"I'm walking fast through the traffic lights,
Busy streets and busy lives,
And all we know is touch and go..."
"Kill me," Caroline said with a moan, her eyes staring blankly at some spot on the ceiling. "Just kill me already."
Klaus looked at her lying on the floor of his studio with veiled amusement. "Stop with the dramatics, love. You're starting to sound like Rebekah."
Caroline lifted herself on her right elbow to glare at her tormentor. "Do not compare me to your attention-seeking sister. We are nothing alike," Caroline snapped at him.
Falling back to stare at the ceiling, she added, "And I'd prefer you kill me now and get it over with, than draw it out one miserable day at a time."
It had been three days since she had been cooped up in the mansion with Klaus. Each day she would wake up to find him gorging on his girls. Caroline would grab herself a blood bag from the fridge and force herself to sit and watch him, not letting him have the satisfaction of knowing it bothered her.
Afterward, she'd follow him into his studio where he would continue to paint in violent strokes of red and black on his canvas.
She would watch him go about his task and would inevitably make a remark that would lead to him storming out of the house. He'd be gone for hours at a time, and she would sit and wait for him by the fireplace, drink in hand.
He hadn't compelled her to stay, but she did.
Best not to piss off the evil hybrid, she thought to herself the first night she waited up for him. He'd just come find me and drag me back here, more pissed than before. Not helping in the "Woo Mr. Original Charming" plan.
And each night Klaus would leave her to go run through the woods beside his property, in hopes of ridding his senses of her, before going back to wallow in the light of her aura. It was a vicious cycle of binging and purging.
He would return home to find her waiting for him. He'd join her silently with a drink in hand and stare at her, his thoughts in utter turmoil.
Why did she stay? Is she not afraid of what I could do to her? What secrets is she hiding?
They would sit and watch each other, the only sound being the fire cackling in the background, until Caroline would sigh in defeat and walk back to her room, disappointment evident in her eyes.
Klaus would watch her go, confused. Is she disappointed in me? Or in herself for staying?
He would stay up half the night drawing her visage over and over, with the various emotions he would see flutter through her face throughout the day. The images would haunt him in his dreams.
Staring at her now lying sullenly on the ground while he painted, he mulled over her statement. Not wanting to sound as curious as he was, Klaus asked lightly, "does my company really make you that miserable?"
"Yes!" she instantly replied. Registering the vulnerability in his question a moment too late, Caroline went still. She sat up to face him and hugged her knees to her chest. Don't offend the evil hybrid, Caroline. Get him to like you!
"No… Not miserable… but Klaus… I can't live like this. This isn't me. You said you want to get over me, but how are you going to do that when you're putting us in an alternate reality?" she asked wanting him to understand, desperate to convince him to let her out.
"Let's say you get tired of me and send me back to my life, thinking you're over whatever it is you feel for me. What happens if I go back to my life, back to being the real version of me, not this constricted, agitated version and your feelings come back? Are you going to bring me back? Are we going to keep repeating this cycle?" she asked, her distress growing with each word.
He understood the logic but was reluctant to admit it to her. In all honesty, he was actually very reluctant to let her free. He didn't know how he'd manage not knowing where she was every day. He had grown comfortable in her presence.
Klaus was also unwilling to acknowledge that particular fact. In the thousand years he had spent roaming the Earth he had learned one thing: never be too comfortable with the people around you. Eventually they all leave. Or die. Best not to get too attached, he reminded himself. In the end, we are left utterly alone.
Klaus put down his brush and palette as he turned to address her. He crouched down in front of where she sat on the ground and said, "You overestimate yourself, Caroline. When I decide to let you go it'll be because I never want to see you again."
Tilting his head to look down at the floor between them, he continued in a lower voice, "I am not my sister. I am not desperate for your love or attention." To Caroline, it almost sounded as if he was convincing himself, not her.
