"Freedom!" C squealed as she pushed the accelerator of her car down to the floor and we flew down the road. I'm sure it felt more like freedom to her than to me, but I certainly could feel the confines of a daily schedule stripping away from me.

Today was the last day of school. We wrote our last exams of the year. And for C and her friends, today was their last day of high school.

The day started out with a wonderful surprise: C and I woke up to find Aunt Liz in the kitchen making French toast.

My favourite!

Apparently, making breakfast for your daughter on her last day of high school was an incredibly important milestone that Aunt Liz could not let pass.

We were now in C's car as she drove out to the end-of-school party. All I knew about it was that it was somewhere near the falls, somewhere within viewing distance — human viewing distance — of the falls.

I already knew I would be bored at this party, but I agreed to go anyway. I was trying my hand at being "normal," as C always complains I am not, but I knew I would fail at it. Maybe I'd at least get a good laugh at the stupid things people do while they're drunk.

I was also trying my hand at spending the evening away from Klaus. I hadn't seen him all day. I knew it was completely irrational that I wanted to spend all my time with him.

Maybe I am not normal.

"Congratulations on your last day of high school, C."

She smiled hugely. "Thanks! I'm glad that it's finally over."

"I noticed." She was still flooring it. "But maybe you could lift your foot off the accelerator, just a bit."

"Oh right." She did so and I breathed a little easier. "So we're having our girls' night tomorrow, right Ri?"

I nodded, even though she was driving and shouldn't be able to see that. "Yes. That sounds good."

"Great! I'll buy some popcorn and chips tomorrow. And chocolate. And we'll rent some movies. What do you wanna watch?"

"I don't care; you pick." C's eyes lit up with the plethora of options in now available to her.

Because C had to show up fashionably late to a party she didn't have to plan, the end-of-school party was in full swing when we arrived.

And it was exactly what I had expected: blaring, crappy music; loud, yelling people — drunken people, sober people, and those working their way to drunk; beer kegs scattered around the area; and most unpleasantly, couples making out all over. The good thing about having a party not at someone's house was the incredible availability of alcohol, but the bad thing was how people took advantage of the lack of supervision.

Made me gag a little.

The only nice aspect of the party was the white lights strung throughout the area. (But I imagine those were always here and not strung up especially for this party.)I walked through the area a few times; there were faces I recognized and many I didn't. Everyone was celebrating, but the seniors were partying just a little bit more. And they had every right to: they were celebrating a monumental accomplishment.

Even more monumental for some of these people…

I was surprised I hadn't spotted Rebekah here yet. She wasn't one to willingly miss a social event. I stood on my tiptoes, searching for her signature straight blonde hair. No luck. I did spot the other gorgeous blonde, C, standing with Elena and Bonnie. My scan of the area also informed me that Matt was here and standing with Jeremy and Tyler.

I walked around the party area once more and let out a puff of air. I was so ready to leave this party and just go home.

Just then, I spotted Rebekah. She was nearly on the other side of the party area, getting a drink from the main keg area. I had just taken a step in her direction when I heard someone behind me yell "Ri!" I turned to see C and Tyler walking towards me. Tyler had called to me. Walking just behind them were Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and Jeremy. I rolled my eyes.

This should prove interesting…

I huffed out a sigh and waited for them to walk up to me.

I decided to play nice. "What's up, guys? Congrats on finishing high school."

They all mumbled their thanks. Minus Jeremy, obviously. Besides the ganging-up approach, this was another strong indicator that this would not be pleasant.

"We need to talk, Ri." For some reason, whenever Tyler spoke to me, I found myself tensing up for an argument.

I crossed my arms. "All of us?"

"We need to talk with you," Elena clarified. Everyone else had formed a semi-circle in front of me, with C and Tyler in the middle. I felt myself go more on the defensive.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, whatever could this be about?"

"We're really glad to see you away from Klaus," Bonnie said.

"And we want you to keep it that way," Tyler added.

"No problem. As if he'd want to hang out with you anyway," I spat out a Tyler.

He stepped closer to me and I saw that his fists clenched at his side. "You need to stop spending time with him, Ri."

"No. You need to back off. Now." I sighed in frustration. "Ugh, I'm so tired of feeling like the kid in the middle of a custody battle; I shouldn't have to keep dealing with being pulled in different directions like this."

"You wouldn't, if you chose the right side." That was Tyler's argument? Seriously?! He was so terrible at hiding his rage.

" 'Choose the right side'? How about you stop trying to tell me what to do!" I looked to C. "Do not force me to choose sides, C; I despise ultimatums and you will not like the outcome."

C finally spoke. "You can't be neutral here, Ri."

I scanned the group standing before me. I knew I couldn't expect everyone to understand my position. For example, Klaus did kill Elena and blackmail her boyfriend into joining him on a cross-country blood bender. But they needed to realize that this was my decision.

"Why do I have to pick a side? It's not like I'm forcing you all to spend time with him."

"It's not right." Bonnie spoke. "We're on opposite sides of everything, Ri, and you cannot keep straddling the line."

