Caroline saw the dust in the coffin lift like in a gust of wind and slowly manifest itself into a shape which was only becoming clearer and clearer. Now lying dead in the old haunted basement was the empty vessel of Klaus the Hybrid Original, his old body as it was before it burned by Alaric's hand.
Bonnie's nose had started bleeding with the effort of recreating the dust into flesh and Stefan caught her just in time when she finally collapsed from exhaustion. Elena's eyes never left the blood running from Bonnie's nose as she tried to keep calm and control her newly arisen bloodlust. Damon put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she gave him a thankful look.
"It is done." Bonnie declared when she could stand on her own feet again, "I will help you return to your body but I need your blood first."
Caroline turned to her left and looked at Tyler's hard jaw as the gaze of Klaus looked down at his rightful body. He then walked to Bonnie and held out his hand over the bowl before them. Without a word Bonnie cut his hand and a few drops spilled into the mix of unidentified liquids. Klaus didn't even blink. She sought out his gaze when he turned around but he refused to look at her. Instead he went to the body in the coffin and after a few moments in silence besides from Bonnie's magic mumbling something started to happen. Tyler's body stiffened and his mouth opened to reveal a small orb of light which slowly left Tyler and gently flew down into the lifeless Klaus.
Tyler choked and coughed a minute and Caroline rushed to his side. She held him steady when suddenly Klaus' eyes sprang open and he gasped. His first few breaths were hungry but he soon calmed and looked down at his hands. A small smile spread across his lips and he turned to lock eyes with Tyler who looked a bit in shock of what was happening before him. He clung to Caroline for dear life.
"Thank you for the hospitality," Klaus then crawled out of the coffin and straightened his clothes before walking right past Caroline and towards Bonnie and the others.
"So, a deal is a deal," Stefan then said and walked to stand in front of Klaus, "You will leave Mystic Falls and never come back." Stefan's voice was low and steady and the smile that had found his lips was long gone.
"Elijah and Rebekah are waiting for you," Elena informed and the original looked down and nodded.
"Thank you all for your help," He then said and looked around. Still, he didn't lock eyes with Caroline and she felt frustration boiling under her skin. Damon shrugged and smirked.
"No problem."
"I guess I'll see you around sometime." Klaus went to the door.
"Hopefully not." Caroline swallowed and fought the urge to follow the reborn original. She felt a hand in hers and turned to see Tyler smiling at her.
The real Tyler Lockwood.
She felt tears in her eyes as she embraced him, hugged him close to her.
"Welcome back," she exclaimed with a laugh as he lifted her from the ground and a swift motion.
"So glad to be back, you have no idea." He put her down and kissed her with enthusiasm which she retuned gladly.
"Congratulations on being a free man once more," Damon then said and broke the bubble which surrounded Tyler and Caroline. Elena and Bonnie smiled widely at them and Stefan couldn't hide the tug at his lips either. Tyler smiled so much it went from ear to ear and he took Caroline's hand to lead them to the exit as well. Caroline felt warmth spread from her heart and out because being able to kiss the real Tyler again was so much more than she had dared hoping for.
Still…
Still there was something tucking at her heartstrings and tried to make it dance. She was so deeply ashamed of the feelings she knew had grown with Klaus' time in Tyler's body. He had fooled her, made her believe that he was her actual boyfriend. The guilt and shame she felt by this fact had stuck with her until now because Klaus had been a very good actor. Tyler's mind and behaviour had been like an open book that Klaus had unlimited access to and he had taken full advantage of this. Three months had now passed.
They were now outside and the others couldn't be far behind but Tyler chose this time to turn around and kiss her once more. She kissed him with all she had.
"I want you to go to him," he then admitted in a low voice when they broke apart. Caroline looked at him with confused eyes, "What?"
He led her away from the path so that they would have no curious eyes watching them and took her face in his hands.
"I was asleep most of the time, you know." She nodded and he held her cheek tenderly, "but I was also awake some time in between, Caroline, and what I saw, what I felt…" He trailed off a moment and looked down like the words were hard to say.
"He's in love with you." She closed her eyes, trying to keep the truth out. She knew it. She had known since the day he had told her that he wasn't Tyler. The 'Tyler' who had escaped a fake death had changed in so many ways after and she grew to love him for his newfound talk of a bright future and a life everyone would envy. They had all the time in the world, he had promised her. She had noticed this change, she really had, but the Tyler she loved had somehow evolved into someone she felt so deeply for it hurt. She had been broken when she found out that it all was no more than an illusion and a lie.
"But why would you want me to-?" She began but didn't get to finish because Tyler now spoke with a firm voice.
"Do you want to be with me, Caroline? Would I still be your choice?"
"Yes, Tyler, you will always be my choice, you know that." The words felt strange to say but she knew them to be true in her heart. "So I don't understand why-?"
"Because if you two don't have a closure of some kind then I may not be able to keep you as long as I plan to." She felt butterflies in her stomach when he mentioned their future together but somehow she couldn't fully enjoy the scenario that formed in her mind. She knew what kept her back but couldn't make herself say it out loud. So Tyler did it for her.
