Disclaimer:I OWN A MUSE AGAIN GUYS. A MOTHER FUCKING MUSE. Everything else belongs to its rightful owners.
Nb. An anonymous reviewer mentioned that there's been an increase in swearing in the last couple of chapters, and told me I should stop it—but I'm not going to. These chapters are the big chapters, where Caroline's feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and when anyone feels like that they swear more and they're quick to anger more. Caroline is a seventeen year old girl whose stuck being seventeen forever, with a one thousand year old vampire confusing the hell out of her, while she plots his death. She'll be prone to the cussing language.
On another note, I have decided that you were all right about the 'mom/mum' debate, and I will be going back and fixing that. You're all welcome :P
Unbeta'd still. Sorry folks.
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"Who can say what we are?"
.:.
As Caroline makes her way back into the main area she realises a couple of things. Firstly, that nearly everyone in the senior class has arrived at this point, and that yes, Caroline Forbes planned a kickass homecoming. The music is loud and beating and the student senior class seems to be split about thirty percent inside sixty percent outside. The food seems to be a hit and people seem to be enjoying themselves. The lights that Caroline organised were bouncing off the walls and giving the dance a good tone and even if it wasn't entirely what her attention has been devoted to, she's done well.
It looks like the small amount of time it had taken for her to get a hold of herself in the bathroom was enough for Klaus to join the party as well. As she scans the crowd she notes that she can see him now, playing beer pong of all things, with a couple of kids from the football team—shadowed by some of his trusty hybrids while he plays.
The third thing that Caroline notices after all of this is that Jess isn't near him. And of course, she then turns to look for the brunette, not super keen to have a threat like that hidden from her. Which is when, duh, Caroline turns her head and once again comes face to face with the bitch.
Goddamn.
"Our mutual friend would like a word with you." Jess declares, as though she's refusing to let Caroline refuse.
Caroline is still reeling from everything she's fucking been through tonight (and seriously, it's only fucking eight o'clock) and is really just not in the mood for more of Klaus's games.
"Tell him he can go fuck himself." Caroline snarls, suddenly furious. Seriously, she needs to sort out her mood swings. But fuck it, she's exhausted.
Jess swings her head around and looks at Caroline like she's insane. "Uhm—no thanks." She says immediately. "You can deliver that message if you want. I'm not getting my head ripped off my shoulders because of you."
Caroline feels him appear behind the two of them before he speaks, so she's rolling her eyes when the sound of his voice hits her ear.
"Actually love, I think there's a good chance you are."
Jess inhales sharply and spins around to look at Klaus. Caroline notes that back at the beer pong table, there are people looking around in confusion. Klaus wasn't really being particularly subtle tonight, it appeared. Again, Caroline noticed that the movement had again managed to catch the attention of her co-conspirators. From the other corner of the large room, Katherine and Stefan watch the moment closely—and Caroline can feel the heavy stares of Damon and Rick on her neck.
God, why is her life so complicated?
Jess doesn't hesitate in speeding away from the two of them, and while Caroline's marvelling at the fact that no one has picked up on the super speed of half the parties attendants, she doesn't quite realise that Klaus hasn't followed after her.
He's still standing next to Caroline, watching her with understanding eyes.
"Nice threat." Caroline snaps at him, rolling her eyes. "I particularly enjoyed the follow through." The sarcasm is enough to declare her departure and once again she is walking away from him, trying not to catch the eye of anyone of the people in on the plan. Jess has vanished again, which is a little annoying, but nothing that Caroline can't handle.
She moves from the large room back to the stairs, so she can see nearly everyone that's inside this large room. From this new position, Caroline can make one more startlingly clear observation.
Mikael has, indeed, arrived.
He's outside. He wasn't ever going to be invited in, but he is standing near the threshold, hidden in the crowd, looking inside. He looks smaller, somehow, in a crowd. The students that mill around him haven't even noticed that they don't recognise him yet. To them, he's just some old dude that's crashed the party—probably one of the parents of some of the less out going students whose come along to chaperone. They don't know that he's the man that started the vampire line. They don't know that he's hundreds of years old.
