STAY WITH ME

AN: Hello all! My first multi-chaptered Klaus and Caroline fic! It seems my obsession with them is only growing. This fic is based on the film/book 'If I Stay' and you don't need to watch or read either to understand. All feedback is truly welcomed.

Chapter One: The Accident

Who will bring me flowers when it's over
And who will give me comfort when it's cold?
Who will I belong to when the day just won't give in
And who will tell me how it ends and how it all begins?

"Come on, Caroline, please show me again! One more time." Elena begged, causing Tyler to roll his eyes for the tenth time that evening.

Caroline laughed, sticking her hand out again over the table and splayed out her fingers. In the last few weeks, it had become regular routine around every woman she saw, shamefully so. Elena took her hand and studied the diamond, her gaze like a child caught by a shiny object. "It's so beautiful! And so big..."

"I'm certainly lucky," she agreed, retracting her hand and admiring the gold ring on her finger. The stone caught in the candlelight, casting little sparkles across the white tablecloth. Caroline turned her head to Tyler, who was watching her closely, his focus only upon her. She smiled and he took her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb.

"How does the story go again? I know it was only a few weeks ago, but I want to hear it again." Elena said excitedly. Stefan braced his arm around the back of Elena's chair and took a gulp of his drink as if to say 'here we go again'.

Caroline didn't mind reciting the proposal story over again - after all, Elena was a romantic and she had done the exact same when Stefan proposed to her. Except Caroline's main reason for hearing the story was wanting to hear the relay of the perfect proposal she planned for Stefan. She knew Stefan wouldn't come up with a romantic idea himself, and Elena deserved the best. She and Stefan were her best friends - she would do anything for them.

"Well, we were out for dinner with Tyler's parents, and the whole night, he was all fidgety and angry and I had no idea why. I assumed he was pissed off with his parents for some reason or maybe I hadn't done something right with them."

"Now, I wasn't angry, in my defense." Tyler smiled, taking a sip of his scotch.

"Anyway, we parted ways after an awkwardly long dinner and on the way home, Tyler was silent. He wasn't saying a word, and he was gripping the steering wheel so hard I thought it was going to break or something." Caroline's eyes gleamed as she reminisced a mere month ago. Elena still laughed as if she was hearing the story for the first time.

"I asked him what was wrong, and he said he needed to pull over and check the engine. So he did, and asked me to come out and check something after he popped the bonnet. So I got out-"

"Don't skip the part where you were being difficult saying you didn't want to get out of the car and get your shoes wet." Tyler interjected.

"They were Prada!" She said defensively. "Like I would risk getting them stained." Stefan cocked a brow, suppressing a smile. "Anyway, I braved it and got out of the car, where I saw Tyler down on one knee, with a ring box."

Elena had her lips tight in a smile and hand across her heart, like she was going to explode with emotion. She held Stefan's hand with the other. "So spontaneous."

"Yeah, didn't know you had it in you." Stefan joked.

"He said he didn't want to propose in front of his parents because they were making him too nervous." Caroline remembered and felt a bubble of joy in her chest. He looked down at the table in embarrassment.

"Is anyone up for more wine?" He quickly distracted, summoning the waiter over to his side.

"I really shouldn't, but I guess this is kind of a celebration..." Elena conflicted with herself.

"Come on, Elena, one more glass won't hurt! Two more glasses of champagne, please." Caroline ordered without her friend's permission.

"And another scotch for me," Tyler added on.

As their drinks arrived, the four raised their glasses. "To Tyler and Caroline," Stefan announced to their quaint table. "And wishing them good luck for their future together, our move to Chicago, and many more happy years to come."

XOXOXOX

Tyler paid for the bill - being the son of the retiring mayor definitely had its perks. He stood at the counter while Elena battled him to pay half the bill, so Caroline and Stefan took the opportunity to walk outside to the car. She wanted to clear her mind and have a moment to herself, anyway, and Stefan was never one to make a deal over the bill, or anything really. He just left it to Elena.

Caroline wondered if she was doing the right thing, marrying Tyler and taking him away from the town he was originally supposed to become mayor of. In the beginning, that was all she pictured - growing old in Mystic Falls, Tyler governing the town, raising 2.5 kids. But things had changed. Something had changed. And the small town life she had planned had become too small of a vision.

She had finished college, and going between college and Mystic Falls to see Tyler was tough, but she knew it would get even harder. What was she to do once she finished and got a job? Did she really want to go back to Mystic Falls, a town which never changed once in the two decades she had grown up there?

