Told you guys I'd be back with a quick update. And it's a double update, so lots to read :)

The next couple chapters were difficult for me to write. They got rewritten and switch around, and moments and dialogue was added and/or changed again and again. As I usually do with my fanfics, I try to experiment and if things don't work, they don't work. I just need to let it go and let you guys decide. I always try to do the best I can.

So...I won't say anything else until the end of the next chapter.

Enjoy!

p.s. Apologies for horrid spelling/grammar as usual. May be even worse now because I'm a still suffering from sickness.

Klaus was wrong. Things didn't get better. In fact, they got worse.

It seemed the world was rather taken in by the endless amount of rumors surrounding Klaus and Caroline's relationship. Everyday for two weeks it was a constant back and forth between things going well and things going wrong. Every entertainment gossip website, blogger, and news show were all trying to out do one another with rumors and stories from love triangles between him, Caroline, and Elena to a few stories with Tyler thrown into the mix. Of course having a town full of gossiping southern ladies and people like Vickie Donovan willing to say a few bad things in exchange for some cash, it wasn't hard for them to dig up dirt.

Klaus could ignore it, like he had told Caroline. He was no stranger to having a poor reputation in the media, but it was taking a toll on Caroline. He could see it. For the first time, he felt powerless to change. No matter what he said or did, it didn't change the fact that Caroline was suffering the brunt of the media craze. He'd catch her glancing over web blogs when she thought he wasn't looking, the hurt of the internet's words reflected in her usually bright blue eyes. He saw the way the people around town treated her, with their judgmental looks, and how she made a pointed effort to keep her chin up. Things weren't turning out how either of them planned.

To make matters even worse, Elijah had just received a call from the films producers. As it turned out, they had changed their minds once again and decided not to use Mystic Falls for their filming location. It seemed they were put off by the fact that so many paparazzi had begun to swarm the quiet town. The constant media attention wouldn't be great for filming.

It wasn't just the studios that was bulking over the attention, the entire town was also angry at having their peace disrupted. Rabid reporters were hounding citizens for details about Caroline. Paparazzi lurked in public places waiting to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. Both Klaus and Elena's press teams had been suffering pressure from Mystic Falls to get their town back to normal. They wanted the celebrities and their hangers-on out and their quaint, peaceful lifestyle returned to them.

Klaus, Elena, and Elijah sat around Elena's dining table, having just ended the conference call in which they received the official news about the location move from the studio executives. The disappointment from Elena was palpable. She had been looking forward to being close to home while filming. But now, they were due in Portland in just a few days for filming. The studio had made the change a while ago, but had waited until the last minute to inform the film's stars.

"It's a manipulative move," Elijah said, frustrated at the mistreatment.

Klaus, who seemed the least annoyed, waved it off. "What's done is done Elijah. Here, Portland it makes no difference to me."

He could see the silver lining the location change. It was clear Mystic Falls wasn't working. He was rather relieved to now have an excuse to leave the pathetic town behind. Not to mention, it would no doubt cheer Caroline up to know that she would no longer have to be subjected to the Mystic Falls small minded denizens.

Elena's eyebrows shot up. "It makes no difference to you?"

"No love," Klaus replied with a sour smirk, "it doesn't."

"So you don't care that you and Caroline will be separated again?"

Klaus scoffed. "She'll be coming with us."

"Are you serious?" Elena retorted. "Caroline has a life you know, she doesn't just exist to be your girlfriend and follow you around. You can't treat her like that."

"Well last I checked love, she has no job, no home of her own here, most of her friends are living in separate cities. What exactly does she have tying her to Mystic Falls?"

"Wow." Elena blinked in disbelief.

Klaus replayed the words he had just said in his head; they were harsh but true. Of course Caroline would want to come with him to Portland. He had become accustomed to having her around and was in no rush to go back to the arrangement that had been in place over the latter half of the summer.

"Perhaps when you ask her to come across the country with us, you shouldn't put it quite like that," Elijah interjected.

Klaus spared Elijah a glance, turning his attention back to Elena. "I believe I remember someone else in this room asking her to drop her boyfriend, job, and very busy life just to tag along with them across Europe so they wouldn't have to deal with me alone. Perhaps you should consider that before you go around making accusations."

Elena bulked at the criticism. "Fine," she said, "tell Caroline about going to Portland and let her decide."

