Klaus watched her play field hockey with an amused look on his face. She was brutally aggressive and he pitied anyone that came on her path. The competitive little frown on her face which broke out into a haughty smug smile ever so often wasn't the only reason he couldn't keep his eyes off her. The sinfully short red skirt she wore paired with a tucked-in white polo was to blame, not to mention the knee-high socks which hugged the curves of her calves so attractively. The way she dressed, constantly skimming the border between buttoned-up prudishness and unintentional tease, always rendered him sexually frustrated.

He tore his eyes away from her and turned back as he saw Stefan make his way towards him.

"I am glad you stopped ogling her at least on my account," he said nodding towards Caroline. Stefan was perhaps the only person at St. Jude's that Klaus considered a close friend but he knew that Stefan was fiercely protective of Caroline, and Klaus' reputation as a playboy negated any chance of Stefan ever being supportive of his infatuation with the girl.

Klaus simply raised his hands in mock surrender and quickly changed the subject. "Do you want to head over to Bemelmans for some drinks later?"

"If I didn't know you I would think you had forgotten about the masked ball. Unfortunately, you aren't going to be able to get out of this one. And neither am I. Bekah and Care would kill me if I didn't show up."

"Well, at least that would give them a reason to see eye to eye," he chuckled. "Speaking of-"

Both the guys moved towards the violent scene that had broken out on the edge of the field. Klaus watched in horror as his sister gave Caroline a final push and she crashed right into a nearby terrarium. Stefan pulled Rebekah back and admonished her as he made his way to Caroline and delicately picked her up. Both her knees had glass shards stuck in them and she was bleeding profusely. "You'll be alright, love," he whispered, trying not to let the sight of her face scrunched up in pain affect him. He cradled her and rushed towards the nurse's office.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" she asked looking at him doubtfully.

"Yes, I don't want to wait till the nurse gets back. Your wound could get infected," he said, gingerly holding the tweezers and trying to pull out the glass. Her short gasps of pain every time a shard came out were torturing him and he cursed his sister for this.

"Here, I think we should readjust your leg," he said looking at her sitting on the table in front of him. He moved ahead on the chair on which he was perched and slowly slipped out her shoes before placing her dainty feet on his thigh. He tried not to get distracted by how soft her legs felt under his hand or the way her constant movements afforded him a clear view of her black lacy panties. He moved his left hand and tightly gripped her under the knee while his right hand made good work of pulling out the glass. "Almost done," he told her as he cleaned out her wound and bandaged it up.

She nodded bravely and he felt a rush of affection for her. She looked as delicate as a flower, but he noticed her inner strength. He stood up and packed away the first aid kit and came back to stand before her. "Would you like to head home? I could take you," he wondered.

"No," she sighed, "I have to go over to the Waldorf-Astoria and make sure your tyrannical sister isn't changing any of my plans for the masked ball."

He simply shook his head at her and was about to offer to drive her there when she jumped off the table and pointed a finger at his chest.

"Did she- oh my god- is that what you are doing here? Were you supposed to keep me distracted while she tried to usurp my dominance over the dance committee?"

Klaus couldn't decide whether to be amused or angry over the fact that the one girl he actually cared about was so utterly blind towards his fondness for her. She would be more inclined to believe he was in some plot to help fulfil his sister's childish aspirations. He was saved the need to react to her outburst when his brother walked in and effectively had all of Caroline's attention. He wasn't just about to stand there and watch Kol embrace her so he slipped out unnoticed.

Klaus zipped up his pants as the girl got up from her knees and licked her lips clean.

"Am I getting better at it?" she asked as she tried to kiss him.

He sidestepped her casually and moved away from the nook. "You were exquisite, love. Always a pleasure. Thanks for cutting Math ," he said as he dug out his phone and sent a quick text.

He was walking with his head bent over the phone that he didn't notice her till he collided into a soft chest.

"Klaus, I was looking for you everywhere."

He looked down at her bright blue eyes and smiled softly. "Are you feeling better, love?"

"Yes, actually about that-"

"Caroline Forbes," said a high-pitched voice just as he felt someone's arm snake around him. He shut his eyes in agony. Could things never go right for him?

