I do not own Vampire Diaries… wish I did! The title of this chapter is taken from the song of the same name, by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Caroline cringed as Tyler's arm twisted with a sickening crunch, his bones breaking over and over. She couldn't imagine consciously putting yourself through the pain… and he was doing it all for her. Caroline swore to herself that she would forgive Tyler, even though he'd nearly killed her. They owed each other a second chance. If she abandoned him now, what sort of person—or vampire—would she be? She couldn't survive this if she held grudges and kept hate in her heart. Caroline knew that. That was one advantage to being a vampire, the awareness of an unending existence, and that she had to let go of certain emotions. She couldn't hold onto them, they would poison her eternity, just like it had for Katherine and Damon. Even Stefan had been tortured by his history for far too long. She didn't want that reality, not ever. She'd only been able to appreciate the epiphany because she'd been Turned, so in a strange way, she was grateful for it. Klaus had been right: she was no longer bound by common human conventions.

But she was still bound by love.

That was why she left the Tyler's Changing ground, albeit reluctantly, and let him fight for himself, for his freedom, and for her. Underneath the sickness in her stomach at his struggles, it felt good to be protected and fought for. She wasn't some unbreakable creature, even if she was immortal. It was nice to be taken care of… to be someone's first choice.

Caroline realized that although she was no longer human, she'd retained some of her least flattering qualities. She was still insecure and jealous, and bitter at times. But maybe she could learn to embrace them for what they were, and become a better person. She had no doubt that the first step was to help Tyler fight whatever power Klaus had over him. And the second step was to kill Klaus.

Then everything will go back to normal.

"I'm sorry, Tyler." She whispered tearfully, leaving as her father had suggested. She stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air. It was much better than the stagnant air of Tyler's prison, and she could barely make out his screaming. It was still loud in her mind, though.

Blinking away tears, she turned on the engine of her car and drove back into town. Tyler would call her when it was all over, or when he gave up on the whole idea.

She really was afraid that he'd give up on her, too.

She parked in front of the Grill, hoping that Matt or somebody was hanging around there.

How pathetic am I… I run away from Tyler, right into the arms of Matt.

Her car door was opened before she had a chance to reach for the handle, and she looked up… into the face of Klaus, the Hybrid from Hell.

She uttered a cry of surprise, "Klaus—"

He put a warning finger to his lips. "Shhh. Quiet, now, we wouldn't want to make a scene, would we?"

There were humans everywhere, out on a warm Saturday afternoon. And every one of them could have been seconds away from being Klaus-bait.

"If you hurt me, Stefan will—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Drop my family to the bottom of the ocean, and all that jazz. But you see, Caroline, that isn't really possible anymore… seeing as I have the coffins back in my procession."

Caroline's heart sank. "You're lying." She said with uncertainty. The triumph in Klaus's eyes seemed too real.

"I'm afraid not, Sweetheart. Now, will you be kind enough to accompany me on a little adventure today? You can't really say no, because I'll snap your neck."

She wanted to be brave and refuse, even if she did die. But instead she said weakly, "Where are we going?"

"I suppose you could call it… a date." He said. He backed away to leave her room to stand up before him.

"What?" Caroline blanched.

"You heard me, love. I wish to take you on a common date. And you really can't refuse, so I suggest you come along quietly."

Caroline gave a tiny nod, locking her car with shaky fingers, then let Klaus lead her down the street by the arm. She was beyond nervous, but she wouldn't show it. That would be like losing… and she needed the upper hand in the game of her life. The town was cheerful, completely unaware of her plight. Her mouth fell open when she realized where Klaus was taking her. She nearly laughed out loud.

Klaus is taking me to… an ice cream parlor?

Nothing could surprise her, now. He opened the door for her, and then motioned to a table in front of the window. She moved and sat down stiffly, and Klaus went to the cashier. It took all of her willpower not to scream for help or bolt. But then all of the people in the parlor would probably end up vamp food.

Was it just recently that she'd been so ignorant of the real world?

Klaus was buying her ice cream. How surreal was that. He didn't kill anyone, he even smiled, and was utterly charming with that accent of his.

This is sick… She thought.

She continued to sit grimly when Klaus took the seat across from her, placing a bowl in front of her, a pink plastic spoon sticking out.

"You look uncomfortable." He noticed.

Caroline let out a shaky laugh. "What makes you think that? I'm fine."

"I believe that the man is supposed to compliment the woman… you look lovely, as usual, Caroline."

Caroline couldn't help but look herself over, it was an instinct. She was in normal jeans, a floral blouse, and a magenta sweater. Acceptable. Not that she cared what she looked like for Klaus, of course.

"If you'd given me a little forewarning, I could have prepared, and worn something more appropriate. It's really rude, you know."

She wished she hadn't opened her mouth. I mean, who told off an Original?

