Silence.

The ride back to the Gilbert home was quiet. No music. No heartbeat pounding in her ears. Just her quiet mind and herself. Caroline felt at peace for the first time in a year. A huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She kept glancing to the passenger seat, she felt like someone was there, watching her.

Her mom, perhaps? Or was her mind just playing tricks to her? Either way, she didn't feel alone, and she was okay with that. She felt like she had that closure she needed so much. The feeling was hard to describe. It was a mixture of pleasure and displeasure, of inner peace and sadness. It didn't bring her mom back, but it allowed Caroline to move on with her life. That's what Liz wanted for her.

When she got out of the car she noticed someone watching her from the porch. Elena Gilbert had been sitting on the swing, waiting for her. She rushed to her childhood friend and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Hey, Lena." Caroline whispered while rubbing her friend's back.

"You're here! God, I couldn't believe my mom when she called me. I missed you so much." Elena said, still hugging her.

"I believe you…. I can't breathe." Caroline only half joked. Elena pulled back and smiled softly with teary eyes.

"Come on, mom made us dinner. I wanna know what you've been up to." She said dragging Caroline to the house.

.

Elena's room looked the exact same it did before Caroline left. Miranda insisted on keeping it like that. Jeremy's room too. Just in case they decided to visit their parents.

Caroline groaned and rolled on the bed to her side.

"I ate too much." She whined, making Elena laugh.

"You shouldn't have had that second slice of pie then." Elena said while turning her head to look at her friend.

"I couldn't help myself. I missed your mom's cooking."

"Yeah, I miss it all the time." Elena replied.

"A little sacrifice to save lives, uh? I can see it already. Elena Gilbert MD." Caroline said, making Elena chuckle.

"God, I can't believe I'll be a doctor soon! Remember when we used to talk about what we wanted to be when we grow up?"

"You always wanted to help people." Caroline remembered.

"And you wanted to be a princess." Elena teased.

"I still do!" Caroline replied. "But you can't go to college to become one." She joked.

"Nop, you gotta marry a prince." Elena said.

Klaus' face popped in Caroline's head.

"Well, he might not be royalty, but has an accent and very charming." She said proudly. Elena turned to her in surprise.

"What? You're dating someone?! And you're telling me this now? Details! NOW!" Elena ordered.

Caroline couldn't help but blush and giggle.

"His name is Niklaus."

"UuuUUuuuh." Elena cheered. "Fancy!"

"Yeah, but people call him Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson."

"Mikaelson?... isn't that the name of the company you said you worked for?" Elena asked, remembering the name from their talk while they had dinner.

"He is one of the partners."

Elena looked at her in shock.

"So… you and your boss?"

"God, no!" Caroline groaned. "No, no, I work for Klaus' brother, Elijah." It was then that Caroline decided it was time to tell Elena everything, fill in the wholes. She told her about her year as a homeless, how she met Klaus and how he got her an interview with Elijah. She told Elena about the kiss underneath the mistletoe during the Christmas party, and their confessions during New Year. She even told her about Hayley and Genevieve and finally she told her about Spots' death. By the time she was done, it was midnight and both girls were crying over bowls of ice cream.

"Wow." Elena mumbled.

"Yeah." Caroline said before filling her mouth with a spoon of ice cream.

"Wow…" Elena mumbled again. "You're like some sort of real life Cinderella… Maybe you are a princess."

"Funny how life happens." Caroline commented.

"I missed this." Elena said sadly. "I missed our talks."

"Me too. I'm sorry I left like that."

Elena shrugged.

"You're here now… but you have to stay for the annual Spring ball."

Caroline remembered then the town's tradition. Every year, when the winter was about to end, the town would throw a party and the founding families would get together at the Mayor's manor. The Mystic Falls Spring party. That town would make a party out of pretty much anything.

"Mmm I dunno, I have to go back to work soon."

"Awe come on! You just got here, and I'm sure your cool boss and his associate who is also your prince charming, won't mind!" Elena said teasingly. "At least promise me you'll think about it."

