Hey guys! I really want to thank ya'll for reading and reviewing. I mean, it's amazing the amount of support I get for this fic and I really appreciate it. I look forward to hearing from you every time I post. But anyway, onto the fic. I'm struggling with making Vivian become completely on the Originals' side so please bear with me. Eventually, she will get there… particularly with some of the events in season four (coughJeremyandKolcough). So as usual, I own nothing but Vivian!

When I woke up, I almost jumped out of my skin. The grogginess of sleep confused me as to where I was and it took me a minute to relax again. My eyelids felt like they were wired shut and I figured that was a sign to stay asleep. I turned a little and realized that my arms were holding something. I opened one eye, almost angry at myself because why on Earth did it matter? Sleep was more important. But when I realized what it was, I officially woke up.

It all flooded back to me. I had fallen asleep holding Klaus's hand. When I woke up, I had moved to clutching his arm. God, this was so embarrassing. Raising my head off the pillow, I realized Klaus was asleep too. If I moved too much, would he wake up? What was the worse of two evils? At the end of my long argument with myself, I decided to go back to playing possum.

My head hit the pillow again and I closed my eyes. My hands settled against the fabric of his shirt and I chanted to myself to go back to sleep. Hey, I'd wanted that anyway. Instead, my mind wandered to what had happened the night before.

How was I supposed to go back to living in the same house with Alaric? I had been knocking on death's door last night. I had been halfway there. I had had an inner monologue about who I wanted to find my body. Speaking of which, how am I supposed to get over the fact that I was battered and sliced open in one second and completely fine the next? I bet Klaus had gotten a good look at my ribcage. I mean, there was no way of showing that it had even happened to me.

My brain flashed to Alaric leaning over me and clamping his hand over my mouth. I unwittingly shuddered and grabbed hold of Klaus's arm, knowing I was pulling him closer to my chest, like I'm sure I'd been doing all night. I couldn't face Ric. There was just no way. In fact, I wasn't even sure I could get up out of this bed. I just needed to sleep. I needed to not think.

I felt the bed move and I froze, my heartbeat speeding up. Come on, Vivian, calm down, I told myself. I made my fingers unclasp and slowed my breathing. I was not an idiot. If Klaus truly was waking up, I would give myself away through my pulse.

If someone had asked me at my 18th birthday party whether I actually believed I would be in this situation, I would have hurt myself laughing.

The bed moved again and I felt his arm move a little closer to me. Against my better judgment, I held my breath. I knew my personal space was being invaded and I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew I would open them and blow this cover. But turns out, all Klaus wanted to do was try to wake me up. He touched my arm and pushed at it a little. He barely touched me to do it.

I cracked my eyes open and looked over at Klaus. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I looked down and realized he had never pulled away from me. I felt my face get hot as I practically jumped to get out of this absolutely humiliating position.

"I am so sorry," I muttered, pushing myself off the bed and out from under the covers. I wanted to say more but I didn't know what I could say that would possibly make me feel like less of an idiot.

"It was fine by me, love," Klaus responded, standing like me. I nodded. I was sure that it was. I had to remind myself that Klaus was actually interested in me. It was the main reason he had even been coming by my house.

I tried smoothing down my hair absentmindedly. I knew that my curly hair had probably afro-ed out the way it normally did when I was at home. I just wanted to crawl into a hole. If this was Damon then it would be totally fine. He could tease me about it but I wouldn't take it seriously. Then it occurred to me that I should be asking myself why I'm taking this so seriously. Klaus isn't all that different from Damon, now that I think about it. He's just an enhanced version of Damon, with more family and a lot less control. So suffice it to say, Klaus understands that I almost died last night but he's trying to lighten the mood and get me to relax. That's what Damon would do, isn't it?

But I couldn't shake being nervous and though I wanted to blame it on still being weirded out by the night before, I knew it was something else. And that something else was going to have to be thought about later.

I felt my hands knot in my hair and I felt my face get red again.

"Well, you'll probably hear this from me a hundred times but I just want to thank you again for doing… what you did," I said. Klaus held his hands behind his back and pursed his lips while nodding. "You saved my life… and you didn't have to do it so I, uh, just wanted to say thank you. I know I wasn't easy company." He shrugged.

