Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was giving me some trouble towards the end. This chapter takes place during the episode "Masquerade" and includes several missing moments. It's mostly Stefan/Caroline, with a bit of Katherine/Caroline towards the end. Please review and let me know what you think. I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this story. But if enough people are interested I'll try. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 7 : Five Seconds

"Stop it."

"I'm not- I'm not doing anything."

"Stop it…"

"Stefan," Caroline fought the smile that was tugging at her lips, something she found she did far too often around him. She had been sharpening a wooden stake, effulging herself in the shadowed corner of the Salvatore living room when she caught sight of Stefan in the large antique mirror. Quickly, she averted her eyes because she was sure that he would easily see the doubt embedded in her pupils.

"Stop doubting yourself Caroline," he ordered her, almost as if he had read her mind. Though she had avoided his gaze, he had still sensed the worry running in tandem with the blood in her veins. Caroline wondered briefly if he could do that with everyone, sense the things they fought to keep hidden. But a part of her knew, she could feel it in her bones when he saw through to her core, and she knew that it wasn't something everyone else felt. He saw her, in a way that nobody else ever had, in a way that he never had. Not with anyone else.

"I just don't want to screw this up for everyone," she admitted, looking up to meet his gaze in the mirror. It was easier to face him this way, indirectly.

"Your relationship with Katherine is what makes this possible. If you weren't playing both sides so perfectly, we would never have the option to set this up," he told her. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"I'm gonna screw this up," she muttered.

"Don't let Damon get in your head," Stefan spoke sternly, recognizing the way that Damon's earlier doubts had affected her. She had responded confidently, but Stefan knew that in these quiet moments, when she was alone, the doubt seeped into her every thought.

"He's not," she replied. "Well, it's not just him at least," she shrugged. Stefan reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder. He gently turned her body to face him and leaned down, bringing his face to the level of her own.

"That voice that tells you that you're going to mess up, don't listen to it. Not if it's Damon, or Katherine, or anyone. You block that voice out, even if it's your own voice," he encouraged. Caroline nodded, swallowing thickly.

"Okay," she finally spoke, still looking less than confident.

"The only voice you need to pay attention to is mine. Because all I'll ever tell you, is that you can do this. You can do this Caroline," he repeated seriously. She nodded again, this time looking more assure.

"I can do this," she echoed.

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She waited.

She stood, she smiled, and she waited. Her hands shook in anticipation. Her throat tightened as she engaged in small talk. And her heart broke as she saw Matt walk away. But she waited.

It wasn't the waiting that bothered her the most. It was the buzzing, constant and painful, always in her head and vibrating through her body. The hunger that buzzed throughout her and reminded her that she wasn't the hero of this story. She was the villain. She could help catch Katherine, she could save million lives, and she would still be the villain. Being a vampire made her wrong, it made her bad. Because she craved blood and death, and to a point, she craved destruction. The guilt she felt for feelings those things didn't make her good. It just made her aware. In the end, she and Katherine were the same. They both craved blood, and more than anything they both craved life.

Caroline concentrated on the waiting, because it was easier than concentrating on the buzzing. Stefan had been right, it did get easier. With practice and time, it had become easier to fight the cravings. But easier wasn't easy, and it never would be. So, Caroline waited. She waited for Jeremy to text her a signal, she waited for her part in this plan to take life, and she waited for the buzzing to stop. It would never stop, she knew it would never stop. But she kept waiting.

"Your turn." The text from Jeremy flashed before her eyes. The buzzing in her veins dulled as she squared her shoulders and prepared for her mission. Caroline knew that she was a lot like Katherine, and she knew that she could never be a hero. But she had to try anyway. Because Caroline was the kind of person who would wait for something that would never come, and try for something that would never happen. She wasn't sure exactly what that meant. But she knew it was one of the things that made her different from Katherine. And that was enough to make it okay.

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"Don't lie to me Caroline, they're up to something. What is it?"

It was in between the first time Katherine slammed her against the wall and the second, that Caroline questioned her part in the plan. For exactly five seconds, Caroline had contemplated turning on her friends in favor of Katherine. She had focused on the feel of Katherine's fingers around her neck. The fire in her eyes. The slithering edge to her voice. She had remembered the way that everyone had left her there in the hospital, oblivious and vulnerable. Mostly she didn't blame them, but there were moments. Moments when Caroline wanted to spit in their faces and tell them they had done this to her. They had left her there alone, and in doing so they had invited Katherine to ruin her.