Caroline pursed her lips and then nodded her head.

"I will."

"Come on, it's late. I'll take you to your room."

.

It was late, but Klaus wasn't tired at all, so he sat at his studio desk and worked on some papers. He was so excited over it. He convinced Elijah –with barely any effort, to be honest- for the company to do something for the community, while would also be a gift to Caroline.

It was no surprise then, why he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about her and how she would react. Besides, the case against Genevieve and Hayley was moving forward and soon enough they would hear from the judge and the lawyers.

His phone notified he had received a text message and he picked it up from the desk.

From Caroline:

Are you still awake?

Klaus smiled and texted her back.

From Klaus:

Very much so. Wanna talk?

A few seconds later his phone started ringing. It was Caroline calling.

"Hello, love." He greeted

"Hey." She replied softly. "Are you really still awake? I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Not at all, I was just doing some paperwork. I thought you would be asleep by now as well."

"Yeah, well… I know we spoke earlier today, but I didn't want to go to bed without hearing your voice." Caroline confessed shyly.

"Is that so?" Klaus teased. "Is it my thick, sensual accent that draws you to me? Or perhaps my always fancy, eloquent words?"

"Oh shut up, don't get cocky!" Caroline chastened, making Klaus chuckle.

"Tell me, how was your day?" Klaus asked, now a little bit more serious and genuinely interested in her.

"It was… very emotional, to say the least. But I feel like I've closed a chapter of my life and now I can fully move on. Plus, I got to spend the evening with my childhood best friend, so that's good."

"I'm glad." Klaus said with a smile. He was so proud of her.

"What about you? What did you do the rest of the day?" She asked curiously.

"Not much, truly. Just working from home. I didn't feel like going back to the office after I dropped off."

"Thank god, I was worried about leaving you alone with Aurora while I'm gone." Caroline half joked.

"Who?" Klaus asked with a frown.

"Aurora, the new girl in the accounting department? She's obsessed with you." Caroline replied confused. Aurora was very pretty, surely he noticed her?

"I have no idea who that is."

"Redhead, green eyes, quite short if you ask me…" Caroline listened.

"Nop." Klaus shook his head, even though she couldn't see it. He didn't want more redheads in his life. Although, he just didn't want any other woman in his life. "Don't tell me you were concerned about me being with someone else." He asked teasingly, although deep down he worried about Caroline doubting his fidelity.

"Clearly you don't remember her. She's very insistent too!" he heard Caroline whine in a high pitched voice.

"Are you jealous, love?" Klaus joked. That was adorable.

"Mmmm…" Caroline just hummed, and Klaus knew she was pouting.

"You have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Just come home soon and see for yourself."

"Yeah, about that… I'll stay a few more days." She said lowly. Klaus suddenly sat up straight on his chair.

"What changed?"

"There's a ball this Friday night, the founding families get together, we light some fireworks… I dunno, it's a tradition to welcome the new season. We do it every spring and I missed the one last year…"

"Say no more." Klaus interrupted her. "I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." He assured her sweetly.

"Thanks." She said and he could picture her smiling shyly. "I should get some sleep. And so should you!"

"Agree." He sat there in a comfortable silence while he pondered what to say next. He didn't want to say good night just yet, but Caroline was right. "I miss you. I never missed anyone before. Except my father, I guess…" He confessed. What was this woman doing to him? Turning him into a softly, clearly.

"I miss you too." She said. "I'll be home before you know it."

"I hope so. Good night, sweet Caroline. Sleep tight."

"You too. I love you."

"And I love you back." He said before hanging up and heading to bed.

.

"You sure you want to be here?" Elena asked as she parked the car in front of the Mayor's house. Carol Lockwood was busy preparing the manor for the ball and Elena offered to help. Caroline tagged along, even though she knew there was a chance she would run into Tyler. She thought that since she managed to go to Mystic Falls and visit her mom's grave, she was also strong enough to face her cheating ex-boyfriend. To be honest, she was more worried about the decorations than meeting Tyler. No one organizes a party like Caroline Forbes.

