Here we go, at the start

We're not friends, never were

What you want, I will not give you

~Wicked: AVIVA

XX

Caroline never knew her life was a lie.

Not until it was too late and the enigma of the unknown had started to appear. They didn't even want to her to know the truth, until he was taken care of. They didn't want to tell her anything.

Why would they?

The blonde had lived her childhood in the mix of bright colors and stylish clothes. She was full of light and life. They didn't want to bring her down.

Yes, she had witnessed brutal fights between her parents. Starting at the young age of five, she would sit up against her bedroom door, and listen as they scream at the other. It didn't stop until they finalized their divorce once she was fifteen.

Caroline learned to survive.

Her life has been crazy. Tortured by Wolves? Check. Tortured by her father? Check. Father dying? Check. Best friend dying in a sacrifice? Check. Best friend coming back to life: Check. Tortured by her teacher: Check that off.

Everyone had thought the danger had pasted, with Esther taken care of. That all the other problems would soon follow. They didn't comprehend how complex their situation was, till it was to late.

Alaric had already taken Caroline.

The burning feeling of vervain heavy upon her soft skin was the first thing she became aware of. The creek in her neck was the second. The sound of her strangled breathing the third.

Caroline struggles to lift her head up, while a strangled groan slips past her lips. She barely remembers her short lasting conversation with Rebekah, before Alaric had attacked.

Tears slip out of her eyes, while she whimpers catching sight of the pencils in her hands and the vervain. She struggles to focus on the sight of the blurry figure in front of her.

"Listen closely." Alaric commands, "I'm at the school, I have Caroline, and if you want to keep her alive, I need you to get in your car and come down here right away." He glances back at the vervain form of the blonde vampire. "If you tell anyone where you are going, I will kill her."

Alaric hangs up the phone, walking closer to Caroline. She tries to look up at him, but quickly gets distracted by the blurry figure emerging behind him.

Alaric smirks, looking down at the blonde mess in front of him. She glances at the figure, her eyes going wide. He shakes his head quickly mouthing, 'Look at your hands. Not me.'

Caroline looks down at her hands, while trying to hide her cries of pain. She can't seem to figure out if the tears are for her pain or because of the situation.

Yes, she's used to the torture. Whether mental or physical, she would be prepared. But she was not prepared for this. Not prepared for the ghost of Mikael Mikaelson that only she could see.

XX

Elena made it to the school in 10 minutes.

Within those ten minutes, Mikael had made himself comfortable at the desk on the left of Caroline. For most of the time, he was just observing. Occasionally he would make a sarcastic comment towards Alaric or tell Caroline to stop glancing at him.

Alaric had made himself comfortable behind his desk, while staring down at the white oak stake. It made him looked compelled, sort of like a trance.

He glances up smirking, when he hears Elena entering the hallway, "Right on time."

The brunette walks down the hallway, looking around as she hears Caroline crying. Upon entering the classroom, she sees Caroline tied up to the chair.

Elena whispers, "Caroline." She takes in the tear stained cheeks, along with her pin down hands and the battered hair. She turns sharply towards Alaric. "Let her go, Alaric!"

Mikael chuckles, "So demanding."

Alaric smirks, pointing the stake towards the blonde playfully. "Free her yourself."

Elena stares up at the psychotic vampire, before she cautiously walks over to Caroline. She gets down, stroking Caroline's arm soothingly, while gently pulling the pencil out of her hand.

Alaric comes up behind Elena silently, before he slams the pencil back down into Caroline's hand. She screams, while Mikael moves up towards standing position.

Elena looks up sharply, before yelling, "You said that you would let her go!"

Alaric scoffs, "How many times do I have to tell you, Elena? Stop trusting vampires!"

Mikael moves forward unnoticed as a ghost, while he gets down in front of Caroline. He looks over the damage to her hands numbly, before mumbling impassively, "Everyone in this girl's life is a damn vampire."

XX

Alaric had the white oak stake.

He had the one weapon that had the potential to kill Klaus. Klaus was pissed. He needed to get out of town, but he needed the blood. He needed the doppelgänger.

The problem he stood facing was simple. The Scooby-Doo gang wouldn't let him inside the Gilbert house or anywhere near the girl. It was like they were hiding something, and the longer they were taking, the more impatient he became.

Kicking a soccer ball through the window, was their warning. They didn't take it. Then, the two white fence pickets, was their last shot. They missed.

Klaus charges forward, propane tank and a newspaper, at the ready as his makeshift torch. Stefan quickly comes up to the front door, calmly stating, "Put it out."

"Come outside and make me."

Stefan steps outside, "Elena's not here. Alaric has her and Caroline, and he's gonna kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him."

