group of people at the back of the gallery admiring a large piece of art.
"It's beautiful," she admitted looking at the painted landscape before her.
"Thank you." When she looked confused, he let out a short laugh, explaining. "It's my art."
Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she looked at the painting again. "I didn't know that vampires—" she began but then stopped herself short knowing how stupid the sentence would sound.
"You didn't know that vampires did anything besides kill people?" he asked his tone cold.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" she started apologetically but then stopped herself. Why exactly was she being nice to this stranger? She didn't owe him anything. "Actually you know what? I'm not sorry. I've heard about you Klaus Mikaelson, the most hated of the Original vampires. You're a monster who has murdered a thousand of innocent people, so you can drop the whole lonely painter guy act. It's not going to work," she hissed.
"Careful love, you don't want to get on my bad side," was all he said before brushing past her.
…
…
"Yes mom, I've closed up. I'm on my way home now," she said craning her neck as she balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder. Her mother had left the gallery early to attend a Council meeting, leaving her in charge of closing up the place. She hung up the phone, checking that the doors were locked before starting her path to where her car was parked around the block. As she rounded the corner she noticed a group of men, much older than she was stumbling out of a bar. She nervously ducked her head hoping that it would make her invisible as she passed them, but they spotted her almost instantaneously and blocked the path to the car park.
"Well hello there gorgeous," one of the slurred, he swayed, clearly unstable on his feet.
"Get out of my way," she told him sharply attempting to side step him when another one came up behind her and pulled her back.
"Not so fast Blondie."
"Get out of my way, or I swear to god I will hurt you."
This just made them laugh hysterically as they sized her up; their hungry eyes scanning every inch of her body making her feel disgusting and cheap. She was very aware of her ability to knock them unconscious, but she was also outnumbered by them.
"I think the lady told you to back off," a voice called out coolly, the English accent very evident.
This just made them laugh all the more louder. She turned to see Klaus walking up behind her his face illuminated by the moonlight
"What are you going to do tough guy?!"
With a swift movement, he was standing directly in front of the men; their eyes widened in surprise as they acknowledged the speed of his movement. One of the men stepped up, throwing a punch — Klaus grabbed the fist casually, crushing it at the palm of his hands. The man dropped to his knees, screaming in anguish and the others immediately backed away.
"Hey, we don't want any trouble man…"
"Stop it!" Caroline snapped at Klaus and he dropped the fist, dusting his hands as if nothing had happened. The men helped up their friend and scurried away from them their eyes wide with fear and panic.
"You're welcome."
"I could have handled them and you know it. What were you thinking exposing yourself like that?!"
"Oh please, they're drunk—they'll probably wake up thinking that they'd imagined it all. Am I going to get a thank you?"
When she remained silent, he smirked at her shaking his head slightly.
"Stubborn little thing aren't you. I'll see you around Caroline," and with that he disappeared leaving her standing alone in the deserted street.
Authors note: This is the first time I'm writing for Klaroline so bear with me, I've no idea if it works or not. Tell me what you think, do you want more from Caroline's POV or would you rather I stick to Elena's POV? Ps. I'm feeling generous today, I may post a Delena chapter in a moment as I have been struck by inspiration. Leave reviews, tell me what you think
