Chapter Three: Fall For You

"The best thing about night's that we're not fighting

Could it be that we have been this way before…?

Hold your breath, because tonight will be the night

That I will fall for you over again; don't make me change my mind…"

I eyed Caroline warily. She stood there in a black mini dress and heels, looking like she was going to some sort of funeral.

"You make a habit of sneaking up on people?" I asked rudely. Her green eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, I just saw you talking to my mom-,"

"Your mom? The sheriff?" I raised a brow at her. "You don't look like a sheriff's daughter." Caroline's shoulders tensed at my words.

"Anyway," she continued, "I saw you talking to my mom and overheard you introducing yourself."

"Mmm-hmm," I hummed, still looking her up and down. I didn't trust the blonde for a second. "What's with the get up?"

She glanced down at her dress. "Oh… Well, there's a memorial service in a little while. For the town pastor and some other people that just died in a fire."

Oh, totally called it.

"That's unfortunate," I said, trying to make my tone sympathetic. When Caroline glared, it was safe to assume it didn't work. Can you really blame me- why mourn people you didn't know?

"Hey, Car, we gotta go." Caroline and I looked over to see a tall, black haired guy approaching us in a gray button down. His dark eyes flickered to me, and then back to Caroline.

"Okay, Tyler. Well, it was nice meeting you," Caroline said, with a smile that looked forced. I just nodded at her before she walked to the tall guy and took his hand before they strolled away. When the guy, Tyler, leaned over to whisper in her ear, I couldn't stop myself from tuning in.

"Who was that?" he asked her.

"Some new girl named Annabelle Davis," Caroline whispered back. "Not exactly the friendly sort."

I snorted. Obviously there was going to be no love lost between the blonde vampire and myself. Turning to continue walking, I ran directly into Klaus. He grabbed my shoulders to steady me.

"Jesus! What is up with everyone sneaking up on me today!" I snapped, jerking out of his grasp. I glared at him. He wasn't listening, however. His blue eyes were focused on the couple walking away.

"Klaus?" I asked. His gaze snapped back into focus and his lips curved.

"Perhaps if you paid attention more, people wouldn't be about to sneak up on you," he said. Then he shifted his weight so he was leaning back on his heels. "I see you met Miss Caroline Forbes."

I crossed my arms. "I don't like her," I muttered. "Never liked preppy blondes." Klaus chuckled.

"Do you know her?" I asked, curious. His eyes went flat and his lips thinned.

"Yes."

"Why don't you seem happy about that?" He looked at me with annoyance.

"How many times am I going to have to repeat myself? It's none of your business, sweetheart." I threw up my arms and huffed in exasperation.

"Fine! Excuse me for just asking a question! Jeez!" I turned on my heel, ready to walk away from him again when suddenly he was blocking my path.

"Haven't you heard about what curiosity did to the cat?" he asked dryly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"It will take a lot more than that to kill me, Klaus," I shot back. Amusement trickled into his expression.

"No need to get snippy," he said lightly. Narrowing my eyes at him, I stepped forward until we were face to face.

"You wanna see snippy?" I challenged. His lips curved.

"Don't tempt me, darling. We both know who would prevail in a fight." His voice was smug, superior. It rubbed me the wrong way. Curling my lip, I shoved him aside and stomped off.

He didn't follow me.

Ooo0ooO

I watched Annabelle walk away with a smile on my face. She wolves, I thought.

I glanced in the direction Caroline and Tyler had walked off. Something inside me twisted at the sight of them together, which I refused to call jealousy. That was so human. Shaking my head, I walked in the direction of the church.

Standing outside under the trees, I listened to the Mayor start the ceremony. I listened to the whispers going on inside and from what I could gather, vampire Elena was still struggling with her transition. Tyler's voice cut through, making me stiffen. He went on about being a team player-

Suddenly, a shot was fired and screams erupted from inside. Flashing to the window, I saw Tyler's prone body up on the podium, with Caroline and Tyler's mother rushing towards him.

"Well, well, how…unfortunate," I murmured. Assessing the situation, I flashed back into the woods, deciding not to intervene this time.

I stayed out in the forest until the sun went down. I found myself by the river where I first saw Annabelle. I perched myself up in a tree and watched the stars appear across the darkening sky.

I didn't like the idea of Annabelle meeting Caroline. Though part of me still longed after Caroline, that feeling was now confused with the presence of the new werewolf. I didn't need any problems between those two to erupt. After throwing Rebecca out, I decided female drama was the last thing I needed in my life. Not when I still had to deal with Elena no longer being human, which closed all possibilities of me making new Hybrids.

"Aren't Hybrids supposed to be on the ground, not in the trees?" I glanced down and saw Annabelle standing under the tree, her hands on her hips. Her face was amused.

"I'm enjoying the view," I replied. I heard her chuckle.

"Klaus, you didn't tell me you were part monkey as well," she joked. I watched as she leaped onto the lowest branch and slowly made her way up to where I was sitting. She settled besides me and gave me a small smile.

"Hey there."

My jaw tightened slightly at her words. All they did was remind me of the dreams. I felt her elbow nudge my side. I looked at her and saw she was playing with a fold on her dress.

"So… I wanted to apologize for being such a bitch earlier. That Caroline chick just rubbed me the wrong way and I kinda took it out on you. I've never trusted vampires." Her breath released in a sigh, as if her confession relieved a weight on her chest.

"Apology accepted," I murmured.

We sat in silence for a long time, lost in our own thoughts. Out of the blue, she leaned forward and wrinkled her brow. Nudging me again, she pointed off in the distance.

"Hey, look. Are those lanterns?"

I looked away from her and glanced the way she was directing me to look. Indeed, there were a handful of Japanese lanterns ascending towards the sky. They were white and large, illuminating softly in the distance.

"Beautiful," Annabelle breathed. I saw a soft smile stretch across her face. I was surprised when she lifted her hand to reach over and take mine in her warm grasp. A jolt went up my arm from her touch and at Annabelle's exhaled breath, I deduced she felt it too. Her gray eyes refused to meet mine but her pupils were slightly dilated. Something in my gut twisted sharply.

Turning back to the lanterns, we watched them float away in the breeze. There was nothing but silence; we didn't bicker or even talk, we just gazed at the floating lights that were growing smaller and smaller.

I felt Annabelle slowly relax and found myself relaxing in turn. For a moment, I let myself feel at peace… Something I haven't felt in a long, long time.

Ooo0ooO

Author's Note: Thank you guys for following my story so far and giving me such encouraging reviews!

Just to clear some things up- This beginning of this story is meant to be set at the beginning on Season 3 of the show, right after Elena becomes a vampire. It will follow the show's plot line but mainly will focus on what goes on between Klaus and Annabelle (obviously).

Also, I'm going to try to post as often as I can! I can't promise it will be every day (I do have finals coming up) but bear with me. Keep sending in your thoughts about the story!