"Fine," Klaus returned, more than willing to let the issue drop.

"Is that what you really want for Caroline? You don't want her to be able to be her own person? Are you planning to see this relationship through? Because if not—"

Now Klaus was getting annoyed. "My relationship with Caroline is none of your business."

"Wrong. It is my business because Caroline's my friend and I don't want you hurting her and screwing up her life."

Elijah cleared his throat, breaking through some of the tension that had begun to build between Elena and Klaus. "I think it's best to let Caroline decide what she would like to do. There's no reason this relationship has to end because of a change in plans."

Klaus saw Elijah's eyes waver toward Elena, knowing that his brother was in a similar position…or would be one day. Elijah wouldn't be able to stay by Elena's side during filming, he would need to go back to L.A. to attend to his other clients and keep the business running. Not to mention that Elena would continue to lead a jet set life. Her career was on the up and up; with that kind of momentum, it would be stupid for her to take a break now.

Klaus was similar to Elena in that aspect. He couldn't risk giving up everything that he worked for now, just for Caroline. If the movie worked out like he hoped, more offers would come in, and he would continue to be busy. He also had no desire to stay in Mystic Falls any longer than necessary. Since he wasn't ready to let Caroline go, the only solution he could see to their predicament was for her to come with him to Portland.

"Klaus I have to ask," Elijah said once Elena was gone, "what are your intentions with Caroline?"

Klaus let out a laugh. "You sound positively Victorian Elijah." Elijah was giving him a look that said the question was serious, and he wouldn't get out of answering it. "I like her. I like her company. I want her to be around."

"You like her," Elijah repeated. "You want her to be around. For how long? Until you grow tired of her? Find someone else more appealing?"

"Why don't you just make your point Elijah."

"Do you love her?"

Klaus's head snapped toward his brother. "What?"

"It's a simple question Niklaus."

"It's not that simple Elijah."

"Do you love Elena?"

"Yes."

Klaus stopped. He studied his brother for a moment, noting the sincerity of his eyes and the way he had given his answer. Yes. Without a hint of thought or hesitation. Like he knew it was fact, the way someone new that the grass was green and the sky was blue.

"Elena Gilbert?" Klaus questioned. "I can't imagine why."

"She's intelligent," Elijah replied, "she's kind and loyal to her those she cares about, she's serious but surprising...she makes me laugh…" Elijah had a romantic gleam in his eye as he listed Elena's qualities; attributes that Klaus had never seen in the woman. Klaus couldn't recall a time when he had ever seen Elijah have that sort of reaction toward a woman. Elijah hadn't been the womanizer that Klaus was, but he'd had a few relationships with varying degrees of seriousness. But Elijah always seemed to be more passionate about his work than he was about his women.

"To each his own," Klaus said with a shrug.

The older man let out a sigh. "Very well. My advice is to you figure it out soon. Caroline Forbes is not one of your groupies Klaus, she's a good woman. She deserves to be treated right."

"Do I not treat her well? I'm offering her the world, the chance to accompany me and see things no one else will. I shower her with presents, with attention…I don't understand what love has to do with any of it."

Klaus turned away from Elijah then, hoping that his brother would take the hint. The conversation was over; he had no desire to discuss or examine his feelings for Caroline any further. "As I said, I hope you figure it out soon brother."

"No Mrs. Fell I completely understand," Caroline spoke into her cell phone, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could make it up to you…okay. Take care."

Caroline shoulders slumped as she sat her phone down on the counter next to her. She was seated on one of the barstools in Klaus's kitchen, laptop in front of her, trying to get some work done. Mrs. Fell had just called to tell her that she would no longer need her babysitting services for the twins. Apparently the Fells didn't take too kindly to their front lawn being invaded by the stalkerazzi, as Caroline had started calling the annoying photographers that were magically appearing every time she left the house.

If was baffling, the way that the paparazzi had shown up every single place she went for the past two weeks. At the grocery store, at the gym, lunch at her mom's house-they had even crashed the two times she and Klaus had attempted to go out for dinner. Now she had lost the only job in town she could seem to find. The nosy media people were making her life a living hell. But, with head held high, she persevered. Klaus kept telling her that things would die down and she was doing her best to trust his judgment and mimic his cool attitude.

Her phone rang again, distracting her from her inner complaining, and she checked the caller ID before answering.