"You were better than most," Klaus responded. I made myself laugh but it just sounded awkward. "I would offer you something to eat but I'm sure Damon is knocking on our door right now." Almost on cue, the doorbell rang and Klaus raised his hands in the air. I smiled then because Damon was so completely predictable and Klaus had figured him out within a minute of being in Mystic Falls. I heard the front door open from here. Rebekah must be home.

"I'd like to make it up to you though, Klaus," I said. "I mean, you did something for me that I probably can't ever repay but I feel like I owe you." I knew I did but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I didn't know how he was going to take me saying that I owed him. That may be one of the stupidest things I could've done and it scared me.

But Klaus shook his head. "You owe me nothing. Just don't stay around that Alaric anymore." I nodded. I was worried about facing Ric but I had no doubt that I would never live with him again. The risk would just be too high and there would always be the chance that no one would be around when he would turn. He's tried to kill me once and the next time, he could succeed. "But if you're insistent then there is one thing." That jolted me from my thoughts. This is what I had been worried about.

"Sure," I said. "What is it?" I looked at my fingernails to pretend to be casual but once I saw the blood embedded in my cuticles, I shuddered and crossed my arms. I did not need to see that.

"I suspect that Elijah will come around again soon but you could make it up to me by letting me take you on a date." He was smirking like he was expecting the shock that colored my face. My heart pounded and my fingers dug into my arms. This was not happening.

"Okay," I practically whispered. "I'll do it." Klaus nodded almost bashfully. I tried to smooth down my hair again but I made myself smile and it was surprisingly easy to do.

"Well, I'll go greet Damon and you can freshen up." He had clearly seen that I had been inching toward the bathroom this entire time and when he left the room, I dashed into the bathroom and shut the door. My heart was pounding so fast, I was worried it might stop beating altogether.

I was completely stupid for agreeing to this, wasn't I? Because that "something else" I'd pushed to the back burner earlier was precisely the reason why I shouldn't have agreed. But what harm could come of it? Elijah and I had left off on a bad place no matter how you looked at it and I owed Klaus my life. Yes, he had killed my aunt Jenna and was ultimately responsible for my uncle John's death because he wouldn't have linked himself with Elena for anything less than the situation she was in. But Klaus could sometimes be halfway decent and that was the part of him that everyone seemed to be ignoring. Maybe I could help by getting him on our side. It had to be a possibility.

I shook myself of those thoughts and focused back on the situation at hand. I looked at myself in the mirror for all of a minute before splashing my face with cold water. I may have been completely, physically healed but there were dark circles under my eyes like I hadn't slept at all when I knew I had been practically unconscious. I was the definition of traumatized. I combed through my hair with my fingers and did everything that I could within in a five minute time frame to make myself look decent. It wasn't my best but it certainly wasn't my worst.

When I got downstairs, I saw Damon, Rebekah, and Klaus standing in a heated looking triangle. The minute Damon opened his mouth, I understood why.

"Look, Rebekah, if you wanted more sex, you could've just asked." I looked at Rebekah and gagged. She laughed at that.

But when Damon caught sight of me, he dropped his snarky façade and pulled me into a hug so sharp, I thought he might fracture my spine. But I didn't mind it. I hugged him back like I hadn't seen him in ages. Damon dropped our hug only to put his hands on either side of my face and look down at me. It was then that I knew that I had made the best choice I could possibly make in a best friend. Damon and I are a perfect pair and even though we'd both deny it, we love each other.

"Are you okay?" he asked, studying my face for any signs that I wasn't. I nodded against his hands.

"I am totally fine. I would just rather forget about it," I said. He nodded and moved away from me, which let me get a better look at Klaus and Rebekah.

"Oh God, Vivian, you are so lucky. Ric is so sorry. I don't think he'll ever get over it. Though I must say, looks like you held your own. He's got some mean scratches on his neck and I doubt they're from Dr. Fell." I mustered a smile at that. Damon was proud of me and that meant something. "But anyway, Bonnie's done a little spell to try to keep Ric's alter ego at bay and I'm keeping him on house arrest at the loft until further notice." I nodded.

"Probably a good idea," I said, twisting Jeremy's ring around my finger.

"Well, we better get back before Elena has a conniption. Thanks again, Klaus." Damon paused and made a face. "Oh God, saying that has left a terrible taste in my mouth." I saw Klaus smirk in response and Rebekah looked like she wanted to laugh but she wasn't going to give Damon the satisfaction.