"Yeah I'm sure." Caroline said while unfastening her seatbelt. The house was just like she remembered. Big, elegant and intimidating. A demonstration of money and power made by the Lockwood family almost two centuries ago.

People holding things walked in and out of the house and the girls had to step aside to let in three big men carrying huge vases with flowers.

"Wonderful! Put them over there." Carol said as the men walked in. When she turned around she spotted Elena and Caroline walking in.

"Hi Mrs. Lockwood, I'm here to help." Elena said.

Caroline looked around uncomfortably. She hadn't been there in so long and even though she spent many happy moments in that house in the past, it was all tainted by Tyler's terrible behavior.

"Elena, thanks for coming." Carol said awkwardly as she eyed Caroline. She never liked her son's choice in girls, but at least Caroline was from a good family. "Caroline, I didn't know you were back." She commented, always pretending good intentions. Caroline hated that.

"Just for a few days. So I'm here to help too. What can we do?"

"You can go to the back yard and help making the centerpieces with the other girls."

They did what was told and headed out. There, Caroline found a few of her high school classmates and got more than one hug.

"OMG! You're back!" "We were wondering where you went." "You look so pretty!" they said welcoming her. Not everything was perfect, of course. People moved on since she left and not everyone missed her, but that's okay. Caroline didn't let it bother her. She worked on the centerpieces and stared catching up with girls.

"We need more space for the finished ones." Elena said as she noticed the crowded table.

"We can put them on the bar for the staff to move later." Dana, one of the girls, replied.

"I'll get it." Caroline said picking up three of the centerpieces and walking towards the bar. At some point holding all of them started to get challenging and she almost dropped one, until a hand helped her.

"Whoa, careful there!" A voice said while picking one of the centerpieces and placing it on the bar for her.

"Thanks." Caroline said putting the other two down. When she turned to see the guy she gasped. "Matt?" She asked with her eyes open widely.

Matt Donovan blinked and then opened his arms in surprise.

"Caroline?!"

"HEY!" Caroline said jumping to wrap her arms around his neck. She always adored her Matty. He hugged her back tightly and even lifted her up from the ground.

"What are you doing here?" He asked while putting her back down.

"I'm visiting, just for a couple of days. You?"

"Carol hired the staff from The Grill to help with the drinks and food. Are you coming to the ball?"

"Yep! I bet Carol is against it, but as long as I'm a Forbes, she can't kick me out!" Caroline replied giggling.

"Matt!" A voice snapped and they both turned to look at his sister, Vicky, who looked a little bit shocked when she recognized the girl her brother was talking to. "Um- don't laze around…" she said before turning to unpack some glasses.

Matt sighed and looked back at Caroline. He knew the story…

"Sorry Care. I gotta go back to work. Maybe we can meet later and catch up? I'll be working tonight but I bet it will be a slow night, stop by and have a drink."

"Sure!" Caroline said before giving him one last hug and walking away.

.

They weren't in high school anymore, so why did she felt like she was? There was something familiar about having drinks and fries with her friends at The Grill that left her feeling nostalgic. It was a good kind of feeling though, Elena kept hugging her and Matt couldn't stop bringing back old private jokes and silly memories. Caroline, however, was a little bit different. Far from the shallow girl who loved gossip, she had become a strong woman. So strong that her friends didn't pity her anymore, and that was good, because pity was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want people remembering the fact that she was an orphan, or that she ran away and had a hard life. She could see people thinking that the second they spotted her, but that look would quickly fade away when she told them about her happy life in New York.

Soon enough they were joined by Elena's boyfriend, Liam, and April Young, Matt's girlfriend. All the happy couples made her miss Klaus even more, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her mood.

There was something else threatening to ruin the night, however. Tyler Lockwood walked in like he owned the place.

