Chapter 2: I'll Be Here

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Replies to last week's reviews:

Sandiw1875- Thank you for being my first reviewer ever and for the kind words about my story!

Hazel21- Thanks!

EtherealDemon- Thanks a lot! I have to admit I was really worried about my characters. Sorry for the lack of action, there's a lot more in this one.

McKenzieMac- At first I didn't get your review because, living overseas, I'm not an expert on universities in the States. But I looked up to Tulane and I was like 'oh, it's a college in New Orleans, awesome.' So anyway, I'm not 100% sure if she'll be attending Richmond but as for going to New Orleans, well, read on...

"Today, the class of 2013 are graduating Mystic Falls High in Mystic Falls, Virginia, a small town that most people have never heard of but that's a home to each and every one of us. Most of us have grown up together, those who haven't I'd like to think, as president of the welcoming committee, have been greeted with open arms. We're a family: we've worked together, partied together and totally messed up together. Either way, for good or for bad, we've shaped each other. And personally I'm proud to call each and every one of you classmates and friends. I know it's just high school, that someday will have trouble remembering who dated who and what classes we aced, and that's ok, it's normal. But I have one small tip for all of you: hold on to the human moments. Yes, there are some times when worrying about something like prom when you've got to keep moving, looking at colleges or whatever. But there's nothing more important than to appreciate the things around you and the people who someday won't be. So hold on to who you are and to what you feel. Go out and live your life and when you come back for our high school reunion, you'll have something to say. Congratulations to the class of 2013!"

As Caroline finished her speech, the crowd that had gathered on the Mystic Falls football field shook with applause. She could see her friends smiling at her from the second row and could hear her mother hooting louder than any of the other parents. What, or who, she couldn't see was a man in a perfectly tailored, dimples showing and clapping just loud enough so that she wouldn't look his way. She made her way down the platform steps and to her seat next to Matt. The principal also made a short speech which was greeted by rather half-hearted applause from the audience. She started to make her way through the class in alphabetical order.

"Bonnie Bennett!"

"Matt Donovan!"

"Caroline Forbes!" Smiling brightly, she stepped back onto the platform to receive her diploma. She waved, moved the tassel of her cap and then stepped down. The list went on until finally it was over. In unison, they threw the caps into the air. And just like that, the ceremony was over. Caroline jumped up from her seat to hug Elena and Bonnie, followed by Stefan, Matt, and then half the people she knew from committees and cheerleading.

Observing from a far enough distance away, Klaus gazed at her. She was so comfortable with her humanity that it felt normal to laugh and pose for pictures with humans she probably hardly even knew. Klaus couldn't recall a time when he could have done that without feeling repelled. He knew that logically he should be scornful of her behaviour but her natural grace and ease with these people just made him admire her more.

He could probably have continued watching her for hours but Caroline started to walk across the field and to the parking lot with her mother. He'd been standing underneath the bleachers of the far side of the football field and as Caroline and the sheriff walked by, he recoiled. Still, Caroline somehow registered his presence and sent her mother to her car, saying she'd drive back to the Lockwood House with Matt. As smoothly as possible, he slipped out from underneath the bleachers.

"Caroline," Klaus breathed.

As soon as she saw him, Caroline froze, fear in her eyes. The last time she'd seen Klaus, it had been Silas and that mistake had almost cost her mom her life. In cold, hard voice, she said, "Who are you?"

Klaus was taken aback by the suspicion in her voice. "I'm Niklaus Mikaelson," he answered her question. "I'm Klaus."

Caroline knew she couldn't trust her own eyes so she demanded "Prove it."

He finally understood what was going on, having gone through the same situation himself a few weeks ago. He was somewhat flattered that he was an important enough presence in her life that Silas had impersonated him. He put on his most charming, comforting smile. "That bracelet you're wearing, I gave it to you. Twice, actually. You threw it at me at the ball because you thought I was trying to buy you off. I wasn't. I was trying to apologise for having almost killed you."

Relief crept over Caroline's face. "Oh, I supposed I kind of slipped it on this morning," she said, glancing at the bracelet. "What brings you back to town?"

"You," he said simply, enjoying her smile and the eye roll that went with it.

"You can't just say things like that all the time."

"Why not? It's true. I heard you were leaving town and I was wondering if you were going to take me up on my offer."

All traces of a smile left her face then. Conveniently (for her, inconveniently for him), her phone rang right then. "Oh my god, I am running so late. Sorry, I need to go find Matt to get home."