"Hey Stephen…I'm good. How are you?"

Caroline wasn't alone at Klaus's apartment. While she sat at the kitchen counter working and browsing the internet, Katherine reclined across the leather couch doing the same. That was another thing Caroline had become used to over the past couple of weeks…Katherine's constant joyful presence. Apparently her time in Mystic Falls relegated her to Klaus PA duty as well as press control, although considering how much Caroline was getting bugged, she didn't think that Katherine was doing a great job at the latter.

"Oh my gosh are you serious?" Caroline squealed into the phone. Katherine snuck a peek at the blonde, dragging her eyes away from her laptop. "No I mean I'll have to figure things about with mom and Klaus but my answer is yes yes yes!...Okay, email me the details."

Caroline hung up the phone, beaming and humming as she began to tap away at her computer. Katherine laid aside her laptop and hopped over the couch, sauntering over to where Caroline sat.

"What are you so cheery about?" Katherine asked, in her usual flat tone.

Caroline glanced up at her. She had made an effort to be nice to Katherine since she had been hanging around, in spite of Katherine's constant state of bitchy-ness. She wouldn't let the brunette drag her down into her misery spiral.

"I just got offered a job," Caroline said, "well sort of."

"What kind of a job?"

"Writing a travel blog for a magazine in Chicago."

"How did you land a job like that?"

Caroline bulked at the tone of her voice. As if Caroline couldn't get job writing for a magazine. She had written for both the Mystic Falls High Chronicle and yearbook when she was in high school, not to mention the press releases she crafted when she was still working at the mayor's office. Caroline could write, she had just never considered doing it as a job before. That was until she had been chatting on the phone with her dad and Stephen, hearing yet another go back to school encouragement lecture from her father. She'd made on offhand comment that she had been interested in journalism, which prompted her father to prompt Stephen to check his contacts and find out if he could find an internship for her at a newspaper. Two days later, Stephen had called back and said that one of his contacts was looking for a travel blogger and since she had some travel experience she could have a chance at the job. All she had to do was start a blog so they could see a sample of her writing, which she had been keeping up with religiously over the past two weeks. Stephen had just called to tell her that the editors loved her writing, and thought her voice was very insightful and funny, they wanted to meet with her in Chicago soon to discuss hiring her on a freelance basis.

It was too perfect. She would have a career and get to travel; two things that were very high on Caroline's list of goals at the moment.

Of course, she didn't want to admit to Katherine that she didn't snag the job solely on her own merits, so she left out the part about Stephen being her dad's partner.

As she finished explaining the story, her email alert dinged, and she opened her mail to see a new message Stephen had forwarded from the magazine explaining all the details of the job.

"Oh," Caroline frowned reading it over, "hmm."

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"I guess they are thinking about doing it video blog style. They want me to make a video diary and send it to them as an audition. I've never done anything like that before."

"How hard can it be to sit in front of a camera and talk about your life like other people care? Losers on YouTube do it all the time."

Caroline ignored her and continued to read. "Well I have a couple days to figure it out."

As she finished reading Caroline's stomach began to growl, letting her know it was past time for lunch. It had been almost two days since she had been anywhere besides Klaus's apartment, so she decided she was going to take her chances and go out to the Grill. Maybe Matt was working; he could always fend off the stalkerazzi if needed. "I'm gonna go grab some lunch. Want anything?"

"Greasy country food filled with processed chemicals?" Katherine frowned. "I'll pass."

Caroline gave her a discreet once over. Katherine's clothes always clung to her body like she was poured into them every morning. Her body was the product of a very strict, no fat, and all organic diet. Caroline figured if missing out on extra cheese nacho fries at the Grill every once in a while was what it took to look like that well…she'd take the fries thank you very much. Maybe the lack of processed foods was why Katherine was so moody all the time.

With a shrug and a smile, Caroline grabbed her purse and headed out to lunch.

The Grill wasn't too crowded when Caroline arrived, and she didn't notice anyone following her around. Maybe the stalkers were finally starting to back off. She took a seat at the bar and Matt—who was in fact working that day—greeted her and passed her a menu. She sat there, sipping a diet soda and scanning the menu, debating on whether she wanted a burger or a chicken Caesar salad, when someone called her name.

"Caroline Forbes, isn't it a little early to be hitting the bar?"

