Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, my precious Kol wouldn't be... he wouldn't... *ugly crying*
"Flaws" by Bastille - You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve; and I have always buried them deep beneath the ground
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The corridor was pitch black, save for the light from the vending machine. Caroline strained her vampire hearing, but there was only the gentle hum of the machine disturbing the peace. It was a minor crime, barely a felony, yet Caroline twitched with nerves as she once again checked that the coast was clear. It was ridiculous, really, to be so worried. She had done far worse before, and there was no one in the school apart from her fellow pranksters. Oh, and two murderous Original vampires intent on world domination in one form or another.
Super.
Caroline cleared her throat and gave the machine a swift kick. A bottle of juice came tumbling down the chute. Giving herself a subconscious pat on the back for judging her vampire strength so well, she retrieved her bounty. Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?
"Well, what do we have here?"
The wash of deja vu was enough to knock her over. It was all so familiar, yet she couldn't quite place it. That statement, that voice... That voice. A strangers voice. A strange British voice. Fear creeped along her spine, right to the tips of her fingers as the blood ran like ice in her veins. It was him.
Klaus.
She took a deep breath to give her courage. If this was the way she was going to die, she wasn't going to let him have the luxury of not having to look her in the eye. No, she would be strong, and he would have to face her. Although he'd probably enjoy it, sick freak. Caroline turned around as slowly as possible, coaching herself not to cry, or faint, or throw up. It was a physical impossibility for a vampire, but no doubt Caroline would find a way to defy the odds and humiliate herself.
He wasn't what she expected. For a start, he looked a lot younger than she had envisioned. When she heard he was a thousand, she imagined he'd have silver hair and a long beard. Like an evil Dumbledore. Instead he looked in his late twenties, and wore jeans and a light gray long sleeved top. His curls were a sandy blonde and his eyes were the deepest blue. His lips were full and inviting, framed by some artful stubble. He looked so normal. Well, he didn't exactly look normal, but he didn't look like an Evil Murderer Monster Hybrid Thing. He was actually quite attractive. Caroline snapped herself out of that thought as quickly as she entered it. What she meant was he looked so human. That's probably why she felt as though she vaguely recognized him. She could easily have passed him on the street.
"Klaus" Caroline whispered breathily. Her intention was to sound strong and accusatory, but that command was lost in translation, and instead her voice cracked with fear.
His head was tilted to the side, surveying her. His eyes sparkled, "Hello, sweetheart"
She concentrated on keeping her breathing consistent, in and out, in and out. She was going to die. She was going to die on Prank Night. She was going to die on Prank Night in a dusty old corridor. Clutching a stupid bottle of coke.
Oh life, why are you so disappointing?
He continued to stare at her, as if he were watching the most fascinating show on the planet. Something made him narrow his eyes. She flinched at the action, gripping the bottle tighter, so the plastic crumbled and the liquid sprayed everywhere.
"Shit" she muttered, dropping the crushed plastic.
"What are you doing?" Klaus asked, folding his arms amusedly.
"I jumped!" Caroline hissed, brushing down her sticky clothes.
"I meant, what are you doing- alone - when there are two homicidal Originals roaming the halls? Planning something?" Klaus stalked towards her, his tone menacing, yet his eyes were sparkling with excitement.
"I was getting something for my boyfriend" Caroline murmured, eyes cast down.
"The wolf?" Klaus moved to her left side, his body inches from hers. His lips were pressed close to the shell of her ear, "Oh, he'll need something stronger than that"
It was at that moment Caroline's fight-or -flight instinct suddenly kicked in. She chose flight as she propelled herself forward as quickly as she possibly could. It was like running straight into concrete as Klaus' arm easily wrapped round her waist, pushing her backwards. The vending machine bounced of the wall, it's contents rattling inside as Caroline's back carved a deep contour. Klaus was pressed against her, his arms either side of her head, boxing her in. She could feel his breath against her curls, feel his hard body pressing against her. She was positive he must be able to feel the pressure from her violently beating heart.
"What are you doing?" he repeated, his voice a soft growl. He sounded more curious than angry "What are you planning?"
"Nothing" she squeaked, trying to look anywhere other than his burning eyes that had a hint of gold, "I was just getting a drink for Tyler. That's all"
He paused watching her, listening to her frantic heart. The tension in his body that was pressed against hers disappeared and he pushed away from her, but he kept his hands either side of her head, "Alright. Calm down" The instruction seemed to be an afterthought as her heart continued to palpitate.
Caroline made a noise that could only be described as a screech, "What?! You want me to calm down? You've got me pinned to a wall, my boyfriend is half dead, and I'm pretty sure you're going to kill me and you are telling me to calm down. Seriously?"