Damon made to leave but I told him to wait a second. I turned to Klaus and pulled him close the way I had the night before. I hugged him and said, "Thank you… again." I felt him nod against me and I pulled away before my heart started pounding. "I'll see you later, Rebekah." She nodded but I could tell something else was going on.

The minute the front door shut behind us, Damon turned to me and said, "You are too smart to be seduced by Klaus, Vivian." I raised my eyebrows. So he'd heard Klaus and I's conversation… and he was saying it where he knew Klaus could still hear him.

"I don't know that I am," I whispered at him before walking to Damon's blue car. I heard Damon's jacket rustle as he threw up his arms.

"You've got to be kidding me. Did he drug you? Did he compel you? What the hell happened?"

"You know what happened, Damon," I said, snapping my head back at him. "He saved my life and he sure as hell didn't have to. He took care of me. He let me into his home. He let me sleep in his bed." Damon raised his eyebrows. "I owe him, Damon. I don't expect you to understand since you would hate Klaus if he told you the sky was blue but he's been kind to me."

"He's nuts, Viv," hissed Damon, gesturing at his car, "and as much as I'm grateful that he made sure that you lived to see another day, he is an Original. Actually, more than that, he's a hybrid and he uses your blood to make more like him." I knew what he was insinuating and I narrowed my eyes. "Besides, I would hope that any person with an eighteenth of goodness left in them would've taken pity on you and healed you."

"But no one else was there, Damon. No one." Damon pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"Let's just talk about this once we get you home." I nodded. I couldn't tell which of us was winning this argument and I almost didn't care but I knew that Rebekah and Klaus were listening to us. But once inside the car, Damon spilled. "Look, Rebekah is probably pretty pissed right now and Klaus will be too when he hears, if he hasn't already. There was another white oak tree. That's what Rebekah was trying to find out; whether it had been cut down, where it was, all that stuff. Turns out they were building the Wickery Bridge out of it but stupid Sage, who I thought was my friend, told Rebekah and she burned the whole supply." I was practically relieved to hear that but I would never admit that to Damon.

"But why would she tell Rebekah? I thought you said she hated her. I thought she was working with you."

"She was," he responded. "But her precious Finn was too important to her and the minute she figured out the Originals were still linked, she blabbed. I thought we were all screwed until I realized that the historical sign for the bridge is made out of the same wood." I gulped.

"The other white oak tree that can kill an Original?"

"Yep… and I plan to start with Finn."

"Damon, has it ever occurred to you that maybe this vendetta you have against the Originals is a little… over the top?" Damon slanted his eyes at me.

"I swear to God, Vivian, you are not gonna guilt trip me about this. You can't. We'll all be better off once they're in the ground."

"They're not all bad, Damon. You know Elijah isn't." Damon scoffed.

"Yeah, right. That guy has threatened your life and Elena's way too many times for me to count and he's supposedly the 'good' brother. Then there's Klaus, who I think is pretty self-explanatory. There's Rebekah, who is basically a female version of Klaus. There's Kol, who was a complete dick to you and to me and of course, Finn, who's suicidal anyway. Their own mother regretted turning them. Don't you think that's a sign?"

"I think it's a sign that she was a bad parent."

"I've told you before, Vivian, you're being way too nice. You're forgiving Klaus for killing Jenna, for using you. You're forgiving Elijah for tossing Elena underground with his murderous younger sister and make no mistake, he would've killed you if it meant that he and his family would be okay." I knew that and I had certainly never denied that the Originals had faults.

"Well, that makes two of us because I would've killed him for Jeremy or Elena… or you. None of us are perfect, Damon. It doesn't mean that some of us have a right to live and some of us don't."

"Argue with me all you want but it's a done deal… and one day, you'll probably thank me for it."

He dropped me off at home and I went back to bed after being mauled by Elena. She told me that she'd felt something was wrong but she didn't expect anything like what she found. I knew she had scrubbed my blood off the porch herself and that made me shaky again. Somehow, I doubted I would ever be able to move past the fear I had felt last night. The sheer amount of blood that had come out of my body would've filled five blood bags.

Elena went with me to my room and Damon followed on her heels.

"Trust me," I said. "I'm okay. I just need to continue to sleep this off and come to terms with it."

"Alaric is beating himself up over this, Viv," said Elena. I didn't want to think it but it sounded like her tone was reprimanding me for not wanting to talk about it.

"I cannot face him, Elena. Not today and probably not tomorrow. You're going to have to give me some time."

