Oh, my Lord. I didn't expect this kind of response to my first fanfic. WHERE HAVE YOU PEOPLE BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favs! I hope you know the kind of pressure this puts on me, though. I'm not very creative. I just have a lot of feels that Julie Plec has trouble satisfying.

"We are alone with our changing minds.

We fall in love till it hurts or bleeds,

or fades in time..."

Forgoing a tour of her glamorous new prison, Klaus showed her to a room in the west wing of his mansion. "You'll be staying in this room until we get this all sorted out," he said from the doorway. Taking in the beautifully decorated room with one sweeping glance, Caroline walked up to open the heavily curtained window. At least the rain had let up. Unlike Klaus's mood, thought Caroline.

"Is this all really necessary?" she asked without turning to face him. "Can't you do your little experiment with me at home? You can come by everyday and see if there's a change in your… disposition," Caroline finished with a lack of a better word.

Klaus sped over to her, turning her to face him. "The only disposition that needs to change is yours, my sweet Caroline. It's you that draws me! This is all your fault! There is something about you that I cannot let go of. You are what's wrong with me." His eyes lifted to follow his fingers as they pushed back a strand of hair from her eyes. "I've lived a thousand years and never have I encountered a being that has a hold on me like you do," he continued softly, his gaze sliding back down to hold hers. "So we're going to fix that. I'm going to make sure that when you're done here there is no longer anything about you that viscerally attracts me."

Caroline tried to keep the fear out of her eyes as she stared into his. Along with the fear, she realized she felt a slight thrill go through her at his words. Here was this big, bad, original hybrid that felt threatened by his feelings for her. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

At the same time, both of their eyes moved to where Klaus was still holding her arm from when he turned her around. As if burned by the contact, Klaus suddenly let go and stalked out of the room. Pausing in the doorway, he stopped to say, "do not defy me in this, Caroline. I will not hesitate to compel you. I want out of this hold you have on me once and for all. The sooner, the better."

As soon as she figured he was far enough down the hallway that he wouldn't hear her, Caroline let out the breath she had been holding. Well, this sucks.

She walked up to the bed that sat on a dais and realized something. She sped back to her doorway and yelled towards where Klaus disappeared, "hey, I need dry clothes to sleep in! I might not be able to catch pneumonia and die but this still feels gross!"

"Bottom drawer of the dresser," came the reply from another corner of the house.

"What the-," Caroline muttered to herself as she approached the dresser that sat across from the bed. He better not expect me to wear Rebekah's clothes. Or worse, his. Opening the bottom drawer she was taken aback to see her pajama bottoms neatly folded along with her tights and various other sweatpants. Pulling her pajamas out she opened the other drawers to find her clothes all arranged the same way she had them at home. Opening the top drawer she was flustered to see even her undergarments had been organized.

Seriously? Along with this thought came another realization: All of Klaus's hybrids were gone and no other vampire had been invited into her home. Klaus had to have gone into her room to get all of her things himself. Oh, my God! Somebody needs to teach this guy some boundaries!

Uncomfortable at the thought of Klaus arranging her bras and underwear, Caroline grabbed her pajamas and a tank top and walked into the attached bathroom. While changing her clothes, Caroline noticed her toothbrush and toothpaste sitting on the shelf next to the sink. She looked over to see her shampoo and razor sitting by the big-enough-to-fit-two tub. Ugh, that's it. Time to give this guy a lesson in personal space!

Intent on giving Klaus a piece of her mind, Caroline finished changing and charged out of her room. She was tying her hair in a ponytail as she neared the top of the stairs, when she heard the sound of the door opening. She quickly stepped back out of sight.

"Ah, Stefan, my favorite ripper! I don't recall you ever knocking before. Pleasant change, but we're amongst friends here. Come for a drink, mate?" Klaus chatted amiably, opening the door for Stefan to enter.

"Cut the act, Klaus. Where's Caroline? What have you done with her?" Stefan asked, entering the house with a simmering anger.

Klaus closed the door, groaning in frustration. "Always with the accusations! Do you really think I'd hurt her just like that, out of the blue? Have I not saved her repeatedly? You know… you have trust issues, Stefan. I suggest you go work on your problems instead of meddling in mine."

