....So on a scale of one to ten, how severely scolded am I? I'M SORRY! I had such writer's block with this part! Like ultra-mega struggles, people. But I'll update more frequently! 

___________

On my way to school the next morning, I opened the front door to find Klaus there, eyes staring lazily up at me. I gave a small little shriek and slammed it in his face, only regretting it after it was done. I rearranged my features and jerked it open, glaring at his smug, and slightly offended, expression. "What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice piquing at the end.

My mom hadn't left for work yet. And that meant possible trouble. No doubt would I hear a lecture if she spotted an ancient vampire sporting the cliche badboy clothing.

No. No. No. No.

He sighed. "I believe we had a date."

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah. A date. A date usually implies a time which you never gave and my mom is-"

"Honey?" Mom's voice came from behind me and I literally felt my heart slam into my ribs. I closed the door for the second time, hoping Klaus would take the hint. "Yeah?" I asked, in an abnormally high voice. I coughed.

"Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Fine. It's....good. Have a nice day at work." I smiled.

She stared at me for a moment, blue eyes watching mine before she conceded and stepped through the door. I didn't leave myself until I saw her patrol car disappear down the road.

Klaus materialized where he had been a moment ago, gaze scornful. "Do you plan on closing the door on me a third time?"

I took a calming breath. "Sorry. Well, not sorry. I'm sort of sorry. Look," I lifted my hands in defeat. "I don't exactly know what your school regime was like for you growing up, but I have school on Tuesdays, and today....is Tuesday."

He said nothing, simply flipped open his phone and raised it to his cheek. "Yes, I'm calling in for Caroline Forbes. Terrible thing, the poor girl has suffered a rather nasty injury and will not be attending class this morning. I trust you to pass on this information to her appointed teachers. Yes, thank you, Love."

He snapped the phone shut and gave me a little smirk.

But I just glowered at him, open-mouthed. "You can't lie!" I spat through my teeth.

His expression turned innocent. "I didn't. You are injured."

I mumbled under my breath, hefting my bag higher onto my shoulder. "What did I say about doing things without my permission? Did I give you the okay to do....what you just did? I said nothing vampy."

He smiled, showing those insufferable dimples. "My method I just used even predates vampirism, Caroline."

I crossed my arms. "And what's that?"

"Charm."

I couldn't help it-I chuckled. "Really? Do you just assume every woman will fall for you? Even if it's just your voice?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, giving me that expression most definitely lacking in modesty. "Girls fancy the accent."

"What about British girls?"

"They fancy the smile."

"How do you not gag on your own ego?" I asked.

Klaus shrugged, that grin playing on his lips. "I'm just stating fact. Why should I lie to myself for the sake of humility? You must agree to some extent otherwise," he leaned closer, "why else would you have agreed to accompany me?"

I narrowed my eyes, ignoring that pine smell wafting from him. "I can still change my mind."

"But you won't do so."

Annoyance expanded over my chest. "Oh, yeah? And how do you know? Are you a mind reader? At which point can I expect the sparkling?"

But he just stared at me ambivalently, ignoring my joke. "Everyone has their wild card."

Against my better judgement, my expression turned curious. "And what's yours?"

He shook his head.

"You're not going to tell me? That's a sure-fire way to piss someone off."

Klaus's smile widened. "That's the fun in secrets, Love."

___________

Out of all the places I expected a powerful ancient vampire to take me, this wasn't one of them.

"I thought you said you were passing through," I murmured, my eyebrows raised to my hairline. "And....you have a house. No, not a house. A mansion. A freaking mansion."

"It's a rental."

"Ah, and I was almost impressed."

"Wait here for a moment," he said, and before I could reply, he breezed out. I didn't mind; I just continued to stare up the high ceiling. Two chandeliers dangled down, raining crystals. They cast a glittering hue over the rest of the room, huge glass windows refracting the light. I stood on what I assumed was a Persian rug and I wondered just how genuine it was. The edges met the wooden mantel wrapping around the fireplace. It didn't take a genius to know it was hand crafted.