Caroline groaned and spun in the barstool. Just perfect. She couldn't get an hour to do something as simple has have lunch without it being twisted and speculated about. It just wasn't—

"Oh my god! Stefan?" The handsome, dark haired guy who had called her attention flashed her a grin. Caroline hopped down off the bar stool and wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a giant squeeze. "What are you even doing here? It's been like—"

"Four years. Yeah, I know," Stefan finished for her, "I just came back to take care of some business. Visit my dad. He's thinking of turning the boarding house back into an actual boarding house."

Caroline recalled many nights in high school spent at the Salvatore boarding house. Whenever Stefan's father was away, he always opened his house to the best and biggest parties Mystic Falls High had ever seen. The Salvatore Boarding house was—in a word—huge. It had seven bedrooms, en suite bathrooms, a library, a gigantic living room, fully loaded kitchen, a dining hall…

"Wow, that's a lot of work," Caroline said.

"It's why he wanted my opinion on things. Damon could care less." She nodded, detecting a hint of irritation in his tone. She remembered Elena's story about herself and the two of them and realized there was probably still some animosity between the two brothers. They had never gotten along great in the first place.

"What are you up to now? Wanna join me for lunch?" Caroline asked indicating the empty seat next to her.

"I'd love to," Stefan said taking the seat. Matt came over and said hello, taking Stefan's drink order and their food orders. Caroline couldn't believe how much more handsome Stefan had grown over the past four years. It was unbelievable that the cute boy she had crushed on in high school could have grown up to be an even more attractive man. Sure she had seen photos of him online because of his relationship with Elena, but it was different seeing him in person. He looked more mature than he had when they had last seen each other. His jaw was more defined and that wide, friendly grin she had fallen for as a teenager had seemed to retain its gleaming, white perfection.

"So what have you been up to for the past four years Salvatore?" She tried her best not to allude to his break-up with Elena, not knowing how he felt about it.

"I moved to Chicago about a year ago. Finally finishing up school at Northwestern."

"Shut up," Caroline exclaimed, "I just spent half the summer with my dad in Chicago! How did we miss each other?"

Stefan chuckled. "Well it's a big city."

"I might actually be going back soon," Caroline told him, anxious to share her good news with someone. "I just got a lead on a job there."

"That sounds great," Stefan replied, "we'll have to get together for drinks. I can introduce you to my girlfriend."

Caroline smiled. Girlfriend huh? So maybe he was moved on from Elena after all. She noticed a slight sparkle in his eye when he mentioned her. "That sounds nice."

"Yeah, she's great. I think you two would get along. She actually reminded me a lot of you when we first met."

"Well then I'm sure she's fabulous. Especially if you like her."

"She keeps me out of trouble," Stefan replied with a smile and a shrug.

They were interrupted a short time later, when Matt brought them their lunches.

"So," Stefan said, "you seemed a little irritated at the idea of someone disrupting your lunch?"

"Oh yeah," Caroline waved a hand in the air, "I thought you were another stalkerazzi."

"Stalkerazzi?"

"Yeah, you know…all those annoying people with cameras constantly in your face."

"Ah yes," Stefan nodded. Of course he already knew about her and Klaus. He'd have to be living under a rock not to have known. "I don't miss those days."

Caroline took a bite of her chicken wrap, which she had concluded was somewhere between a burger and a salad on the health scale. "I don't know how you did it. I mean honestly, I never thought it would be like this. We never get any privacy and it seems like every other day there's some new story being revealed about one or the both of us."

"It's not fun."

"It's sucks," Caroline said, she chewed thoughtfully for a few moments before speaking again, "Look I don't want to bring this up but…"

"You wanna know about me and Elena and how I dealt with the side effects of the fame all that time."

Caroline gave him a guilty smile. "Yeah."

"It was easier when we were in love. When we really cared about each other. The love made all the hard stuff worth it. But that started to fade," Stefan sighed, "just like any normal couple I suppose we began to distract ourselves with other things instead of just admitting that it wasn't working. We both tried to pull each other in opposite directions. Neither of us wanted to end it though and face the agony of a public breakup." Caroline gulped, thinking that Stefan was finished, but he continued. "It got to be too hard. The constant travel. The missed events. I was always hearing things about her from the media before she ever told me, it drove me insane. We were in different places and we began to resent each other because of it."

