a/n: this has been half written for a while, and I finally got through this chapter! I have some extra time this weekend. So, maybe you'll get chapter 11, too.

Which storyline do y'all prefer?!

Chapter Ten

It feels like there's oceans
between you and me
once again

I woke up slowly. The sunlight from the window streaming in and yelling at me to open my eyes. I squinted at first, then I let my eyes focus.

My head was pounding. Too much weed. My stomach ached. Too much cheesecake. I turned to Stefan and saw nothing but a wall. Had I passed out of the wrong side of the bed.

No. No. The color of the room was different than mine. The comforter around me was a different color. I shot up and looked to my other side.

Katherine.

I checked myself. I was still clothed. Thank god.

Katherine was semi-clothed. Long t-shirt. No bra or underwear. I licked my dry lips and scanned the room for water. Nothing. I scrunched up my nose and began to move from the bed. We must have passed out while we got high. I closed my eyes trying to remember.

Nothing.

I frowned. I tried again.

A flash. Something. A memory.

Stefan's mouth on mine. A room I didn't recognize. Showering with Stefan. Texting Katherine. I shook my head. Was that a dream?

I snuck out of the room and walked directly into the bathroom and turned the shower on. I let the water warm and walked to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. I dumped the water down my throat and saw Damon's feet sticking out from the couch. I tapped him.

"Huh?" he said, sleep still in his eyes.

"Get in bed with Katherine," I told him and he did as he was told.

I walked to my bedroom and took a peek to see if Stefan was still in there, asleep. I crossed my fingers that he was. No such luck.

"Hey," I said softly, walking in. "I must have passed out."

He was staring at the ceiling. He nodded. "It's okay. You getting in the shower?" he asked, getting up, leaning on his arm. Everything about him screamed that he was uncomfortable. But, he was trying so hard to pretend like he was fine.

"Yeah. Want to join?" I asked and poked his bare chest.

He smirked. "I'm okay," he said. "I'll get in after you."

I nodded and chewed on my lip. "What's going on?" I asked, head tilted.

"Nothing, just tired. You know I don't sleep well when you're not here."

I rubbed my lips together nervously. "I'm going to ask her to leave," I said with conviction. "This is fair to you. This has turned our world upside down."

Stefan shook his head. "She's fine. Seriously."

I sighed. "No. I'm going to. I don't want her here. She can stay with-"

Stefan cut me off, his eyes almost nervous. "No," he said. "You can't. I want her here." He smiled and sat up and tucked my hair behind my ear. "I like having her here. For you. It's good for you."

I laughed a little and started to respond and he shook his head. "You're coming alive with her here. I like it." He was lying. I knew it. But...

Why?

I nodded solemnly. "Okay. Okay. She can stay."

Stefan smiled at me softly. "Now go get in the shower," he said and gave me a kiss on the nose.

I walked in the bathroom and another flash occurred to me. Of me, laying on the floor in a bathroom I didn't recognize. The image shocked me and then suddenly, I was wet. I turned and locked the bathroom door and got in the shower and touched myself for the first time in a long time.

I had to put a rag in my mouth to stop the moans from escaping me. I fingered myself until I came. Thinking of Katherine's naked body and thinking of Stefan riding me. And then, I fingered myself again thinking of just Stefan because I'd felt so guilty about the first time.

I needed help.

When I got out of the shower and left the bathroom I went to the bedroom and found my phone and called Bonnie.

Something weird was going on.

I waited outside for Bonnie to get to my house. I didn't want her to see Damon there. I didn't want her to know he was hooking up with Katherine.

Not that Bonnie and Damon were ever really a thing, but the were definitely an almost to each other quite a few times.

She pulled up and I barely waited for the car to stop before getting in. She laughed as I slid into the car. "Whoa there," she laughed.

I put on my sunglasses and shook my head. "Shit has gotten so weird, Bon," I said softly and pointed ahead. "Drive."