He lifted his eyes and studied her face as he chose his next words carefully. "Rebekah thought I was pathetic for being incapable of love. She could be right, but at least I am not weak like her."
His low voice raised chills on her arms. Finding her mouth suddenly dry, Caroline licked her lips and swallowed.
Klaus found himself riveted by this action. His eyes never leaving her lips, he continued, "You potentially have the power to make me weak, Caroline. I cannot allow that. I will kill you before I allow that." Almost as if he couldn't help himself, he reverently ran a finger against her moist lips.
The soft touch was gone as he sped back to his place in front of his canvas. Caroline looked up to find him staring at the paint brush in his hand. She could not control the shaking his words and touch had caused her.
Without looking back at her, he added softly, "don't let it come to that."
This time, it was Caroline who stormed away.
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
After spending all day and night tossing and turning in her bed, Caroline came downstairs the next morning looking far more composed than she felt.
Klaus drank in her image from his spot by the kitchen counter. He had waited all evening for her to come downstairs so he could distract her away from their earlier conversation. Knowing he unsettled her to the point that she couldn't bear to be around him left him feeling restless.
Ever since their first conversation on her birthday, he had amused her and annoyed her with equal measure. She had been wary of him and intrigued by him in turns. He read it all in her face. The only time he had ever scared her was when he felt the suffocating effects of his siblings being daggered and accused her of being the culprit. As angry as he was, he had let her go, not liking the look of fear on her face.
He had seen it again yesterday and had been on edge since. Stop it! He admonished himself. This is what you want! Her fear will keep her from doing anything else that will endear her to you. It will keep her from conspiring against you.
As he went through this internal struggle, Caroline placed the purse she held on the counter and went around him to grab a blood bag from the fridge. Gulping down the blood, she turned to look at Klaus.
"What? No live meat today?" she asked, glancing at the mug in his hand.
"Not in the mood for mouthy women," he replied, staring into his cup of blood.
Tossing the finished blood bag in the trash, Caroline rolled her eyes behind him. "Well, lucky for you, I'm out," she said walking back to pick up her purse.
As she slid her purse over her shoulder, Klaus sped over to grasp her arms. "Where do you think you're going? Did we not discuss this yesterday? You are not going anywhere."
Frustrated beyond belief, she tried to shake her arm free, but his grip remained firm. "Klaus, it's Monday!" At his blank look, she continued, "as in I have school."
"Human restrictions. Need I remind you? You're not human! You can learn more wandering the world than you can in a classroom."
Continuing to struggle against his hold, she countered, "as tempting as that is, let me inform you I didn't want to be a vampire. That's something that happened to me and I've accepted it. But going through the motions of human life? Like going to school and graduating? That's something I want. Don't take that from me."
Klaus contemplated her words. She wanted this. Day by day, with each disappointing evening they spent eyeing each other warily, he had seen her light slowly diminish. But here, today, in his hands the light was fighting its way back.
He loosened his hold and pushed the purse strap more securely over her shoulder. "You will be back. Plot anything against me and I promise you it won't end well."
It hurt her that he still felt the need to compel her to return, but she put it aside in favor of the joy she felt at being let out at all.
She hid her smile as she turned to walk out the door, but Klaus saw the reflection of it in her eyes. He didn't like the pleasure he felt seeing it, so he couldn't resist adding, "I'd steer clear of Tyler, if I were you. The boy seems a bit unstable these days. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."
As if you have no idea why he'd be that way, Caroline thought to herself as she walked to the door.
Before she could reach the handle, the door swung open.
"Well, what have we here?" the intruder remarked. "Big brother is shacking up with a baby vampire."
Wanting to hide the fear of seeing Kol standing 3 feet away from her, Caroline remarked, "Oh, look who it is: The Original douche. I'd stay and chat, but I'd rather drive a stake through my heart."
She moved to walk past him, but Kol was faster. With a vise-like grip on her wrist, he pulled her roughly to him. "Not so fast, darling."
"Kol," Klaus breathed menacingly.