She liked to justify her contemplation by reminding herself that she was a monster now. She was a villain, just like Katherine. She had been catapulted into this hostile word and she needed to look out for herself. Just like Katherine. She had seen the way that Stefan and Damon had failed before. The way that Katherine had come out on top. If she chose Katherine over her friends, she would really be choosing herself. And there was nothing wrong with that, because she doubted any of them would choose her. Not over each other. They had proven that when they left her in the dark, when they let Katherine do this to her. They wouldn't choose her, so really, it would be okay to choose herself.

These thoughts burned through her brain for exactly five seconds. Then, Katherine turned her around and slammed her against the wall again, and a sick feeling entered her stomach. She felt Katherine push her up the wall and she savored the ache as her punishment. Because she deserved to be punished.

She was a monster, but she was not like Katherine.

One look in the brunette's eyes and Caroline knew that it was the differences that mattered. She remembered the certainty with which Stefan had insisted that she was good, that day in the forest. The faith in his touch, the stillness of his eyes, it nearly lulled her into belief. She held on to that. That feelings of almost being good, that feeling of maybe some day emerging from the black. Almost… someday, when she remembered Stefan's eyes, sure and steady, those words felt like enough.

What made her and Katherine alike couldn't be helped, but what made them different, that was what she needed to cling to. She needed to cling to it for as long as possible, even if it meant not choosing herself. Because it wasn't about who you chose, it was about what you chose. And Caroline chose to try, to try for good or at least for better. To try for almost, and to try for someday.

She didn't hesitate to lead Katherine to the enchanted room. "You can do it," Stefan's voice urged inside of her head. With every step she took, that voice sounded more and more like her own. She grew confident in this plan, and in her decision to play a part in it. She was doing the right thing. And as Katherine walked into their trap, as Stefan appeared with his reassuring form, Caroline knew that she had wasted five seconds.

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"One step forward…"

"Twenty steps back," Caroline finished Stefan's halfhearted words. His distracted gaze caught her own briefly and he flashed her a small smile. In the low light of the parking lot his features were almost soft. But there was a hardness in his eyes that reminded Caroline of his cause, the reason he continued to fight so passionately. Stefan was soft spoken and kind, but he was not soft. The world had hardened him and he now fought to protect others from that same fate.

"Maybe not twenty," he offered weekly.

"You're right, thirty," the blonde folded her arms and dared him to argue otherwise. The worst case scenario was well underway and there was nothing he could say to convince her otherwise.

"Katherine has been taken care of. We don't need to worry about her anymore," he pointed out.

"That would be the one and only step forward Stefan," Caroline huffed in annoyance. This night had gone exactly as planned, except it hadn't. Because as always, Katherine had a plan B, and a plan C, and so on. Even locked away for eternity, she had still won.

"What happened with Tyler, it isn't ideal. But it isn't the end of the world. We still have some time before the next full moon. We can figure something out," Stefan reasoned. The lot was mostly empty now, the majority of guests having been ushered out after everything that had happened with Tyler and Matt. A few people trickled past them, heading to their cars after the eventful evening.

"You can't let Damon kill him. Not like he did with Mason," Caroline rushed, her voice laced with a hint of desperation. She had asked Stefan to meet her in the parking lot so that they could talk, away from the prying ears of Damon and the watchful eye of her mother.

"We'll figure out another way." He assured her.

"Tyler is… he's a jerk. But I've known him forever and he's not a bad person. He's not like Mason," she continued.

"Caroline, hey…" Stefan's voice grounded her with a gentle calm. He stepped forwards and tugged lightly on a lock of her light hair. "We'll figure something out. You and me, we've dealt with werewolves before. We'll do it again. Together," he added.

She nodded shortly. Swallowing her fear and worry, Caroline offered Stefan a genuine smile. "So, I was pretty brilliant tonight if I do say so myself," she joked.

"Oscar worthy," Stefan agreed.

"Did you see her face? It was priceless," she giggled as the two began to walk compatibly.

"We definitely took her by surprise, which isn't an easy thing to do," He laughed.

