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"So Cold" by Ben Cocks - You caused my heart to bleed, and you still owe me a reason
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"Tyler's dead, and everything is different now."
The tears had flowed hot and fast as she clung to Matt, feeling some (quite frankly much needed) safety. She had slept in the woods - the actual freaking woods, like a girl scout - as she simply couldn't face returning home to be alone. Somehow, being out there made her feel weirdly closer to Tyler. She couldn't even begin to thing about that - that it was his spirit she could feel as his physical body lay rotting in the cellar.
But she had to leave him, she had to run. She was Caroline Forbes, former Miss Mystic Falls and current fugitive. Not that she had much of a plan anymore, wrapped in vervain ropes in the back of Mr Molsley's plumbing van.
The Council was so damn weird.
Rebekah stirred ever so slightly, and Caroline let out a breathy sigh of relief. Rebekah wasn't exactly her favourite person, but she needed someone on her side, and an ass kicking Original would help. Ignoring any thoughts of the other Mikaelson, or the fact that she couldn't bear to loose anyone else, she smiled weakly "Vervain ropes."
Rebekah frowned, her forehead creasing in an adorable manner, and her bottom lip sticking out. If she wasn't trussed up in the back of a truck on her way to eventual second death, Caroline would of laughed at Rebekah's child-like displeasure, "Looks like Alaric outed us all to the Council"
"The Council?" Rebekah scoffed, her perfect eyebrows flying upwards, "What exactly do they think they can do to me?"
Caroline bit back a sassy retort - Hello, Alaric had been on their side, and he had been a pretty effective Original exterminator - when she was pitched forward suddenly, the van lifting clear off the road and into the air. The ropes caught her harshly as the car fell back to earth, rolling along as the metal gave way, crushing into a deformed shape.
Both blondes coughed and wheezed, the van beginning to shake again, as though someone was hopping along the roof, "What the hell happened?"
Before Caroline could even attemt a reply, the door to the van slid away, ripped off with the ease of tearing a sheet of paper. Light streamed in, casting a shadow across her saviour's face as they clambered into the metal shell.
It was a hallucination.
It had to be. There was no way that those brown eyes could be here, no way that the gorgeous boy she said goodbye to only a few hours ago was here. Alive and rescuing her. Ignoring the burn from the poisoned ropes, he ripped them away effortlessly. Apparently, dying and then coming back to life had doubled his already superhuman strength, "Tyler?"
An excited, frenzied grin erupted acroos his face as he grasped her under her arms to help her up, "I'm harder to kill than you think"
Caroline made an odd sound, somewhere between a sob and a giggle, "You're alive?! How are you alive?"
Tyler paused, his eyes conflicted, "No time. C'mon, we gotta go. Caroline, run to the woods and don't look back"
She scrambled out of the wreckage, turning around when she couldn't hear him behind her. He looked out, eyes darting everywhere, "I'll be right behind you. Now run"
She nodded, her legs carrying her with all the speed she could muster. Her muscles ached from the crash, her wrists burned from her shackles and her mind buzzed. She tore through the dense undergrowth, her ears straining for any sound from her captors.
How did he survive? How was it possible? And why had he waited an entire night before telling her? Did this mean Klaus was lying about being their Sire?
Klaus was dead. Rebekah had seen it, but Tyler was very much alive...
He was alive and she wasn't alone.
She stopped in her tracks, a smile splitting her features. A branch crackled underfoot behind her as she turned. He was there, right in front of her, grinning and warm and wonderful and oh so alive.
Caroline ignored everything, all the mess of Elena and the Council, and allowed the warmth in her chest to engulf her as she leapt into his embrace. Tyler seemed surprised as she brought her lips to his.
How long had it been since they had kissed?
She ran her fingers along the underside of his smooth jaw as she grinned, "I never thought I'd see you again. How are you alive?"
"This is going to sound incredible, but, I-"
It was odd, but she didn't want to know. A reason, an explanation, it wasn't what she needed right now. What she needed was comfort, to be held, knowing that her entire world hadn't fallen apart. She continued to kiss him, urging him to respond. She didn't want gentlemanly reluctance, she wanted hormone fuelled lust.
As if listening to her thoughts, he took the advantage, pushing her against a nearby tree. She moaned in appreciation, pushing his jacket to the ground, grasping his shirt before he could mumble a protest. Her fingers danced across his strong arms, travelling down his toned stomach as he wrenched himself from her, "Easy, love. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong equipment"
She giggled to herself, pulling him back towards her. It felt different, yet right at the same time. Her fingers tangled in his dark locks, her lips pressing hungrily to his. He pulled away as she murmured a protest, pulling him closer as he shook his head, half words struggling to form against her onslaught.