Keeping his hold on Caroline, Kol looked up to see Klaus standing a few feet away, his fury evident in his demeanor.
"Hello, Klaus. Heard you went back to your daggering ways. Came to have a little chat. Didn't expect to see this pretty thing walking out of here."
Kol glanced at her in appreciation. "Not surprised though. You always find a way to get what you want, and we all know how much you've wanted this one. You have quite a way with singling out beauty."
"Let her go," Klaus demanded calmly. He was barely restraining himself from lunging at Kol as he rubbed his face in her hair.
Kol pulled back from Caroline without releasing her. "Come on, brother! We've never had a problem sharing before."
Caroline shivered in disgust at the same time Klaus sped over to physically detach Kol's hand from her arm. She took a step back and watched as Klaus crushed Kol's hand until they all heard multiple bones fracture.
Keeping his grip and glare on Kol, Klaus commanded Caroline. "Leave, Caroline."
Caroline didn't need to be told twice. She sped out the door without another glance.
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
The school was empty when Caroline arrived. Being alone with Klaus the entire weekend made her crave the company of her friends. She opened her locker and was surprised at the relief she felt at finding everything the way she had left it. Klaus has invaded every part of my life. Glad to see some things are still the same.
She pulled her phone out and texted her friends that she's at school and in desperate need of quality friend-time. "So.. get.. your..butts.. over here… now," she muttered as she tapped out the words.
Hitting send and closing her locker, Caroline turned and bumped into a body. "Hello, Caroline," Rebekah said as Caroline gasped in surprise.
"Seriously? You, too? I've had enough of your family to last me a lifetime so if you'd excuse me, I have a life I'd like to get back to for the next few hours," Caroline said as she moved to walk away.
"In a minute," Rebekah said as she grabbed her around the neck from behind.
Caroline fought against Rebekah's headlock but to no avail. "I need you to give Stefan a message for me. Let him know it isn't wise to spurn old lovers. Hell hath no fury and all."
And with that Caroline felt her neck snap.
And then she felt nothing.
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
"What are you doing here, Kol?" Klaus demanded as he released his hold on Kol's now mangled hand.
Kol walked over to the sitting room, where he knew he'd find brandy. He took a swig before turning back to Klaus.
"Relax, brother," Kol said looking down at his rapidly mending hand. "I'm not here to steal your girl. Our little sister actually called me. Said you'd manhandled her. I think it hurt her feelings."
"Then why isn't she here?" Klaus asked, eyeing Kol with suspicion, arms crossed against his chest. "Are you doing her dirty work now?"
Flexing his hand as it finished healing, Kol looked up at Klaus and took another drink from the brandy bottle. "Rebekah is a little preoccupied at the moment. Seems you weren't the only one to betray her. She's out extracting her vengeance as we speak."
Klaus's arms dropped to his side as he realized the implications of Kol's words. "Stefan…" He whispered.
"Yes, your precious little ripper. Seems she quite fancied him, but what's done is done. Rebekah will have her way with him. She has quite the talent for wrapping us men around her finger," Kol smirked.
Klaus felt an overwhelming concern for Caroline, knowing she would have found a way to be around Stefan by now, but didn't want to let Kol know the extent of it.
"I don't care what Rebekah does, but if she gets in the way of my plans I will take care of her myself. A dagger in the heart will be the least of her worries."
Klaus turned to walk out the door, but Kol was there in a flash.
"Where are you going, Niklaus? Let's play a game, shall we?"
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
"Caroline? Caroline. Wake up!"
Caroline felt a hand slip under her sore neck, followed by the warmth of being tucked against a firm chest.
"What…?" she mumbled faintly, trying to open her eyes.
As the strength came back into her body her eyes fluttered open to stare into Stefan's concerned gaze.
"Stefan… what..?"
He lifted his hand to push the hair out of her eyes. "I don't know.. I got your text and came as soon as I could. I'd been worried about you all weekend. Who did this to you?"
