4x07 AU. I think everyone is OOC in this, but whatever I do what I want.

Looking for some trouble tonight

Take my hand i'll show you the wild side

Like it's the last night of our lives

We'll keep dancing till we die

I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums

Oh what a shame that you came here with someone

So while you're here in my arms,

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Klaus was watching with rapt attention as Caroline stood at the podium, enthusiastically announcing the court for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. The way the sunlight was hitting her from above made her glow like an angel to him. When Klaus saw Tyler and his "lady" werewolf friend enter the event earlier, he knew he would have to ensure that they wouldn't cross paths. He didn't need her to be hurt by them any further than she had already. He stood close near the doppelganger and the insipid human Matt, noticing their worried looks to each other as they were peering around into the crowd. Peaking his interest, he listened in on their conversation.

"Have you seen Jeremy?"

"He's probably with the escorts."

"Caroline told me to wrangle the escorts, he's not here."

"I'll find him. April is about to be abandoned."

Klaus took this as his golden opportunity to play the knight in shining armor. He moved past the two and boldly stated, "I'll take it from here" before swiftly walking towards Caroline, who was still at the podium, a nervous smile plastered on her face. When he met her gaze he saw that she looked incredibly relieved to see him waiting there, offering himself as a stand-in for Jeremy who was MIA. He gave her a genuine smile before looking at the now calmed looking girl in the red dress that was descending the stairs towards him. He offered his arm, which she took before quietly whispering, "Thanks." He pitied the poor girl, to be jilted publicly by the Gilbert boy even if he had more than a hunch as to what he was doing with the Rippah. He led the girl to the dance floor with the other nominees before taking his position across from her. It was a dance that he knew, having been around for its creation many centuries ago and remembered instantly.

He could tell the girl was nervous as she bowed to him, before leading him in the dance. He thought she did rather well, despite the abrupt change in dance partners. He wished it were Caroline he was dancing with, as she moved with such poise that he had a hard time keeping up with her every time they had danced together.

When he finally spied her, Damon, and Elena congregating at the edge of the dance floor he could pick up on the hostile tension that she was radiating off in waves. He was edging to come to her rescue when the dance finally ended and he caught the tail end of Caroline's escalating fight with Elena after Damon's sudden departure. He was walking up beside her, his presence still outside her state of awareness.

"Fine, friend-tervention. I think your so-called 'feelings' for Damon are really starting to cloud your judgment, and I don't like it. And the thought of you two together really makes me wanna barf."

He looked around and noticed the other guests looking over at them their curiosity peaked. "Easy love, you're making a scene," he said softly coming closer to Caroline's side. Immediately she looked embarrassed and stopped her rant at his words, realizing that he was right.

"Wow, Caroline, thank you for making this very difficult time so much easier," Elena spat back at her before stomping away like a spoiled child. Klaus glared at her retreating figure, before he turned to see Caroline's hurt expression and immediately thought of how he could rectify the situation.

"How did I become the bad guy?" She mused perplexed, perhaps it was to him or just to herself, but he answered her anyway.

"Let's get you a drink. I'll tell you all about being the bad guy." She nodded in acceptance, and with his hand on her lower back he guided her towards the open bar by the dance floor. With no compulsion, and a dash of accented charm, they absconded towards the lake, bottle and flutes in hand.

Klaus let Caroline vent about Elena's new attitude towards Damon as the walked along the lakeside and Klaus genuinely listened and responded to her musings about Elena's changing disposition since her transition. She was still so beautiful, even when she was angry and ranting. When the finally reached a secluded stone bench they sat down and Klaus worked on opening a bottle of champagne for them.

"Thank you, for stepping up and escorting April." She said as he handed her a glass of the bubbling liquid.

"It was no problem, sweetheart." He said taking a swig from his own glass, a smile playing across his lips.

"So are you any closer on finding the cure?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm working on it." He was vague enough, and she was sure she didn't want to know what finding this cure entailed the methods of retrieval that were needed.

"Would you ever take it?" She asked, as she swirled her glass around, trying to keep her hands busy because she was itching to straighten his tie.

"Now why would I want to cure myself of being the most powerful creature on the planet? Hmm?" He said pouring himself another glass.

"So there's not one single moment in your whole life that you wanted to be human?" She asked, in disbelief. She offered him her empty glass and he refilled it again. When she retrieved it back, their fingers brushed and she knew he felt something pass between them as well.

"How about you?" He asked, slyly evading her question. She only shrugged not wanting to go into her fear of becoming weak and powerless again. She like the strength and fearlessness being a vampire gave her.

"Life used to be a lot easier. Don't you miss the days of being 'Chair of the Mystic Falls Beautification Committee' and the 'Director of the Policemen's Yearly Raffle'?" He asked standing up, reading from something he pulled out of his suit pocket.

It took here a moment to recognize where she knew that information was from. "Is that my Miss Mystic Application? Where did you get that?" She demanded standing up as well, nearly spitting out her drink in embarrassment. She tried to steal it back from him but the champagne slowed her reflexes and he was clearly more agile than her as a hybrid.

