Caroline was standing at the end of the hallway when she heard the door to her apartment open. She turned around and saw Stefan walk out with a wide grin on his face. He walked to the opposite end of the hallway and got in the elevator. Caroline quickly ran back to her apartment to see what had transpired between to the two. When she re-entered, Elena was in the kitchen fixing a cup of tea.

Elena felt, rather than saw, Caroline staring at her. "I thought you were going to pick up your dress."

"Please, they closed like two hours ago. I just didn't want to intrude on you two love birds."

Elena snickered and turned around to look at the blonde, whose eyes were filled with burning curiosity. Typical Caroline, she thought.

"You're a terrible person, ya know. Putting Stefan on the spot like that. I thought the poor boy was going to have some sort of attack or pass out. But after I said yes, he-"

"You said yes?!" Caroline exclaimed happily.

Elena laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded her head.

Caroline squealed and ran over to give her a hug. "This is gonna be the best night ever!"

However, behind Caroline's back, Elena's look of glee turned into a look of worry when she remembered who was still lurking out in the streets somewhere.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, Ms. Forbes, you're all set."

Caroline thanked the elderly woman and picked up the white box containing her dress for the gala. When she'd picked it out, the skirt had been too long and the bust protruded out a lot farther than she liked. Rebekah had told her that the shop did phenomenal alterations for free if you bought your dress from them.

Whoever came up with the saying "speak of the devil and he shall appear" wasn't kidding. As soon as she turned around to leave, Rebekah walked into the shop followed by three sullen-looking young men.

"But I still don't understand why you dragged us along with you."

"All I'm doing is picking up my dress and then we'll go to lunch. Seriously Kol, you're worse than three year old." It was then that Rebekah noticed the other blonde standing at the counter. "Caroline! What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

Caroline sat her box on a nearby chair and went to give Rebekah a hug. "Um, I think to do the same thing you are, although I don't have entourage to follow me around. "

Rebekah waved her hand dismissively towards her brothers. "Then you're lucky because they've been nothing but annoying since we left the house.

Caroline giggled and looked behind Rebekah at the boys. She'd seen Kol walking around the office occasionally, usually tailing closely behind a female employee who wanted nothing to do with him. The taller man, she'd never seen before, although it was obvious he was Rebekah's brother from how much they looked alike. Lastly, there was Klaus, was giving her a dimple-filled smirk at the moment.

The one she didn't know was the first to speak up. "We've only been annoying because you didn't tell us when we left that we would also have to cater to your shopping needs. But that is an argument for another time. Rebekah, please introduce us to this lovely young lady, although by the look on Niklaus' face, I think I already know who she is."

Caroline couldn't help but blush when he started talking about her. It also didn't help that after Elijah's comment, Klaus' smirk grew even wider.

"Elijah, this is Caroline Forbes. Caroline, this is my brother Elijah. He works over in the business department, which is probably why you've never seen him around."

Elijah walked past Rebekah and took Caroline's hand before pressing a light kiss on it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Caroline, although I feel I already know you from the way my brother talks about you. He's quite fond of you."

"That would be an understatement, brother," Klaus said, still looking at Caroline.

Caroline felt herself begin to blush yet again, but couldn't help smiling at Klaus.

"As much as I love standing her staring at Caroline," he winked. "My stomach's beginning to eat itself, so can we please get a move on?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her over-dramatic brother. "Really, Kol? You're such a baby."

"I don't want to keep you guys anymore. It was very nice to meet you Elijah and I'll see you at work, Rebekah." She looked at Klaus shyly and said quickly, "bye Klaus."

She went to move around the siblings when Elijah was suddenly in front her again. "Would you like to join us for lunch? We're just headed to Mason's down at the end of the street. I would love to get to know you more, as I also know my brother would." He said the last part while also gesturing to Klaus, who was dawning a not-so-innocent smile. He must've gotten some silent message to Elijah to ask her to come. Sneaky bastard, she thought.

Caroline shot Klaus a subtle glare, to which he just winked at her. "Thanks, but I'm actually supposed to be meeting a girlfriend for lunch." Katherine had called her on the way to the dress boutique and insisted it had been too long since they'd last seen each other, even though it's only been a couple of days.

"By all means, please bring her along. The more the merrier."

Good lord, did he have to be such a damn gentleman? All eyes were on her and she found herself agreeing to go with them. "Um, just let me just take my dress home and I'll meet you guys there."

"You can just out it in my car, that's where mine is going," Rebekah said, carrying her box over to the group. She quickly shoved it into Kol's arms, receiving a grumble from the hungry Mikaelson. "Elijah, grab Caroline's and you two follow me."