"No" she cut him off, wrapping her arms round him, revelling in every touch, every taste of him. He was here and alive and she had someone again. And it was glorious, "You're miraculously alive, we're fugitives on the run - all signs point to hot hybrid/vampire sex"
Taking the intiative, because really, Tyler was acting too prim for her liking, she pulled her camisole off. His eyes darkened and she grinned, finally eliciting the correct response from him. Her lips found his once again, and it was hot and demanding and exciting.
But...
Something jolted her. This was right, but it was wrong. It was like she was in a dream, even though she knew she was awake.
There was one word that just made everything slip out of place -
And I don't see why you're bothered, love. Look what they did to you
Are you trying to upset me, love?
I'm not stopping you, love
You seem awfully skittish, love.
I don't have to prove anything love, I am the alpha male
"Did you just call me love?"
Her fingers tightened around his face as she waited. He slowly licked his lips as his eyes confirmed everything before he spoke, "I don't know love... did I?"
It was him.
It had to be him.
She hated that it could be him, but she prayed it was. How twisted was that?
He barely stumbled as she pushed him away, so she added a slap against his chest, "What the hell did you do to Tyler?"
Tyler pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing in that Mikaelson manner, "That's what I enjoy about you - so much more than a pretty face"
You're strong, you're beautiful, you're full of light. I enjoy you.
"You're Klaus" Caroline stammered, staring at him in shock, every hint definitely falling into place. His hair was mussed, his shirt was lying on the ground and his lips were swollen. In short, he looked like he'd been attacked by a very relieved, very amorous Caroline Forbes. Except it hadn't been Tyler, in any way, shape or form. Well, it had been shape and form, "You're disgusting"
Tyler's eyes glinted, "And you're a glorious kisser. But then again, I knew that already"
The shock that ran across his borrowed face was more than enough compensation for the burning in her hand. How could he expect her to do anything less but slap him? He had the nerve to pull the not-being-who-she-thought-he-was trick again, and then to gloat about it? "What did you do to Tyler?"
Tyler snapped his jaw back into place, "Listen. I didn't have to risk exposure to come here and save you - I'm just borrowing him sweetheart. You'll get your precious wolf back."
Caroline hurriedly pulled her camisole over her head, taking little care whether it was inside out or not. She just had to put some sort of distance between them, even if it was the thin material, "Put Tyler back"
"Gladly. Then maybe I'll take you up on your offer of hot hybrid sex" Tyler whispered with a predatory eyebrow lift.
"How did this happen?" Caroline replied, her voice flat, attempting to ignore that last comment.
Klaus swung Tyler's arms in an exaggerated manner, his voice taking on a dreamy, story telling quality, "One moment I was chained in a coffin, the next I was a young wolf, a beautiful blonde ripping my clothes off - I was an innocent victim, you understand"
"Stop, or I swear to God I will smash your face in" Caroline murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose in a fruitless attempt to control her anger.
"Tyler's face" Klaus corrected, with an exaggerated quirk of his borrowed head. God, "Bonnie performed a spell to save my life, and in turn, all of yours" Klaus picked up Tyler's shirt, waving it a little in the process, "And then Mayor Lockwood informed me of your predicament with the Council, so naturally I-"
"Don't smarm your way out of this one" Caroline interrupted quickly, "Saving my life doesn't make up for this"
"I didn't mean to deceive you" Klaus shook Tyler's head, "There wasn't time. I tried to tell you"
"Oh yeah" Caroline agreed sarcastically, waving her hand between them, "This is my fault"
"Maybe if you showed a little restraint-"
"Are you seriously trying to shame me right now?" Caroline all but shrieked, murmuring to herself "I feel like I need to sanitise my mouth"
"I hadn't realised you and Tyler were back together" Klaus replied simply, Tyler's chocolate eyes icily assessing her.
"Does it matter?" Caroline huffed, "Let's just find Bonnie and sort this out"
As Tyler's back led the way to the cellar, she heard him softly mutter, "I thought it would be different."
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Don't wake up first. Please, don't wake up first.
Caroline held Tyler's hand in her own, willing him to come back to life. Jeremy had taken Bonnie home, her body limp from all her magical exertion at Klaus' insistence. Caroline had remained in that dirty, damp cellar, once again with Tyler. Except this time she was waiting for him to come back to life, rather than die.
