Hello, my lovely readers. We've got more Klaroline and the MF gang in this chapter. On with the show…
Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?
Everything would be fine. Caroline reassured herself that everything would turn out just fine. It had to. Standing off to the side, she chewed on her bottom lip while her friends stared at Klaus Mikaelson warily. She knew that the truth would come out. The truth always came out. But did it have to be right now? She hadn't even had time to really digest this whole Klaus in Stefan's body thing and she'd been through the Klaus-in-Alaric's-and-Tyler's-bodies thing before.
Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling of the great room, Caroline tried to stay calm while Damon talked, his hands flying around and his mouth running. "How in the hell did this happen? Where in the hell is Stefan? So help me God, Klaus, I'm going to kill you if anything happened to Stefan!" Damon snarled, moving toward Klaus.
Bonnie stepped in between the two. "Hey!" she snapped. "Damon, calm down. This isn't helping anyone."
Klaus smirked which still looked so freakin' weird on Stefan's face. Caroline shook her head. "Bonnie's right, Damon. Killing Klaus is not going to help anyone. Least of all Stefan."
Damon turned to glare at her and Caroline gulped. She so did not want to have to fight him off. "Right, Blondie, I get it, you don't mind since its Klaus who's decided to hitch a ride in Stef."
"Damon," Bonnie snapped, again, pushing him away from Caroline.
Caroline let out a hiss of air. "What is that supposed to mean, Damon?" she demanded.
"You damned well know what that means, Caroline!" Damon shouted. "You get Stef and Klaus. It's like freakin' Christmas for you!"
Letting out a scoff, Caroline walked over and grabbed a tumbler. "You know what, Damon, one of these days Elena is going to come back and you're going to spend the rest of eternity apologizing for all of the stupid, obnoxious things you have said to people."
Klaus walked over and took the tumbler that she'd just filled and took a sip. Caroline glared at him. "Sorry, love, I needed this more than you." Turning around, he held up an index finger. "Might I suggest we focus on the matter at hand?" He waited until everyone's eyes were on him. A pleased smile appeared on his face. "Killing those nasty, little Heretics you seem to loath so very much before we get on with the real problem: Returning Stefan and I back to our own bodies."
"Why don't you just go up to Stefan's room with a sketch pad and doodle Caroline pics to entertain yourself with?" Damon snapped with a sneer. "We were doing just fine—taking care of the Heretics—before you showed up." Stalking over, he jerked the tumbler out of Stefan's hand and then stalked away from Klaus. "And stop drinking all of the good stuff."
"Is it my fault you have so little to offer, Damon?" Klaus called after Damon.
Damon turned around and Caroline knew that look. "Damon, stop!" she cried at the same time that Damon sped over to the fireplace, picked up a poker and threw it at Stefan's head.
Klaus dodged out of the way but a cry of pain filled the air. "Jesus Christ!" Alaric bellowed and Caroline's eyes widened when she saw the missing member of their group walk into the room. Alaric fell to the floor, the fireplace poker half-in, half-out of his right shoulder. "God damn it, Damon!" Alaric grunted, looking at his bleeding shoulder.
"That looks painful, mate," Enzo quipped, sitting on the arm of a couch.
Damon glared at Klaus. "Look what you made me do," he yelled, going to help Ric.
Klaus shrugged Stefan's shoulders. "Temper, temper, Damon," he retorted, tsking until he caught Caroline glaring at him.
"I'll take Ric to the hospital," Matt said, going to help Alaric to his feet.
Klaus rolled his eyes. "And why would you do that? Take the bloody thing out. Give him blood and let us return to what is important: Murdering our foes."
Alaric glared at Klaus while Damon examined the fire poker. "How bad does it hurt?" he asked Alaric, helping his friend sit down on one of the couches.
Narrowing his eyes, Alaric looked up at Damon. "How bad do you think it hurts?" he retorted. "You just stabbed me with a fire poker."
Damon at least had the sense to look guilty, for once. "I'm am really sorry, buddy."
"You ought to be," Alaric replied, gritting his teeth in pain.
Damon nodded. "Yeah. You're right. The least I can do is fix it."
"Fix it?" Alaric looked at Damon. "No. No way, Damon. Don't even think about i—"
Damon wrapped his fingers around the fire poker to Caroline's horror and proceeded to jerk the thing out. "Oh, my God!" Alaric screamed in agony, his body jerking forward and then falling back against the couch. He looked pale as blood began to flow down his shirt. Flinging the bloody fire poker on the floor, Damon placed his wrist to his mouth, ripped his skin and vein open.
"No, Damon." Alaric shook his head but Damon rolled his eyes and shoved his wrist into Ric's mouth.
After a moment, Ric began to drink and Damon patted him on the head. "Good, Ric." Alaric glared up at his friend. Caroline wondered why it was that Alaric didn't try to kill Damon, again. Maybe he would after this stunt.
"Right then," Klaus looked bored and walked over to grab another tumbler. "Where were we before another human decided to ruin the moment? Ah, yes, I was going to tell you how we should kill the Heretics."