Caroline blinked as she remembered. Pulling herself out of the comfort of Stefan's embrace she leaned against the lockers. "Rebekah."
Annoyed now that she remembered, Caroline pouted as she looked back up at Stefan. "You know, I'm getting really tired of your psycho exes killing me to give you messages. The saying is 'don't kill the messenger!'"
Stefan was glad that Caroline had her humor back but was surprised to hear Rebekah was behind this. "Rebekah, did this to you?"
"Yeah, and she wasn't gentle about it either. That wannabe-prom queen is pretty ticked at you right now."
"She has every right to be. I played on her emotions. She was confiding in me about her one epic love. I betrayed her." Stefan stood up to pace up and down the still empty hallway. "She's going to be out for blood."
She opened her mouth to comment, but at the same time she heard someone call out, "Caroline…"
Turning her head to the left she saw Elena standing there looking back and forth between her and Stefan. As Stefan turned around to face Elena, it was as if she wasn't even there anymore. Caroline's heart hurt for her two best friends.
Right when Caroline was about to make excuses to leave the two alone so they could talk, Stefan sped away without another word. Disappointment weighed heavy on both girls, but they put it aside to embrace each other.
Two girls, caught in difficult situations, hugged out their distress at the way their lives were turning out.
Keeping her cheek on Caroline's shoulder, Elena asked, "Klaus took you?"
Caroline sighed and answered, "It's complicated. I can't even say that I know what I'm doing, because I don't. But I don't really have a choice right now."
Her situation wasn't exactly ideal, but after the weekend she had, Klaus and his family problems were the last thing she wanted to talk about. Today was about her real life, not Klaus-land.
Pulling away from Elena, Caroline brought up the one thing she wanted to talk about most but hadn't gotten the opportunity since Elena left for the lake house. "Elena, look, about Stefan.. he's hurting really bad right now…"
Elena stepped back , running her hands though her hair in frustration. "You think I don't know that? I still love him, but I'm just not in love with him right now. Why can't he understand that? And why are you defending him? You're supposed to be my friend!"
Caroline's mouth dropped open. "I love you, Elena. I do. But when I turned into a vampire Stefan was the one to make sure I survived. He helped me more than anyone ever has, more than anyone ever could. If I've made it alive this long it's because of Stefan. He was there for me when I needed help the most. I'm not going to abandon him now. Not when he has no one else.
"And just because you can't feel the way it was between you two, doesn't mean I don't remember. You broke his heart, Elena. I'm just making sure you haven't broken him as well."
Elena's frustration grew and she slammed her hand back against the locker she had been leaning on. "Do you think I don't know that? I'm not out to hurt him, but the heart wants what it wants!"
Caroline shook her head. "No. The sire bond makes you want what you want. That's not your heart Elena. Stefan is your heart."
Her piece said, Caroline walked away feeling her own heart break at the remnants of her old friend inside a hypnotized vampire.
She sat on a bench until she saw Matt and Bonnie pull into the school. She ran and hugged her friends, letting her tears fall at the overwhelming sadness of the past week.
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
"Move out of the way, Kol, or you will be joining our sister in agony," Klaus threatened.
"Don't pick on the baby, big brother. Rebekah can't help it. You have to indulge her in her twisted idea of sport. She finds the Salvatores to be quite amusing," Kol explained.
Klaus glared at Kol blocking his way. Crushing his hand apparently wasn't warning enough to not piss him off.
"Don't make excuses for me, Kol. I can speak for myself, thank you very much."
Both men looked around to find Rebekah seated on the couch. "Hello, Nik."
-THE-VAMPIRE-DIARIES-
Caroline had made it through the day with minimal fuss. She wanted it to feel like a normal day in her not-so-normal life. Matt was at her side all day, but Bonnie alternated between her and Elena when she found out about their altercation earlier. High school drama, supernatural drama… What's the difference?