"We thought, maybe, that you would be able to change Klaus. Make him good." I rolled my eyes as Elena talked about making Klaus 'good.' As if any of us were particularly good.

"You thought I'd change him? What makes you think I'd even want to? I obviously like him just as he is, or I wouldn't be spending time with him."

"Sleeping with him, more likely."

It wasn't entirely untrue, what Tyler spat out, but it wasn't true the way he meant it. Literally, it was true. But either way, I refused to dignify that with a response.

"I did find him in her bedroom early one morning this week," C mentioned. Jeremy and Matt looked especially disgusted by her comment. Tyler looked almost triumphant, as if he was glad his off-hand comment held some truth. "He was lounging on her bed just like he spends all his time there. It was disgusting."

"Just stop, okay. Stop!" I was starting to yell and I no longer cared about whether the partiers could hear us. "Do you even realize what you're asking me to do? You want me to ask Klaus to change, but you're treating it as if it were equivalent to asking him to change his shirt. So just stop; stop trying to get me to tell Klaus what to do. It's not going to happen, okay. I refuse. This is the way Klaus has lived every day of his life. And he has lived far longer than any of us can even imagine. Any changes he makes — or doesn't make — are entirely up to him."

"It needs to stop, Ri. You need to leave him alone. You're not changing him, he's changing you."

I glared at Elena. What did she know?! "You can't possibly know that because you don't know anything about me."

"Just get him to leave the hybrids alone, to let them go." Ah, Tyler and his fellow hybrids.

"Now you're just delusional," I told him. "He's not going to have a personality change just because he's been spending time with me. Last time I checked, he's still Klaus."

"We've let this go on long enough."

I nearly choked on Tyler's words. " 'Let'?"

Tyler nodded. "You either stop 'spending time' with him," he used air quotes, "or we stop having anything to do with you."

I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes, but I would not let them fall. Not here. "Are you all in agreement with Tyler about this?"

I scanned the group in front of me. Matt wouldn't — or couldn't? — look at me. Elena and Bonnie said nothing, but glared at me.

Jeremy stepped forward. "How can you stand to be around him after all he's done? It's disgusting, seeing the two of you together."

I rolled my eyes and they landed on C. "Don't do this, C."

She looked up from the ground. "Would you really choose him over me?"

I sighed. "I don't want to ever have to make that choice. But it feels like you're backing me into a corner; and if you do that, C— if you force me to choose a side — you will not like my decision."

"So you would choose him over me." She wasn't asking.

"Only if you give me an ultimatum. Do not force my hand, C."

Her eyes turned hard. "Well, we are. Tyler's right; it's time you choose: us or him."

I felt like she had punched me in the gut; I couldn't breathe. I looked at the faces of everyone who stood in front of me: Tyler, Jeremy, Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and C. They all looked angry. I found my breath, and finally, my voice. "Seriously? All of you?"

"Choose, Ri."

Klaus has never asked me to choose a side. He never cared. He trusted me, which was apparently more than I could say for everyone else standing in front of me.

I was officially at the end of my rope.

I scoffed. "Fine. You win!" Some of them breathed a sigh of relief, clearly misunderstanding me. "I've made my decision; I've drawn my line in the sand. I guess this is goodbye." I turned and began walking away.

I heard Tyler say, "What?"

I faced them again. "Did you misunderstand me?" I looked to C. "I told you not to give me an ultimatum, Caroline; I warned you that you would not like my decision. But you forced me. So I made my choice. I'm choosing Klaus."

I turned away from them. I heard a few 'what's, but I didn't care to figure out who said them. I was done with them. And it felt good to walk away.

I only walked a few feet into the woods. The lights from the party were still bright and the noises were still loud, but I was virtually invisible to everyone at the party. More importantly, I was out of sight of the six people who had just confronted me.

I was so angry with them. I'm glad I walked away when I did, before I said anything that I might someday regret.

They were wrong. All of them. They were so wrong.

This stupid plan that C and Tyler were carrying out — with Hayley — was so stupid. It was beyond stupid! Sire bonds cannot be broken! How can they not see that?!

I had tried to tell Tyler; I had tried to show him the truth without actually breaking Klaus's trust:

"Because of him, you don't have to turn into a wolf. Ever."

"If he hadn't turned you into a hybrid, you'd have to endure excruciating pain and loss of your self-control on a monthly bases. You should be at least grateful to him for that."

And

"You cannot deny that you benefitted from this, too. Not only do you not have to turn on the full moon, but you are so much stronger as a hybrid than you ever were as a werewolf. And now, you're harder to kill."

Stupid Tyler for his stupid inability to see what was right in front of him. Seriously, what an idiot!

It was incredibly obvious to me. Hybrids will always be grateful to Klaus because as hybrids, they can turn into werewolves whenever they want. Or never again. And they're a bit more invincible. No matter how many times they change, they will still have the option of changing and they will therefore always have some level of gratitude to Klaus. Always.

But maybe C does not — or cannot — imagine herself being wrong when she's opposed to Klaus. Tyler certainly cannot.

Maybe that's why C forced me to choose; maybe she never even considered the option that I might choose Klaus.