Caroline took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Definitely not in high school anymore. She remembered feeling all tingly and excited when she saw Tyler coming her way. Now, not so much, he was just a bittersweet memory.

She still remembered how heartbroken she felt.

"Tyler?... I have good news. I have an interview. It's not much, just a small job, but it should be a start to get back on my feet…." Indeed, that was what she needed. One month after her mom's death, Caroline had no choice but start over, find a job, a place on her own and move on with her life.

She looked around the manor when she got no reply and then walked upstairs. And then she heard them. The moans and groaning, the bed squeaking. She swallowed hard and pushed the door open slowly.

Vicky-fucking-Donovan on top of Tyler, riding him like she was a porn star.

"TYLER!"

"Hey Care." Tyler greeted her shyly. Caroline put on her best Miss Mystic Falls smile on and looked at him over his shoulder.

"Hello."

"Is good to see you." He said.

"Thanks. You too." She said back, trying to be polite.

"How you been?" He asked.

"Never better, actually." She replied, one hundred percent honest. "You?"

"Oh you know, busy with the scholarship and playing football."

"Some things never change." She commented pointedly. Tyler seemed to get it and turned to Matt to order a drink.

"So…. You're back."

"Just until the Spring Ball." She explained.

"Yeah, my mom said you were there today helping with the decorations. I guess you were right, some things never change." Tyler said teasingly.

"What hasn't changed?" Elena asked.

"Care's love for planning parties." Tyler replied.

"You have no idea. I even got to plan the New Year's party for the company I work for. I don't wanna brag but I have the feeling they'll ask again this year." She said giggling with Elena.

Tyler moved to another topic with the guys while Caroline showed the girls some pictures in her phone.

"Which one of this is your boyfriend?" Elena asked.

"Let's see…" Caroline retrieved the phone and looked for her favorite picture of the night, one of her sitting by Klaus in the car on their way home. "Here." She said handing the phone back. She couldn't help but grin when she saw Elena and April's eyes open widely.

"He's really good looking." April said.

"Didn't you say that was the night he confessed his feelings for you?"

"Yeah, I took the photo shortly after that on our way home." Caroline said. "He was my roommate before that." She added as an explanation when she saw the look on April's face.

Elena swiped to the side and another photo came up.

"And who is this?"

"That's Klaus' brother, Elijah, and he's also my boss."

"Damn!" April mumbled.

"Wow, Caroline! Is everyone in your boyfriend's family so good looking?" Elena asked teasingly, making Caroline laugh. Maybe they weren't in high school anymore, but it surely was a boys talk like they used to have. "You said he had an accent."

"Oh yeah, he gets even better. He's British!" The girls squealed and bounced on their seats. The boys turned to them at the sound.

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"Care bear has the perfect boyfriend!" Elena replied.

Caroline took her phone back and smiled, swiping to the previous picture. Maybe he wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for her.

.

"I really miss you." Caroline said with a sigh as she dropped on the bed, her phone pressed against her ear.

"I miss you too sweetheart." Klaus said in that velvety voice she loved so much. "How did it go with the decorations for the ball?"

"It was okay, I ran into an old friend, and then we went out for drinks."

"Did you have fun?"

"I did. It was nice. I used to go there every week when I was younger."

"I'm glad."

"What about you? What did you do today?"

"Thought of you…" He replied huskily, making Caroline blush.

"Klaaaaaus." She said covering her eyes.

"I have a surprise for you, sweetheart. Something for you to take to the ball." He said, changing the subject. "I sent it to your B&B, it should be there by now."

Caroline sat up on the bed and looked around.

"Really? The owner didn't mention anything about a package."

"Mmm.. check the door, just in case." He suggested.

"Alright." Caroline got up and walked to the front door. When she opened, she was left speechless. Klaus stood there, with his phone pressed against his ear and his other hand holding a small bag.

"Surprise." He said with a smile.

Caroline dropped her phone and threw her arms around him.

Perfect, indeed.