"Ric understands that," said Damon. "But I'm gonna head out and go make sure he hasn't knocked Bonnie out. See ya!"

Elena luckily took a hint and let me be alone. I really didn't want to be but I didn't know how being around Elena or Damon was going to help me get past this with Ric. Neither of them wanted to guilt trip me but I could tell that they already expected me to be back on my feet and normal. Maybe Elena was fine with pretending everything was okay but I wasn't. I had been attacked by a man who I adore and who is technically my guardian. It was going to be hard.

My bed wasn't as comfortable as Klaus's and it didn't smell as good. I tossed and turned for most of the day until I finally gave in and called the one person I wanted to see who wasn't here.

Jeremy didn't pick up the phone but I heard his voice on his voicemail and that helped a little. I left him a message that basically said that he didn't have to call me back but I missed him and loved him.

I somehow pushed myself out of bed the next day and walked out into the woods at a text from Stefan. Elena and I rode together. She had no idea what was going on and I suppose, neither did I but I was an idiot if I believed for a second that this wasn't about the white oak.

Sure enough, it was.

"You have a weapon that can kill Klaus?" asked Elena. Caroline and Matt just stared at the Salvatore brothers in disbelief.

"No," said Stefan. "We all have one." He dropped a sack on the ground in front of us and it opened, revealing at least ten stakes.

"I am not taking one of those," I said.

"Told ya you shouldn't have texted her," muttered Damon.

"Klaus has always been one step ahead of us but now, we have the advantage," said Stefan after giving me a look that all but said how disappointed he was in me. "We're all armed and they are all linked, meaning we only need to kill one of them." I rolled my eyes. "We need to seize the best opportunity which means we need to prepare for every opportunity."

"Is there even a reason you thought it would be a good idea to invite me here?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Stefan. "Rebekah is our target so we'll distract her and catch her off guard. To do that, we need to keep Klaus separate and occupied." I gulped. "That, Vivian, is why I texted you."

"Why?" I asked, my voice practically squeaking.

"Because he is completely obsessed with you," said Damon. "You say you wanna make it up to him for saving your life and instead of saying, 'Aww no, you owe me nothing,' the guy asks you on a date." My face colored and I heard Caroline gasp. Matt looked shocked and Elena just didn't know what to think. "Whoops. Was I not supposed to say that?"

"I am not-"

"Well, we need Matt the quarterback to keep Rebekah distracted."

"How?" Matt groaned.

"Act interested. She's lonely, desperate."

"Clearly," said Caroline. "She slept with you." I laughed with Elena at that.

"But we all have one stake. We keep it hidden and we look out for any opportunity we have," said Stefan.

"No last minute attacks or pity for any of them," said Damon, clearly only talking to me.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me because I am not taking one," I declared, gesturing at the stakes.

"You just need to be the distraction," said Stefan. He wasn't going to push me because he was not going to jeopardize his opportunity to end Klaus. I wouldn't be surprised if he just locked me and Klaus in a room until it was over.

The day passed slowly. As far as I knew, everyone was just waiting on an opportunity to take down an Original and I was sick to my stomach about it. I knew it was making my friends contemplate where my loyalties lie and I had to admit that I was questioning myself. I had to choose my friends over the Originals because I had known most of them for all my life and I couldn't tell myself to turn on Damon. But still, I knew that I couldn't support them. Elijah would be dead somewhere away from his family and he wouldn't want that. I couldn't help thinking that he had left town because of me and it was because of that that he wasn't with Klaus and Rebekah.

According to Elena, Finn showed up in town with Sage and that was where most of the efforts were concentrated. I went to the Salvatore house to see Damon and discovered only Stefan with an injured Alaric. Rebekah had decided to take revenge for Damon hurting her. After a momentary pause of pure, unadulterated fear at seeing Alaric again, I almost busted out of their house to find Damon.

"You're wishing that you'd taken one of those stakes now, aren't you?" asked Stefan. I couldn't bear to think of what I would have done had I taken a stake.

"I'm going after him," I said. "He would do it for me." Stefan shook his head.

"No," he said. "You're going to stay here and not interfere with the plan." I glared up at him before backing down. "You know this is what Damon would want." I put my hands on my hips and tried my best not to have a breakdown right there in his living room.

"I don't care what he wants, Stefan! The right thing to do is to save him before she kills him!"

"I promise you, Vivian, that when this is over, I will take you with me myself."