"Oh, Vicky, I didn't see you there," Caroline wore a polite wide smile but her eyes were far from friendly.

"I heard you got into a scuffle today. Fell right through the Botany Club's new prized project."

"Yeah, I did. And Klaus was so kind to patch me up," she said trailing a hand smoothly over her legs and smugly smiling at her.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't pleased at how obviously territorial she was being.

"About that actually," she continued dropping all pretence now and turning her gaze to him, "I wanted to thank you. You disappeared earlier before I could."

Before Klaus could get a word in, Vicky went and opened her mouth. "We had a rendezvous planned out. I am sure he wasn't going to miss it just to tend to your knee."

"Oh, wow. Yeah, I suppose getting his needs taken care of by you was of greater importance."

Klaus avoided looking at Caroline but he could tell she wasn't happy.

"Actually, love, I left because I didn't want to disturb you and my dearest brother."

"Which brother? Kol? Because I heard some rumors about that but-"

"Oh my God, don't you dare breathe a word of this to anyone!" she screamed at Vicky before turning on her heel.

"She is such a bitch," Vicky drawled.

"Don't talk about her like that," he told her curtly before following Caroline towards the gate.

"Love, there is nothing to get angry about."

"Maybe not for you. I have a reputation to maintain!"

"If you didn't do foolish things, you wouldn't need to hide them," he found himself muttering. Her eyes shot daggers at him as she scoffed and walked away.

"Elijah called you too?" Kol asked joining him at the bar and pouring himself a drink.

"Yup, something about an urgent meeting. Thought I don't suppose it can be something all that important or he'd hardly want you around."

"Funny, Nik. You crack me up," he said sarcastically.

"I try."

They sat in silence for a while nursing their drinks before Klaus finally spoke what was weighing on his mind.

"What are your intentions with her?"

"With whom?"

"Caroline."

"I don't have any intentions towards her."

"Don't play the fool, Kol. You know she isn't like your other conquests. I, for one, am still astounded at what she ever saw in you. You are hardly her type."

"And you are?"

"That's beside the point."

"Is it though? Are you really concerned for her well-being or is this about the silly little crush you had on her."

"Don't try to twist this. She isn't your plaything. And if you hurt her-"

"She is a big girl, Klaus. She is capable of making her own decisions. And she is well aware of the technicalities of our relationship. So I think you are the one who needs to lay off. We're brothers. Don't let some random girl come in between us. No girl is worth that. Family above all and such bullshit, as Elijah keeps reminding us ever so often."

Caroline's worth so much more, Klaus thought, but kept his mouth shut. Anyway, it was futile to argue with his brother. No one knew how his brain worked.

Thankfully, Elijah finally made an appearance.

"Please tell me what was so important I am sitting here listening to Klaus whine when I could have been out with a certain redhead. Or at least inside her."

"Now that you have made your classless remark, I suppose I can address the issue at hand."

"Please go ahead, Elijah," Klaus said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, as you must be aware, or not in Kol's case, our parents are leaving tomorrow for their annual vacation to Gstaad. They won't be back for a few months. I have successfully convinced Rebekah to move in with Stefan for a while."

"Yeah, I bet that required a lot of convincing on your part," Kol snorted.

"Where is this going, Elijah?" Klaus said already weary of Kol's incessant remarks.

"I plan on asking Katerina Petrova to move in here. I am going to propose to her soon."

"While you are at it, it would probably help if you called her by her actual name and not some kinky substitute one, but hey, what do I know?"

Elijah ignored Kol and instead placed a pair of keys before them.

"So basically you wanted to tell us to get scarce."

"I wouldn't have put it like that, but yes. Basically, I do want that. Empire Hotel's penthouse suite should work well-enough for your shenanigans. And Klaus, I expect you to look after Kol. Make sure he doesn't trash the place in a single weekend."

"That sounds like my idea of a fun life," Klaus groaned. He was not looking forward to this new arrangement.

A/N: Not sure if I should actually use Gossip Girl (the website, texts, etc) here. Suggestions? Review?