"I want a life with you Caroline, you know that, and if Klaus was to come between us one day… I couldn't bear it, Care. If you… If you say goodbye to him now, before he leaves, then maybe-"
"Maybe he would let me go."
Tyler nodded and kissed her insistently and they breathed each others air for a heartfelt moment until he let go of her.
"I don't want to hear about what happens tonight, you hear me? What you do will be your choice alone, Care, but no matter what happens…" He smiled at her and her heart broke for him, "I will still love you. I'll wait for you." And then he turned around and left with a blink of an eye.
Caroline was left alone with her thoughts and feelings not exactly getting along in this mess of hearts. She leaned against a tree and tried to force the tears back. Tyler had willingly let her go in hopes that she would return to him. She would. She would never hurt him like that, especially when she had just gotten him back.
Klaus…
Her chest clenched and twisted when she thought of him and how he hadn't looked at her when he had undergone the spell. He had practically thrown his heart at her only days before and she had rejected him. The hurt look in his eyes, Tyler's eyes, would forever be imprinted in her mind but somehow she was still able to see Klaus before her and not Tyler. She had seen Klaus' eyes not Tyler's. She had held Klaus' hand not Tyler's. She had almost kissed Klaus' lips not Tyler's.
She ran through the forest and let the wind dry her eyes as she made her way to the home of the originals. The soon to be abandoned home.
She stood before the impressive building much sooner than she had liked but she swallowed her nervousness, went for the front door and knocked. She heard footsteps and was soon met with the sight of Elijah looking rather surprised to see her at their doorstep.
"Caroline."
"Elijah."
"It is nice to see you even though I would have guessed that it would be longer before we met again." She stood nervously and restless before finally pronouncing what she came here to do.
"I need to speak to Klaus," she told Elijah and bit her lip before asking, "Where can I find him?" Elijah stepped aside so that she could enter the mansion and so she did but never taking her eyes off the original. Elijah met her gaze again after closing the door behind her.
"He is outside," he answered, "in the garden. He's brooding." Caroline ran a hand through her hair in a nervous manner and hated her heart for beating faster after the mentioning of Klaus' name and whereabouts.
"Go join him," Elijah then offered and Caroline bit her lip again, "Let me assure you that you will stay undisturbed." He then pointed her in the direction of the backyard and she soon came to the glass doors which separated her from the original hybrid. She could see him sitting on a bench close to the house with his back turned to her.
She placed her hand on the doorknob, opened the door and went into the fresh night air.
"I'm really not in the mood for company," he shouted but didn't turn around, "Go away."
"You sure? You seem a bit lonely out here." She rapped her arms around herself even though she didn't feel cold. Perhaps it was more a way of protecting herself from the handsome face which turned to her immediately and starred at her. He simply observed her as she moved to his side and simply nodded when she asked if she could sit. He sat with a glass of bourbon in his hand and took a large sip finishing. Then they sat in silence for a moment.
"You know, you really give me false hope by showing up like this," he admitted but still he didn't look at her which somehow put Caroline more at ease. It was easier to speak her mind if she wasn't distracted by his eyes. It was so strange to finally see him in his own body and hear his true voice. It sent a thrill down her spine which she tried her best to ignore.
"I know," she replied, "but I can't let you leave without saying goodbye."
"No one says it will be forever," he offered, "we will probably meet again in a decade or two."
"Klaus…" She started and saw his face turned down as in defeat. Her heart ached for him because she knew how she taunted him with her showing up like this. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and she knew that anger and hurt were just beneath the surface.
"I know you have feelings for me," he declared in a low voice, "the only question is when you will admit it to yourself." It was not the first time he had uttered his assumptions like this and it would probably not be the last either. It was so arrogant of him to just assume he knew everything about her, especially who she had feelings for or not. It irritated her to no end.
"You pretended to be Tyler," she tried to keep her annoyance in check but failed miserably, "Do not confuse feelings showed in love and trust to be pointed at you." This was not how she wanted this conversation to proceed but she couldn't help herself. He had his way of getting under her skin and his betrayal still had a hold on her.
The glass in Klaus' hands seemed dangerously close to breaking as the original tried to keep his calm, "Don't blame this on me, Caroline. You were the one who couldn't tell the difference between your boyfriend and an almost complete stranger." Caroline wouldn't be surprised if there had been visible smoke coming out of her nostrils. She stood up with a blink of an eye and looked down at the most infuriating man she had ever met.
"You think you can just mess with people like you want to? You really thought it was okay to try and get Tyler out of the picture so that you could sweep in and take his place?"
"For your information, little princess, you were not the reason for my sudden arrival in Tyler's body!" Klaus stood up now too and he towered over her in all his intimidating glory.
"Oh, so that is supposed to justify how you still swept in and stole a body so you could just go around and… and-"
"Survive?" He shouted and Caroline clenched her teeth together so she wouldn't simply just snap at him. She looked away and closed her eyes in need of calming herself if this conversation wasn't to end in murder.
"What I can't fathom is why you keep doing this?"