"You don't give a crap about my problems! Did you ever think you might be the reason I have trust issues? You took away my memories from the '20s. Then you manipulated me into leaving Mystic Falls with you. You turned me into the ripper I spent decades trying to erase, and then compelled me to turn off my humanity. So excuse me if I continue to accuse you for all the bad that goes down around me." Stefan walked up to Klaus with a menacing scowl. "Now, I'm not leaving until you tell me what you've done with Caroline."

Klaus's mood went grim at Stefan's words. "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy every kill," Klaus replied softly. "I was there with you, remember? Your problem is that you try to suppress your nature so you end up with regrets. But while your lips are on them, drawing out their life source… you're in ecstasy, Stefan. I merely gave you the ability to indulge in your desires. You're the one who reveled in it." Satisfied with the unease on Stefan's face, Klaus steeped away from him and continued, "and as for Caroline, why don't you talk to her yourself, seeing as how you're having trouble trusting me? Caroline, love, you can come out now."

Caroline moved into view to see Klaus and Stefan looking up at her. "Stefan," she whispered. She wanted nothing more than to escape with Stefan but knew it wasn't an option. He walked to the base of the stairs as she descended, stopping on the first step so she'd be at eye level with him.

He grabbed her shoulders and asked, "are you okay? Let's get you home."

"I'm afraid that's not an option, mate," Klaus said from behind him.

Without turning around, Stefan continued to look Caroline in the eyes with concern. "What's he talking about?"

Caroline eyes filled with regret and frustration as she tried to explain. "I-I made a deal with him," she started, not wanting to let him know the real reason. Out of embarrassment? she wondered. "As long as I stay with him he won't hurt Tyler."

At this Stefan let go of Caroline to face Klaus. "Let her go. I'll stay in her place. You and me. We'll leave Mystic Falls and go on living up our brotherhood like we did in the '20s. We'll find the cure faster if we're working together anyways."

Klaus scoffed at his words. "I no longer care for the cure. I don't give a damn what happens with Elena… though I was rooting for you. Pesky thing, that sire bond," Klaus finished with a smirk. "And why would I make more hybrids? So that Tyler can turn them against me as well? I should really just kill Tyler and move on, but Caroline here seems to object to that and my mind objects to upsetting her. So as you see I have enough matters on my plate without adding you on. Now… unless you want your neck snapped, I suggest you go home."

Stefan turned back to look at Caroline with questioning eyes. Caroline knew he didn't want to be alone. He'd been relying on her support for the past few days. He was slowly losing everyone: Elena, his brother, now her. Without her to keep him in check, she wasn't sure he could keep himself from giving into his bloodlust.

Touching his cheek, she gave him the only encouragement she could offer. "It's okay, Stefan. I'll be okay. And so will you."

Stefan's eyes showed his uncertainty. He didn't trust himself to control the ripper side of him.

"Touching," Klaus remarked dryly. "But you really need to get going, mate."

Caroline looked past Stefan to glare at him. Seriously? He claimed to have such a strong bond with Stefan. Couldn't he see Stefan was hurting? So much for the brotherhood of the travelling rippers. She decided it was a good time as any to test the control she had over him.

Looking back at Stefan she said, "Go home. Fill Bonnie in on my… situation. She'll get word to Elena. Tell them not to worry. It'll all work out soon." Now or never. "When the craving gets bad and you feel like you're slipping or about to lose control, you come straight here to me. I'm still your friend and I'm still here for you. Isn't that right Klaus?" Caroline asked glancing up at Klaus.

"Absolutely not," Klaus replied without a hint of regret. "I'm not housing an addict recovery program. Find another sponsor."

Caroline gave Klaus a pointed look and stared him down. Please, let this work!

Klaus stared back unrelentingly. Caroline was about to give up when he sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Come back when the ripper wants to come out and play," Klaus said. Rolling his eyes he muttered, "he's much more entertaining, anyways."

Yes! Caroline looked back at Stefan. "Go. I'll be here."

And so with Klaus holding open the door, Stefan walked away with one final look at salvation over his shoulder. Klaus firmly shut the door in his face and turned back to face Caroline who stared back at him, arms folded across her chest, and a mutinous expression clear on face. "Pleased?" she asked.

