My fourth one-shot...Kind of proud of this one. It's set in the TVD universe around the time of the cure. They haven't woken Silas yet or found it.

This song is inspired by It's On You by Cailee Rae. (I listened to the acoustic version for this piece)

[DISCLAIMER: I do not own TVD and all song credits go to the artist]


Caroline's heart broke as he stared at her, giving her a look she had become all too familiar with. She stood her ground, staring straight back into his stormy eyes silently willing herself to keep her control. He did not deserve this, that much she knew, but she couldn't give him what he wanted. And she really did not want to have to scream at him to stop making her feel this way. The blonde did not want to start a fight with him. Not today. Not after this.

"Why, Caroline?" Klaus' voice broke the silence, a pained expression over his face. That was why she hated when he looked at her like that. Like she had hurt him.

"You wouldn't get it," she sighed at him, all the fight within her leaving her body as she did so. The truth was that Caroline herself did not know. She didn't understand why Elena would do this. But she didn't Klaus to know that the blonde had misplaced her faith in one of her oldest friends by trusting her. Klaus would never let it go.

It was the same situation as always the only thing changing was the plan. Caroline never wanted to go through with it but her friends asked her to. Told her they needed her. After all, wasn't that exactly what the baby vampire wanted? To be needed? Caroline was not so sure this was the type of thing she meant. Elena had come to her home, asked the sheriff if she would tell Caroline that they needed her help. Elizabeth had said that it was ultimately her daughter's choice but the blonde knew when she heard the words "they're your friends", she would aid them in any way she could. Because they were her friends.

Caroline's part was simple. Distract Klaus. They were going to try and find something that belonged to a powerful witch. Something about the cure they said when they were explaining the plan, each one of them conscious that Caroline was not paying attention to what they were saying.

What they failed to understand was that Caroline didn't want to distract him anymore. The blonde vampire knew what it was like to be around someone who didn't really want you there, how it felt to be used and to be painfully aware that they weren't really there for her. Of course, Elena would never understand. Bonnie simply shrugged it off and Damon glared at her till she agreed.

"Try me," he demanded. The hybrid schooled his features, refusing to show her any emotion and her heart broke once more as she saw him putting his wall back up. Klaus clenched his jaw in frustration keeping his distance from Caroline in case he lashed out.

She shook her head at him, finally lowering her eyes from his burning gaze. "I didn't know, Klaus," Caroline whispered into the night air hoping that he actually believed her. The baby vampire would not hold it against him if he didn't- she never really gave him any reason to.

"You expect me to believe that, sweetheart?" His tone was dripping with condescension as he spoke. The Original laughed humorlessly at her and Caroline hated how small he made her feel.

Klaus had felt disappointed, hurt, even betrayed but he was never like this. Not with her. He growled inwardly, his wolf angry that she had made a fool out of him yet again. The baby vampire was not sure where that placed her. If this was the final straw and he would finally give up on her. Go as far as to hate her, even.

Caroline, however, did not know the plan and as it turns out, Elena had wanted to end Klaus. Along with Damon. They told the others a false plan, that they needed something that was hidden in the Mikaelson home but they would never be able to reach it since Klaus was always home. The doppelganger had pleaded with Bonnie to help her and how she couldn't be a vampire. As a servant of nature, Bonnie was obliged to help her friend reverse the vampirism that had been forced upon her. If there was any way of doing this, the witch knew she had to take a chance.

Damon pulled Elena out of the room and, making sure no one could hear, he turned to the doppelganger. His eyes shone with mirth and his smirk widened as he caught a familiar glint in Elena's eye. "Do you think they bought it?"

"Of course, they did!" She looked at him incredulously. They would believe anything that she told them, do anything if it was what Elena wanted. "Soon, we'll have Klaus gone and he won't force me to become a blood bank anymore," Elena grinned up at him.

The older Salvatore took her hands into his and held them to his chest. "You really wanna do this?"

"If I ever become human again I'll never live a normal life. Not if Klaus is still around," the doppelganger concluded.

An idea came to Damon and he smirked once again at the woman he loved. "You know what we need, right? Or should I say who?"