"'When I am chosen, I intend to define 'excellence.' Now, I really enjoying your use of 'when' here, it's every confident." He said, teasing her, but not in a cruel way. He was being playful, a side of him that she wished she had seen more of.

She buried her face in her hands, embarrassment now completely overwhelming her by being reminded of her insecure, neurotic, control freak tendencies as a human.

"And above all I promise to aspire, inspire, and perspire. Obviously we found a shortage of word ending in 'spire'." He continued on, his face split into a wide grin.

"Yeah, its obviously very funny. It's hilarious. Just give.." She lunged for the paper again, but he held it far out of her reach, teasing her mercilessly still with a smirk on his face. Never one to back down from a dare, she grabbed his other arm and pulled him closer to her trying to get her application from his other hand. It backfired, as her heels had sunk into the ground deep enough to cause her to loose balance and topple over when she leaned over. Klaus caught her, but the momentum of her leaning caused them both to fall over.

They landed on the soft grass; Caroline sprawled out on top of him. It took them all of two seconds before they burst out into more laughter at their silliness. They stayed like that for a few long seconds, trying to catch their breath, before Caroline rolled off of him. Klaus took another second before he was standing up and towering over her. He extended a hand, which she took and allowed him to hoist her up off of the ground. She started to brush off her dress, removing little bits of grass when she felt Klaus's hand run through her hair.

"Missed a little," he said huskily moving closer into her very personal space. She trembled a little and pulling out some courage she did the same, brushing off the foliage from his suit shoulders. She felt his body tense, when her hand moved higher to comb out his hair as well. The texture was incredibly soft, and it was shorter now, devoid of any small curls that she loathed to admit to herself that she missed. She smiled as his hands moved down to her waist, and he pulled her closer to him.

"Dance with me?" She nodded happily but held up a finger, signaling that she needed a moment. She dropped her hand to his shoulder and leaned on him, before removing her cumbersome heels. She felt like such a rebel as they moved slowly together with her bare feet. With the enhanced hearing, they could still move to the beat of the music back by the main dance floor. For once, they weren't interrupted and they twirled around on the grass until the started to sink low in the sky. Realizing that their date was coming to a close, they sat back down on the bench and finished off their bottle, before Caroline begrudgingly put her heels back on. As they started to walk back to the main party, Klaus offered his arms for her to lean on, lest she stumble again.

"Wouldn't want you to take another tumble," he said jokingly as they approached a small wooden bridge over the creek.

"I have you to break my fall," she said responded mischievously. The walked a little further before he stopped her. "I never answered your question, if I ever thought about being a human. Once, I was on a trek in the Andes, and a hummingbird flew up to me, and just hovered there staring at me. It's tiny heart was pattering like a machine gun ... And I thought, what a thing, you know, to have to work that hard every day, just to stay alive, to be constantly on the verge of the death, and how satisfying every day must be that it survived ... And that was the only time when I thought about being human."

She smiled at him more brightly than ever before. Once again, he has shown her a little bit more of his humanity, unveiling a little more about himself to her. She noticed that she was the only one who got to see this side of him. It made her feel special in the most basic way that he was choosing her to confide in. Unconsciously she started to stroke her wrist, the one with her tattoo on it. He notices her fidgeting, and grabbed her hand gently. He pulled her hand closer, taking in the small figure and ran a finger over the ink tracing its shape.

"A swallow," he said knowingly. She nods, laughing a little. "It was my little rebellion at seventeen. I also have a star on my foot," she admits almost in a secret whisper. He moves to drop her hand, but she catches it again, and holds it in hers. She tugs on him slightly trying to move them back to the main dance floor. The sun had finally set, and the dance floor was lit dimly enough, with garden lights outlining the space. They get to dance to one slow song before the DJ changes it back to more popular dance music, blaring out Ke$ha's "Die Young." Knowing that this isn't what she and Klaus will ever dance to, she drops her hands from his shoulder and starts to leave the floor when he grabs her other hand and pulls her back to him.

He pulls her closer to him, closer than ever before and they move at a faster pace with twirls, dips, and spins. She beams as he twirls her into him, her back flat against his chest, and his hands on her hips as they start grind against one another. She didn't pull away however, knowing she was entering dangerous territory. It wasn't until she felt every inch of Klaus's toned body against hers that she knew how much trouble she was in. The heat they were creating between them was going to her head and as she turned in his arms and looked him in his lust-clouded eyes, she was how much it was affecting him too. He cautiously slipped one hand into her hair grasping the nape of her neck, and without trying or wanting to stop him, she let him pull her closer until they were finally kissing.

In the middle of the dance, surrounded by her friends, her neighbors, the town council, and Tyler and Hayley she kissed the one person she was supposed to be fighting against. But all she could think about was the feel of his full lips on hers and the feel of his tongue as it slipped languorously into her mouth. She was screwed in every possible way. She pulled away a few minutes later breathing heavily at their actions. She put a hand on his broad chest to stop him as he leaned in again.