"Pleased?! Not in the slightest. Tell me, love, is every man in town in love with you?" He asked walking over to his whiskey bottle on the fireplace.

Caroline looked at him bemused. "At the moment nobody is in love with me. Not even my boyfriend. You made sure of that, remember?"

"Stefan sure seems to fancy you," he remarked, pouring himself a drink.

"Stefan is hurting. He feels lonely." Grabbing the bottle without waiting for him to offer it, she continued, "only instead of drowning his sorrows in alcohol like the rest of us, Stefan likes to drown himself in blood."

Watching her take a drink straight from the bottle, he asked, "Is it preposterous to believe he'd start to admire the woman who supported him through his darkest time?"

Caroline pulled the bottle the bottle from her mouth with a resounding pop and looked at Klaus like he had completely lost it. "Please! Stefan is so hung up on Elena. The stupid sire bond is getting in the way of their epic love. Besides," she replied plopping herself down in the armchair by the fireplace as he perched on the arm of the couch to face her, "I remind him of his friend Lexi, whom Damon killed by the way. So if anything, he feels like a brother would towards me."

"So you don't think Damon can be right for Elena?"

"The only one right for Damon is himself. Or Katherine. God knows, they both share sociopathic tendencies. They were practically made for each other." She considered the thought for a second. "In which case, I guess it's better that they're not together. With them together the whole world would go to hell and you'd have nothing to do with it," she said lifting her bottle to salute him.

Klaus smiled, finding himself enjoying this side of Caroline. She always opened up to him when they were discussing her friends instead of each other. He admired her concern over them.

Loyalty! That is what's missing in this generation! Though Caroline seems to have it in spades… Klaus pulled himself from these thoughts. That was just the kind of feeling he wanted to prevent when he thought about Caroline.

"Why are we sitting here discussing the pros and cons of Team Stelena vs Team Delena, anyway?" she wondered aloud to him, amused at the turn their conversation had taken.

Time to put an end to this, he thought. "You're right," he said taking the bottle from her. "You should be getting to bed. Now," he added when she didn't move and only stared up at him in confusion.

"Fine. Whatever. Your company isn't exactly ideal, regardless of what you seem to think," she said getting up and turning away from him to walk back to the stairs.

Before she could get past him, however, he grabbed her hand, stopping her to say, "you didn't seem to mind it a few minutes ago, love. Don't be mad I'm sending you to your bed before you're done having your way with me. Bitter doesn't suit you."

Knowing he was just trying to get a rise out of her, Caroline pulled her hand away. "Don't flatter yourself." With a look that clearly displayed her disgust towards him, she continued on towards the stairs.

Behind her, Klaus added, "and don't wander around alone at night. You never know what kind of monster might be lurking in the shadows just waiting for you…"

-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-

Later that night, as she was lying in bed trying her hardest to fall asleep, she went over the conversation she overheard between Klaus and Stefan. Something seemed to bother her, but she couldn't place what it was.

And then it clicked.

"And why would I make more hybrids? So that Tyler can turn them against me as well? I should really just kill Tyler and move on, but Caroline here seems to object to that and my mind objects to upsetting her. So as you see I have enough matters on my plate…"

Caroline abruptly sat up in bed with the covers around her. The only thing keeping Klaus from killing Tyler was her. As soon as he was over his fixation with her, Klaus wouldn't hesitate to kill Tyler. He'd be able to walk away without regrets. That's why he was so intent on removing his weakness for her! He didn't give up on his plans for finding the cure for Elena. He just put it on pause until he was sure he wouldn't regret losing all hopes of any type of relationship with her forever…

Up until this moment Caroline had every intention of putting on an act that would repulse him from ever having any emotion towards her whatsoever.

Change of game plan.

Caroline now had to make sure that she kept this hold on him so he'd never risk upsetting her. But he said he'd kill her... Would he? Only one way to find out, I guess...

The cheerleader vampire had to find a way to make the original hybrid fall in love.

She fell back onto her pillows with a groan of resignation.

Ugh, crap! Seriously?!

I am a craptastic writer, but reviews bring motivation. Please and thank you!