"And the whole, 'Hello Katherine… Goodbye Katherine' that was completely unplanned. It was a whim, ya know? A whim of spontaneity. And it was clever, wasn't it?" The excited blonde spoke rapidly, her voice lifting and dropping at specific points.

"It was cute," Stefan said, unable to stop the smile from taking over his face. "And clever," he added for good measure. Caroline smiled up at him in response.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we Stefan," She responded, a peaceful expression falling across her face.

"The best," Stefan replied.

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The sun was rising and Caroline found herself fidgeting under the pressure of the time that continued to pass. If she could just freeze things for a moment, just to breath in the stillness, that's all she really wanted. She had decades ahead of her, immortality, but still… time felt binding. She felt it moving around her too quickly, rushing past her. Time was running out.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline let her eyes travel the expanse of the sky. She swallowed the light colors and squared her shoulders. For hours she had sat in stoic silence, internally pushing herself to make a move. Pushing herself to grab a hold of time before it rushed by her.

"Who's there?" Katherine's voice sounded from behind the stone wall that enclosed her in the tomb. Caroline made her way towards the feel of Katherine's presence. Because Katherine was the sort of person who had a palpable presence.

"Who is it," She spit her words like venom. Caroline quickly pulled her hands from the stone. Although she knew that the brunette was securely trapped behind a wall of enchantments, the idea of seeing the image attached to that voice, it was terrifying.

"Hello Katherine," Caroline forced her voice to remain steady.

"You," It hadn't seamed possible, but Katherine's voice dripped with even more distaste than before.

"Yes. Me," Caroline replied. She had always been a fan of the saying, fake it till' you make it. Katherine might still scare her senseless, but she wouldn't let that show. She would act as though the older vampire was nothing, and maybe one day she would really feel that way. Maybe one day, Katherine would stop haunting her dreams and creeping into the shadows of her waking hours.

"Why don't you move that rock so I can look the little bitch who betrayed me in the eye." Katherine snapped.

"Do you remember how shocked you were when I tricked you? All wide eyed and open mouthed? That's how I want to remember you," The blonde smirked at her witty quip. No one else was their to appreciate her hilarity, so she'd enjoy it herself.

"If you think for a second that you've won…" Katherine warned the blond quietly.

"It's not always about winning and losing Katherine dear," Caroline's tone was condescending and reminiscent of Katherine's own voice. "Sometimes it's about how you play the game."

"Oh, really? And you're going to teach me how to play the game?" Katherine questioned her doubtfully.

"No, no, no," Caroline sang. "See, you taught me how to play the game. It took me a while to even realize I was playing a game. But I caught on. And you lost this round, but I have no doubt that you'll be back for more."

"What's your angle?" Katherine finally spoke after a moment of pause.

"I just wanna leave you with something to think about," She replied.

"I'll pencil that in, right between starving to death and banging my head against a wall," Her sarcastic response made Caroline smirk.

"Me and you, we're not so different," Caroline began, ignoring the Katherine's reply. "We're selfish. It's something I used to be ashamed of. Selfish. It's such an ugly word. And thinking I was selfish, it made me feel ugly. But not anymore. I am selfish. And there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with taking care of myself. Self preservation. It's something to be proud of, not something to overcome."

"Baby vamp is catching on," Katherine mused when Caroline paused.

"We're a lot alike Katherine. We look out for ourselves and we survive," Caroline paused and hardened her voice. "But we are not the same. I do what I have to do. You, you do what you want. You take pleasure in other people's pain. You are a monster and you love every second of it. I am selfish. But I'm not heartless. It might not beat inside of my chest like it used to, but it's there. We are not the same Katherine, and I won this round. Because I'm better than you."

Without listening for a response, Caroline rushed out of the tomb. She ran, she ran as fast as she could. Everything rushed past her in a blur and she felt the inside of her chest tighten. After what felt like hours, she finally slowed her run. Pushing her arms out in front of her she stopped herself with the trunk of a tree. Sucking in deep, human, breaths, Caroline let her head rest against the tree. She felt her eyes moisten with tears. She didn't hold them back, she let herself cry. With Katherine locked away, it was as if the whole world had opened up to her. She could live again. The tears of relief flooded her sights and she welcomed them gladly.

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