Elijah opened his arms expectedly and Caroline placed the box into his hands. He hastily followed Rebekah and Kol outside, leaving only Klaus and Caroline.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Caroline gave him a pointed look. "You're very clever, you know. I won't go on a date with you, so you get your older brother to ask me. Very, very clever."

Klaus began laughing, not completely surprised that she had figured out his plan. To be honest, it had been a spur of the moment thing, but it had worked out either way. He didn't get a chance to respond before his siblings returned.

"Are we ready?" Elijah asked.

"Let me just call Katherine and tell her the plan," Caroline said, pulling out her cell phone and excusing herself.

Klaus watched the blonde beauty walk away. Never in his life had he ever met someone who made him feel like she did. He felt happy and hopeful almost all the time and he had even began drawing again. What was this girl doing to him?

"She is something, brother," Elijah said, while placing a hand on the back of Klaus' shoulder.

Klaus smile at his brother's comment. His smile grew even wider when Caroline glanced up and caught the two staring at her. She blushed profusely before turning back to her phone.

"Have you returned Hayley's phone call yet?" Elijah asked suddenly.

Klaus' smile faded and he felt his own face heat up slightly. "No, I haven't."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know, Elijah. But I really don't want to talk about it right now," he finished quickly as Caroline began to make her way back to them.

"Katherine's gonna meet is there. Are you guys ready to go?"

"YES," Kol half-screamed at all of them. Before his siblings could chastise him, he hurried out the door, leaving everyone to follow him. Rebekah was quick to take Elijah's arm, leaving Caroline and Klaus together.

"Have you ever been to Mason's?" Klaus asked as to two walked down the street.

Caroline shook her head. "No, Elena and I are more takeout kinda girls. Plus, after a long day at work, we don't really feel like going out anywhere."

Klaus could understand that. After finishing his article at five in the morning, plus Hayley's unexpected visit, he'd crashed. His siblings literally had to drag him out of the bed this morning. Klaus looked in front of him just in time to see Elijah and Rebekah hastily turn around.

Caroline must've noticed too, because she let out a nervous giggle. "I feel like one of those animals in the zoo."

Klaus let out a nervous chuckle. "Yes, my siblings can very nosy when it comes to each other's personal lives. You should've seen us when Rebekah had her first boyfriend."

Caroline let out another giggle, although this one felt less forced. She couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for Rebekah. Four overbearing brothers trying to intimidate an innocent high school boy? Poor guy didn't stand a chance.

Trying to continue their small talk, she asked, "Are you excited about the gala?"

"I wasn't until yesterday morning," he said with a smirk.

Caroline felt her face flush for the hundredth time that day. She was about to respond when she heard her name being called from across the street. She looked over and saw Katherine waving at her.

"Friend of yours?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah, that's Katherine."

Katherine ran across the street quickly and then walked over the blonde to give her a hug.

"Well, who have we here?" Kol spoke up after the two girls pulled apart.

Katherine looked at him skeptically before looking back at Caroline, who rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Guys, this is Katherine. Katherine this is Kol, Elijah, and Klaus."

The brunette shook all of their hands, expertly avoiding Kol's attempt to kiss her hand when she shook his. "It's nice to meet you all. And it's good to see you again, Rebekah," she said while waving at her.

Rebekah gave her a cheeky smile and they all began walking again, however Klaus caught up with Kol as to give the two girls some privacy.

"So, that's Klaus?" Katherine asked, looping her arm through Caroline's.

"That's Klaus," Caroline answered, while smiling shyly and looking forward at the man in question.

Katherine followed Caroline's gaze and smiled. As she did so, she noticed Elijah trying to discreetly look at her. When he caught her eye, he blushed slightly and quickly looked away. Katherine began to smirk to herself. Looks like I'll get my Mikaelson to play with, she thought wickedly.

Elijah once again turned around to look at her, only to find her staring right back. Her smirk grew wider and her eyebrows shot up and he quickly looked away again.

"You'll be the death of the gentleman that is Elijah Mikaelson if you keep doing that," Caroline spoke up.

Katherine continued staring at, but said, "Someone needs to break him out of that suit." She glanced slyly at Caroline, who simply rolled her eyes.

They reached the restaurant then and after his brothers walked in, Elijah held the door open for the girls, Katherine being the last to walk. Toying with him, she swayed her hips slightly more than usual and couldn't help but giggle when she heard him let out a deep sigh.

The group was quickly seated, with Rebekah and Kol at the heads of the table. When Klaus eased into the seat beside Caroline, she let out a shaky breath at how close they were. She could smell his cologne and it took every fiber of her being not to jump him right there.