She was still filled with dread.
It was a horrible, niggling fear that trapped her in a cold sweat, silent oaths tumbling across her lips; that Tyler would wake first, so she didn't have to deal with him. Taking Tyler back to his home to wake seemed the obvious solution, but the masochist in her felt she couldn't let Klaus wake up alone.
So, of course, the sound of the coffin lid creaking open - much like a low budget Dracula - filled her with horror. She watched, wide eyed, as he stepped out of his wooden tomb, smirking like it was completely normal.
So the vampire stereotypes were true.
She stared through him, the look that had withered many an out of shape cheerleader barely even denting his cool exterior. He sat, his back against the wall opposite, casually dusting the soot from his singed jacket.
Time passed slowly, the only sound to be heard was Caroline's hands agitatedly tapping at her side as she could practically hear Klaus' smirk widen.
"Don't look at me" Caroline muttered angrily.
"Where would you like me to look?" Klaus replied slowly, each syllalable rolling across his tongue, in a delicious and infuriating way.
"At some penguins in the North Pole" she replied sweetly, her eyes dripping with poison.
"Well, that's not very mature, Caroline" Klaus' tone chastised her, like a parent to a child.
She actually felt herself go rigid, her eyes widening, "Watching a deranged psycho claw into your friend's chest does that to a girl"
"Deranged?" he repeated, a boyish grin errupting across his face. It was like a red rag to a bull as she felt herself huff indignantly. Seriously? He was enjoying this?
"Deranged" she agreed, with a flick of her golden tresses, focussing her eyeline back on Tyler who remained dead to the world. Oh, the irony.
"Interesting choice of words" Klaus mused, running his hand along his stubble thoughtfully.
"Psycho." Caroline elaborated with a sigh, resting her head against the uneven stone of the cellar, "Crazy person. Complete and utter loon"
Klaus' tiny smirk of amusement shouldn't make her heart leap, "I meant friend"
"I could try explaining that concept to you, but we both know you'll never grasp it"
Klaus' jaw set, his eyes becoming warningly cold, "I believe it involves trust sweetheart, and you're not exactly good at that"
"Excuse me?" Caroline spluttered, "Trust? Masquerading as Tyler and then sticking your tongue down my throat doesn't exactly inspire fuzzy feelings"
"I told you at the first opportunity, and it was most definitely your tongue down my throat" his voice was rough, menacing, as though he was hurt by the accusation. Klaus - the notorious body hopper - probably used that trick a thousand times to scam a woman, Caroline justified. Now he wants to act as though he has a moral backbone? Klaus paused, as though waiting before he delivered his knock out blow, "You stabbed me in the back"
What? "I'm sorry, did someone forget to undessicate your brain?"
"I possessed Tyler's body entirely-"
"That's beyond creepy" Caroline interrupted, massaging her temples. She could not comprehend that. One minute both of her love interests were dead, and the next, they're smack bam in the middle of a switcheroo. She did not want to think about the specifics.
"I possessed his thoughts, his memories" Klaus continued. Caroline gave him her best, so what? expression, and his voice dropped into a menacing growl, "I know you threw a little bash after I saved your life. After you kissed me - failed to mention that, didn't we?"
It was cliche, but last night felt like a lifetime ago. The party, it was stupid, but it was her coping mechanism. Much like Bonnie had her magic, and Elena had the Salvatores, Caroline had her spark. It was the one part of her humanity that she really truly clung to, keeping her tethered. It was all she had to stop her breaking down. As for the kiss... She paused, remembering the feeling of his lips against hers, the gentle scratch of his jaw, that moment of blissful, wonderful security. Now he was using it against her? "I don't have anything to apologise for"
"Oh really?" Klaus eyebrows raised, his voice positively dripping with sarcasm.
"Really" Caroline agreed firmly. The silence that fell upon them was thick, stifling. She fidgeted, she played with her daylight ring, she tried to wake Tyler purely by with the force of her eyes, but nothing. And the entire time, his gaze was locked on her, pulling at her, dissecting her, accusing her. She snapped, wanting him to feel the same shame he'd heaped on her, "You tried to kill Tyler!"
"I've tried to kill your friends numerous times love, and you still kissed me"
"It was... it was a thank you"
"Really? I believe it's customary to send a note, but judging by how you received Tyler, you really haven't grasped the concept" Klaus' muttered words sent a hot bolt of rage through her.
"Well, excuse me for being happy. Why are you being such an ass to me?"