Bonnie was taking me a town over to her favorite psychic. I usually rolled my eyes at all the witchy bullshit that Bonnie and her family was into (mostly her moms side), but I needed some sort of direction.

"So, you've been having dreams, then?" Bonnie asked. "And in the dreams you and Katherine are... what? Together? Again? Or is it of the past"

"We're together. But, like, in the future. I moved to LA with her and we're an item."

Bonnie tilted her head and scrunched up her nose. "Why would you have ever done that?" she said with a scoff.

I rubbed my lips together. "Well, she did ask me to go with her. When she left..."

Bonnie's whole body jerked and her head snapped toward me. "WHAT?!"

I bit my lip. "I never told anyone. I told her no and I just... I never told anyone."

Bonnie looked deflated. "...wow."

I sighed. "Anyway... Katherine has been saying things... things about Stefan and Elena. And she's just..." I can't even bring myself to say it. "She's got my head all messed up. I didn't even start having these dreams until she came back to town," I sighed. "And her and Stefan have some bullshit agreement or something going on."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I don't know how to explain it. It's just... a lot of soft conversations."

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow as she pulled into a parking spot outside the psychics shop. "Sounds like usual Katherine bullshit to me." She paused and pursed her lips. "I wonder, though, what could Kat have on him? He's the golden child of this town. What could Katherine have on him?"

I breathed out a shaky breath. "Just off the top," I murmured. "Maybe he's cheating on me with Elena."

Bonnie scoffed. "Yeah right!" she barked.

"Golden Boy meets Golden Girl and has a Golden affair behind town slut and town jocks back."

Bonnie glared at me. "Could you relax for me please? You're way off base. And if you're emotions are too heightened, it's going to affect your reading."

I rolled my eyes and opened the car door. The humidity swelled around me and a mosquito came up to say hello. I swatted it away as I followed Bonnie into the little shop.

I saw the woman who looked up with a grin. "Oh, hello, Bonnie!" she said and reached out to hug her. "And you must be Caroline!" she said and reached to hug me. I laughed into her embrace. "Finally you come and see me!" She spoke in such a big, happy way. Her voice booming through the tiny shop.

I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't realize you were waiting on me."

The woman chuckled again. "Well, your life has passed so many crossroads without help from anyone, while your sister here asks me what to do with her leftovers."

Bonnie giggled. "Shut up, Dottie! I'm not that bad."

Dottie raised one sharp eyebrow at her. "Yes, you are!"

Bonnie and I shared a look and Bonnie ushered me in the back room. Dottie sat down on her side of the table and closed her eyes for a moment. "Hmm..." she murmured to herself. "What to do..."

"I don't pick the service?"

Dottie shook her head and held up one finger, motioning for me to stay silent. I looked at Bonnie, who just grinned back at me.

"I sense conflict... and..." she paused. "Let me explain how we do things here," she stated. "I ask your spirit guides to tell me what's going on and they communicate with me in pictures. If we do not get enough answers from that, we can move into tarro cards or palm reading." Dottie looked into the distance. "Palm?" Dottie asked aloud. My eyebrows knitted together. "Okay." She looked back to Caroline. "Palm reading first. The spirit guides have instructed me."

This is fucking weird, I thought as I held out my hand to Dottie. Her eyes opened wide instantly. "Ah! There it is," she said. "You've been having visions? Or dreams, maybe? Something feels off?"

I nodded slowly. Dottie pointed to two distinct lines on my palm. "Your timeline split!"

I watched her trace the two paralleling lines. She smiled. "You made a choice that split your timeline and now your spirit guides are allowing you access into the other."

Bonnie laughed loudly. "No. Way."

"If she doesn't believe it, I sure as hell don't!" I barked. Dottie just smiled. "What?!"

"You don't need to believe what I'm saying because you know it to be true. The other timeline, it cannot be tamed. It is forcing it's way into your conscious." The words held so true. Too true. Dottie beamed.

"There was a choice. To stay or to go," she murmured. "You stayed." I nodded. "The other you, she left."