"I'm sorry," Caroline offered. It was different, hearing Stefan's side of the story. It was like hearing about an entirely different relationship. Elena had admitted to falling out of love, just like Stefan had, but she had sited feelings for Damon as a trigger for their break-up. It was clear that Stefan blamed her career and the hardships of fame as the culprit of their romantic demise.

"Wow," Stefan chuckled, "you just got really quiet."

"Sorry," Caroline repeated, taking another bite of food.

"Look Caroline, I don't know Klaus on a personal level and I'm not saying this kind of relationship isn't worth it, but there is a certain amount of sacrifice. It's hard to lead separate lives, especially in the limelight. It takes a lot out of a person. It's just better to decide before you're in too deep."

The words were ominous and slightly dramatic, it wasn't as if Caroline was putting her head on the chopping block to be with Klaus. But wasn't she? In their time together she had given up her privacy, her anonymity, even some of her best kept secrets to the public to be with him. She had suffered most of the attack and criticism while Klaus didn't seem to bat an eyelash.

Caroline accepted Stefan's advice. As they finished their lunches, the conversation turned back to less serious topics, but she continued to ponder his words. A voice in the back of her mind kept wondering if perhaps she was already in too deep.

Klaus was making his way through the middle of town, deciding to stop by the Grill for a drink. He certainly needed one. The truth was he was rather nervous about asking Caroline to come to Portland with him, now that Elena and Elijah both had pointed out reasons he should be. It was ridiculous though, why wouldn't she want to come with him? He would bring her with him to Portland, then perhaps back to LA…they could spend some time there before jetting back to Europe again-or maybe somewhere tropical. He wouldn't mind getting her in a bikini. His mind wandered, envisioning a luxury resort with private beaches. What girl could resist? He would take care of her and she wouldn't have to worry about the judgment from the people in Mystic Falls that she had been suffering for the past few weeks.

His fantasies diminished though as Elijah's question had continued to gnaw. Did he love Caroline? What did it matter if he loved her, when he wanted her around? They had never been the couple who put labels on things, they just were. Klaus had always told her that they should just take things in stride. Yes, he considered Caroline his girlfriend, and had heard her refer to him as her boyfriend, but they had never had some big discussion over what their relationship was. Even when they had parted ways in Chicago, it wasn't a label so much-it was more like a promise. Klaus wasn't ready to let her go. He wasn't bored with her the way he usually became with women he dated.

It was…odd.

It led him to wonder…what if she tired of him first? Klaus had always retained the upper hand in romantic relationships, but he wondered if his feelings were resulting in his loss of control and power. If he chose to end their relationship, that was one thing. But if Caroline moved on first…

But that was stupid to think about. He was Niklaus Mikaelson, musical sex-god, who was adored by thousands of women. That thought stroked his ego enough to put the confident smile back on his face and the subtle swagger back into his stride.

As he rounded the corner by the restaurant he froze, seeing his girlfriend's arms wrapped around the neck of another man. His gaze narrowed as she pulled away and laughed at something the man said, playfully slapping him on the arm. Klaus glared, stalking over to them and catching Caroline's eye as he approached.

"Klaus," she said surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"I fancied a drink so I thought I'd stop by the local pub," Klaus said putting a possessive arm around her shoulders and turning his gaze to the man who had just been pawing her, "I don't believe we've met."

"Stefan Salvatore," the brown hair man introduced himself, offering his hand. Klaus took it, giving him a single shake.

"Klaus Mikaelson."

"So I've heard," Stefan smirked.

Stefan…Stefan…why was that name familiar to Klaus? It was a rather uncommon name, not one people heard very often.

"Stefan's visiting from Chicago," Caroline explained, "we went to high school together."

A light of realization turned on inside of Klaus's head. That was where he had heard it. Stefan. He remembered Caroline telling him the story back in London. Stefan. As in Elena's old boyfriend Stefan and Caroline's unrequited high school crush.

"Well Caroline it was nice bumping into you," Stefan said to her with a smile worthy of a toothpaste ad, "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I'll give you a call."

Klaus didn't bother to mask his glare as he watched the other man walk away from them. He looked down at Caroline, his arm still around her. Klaus decided that Stefan would not, in fact, be seeing his Caroline any time soon.

"Seriously?" Her eyebrows shot up.

