Hi there! :D

Thank you for reviewing; Poisonivy228, Marina164509, SophieGellett, Clara, Candy Couture, Girl96xoxo, Laoya, Dragonrain618, Zadren and LaLaALa521! Virtual chocolate cake for all of you! :)

So, this has been the week from hell. Aside from lots of drama and chaos at work, my computer decided to quit on me, so it took me even longer to upload this chapter. Anyway, I bought a new computer, and all is well now. xD Thank you for your patience, and enjoy the new chapter.

Have fun, and don't be afraid to let me know what you think. :)

Diabolical Plans

Damon was not at all intimidated by the fit that I was currently throwing. I was glaring daggers at him while shooting insults, and he calmly watched me as he lounged on my bed.

"Are you done?" He asked at a certain point, sounding more indifferent than anything else.

"I mean it, Damon! You can't just barge in here." I sneered, being careful that I wasn't being too loud in case my mom was still awake and listening.

"From the looks of it, I already did." He reminded me. "So, let's move on. The sooner we clear this up, the sooner I'm out of here. It's not like I enjoy being surrounded by so much… yellow. Not to mention so much anger and negative energy."

"Anger and negative energy? Me? Wow, you're one to talk!"

"Don't even go there, let's focus on the issue at hand here." Damon insisted.

"Fine." I growled.

"Fine." He repeated. "So spill."

"What do you want me to say?" I snapped, stalling a bit, hoping to buy some time so I could come up with a logical explanation.

"I want you to tell me what's going on with you and psycho-boy."

"It's obvious, isn't it." I said helplessly while my brain was working overtime to come up with an excuse. Any excuse.

"Wait, don't say one more word, let me guess… That son of a dead reborn witch compelled you." He concluded.

I rolled my eyes. "No Damon, he didn't."

Although pretending that I had been compelled had seemed like a decent story at first, I knew that a lie that big would come out sooner rather than later. Especially when it was a worthless liar like me, telling said lie.

"Then what is it, huh?" He pushed as he got up from the bed, getting impatient. "Is he your new BFF? Does he make an awesome shopping partner? Gay-best-friend maybe?" Damon Salvatore never passed up an opportunity to taunt me about the fact that he saw me as nothing but a brainless blonde girl who liked to shop.

"At least you're not being a jerk." I retorted, unsubtly dodging his question.

"You're not answering me." He was never going to let this go, not in a billion years.

His icy eyes were looking right through me. Just as I was about to give up and surrender, an idea hit me. It was definitely not an award-winning idea, but also not the worst idea ever... It could work… It was all I had. Of course I would have to lie. And it would have to be convincing. I inhaled deeply before looking him straight in the eye. Here goes nothing.

"Alright, if you must know, I'm trying to make the best of a hopeless situation."

Damon narrowed his eyes at me. "I hate to say this but… I'm not keeping up."

"Klaus… He claims to have this thing for me. That night at the Mikaelson ball he told me that he fancies me." I made a face as I quoted him. "Naturally, I don't believe him. I know that it's probably some sort of trick, but that doesn't take away the fact that he's been chasing after me ever since." I provided him with a short summary.

"Okay… So, the scumbag tells you that he is interested in you, you have a death wish, thus you decided to give it a shot?" Damon listed, tone uninterested.

"You really don't get it, do you?" I huffed, feigning frustration. "Think about it, Damon! This might be a way to get to him!"

"Get to him, how?" He urged, raising one of his eyebrows. For the first time he appeared to be paying attention.

"To get inside his head! We let him get to us because he's manipulating us by using our emotions. Both Stefan and you have tried to kill the guy, over and over again, failing every time… Plain violence is not the solution, we know that now. But maybe, if we can find out more about him… About his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities… He only has a small part of humanity left, but what if that's enough to ensure his not so far in the future demise? This is an excellent opportunity for me to get close to him. It might not work, but now that I have a chance to try…"

He merely gaped at me.

"Besides… You must have noticed that things are very quiet around Klaus lately… It seems that he's so busy wooing me that he has considerably less time to slaughter half the town." I added a little smugly, seeing as it was obvious that Damon was impressed.

"So basically you're saying…" Damon paused, examining me closely. "You're saying… That there is some kind of diabolical plan going on, and I'm not in on it?" He pretended to be shocked as he finished his sentence.