Klaus ignored that. "Until now, I've placed usefulness above pleasure… but for you, my dear Caroline, I might make an exception."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I've taken a liking to you. And I take care of those whom I like."

"Just like you took care of Elijah?" She said, waiting for him to snap her neck.

"What I did to Elijah was… regretful. But necessary." He said, obviously no wanting to talk about that.

"But I don't get what that has to do with me. What do you want with me?"

"I haven't really decided, yet." Klaus said nonchalantly, though Caroline knew he help her life in his hands. She wanted to call Elena, or Damon, or even Stefan to come save her. But Klaus would see, and kill her on the spot. No matter how harmless he seemed, underneath he was a killer, whose power was as taught as a bow-string.

"Why are you doing this? You should just kill me instead of putting me through the misery of the unknown." Caroline said, her voice raising hysterically.

Klaus reached out and uncurled one of her fists, which was on the table, practically crooning, "Caroline, I won't hurt you."

"But why!" She burst out. He was scaring her much more than he realized, by being kind to her and seemingly showing her mercy. Psychopath, she could understand. Compassion, she could not.

"I don't know. Just be appreciative that you're still alive. And you haven't touched your ice cream."

Caroline took a shaky breath and picked up her spoon, dutifully moving the chocolate mint to her mouth. Somehow, Klaus had known her favorite flavor. She'd finished about half when Klaus stopped her.

"Thank you for indulging me, Caroline. It had been many years since I had done something so human as going to an ice cream shop with a beautiful girl."

"I don't think there's anything human about threatening a girl with death to go on a fake date with her." She retorted.

Klaus chuckled. "Well, you may be right about that. But it was a charming experience, nonetheless. If only you'd carried on more of a conversation, I wouldn't feel like I was monopolizing it."

"Well, what the hell do you want me to say, Klaus? You've attempted to murder most of my friends, you've taken over my town…"

"So tell me about Tyler, then." Klaus said.

Caroline crossed her arms. "There's nothing to talk about… besides, you probably know all the details, since it's all your fault."

"I saved his life, Caroline, yet you hate me for it. I don't understand."

Caroline stared at him in disbelief. He honestly believed that he'd done all his Hybrid friends a favor by turning them into his slaves. He was more delusional than she'd thought.

"Don't tell me you honestly care about them." She said.

"I am not incapable of feeling, Caroline."

"I seriously doubt that."

"You doubt my sincerity? I suppose I've done little to change that opinion. I gather hybrids around me to support me, Caroline, but they still have free will. And they are no longer cursed by their werewolf blood."

"You took Tyler away from me. At least when he was a werewolf, he had control over himself."

"You would have preferred him to be in agony every full moon? You will never understand that pain, Caroline, unless you've been subject to it yourself."

"No," Caroline admitted, "But I don't think what you do is right, either."

"My methods have never been the most humane, I'll admit that. I kill, I maim, I torture. But my goals aren't so horrible, are they? I just want my family to be back together. I want to be entirely immortal. Aren't these exactly what humans crave? I just have the means to achieve them."

"Why do you want to be immortal so badly, Klaus? What's the point in living forever if you have no one to live for?"

"I've always been alone. I don't need to live for another. But it is an interesting notion… perhaps I just haven't found that person yet." He stared at her with intensity.

"Maybe not." She agreed uneasily, picking at her ice cream again.

"You don't hate me as much as you pretend to, you know."

"Yes, I do."

"If that were true, you wouldn't be wearing my bracelet right now." He said with triumph.

Caroline rushed to make up a reasonable excuse. "That's not true! I just… thought it would be wrong to waste such expensive jewelry. It has nothing to do with you."

"Jewelry from a murderer?" Klaus raised an eyebrow. "That ought to be breaking a few moral taboo's, don't you think?"

Caroline hid her hands under the table stubbornly. She wouldn't admit that she was just that desperate for kindness. And she was pathetic enough to have both Tyler's and Klaus's gifts for her.

I really am a terrible person.

"It's alright, love. We all want to take a walk on the dark side sometimes."

"I don't." But Caroline's voice was less sure than ever. If only she were more like Elena, who was so steadfast and sure about herself. She wouldn't be allowing Klaus to play with her like. But Caroline was still weak sometimes, and she knew it.

"You do, you just won't admit it." Klaus said like he was speaking to a child.

"I don't," She said again, "I have Elena and Jeremy and Bonnie, and a bunch of people that I need to protect."

"And who's protecting you, Caroline?" Klaus stood, "This was an enlightening little chat, Caroline. I'm glad we could see eye to eye, if only momentarily. Take good care of that boyfriend of yours… my sire-bond isn't as weak as your Daddy seems to think."

Caroline's mouth fell open in shock. So he'd known that Tyler was trying to break free. Yet he hadn't killed her, or gone after Tyler. She didn't move from her seat when the bell above the door to the parlour rung. She just stared at her half-empty bowl, which was now mostly melted mint chocolate chip.