"We don't take orders from you, Klaus," Bonnie snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Is Stefan not your fearless leader?" Klaus quipped, pouring himself another drink while Damon glared at him. Klaus lifted his eyes to look around the room. "Yes. I do believe he is. And without him in the picture, it would fall to me—seeing as I am currently wearing his face—to keep you lot from getting yourselves killed as you would do on your own."
"We can take care of ourselves," Caroline stated. "Bonnie is ten times more powerful than she was when you first met her. Matt learned to be a cop and can take down vampires all by himself. Ric is… human again but he's still a hunter. And Damon… Damon is a vicious killer."
Damon looked at Caroline but Bonnie interrupted. "I agree with Damon. It would be better for all of us if you just stayed out of the way and try to not get Stefan's body killed until I can find a way to switch you two back."
Klaus watched Bonnie through narrowed eyes. "Need I remind you that I will not be kept here against my will? I might be stuck in an inferior body but that does not mean that I cannot kill you, witch."
Bonnie smirked at Klaus. "I would love to see you try," she said, moving toward Klaus.
Caroline felt her stomach sink. Moving to the space in between Bonnie and Klaus, she held up her hands. "You know what? You're both right." Bonnie and Klaus looked confused. "Klaus needs to stay out of the fight," she began when Klaus opened Stefan's mouth to protest. "And I will stay with him." Closing Stefan's mouth, Klaus looked pleased.
"Right. You would just love to have an excuse to spend some time alone with that." Damon waved a disgusted hand at Klaus, his eyes on Caroline. "You know, I really was beginning to think you were good enough for Stef; looks like I was wrong." Turning around, Damon stomped out of the room.
Matt helped Alaric to his feet and they followed Damon. Bonnie shot Klaus another warning glare before following the others. Enzo refused to get up. "Are you sure you want to be alone with this one?" he asked, nodding at Klaus, watching Caroline.
Nodding, Caroline smiled at Enzo. "I'll be fine. I promise."
"Call me if you need me for anything," Enzo said, giving Caroline's shoulder a brief squeeze on his way out.
"I thought they would never leave," Klaus said with a wide grin. "Now, I suggest that we find that couple…what were their names…Nora and Mary Louise? They will make easy kills. Separate them, turn them against each other and perhaps they'll do the dirty work for us."
Caroline shook her head. "No way. I'm not risking Stefan's life so you can show that you're a better killer than my friends." Walking out of the room, Caroline headed down to the basement.
"Love, you know that I hate to say this—but I think you're being a bit short-sighted." Klaus leaned against the wall across from the freezer while Caroline pulled out blood bags.
Still bent over the freezer, Caroline shook her head. "Look, Stefan and I nearly got killed taking out one of these guys. Can you imagine what it would be like if we took on two? By ourselves?" Slamming the door closed, Caroline turned to face Klaus who now stood right in front of her face. If she closed her eyes she could see his curls, and his full red lips, the way that his eyes sparkled with humor and longing.
"Caroline, I am sure that you and Stefan make a wonderful crime fighting duo, but you and I, love, we can end this. Tonight." His words made her inhale deeply. The way that he leaned in close, his eyes moving from her eyes to her lips—that look— that damned look that made her lose her freakin' control—that made her want to jump into his arms. Every. Single. Time.
Sucking in a steadying breath, Caroline side-stepped away from Klaus, "Maybe you should go find a sketch pad. Stefan's a writer. He probably has a ton of paper, just lying around."
"Why don't you want to go on a hunt with me, Caroline?" Klaus demanded. "What are you so afraid of?" he called, Stefan's lips almost brushed her ear and Caroline whirled around; dropping the blood bags.
"Klaus, just stop it! Please!" Caroline cried out, her hands flying to her temples which she began to massage.
Softening, Klaus took her hands, pulling them down to her sides and then titled her chin upward so they were looking each other in the eye. "You know that I am right. Help me end this. Help your friends before one of them becomes a casualty of this little war. When it is over, Stefan will return to you and you can explore whatever it is that you're feeling now. Then you will not have to feel guilty every time you look at me." Letting go, Klaus took a step back and then sped upstairs.
Sucking in a breath, Caroline felt tears pooling in her eyes. Her body shook as she looked at the stairs. Whatever she had felt for Stefan had passed. But whatever she felt for Klaus remained and every minute she spent with him left her more and more confused. The idea of hunting down her enemies with him, of giving in, and rejoicing in the nature of the predator within scared her. Being around Klaus scared her. Who she was when she was with him, scared her but it also excited her. What if they got Stefan back but she still wanted to be with Klaus? Would she really turn her whole life upside down and go running to New Orleans to stand by his side?
Caroline decided that this was not the moment to stand around contemplating the future. The present was what mattered. What she did right now would help her figure out what to do later. Gathering the blood bags, Caroline sped upstairs while working on plans of how to distract Klaus for the next eight to ten hours.
"Have you ever seen Game of Thrones? Lots of gore and sex and misery. It's totally your style. I bet Damon has copies around here, somewhere," Caroline called as she headed toward the great room. She walked in and dumped the bags on a couch. "Klaus, are you hungry? I think a bag of popcorn and some of Damon's best bourbon sounds great with the show," she called, turning toward the entryway of the room. When Klaus did not flash into the room, Caroline's brow furrowed. "Klaus?"