"I'm not going to kill you" Klaus said with a little half smile.
"What?" Caroline hissed, "Why?"
"Would you like me to?" Klaus shot back quickly.
"No"
"Then I won't kill you. You haven't done anything to upset me, love" Klaus had that playful smile back, "I'm really not the monster that they all say"
"Doubtful" Caroline snipped, instantly regretting her words. She closed her eyes and braced for the pain of having her heart ripped from her chest.
There was a pause. The longest pause in all of Caroline's human and undead life. She was sure the crash could be heard for miles as Klaus' fist hit the vending machine, just to the left of her head. The front shattered completely as bottles and bottles of juice cascaded down the chute and on to the floor.
Her frantic breathing was back as she surveyed the damage, and then his face. He was standing back from her, but he didn't look angry. His posture was relaxed as he smirked at her, "You wanted something for Tyler, did you not?"
She looked at the mangled machine again, then at the juice that littered the hallway. She reached down and plucked a bottle. Was he angry? She always thought she could read people quite well, but now she wasn't so sure. She had absolutely no clue what The Hybrid was thinking. He just seemed to be excited, almost buzzed.
He reached out and pressed a hand to her lower back, "Let's get you back to Rebekah, shall we? I think your boyfriend might wake up soon"
Caroline flinched away, but he kept his hand firmly in place as they walked down the corridor. A question that had been eating away at her popped into her head, "What happens? To your hybrids, I mean?"
"It's all rather unpleasant" Klaus admitted, "But if the witch can find a solution, Tyler need not die"
"So he will die if Bonnie can't work it out?" Caroline whispered, her stomach churning.
"I'm afraid so. It would be a shame because werewolves are a pesky lot to track down"
His tone was far too casual, as if Tyler didn't matter. Caroline attempted to pull away again, and this time he let her. "You don't like me much" He assessed cheerily.
Caroline gave him a wary, sideways glance, "Seriously?"
He raised his eyebrows at her, clearly amused.
"Not really" she answered, readying herself for the blow.
"Stop flinching, Caroline" Klaus scolded like parent would a child, who was doing something incredibly silly.
"Sorry" Caroline automatically replied, and wanted to hit herself in the face. Did she seriously just apologize to Klaus? The Evil Hybrid King?
"So, how did you escape Rebekah?" Klaus asked conversationally, "Is it safe for you to return to her?"
Caroline played with the bottle in her hands, "She let me go. She said she could chase me down without batting an eyelash, so she wasn't bothered"
"Sounds like Rebekah" Klaus smiled.
"She's a real treat" Caroline muttered sarcastically. She eyed Klaus warily, waiting for his reaction. He was laughing. Laughing.
"Why are you so happy?" Caroline blurted before she could even process what she was asking.
"I've broken my curse and I'm about to find the key to making my hybrids. What is there not to be happy about?" Klaus' energy was humming, frantic, "And how do you know I am not normally in such a jovial mood?"
"You kill people" Caroline stated matter-of-factly, "You can't be this happy and a murderer"
Klaus stopped in front of her, his smirk dark and dangerous, "Clearly you didn't know Stefan in his Ripper days"
She didn't know if it was the implied threat or the way his accent rolled around the word "Ripper" - perhaps the combination of both - but Caroline couldn't hide her shiver. He grinned, enjoying her discomfort.
She was very flustered. Flustered from fear, that was a thing, right? "I'm going to Tyler" she announced.
Klaus stepped to the side, gesturing for her to continue, "Certainly. I must see how the witch progresses"
"Her name is Bonnie" Caroline snapped.
"Glad to see your fire is back" Klaus noted.
"Wait. What?" Caroline felt an odd sense of deja vu. Klaus was giving her a very innocent look, his eyebrows raised. That worried her further.
They had finally reached the classroom, where Tyler was beginning to come around on the table. Caroline launched herself at him, running a soothing hand through his hair as she cooed at him.
"Glad to see a baby vampire bested you, sister" Klaus smiled sarcastically.
"Don't be stupid, Nik" Rebekah rolled her eyes as she reclined on a desk, "I've already snapped her neck once. I could easily kill her"
Caroline was holding Tyler's hand, but she wasn't concentrating on the transitioning Hybrid. She had jolted at that name. Nik. It was so familiar. She had heard it before. Nik.
That night. The stranger who saved her. How could she forget? Although, it didn't matter, not really. No. It didn't matter. Tyler was important now.
Klaus watched carefully as Caroline's thoughts played across her face. At first she was intrigued, then she was trying very hard to remember. He could visibly see the compulsion cloud her eyes as she relaxed, and then turned her attention back to her boyfriend.