But then, they don't know the same thing about Klaus, who is standing in the middle of the room—right where Caroline left him—with eager, interested eyes on him from most of the girls in the room.
Caroline assumes that Mikael will look first to see what's going on with his son. The plan in simple. Mikael will draw Klaus to the front of the building—with all Klaus's hybrids outside already compelled. Klaus will be distracted by his father while Damon sneaks up from behind and stabs Klaus through the heart. Caroline can already see the indentation of Damon jacket where the stake sits snugly.
But Mikael isn't looking at Klaus. He's looking at her.
There is a moment, when the rest of the evening fades away and all Caroline can focus on is Mikael. His eyes are harsh, grey and calculating. The smirk on his face is his son's, but so much more terrifying it makes Caroline want to turn and run—and hide inside this house for the rest of her eternity.
(Thank god she's on good terms with the guy whose mum controls the invites to this house).
She doesn't drop his gaze though. It's not out of stubbornness or bravery. It's fear. Pure, horrifying fear keeping her rooted to the spot, too terrified to look away from him for even a moment.
Caroline's stolen blood runs cold as she watches a familiar brunette walk up to his side and mutter a few quick words to him.
Suddenly Jess's words and Klaus's contradiction makes far more sense.
"He knows."
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
Jess wasn't talking about Klaus. Jess wasn't worried that it was Klaus who would rip her head from her shoulders. Jess was worried that Mikael would hurt her if she didn't deliver his message exactly as she'd been ordered to. Apparently compelling Jess had been as easy as compelling the other hybrids outside.
Because Jess wasn't warning her that Klaus knew about the plot to kill him (which she exposed to him anyway). Jess was telling her, because Mikael had told her to, that Mikael knew about her relationship with Klaus, and he wasn't happy with it.
Holy shit, Mikael knows.
Caroline can't think of any other slice of information that might warrant such a reaction. Mikael knows about her relationship with Klaus, and from the looks of it—he didn't look freaking happy.
Oh Jesus. Maybe running is the only option, Caroline thinks. If Klaus dies or doesn't die this evening, either way Mikael will be after her.
But the knowledge that Mikael is outside and can't get to her provides at least one welcome realisation. For the moment, while inside the house, Caroline is safe. Caroline has time to think.
Mikael suddenly vanishes from sight and Caroline frowns for a moment, before she again feels a soft hand at the small of her back and smells his amazing smell. Why was it that someone this old smelt so good? Wasn't it like an eternal rule that anyone over one hundred had to smell like moth balls and old wallpaper? (Well, it should be a rule. Otherwise, everything gets thrown off balance).
"What's wrong, love?" his voice purrs in her ear. (Yeah—it's a fucking purr).
"What are you doing here?" she asks, her voice hoarse. It's not like she's been crying—but the epiphanies are coming in like it's five o'clock at grand central station and everything is just so freaking overwhelming, that's all she wants to do.
Klaus frowns slightly, looking confused—as though he really doesn't understand the question. Right, because he's the one who doesn't know what's going on right now. Caroline fucking thinks not.
"I thought I was needed—I did just rescue you, love." He ends up replying. "What did you do to piss my hybrid off?"
Caroline gapes at him for a moment, her gaze frantic, scanning every edge of his face, trying to put the dots together. (Of course, when she gets a good look at him, she can see that yes, he is wearing a tux—and looking absolutely super hot in it. Damn girl, now is not the time. (Yeah, but damn). How did she not notice that the first time? Their last conversation when they were alone in Tyler's dad's study).
Rescue? Oh right, from Jess. Jess who isn't working for him anymore. Jess who's been compelled by Mikael.
Maybe her lack of observation could be attributed to the anger that had been coursing through her back in that room.
"You're here for homecoming." She states, obviously, blatantly ignoring the question he's just asked, as though the asshole didn't know. "You actually just came for homecoming."
Klaus smirks. "You did invite me, love."
She wonders if 'see you at homecoming, you fucking asshole' really counts as a homecoming invitation. It could be a challenge or a shout of abuse but not an invitation. Well, Klaus has been pretty unpredictable thus far, she reasons.
