Remember Me (Klaus and Caroline)

The Stuff of Nightmares

Klaus dropped her on the porch of the number she'd mumbled, glancing at the house before him. It was little, yet seemingly comfortable. Much too small beyond his preference for decor but his focus was on the girl, who was standing unsteadily on her feet.

"How....how do you do that?" She asked in a broken voice.

"Vampirism has its advantages," he said, judging her reaction carefully.

Her face paled slightly, the blood draining from her cheeks and she gave an audible swallow. "I already said that that can't be....possible." But her voice lacked the conviction it had held earlier and Klaus seized the opportunity of it.

"You do not live in the world you believe you did. One truth can shatter reality as you see it. The question, though," Klaus murmured, meeting her eyes with his, "is whether you will allow it to do the same to you."

She gave him that horrified look again, the very one that grated on his nerves. What right had she to see him as the monster? He had, after all, just saved her from one.

"This is....this is...."

"The stuff of nightmares," Klaus answered for her but she just shook her head and closed her eyes again.

"Are you going to kill me?" She suddenly asked, looking at him with horror. He found himself surprised by her accusation and pursed his lips.

"No," he decided. "Contrary to what you may believe, you are rather harmless."

"Well then, why...." She was clearly struggling to pick the right words. "Isn't there some universal rule that you shouldn't go around....telling people this? You know what, no." She waved her hands frantically in the air. "No, I'm not even going to think this is actually....a possibility. Nope. It's too Night of the Living Dead."

Against his better judgement, he smiled. Yes, this girl was quite entertaining.

"Reality will hit you soon enough. As for that universal rule you were so eloquently referring to, I do believe it safe to dispel this information. I highly doubt you to exchange it between someone else."

She scoffed, facing him again and nearly stumbling in doing so. "You don't even know me! I could be a....a....I can't even think of an example! But you still don't know what kind of person I am."

"An interesting one, at that."

She raised her eyebrows at him, glancing once at the door. "You know, I'm done talking to you. I'm going to go to bed. You....don't do anything," she pointed at his chest. "Come near me and I'll scream. You do not want to see my mom when she's pissed off. And with a gun."

He smiled again, but then wiped it off, suddenly irritated by his lack of control.

"Farewell then," he said, just as she shut the door in his face. He turned away from the entrance and started down the steps, trying to suppress his stirring aggravation.

She was intriguing, that girl. Klaus couldn't name why, but she just was; a magnet to bad things which was evident in the fact that she'd caught his attention.

Perhaps he should never have intervened, he thought. On the vampire, in telling her what he was, but Klaus was tired of the same mundane things and wanted something....different.

To satisfy himself in his actions, he decided that he wouldn't intervene again. Not on her behalf. He'd done so already and any more than that would raise its own suspicions in and of itself.

But he'd still talk to her; just to wait. And to watch.

He wanted to see how long it would take for Caroline to run again.