He wordlessly instructed Rebekah to keep guarding them, to which she gave him a sarcastic salute. He rolled his eyes and left the room as Tyler spluttered awake.
"Where am I? What happened?"
How could she tell him? How could she drop this bombshell? "Tyler-"
"Don't be shy about it" Rebekah interrupted, smiling maliciously.
"What's going on?" Tyler asked warily, eyes fixed firmly on Caroline.
Caroline took a deep breath, "Klaus is turning you into a vampire. A hybrid. You're in transition"
"Don't leave out the hard part, sweets" Rebekah called happily, "You'll only survive if your witch is successful, if not, pretty much dead"
Caroline grabbed Tyler's hand, trying to get his attention back to her, "You're going to be okay. Okay? It's gonna be okay"
"I wonder how she's doing" Rebekah mused as she looked at her phone. She grinned, turning the countdown to face the pair, "Tick tock goes the gym clock"
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Klaus strode into the room, clearly on a mission, "Well, the verdicts in. The Original Witch says the Doppelganger should be dead"
Rebekah jumped from the table excitedly, "Does that mean we can kill her?"
"No, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite" Klaus sighed with an eye roll.
Rebekah immediately wrapped a vice-like grip around Caroline and pulled her back, "What?"
"Call it a hunch" Klaus lent forward, extending a test tube to Tyler, "Elena's blood. Drink it"
What? What was happening? Caroline tried to get out of the other blonde's grip, "No. No no no no. Tyler, don't"
"If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway love. Consider this an experiment" Klaus replied, his eyes trained on Tyler. He leant forward to whisper, "It's okay"
Tyler took the tube reluctantly. He sighed and began to drink. "There we go. Good boy" Klaus encouraged.
The blood gurgled out of Tyler's mouth and he fell to the ground, convulsing. It was nightmare. An absolute nightmare. Caroline fought fruitlessly against Rebekah and screamed, "Tyler? No! Tyler!"
Klaus knelt to inspect his handiwork. That's when Tyler's fangs extended and his eyes turned yellow "Now, that's a good sign" The Hybrid grinned, staring at his prodigy.
Nothing else was said as Rebekah and Klaus left the room, and Caroline did what she could. She sat and stroked Tyler's hair as he adjusted. This was it. Her boyfriend was a hybrid. And she had just met two Original vampires.
Two monsters.
Her heart hadn't stopped thumping.
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He had honestly forgot she'd be here. It was an entirely pleasant surprise to find her in that hallway. She was scared. He could sense it. He could feel it. He craved it. He was mildly concerned when she flinched at his nickname. He could visibly see the effects of the compulsion, calming her raging mind. He was finally content. He knew how to make his hybrids, he had broken the curse. The idea of pretty little Caroline was amusing, but he didn't have time for trivial matters.
He had an army to build.
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Hello!
I'm sorry about this one, I really struggled as soon as it went to the actual scenes. So I just copied it word for word. I am such a fail! Sorry! It's Tyler - I just can't write anything new for him to say? I'm really not sure about this chapter? I rewrote it several times, and I also wrote the beginning of 3 other stories to procrastinate. Oh dear.
Anyway, a big massive thank you to all the alerters and subscribers. Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far:
vampiregirl004, Guest, Katie, Lollip, Guest, peanut mm, BlueJeans452 {Thank you for coming back!}, dawnlee, epic sweetness712, Mermaid Princess Malu, Guest, peaceful village, amidestroyingeverythingitouc h, Mystery Girl3 {Thanks for coming back :)}, justine {So happy you left 2 reviews!}, Shanynde, Draco-Harry-Lover-1, LightFiction, Dani, MercuryHatter, Daisywoo, Pinkgem22, Clara, I-Can-Spell-Confusion-With-A-K, Guest, Cookie-chan91 {You came back! You're a star!}, Alexandra95, YouFoundMeAgainXx, EtherealDemon, ilovetvd {Thanks for coming back. 4x12? Still can't talk about it :( - See above! Nooo! }, Sadsunflowers, nicaha23, TashaLewis19, Emphatic-Boom, redbudrose, tacker23, guest, AgathaN, melyna1864, EyesLikeLiquidFire, narelclollie, ThesiChristine, Rose Jean Black, Dramatic Melody (but will she stay compelled? ;) Love a bit of angst!), missgwen33 (two reviews? Awesome!), Clara, LorenaLaufey, Grace5231973, she-dreams-in-colour (I've tumbled my appreciation, so you know I'm a complete geek!... Tumbled? Is that the right word?!)
It is actually ridiculous how happy reading your reviews makes me!
Okay. I'm off to prepare myself for 4x14 ;)
Sorry - had to edit, chapter should be sorted now!
LoveYouBye!x