"I need a minute," she panted, before walking off the dance floor and heading back to the Lockwood mansion at a nearly inhuman pace. She hurried inside to one the bathrooms on the main floor, and splashed water on her face, trying to calm her overly buzzing senses. When she opened to door she was confronted with an enraged Tyler and a smug looking Hayley behind him.

"What the hell was that, Caroline?" He bellowed at her hitting the wall next to her making plaster fall to the ground.

"You are supposed to be distracting him, not making out on the dance floor. God, you're such a whore," he continued getting more into her face in complete rage.

That was the final breaking point for Caroline. She wound her fist back and slammed in into his nose with as much force as she could muster. He fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

"I'm not doing this anymore, Tyler. I can't and won't hurt him anymore than I already have. Spending these few hours with him today has made me happier than I have with you in our entire relationship. It's over, Tyler, for good. I'm going to find him and tell him the truth about everything. I suggest you get out of town if you want to live." She said venomously before turning and walking down the hallway. She didn't make it ten feet before she felt Hayley grab her hair from behind and pull her back viciously, biting her on the neck. Reacting purely on instinct, Caroline grabbed her and flipped her over her shoulder before ripping her heart out of her chest in one fluid motion. Looking down at the body she was breathing heavily, fully taking in the carnage before her. She had added another person to her body count.

"You killed her," Tyler roared in fury before he launched himself at her, knocking her down to the ground, his hands wrapped around her neck. He had lost his mind in rage, more than just the rage of losing a "friend".

"I'm stronger than you, you little slut," he said squeezing tighter on her throat. He was really trying to kill her.

"We'll I'm angrier," she spat before grabbing his wrist and braking it. She grabbed his neck and head butted him before shoving his body off of hers with a forceful kick in the stomach. With that amount of force she exerted, he flew down the hall in a crumpled heap of limbs. She got up as quick as possible with the venom starting to enter into her bloodstream, preparing herself for his next attack. He came at her again, but before he could reach her a blur flew past her and pinned him to the wall by his throat. It was Klaus.

Klaus had watched her walk away from him and off the dance floor with dazed senses. He allowed her space, giving her time to comprehend what had just happened between them. The taste of her on his lips however, was something he could not forget, not in a thousand years. She tasted like strawberries and champagne and when their kiss deepened he swore he had truly died and was in heaven. He watched her move into the house, but not before seeing Tyler and his lady werewolf friend exit, moving towards the same place. He knew something was wrong. He followed at a distance, moving quietly into the house when he heard shouting and banging. He whipped around a corner to see the wolf girl dead on the floor, her heart ripped out next to her. It didn't bother him, but when he saw Tyler barreling towards Caroline he knew he needed to intervene.

He grabbed Tyler by the throat before compelling him to stop moving. He looked him in the eyes, and asked about the events that just happened and with Tyler's automatic answers he learned more than he had wanted to know. The plan. His hybrids. When he asked why he had wanted to attack Caroline his answer shocked him.

"Because she cares about you. She was going to tell you about our plan to un-sire the hybrids and I couldn't let her."

Klaus then compelled him to forget about his plans and to clean up the mess, before he turned to Caroline. She hadn't made a sound the entire time he interrogated Tyler. She has moved back to lean against the wall in support and now she was swaying on her feet. Klaus caught her in his arms as she collapsed and he saw the bite on her neck. He cursed her for not saying that she was hurt sooner. No matter how upset he was, he would have stopped his grilling to heal her. He bit into his wrist and held it against he lips, forcing the blood into her system. Soon she responded enough to hold his wrist as she continued to drink slowly. When she pulled away, she mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry," before collapsing again from exhaustion. Sighing in relief, he wrapped her in his suit jacket and then scooped her up into his arms. Grabbing her bag with her keys from the coatroom he walked them outside, spying the grounds to make sure their exit was unnoticed.

He placed her gently on the passenger seat, before getting into the driver's side. The ride to her house was quiet, as the thoughts about today whirled around in his head. Klaus's mind was reeling. He was beyond furious about his hybrid's being un-sired and plotting against him, but that pain dulled in comparison to Caroline's deception. But her desire to come clean to him softened his heart. Despite his best efforts, he could never really be angry with her.

He pulled up her house that was thankfully empty and gathered the sleeping blonde in his arms before moving her inside to her bedroom. He laid her on her bed, still in his suit jacket before covering her with another thick blanket. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on her temple before walking back to the Lockwood mansion to deal with Tyler and the rest of his hybrids.

Caroline awoke the next morning, sore and incredibly stunned. The events of yesterday were now fresh in her mind and almost unreal as if a dream. She sat up slowly, and smiled when she felt the suit jacket covering her. Klaus had saved he yet again, after all that she had done to him. She saw a rolled up parchment on her nightstand and impatiently grabbed it. She unrolled it to see a swallow and a hummingbird flying through a starlit sky. The words on the bottom gave caused her heart to skip in a hopeful way.

"Dinner tonight, my place at seven. –Klaus"

Hate was the beginning of a love story, not the end. And as Caroline moved out of bed to prepare for the day, she knew she no longer could hate Klaus.

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