Klaus freezes, before he throws down the newspaper and drops the propane tank in a fit of rage. "Now, I know you're not asking me to walk into a certain death."

Stefan sighs, "I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you there's a one in four chance that we die too."

Damon walks out of the house, with one of the pickets over his shoulder. He smirks, "I'll take those odds."

Stefan sends a glare towards his brother, before stating, "And a hundred percent chance that Tyler dies."

Damon shrugs, "I'm good with that too."

Stefan shakes his head, "Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down?"

Klaus starts pacing outside, while Damon is leans up against the picket. Klaus stops and turns around, "Okay, how about Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety?"

While he gets Caroline, Klaus thinks.

Damon frowns, before replying sarcastically, "Huh, that's a great idea. What's to stop me from getting killed instantly?"

"Nothing."

Damon scoffs, "Caroline's in there. Don't you have a thing for her? Or did she just reject you too many times?"

Klaus takes a threatening step forward, before Stefan gets between them. "This isn't really helping too much."

Bonnie walks out of the house, "I might have an idea. My mom used a desiccation spell on Mikael that immobilized him for over 15 years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric."

Klaus rolls his eyes, "If and might? Your words inspire such confidence."

Bonnie replies clearly, "I'll get it. But even with the spell, we'll need a lot of vampire muscle to take him down. Including yours."

Klaus turns around, "Just so we're clear, the sun sets in about eight hours." He stops letting the words sink in deep. "If we don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I'll be gone, and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves."

An Caroline will be safe with me.

XX

Mikael stands steadily beside Caroline, while the other vampire dips the cloth into a beaker of vervain. The skin around Caroline's mouth burns, while Alaric starts to walk back.

Mikael moves forward laying his hand down softly against her arm, while trying to help her control her breathing. She groans, "No, no more, please, no more!"

Elena exclaims, "Alaric stop!"

The vampire pushes the teenager back into her seat. "Sit down! This keeps the vervain in her system. It's like inhaling razor blades with every breath."

Alaric puts the cloth back in Caroline's mouth, while her skin begins to smoke and burn. She cries out, only making the pain worse. Elena touches her arm, "Why are you doing this?"

"To make it easier on you when you put her out of her misery."

Alaric picks up the white oak stake and walks towards Elena, "What?! No!"

"Isn't this what you wanted, Elena? For me to teach you how to kill a vampire?" Alaric holds out the white oak stake towards her, "Well, here's a vampire, Elena. Kill her."

"This isn't what I want."

He nods, "Of course it is. All those hours you spent training, getting stronger, you could be a hunter, Elena. But you've never actually staked a vampire through the heart." He persistently holds out the stake, as she stares at it.

"Don't listen to him." Mikael stares down at the blonde, "The Calvary's coming, and you're going to be just fine."

XX

Klaus and Stefan walk closer to the group in silence. Both pondering over the events that could occur. The hybrid really just wanted to leave. Leave the doppelgänger to the brothers and save himself.

Except, he couldn't leave.

He couldn't leave Caroline behind.

There was something about the blonde that captured his attention. Something that made him pause and question everything. He doesn't know what it is, maybe it's her light.

Klaus knows that the brother will focus on the doppelgänger, while the witch will focus on the possible chance that the teenage Hunter could die.

Who would focus on Caroline?

Klaus and Stefan walk up to the rest of the group. He smirks, "Look at this, one big, happy family."

Bonnie sighs, while she pulls out a small vial with her blood. "Drink this. It's my blood. It bridges us all together so that when I stop Jeremy's heart, you'll have the power to stop Alaric's." She pauses making sure their attentions there. "You need to make a physical connection to his bloodstream; a vein, artery, something connected to his heart."

Damon drinks some blood out of the vial and hands it to Stefan, who asks, "If one of us gets a clean shot, take it, the other two: hold him down."

Stefan takes a swig of the blood and passes it to Klaus. He replies, "Before we all walk through these doors, let's get on the same page, shall we?" Klaus pauses, making sure there all paying attention, "I was the one who created your vampire bloodline, therefore I am responsible for your lives and Tyler's life, Caroline's life, and of course, Abby's life, should anything go wrong."

"Or you're just lying to save your ass."

Klaus shakes his head, "I'm not lying. But go ahead, call my bluff, let the teacher kill me. You'll all be dead soon thereafter."

Klaus drinks the remainder of the blood, while Stefan asks, "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Klaus nods, while everyone moves forward. He doesn't know what the outcome will be, but he wants his doppelgänger blood, and the sooner he gets inside, the sooner he can get to Caroline.

XX

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need me." Alaric moves forward,"Because you're an eighteen-year-old girl without parents or guidance or any sense of right and wrong anymore."