"Ridiculous," I mumbled to myself. My curiosity led me forward and I swiped my finger across the resin surface . My jaw dropped at the lack of dust Id expected to collect there.

"Here we are," he said, coming in with a box in hand. I swiveled to look at him, raising my finger in question. "Do you hire house cleaners?"

"No."

"Who did you rent this place from?"

"A friend."

I clicked my tongue. "Ominous, much?"

He tossed me a smile. Then he raised his own finger and gestured me over. My eyes fell on the box; it looked old and worn, years having done its damage and turning the once white color a darkened yellow. I shuffled to it, ignoring my inconvenient injury. "This," he drawled, resting a hand on the box. "Is a family heirloom."

He lifted the cover and I swore, if I had been holding something, it would've met the floor.

Folded perfectly inside was some fantastic type of clothing, strewn with a million dusted jewels and decorated in elegant whorls. The material looked paper thin and I couldn't tell whether it was white silk or some unearthly fabric that I no one ever knew about.

"It's a Haute couture dress. Inherited by my sister, but....she will not be using it anytime soon," he said, a slight change in his tone but I didn't pay it any mind. I wasn't very knowledgeable on high-quality fashion and had little idea as to what Haute couture meant, but it must've meant something that cost the equivalent of a house.

"Why...." My voice came out rough and squeaky and I quickly cleared my throat. "Why did you bring it out? Showing off your trinkets?"

Trinkets that would even make royalty suffer from the green eyed monster itself.

Klaus gave me that very unreadable look. "I have been experiencing your era for quite some time," he said. "More than one, in fact. But I'd like you to experience mine. My original heritage." He held the box out to me.

I'll drop it, I thought and hesitated. "Wait-what? You....you want me to wear this?"

He nodded.

Um.

"No no no no. No. I could tear it and sorry, my insurance covers like, one of these beads."

"Do I appear to be suffering from financial problems, Love?"

He had a point, though a cocky one at that. I swallowed, momentarily allowing my curiosity the reigns. "Where....uh....where do you plan on taking me? In this? With me in this?"

Klaus chuckled, covering up the gesture with his hand. "I wish for you to dine with me."

My eyebrows shot up. "Dine? Don't you have to be the king of someplace to use that term?"

His reply was a wicked smile splitting across his features.

But I was already shaking my head. "Uh-uh. No. I mean, there's no place in Mystic Falls that would even....there's just nowhere...." The dress had literally rendered me speechless. Me.

But then Klaus approached and took my hand, his touch cool as he led me down one of the innumerable hallways crisscrossing his rental mansion. He led me into a private room, and clicked something on.

Immediately, the room we stood in illuminated, light bouncing from the decorative chandeliers onto the ballroom floor. Cutting it into two was a long table, the kind that seemed to come straight from medieval royalty. The surface of it was inlaid with porcelain plates, a gold trim around each one. It was completed with a red rug running down the center.

"What are you thinking?" Klaus asked me.

I swallowed. "Do you do this for all the girls?"

"Far from it, Love," he said, crossing his arms and watching me contentedly. "Many don't require this level of dedication to make a good impression upon."

I scoffed, but it made a slight squeaking noise.

"Or, I guess, if your preferred venue is  that dreary little pub in town," Klaus added, "we could always got there instead-"

"No!" I nearly shouted, my voice bouncing around the room. I bit my lip and cleared my throat, trying to act more composed. "No, it's fine. This is....this will do." I tried not to laugh at the last words.

"Then you may want to change. Down the hall and to your left."

"Is what?" I asked.

"The dressing room," he answered with a smile.

I shook my head in exasperation but followed his instructions. The room was much easier to find than the dress was to put on. It required time and I was probably being excessively gentle but this was a dress made of ancient material. I was sure even Cinderella was hesitant to move in her gown and glass slippers. It was a characteristic of middle-class.

"Are you decent?" Klaus called.

I smirked, trying to tie the final silk string. "Decent? Yes. I've always been decent. This dress has other plans, though."

