Chapter 1:
The weight of the day finally began to bear down on Caroline's shoulders as she decided to call it a night (well, morning) and head home from the victory party. The night had been filled with tequila, loud music, and crazy games in hope to forget the horrors, which Klaus had brought upon them, and to move on to face the next battle. But it hadn't made them forget, not really. The fear and pain was always there behind each drink, and each new song. While her friends tried to cope with this fear, Caroline tried to cope with the overwhelming guilt she began to feel stirring inside her the moment she planned the victory party.
"Come on Caroline!" yelled Elena excitedly at her blonde friend sitting on the couch with a flask of tequila in her hands. Elena had definitely become a little tipsy. "Don't be such a Debby Downer!" she said in a fit of giggles.
All Caroline could do was laugh Elena off. She wished they could switch roles for the time being… she didn't want to feel guilty tonight.
She wanted to be happy that Klaus was gone. She really did. But her guilt began to push itself into her mind the way the sun began to push its way through the dark night. Caroline attempted to join back into the party, but the moment her guilt really began to eat away at her, she took another swig of tequila and swiftly left Elena's house.
The drive home was torture. Caroline passed the town square, and the Mikaelson mansion. Two places she did NOT want to see when she was feeling this bad.
"Stupid hybrid." She muttered to herself as she pulled into her driveway and raced inside to the safety of her warm bed. "Stupid, sexy hybrid." She said again woozily before succumbing to her sleep.
The hybrid wouldn't even leave her alone in her dreams. She spent her sleep tossing and turning as she relived the countless occasions on which he saved her life. Perfect.
Her eyes snapped open as she heard her bedroom door creak open, much like it had the night Klaus first saved her from Tyler's bite. Unfortunately, it only swung open to reveal her mother. No hybrid today. As if to see him would spare her of the guilt she felt with his desiccation, when he had saved her life twice.
"Morning sweetie. How are you?" Her mom asked quietly, her eyes filled with concern. It was obvious she had just been informed on the events that happened at the school the day before.
"I'm fine, mom. I've been through worse." Caroline smiled grimly, her eyes still heavy lidded from sleep.
Liz sat down on the side of Caroline's bed and gave her daughter a tight squeeze. "At least you're safe sweetheart. Klaus won't be bothering you anymore."
All Caroline could do was nod as her throat closed up with guilt for the life she hadn't tried to save. She knew what she had to do.
She was going to wake up Klaus.
It took hours of convincing, but Caroline eventually convinced (bribed, lied and numerous methods of convincing) Bonnie to tell her where they were keeping his body. Before she knew it, Caroline was on the road to the storage bunkers. She had been driving for a couple hours, but she was almost there. She had everything ready to repay her debt. Blood bags for him to drink after he woke up (she was sure he would've preferred a human, but she just wasn't going to do that), and a hotel room for him to rest in for the night. After that, she would owe him nothing. Aside from the guilt of waking her friends' enemy (god, she just felt guilty about everything), a strange nervousness was building inside her at the thought of seeing him again.
Thirteen minutes later, Caroline stood inside the full-of-junk bunker, staring down at Klaus' closed black coffin.
"Okay, Caroline. You can do this. You have a debt to repay to him. After this, you don't owe him anything." She whispered to herself before opening the casket.
Lying on the white satin was the almighty hybrid, his skin greyed and waxy. He looked positively frightening, yet in the same moment, Caroline had never seen him look so peaceful.
Before she had the chance to really regret what she was about to do, Caroline bit into her wrist hard enough to draw out her crimson blood, and held it up to Klaus' ice-cold lips. For a moment, nothing changed, and she was afraid that she was too late, but without warning, she felt Klaus' hand lock her wrist to his mouth as he began his return to life.
But he never stopped. He kept sucking, drinking her blood until Caroline, the vampire, felt faint. Something she hadn't felt since she was human. The world began spin in front of her eyes, and she began to sink to the floor, when all of a sudden the pressure on her wrist was gone. Before she could try to stand and look into the casket, she felt a strong arm behind her head, supporting it and a wrist being pressed up against her own mouth, and she took the blood willingly, drawing it away when she felt her strength return, finally looking up into his dark eyes just above her.
"What are you doing here Caroline?" he asked, almost angrily
She was so relieved he was standing in front of her, blue eyes and creamy skin returned to their normal color that she almost didn't answer. Until she registered what he had said. "Seriously?" she asked, standing up "I save your life and you're angry?"
She interrupted him before he could answer her "You know what, that's not important. Let's just get out of here. There's a hotel two blocks over."
They walked swiftly side by side to the hotel. Neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn't one of awkward tension. Caroline led him up to the small hotel room she got.
"It's not five star or anything, but it'll have to do you for the night." She said quietly, fumbling with the key before finally managing to swing the door open. She stood back and placed the key in his hand. "Here."
