When she woke, Klaus still hadn't moved. Only the movement of his eyes to look at her as she moved was the only indication that he wasn't in fact a statue. Caroline stretched, feeling her bones crack. She yawned, wishing that she was still asleep. "Good morning" Klaus said. "Morning" Caroline muttered, still half asleep. "You know, I could've kept watch for a bit" she said, feeling guilty. "I wouldn't dare interrupt your beauty sleep" Klaus replied, staring at her. Self-consciously, Caroline noticed she had a leaf sticking up in her hair. She tried to remove it without him noticing, watching as he turned his head away, the corners of his mouth twisted up in a smile. He turned his head back, moving swiftly towards her, suddenly becoming so close that she could see the sunlight reflecting against his eyelashes, could feel his warm breath against her face, causing her heart to suddenly race.
He gently removed another leaf from her hair, pushing a strand away from her face, moving his hand until it caressed her face. Caroline couldn't breathe, wouldn't dare. Her eyes moved to his lips, the lips that were blood red, full, so close and so tantalizing A few moments stretched out into eternity, both caught in a struggle, neither one willing to take the final step, but neither letting go. Finally Caroline stepped away, trying to ignore her racing heart and the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach.
"So are we gonna get out of here or what?" she asked, desperately trying to act normal. Klaus said nothing, simply nodding, grabbing her bag and striding past her. Caroline took a quick breath that she had been holding in, and followed.
Around noon, the forest cleared into a field of sunflowers. Caroline paused to admire the flowers that gently bobbed in the light breeze, contrasting with the clear blue sky to make the scene look like a postcard, almost too pretty to be real. Klaus paused next to her, also admiring the view. Building her courage, she looked him directly in the eye. In the centuries after, she would never forget how he returned her gaze, would never forget the smile that he returned. She knew she would cherish this moment forever, no matter what happened.
Suddenly, a farmer appeared from a lonely shed that stood in the center of the field. The bloodlust hit her instantly, almost pushing her backwards. It was too soon, too soon after her captivity, she still hadn't got a full control over the raging fire that eternally burned in her throat. It would be so easy to run forward, biting deep into the farmer's throat, loose herself in the pulsing red blood.
"You know, you could do it" Klaus said, his eyes had followed hers to the farmer. "Give in, accept your vampire nature." He glanced down at her, seeing the start of black veins appearing around her eyes. "I know" she said, quickly fleeing, knowing that Klaus would follow.
They settled down for the night near a fallen tree. Caroline's eyes had been tracing the twist and tangles of the roots, her eyesight picking up on everything, the small bead of amber that had crystallized on the end of a branch, the small insects that crawled along the bark.
"Why did you do it?" she asked. "Why did you save me?" she turned to him, noticing that he had found some different clothes, her stupid heart beat faster as she noticed his dark blue shirt matched his eyes.
"Do you really not know why?" he answered, looking at her. Caroline sat in silence for a while, then said "Do you know what would make this night perfect? Marshmallows and a campfire. I love s'mores." Klaus gave her a funny look, and then gave out a loud laugh that sent a shiver down Caroline's spine.
She lay down against the trunk of the tree, looking up at the stars. The moon was nearly at its apex, only a few more nights before it was full. "Have you ever just wanted to live out in the forest?" she asked. "Just cut yourself off from other people forever?"'
"I have once before" Klaus answered, leaning back next to her. "For five years, I just….disappeared. I had just been turned."
"What was it like?" she asked. "Lonely, at first, but it was also peaceful. I was far away from Mikael, and for the first time in my life, I was truly alone." Suddenly, he straightened his back, realizing that he had been sharing too much. "We'll be back in Mystic Falls tomorrow" Klaus said. "You should rest: we've got a long day ahead of us." Klaus moved away from her, Caroline missed the warmth of him near her.
"Goodnight Klaus" Caroline whispered. "Goodnight, love" he replied, his eyes looking out into the dark forest.