"Do you require any assistance?"

I chuckled. "If you step within a foot inside the door, I will end you."

He apparently heeded my warning and attempted nothing until Id finally looped the bajillion silk laces up my back. How women ever did this on a daily basis was something that should be admired by every culture on a global scale.

"Okay, I think I have it," I said, opening the door and returning to the ballroom. I was barefoot, but the ends of the dress draped over that tiny mishap, shielding it from view. To the rest of the world, I could just as easily been wearing glass slippers.

"What do you think?" I asked Klaus, placing my hands on my hips and shifting this way and that. "Too flashy?"

I met Klaus's eyes which were trailed on the delicate, jeweled bodice, a smile igniting his features. "You look ravishing, Caroline."

"Oh, ravishing," I mocked his accent. "That's much more flattering than simply being called hot."

"That expression is far too crude for someone of such elegance."

I smiled at him as I walked forward, the silk fabric moving like water around my ankles. "You think I'm elegant?"

"For a human," he added, eyes turning up impishly.

"Ah, well, who knows?" I asked, letting him lead me forward to one of the seats. "Maybe one day I'll be elegant in your way."

I didn't know what made me bring it up, or what even invoked the concept. But it momentarily took me off guard and judging by his sudden stillness, had the same effect on him as well. I tried to salvage the pieces I could. "What I mean is that you just....never know. You never know what's in store for you."

Okay, that was very poor but I attempted to discard it by waving a hand dismissively. "So. To dine you need food, right?" I asked, changing the subject. "I like the whole idea of taking a step back in time, but please don't have me go fetch the chickens or watch you skewer a boar. That'd be gross."

Klaus scoffed, those dimples returning to his features. They both annoyed and enthralled me. As if he didn't already have enough; he got those, too. "I wouldn't think to have you witness such a gruesome scene," he said, but I caught a double meaning to his words. "However, as much as I'd enjoy showcasing my famous Tripes à la mode de Caen, Mystic Falls's shopping marts are not as upscale as they outwardly appear to be."

I shook my head in false surprise. "Shocker."

"Therefore," he continued. "I hope you aren't too disappointed in my choice of poorly-imitated Chinese cuisine."

"I'm wearing a dress that could quite possibly rent me the Queen of England's crown for a week," I pointed out. "Potatoes and beer couldn't disappoint in this."

His smile grew and then he disappeared, just to materialize yet again, bag in hand. I could smell the Orange chicken already as he retrieved the boxes and coaxed them open.

"Bon appetit," he said.

There are many things in life you planned. School five days out of the week, maybe a job you hoped to get and already began scheduling around. Some things you just anticipated. But then there were other times; rare ones that came suddenly and made everything else seem bland and uneventful in comparison. They became that way simply because they were expected. But the instant you got a taste of surprise and change, it was quite nearly impossible to go back to the way you saw your life before.

That's precisely how I felt now, sitting across the table from an archaic being, in a dress worth my entire city, eating fast food on gold-trimmed plates.

"You do realize how hard this is for me not to blab to everyone I know," I said, taking a bite of Kungpow chicken. "I wouldn't anyway because they'd think I were crazy, but still."

"You could divulge it to them," Klaus said with a shrug. "But as you just claimed, it would be difficult to convince them of it."

"There is something about this that's disappointing, though," I said, setting my fork.

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "And what would that be?"

"I'm not sure any mortal could really reach my expectations anymore. You've single handedly ruined any future encounter I'll have." I glared jokingly at him.

He caught the tease and grinned himself. "Then shall I stop?" He asked.

I sighed but shook my head. "No, I concede. You've kept your word by thoroughly surprising and impressing me. That's not an easy thing to do."

"I'm aware of the feat," Klaus said, standing. "But I still have one final thing to show you before our early evening draws to a close."

My eyebrow cinched up. "And that is....?"

His gaze broke from mine and drifted around. "Well, we are in a ballroom."

"Yeah."