"You alright there, love?" Klaus questioned with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Caroline nodded her head. "Just really hungry, is all." She wasn't fooling him in the slightest; however he didn't want her to think he simply wanted her for sex. He slowly reached over and grabbed her hand, not in a seductive way, but in a reassuring way. He was here, all in, and he needed her to know that.

She looked down at their entwined fingers and smiled shyly to herself, while also giving his hand a slight squeeze.

On the other side of the table, Elijah was trying and failing miserably to get Katherine's hand off his thigh.

"Ms. Pierce, could you please move your hand?" He whispered, sounding almost desperate.

Katherine smirked and quietly said, "Sure." Her hand began to making its way up his thigh, towards the now prominent bulge in his pants.

"That's not what I meant," he said wryly.

"But you're not gonna stop me, are you?" Katherine hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Grabbing her hand before he was too far gone to stop her shenanigans, he eased it back down to right above his knee.

"Keep it there," he warned, but also sporting a small and wicked smile.

Katherine shifted in her seat proudly and smiled smugly at him, while tapping her fingers on his leg.

Their waitress came to take their drink orders and eventually to take their meal orders, leaving the group to talk freely while they waited.

"Ms. Forbes, where are you from originally? My sister says you just recently moved to Chicago."

"Yeah, I just moved here a couple months ago. I'm originally from Virginia, a small town called Mystic Falls."

"And why did you moved? Was it simply for the job at the Tribune or were there other reasons?"

"Elijah," Rebekah spoke up, scolding her brother for being so nosey.

Caroline shook her head. "No, Rebekah, its fine. Um, a little bit of both, I guess. I always wanted to work at a big newspaper and I fell in love with the Tribune when I interned here a year ago-"

"You interned at the Tribune?" Klaus interrupted. "How the hell did we never meet?" He remembered vaguely Finn telling him of a new intern who had started working there, but he hadn't really paid any attention to it.

"Well, I hung out in Finn's office most of the day. When he left, I organized files, cleaned work stations, that sort of thing. I never ended up leaving until almost midnight. I hardly saw anyone but Finn."

Klaus still didn't understand how he never saw her. His heart ached a little at the thought of how much sooner he could've met Caroline. Also, of where they could be right now if they met sooner.

"And the other reasons?" Elijah asked.

Caroline shrugged and took a sip of her water. "I'd lived in a small town all my life. I needed a change." Yeah, that sounded believable. She felt Klaus squeeze her hand again, both of them knowing there was more to it than that.

Their food was brought out then, much to Caroline's relief.

"So, are you two, like, a couple now?" Kol asked, with his mouth full, gesturing to Klaus and Caroline with his fork.

"Manners, Kol," Elijah chastozed.

Caroline bit her lip nervously. No, they weren't, but she didn't want to hurt Klaus' feelings. Also, if they weren't a couple, what the hell were they?

Klaus felt Caroline's apprehension and tried to put her at ease. "No, Kol, we're not. We're…..," he hesitated, trying to figure out the right way to phrase it.

"A work in progress," Caroline finished.

"Exactly."

Katherine smiled proudly at Caroline. She'd come so far from where she was just a few weeks ago. She was becoming more open with people and she didn't flinch every time someone spoke to her. But the thing that surprised Katherine the most was how much she seemed to be trusting Klaus. Katherine hadn't seen her this happy since before Tyler died.

"What are you smiling at?" Elijah whispered.

Katherine broke out of her daze and dropped her smile. Why did he have to be so damn observant?

"None of your business," Katherine said, giving him a wink and rubbing his leg.

"I'm gonna run to the restroom real quick," Caroline said.

"We'll go with you. C'mon Katherine."

The three girls got up and made their way to the back of the restaurant.

"She's quite a woman, Niklaus. She seems very humble and she's obviously crazy about you," Elijah said once the girls were out of earshot.

Kol began laughing. "I'm surprised you noticed them with you and Katherine feeling each other up over there."

Elijah shot Kol a glare and continued. "However, she does seem very reserved, almost like she's hiding something. Have you noticed?"

Klaus began picking nervously at his food. Yes, of course he had noticed, but would Caroline want his two brothers to know? No, not really. "Caroline has had a complicated life, brother. She hasn't yet indulged me in all the details and I haven't pried either. When she's ready to tell me, she will."

The girls decided to come back at that moment, effectively ending the brothers' conversation.

"What'd we miss?" Katherine asked after placing her hand back on Elijah's leg.

"Nothing," Elijah and Klaus said simultaneously, making all the girls narrow their eyes suspiciously.