"Come in, love." He said quietly. "You don't have to stay for long, just rest up a bit before your trip back."
Caroline obliged and walked into the room. He sat on the foot of the singular double bed and patted the spot next to him, beckoning her over. Without much hesitation, Caroline took a seat next to him, acutely aware of her knee as it fell against his.
Stop it. She scolded herself. He is the bad guy.
"I'm leaving any minute now." Caroline said, much more confidently than she felt.
Klaus didn't reply for a moment. "What are you doing here Caroline?" he asked her again, repeating his question from earlier, staring deep into her eyes. She couldn't help but get the feeling he was staring into her soul.
Caroline glanced down at her hand before glancing back up at him, angered by his tone. "If you really want to know, Klaus, I felt bad. Because I'm capable of actual emotion." She said, venom seeping out of her voice. "I felt bad because you saved my life twice, and I did nothing to save yours. So I just did. And as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
She stood up off the bed and stormed angrily towards the door. Before she could turn the handle to leave, she found herself pressed back up against the door, Klaus' hands on either side of her head, and his face looming dangerously close to hers. His smell was intoxicating. And it surrounded her on all sides, rendering her speechless.
God, Caroline, could you become any more of a floozy.
"What about Alaric? What happened to him?" Klaus demanded, almost menacingly, leaning even closer to her.
"He's still out there. But he doesn't have a daylight ring. We can only face one problem at a time, Klaus. We'll stop him. We always stop them." She said breathlessly. He couldn't help but chuckle before returning to his warning façade.
"But he isn't… out of commission, so to speak?"
"I said we're working on it." Caroline said, frustration beginning to become evident in her voice.
"Night will have fallen by the time you get home, love." He said taking a piece of hair that had fallen out of place and tucking it behind her ear. His finger brushed against her skin for a fleeting moment, setting it on fire.
"I would be careful, It might look like you've started to loose your edge." she replied, angry that he had cause such a stir of emotion in her.
He chuckled, and brushed his thumb softly along her temple. "I haven't lost my edge, sweetheart. I wasn't even gone for a day before you saved me." She rolled her eyes before he continued. "I'm not letting you go home in the dark. You can stay here for the night."
He took his arms down from either side of her head, and placed himself in front of the door handle so her only option was to retreat back into the room.
"I'm not sleeping with you." She said folding her arms.
"I would never ask that of you, Caroline. You take the bed. I'm fine with the chair."
"I'll only stay if you promise me one thing."
Klaus rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "What is it, love?"
"Promise you won't come back to Mystic Falls. They'll freak if they see you. And they'll hate me." He noticed her eyes grow wide with the fear of her friends rejecting her.
"They will find out. That's inevitable." He reminded her.
"I know. I just don't want them to find out yet."
"Fine, just go to sleep love." he said falling back into his chair.
She nodded and crawled under the covers of the bed. "Thank you. And goodnight." She whispered.
"Goodnight sweetheart."
The night passed without a word from either of them. Caroline left bright and early the next morning, murmuring one last warning to stay away from Mystic Falls before she left.
Once she was gone, Klaus packed up his things. He needed to get as far away from Mystic Falls, and Alaric, as possible. He opened the door leading out of the hotel room, and jumped back at the sight of an ivory-skinned, black-haired woman. She stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, small smirk plastered on her face.
"Alice." He growled.
Her smirk grew wider. "Good, Niklaus. You remember me." She said before giving him a long, painful aneurysm to drive him back into his room.
Klaus stumbled back into his room, clutching his head. The moment she stopped attacking him, he pinned her against the wall, his hand squeezing her throat.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Now, now Niklaus. Let's not be rash." She drawled out despite his iron grip on her throat. She gave him another aneurysm, making him fall to the ground in pain. "I'm here to talk. You see, there isn't much to do on the other side. When Esther asked for my help, I happily agreed. Anything to get me out of that hell hole." She walked around him in predatory circles.
"What are you doing for her." He whispered gruffly.
"I was given instructions. If she was to be killed, or be rendered incapable of killing her children, I was to finish the job. I'm Plan B. But you see, I don't think your other siblings are as much of a threat right now as you are."
"Kill me, then. KILL ME." He shouted at the lanky woman circling him.
"I will" she smiled "in due time. But I figured to make sure nothing got in my way, I would kill the stupid, insolent girl who woke you up first."
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Klaus yelled, and gathered enough strength to pin the woman to the wall once more.
"What was her name? Caroline?" the woman asked playfully before giving Klaus one final aneurysm and disappearing from the room.
That's chapter one! I have lots planned for this story, so stick with me! I also know there wasn't a whole lot of Klaroline interaction in this chapter, but I promise you, it's coming!
Please please please let me know what you think! REVIEW!
-Amanda
ps. DISCLAIMER: I dont own The Vampire Diaries!