Feeling annoyed, Caroline sped out of the room and then up the stairs. Klaus was not in the any of the rooms. "You have got to be kidding me," she groaned, looking around Stefan's room. A folded piece of paper caught her eye. Seeing her name scrawled in Stefan's handwriting, Caroline walked over to it and picked it up. "I'm going to kill you," she hissed.
Crumpling the paper in her balled fist, Caroline shoved it into her pocket and raced out of the house. "You have got to be kidding me!" she yelled, her eyes widening at the spot where her car had been parked. He stole her car. Klaus stole her car. Now, she really did want to kill him.
Racing through a woods, Caroline stopped at the edge and walked to the road. She waited for the sound of a car coming before ripping her sleeve and gritting her teeth as she took her fingers and sliced into the skin on her arm. "Seriously. Going. To. Kill. Him," she muttered under her breath as she ripped her pants leg and then tore a gash in her leg. The car was almost there when she went running for it, waving her arms. "Help me!" she screamed, "Help me! Please!"
The car went by her. Caroline watched as the driver stopped and pulled over. "Hey, are you okay?" the young man who drove it called, coming over and looking Caroline over.
"No," Caroline whimpered, struggling to walk.
A young woman got out of the car and followed the guy. "I'm going to call 911," the woman said, taking her phone out of her purse.
Caroline moved so swiftly that the woman did not have the chance to hit the 9. "Don't move. You're fine," Caroline said quietly, staring into the woman's eyes.
"Hey! What the hell?" the man cried, running toward them. Caroline turned around, and caught him by the throat, looking him in the eye.
"I need to use your car. You want to give me your keys," Caroline said, holding out her free hand. The man gave her his keys. "Thank you. After I leave, you and your girlfriend are going to call the Sheriff's station. Ask for Matt Donavon. Ask him for a ride. Tell him you lost your car but don't remember how. Now, I'm going to go. You and your girlfriend never saw me." The man and the woman nodded at her words. "Good. Thank you. Oh, and I need your dress."
K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&C&K&K&C
Caroline drove as quickly as she could to Whitmore College. She did not have time to be pulled over. Stopping in the parking lot near her dorm room; Caroline climbed out of the car. She had no idea what she would do once she found Klaus but it would not be pretty.
A sophomore held the door open for her and Caroline thanked him before striding to the stairs. Squashing the desire to take them two at a time—Caroline forced herself to take them one at a time. Once she got to her room—she found that Klaus was not there. Seriously. Where on campus could he be? "If I were a psychotic vampire with a God-complex; where would I be?" she asked the room.
"How about here?" a voice called from her behind her.
Freezing, Caroline turned around and gave Mary Louise a hard look. "What do you want?"
"I want what you want. A life. Family. To be with my beloved." Mary Louise continued toward Caroline and Caroline had a bad feeling.
"Right. Well, I can't really help you with all of that," Caroline began and moved to side-step Mary Louise and to walk out of the room when Mary Louise lifted a hand and the door slammed shut. "Seriously," Caroline growled, allowing her fangs to show.
Mary Louise chuckled. "Am I to be scared of that?" she scoffed.
"No, darling, you should be scared of this," Klaus said, appearing in the center of the room, with Nora, his hand wrapped around her throat, a stake over Nora's heart.
Mary Louise's mouth opened and she emitted a hiss of rage. "I will tear you apart."
"I think not," Klaus replied. "You see, I pumped your pretty little girlfriend so full of wolf's venom that she can barely keep her head up; and I will kill her before you can blink. So I suggest that you listen, carefully, before you make a movement that you will soon regret."
"Do what he says Lou," Nora choked out. She did look like hell. Her skin was pale and she was shaking. Caroline knew what it felt like to have a wolf bite and did not begrudge Nora one second of the agony she was experiencing at that moment.
"A mere bit of wolf's venom would not do this to us," Mary Louise snapped. "Nora, just siphon its magic."
Nora shook her head. "I can't Mary Lou. He'll bloody well stake me before I can. This isn't Stefan Salvatore. He's a monster!"
"You're right, love, I'm not Stefan Salvatore. I'm your worst nightmare." Klaus told them with a note of glee in his voice. Caroline reminded herself that it was always better to be on Klaus' good side than his bad one.
"Who the bloody hell are you then?" Mary Louise demanded, folding her arms over her chest.
"I'm Klaus Mikaelson," he announced. Nora let out a whimper and Mary Louise paled; her arms dropping to her sides. "And you two are going to help me get back to my body, or you will die, screaming. Your choice."
Caroline's mouth dropped open. This was not the deal that he had made with her friends. "What the hell, Klaus?" she cried, glaring at Klaus.
Klaus looked at her. "I'm sorry, Caroline. I have to protect my family," looking at Mary Louise, he waved his free hand at Caroline. "Would you?" he asked.
Mary Louise snapped two fingers and Caroline's neck snapped to the side.
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Peace,
Jessica