"The other me is a mess. She doesn't know what she wants. She committed to Katherine, but she's sleeping with Stefan."

"Ah!" Dottie chuckled. "You have a lot in common with this other you."

Bonnie tilted her head at me and I looked away.

"The one consistency is apparent and true for both of you," Dottie said, tracing the line again and again. "Hesitation."

I let out a shaky breath. "Neither of you know who to be with. Both of you feel uneasy choosing one or the other." Dottie squinted her eyes at the empty space next to Caroline's head. "Neither of you are your true self. Or at least, it feels that way..." she sighed, then her eyes opened wider. "There's something else at work. Something nefarious at play."

I gulped.

Dottie gasped and dropped my hand. "Bonnie," she asked. "Do you know anyone who would... curse your sister?"

A laugh escaped my lips and Dottie and Bonnie shot me a glare.

"I don't think so."

"Bonnie, someone has opened up this connection with her alternate self," Dottie said softly. "It wasn't her."

"Could it be her alternate self?" Bonnie asked. "Maybe she opened it?"

Dottie shook her head. "She couldn't open it this wide unknowingly." Dottie looked back at me. "You need to stay alert," she told me. "No drugs, or drinking. Nothing out of the ordinary. I might even stay away from sex while we figure this out."

I wanted to roll my eyes and walk out of the room, but the seriousness in her town and the way she was looking at me so intently stopped me.

"Okay," I murmured. "Okay..."

When I walked in the door, I could smell the tequila from the door. I walked passed the kitchen and saw Katherine, Damon, Alaric, Jenna, Matt, Vicki, and Mason all drinking from shot glasses I'd never seen before.

"I didn't realize I was hosting a party," I said in a snarky tone.

Mason walked to me and gave me a sloppy hug. "Oh, stop!" he said with a laugh. "We're just pre-gaming before the bar."

"Sounds fun!" I said and nodded. "I'll leave you to it."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Come on! Join us."

I shook my head and looked at Damon. "Where's your broody brother?"

Damon shrugged and I rolled my eyes and walked toward our bedroom. I walked in and scanned the room quickly for him. When I didn't see him, my eyes knitted together and I flipped my shoes off. I sat on the bed and dialed his number.

Two rings. Voicemail. "This is Stefan, leave me a message."

"Hey, it's me. Um, just looking for you. Our house has turned into a kegger, I guess. And... I miss you." I sighed. "Call me and tell me when you'll be home."

I fell back onto the bed and heard the front door open. "Who in the hell is that?" I wondered and walked out the door to see a literal keg being carried by Tyler Lockwood. "What the-"

And if Tyler was here, that meant...

Right on schedule, Elena walked in the door, taking the stairs two at a time. Elena made a beeline for her sister and they hugged each other tightly. "Great idea! Getting us all together!" she said. "Where's Caroline?" she said looking around the room, when her eyes got to my corner of the room, I waved a hand softly at her.

"Oh my, god! It's been too long!" she beamed and tackled me with a hug. As she pulled away. "Let me look at you. Oh, wow! You're glowing. Marriage suits you." I hate her. I hate her so much. She and I both know I'm 20 pounds overweight and look like total shit.

"And you and Tyler!" I said. "So soon!"

Her smile grew, she pushed the ring toward me. "The ring is just perfect," she said. "It's his moms!"

"Aw," I smiled and pointed back toward my room. "I'm just going to quickly change and call Stef again really quickly."

"No need!" Elena said and flicked her hand. "He's getting the second keg from the car."

"...oh."

"He came to pick us up," Tyler said. "Then we went to the liqour store together. Did he not tell you?"

I took a shaky breath. "I've been out all day." I looked at the door and then pointed back toward my room again. "I'm... I'm going to change." I said, trying to make it seem like I wasn't phased.

"Be quick!" Elena said. "We need to take a shot!"

I smiled and nodded then walked back to my room and shut the door behind me leaning against it.

Okay, what the fuck?!