But alas, everything seemed to fall into place without her worry. Tyler had decided to leave the town as well. "His dream was no longer there, and she was his dream", or something like that which she swore he would have found in a romance film, as he couldn't have come up with it himself. He would find a job with her in Chicago or perhaps start a new degree, maybe teaching, he reasoned. He had opened up his life to many new opportunities and Caroline could not be more happy. Finally, she didn't have to decide between her future and her love. She could have both. She could be happy. Even if she still felt as though there was something... missing.

There was no reason to feel this way. She was happy. She was marrying the love of her life, moving to a new city, and getting a dream job, with her best friends by her side. She was getting everything she dreamed.

"I know that look," Caroline looked up from the pavement to the broad shouldered man next to her as they walked through the car park. "What's up?"

"Oh you know, just thinking. Lots to plan, you know? Wedding venues, moving house, new job..." She rambled on to distract herself.

Stefan stopped walking next to her, watching her intently with his brow furrowed. Caroline stared ahead – she could never lie to Stefan to save her life. She always crumbled under his smolder. He lowered his voice so only she could hear. "You know, Caroline, if you aren't happy... You can tell me." Stefan said quietly to avoid the ears of his wife and best friend's fiancé.

"I'm fine, Stefan. Why wouldn't I be happy? I've gotten everything I ever wanted." She reassured him with a forced smile, unsure of whom she was trying to convince more - him or herself. But she realized that she wasn't lying, not really. At a time, it was everything she ever wanted.

"Okay." He stated simply, dropping the subject and squeezing her arm gently. She was grateful he didn't push it further. It had been such a nice night - she didn't want her thoughts to get her down. She would bury them within again, like she had always done.

She was positive of one thing, however - she did love Tyler, she was positive of that.

Stefan opened the front passenger's door for her and with a smile she hopped into the car. Stefan, her best friend and always the gentleman. She realized she was positive of another thing, actually - that Stefan would always be there for her, regardless of whatever choices she made in her life. The fact that Stefan's new job was also taking him to Chicago made the whole idea of moving there so much easier. What would I do without him? She thought as he slid into the seat behind her.

"After much arguing, I finally got to pay half the bill," Elena announced as she got into the backseat next to Stefan. "I couldn't let Tyler buy the whole thing. But he still shouted the bottle of wine."

"My fiancé, still surprising me," Caroline teased as Tyler got into the front seat. He fumbled with his seatbelt, twisting it around and she frowned nervously. "Hey, are you sure you want to drive? You've had a bit to drink."

"I'm fine, Care," he mumbled, stabbing the key into the ignition.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can drive if you'd like-"

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped, silencing her.

Caroline felt a lump rise in her throat and stared straight ahead, not wanting to look at him. She just wanted to get home now. Trust Tyler to ruin the good atmosphere they had; one of the more positive experiences she had had as of late.

"Okay," Stefan said awkwardly from the back seat in attempt to ease the tension. "It's about time we go, I think. Escape this bad weather.

Tyler revved the engine and the black SUV pulled out of the parking spot it occupied outside the restaurant. Rain pelted the windscreen and she could hear the rumbling of thunder nearby. Caroline chewed her lip nervously - good thing 'home' was only a short drive away.

"How about we listen to the radio?" Elena perked up and Caroline was grateful for her joyful personality and ability to bring her soft voice in the situation and dissipate the tension.

Elena reached over between the front seats and switched on the radio. The newest Nicki Minaj song started blaring through the speakers and Caroline instantly perked up. "I love this song!"

The popping tune offered a stark contrast to the violent slashing of the windscreen wipers as they cleared the heavy rain from the road. The girls hummed along cheerfully for only a short moment before Stefan reached over and smacked the tuner to the next station. "I can tolerate a lot, but there is only so much of Nicki Minaj I can listen to before I put my foot down."

"It was only playing for a minute!" Caroline protested.

"A minute of 'rapping'-" Stefan quoted in the air with his fingers- "and dubstep is more than enough to last me a week."

"Hey, don't diss Nicki!" She said defensively, earning a laugh from Tyler.

"Care, it is pretty bad." He agreed.

Caroline was about to retort when Elena reached over again. "There's bound to be a song we all agree on," she tuned the radio as Caroline huffed in the front seat.

They flicked through a few stations, going through a fair number of poppy tunes and dramatic adverts, till a soft piano melody danced through the speakers and Caroline's ears pricked up at the familiar tune. "The Fray! Okay, who doesn't like the Fray, let's be honest." Elena announced." I vote we should stick with this one."

"Fine by me," Stefan agreed and Tyler turned up the volume so it overtook the pelting noise of the raindrops outside.