I sighed, shaking my head. "No one is in on it. Not Stefan, or Elena, or Bonnie… And I know that it's a long shot. All I'm saying is, while I'm stuck in this position, I might as well try to get something out of it. It's the best plan we've got right now, since the only other way we know how to get to Klaus is his family, and they're all alive and kicking at this moment..."

He frowned, slowly taking everything in.

"I'm not sure where all of this is going, but Klaus has done so much damage already. We have to do something to stop him." I prayed that I wasn't being too overdramatic, but as far as I could tell, Damon was falling for my act.

"You're risking your life to get into that nutcase's head..." He mused.

"I realize that it's a risky operation… But this is my chance to be around him and ask him personal questions without him getting all suspicious."

Damon let out a disbelieving snort. "Don't tell anyone I said this… But that's a pretty useful plan you've got there, Blondie."

"Why, thank you for the almost-compliment." I borrowed some of his sarcasm as I said this.

"I can be polite." He replied, ignoring my tone.

"Whatever you say." I muttered. "By the way, I think that it's your turn to explain some things now."

Damon shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell me why you were following me around. It's not cool to spy on people." I informed him acidly.

His confession consisted of one simple word. "Elena."

"Elena?"

"Yeah, she is worried about you. About all of her friends. She's completely paranoid since Klaus came to town, she barely sleeps at night. So it went something like this; She asked me to keep an eye on everyone, I pretended not to care and went out for a drink, yada yada... That's when I happened to see you with that lunatic…"

"And Mister I-Don't-Care did care enough to go and check it out." I teased, getting back at him.

"Let's just call it sheer curiosity." He brushed it off as he started to make his way to my window.

"Sure, if that makes you happy." I used my sing-song voice.

"Watch it, Blondie." He said mockingly, smoothly opening the window when he reached it.

Luckily, I managed to stop myself from childishly sticking my tongue out at him, for he looked over his shoulder one last time before actually leaving.

"One more thing… Thank you for looking after my little brother." His face was unusually earnest all of the sudden. There was genuine gratitude in his voice. No sarcasm or indifference for once.

"Oh…" I mumbled, too taken aback to hide my astonishment.

"I know that Stefan thinks otherwise, but I do want him to recover. I need him to recover. He's the only family I've got…"

I nodded timidly, letting him know that I understood. Family and friends were important, that was one of the most valuable lessons that I had learned these past couple of months.

"Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this… I'll be watching him, too."

The corners of my mouth lifted up into a tiny smile as I realized that maybe Damon wasn't a lost cause after all. "That's good… Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome, I guess." Serious-Damon shifted back to mocking-Damon in less than a second. "Goodnight… Make sure to lock your window to keep out any hybrid admirers. And keep me posted… If you find out anything about Klaus that we can use, I want to be the first to know. We'll get rid of that sicko eventually." Damon shot me a last smirk, and with that he was gone.

I dutifully closed my window before falling down onto my bed with a groan, hiding my face in my pillow.

Oh my… That had been so close. Too close. I had to be careful. Also, I had to sort out my priorities. It was simply a matter of time before the Salvatores were going to try and go up against Klaus again… Would that really mean that I would have to… Pick a side? A few weeks ago, I would have said something along the lines of; What are we waiting for, let's go kill Klaus, I'll drive! Good riddance, the world doesn't need another serial killer.

But the way things were right now? The mere thought of them killing Klaus was making me sick to my stomach. I shouldn't care. He was a horrible person, and for all I knew he didn't even truly care about me. But he had gotten under my skin, and things were not that black and white anymore.

I slipped my phone out of the pocket of my jeans, for the umpteenth time wondering if I should contact Tyler… I couldn't do it. I threw the phone onto the floor and collapsed on my bed. I was too tired to even care. Despite all my worrying, I drifted off to sleep without any tossing or turning...

-xxx-

The massive wooden table that I was sitting at was all set for a very luxurious dinner. Antique plates, silver cutlery, candlesticks, crystal glasses… I glanced around the classy dining room as I waited for the meal to arrive; The rather old-fashioned yet impressive interior, the burning fireplace, the pricy paintings on the wall... I easily recognized this place. After all, I had been here before. Klaus' mansion.

To my left, a door suddenly opened, startling me. I slowly turned my head, and there stood Klaus himself. He looked divine, attractive as ever. He had chosen a black tuxedo for the occasion, and his hair was the usual golden mess. His sparkling blue eyes were watching me like a hawk as he approached me.

"Good evening, Caroline. Thank you for accepting my invitation. You won't regret coming here, I promise." His voice was sweet like honey.