"O…kay. Um, how did your article turn out?" Caroline asked, looking at Klaus.

Klaus sat his glass of wine down rather harshly and let out a deep sigh. "Stayed up until five in the morning finishing that damn thing, only for Finn to call and tell me we couldn't run it."

"What? Why not?" Caroline questioned.

"Apparently there was some sort of development in the case and running my article would've have been jeopardizing it.

"Damn, that sucks," Kol said, with his mouth full.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," Klaus barked at him.

"Gentlemen, there are ladies at the table. Please, have some manners, both of you," Elijah scolded. "Besides, it's not like you'll be staying at the Tribune much longer, Niklaus."

Everyone stopped moving and began to look between Klaus and Elijah.

Rebekah was the first to break the silence. "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

With the look Klaus was sending Elijah right now, you'd think the eldest Mikaleson would be dead on the floor.

"Klaus," Rebekah said. "Are you leaving the paper?"

Again, Klaus ignored his baby sister. It wasn't until a small voice beside him quipped up, did he break out of his rage.

"Klaus?" Caroline said his name, looking almost hurt.

After shooting Elijah one last glare, he looked at Rebekah then Kol, and lastly Caroline.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he said reluctantly, "Possibly."

Caroline let out a deep breath and sat back in her chair, as did Rebekah and Kol.

"Why?" Kol asked.

"I've been offered a painting job at a local gallery in the city. But I just got the offer this morning. I haven't taken the job yet and I don't even know if I'm going to, which is exactly why I didn't want to tell you."

The look of betrayal seemed to be shared by his two youngest siblings, but there was also something else in there that Klaus couldn't quite figure out. Glancing over at Caroline, she mostly just looked confused.

After a deafening silence, Rebekah scoffed and threw her hands up in the air. "Well, of course you should a take the job; you'd be insane not to."

"I told you she would feel this way," Elijah said smugly.

Klaus looked almost on the verge of tears. "You really think so, Bekah?"

Rebekah smiled at the use of her name that he used every so often. "Nik, you've dreamed of working in a gallery since you were twelve. You're the most talented artist I've ever met and I'm not just saying that because you're my brother. You want this and you deserve this. You were wasting your time at the paper anyway. "

Klaus smiled genuinely at his sister and felt elated that she felt this way. He'd been so scared that she would hate him for leaving the paper and essentially his family. He looked over at Kol, who seemed to be in the same boat as Rebekah based on his expression. He then turned to Caroline, who took his hand and gave him a shy smile. Had he known everyone was going to respond this way, he wouldn't have been so hesitant to tell them.

"I am curious though," Rebekah said. "Who was brave enough to offer you a job after what Mikael did?"

Klaus let out a cross between a scoff and chuckle. "Ironically, the 'selfish, gold-digging bitch' you're so fond of."

"No freaking way!" Kol exclaimed. "Hayley Marshall offered you a job?"

Klaus was prevented from answering because Caroline began choking on her water at that very moment.

"Are you okay?" Klaus asked.

Caroline looked at Katherine, who was wearing the same horror-stricken expression she was.

"How do you know Hayley Marshall?" Katherine asked.

"In a very bad lapse in judgment, my dear brother Nik dated her for about six months before dumping her pathetic ass," Rebekah answered. "Why? Do you know her?"

Katherine looked at Caroline for how to answer Rebekah. Yes, Katherine had heard Hayley's name before, but she'd never actually met the girl. Caroline, on the other hand, knew the Marshall girl very well.

"I, um, went to high school with her. We didn't exactly get along though," Caroline said reluctantly. Hayley was one of the many ghosts from her past and that was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

"Well, then, that's just another thing we have in common," Rebekah said while raising her glass in Caroline's direction.

Caroline gave her a meek smile. This could not be happening, she thought. Stefan, she could deal with. Damon, she could deal with. Hayley, she could not deal with. Not only did she know about Caroline's past, but the two girls hated each other. The two had been bitter rivals throughout the entire four years they'd gone to high school together. When Caroline's parents had died and then later her best friends, everyone had been so sympathetic towards her, but not Hayley. The bitch had made it not secret that she thought Caroline had been whoring herself out to Mr. Fell. She'd even had the audacity to say that all the deaths had been Caroline's fault and she brought it on herself. After a while, some people had started to believe her and eventually, Caroline had too. If Hayley ever found out that she and Klaus were slowly becoming an item, she could destroy everything.

"So, are you gonna take the job then?" Kol asked what everyone else was wondering.

Looking over at Caroline, he answered, "I'm not sure. I've grown quite fond of the paper as of late."