Caroline didn't particularly want to listen to the song, but realized that she didn't really have much of a choice. Even so, she didn't exactly hate the song; it just bought back images and conversations she didn't want to think about. And what excuse did she have when only months before she was humming the tune or playing it in the car whenever she got the chance to?

She attempted to block it out, but the sound pulled on her heart and visions of him filled her mind. That night in the dark, illuminated by one light with soft raindrops dancing all around her like a choir. His body close to hers, no one else around, just her and him...

Some things we don't talk about

Rather do without and just hold the smile.

Caroline sighed at the thought, the song enveloping her and bringing back many memories she had buried within. Elena hummed in the backseat and Stefan held her hand, playing with her fingers. He pulled up her hand to his lips and kissed it, and Caroline's heart fluttered at the sight; part of her was proud that she brought them together. They looked like a perfect couple; they were a perfect couple. Tyler was staring ahead, but his jaw wasn't as tightly set as before. He looked more at ease. Maybe, she thought, her life was going to turn out just like she imagined. Everything was going to be alright.

Falling in and out of love

Ashamed and proud of, together all the while.

But she still couldn't get his cerulean blue eyes out of her mind as the lyrics swayed around her head. His offers, his promises, his words all echoed with the beat of the song. She just couldn't shake him, no matter how hard she tried. She settled her head back, looking out the window that was streaked with rain. She closed her eyes.

You can never say never

While we don't know when

But time and time again

Younger now than we were before.

XOXOXOX

The song was over. It was quickly cut short - the sound of twisting metal and shattering glass replacing the nostalgic melody Caroline was reminiscing. The radio wasn't playing any longer. They couldn't argue about what song played next. Instead, Caroline's mind was blank. There was no sound, no touch, no breeze, no sight. Her entire world was engulfed in black.

Caroline vaguely remembered the blinding bright light that shone through her closed lids, opening them slightly just in time to see headlights slam in the driver's side of the vehicle. The mess looked as if there weren't even a car involved, like piles of metal had dropped from the sky. The front of the truck was smashed in, the engine pulled apart and spitting out the sides, but it was nothing compared to the black SUV it had t-boned.

As the car was hit, the side was instantly packed in, flipping the vehicle once, twice, three times. It unravelled to pieces, throwing out bodies as it rolled. There were tyres up the road, shattered glass glimmering in the light of the burning blaze. The blaze was fuelled by the leaking petrol, threatening to expand if it weren't for the pattering rain that fell so much softer than before. It was as though the raindrops slowed down their fall to witness the devastation as it unfolded around them before sizzling upon the scorched asphalt.

The doors were thrown off, two flattened and torn to pieces while the others had flown into the forest on the side of the road. The bucket seats had torn and pieces of rubber made a path from the truck to the car. A few headrests were also missing, probably deep in the forest from impact.

Caroline was unsure as to how long she had been lying there for. She wasn't sure how long it was until another car past, seeing the wreckage and immediately dialling for emergency on their phone. She wasn't sure how long it was till the sirens came, flooding the area with police, ambulances, fire brigades and paramedics.

Caroline's eyes fluttered open, her vision welcomed with the view of the starry night sky. Smoke flew gently into the sky. It looked peaceful.

She clenched each muscle in her body - her shoulders, her fingers, stomach right down to her toes. She felt okay as she craned her neck, preparing herself to stand up. Slowly, she brought herself to her feet, gazing down at herself as she did. She was only lightly dusted with dirt, but other than that, she saw no blood or scratches. She patted down her little blue dress and looked around, focusing on the view that stood before her.

It all came back to memory, the accident; the truck slamming at the cross-section as they drove through - what was it? Wasn't it a green light? She frowned, pain pricking in her temples. She tried to sway her mindset. At least she was okay, Caroline reasoned to herself, so the others wouldn't be too far. Her blue eyes scanned the vicinity, taking in the wreckage and small blaze. She had to find her friends.

She walked forward, unable to feel the glass and rubble below her bare feet. She must have lost her heels in the crash as she flew from the car. She squinted, blue, red and white light reflecting onto the smoky haze and refraining her vision.

The first person she saw was Elena. Caroline could tell by the sight of her long, straight, brown hair fanned around her face. She was a few metres from the car, and upon further inspection, she saw her face, the colour drained and lips already blue. Caroline's gnocchi and wine she enjoyed for dinner threatened to come up as a bout of nausea overtook her. Elena's eyes were frozen open and staring into the sky - the pose made her look angelic, like she had already floated to heaven in her cream dress. It offered a stark contrast with the blood that covered a part of her face, but other than that, she was untouched. Caroline realized that she was in the back behind the driver's seat where she would have taken the majority of the impact.