Klaus whooshed away and suddenly stood before me. He extended his hand. "The purpose of a ballroom is usually for dancing. If my motives are still unclear, I'll ask like a gentleman. May I have this dance, Love?"

I swallowed my excess saliva. "I don't know how great Id be, what with the dumb injury of mine."

But I was starting to realize that Klaus always had a plan up his sleeve. "Let me take care of that."

Uncertain, I stood, letting him grasp my hand and guide me into the middle of the room. He motioned for me to wait a moment as he went over to a nearby table and put on a record player. Then he returned to where I was, just as a soft melody began drifting around the room.

I eyed him inquisitively as he took my hand once more, weaving his fingers between mine.

"You know, there are these really convenient devices known as iPods," I began. "They store up thousands of songs without the hassle of records and space."

He sighed, breath shifting my hair as he lifted his other palm to cup my back. "Yes, but there's nothing quite like the sound of a record. It's flawless. Pristine. And if you're quiet enough, you can almost hear the history whispering through the music."

I couldn't keep the smile his words brought. "This is how you woo girls isn't it?" I asked, looking into those hazel eyes of his. "How you sweep us of our feet? I'll admit it's effective."

"Why is that? Do you consider yourself swept?" He asked.

I frowned at him. "You can't just ask a girl if she's swept. I mean, if you have to ask, clearly you aren't doing it ri-"

My feet suddenly disappeared from the floor and I glanced down again, to see them now on Klaus's polished shoes. I gaped, an odd sound escaping from my lips.

"How's this then?" He whispered in my ear.

My breath made a weird noise and I felt my heart quicken. "Does it hurt?"

"That's a rather insulting inquiry."

I nodded into his shoulder. "Right. Vampire. Strong. Forgot that small detail."

He chuckled lightly, but then seemed to grow serious, in the small gesture of the stiffening of his back. "You are aware, Caroline, the dangers in harboring affection for me," he said.

I sighed melodramatically. "Your signals seem to keep getting crossed. But yeah. The whole vampire abduction thing really helped solidify that fact."

"I just want you to be aware," he added. "Association with me may create obstacles for you. Obstacles that could quite easily be fatal."

"Are you trying to scare me off?" I asked.

He didn't hesitate. "Yes."

I shook my head, even as he kept with the melody, moving in a square. "Tough. It won't work."

a sigh escaped him. "I didn't think it would. I just want to make the dangers clear."

"Well they are so you can quit the mortality lecturing. I chose to be involved. Well, actually no, you kind of just showed up and pestered me until I was involved, but I'm choosing," I emphasized the word, "to stay involved. So there."

Klaus pulled back slightly, just enough to to look me in the eyes. "I will protect you, Caroline."

"Why?" I asked. "Because otherwise you'd lose your human entertainment?" I didn't say it rudely, but included it out of my own curiosity.

The softness in Klaus's gaze turned hard and his grip tightened ever so slightly. "Because I want to. And after being alive for millennium, I'm in short supply of wanting things."

__________________________________________

After Klaus saw Caroline safely home, he stopped by the Grill and ordered himself a Bourbon. It was still midday, but he ordered a few rounds, in an effort to curb his growing annoyance.

Questions pummeled him from the inside out; questions that revolved around precaution and his own carelessness. He was being careless, he knew. For once in his life. But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing.

He poured back the bourbon but then just requested the bottle straight.

It was very possible this would turn out badly for him. And for her. And perhaps he was even crueler for not particularly caring on that front. But Klaus wanted to maintain some sentience of caution, still. Because he cared for her; he wouldn't be in denial anymore, but he wouldn't halt his carelessness yet either.

Even immortals craved having something to live for. Something to protect. He just came to some resolve that it wouldn't make him weak. He'd use it as an asset for the time being. Perhaps it would make others believe him to be soft and therefore would let their guards down and underestimate him more.

So there were advantages to this, even though the risks were impossibly greater. But Klaus would utilize them. Especially if it meant more time.

Klaus scoffed silently to himself. A fortuitous occasion it was for an immortal to wish for more time.