"What's the matter love?"

"I know that look," Caroline said, "that look usually ends with someone getting punched in the face."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Klaus replied, feeling better now that the Salvatore man had made himself scarce. Now all Klaus had to do was keep Caroline occupied until he scampered off to Chicago or wherever it was he said he lived.

"Whatever," Caroline said shaking it off, "you've got me for three hours before I head to Elena's for girls night. Think you can put off the drinking date with yourself?"

"That depends. What did you have in mind love?"

Caroline stood up on her toes, brushing her lips against his. "Oh you're the creative one. I'm sure you can think of something."

A few "creative" hours later, Caroline made her way from Klaus's apartment over to Elena's house for girls' night. Bonnie was visiting again for her grandmother's birthday, so they decided it was the perfect time for the three of them to hang out, without boyfriends. The three of them gathered in the kitchen, assembling their supply of junk food and drinks to kick off the evening. Elena opened the fridge and brought out a very expensive bottle of champagne.

"Compliments of Elijah," Elena said, answering Caroline and Bonnie's impressed 'oohs'.

"How long has it been since all three of us have been in the same room?" Caroline asked, taking three champagne flutes down from the high shelf in the cabinet.

"Too long," Elena said popping the cork. The champagne fizzed and bubbled and Caroline held up the glasses so she could pour.

"Way too long," Bonnie agreed.

The three of them settled in for a night of champagne and snacks and movies. Maybe the champagne didn't go very well with pizza rolls and cupcakes, but none of them seemed to care. The movie watching was frequently interrupted by giggles over hot guys and Caroline asking which of them Elena knew and what they were like in real life. Elena blushed but after a drink or two, was more forthcoming with her insider gossip.

"Hey ladies."

Their heads snapped up, a male voice interrupting their girl time.

"Jeremy!" Elena yelled, tossing a pillow at him. "You said you were going to hang out with Matt."

"Yeah," Caroline agreed, "no boys allowed!"

"I'm going, I'm going," he said, "I just needed to do something first."

Jeremy walked over to Bonnie and leaned down, giving Bonnie a kiss. Caroline and Elena made fake gagging noises, earning giggles from the couple. "Have fun," he said to her, "I'll call you tomorrow."

Bonnie smiled at him and nodded. "We'll get breakfast."

After a few more heckles, Jeremy surrendered and vacated the house.

"So you two made up?" Elena said giving Bonnie a look.

"Yeah," Bonnie replied with a secret smile.

Caroline looked over a Bonnie. She knew Bonnie and Jeremy's relationship was in its early stages. It happened on a summer visit, while Caroline and Elena were still away, that Bonnie and Jeremy ended up hanging out. Caroline had learned that the two of them had been dancing around each other for a while, not saying anything about their feelings because they were afraid of the age gap and what Elena might think. But of course Elena was completely fine with it. Anyone could see how great Jeremy and Bonnie were together.

"What happened?" She asked, concerned that they were fighting so soon after having just come out with their relationship.

"My dad," Bonnie sighed, "he has a few things to say about me and Jeremy dating."

"Like what?"

"Well he likes Jeremy, obviously he's known him his whole life, but my dad thinks I should be with someone 'more my speed,'" Bonnie said imitating her dad's stern voice.

Caroline made a face. "What does that mean?"

"He doesn't think an artist is a good match for a future doctor."

"What does he think it is," Caroline scoffed, "1952?"

"Right?" Bonnie agreed. "My grams told him to shut the hell up because Jeremy is a nice boy who makes me happy." The three of them smiled and nodded in agreement. "What about you Caroline? How does your mom feel about you dating Niklaus Mikaelson?"

Caroline took a large gulp of her champagne, reaching for the bottle in the center of the table and refilling her glass. "She doesn't have much to say about it, but I know she doesn't really like him."

"Well there isn't much to like," Elena muttered into her glass.

"Elena!"

"What, it's true, he's a complete asshole."

Caroline winced at Elena's words. "Wow, don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel."

Elena sighed. "I'm sorry Care. I know you care about him. But you should have heard him today after our meeting."

"What did he say?"

"He thinks that you're just going to drop everything and go to Portland with us."

Caroline shook her head. "What? Portland?"

"Yeah, for filming."