Also, since she doesn't know sire bonds cannot be broken, C cannot see the extent of how dangerous the situation is. Rallying the hybrids, making them think they're breaking their sire bonds, could actually get them killed. It would certainly piss off Klaus enough that he may kill them.

I walked in the woods around the party area as I was thinking. I angrily swiped away the tears that were now falling, the ones I refused to let C, Tyler, or any of the others see.

I stopped walking and turned around, catching one last glimpse of the party before I left. This was how it always ways for me at social gatherings: on the outside looking in.

I turned back around and found Klaus standing in front of me – very close in front of me.

I wasn't shocked or surprised to see him. I had sensed his presence before I had turned to meet him; I had felt calm, the way I only do around him, even though I hadn't heard his approach.

"What are you doing here? Looking out for me?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't looking out for you, but I was looking for you, love. Rebekah all but dragged me here. But I let her, because I wanted to see you."

I pointed behind me, to the party, but I was actually indicating the confrontation I had just been put through. "You heard?"

Klaus reached up and wiped his thumb across my cheek. My breath caught at his touch.

Will it always feel like this — like the first time — every time?

"I heard every word."

"They're so stupid."

"I know. You've been muttering 'stupid, stupid' ever since you walked away from them."

That shocked me. "I have been?" I wasn't aware I muttered when I was angry.

Klaus nodded. "You should reconsider."

"What do you mean?"

"You cannot choose between me and them. And you certainly cannot choose me over them. It's not right, Riley."

"Shut up. Stop talking." I placed my index finger against his lips to halt his words. "I never wanted to make a choice. But they forced my hand, so I had to. And I don't regret my decision." I moved my hand to the side of his neck before stepping up onto my toes and placing a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm not upset with my decision, only that I was forced to make one."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

He ducked his head down to kiss me again but I smirked as I stepped backwards, away from him. I turned and only took a step or two before I heard his footsteps behind me, gaining on me quickly until he overstepped me, then stepped in my path, halting my steps.

He took a step towards me, his grin widening as I took an equally large one back. It suddenly turned into a game. He took a step forward and I tried to take an even larger step back. I gasped when my back collided with the hard, scratchy bark of a tree. I may have sent it a quick glare before I turned my head back to look at him.

Klaus stepped closer to me. Incredibly close. I felt the zipper of his jacket through my shirt as it grazed my stomach and I felt his breath against my cheek as he leaned down. He braced both his hands on the tree next to the sides of my face.

I reached a hand out and braced it against his chest, pushing him back. "Not here," I whispered. I looked past him to the party. "There are too many people around."

Klaus smiled, gently grasping my chin and tilting my head until I was looking at him again. "No one can see us, love." His fingers released my chin and moved to graze my cheek gently. My heart raced inside my chest and I braced my other hand against the trunk of the tree in anticipation of what he might do.

He closed the distance between us and his entire body brushed against mine. He pulled me to him and his arms went around me. I returned his embrace, even though my one hand remained trapped between us. I buried my face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. I felt much calmer already.

His head bent down to the crook of my neck. I felt his nose push through my hair until it grazed my neck. He placed a kiss there and my entire body shivered slightly. He held onto me tighter and his hands clenched into the material of my shirt before he pulled back.

I searched his eyes as his fingers traced a light path up and down my neck, and I saw that he wasn't going to push the issue. If I didn't want anything to happen here, it wouldn't. That was how it always was with Klaus. He always let me decide. It was always my choice.

I moved my hand from fisting into the fabric of his shirt up to his shoulder and then to the back of his neck. I pulled him down and whispered "Too bad if they can see us," before my lips collided with his. I sighed when our lips made contact and I curled my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. My other hand made its way up his chest before stopping at the side of his neck, gently caressing it.

He moaned softly and wrapped his arm tightly around my waist, bringing me flush against him while pinning me against the tree. His one hand spread across my back, exploring every inch. His other hand went to my hip, holding me firmly in place against him.

His lips moved frantically against mine. His tongue delved into my mouth — this kiss was passionate and frantic, yet gentle and soothing at the same time. My heart was racing, beating much faster than it ever had since I became a vampire.

He tore his lips away from mine and trailed a path of fiery kisses down my neck. My breath was ragged as his lips travelled further down, stopping at my pulse point to suck gently, before moving to my collarbone.

My fingers dug into his shoulders and he groaned lightly.

I was on fire. Everywhere his lips and hands touched left a scorching path. I knew this was wrong — it was too improper and too impulsive. It wasn't me. But very quickly, none of that mattered. His lips were sending delicious tremors through my body.

I pressed myself closer to him, pulling at his hair to bring his face back up to mine. I was not surprised to find his cocky smirk in place. I lightly, briefly, shook my head before bringing his lips back to mine.

He kissed me again, long and deep. I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his chest, and up his back. He stepped into me, pressing me against the tree. I could feel almost every part of his body.

Okay, so apparently I cannot go too long without seeing Klaus. If it was irrational, so what? I'm okay with being not normal.

If it means I get to have moments like this one, then I'm very okay with being not normal.