"Caroline!" Damon shushed her pointing towards the ground floor where Bonnie and Stefan still resided. "I know just how to get her to do what we want."

"You believe what you want, Klaus," she spat at him. It was easier to be angry at him- to hate him- when he was lashing out at her. "I don't really care anymore," Caroline muttered as she made her way away from the Lockwood cellar.

He could not let her go after what had just transpired. Klaus gripped her wrist and turned her so she was facing him, anger rolling off of him in waves. "You pretended to be dying, Caroline! And you expect me to simply leave it at that?!"

"If you remember correctly, Klaus, I was! I nearly died tonight!" The blonde screamed at him. Tears rolled down her face but Klaus denied to let himself be swayed by them.

"We'll tell Caroline to distract him at the Grill," Elena conspired.

Damon rolled his eyes, "How original! Klaus will see that coming from a mile away."

The brunette vampire glared at him before carrying on with the rest of their plan. "Klaus won't be there."

The elder Salvatore's brows furrowed as he mulled over her words. Nope. Did not make any sense. "Not following."

"We really need Klaus to be distracted, to have his guard down. That's where Caroline comes in. She'll leave after we tell her the plan's off because of- we'll make something up- and then she'll leave. But we'll catch her, stake her and then tell Klaus she's dying leaving her in the Lockwood cellar for him to find. He'll be preoccupied with trying to save her that he won't even realise that something is off."

"Well, well, well, who would have thought sweet Elena Gilbert would come up with such a diabolical plan?" The raven-haired vampire grinned at her, kissing her passionately. "You are absolutely perfect."

"Hey! We need to get her to agree with the 'plan' first," she said making air quotes around the world plan.

"She will, Elena. Blondie would die for you," he chuckled.

Caroline leaned against a tree trying to catch her breath. "I nearly died tonight," she repeated, whispering into the harsh cold wind.

Klaus willed himself to stay put. That she didn't deserve his comfort, something he did not hand out to anyone but something about the way the blonde stood alone in the dark pulled at his very dead heart. He mulled over the night's events and tried to calm himself down after everything that had happened. Damon and Elena had fled Mystic Falls after their almost-death at the hands of the hybrid. He should have known something was up when he had gotten a text telling him that Caroline was out there, most likely dead, in the woods. All rationality had left his mind at that point as he raced to find her. When Klaus found her his heart thumped wildly at the sight of her pale and bloody on the floor of the cellar.

The Original could still remember the stake embedded in her abdomen and stared at the spot which had probably healed by now but the torn fabric was evidence of what the couple had almost taken from him. He was so sure, once the first blow hit, that Caroline had always meant for this to happen. Her betrayal hurt him more than any of the injuries he had sustained from fighting with the younger vampires. Using that hurt, he projected it all into his fight and when he was close to finally killing Damon, Stefan had appeared and flashed away with his brother, Elena following shortly after.

"How could they do this to me? Try and kill me? Use me as bait? My own best friend," Caroline exhaled deeply before she slumped down unceremoniously onto the hard earth.

He knew then that Caroline was telling the truth. He could see the betrayal in her eyes and Klaus couldn't help but think that this would be the first of many. It was why he refused to trust anyone outside of his family, why he was so cautious in everything he did.

"Caroline, why do you do this to yourself?" Klaus asked her gently. "El- your friends, they don't deserve your loyalty. Almost killing you in their foolish attempt to rid the world of my existence."

The blonde looked up at him and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Klaus' heart constricted seeing her in such a state but he kept his distance and instead sat across from her.

"You don't think I know that?" Caroline picked at the grass finding it particularly fascinating. "I never even wanted to go through with the plan to distract you in the first place. Told them that I was through with it." She looked up at Klaus before saying her next words, her eyes shining with honesty, "I meant it too, you know."

"Why, Caroline?"

"This wasn't the plan. They weren't even supposed to come after you. Believe me, Klaus, I would not have agreed if I thought they would. Elena told me that she needed something from your home, that I simply needed to keep you occupied at the Grill. I waited there for you but you never showed and I got a text saying the plan was off. That's when they got me," Caroline spoke quietly not quite wanting to acknowledge what she was going to say next. "And they staked me. Then they left me in the woods for you to find like it was a freaking game of cat and mouse."