"Let me drive you," he said, pointing towards his car in the parking lot. Caroline hesitated then nodded, walking briskly to the passenger seat. When he had driven them out of the parking lot, he asked, "What are you late for anyway?"

"After party prep," she said, not looking up from her phone. He started taking in the sight of her again. As if she could tell, she told him, "Eyes on the road. You're going the wrong way, anyway. I'm staying on the Lockwood Property, that's where the party is."

He looked slightly hurt but turned the car around and continued driving. They spent the rest of the drive in stone cold silence. When they arrived, Klaus flashed out of the car to open Caroline's door. This was met with a giggle and another eye roll. He followed her up the steps and to the door. As she was unlocking the door, he asked, "May I stay and help?"

"No, you can't. I'm the only vampire who can get in and Tyler..." she trailed off. "But you can come to the party, if you want. It's going to be mostly on the lawn anyway. But you have to behave."

"I'll be there." He grinned, instantly cheered up by Caroline's invitation. He had to remind himself for the seventh time that day that he was supposed to be her 'friend'. He turned around and head back to his house to wait until it was appropriate to call on his sweetheart (he meant pal).

"Be there at 8!" she called after him.

Promptly at 7:58 – if he had to wait one more minute outside the house, he was sure he'd rip somebody's heart out – he rang Caroline's doorbell. She opened the door to find Klaus, smiling and holding a bouquet of pink flowers out to her. "Hi," she said, momentarily flustered. There was a crashing sound behind her as Matt dropped a full ice bucket. "Matt!" Caroline scolded. He profusely apologised. "No, it's fine. Just get a broom or something to clean it up and then get some more ice." Turning back to Klaus, she said, "Could you go around the back and make sure the DJ's set up?"

He nodded but made sure she took the flowers before he went around the house and to the enormous lawn that was the Lockwood's backyard. To the DJ, he called out "Hey! Caroline wants to know if you're set up yet!"

The lanky teenage boy who was obviously part of tonight's entertainment replied that he was almost done, which was met with a glare. Klaus didn't have anything else to do so he sat down on a step and waited. Looking around, he remembered a very different night, homecoming night, specifically. He'd killed his father and lost the loyalty of the only real friend who could ever claim, the Ripper. Still, the moment he pictured then was when he'd first looked at Caroline Forbes, really looked. She'd been wearing a red dress and seemed as if she was having fun, socialising with her human friends. "Your pretty little girlfriend," he remembered saying to Tyler because she was pretty, scratch that, radiant. She stopped being Tyler's girlfriend and started being Caroline Forbes.

His reverie was interrupted by Caroline, who was walking down the steps he was sitting on. With her was a short, mousy-haired girl who was obviously not a senior. She was reading through some sort of to-do list, all of which Caroline answered with a 'done'. They finished the list just as she came up to him. Caroline's assistant went to check on the food tables as Caroline asked, "So, how do I look?"

Caroline had changed into a flower-print summer dress and bright wedges. Her hair was loose and her makeup natural. Klaus said she looked beautiful and that the party looked amazing. At this point, dozens of the newly-graduated seniors started to pour into the backyard as the band started to play. Klaus disappeared into the crowd as Caroline looked around for her friends. She practically died of fright when Elena jumped up on her from behind. "Oh my God, Elena! You practically gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry!' she replied, all smiles. It was good to have the old Elena back. "The party looks great, Caroline, as always."

"Thanks! And where are the Salvatores this evening?" she said, with mock elegance.

Elena bit her lip apologetically. "Stefan said he was really sorry but he probably wasn't going to make it. And Damon, um, we got into a fight about the cure and the sire bond and we haven't talked since." Caroline nodded. While her transition into a vampire had been no easy feat, it was a trip to Hawaii compared to Elena's. Elena continued, "Why is Klaus here anyway?" She nodded to his form next to the drinks cooler.

"Oh, I invited him," Caroline replied, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal at all. Elena's eyes widened in shock. "Look, it's not like he's going to stick around for long. He's supposed to be in New Orleans anyway. And I'm sure he'll behave."

"Caroline, why?"

"I guess it's because he drove me home, and because he gave me a dress for prom, and he's been so nice lately..."

"He's a bad guy, Care. He killed Jenna and Carol Lockwood, and he's almost killed you, like, three times," Elena reminded her.