I took what I could get. I was no use out on the streets with the rest of the group and I knew that. Besides, I needed to work on my issues with Alaric and now was the perfect time.

Shaking, I sat near him in the study. I bit down on my bottom lip hard enough to make it bleed. For a while, neither of us said anything. I wanted to but my throat felt dry and I kept seeing Alaric leaning over me, ripping me open with a knife from my own kitchen.

"Vivian, I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself," Ric said to me finally. I made myself look at him and shook my head.

"It wasn't you," I said, though my brain was still intent on making me think it was. I was scared enough to bolt. "Ric, you're just gonna need to give me some time. I forgive you and all but I'm still… I'm not okay." He nodded at me then and I knew he'd been expecting my answer.

Caroline came over and gave him a bottle with some herbs in it. Supposedly they were going to control Ric's changes.

It was past nine when Stefan and Elena came home. Finn was dead. I felt a pain in my chest that I tried to make go away but it stayed until Bonnie called Elena. She had been forced to unlink the Originals. I tried not to show my utter relief.

"Stefan," I said, "it's time for you and me to get Damon." He nodded at me, pissed off that his plan hadn't worked. But he was going to take a stake with him to Klaus's, that much I was sure of. I didn't care what he did. I just wanted to get Damon home in one piece without anyone dying.

Stefan and I walked out the front door and the minute it closed behind us, a hand wrapped around my throat and slammed me against the brick wall of the Salvatore boarding house. I tried to scream and I clawed at whoever it was. I didn't recognize the man. He pulled me toward him and then threw me back into the house.

Coughing, I turned and looked over my shoulder. Stefan was on the floor beside me and standing over him was Sage.

"Ding dong," I heard her say. I moved back fast and scrambled to my feet beside Elena.

It wasn't long before Stefan had the upper hand. I raised my eyebrows. Something was severely wrong here. Then I watched as Sage collapsed onto the floor, nose bleeding, and the veins that were the telltale signs of vamp death rose up under her skin. Her companion, who had almost given me a concussion, fell next.

"What exactly is going on here?" I asked. Caroline threw out a few ideas along with Elena but it was Stefan that had figured it out.

"It's the bloodline," he said. "If you kill an Original, you kill their entire bloodline." I breathed another sigh of relief at the fact that they hadn't managed to kill all of the Originals.

"Then that means you would all die," said Elena.

"Vivian, I'm thinking it's time we hit the road."

Elena had insisted she come along but she knew why she couldn't. I had a ring and she didn't. Klaus had a thing for me and according to all sources, he didn't have one for her.

Stefan didn't speak to me on the way there but I pretended like he actually wanted to spend time with me. Stefan hadn't been the same since shaking off Klaus's influence and he wasn't likely to change back on this ride.

He busted open the door to Klaus's mansion and I followed behind Stefan to where Damon was. I gasped when I laid eyes on him. Damon was bear-trapped to the ceiling and was hanging, blood dripping from him. I could only imagine what Rebekah's intentions had been.

I rushed forward and stood in front of Damon for a second, unsure of what to do first. He weakly looked down at me.

"In my head, it was your twin that came but you'll do," he muttered. I tried to smile at him.

"Klaus!" called Stefan. "I'm here!"

"We're getting you out of here, Damon," I said. I tried to reach one of the traps but I just wasn't tall enough to get a good hold on them.

I heard footsteps behind me and I turned, standing in front of Damon. Rebekah and Klaus entered the room. Rebekah stared at me and Klaus looked at Stefan before turning to me.

"Oh, good, Stefan. You're back to playing the hero," he said. "Hello, Vivian," Klaus said when he turned to me. His tone was completely different when he talked to me than when he talked to Stefan.

"Hey," I responded.

"Stefan, what do you want?" Stefan threw down the satchel of stakes.

"I'm here to make a deal," he responded.

"Stefan," muttered Damon, "what are you doing?"

"Don't argue," I said thru my gritted teeth.

"Eight white oak stakes from wood of the Wickery Bridge that you didn't burn," said Stefan. Klaus turned on Rebekah.

"That's impossible!" she said.

"Actually, it's not. Finn's dead."

"You killed my brother?" I turned back to Damon. I did not need to see this.

"Damon in exchange for the last eight weapons that could kill you."

"And how do I know there aren't any more left?" asked Klaus.

"Because there aren't."