"Caroline-"

"No, Klaus, you need to hear this, I don't like you." Klaus' face fell at her words before his face returned to its passive nature. "I don't like you, or what you do, what you've done or who you are. I don't like Niklaus Mikaelson, The Original Hybrid."

"Okay, sweetheart, I think I get the picture," he growled.

"No, you don't because I do like you. The real you, I suppose. The side that I see sometimes and I find myself wanting to know more about him. And I didn't want to hurt him. So I refused to. But my friends, they needed me, and all I want is to be needed. To have a purpose. I didn't want to let anyone down."

The Hybrid knew that his resolve was slowly crumbling. Klaus could feel himself forgiving her and he was terrified that she had the ability to do this to him.

"This town, it's not good for you, love," Klaus gave her a gentle smile. "You need to leave it behind. Start living your life as a vampire."

"I've tried. Every time I even get close, someone dies or someone needs my help and I find myself staying," Caroline told him earnestly. "Even if it's gonna get me killed," her voice low as she added the last sentence.

The Forbes' name was a legacy in itself in the small town. As a human, she never really saw herself leaving Mystic Falls, most likely choosing to live in the town well into her old age. But as a vampire, Caroline couldn't help but think that she had the world at the tips of her fingers never being able to reach out and take it. Maybe she never would.

Klaus decided to change the subject, questions brewing in his mind. "So you had no idea that the doppelganger and her pathetic vampire boyfriend were plotting my demise?"

"No, not really. But its understandable. She probably thought you were going to use her to make more hybrids," Caroline scolded him.

And there it was. The cold remarks and hostility that had been missing during their conversation. Klaus rolled his eyes at her but he smiled a little despite the hurtful words. "I don't think I'll be in a rush to be making any more hybrids, love."

"Really? Why not? What happened to 'building the perfect hybrid army'?" She scoffed at him but Caroline was genuinely curious. "I mean, they're sired to you. Don't you love that?"

Klaus chuckled lowly choosing not to take offence at her words. "Well, the last lot did try to kill me. But there was a plus in having them sired to me."

"Yes, I forgot you like to control your minions. Oh, and let's not forget your family. Carting them around in coffins is seriously problematic," she said knowing that her jab would cut deep.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, sweetheart," Klaus' eyes hardened at the mention of his family.

"Tough. You're going to get it. I know that Mikael was a dick or whatever and you feel like your family secretly hate you but you have to stop being so paranoid. Rebekah adores you, Elijah loves you and I bet Kol even likes spending time with you. Of course, they're going to resent you after you lock them up so they don't run off and be happy. Would it kill you to let them have their own lives?"

"It's been fun, love, but I think it's time we go our separate ways. Goodnight," Klaus nodded his head in her direction before getting off the ground.

Caroline was the one to hold him back this time. "Oh no. I wasn't finished. I know you're scared of being alone, Klaus. I am too. Everyone is really. But they don't deserve to live their life on the edge, scared that if they make the slightest mistake they'd end up spending a century in a box."

"Don't pretend to know me, Caroline. You know nothing," he lashed out at her.

The baby vampire simply rolled her eyes at his antics. "You know what? I do. I get it! Your parents were psychopaths and you don't believe in love. That anyone could love you! But no one can fix what you've been through. It's been a thousand years, move on! How long is it going to take you to realise that?! God, I don't even know why I'm trying with you." Caroline ran her fingers through her hair in frustration at him.

"What about you, love? You complain about this dreadful town but it's useless. You're putting yourself at risk for people who don't even value your life! When are you going to see that you can sample all the world has to offer? You can take control of your life but you're too scared to leave," he taunted her. Klaus could not handle being the only one with their faults being picked out. He needed her to feel as he did. Klaus lowered his tone before addressing her again, "Trust me, Caroline, it's a lot safer out there than it is here."

"Sorry that I want to keep my friends safe!" She screamed back at him but Klaus would never understand. "I grew up with these people, okay. You wouldn't understand."

The Original stared at her head on wanting her to finish what she was saying. Klaus raised a single brow in her direction daring her to carry on.