Caroline stopped, lowering her glass to her lap. "He didn't say anything to me about Portland." She put her glass down on the table, letting her head fall into her hands. The effects of the alcohol were making her brain fuzzy and it felt like everything was rushing to her head all at once. They had been together all afternoon and he hadn't breathed one word to her about the change in plans. It felt like the Katherine issue all over again. Then again, may she was equally as guilty. She also had yet to mention anything about Chicago.

"It's not like you're just going to follow him around and be his girlfriend and not have a life of your own," Elena said.

"No!" Caroline's head snapped up, her curls whipping around her face. "I mean I didn't think I'd have to decide this soon."

Bonnie's gaze flicked between Elena and Caroline. "What do you mean? Decide what?"

Caroline let out a large sigh. She had been considering her relationship with Klaus ever since her chat with Stefan earlier that day at The Grill. There was one thing in particular that he said that kept replaying over and over again in her mind. The love made all the hard stuff worth it.

"If it's worth it," Caroline finally said, "if all this publicity and being separated and having to give up my normal life is really worth it. I mean we'll never have a normal relationship. I don't even think he wants a normal relationship. And I do. I want to be able to go out to restaurants and not hide from cameras. I want to fight with my boyfriend and not have people post videos of it on the Internet. Or have gossip bloggers speculating on what our body language says about our relationship. Or random girls sending me hate messages on twitter. I can't take it anymore!"

"I know what you mean," Elena said laying a supportive hand on Caroline's back. Caroline looked over at her friend, feeling like she better understood her now. It wasn't as effortless as it always seemed. She couldn't believe how Elena put up with it all the time. Even though she was well loved by most people, there were still those anti-fans who could be quite hateful.

"But when I think about normal now it just sucks…" Caroline said.

"You love him," Bonnie said.

"I do," Caroline said, admitting it out loud for the first time. She had almost thought it several times over the past weeks. She would never let the thought fully form though even in her mind, for fear of one day slipping up and saying it out loud. It was terrible idea to fall for Klaus. He wasn't the guy to fall for. She loved being with him and talking to him and watching him paint and sketch. She loved the way he would suck in a breath whenever he took his first sip of scotch, and how his lips would purse when he was annoyed, and how she hated when he called her 'love' because it sounded just a bit condescending, but also secretly kind of enjoyed it. She loved…well, she loved him.

"Yeah I love him. I love Klaus." She reaffirmed. "Crap."

The three of them exchanged glances, a nervous rumble of laughter rolling between them.

"Yeah," Elena said, "I know exactly what you mean."

A knock at Klaus's door pulled him away from his current scotch drinking/sketching session. Caroline was out with her girlfriends enjoying "girls' night" so he assumed Elijah had come calling. Maybe they could enjoy some brotherly bonding, Klaus thought. They could use some quality time, since they had been doing nothing but annoying one another since the summer. Klaus would never be the one to admit it, but he had hoped that due to recent changes in both their lives, they could put the past fully behind them.

He opened the door with a smug smile that fell as soon as he saw who was on the other side. Katherine stood there, waving a half emptied bottle of whiskey in the air.

"I'm bored," she announced, barging into his apartment.

"Well I'm busy," Klaus said with a frown.

Katherine walked around to the living area and noted his glass of scotch and open sketchbook.

"Oh yeah getting drunk alone and doodling in your journal," she scoffed, "you look super busy." She sat down on the arm of the brown leather easy chair, unscrewing the bottle and taking a large drink. "Come on, I don't have anyone in this god forsaken town to hang out with. We used to get along."

Her thin brows flicked up and down suggestively as her lips wrapped around the bottle. Katherine had always been a shameless flirt. Klaus shut the door and walked over behind the couch, still frowning at her.

"I don't think so Katherine."

"Aw," she pouted, "what's the matter? That was a one-time thing. Well… a three-time thing but who's counting? Besides, you have a girlfriend now. You're so in love."

She was the second person that day to apply the L word to him and Caroline. Katherine slid down the seat and grabbed the sketchbook, flipping through the pages that consisted mostly of portraits of Caroline. She sniggered, causing Klaus to lunge forward and snatch the book out of her hand, tossing it on the couch out of her reach.

"Touchy," she remarked. "It's almost cute to see that the badass, womanizing rock star actually has feelings for someone. The stuff romantic comedies are made of."

"I'm not in love with Caroline," Klaus said, picking up his glass of scotch and downing the contents.