The driver's seat. Tyler. Where was he? She turned away from the sight, her breathing getting fast. People were in a flurry around her now, paramedics surrounding the area and police were stopping traffic with a barricade, directing them elsewhere. "Excuse me?" She asked one as they ran past, but they didn't even look her way. Perhaps they were too preoccupied trying to help her friends.

She looked around, asking another person. "Please, I need..." She trailed off as more people dressed in orange walked straight past her.

Caroline didn't have time for this - she would look for Stefan and Tyler herself. A group of paramedics stood in a circle about ten metres away, and Caroline quickly rushed over. Was it Tyler, Stefan? Were they alive? She peaked through, catching the sight of dark cropped hair and tanned skin. Tyler! A stretcher was being brought over, and if it wasn't for his dark hair, she would not have recognised him. He was covered in blood, his black shirt ripped open. His shoulder was contorted near his ear at a painful angle and his arm was crushed. He must have experienced a lot of the impact as well. She wondered how they could possibly put him on the stretcher, since his torso looked as though it had been crushed much like the car itself.

She felt her heart clench at the sight, ribs piercing through his skin. Judging by his closed eyes and the couple of paramedics around him, she couldn't tell whether he was alive or not. Ribs puncturing through your skin were an indication of far more damage on the inside than what showed on the outside.

She whirred around. Stefan - she needed to find him. "Someone please help me!" She called out to the dozen or so people around her. Why weren't they listening?! They looked through her as if she was nothing. They were far too focused on her friends. That, she did not mind, but she had to find him.

Caroline studied the scene - ambulance and police lights were her only guidance. But the paramedics were all running towards one certain spot in particular. They pushed past her, and she followed quickly after them, knowing they would be going to help Stefan. She had to see if he was okay. She climbed over the bank, watching them gather around the small body. It was too small, she realized, to be Stefan, her broad-shouldered best friend. She crept closer, and as they all backed away bar for one holding the person's neck, she recognised who it was. It wasn't Stefan.

Their blonde hair was matted with blood upon the dirt, thrown like a rag doll from the car into the forest. Caroline looked at the person's sapphire blue dress that was covered with dirt and blood seeped through the fabric across the abdomen. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked down at her own blue dress, the same but unscathed.

It was her.

Caroline's mouth gaped open as she watched her body get fitted with a neck brace. Her leg was askew in an awkward position and bruises were already clear on her creamy skin. Her ankle was bent and she was missing a shoe. This could not be happening.

"No, no, no, no," she chanted, turning away. "This cannot be real."

Wake up, Caroline. This had to be a dream.

Was she dead? If she was, they would be putting her in a body bag and not on a stretcher. She watched as Elena was zipped up into a large black bag, and Tyler was not in sight. She started breathing erratically. She still couldn't see Stefan.

"Wake up!" She screamed into the chilly air, hands grabbing her hair. "Please wake up!"

She pinched her skin. She looked back up. The wreckage still remained in front of her.

"On the count of three! One, two..."

Caroline whipped around back to her body, where she was being hoisted on the stretcher and into the ambulance. A crowd of a few people had gathered near the police tape - she wanted to yell at them, scream at them to move and not stare as her best friend was zipped into a bag, never to see light again. She felt ill at the thought.

She ran over, her curls bouncing around her face towards the ambulance. She jumped in the back quickly, joining her unconscious form, worried that she might fade away to nothing if she left herself too long. Maybe Tyler and Stefan were already at the hospital.

The doors on the back of the ambulance slammed shut, and they started moving. It wobbled and rushed off, the siren throbbing through Caroline's ears. She watched as the scene became smaller and smaller, before the light of the sirens and flames were no longer visible to her eyes.

XOXOXOX

AN: So there we have it! How did you like it?

I have planned this story out and it is to have about 12 chapters + an epilogue, some a lot longer than others. So it isn't a massive story, but nonetheless, I think I will do the idea justice. It might end up longer if I flesh it out, but we will see! If you have read If I Stay, its quite different here on out.

Let me know what you think!

Follow me on tumblr at AussyAngel or YouTube under AussyAngelx

- Hayley

DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely nothing. It's sad really. The book 'If I Stay' belongs to Gayle Foreman, the song 'Never Say Never' belongs to the Fray and the title is inspired by 'Stay' by Hurts. Characters belong to the Vampire Diaries. Song at the beginning is 'Flowers For A Ghost' by Thriving Ivory.