"I didn't—" Caroline still splutters after a moment. "—I mean." She takes a moment to realign her thoughts. She takes stock of her injuries, takes a deep breath and look back up, meeting his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Caroline tenses and turns to look at him, once again ready to tear the guy to pieces when, another fucking epiphany comes to her.
She seals her hand around his arm before she really thinks about it—not that he reacts in anyway. She looks at him urgently as the thought whizzes through her head.
"You know." She whispers to him, so quietly that she knows none of her vampire allies will hear her. "You know, don't you?"
Klaus simply frowns at her.
Caroline swallows, but she continues on.
"You heard. I know you did. You must have. You know why I'm here tonight." She presses.
The thought is swinging through her head. The day at the change room, in that lingerie store in New York when Elena had come to tell her the plan and Klaus had interrupted it. When Caroline had hung up the phone and gone to tell him everything and he'd stopped her.
He'd fucking stopped her.
But, Caroline thinks—it must be because he heard the phone call. Because that was the only reason he was with her at all—to get information from her. And the reluctance to have her say it to his face must have been a ploy to make him appear more trustworthy to her. But he must have heard—he must have heard.
Klaus's face continues to betray nothing.
Caroline can't help it. She tugs insistently at his arm and scowls. "You heard—when we were at that store in New York—you heard everything."
Klaus considers her for a moment.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, sweetheart," he finally says.
Caroline is literally about three seconds away from stomping her foot on the ground and having a full blown tantrum. Because he knows. He must know.
She leans close. "I was trying on underwear and Elena called me and you heard everything—I know you did—because you wouldn't waste your time with me for any other reason."
Klaus frowns.
"If you're expecting me to get anything from that sentence other than the reminder of what you look like without clothes, then you're going to be sorely disappointed, love."
There's a faint ringing in Caroline's ears. He's joking about this. He's fucking joking. Which means that he doesn't fucking know.
Right. She needs to sort out some of the space in her head.
Mikael knows about her and Klaus. Mikael is here to kill Klaus. Klaus doesn't know about Mikael. Klaus wasn't lying when he said he hadn't sent Jess. Klaus said he loved her. Klaus doesn't appear to think that anything else is going on.
Klaus doesn't know about the plan.
Which means, Caroline notes with an uncertain clarity, that there's a very good chance Klaus will die tonight.
The thought it's her like a stake to the gut and she actually inhales so sharply it hurts.
Until now it had been easy to let her confusion with Klaus remind her that he was the bad guy and this was what he deserved. With the thought that Jess was his attacker, and that Klaus knew all about everything, the fight for his death felt fair.
But now, Klaus is just a victim. Someone who she's lured to this house with the intention of killing—someone who came to her tonight and told her he loved her.
And Caroline gets it. There is a part of her that knows that Klaus is the bad guy. He wants Elena's blood and he wants to create hybrids. He's been alive for one thousand years and he's been killing people every single one of those days.
But Klaus is a vampire. And so is Caroline.
And the first day Caroline was a vampire, someone died at her hand as well. And she's damn sure that her body count would be higher if she'd been turned one thousand years ago.
Caroline barely thinks before she whispers this next thing.
"You shouldn't be here. You should go."
It vaguely registers to her that she has just betrayed her best friend in the entire world for a man who has lied to her for about eighty percent of their relationship. One hundred percent of their positive relationship.
Klaus's eyes widen for a second and for a moment Caroline feels like this is the first time she's ever seen him react emotionally to something and not hide it from her.
It makes Caroline forget about Elena again.
"Please get out of her. Please." Caroline whispers. Then she pushes roughly at his chest and he actually fucking stumbles before she passes him and stalks into the foyer.
.:.
Of course, Caroline gets a solid ten seconds of alone time before she's suddenly around all of her friends and Katherine, staring at her like she's just gone insane.
"Did you actually just shove Klaus?" Katherine demands. She leaves a pause in the air for a moment while watching Caroline closely. "I knew there was a reason I turned you."
