I couldn't have a chapter like the last one without following with Caroline's side.

Sterolineshipper: Human Caroline is my favorite child, one of the few relatable characters in the show. And yes, Damon is in this very particular way, caring for his brother...


I've been the archer
I've been the prey
Who could ever leave me, darling?
But who could stay?

Dark side, I search for your dark side
But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here?

Taylor Swift, "The Archer"


6. Into the night…

Vampire, he says.

It's ridiculous and how can she believe that?

But the way she feels engulfed by fear, paralized in her bed, tells her something different. It's the same feeling she's had those times she used to wake up without remembering how she got to where she was, with blank spaces in her memory every time she forced herself to think about it.

Stefan says he's a vampire. Damon, too. Caroline would have considered it all a joke until he said his brother's name. She's always been so afraid of Damon, feeling sick to her guts every time she sees him in town.

There were never animal attacks. Matt's sister is dead, did they kill her too?

Then he says Bonnie is a witch. It's not the first time she's heard of that, but she never took it seriously (well, there was that one time she almost fell for it, but it turned out to be a bad joke…) It looked like that, and why didn't Elena and Bonnie explain it to her? Now someone else is telling her it's true, that vampires and witches actually existed in her town.

"Care, should I call the doctor again?" Matt asks, looking concerned. "You look pale."

She shakes her head.

"No, I'm just… tired. She lies on her bed and turns her back on him. "Would you mind leaving me alone?"

"Is something wrong?"

"I just need to rest. Please."

He sighs loudly but doesn't insist.

"Your mom said you're getting released tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

There's the carnival at school, and she worked so hard for it, but it feels so childish now in light of everything else.

Matt doesn't know either.

If what Stefan said is true (and she hates to admit that the more time passes, the more it feels like it is) then his sister was a vampire too. What did they do to Vicki?

Caroline feels she should tell him, but tell him what?

She kicked Stefan out, but honestly did not expect he'd actually leave. Maybe she thought he'd come back.

Matt kisses her head and leaves, and she waits until he's crossed the door to grab her phone. She looks for his phone number.

[Where are you now?]

No, not that.

[Can you come?]

She pauses before sending the text, wondering how stupid it is that she's asking this to someone who is either crazy (as she is, for believing him) or a fucking vampire, either way it has 'dangerous' written all over it. But it's Stefan.

Besides, he was around them for months, he was dating Elena and her friend is alive and well. Isn't she?

Does Elena know?

[I want to know. Can you come?]


It's weird, but he's the one who looks terrified after he tells her that he lives with a terrible bloodlust that he needs to keep in control all the time.

It's weird that she was more afraid the night before than she is now (and she invited him into her house, that's practically offering yourself as a prey, isn't it?)

What Caroline feels now is anger.

From what he tells her, she understands that Elena has known almost from the beginning, and so has Bonnie. She knows her place as the back-up friend, she knows they leave her out of their plans or the most important conversations all the time, but this?

Isn't this something she should have known?

She touches her necklace that Elena gave her. It's important that she wears it because it has vervain, something that protects her from being compelled by vampires. She thinks about how there were times when she simply chose not to use it because it didn't match her clothes (Damon certainly compelled her one too many times since she met him, and she is not sure what she doesn't remember, but given the fact Stefan doesn't want to tell her, it is not pretty).

Forget the girls. Her mother knows about vampires too, and never even thought of telling her.

"It's because I'm shallow, stupid girly Caroline who couldn't handle the truth, right?"

"Maybe it was wrong, but they just wanted to protect you," he sighs.

"So why are you telling me now?"

"I told you yesterday, it's more dangerous if you don't know what is happening around you. There is a vampire who's come back to town and might try to hurt you too. She looks just like Elena. So listen to me, Caroline, you need to be careful because she might try to fool us all."

He sounds so earnest that she wonders, why does he care so much?

"I know Elena since we were in Kinder, Stefan. I would not confuse her with someone who resembles her."

"Katherine doesn't just resemble Elena. They look exactly the same. She's the reason why I came into this town in the first place, because I suspected they were the same person."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Was she like your girlfriend or something like that?"

He winces.

"And the one who turned Damon and me."

"Wait. So basically you came and met Elena because she looked like your ex, and then you started dating her. Does she know? Because it's sick and honestly, I didn't think you were that kind of person."

"I'm not as good as you think I am."

A part of her wants to say something to make him feel better, the other part is wondering why she isn't running for the hills when Stefan himself tells her this.

"I still don't understand. Why would this Katherine try to hurt me?"

"Because you are important to me." There's only sincerity in those green eyes.

Her heart skips a beat.

She's dating Matt, he's Elena's ex and her friend isn't completely over him. Stefan shouldn't be making her feel this way. As if she's special somehow.

They are friends.

"I should probably get going."

"Already?" She wants to slap herself as soon as the words escape her mouth. He chuckles.

"You kicked me out yesterday, remember? What happened with being afraid of me?"

"I was freaking out, okay? You came out with something huge and I was totally not prepared for it."

She was still having trouble accepting all that she'd learned in the past hour, and yes, she would have run for the hills… if the person in front of her wasn't Stefan.

Her mom hunts vampires, and she can't let him be caught.

Pissed off as she is with Elena and Bonnie for letting her out of the loop, she understands. Elena chose Stefan over the others because she loved him. Bonnie chose Elena because she loves her.

So Caroline understands because now that she knows all this, she should tell her mom. Or she should at least tell Matt, who's been a victim as well.

"Can I tell Matt? He could be in danger, too."

Like everyone else in this freaking town, apparently.

"He's better off without knowing what happened to Vicki. Caroline, right now is not a good moment, you have to keep the secret."

She should tell Matt, but whose side is she supposed to pick now?