Well, if that didn't make her blush, Caroline didn't know what would. But she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. If what Rebekah had said was true, Klaus had been wanting to work in a gallery for his entire life. She didn't want him to give up his life's dream just so he could stay close to her.

"However", he continued," I don't have to give her an answer until next week. I figured I'd see how the gala goes next Friday and make my decision then."

"Speaking of the gala, did you ever ask that co-worker of yours, Katherine?" Rebekah asked.

"Yeah, but he told me he was seeing someone. His loss, though. That red dress I picked out is going to be turning heads all night."

Caroline chuckled and shook her head at her best friend. Katherine may be a sensitive psychologist, but underneath that sensitivity, she was a modern day succubus. She knew she was an attractive woman and was never shy to use that to her advantage. She and Elena were complete opposites. While Elena wanted three kids, a golden retriever, and white picket fence, Katherine saw men as her personal playthings.

"You're going to the gala?" Elijah asked, whipping his head to look at her.

His three siblings and Caroline all shared a knowing smile and watched the scene play out in front of them. Katherine was about to have a field day with him.

"Why, yes, Elijah, I am. Why do ask?"

She said the last part innocently, but the hand that wasn't massaging his thigh began playing with the collar of his shirt.

"I, um, just didn't k-know you were going." His voice squeaked slightly on that last word because Katherine's expert fingers were sitting dangerously close to the appendage in his pants.

Klaus was trying very hard to refrain from laughing, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. It became even worse when he looked over at Caroline an saw her hand covering her face, but her entire body was shaking with laughter.

"Caroline asked me to accompany her. Although, I didn't know she would be ditching me for you brother." She through a pointed look at Caroline, who tried to feel guilty but failed miserably. "And my sister told me that Stefan Salvatore has asked her to be his date. Looks like I'll be flying solo on this one."

She looked at him expectantly, wanting nothing more than for him to ask her to go with him. When he simply continued staring at her, Katherine's face fell slightly. She went to move her hands but Elijah grabbed both her wrists and fixed his gaze on her wide brown eyes.

"Katherine, would you care to accompany me to the gala next Friday. I would very much like to see you in that red dress."

One thing Caroline could say about Katherine Pierce was that in the eleven years they had known each other, she'd never seen her blush. But right in front of her very eyes, Katherine was red as a tomato.

Wrists still in his firm hands, Katherine nodded quickly and answered breathlessly, "Yes. I would like that very much."

Elijah grinned widely and finally let go of her wrists.

"Can we go now before these two start screwing each other on the table?"

Kol complained loudly, earning a few annoyed glances from the other patrons.

Rebekah grabbed her purse and said, "Kol is right, without all the colorful embellishments. You three still need to get fitted for your tuxes. Caroline, Katherine, you two can come of you want, but we need to leave now. Our appointment is in half an hour."

Still looking at Katherine, Elijah asked, "Do you want to come?"

"Hmm, a chance to see you in two suits in one day? Yes, please." She grabbed his hand and they followed Rebekah and Kol out of the restaurant.

"And then there were two," Klaus said while helping Caroline out of her seat. "The fitting should be relatively boring, but I won't oppose to spending more time with you if you want to tag along."

Caroline chuckled. "Oh, trust me; this fitting is going to be anything but boring. Rebekah will be freaking out, Kol will be on the verge of killing her, Elijah and Katherine won't be able to keep their hands off each other, and I'll get a front row seat to seeing you in a tux." Grabbing his hand and heading toward the door, she added lastly, "You couldn't keep me away if you tried." She threw him a shy smile, hoping he understood the double meaning of her sentence. By the wide grin plastered on his face, he definitely did.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What do you mean 'terrible mistake'"?

Ric was currently ignoring Jeremy's question, trying to get ahold of the Mystic Falls Police Department. All he could think about right now was how thoughtless and stupid he had been.

"RIc! Alaric! Answer me, damn it!" Jeremy grabbed hold of his shoulder and spun him around so he Ric was forced to look at him.

Ric raised up his pointer finger, indicating for Jeremy to hold on one second. He finally got an answer on the fourth ring.

"Mystic Falls Police Department, how can I-"

"I need to speak to Special Agent Shane. Tell him its Alaric Saltzmen."

"One moment, Captain Saltzmen. I'll transfer you."

Outside the phone, Jeremy looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Would you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Ric pulled the receiver away from his mouth and answered him. "We put Logan away while Caroline was still in high school. In Mystic Falls. He never would've found out that she moved to Chicago."

Realization hit Jeremy as soon as agent Shane picked up on the other end of the phone.

"Shane, you need to go check on Jack and Karen Forbes. Logan Fell has escaped."

Please let me know what you think! xoxo