"Let's be certain, shall we?" I froze when Klaus walked toward me but I understood that I wasn't the target. Briefly, Klaus moved me to the side with only a little force. I stared over at Stefan in horror. I didn't know what was going to happen here. But the minute that Klaus grabbed Damon's face and looked at him, really looked at him, I knew what was going on. Rebekah had been trying to bleed the vervain out of Damon's system and by the looks of it, she had succeeded. "Go home," he said.

"But we were having so much fun," replied Damon dryly.

"I said, go home." Klaus backed off of him and I saw Damon struggle against his bonds. I covered my mouth with my hands and backed up. Maybe Damon had been right. Maybe Klaus was so insane that he couldn't be saved.

Stefan was steeling himself so I tried to do the same but I hadn't had my emotions turned off. Stefan might still be feeling that. I wondered if he expected me to crack because it was clear that Klaus did. He was looking at me like he figured I would spill at any second and I was close to it when I heard Damon yell. The eight stakes that Stefan was handing over were not all of them and even though he hadn't explicitly told me that, I knew it.

"All right," said Klaus, turning back to Damon. "Stop before you hurt yourself." I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding. "Well, we've proved that you can finally be compelled and since your brother and your best friend aren't being so talkative, I'll just ask you." Klaus grabbed Damon again. "Now besides the stake that's in my brother, how many more are out there that can kill me?"

Damon groaned in response but said, "Eleven." Klaus made a face.

"Eleven! Really? So not eight then."

"You really shouldn't have lied," said Rebekah.

"We can get you the other three," said Stefan. I wanted to strangle him. Don't bring me into this!

"Yeah, well, that would be nice," replied Klaus. "Or since you lied, maybe I'll just compel your brother to chew his own tongue out."

"What is wrong with you?" I would've found Stefan's response funny in any other situation just because it was a question that I really wanted the answer to.

"What is wrong with you?" said Klaus. "Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate, to loathe; a target for all of your anger so you don't have to turn it on yourself. I have given your life purpose as your friend." Wait, really? Did Klaus really consider himself Stefan's friend? Klaus must really have no one if he wanted to turn to Stefan for friendship. "Actually, I really think you should be thanking me."

Stefan snapped and threw Klaus up against one of the walls, pulling out one of the three remaining stakes. "Stefan, don't!" I shrieked. Klaus had blocked the blow but I felt like pulling Stefan off anyway. Rebekah blocked me and only shook her head.

Stefan knew that killing either one of them could result in his own death, along with Katherine, Damon, and Caroline to name just a few. He didn't have time for these stupid impulses.

"Step down," said Klaus, "or I'll kill you and your brother and I'll take Vivian with me when Rebekah and I leave town." I froze. I should've predicted this. I honestly should have. I looked back over my shoulder at Damon and he only shook his head.

Stefan handed over the stake and Rebekah moved back from blocking me.

"Now you just need to bring me the other two," said Klaus.

"This is ridiculous," Rebekah said to me.

"Tell me about it," I responded. She nodded at me and moved to help Damon.

"What are you doing?" asked Klaus.

I caught Damon when she released one of his arms and when unlatched the other, I fell to my knees under Damon's full weight. "Come on, Damon," I muttered.

"I brought him here," said Rebekah. "I get to release him."

"Thank you," I said to her.

"Don't thank her!" said Damon with as much force as he could muster.

"Bring us the stakes and the three of you will go free," she said. "Take Damon as a sign of good faith." I watched as she picked up the bag Stefan had dropped on the floor and exited the room.

I managed to help Damon to his feet, keeping his arm draped around me. I was able to hold him up and I think it was purely because of the adrenaline that was pumping through me now. Fear was a powerful thing.

"Bring us the stakes then," said Klaus, "or I will wage a war against everyone you love… and I will start with Elena." He had managed to give the three of us the incentive we needed. "I hope I'm being clear."

"Yeah, yeah," said Damon. I shifted and Damon only leaned against me harder.

"Well, I hope you all have a good night." With a nod to me, Klaus left the room.

"Do you still like him after all this?" groaned Damon.

"Are you saying you didn't deserve the torture?" I asked back. He made a face. "I'm just kidding."

But Damon was right. I needed to really sit and think about things. Klaus was like a completely different person sometimes but I knew deep down that this meanness might be his real personality. He could be putting on a façade when he's being nice… but he couldn't be. I think it would be much harder to pretend to be kind than to pretend to be mean. I think the logical conclusion was that he was a mixture of both.