He walked up to me, and I got up from my chair. He gracefully took one of my hands in his, softly placing a kiss on my knuckles. Nothing out of the ordinary; I could always count on him to use the best of him to try and sweep me off my feet.

"Sit down, sweetheart." He cooed softly.

I complied automatically, as if being compelled, even though I wasn't. For some reason, his hypnotic voice was enough to make me obey.

He sat down as well, taking the seat across from me. As if on cue, a waiter appeared. He was carrying a bottle of wine.

"Sir. Miss." The waiter said blankly, making a small bow towards us before filling both our glasses.

"Thank you, Carlton." Klaus said, dismissing him.

The waiter exited the room, and Klaus raised his glass. "To a lovely evening." He toasted.

I hesitantly picked up my own glass, touching it to his. "To a lovely evening." I agreed.

"I'm honored that you're willing to have dinner with me. You know, with most of my family gone, it gets lonely here sometimes. It's refreshing to have some company for tonight's meal. And if you don't mind me saying; The company is rather charming." He said appreciatively.

His compliments were flattering, and his admiring gaze made my spine tingle. But I had to keep in mind that this man was a killing machine. He didn't care about anyone. His acting skills were superior, but I would be a fool to believe that he was attracted to an eighteen year old newborn vampire like me.

"I can only hope that I didn't make a mistake by coming here tonight." I said, my tone almost warning.

"You can trust me." His lilting voice assured me.

"I can't be sure about that…" I protested halfheartedly.

"Yes, you can." His penetrating eyes were reflecting the light that was spread by the burning candles that were placed in the center of the dining table. "I will earn your trust, in the end."

My throat was abnormally dry, and I took a small sip of the inviting red wine before responding to his statement. "We'll see, in time."

He smiled confidently. "We will indeed."

"So… What are we having for dinner?" I asked lamely, trying to move on to a less heavy subject.

Klaus chuckled. "I'm afraid that it's a surprise. Are you hungry, love?"

"A little." I admitted.

"Not to worry, dinner will be ready soon…" He said. "Carlton!" He added in a louder voice.

Several seconds later the door opened again, and Carlton showed his face. "You called, sir?"

"Yes. The beautiful lady here is famished. Bring in our meal, please." Klaus instructed briskly.

"Certainly, sir."

Again he disappeared, and Klaus grinned at me. "It won't be long now, my love."

He was right. Carlton returned soon enough. He wasn't carrying any bowls or dishes though…

He was dragging along a young girl, a brunette that I had never seen before. From what I could tell, she was about the same age as I was. She wasn't struggling or fighting, and her face was blank, her chocolate eyes empty; Someone had compelled her, no doubt about it. Carlton handed her over to Klaus without a word, and then he left the room again.

"What's going on… What are you doing?" I demanded, wide eyes and shaky voice.

Klaus' look was oblivious, filled with fake innocence. "What does it look like we're doing? We're going to have dinner. That's why you're here, isn't it? To have dinner with me." He was lightly holding the girl's arm, and he pushed her in my direction as if offering me a snack.

"No! You… You can't… You know that I never…" I stuttered. "I assumed that you were talking about a different kind of meal."

He shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "You shouldn't just assume things, Caroline. The same as you shouldn't abandon your true nature. You're a vampire, whether you like it or not. We feed on human blood, love. That's what we do."

"No!" I exclaimed again, getting up from the table. "That's what you do! I don't. You can't change me…"

"Too bad." Klaus said indifferently. "Ah well, you know what that means… More for me."

And with that he pulled the girl back in, lowering his head to plunge his razor sharp teeth into her neck. He moved so fast that I couldn't have stopped him if I'd wanted to. The girl let out a deafening cry. I did the same. I was screaming out my lungs…

"Caroline! Sweety, wake up!" My mom's familiar voice saved me from the horrible nightmare. She was shaking me gently. "It's okay. You're having a bad dream."

I was panting as I sat up in my bed, trying to catch my breath as my mom smoothed out my hair.

"I heard you screaming… That must have been one hell of a nightmare." She concluded.

I slowly breathed in and out, staring at nothing in particular as I gradually calmed down.

"Believe me, mom… This one was as bad as they come…"

So there it was, more proof that I had to stop seeing Klaus. I would never fully trust him. I would never succeed at changing him. I would never be able to forget about his horrible past.

I now knew which side I had to pick if it ever came down to that, and it was not his side…

Thanks for reading! Have a nice Sunday, and see you soon. :)