Caroline stopped abruptly in front of the door and I accidentally ran into her. She whipped around and there was hardly any emotion in her eyes as if they were as dry as a bare piece of parchment.

I grimaced in an attempt to smile, but for the first time in a long while I was nervous about what someone thought of me. Of how she would receive me. In the past, my advances hadn't been returned. In reality, I was scared. What if it had been the wrong time? Wrong place? What the hell was she thinking!

"I would really appreciate it if you said something."

"Said something?" she mumbled, practically incoherently. "I really didn't see this coming," she said to herself.

"This is not in the least bit reassuring, love."

"Do you even know what love is?"

"No. I have no idea. But do you?"

"Of course, it's a feeling you get when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, when nothing can come between you, when you're on top of the world and nothing can reach up and touch you to pull you down screaming, it's bliss. It's when..."

I lifted a finger to her lips which automatically silenced her. There was clearly a dilemma trying to unravel in her brain because all of her concentration was on the fact that my finger was on her lips, not actually the conversation I was trying to have. It felt almost one-sided even though words were spilling from her mouth.

"Then, sweetheart, I'm definitely in love with you. Spending the rest of my life with you is much to big a concept to comprehend, but since the day I met you nothing could come between the time I desired to spend with you, and when I first saw you; your sparkling blue eyes, your beautiful bouncy blond hair, the care you put into your appearance made me feel as though I was on top of the world. But I disagree with you on one count. You have no idea what love is. I've read thousands of books about it and not a single one describes it exactly the same way because it's different for everyone. But I know that I've fallen through the stars, the atmosphere, the earth, to the deepest, darkest part of the ocean where only you shine."

She peered at me for a brief second and then jerked the door to the diner open and stormed out with a huff and very dramatically. It was one of the things I adored most about her, even when she was walking away from me for what seemed like the hundredth time. I followed her outside, intending to just hop in my car and try to deal with her another day; try to make her understand another day when she stopped suddenly directly in front of her car. Her shoulders sunk as if she was giving way to an enormous pressure that would fall to the ground and shatter if she relaxed for even a moment. Then before I knew what was happening, she was there. Her hair flying around my face, her legs curling around my waist, and her arms fastening around my neck. I barely caught her in time it was so unexpected. Then her perfectly shaped lips were on mine. I kissed her back with a passion that had been hiding inside of me for weeks, and when released there was nothing in the world that could get in it's way. Somehow she ended up against the wall of the diner and I was slowly, seductively kissing my way down her neck to her collarbone where I slid my lips back in forth simply breathing in her lavender and rose aroma. My hands were encircled around the lower part of her back, just barely touching some skin where her shirt had lifted up from being shoved against the wall. There were little sparks igniting wherever my skin came in contact with hers. I rose back to her lips, and this time kissed her deeply and sweetly. She moaned slightly, making me shiver, and brought her hands through my hair, occasionally stopping to twirl one of the curls.

I finally brought her back down to earth giving her one last peck on her nose before releasing her from my embrace. We were both panting heavily and I leaned my head against hers, so that we could still be touching because when we were I wasn't alone.

"Sorry," she giggled quietly, high from the kiss. "I should've warned you."

"No, that was perfect. You're incredible."

"You're not to bad yourself."

"So was that a you love me too?" I questioned.

"No. That was just an I'll think about it."

"Wow," I whispered, fingering my lips slightly. "I wonder what a you love me too feels like."

"That's something you might never figure out, Niklaus."

I sighed and stood up straight backing away from her. "Will I ever see you again?"

"I can't promise anything," she said, her eyes saying sorry.

"Invite me back."

"I would except I'm not willing to risk my friendship with Elena for anything. I'll talk to her, I promise, but who knows where this is going.

I was about to protest, when she silenced me with a sly kiss. "I should go. I'll call you if anything changes."

I nodded and opened her car door open for her. She smiled and sat down in the passenger seat. Then I slammed the door, and just as I turned away to head home to Rebecca I heard the soft screeching of a window rolling down.

"You're much better kisser than Tyler ever was," she called after me. And then the light at the bottom of the ocean sped away as my world morphed back into darkness and shadows.