He raised one eyebrow in a silent, steely challenge, "It's who I am Caroline"
Caroline's hollow, humourless laugh bounced off the crumbling damp walls, "I know. Believe me, I know"
She felt a sense of regret the moment his eyes changed. It was scary, the way she could read them. Bright, he was happy, steely he was angry, and gold... Gold he was one step from twisting his bones and tearing her apart. And her pitiful laugh had them positively burning with liquid amber, "Then why do you see fit to play games with me? Do you honestly believe I wouldn't hesitate to rip your heart from your chest?"
What? She knew perfectly well the dangerous and terrible things he was capable of, hence why they were in this constant state of limbo. If he wasn't such an incredibly childish ass they probably wouldn't be in this position now. If he didn't act like he was so hurt...
She looked at his tensed frame, his locked jaw, his amber eyes. It wasn't an act. He was really hurt. It was an odd emotion, the guilt of causing someone pain, coupled with the perverse surprise that she could create it. That she, Caroline Forbes, had gotten under his skin. She used to find the very idea of it terrifying, but the confirmation? It was a relief. At least she wasn't the only one of the pair that felt this way, "I'm sorry for that night... I just... it was stupid, and I don't know why I did it, but it just... it made me feel better about it all"
"Well I'm glad you could be consoled" His tone made her flinch, it was so sharp, so cutting.
"Oh my God, I felt bad, and then I needed to feel better" Caroline stated angrily, all former regret seeping away, "I felt bad for you"
"I won't believe your lies twice"
"Will you just get over yourself?" Caroline muttered, running her fingers through her golden strands. He was being impossible. She admitted she had been wrong (although who can say 'wrong' in a world where dancing over the moral line was a daily chore) and he couldn't accept it? A thousand years, and he hadn't learnt how to forgive? "I said sorry, I felt bad, can you just move on?"
"I don't believe you" Klaus ground out slowly, his eyes turning flat and black. They had clearly reached the final stalemate.
"What is wrong with you?" The words tumbled from her mouth quickly, the question lilting with her restrained anger.
"Excuse me?"
"I just apologised to you" Caroline replied slowly, willing her words to take effect. Except, voicing it out loud brought a realization to her - how utterly ridiculous it was, "I apologised to you. You. The guy who killed Jenna, sacrificed my best friend, swtiched Stefan off his bunny diet, caused my relationship to fail, murdered my boyfriend and then wore him like a freaky skin suit, and I apologised to you" Her eyes had grown wide, her words becoming frantic and shrill. Her voice was no longer hers, as she listed every evil he had done. And it was just the tip of the blood soaked iceburg. She knew what he was like. She knew all of this before, of course she did. But loosing him and finding him again had allowed her to accept that she had feelings for him. The sorrow and then the blinding happiness, if only for a moment, had scared her. But he was still Klaus, still that black hearted evil bastard who was determined to ruin her life, "Never mind what's wrong with you, what the hell is wrong with me?"
Just a little sign, that's all she needed. Just a hint that he could set aside his pride, it was all it took to realise he was worth it. His eyes were flat as his monotone cut her to the core, "To be honest love, I'm a bit confused as to what you want from me"
"I don't get it either"
His indifference faltered slightly as a single tear traced down her cheek. She took a deep breath, allowing the stifling silence to swallow her whole. When he'd saved her, Elijah's words had persuaded her that he changed, that he was different. That there was chance, however slight.
But there wasn't.
Not when he was content to torture her, to just stare right through her. Yes, he cared for her, but if he could cause her this much pain, be so determined to get his petty revenge...
"Can you go?"
Her voice was thick, as she traced gentle patterns through Tyler's messy locks. She knew she had to fight it, to stop him from seeing her so vulnerable, but he was taking so long to leave.
He abruptly stood, striding to the crumbling door as though he wouldn't even spare her a backwards glance. He paused, his fingers tracing the stone structure.
"Please, just go"
Responding to her plea, he left, the apology dying on his lips.
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Hello!
I know, I know. An actual update? I can only apologise for the length of time between chapters. Seriously, I'm so sorry and thank you so much if you've stuck around. I'm not going to lie, I found this part hard to write and the ending had changed drastically from the original, so any feedback (good or bad) would be awesome.
379 people have followed this story. 379. This boggles my mind. It really, truly does. 379 individual people, clicked on a button. I really wish I could get over this, but I can't. Thank you!
FYI, feel free to kick my butt over my updating shenanigans. I honestly need someone to tell me to write rather than whatever other little thing I distract myself with!
I honestly adore you all!
LoveYouBye!x