Walking through the now empty parking lot well after school, Caroline looked up to see Tyler standing in her way. Here was the boy she was dying to see, but the boy was evidently still avoiding her. "Tyler.."
"Caroline. Hear you've moved in with Klaus," Tyler said with disgust.
Caroline furiously shook her head, not wanting him to think badly of her. "No… no, no, no! it's not like that. Tyler, I swear it's still you. I'm doing this for you." She needed him to understand.
"Save it, Care. I'm so done with you and your friends. Rebekah came to see me. Seems we have common enemies."
Caroline's eyes grew wide at this. "Tyler, no! She's dangerous. She's crazy! She snapped my neck this morning!"
Tyler looked her over. "You seem fine, now. Don't worry. It's not you we're after. This is about Klaus and Stefan."
Caroline got a sense of foreboding at his words. "What are you planning, Tyler?"
"It doesn't involve you. I'm just warning you to stay out of our way. I can't guarantee Rebekah's actions if you try to stop us. And as long as she's on my side, I'm not going to stop her."
Caroline's eyes filled up with tears as he walked away. She felt herself begin to crumble when she heard a sound to her right.
"Caroline…"
She turned to see the sad look on Stefan's face. He walked up to her and tucked her in his embrace as she let the tears of her breaking heart fall freely. She was there for him when his relationship fell apart. There was no way he'd abandon her when life dealt her the same blow.
She had no idea how long they stood there with him murmuring soothing words in her ear, but eventually she pulled back saying "it's okay. I'm fine… I'll be okay."
Stefan studied her heartbroken eyes. "I know you will. You're one of the strongest girls I've ever known. Lexi had nothing on you." He gave her the affirmation he knew she needed.
Caroline nodded knowing he was trying to give her strength. Wanting to get her mind off Tyler, she asked, "where were you all day?"
"I went to find something for you," he said pulling something out of the pocket inside his jacket.
"Vervain?" Caroline asked looking at the bundled herbs.
Handing the bunch to her he explained, "yeah. The council burned up the town's supply, so I asked around. There is a farm a few hours away from here. Most of their herbs are failing. I took all they had. It's not much but it's enough to provide you with some form of protection"
Caroline considered this. "I can't drink it… Klaus is suspicious. He might just test my blood to be sure."
Stefan had already thought of this. "No, but you can wear it. Put it in a necklace or something. Just make sure you have it on you at all times. It'll make me feel better knowing that you have even the smallest defense against him."
Looking up at the worry in his eyes, she grabbed his hand and assured him, "don't worry so much about me. Klaus hasn't hurt me, yet."
Letting him go, she took a step back. "He compelled me to return so I have to go back, but take care of yourself, Stefan. I can handle Klaus," she said with more conviction than she felt.
With one last smile filled with false hope, Caroline turned to walk back to Klaus's house.
When she got there, she was surprised to see her car in the driveway. Curious to see what had happened with Kol, and just the tiniest bit afraid, Caroline took a deep breath and opened the front door.
Before she could take a single step inside, she was grabbed roughly and spun around till her back was violently shoved against the foyer wall. With her eyes closed against the pain, she felt her right hand being held against the wall next to her face as her left hand came to rest on the arm of the person squeezing her throat.
Opening her eyes in shock, she gasped at the barely restrained fury in Klaus's eyes.
This chapter just would not end! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)
Many of you had been asking about Caroline interacting with the rest of the gang, and I didn't want to spoil this chapter so I stayed mum. I hope it lived up to your expectations! Unfortunately, Caroline interacting with others usually means less Klaus :/ Next chapter will have more of just the two of them, though :)
As for the spin-off... I will never complain about more Joseph Morgan, but I'll reserve my judgment until I see it.
Now, a bit of bad news... as much as I enjoy posting on Wednesdays as a nice mid-week treat, my semester is starting :( can't guarantee regular updates, but as long as I keep getting review notifications, I won't forget about this story completely!
So please, review! Thank you!
