*The incredibly stirring Klaroline article was composed by Vampire Diaries ingenue Stacy Selby (@stacyselby)! Be sure to follow her on twitter and say hello!

Photo Credit: Quantrell D. Colbert/The CW ©2011

Many fans wonder how on earth I could be pro Klaus, when he seems to be the obvious choice as the last in line for, well, everything.  I’m sure there were plenty of people interested in doing the ship feature for the other couples, and only a handful for Klaus/Caroline.  So I’m quite proud, and feel very lucky to have been the one chosen to do this article, and can only hope I can do justice to the other Klaus lovers out there.  Because at my core, I am that – a Klaus Lover.  Team Klaus.  However you want to put it, I like me sumathat Original Vamp. Now admittedly I’m first and foremost Team Damon, but Klaus holds a very special part in my heart.  I guess I’m attracted to those misunderstood, social pariah type guys.  Deep down I think most women are.  So go ahead, you won’t be judged here, we’ll call this a ‘safe place’ where you are allowed to fantasize over any vampire you damn well please.   Okay, now that that’s out in the open, and we’re all on the same page, let’s talk shop.  Or better yet, vampires. Namely, Klaus Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes.  

Had Klaus been one of the characters from the pilot episode, I can say with certainty that I’m not the only one who would’ve paired him with Caroline.  They would’ve been the obvious choice – both a little, umm…imperfect.  Klaus came into the series as a definite “bad guy”, and Caroline Forbes?  Well let’s face it, she was kind of a bitch. If we’re being completely honest here, when the show started I couldn’t stand her.  Was hoping she’d be the next victim to succumb to a supernatural death in Mystic Falls.  And with every episode she survived, so with it went the likelihood she would indeed bite the dust.  Eventually she became a favorite of mine, as I’m sure she won over other fans, and I was kind of glad she made it through as a regular.  That being said, it wasn’t until she became Vampire Barbie that her actual “human side” prevailed.  It was like she worked backwards – human = Scary Spice, Vampire = Copacetic Spice.  This is yet another reason some find it odd for Klaus and Caroline to be a couple at all.  But if you look, really look at Klaus, you’d realize they aren’t so different at all, but rather…truly soul mates.

Photo Credit: The Vampire Diaries / The CW

I think that just like people, vampires end up falling victim to their circumstances. In flashbacks and throughout the series we are introduced to the softer, more human side to dear Klaus. We witness times when he wasn’t always the monster he is mainly portrayed as being, but rather this kind, family devoted, fun, and at times, loving, man.  Now naturally hundreds of years and thousands of bad situations would have a tendency to change even the most docile and loving of them all, and Klaus is clearly no exception.  I can see though that deep down he truly IS good; he has admirable qualities running through him.  He wants to be good.  Do good.  Live a life, and fall in love.  However he has a hard time admitting it to himself, and letting himself succumb to his lighter side.

With one exception.  When he is with Caroline Forbes.

Photo Credit: The Vampire Diaries / The CW

She brings out all of the good he has so deeply buried, as well as yes, his protective side.  These emotions have him so utterly confused as he hasn’t acknowledged them in many MANY years, but all the same knows they’re there.  He knows that he enjoys the feelings she stirs up in him, yet doesn’t know what to do with them.  Naturally Caroline can but see him as the Klaus everyone loves to hate, and has no interest in having anything to do with him.  But like Elena, I know Caroline sees past his outward persona, and sees him on a level deeper than most are privy to.

Only after the drawing.

Photo Credit: The Vampire Diaries / The CW

For me, I believe that when she saw that drawing of herself from Klaus, she saw past his exterior.  She could finally – if not regretfully – see that although Klaus is in most senses, a jerk, that he also has that honorable side to him (such as when he rescued her from Alaric in Vampire Diaries episode 3.21).  Admittedly buried to the umpteenth degree, but nonetheless, it’s there.  Naturally she doesn’t want to admit this to herself, as it goes back on every negative, horrible thing she has always seen him as, and it’s just so much easier to despise him for all he’s done to her and her friends.  But she can’t ignore it.  Maybe because she herself knows what it’s like to have been someone who was not exactly everyone’s favorite – as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

She connects with Klaus on a deeper level than we see anyone else in his past has.  They both know what it’s like to be bad; they both know what it’s like to be good.  Caroline chooses to be the latter now, and seeing them together gives us a glimpse at how Klaus has the fundamentals of being a good person.  She brings out his lighter side, a side I truly believe he wants to – on some level – reconnect with… for her.

Photo Credit: The Vampire Diaries / The CW

So could we possibly see the end of baddie Klaus?  If they do end up together, could all of the trouble leave Mystic Falls once and for all? Is it the love of a woman – real love and compassion – that is the key to his salvation, and has been all along?  I say yes.  And no.  Yes, I truly believe that Klaus and Caroline are meant to be, for reasons that go far beyond the superficial, and instead can only be revealed on a much deeper, baser level.  No, because as much as I love Klaus, believe in his amiable side, I’m not an idiot.  I know we can’t just wave a magic love wand and POOF! Klaus is in love and turns his back on being the badass (with a wicked gorgeous smile).  And that, my friends, is the beauty of it all – the struggle between good and evil that Klaus must endure that will ultimately bring him to his true love.  It will bring him and Caroline together… completely, and irreversibly.

So tell us, gentle viewers: Do you want to see Klaus and Caroline together? Post why or why not in the comments!