Caroline already knew all that but it probably did her good to hear it from her best friend. Still, she was kind of irritated by the hypocrisy of it all. After all, Elena was in a relationship with the man who more or less raped her. "What do you expect me to about it?" she snapped.

Elena mumbled something about asking him to go away but Caroline was already busy flouncing away. She found Bonnie who handed her her first beer of the many she would have this evening. She had a great time drinking and dancing like there was no tomorrow, not even considering that she would have a giant hangover the next morning. She kept thinking about night clubs and in her drunken state, she kept imaging that she was in a lovely foreign one, maybe in Berlin or London, places she longed to go but was too full of life to go by herself and too stubborn to accept the only invitation she'd ever gotten.

From across the lawn, Klaus was watching her. He saw as she slowly got drunk and as she started dancing with more partners than she probably would even remember. It was like she was tempting him, leering at him, but she never once glanced his way. Don't be such a narcissist, he told himself, her life doesn't revolve around you. Eventually, he couldn't stand it anymore. He picked himself up and went up to the DJ to request –not compel, mind you – a slow song. As Adele started to play, he gently pulled Caroline away from her former partner. She glared at him but begrudgingly put her arms around his neck as he put his around her waist and they started to sway.

After a few seconds, Caroline said, "I keep thinking that any minute, Mayor Lockwood will storm out of the house to yell at us about underage drinking." She didn't hide the fact that she said those words specifically to hurt him and she succeeded.

"Why are you always angry at me when we dance?" he said into her ear, pretending that her words didn't mean anything to her.

"You don't exactly make it hard," she snapped.

He nodded slowly. She was right after all. "And yet you stick around me. Why?"

She shook her head, frustrated by the question that had gone around in her head for the past few months, never being able to find an answer. "I don't know," she said honestly. "You send a lot of mixed signals, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yeah! Like, you're so sweet to me one minute but then the next you're threatening the life of somebody I care about, sometimes even me."

His face suddenly became very serious and he dropped his hands from her waist. "Caroline, you have to know that I would never hurt you on purpose. I am not physically capable of it."

They had stopped dancing and Caroline moved him out of the way of the other dancers. She was searching his face for any sign of genuine emotion but found none. "Why can't you?" she insisted.

"I have no bloody idea!" he cried, making sure to keep his voice down. He'd been so sure of himself a few months ago, when he'd told her he 'fancied' her. Now, it was more than that. How could he express what he felt for her now when there was a one in a thousand chance she felt the same. "But I want to know, that I'm certain of."

Caroline frowned again, exasperated at his lack of clarity, especially since she couldn't be specific about her feelings either. "What on earth does that mean?"

Klaus looked straight into her eyes. "That means I want you to come to New Orleans with me."

She turned away from him for a moment, flashing back to the same conversation she'd had with Silas. Silas, who could tell what she was thinking and feeling at every moment. Turning around to look at him she said, "I can't, Klaus. I'm going to college in Richmond next year and that's that."

Klaus grinned wickedly at her. "There are two months before school begins, Caroline."

She almost smiled but managed to murmur, "That doesn't make a difference." Her tone turned sad. "It just can't happen, Klaus."

Angrily, he shot back, "It can't happen or you won't let it happen?" He stalked away before she could answer.

Around one in the morning, the last member of the senior class of Mystic Falls High left the Lockwood Mansion and Caroline stumbled up the stairs and, out of habit, crashed onto the bed in Tyler's old room. She would have passed out immediately had it not been for the smell that hit her at that moment. It smelled of sweat and deodorant and so, so much of Tyler, which was really depressing. Somehow, just smelling her ex-boyfriend made her want to curl up in a ball and cry. It wasn't so much the fact that they weren't together anymore that made her sad, but that she'd been left behind. He'd left because of Klaus' need for revenge, yes, but he'd gone to find a brighter future elsewhere. She was stuck here, waiting for a boyfriend that would never come back in a house that would never truly be home.

She would never know whether the decision was truly hers or whether the alcohol had made the decision for her. All she knew was that a 1:32 a.m., she sent a text message to Klaus Mikaelson:

If your offer still stands, i'll meet u 8 my mom's

Caroline

Thank you for reading! I'm sorry if I got anything wrong! Please review to tell me what you thought or just any kind of Vampire Diaries emotion you're having right now. Oh and I'm really sorry about the graduation speech. It sucks but I wanted it to be something Caroline would say.

I'm going to try to publish at least once a week but I'm particularly busy this week so bare with me!