"You care about your siblings, I know you do. It's why you cart them around. But you don't care enough to let them go off on their own. You're selfish, Klaus."

"And you're too selfless!" Klaus retorted harshly. "Maybe, Caroline, you should try being selfish for once. It might even save your life," Klaus softly responded.

"There he is. The you that I actually like. You wear this mask, hiding who you are but I see through it, Klaus. I see you," Caroline smiled kindly at him.

Klaus walked over to her and placed his hand on her arm tenderly. "Caroline, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You keep making excuses and I know it's hard but leaving this cursed town is your choice. Whether you leave or stay, it's on you."

The blonde sighed as she gazed into his eyes. "I hate Mystic Falls and this town is probably going to kill me but I can't get out. I'm stuck here."

"No, you're not. I'm taking you away from here." His eyes shone with certainty and Caroline's own blue eyes widened at his proposition.

"What? Klaus, we can't, you don't mean that" she stammered. The baby vampire could not wrap her head around the idea. Leaving Mystic Falls? With Klaus freaking Mikaelson? She must be out of her mind because she was actually considering it.

"Did I, or did I not, offer to show you the world?" Klaus smirked at the blush that had flooded her cheeks.

Caroline thought back to the memory and couldn't help the smile that graced her features. "Yeah but, you didn't really mean that. It was a joke."

"Caroline, I rarely jest. I was being completely honest, I'll take you anywhere." Klaus noted her contemplative look, "Everywhere?"

She giggled at him, "Oh, wow. I-I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, love. I'll protect you from the big, bad, world and show you everything it has to offer," he searched her eyes for the answer when she refused to give him one. "I nearly lost you tonight, Caroline. I don't want to be too late next time," he cupped her face and Caroline was taken aback by the raw emotion she saw in his eyes. "I would never forgive myself if I did."

"You'll probably get sick of me after a while. And I like to be organised, itineraries and everything. Also, I need to-" she stopped her sentence, completely forgetting the point she was making once she gazed back into his dark blue eyes.

"I take that's a yes then?" Klaus huskily asked her. Caroline simply nodded at him, lost for words as she realised the closeness of his proximity. "Well, we have a plane to book."

"Uh huh," was the only response the blonde could provide him with.

Klaus licked his lips before leaning down, joining his mouth to Caroline's. At the sudden contact, the blonde tensed but relaxed after a split second finding herself giving into him; into herself. She found herself melting into the embrace and couldn't help but think this what had been missing in her life for so long. The kiss was over way too quick eliciting a groan from Caroline once he pulled away causing the hybrid to chuckle down at her.

"One thing before we go, love." The baby vampire looked up at him expectantly and was surprised when she saw the seriousness on his face. "I want you to know that I will never tire of you, Caroline Forbes. It would be impossible for me to get annoyed at you being you."

"You promise?" Caroline did not want to put her heart on the line and get it crushed yet again. Not by Klaus anyway. He was more important to her than that. She needed him to know how hard it was for her to give into him just as hard as it was for him to admit that he cared about her.

"I promise. I won't hurt you, Caroline."

"Good." The Hybrid grinned at her fierce nature and he led her out of the woods, her hand tucked into the crook of his shoulder. She leaned her head on his arm as they silently made their way back to civilisation, "I won't hurt you either, Klaus," she whispered her vow knowing that he could hear her.

Klaus gave Caroline time to pack and soon enough they were on their way out of town.

The baby vampire smiled sadly at the 'You Are Now Leaving Mystic Falls' sign and took Klaus' hand in hers staring at the road ahead, never once looking back.


Both of them kept their promises. Klaus kept her safe, showed her all that the world had to offer her and grew fonder of her every day as did Caroline. And they never did hurt each other. Even centuries after they had left their hometown.

They still bickered and kept up their playful banter. The only difference between then and now was that their feelings for each other had deepened over the duration they had spent with each other, falling in love with the world as well as each other.

Oh, and that the fact that Caroline had long since ditched her maiden name and was now going by the name Caroline Mikaelson.


Okay, I don't know about you guys but I loved this one! Tell me what you think and I will start uploading the prompt drabbles/one-shots pretty soon. Thanks for reading! Till next time...