Caroline rolls her eyes and scoffs because the only reason Katherine turned her was to get at Elena and the Salvatore's because Caroline's never been more than a pawn in any of their games. Until now, that is, and Caroline thinks that maybe there was a good reason she was left out of the happenings because she's just fucking betrayed them all for Klaus.
Hopefully the look on Caroline's face conveys how much she doesn't give a flying fuck about Katherine's lies.
"What are you thinking?" Stefan demands angrily. "We are trying to stick to a plan here—and if he even gets a hint that something's wrong, everything is going to fall to pieces."
Caroline grimaces. Oh sweetie, she feels like saying. I'm afraid he's got a lot more than a hint.
Instead, so attempts to look defensive. She goes to defend herself with words, but Damon cuts in.
"Why does he keep talking to you?" he demands. "He took you to Tyler's study—and then just now. What does he want to talk to you about?"
Caroline lets out a frustrated growl. "Look." She says angrily. "If I didn't shove him, then he would know something's up. I don't like the guy—I don't like it when he talks to me and if I just sat there and smiled while he was horrible then he would know that we're planning something."
What a load of bullshit. Caroline's pretty much improvising here, seeing as she just betrayed all of these people, but it looks to be working. Only Damon is still watching her through narrow eyes.
Stefan scoffs. "I'm going to get Mikael. You better not have screwed anything up, Forbes."
Stefan vanishes leaving her alone with Damon and Katherine. Soon, Katherine too steps back. "I guess I'm needed outside." She simpers with a smirk, before backing out of the front door.
Rick comes up to stand at her side, which is a welcome distraction. "Where are we?" he asks.
"Mikael's just outside." Damon declares. "We're going to confirm everything and then send for Klaus."
Caroline tries to look casual, and not let her terror show on her face. "Tyler's been taken care of—Klaus won't be able to manipulate the sire bond." (Not that the sire bond was exactly present any more, because apparently defending her honour had gotten rid of that—but no one else could know that for the moment, because the details were so delicate). "He's in his bedroom. I locked it from the outside and he won't be waking up for a while."
Rick grimaces. "He's going to be pissed when he wakes up."
Caroline shrugs, trying to sound nonchalant. "I can handle it." She says solidly. "It'll be fine."
Rick shuffles slightly on his feet and nodded his head slowly. "I hope so." He mutters, and Caroline gets the feeling that he's not just talking about Tyler and his attitude when he wakes up. Everyone looks as nervous as she feels—everyone's worried about how tonight is going to turn out.
Damon turns to Rick. "Go and get Bonnie," Damon says. "We might need her."
Rick frowns slightly at the order so Caroline hastily adds, "Please. He meant to say please."
Rick rolls his eyes and the two vampires hear him mutter, "I'm sure he did," as he stalks out of the room, leaving them both alone.
When the tap catches their attention, Caroline just knows that the new, slow knock on the front door behind them is the man Stefan had just left to go and find. Her still heart seizes up. The door twists and opens, and Mikael stands with a smirk on the threshold.
"That was quite a performance, Miss Forbes." He says softly.
Damon hears. She can practically hear him frown at the words, because he doesn't have much of a clue why Mikael would be saying that to her. Caroline fights valiantly to remain looking calm.
Jess is standing at Mikael's side and he turns to her. "Go inside and find my son. Bring him back to me." He orders, and Jess nods, stepping easily into the house and heading away from them. Mikael keeps his gaze on her now.
"I'm afraid there's been a bit of a change of plans," he announces. "It seems we have a traitor in our midst."
Even if it's just Damon in the room, the sudden way his gaze swings to her hurts. It feels like a physical blow and all Caroline can think is, holy shit, this is it. This is the moment when she loses her older friends because of a guy. This is the moment when Caroline becomes that girl who would chose a boy over years of friendship. '
Mikael only smirks. "Did you really think, Caroline, that you could get away with it. Fucking my son and trying to stay on the good side? I hope it was worth it."
Stefan, who appears from behind Mikael, strides inside with a determined look in his eye. Caroline recalls that this is bat shit crazy Stefan who could very easily kill her. The anger that rolls of Damon now feels hot and frightening.