"Really? Ouch," Katherine replied, "well I guess that will make it easier when she goes to Chicago and you go to Portland and then back to LA." Her arms wobbled a bit as she illustrated their separation by gesturing in opposite directions.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oops, did she not tell you? She got a job offer today in Chicago. Some guy name Stefan or something called her."

Klaus's gaze narrowed. "Stefan?"

"Yeah. She leaves the day after tomorrow."

This was the first Klaus was hearing about this. He had been with Caroline all afternoon and she hadn't mentioned a word about Chicago or a job or Stefan. In fact, if she were leaving so soon, why wouldn't she have told him right away? Images of Caroline and Stefan outside The Grill flashed through his mind; the way he had seen them hug, the way Caroline had smiled and laughed and touched his arm, the obvious joy she had from reconnecting with her old high school love. And now the man had offered her a job and the chance to be close to him. It was out of the question. There was no way Klaus was going to let Caroline go to Chicago.

Before he knew what he was doing, Klaus was grabbing his keys and leaving Katherine in the apartment calling after him. He walked in the direction of Elena's house. It was a bit far, but the irritation and adrenaline he was feeling made him not care that it took twenty minutes for him to get there on foot. Girls' night be damned. He was going to make Caroline talk to him about this whole Chicago idea of hers and explain why she hadn't mentioned it to him. If she was about to gallivant off into Stefan's arms to live happily ever after without a word from him…well she thought wrong. Klaus would not be played.

He hopped up Elena's front steps, the screen door hanging open, and he could hear the girls talking inside. He stopped there, listening to their conversation, Elena's voice catching his ear.

"It's not like you're just going to follow him around and be his girlfriend and not have a life of your own," Elena said from inside.

Damn, Klaus thought. Apparently Elena was sharing the same opinions she had spoken before with Caroline now. Something told him she had let the news slip about the move to Portland. Once again Elena Gilbert's mouth was getting him into trouble.

"No!" He heard Caroline agree. "I mean I didn't think I'd have to decide this soon."

His breath caught. Decide? What did she mean decide? Someone else asked the question echoing in his thoughts and he heard Caroline take a deep breath before answering.

"If it's worth it. If all this publicity and being separated and having to give up my normal life is really worth it. I mean we'll never have a normal relationship. I don't even think he wants a normal relationship. And I do. I want to be able to go out to restaurants and not hide from cameras. I want to fight with my boyfriend and not have people post videos of it on the Internet. Or have gossip bloggers speculating on what our body language says about our relationship. Or random girls sending me hate messages on twitter. I can't take it anymore!"

That was enough. Klaus had had enough. He spun away from the door and sped back down the steps. So Caroline wanted to end it. She couldn't take the pressure and didn't think he was worth putting up with it all. Didn't think he was worth it. It shouldn't have come as a total surprise. No one—outside of his own family-had wanted to put up with him for the long term. Now she had found an out, another opportunity, and she didn't need him. And why shouldn't she? She wanted normality. She had suggested that much to him the other night in bed. He couldn't give her the life she wanted. Of all the girls in the world who dreamed of having his attention, he had to pick the girl who didn't want it.

That was fine.

As Klaus had told Katherine, he didn't love her, so it didn't matter.

He walked back into his apartment and saw Katherine lounging on the couch, bottle still in hand, flipping through channels on his television. She didn't turn when he entered. Klaus stood there for a moment, ignoring the burn behind his eyes, willing himself to shut off his emotions. From that moment on, he was done with Caroline Forbes. He would feel nothing about her. He wouldn't give her significance in his memory. That was all she had been all along, was an amusement, as Elijah had said, until the next one came along.

With a slam of the door, he stomped over to Katherine, and grabbed the bottle out of her hand putting it to his lips and taking a few large swigs. The alcohol slid down his throat, bitter and cheap, but it would do its job. It was the only friend he could ever count on. Katherine stared at him as he fell back into the easy chair, letting out a satisfied breath.

"Okay," she said her eyebrows furrowing, "I'm confused."

Klaus smirked. "Let's you and I have some fun sweetheart," he said, "like the old days."

Uh oh...lots going on! Caroline's new job offer, Klaus's film location changing, impending separation, confusion of feelings...what's going to happen?!

Think you guys can handle another short chapter?

Okay deep breaths