His voice was suddenly very low and Caroline met his eyes. She saw beyond the rage, beyond the disappointment. She had known him for some time now and he had shown her the many layers of his past and mind, so his heart was as good as laid out before her. She was a bit surprised when she was allowed to place her hands on either side of his face. She could end up being a victim to his mood swings but she also knew that he would never hurt her intentionally.
She caught his gaze and waited until his breathing had slowed down a bit before she began. She had never initiated this kind of closeness between them before and it scared her how natural it felt to breathe the same air as him.
"I want you to listen to me for a minute, okay?" Her voice was small and the tears pressed on but she kept her head cool. Klaus swallowed and nodded, looking so intensely at her that the hairs on her arms rose and she shuddered.
"I've made my choice, Klaus. Tyler was always the one and he still is." Klaus' lips went into a thin line and she suspected him of holding back more anger so she quickly continued.
"But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you too." She never thought that a stare could make her feel this way but she remembered this exact gaze in Tyler's eyes dozens of times, when Klaus had laughed with her, talked with her and fought with her.
"I love you, Nik." Now the tears couldn't be stopped and she didn't try to hold them back, "I fell in love with you even though I fought against reason itself and you know what?" Klaus clearly held his breath and right now she forgot all about him ever looking like Tyler. Klaus was now Klaus. The man and soul who only waited for more words to fall from her lips. Words that may or may not put an end to the emptiness he surely felt. She felt it too. Right now he looked nothing like the frightening original vampire who had terrified her friends and hometown. She didn't know how it had happened but it had. She had fallen for the man, the vampire who had pretended to be someone else and only ending up giving her more of himself than anyone could ever hope for.
"It sucks," she whispered and he searched her eyes for answers. "It sucks to know that even though I shouldn't be able to I do love you."
"But," his voice was hoarse as if he hadn't been used and she unconsciously caressed his cheek as he continued, "if this really sucks so much, Caroline, then why do you keep coming back?" Because it felt good. Bittersweet and nothing like she had ever experienced before and it terrified her to no end.
"I can't wash away the blood on your hands, Klaus." She whispered, "I don't think I'll be able to save you."
"I don't need to be saved."
"And that's exactly why I can't choose you, Nik." The tears almost drowned her voice but he heard her. His eyes closed and when he opened them again, they were wet with unshed tears. His shoulders were shaking and Caroline withdrew her hands only for them to be caught in his in a swift motion. His skin was rough but his touch was gentle and she found herself wondering if he was ever as gentle with others as he was with her.
He looked down at their hands as he then said in a still very low voice, "I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you, Caroline." She looked up at him and let herself drown in his handsome features, all softened by the tone in his voice. "I let myself be drawn to your honesty and sincerity and then suddenly you were something I found myself wanting more than anything. I tried to understand you and you know what I found out?" She shook her head.
"You're the one person who could get under my skin and try to understand me too. That's who you are Caroline." She trembled under his intense stare.
"And besides," he then continued and now a small smirk was at its usual place on his lips, "I have been around for a very long time. I know patience better than anyone you'll ever meet."
She knew exactly where he was going with this and she thought of Tyler's words to her earlier tonight.
"Because if you two don't have a closure of some kind then I may not be able to keep you as long as I plan to."
Tyler was right but it wasn't really Klaus who she was worried about. No, Caroline knew that if she didn't get to say goodbye to the original then she wouldn't be able to let him go.
Suddenly she felt his lips against hers and she found herself reacting to it in a heartbeat. His lips were soft and there was no force in them whatsoever. Caroline melted. Then her mouth was left cold when he broke away and looked down at her with so much devotion in his eyes. She hadn't thought it possible for him, not ever. He was someone different around her and it broke her heart. He smiled at her and she gave up. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had. She had to. If not then surely she would break of the unknown, the question of what it could have felt like.
As if he had been expecting it, he lifted her up and swung her around and the happy picture was almost too ironic given that this was supposed to be a goodbye. Tyler was waiting for her and no matter what she still felt his heart tuck at hers and the pure rightness in it.
Caroline was placed back on the ground and she broke away as gently as possible which was hard. After all he was much stronger than her and not very keen on the idea of letting in too much space between them.
"Don't come looking for me," she then whispered and refused to look at him, "I know you will be able to but I don't want to be found. If you really do love me, Nik, then you'll do that for me." She looked at him and caught a glimpse of his disappointment and in a short moment she thought that he was going to argue with her again. That was until he nodded and smiled at her, a smile which looked so very genuine.
"However, you can come and find me anytime you wish to, Love. I won't be far." She smiled back and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, "I know."
Then she turned around and left the mansion without a second glance. She didn't dare. She then thought of Tyler again and she knew that she had made the right choice. Guess she now knew how Elena felt with the two Salvatore brothers. There would always be a right and a wrong. Her heart was calling out for someone else even though it would let her be happy with the one she already had. She wouldn't do anything to hurt Tyler intentionally, his heart just as fragile as hers.
She couldn't help but look back over her shoulder at the mansion which she knew would be empty by the first signs of dawn.
Some kind of closure was all she got tonight.
Guess they still had a final closure in store.