Caroline goes to get out of Stefan's reach but he's older and stronger than she is. Stefan doesn't attack her. Not in so many words. There is a momentary tussle and Caroline fights to escape him, but he takes one rough handle on her shoulder—the injured one, so pain shoots through her arm immediately—and spins are around, locking her in a headlock. She struggles for a moment, before Stefan wrenches her head to the side—fangs bared, ready to rip her head off if he needs to.
" Klaus is going to love this." Damon declares turning his furious glare to Caroline. "You've betrayed Elena for this, Caroline. You've done exactly what he wanted you to. Christ, you're pathetic."
Caroline flinches away, but tries not to let it show as she stares back at him. She knows better than to reply though. Mikael is the one to talk next.
"Do not be a fool and assume that my son is capable of love." He snarls at Damon. "Look where that thought got your friend."
Damon sends her a look so venomous Caroline shrinks a little. "She's not my friend."
Caroline is saved having to respond to that by Mikael's quick order. Damon vanishes and Klaus comes round the corner, taking in the situation.
Again, his eye widen a bit when he catches sight of Caroline and Stefan, but he reigns in the reaction. He swings his eyes to his father and smiles bitterly.
"What can I do for you, father?" he asks, his voice deceptively calm.
Mikael smirks.
"You can leave your sanctuary and come and face me like a man, Niklaus." Mikael says evenly.
The next couple of minutes move quickly. The revelation that all of Klaus's hybrids are under Mikael's compulsion throws Klaus for a moment, but he comes back saying that he doesn't need them. There are tears in his eyes now though, which are just making Caroline more and more conflicted.
"Don't tell me you didn't see this coming, Niklaus?" Mikael sighs. "Your defeat at my hand has been coming for a long time."
Klaus shakes his head resolutely. "You will never defeat me, Mikael. You may not be my father but you created me. All this destruction, all this death—the guilt belongs to you. And that will be your destruction."
Mikael smiles thinly and shakes his head. The way they speak to each other is frightening. Klaus isn't holding back the knowledge and power that comes with one thousand years any more—not like he has been. Every word that leaves his mouth drips with age and power and it send shivers up Caroline's spine.
"And the guilt for the death of your doppelganger?" Mikael says suddenly, pulling Katherine into the open and shoving a knife against her back. "Where will that guilt rest?"
Klaus swallows thickly.
Mikael smirks. "I won't threaten the girl you've been consorting with—I know you, Niklaus—and you could never truly care for something other than yourself. But this doppelganger is something you need—and you will come outside and fight me for her."
Klaus doesn't look at Caroline. He keeps his gaze on his father—or at least the man who raised him—and on Katherine (who he thinks is Elena). Caroline doesn't care for being called 'the girl' but for the moment it doesn't matter.
Klaus shakes his head.
The knife plunges into Katherine's back swiftly and without mercy—while Stefan's fingers dig into the sensitive skin near Caroline's arm and she lets out a shout of pain. The combined attacks are enough to distract Klaus and that is all the opening that Damon needs.
Stefan's grip is too strong for her, but Caroline has to do something.
And it's a betrayal, she knows it is. This is her, making the decision. She doesn't want Klaus to die tonight. It's clear—too clear—far clearer than it's been before and Caroline doesn't know what she's going to do tomorrow or how any of this is going to work, but she knows that she doesn't want Klaus to die.
So she shouts out a warning, screaming his name.
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A/N: WHOOO ANOTHER POST WITHIN TWENTY FOUR HOURS A-BOOYAH. I am loving having a muse again (touch wood), and it feels great to get this story out before I go back to class. I have a super definitive plan for this fic now, and I can tell you that, including an epilogue, there will be twenty five chapters in total (if all goes to plan). I will try to have the next chapter to you in another twenty four hours, and I'll work on keeping the update time in that timeframe.
If you guys could work to getting the review count up to 1000? That would be awesome! Thanks for all the awesome reviews thus far and for last chapter. Absolutely overwhelming response guys :P :P
PS. One of the many reasons for my returning muse may be that two days ago I went out and bought seasons one through four of True Blood and have been watching it with a religious ferocity over the last couple of days. Sweet Jesus that is good television. Eric Northman, take me now.