"Listen to me, Caroline." Mikael bends down, in front of the blonde. She nods mutely, while trying to hold back her sobs of pain, wanting to avoid the sharp touch of burning entering her lungs. "When you get the chance, I need you to run."

Elena moves sharply, making Caroline flinch back at the sudden movement. "Look at you, how is this right?"

"She's a murderer." Alaric moves, holding the stake tightly. "She told me she killed someone and liked it. Now, how is that right?"

Mikael scoffs, "I bet if he went to feed on a human, under the bloodlust of transitioning, there would be no way he could pull away and compel them to go away."

Alaric continues, "Listen, Elena, your parents led the council. It was their life's mission to keep this town safe. They weren't dead six months before you undid it all."

"You don't know anything about them."

Alaric scoffs, "Why, am I wrong?" Elena moves back slightly. "Do you actually think that they'd be proud of you?" He kneels down in front of the girl, "If you don't side with the humans, you're just as bad as them. Now kill her." He hands her the stake, "Or I'll do it for you, and I'll make it hurt. Get up!" He grabs Elena's arm and pulls her out of her seat. He places her in front of Caroline and forces the stake into her hand.

Mikael commands, "Get ready,"

Elena stands there with the stake in her hand for a moment, then turns around and tries to stab Alaric. He grabs her wrist before she can, "I thought I taught you better than that."

"You did."

Elena breaks the beaker filled with vervain over Alaric's head making him scream out in pain as his flesh starts to burn. Elena moves, trying to release Caroline. The brunette glances back at the recovering vampire, before she pushes her friend forward. "Get help!"

Caroline hesitates by the door, not wanting to leave the other girl. Mikael growls, "Run." He moves up behind her pushing her slightly, before she takes off.

XX

Caroline races out into the hallway, as her heart beats wildly in her ears. She looks backwards trying to see Elena, when someone grabs her from behind.

Klaus covers her mouth, stopping anyone from hearing her scream. "Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. It's me." He pulls her closer, while taking his hand off her mouth. "It's okay, you're safe. We'll save Elena. You go straight home. You stay inside, do you understand?" He turns Caroline around, catching sight of the burn marks left upon her face.

He feels angry.

"Do you understand me?"

Caroline weakly nods, "Thank you."

They stare at each other, losing themselves in the others eyes. Caroline doesn't notice how close they truly were. She focuses on his deep blue orbs, while lightly grabbing a hold of his bicep.

He moves forward, leaning down to her height and closer to her face. Klaus gently pulls her closer, but before their lips can touch she backs up.

Caroline sucks in a breath, while remembering their surroundings. She had wanted to move forward and kiss him. She had wanted to live in the moment and forget everything going on around her.

Except, she couldn't.

Elena was stuck somewhere with Alaric. Tyler was at Klaus's mansion unloading boxes, and she couldn't hurt them. Kissing Klaus, would hurt them.

She couldn't do it.

Caroline cared too much.

Klaus grips her tightly, but gently. He takes in the holes that still haven't healed from the vervain pencils, and allows himself to pull away. He uses the angry, as a way to distract himself.

Klaus had almost kissed her.

Now, he has lost his chance.

Klaus nods, "You're going to go home. Stay inside till it's safe." He flashes away, Caroline stands there trying to ignore the way her heart stills.

XX

Caroline stares numbly out the window of her bedroom. She had wanted to kiss Klaus. She had wanted to feel the way his lips felt pressed up against hers.

But she had Tyler.

Plus, they needed to save Elena.

She couldn't spend her time kissing the enemy, while everyone else was saving one of her best friends. Even if she was in no position to do so herself. Caroline had followed his orders. She had gone home, and stayed there trying not to focus on anything around her.

She had failed.

Caroline couldn't get him out of her head. She couldn't help, but notice the little things about him. How different he acts towards her. How towards everyone else he's different. He's the big bad Wolf, but not with her.

Before she had time to dwell over the Hybrid, Stefan had called. Instead of everyone going to kill Alaric. They had decided to take down the one person who could take Alaric down himself.

Klaus Mikaelson.

Instead of crying or screaming like she had wanted to. She held a party, because that's what everyone expected her to do. They had defeated the great hybrid, and she needed to be the happy one.

Except, she wasn't happy.

Plus, she had a ghost problem.

The ghost of Mikael Mikaelson. The Original Hunter. The Destroyer. Then again, he didn't seem to be trying to cause any trouble, instead he seemed to be helping her.

Giving her different techniques to keep her breathing calm, because of the razor blade feeling that kept rubbing against her lungs. He had tried to distract her from Alaric and the pain.

Caroline knows that she should tell someone, like Bonnie, but she also knows that everyone else needs to stay completely focused on the current situation. They couldn't do that, if they were distracted by her problems.

She slowly brings a hand up against her face, wiping the loose tear away. They needed to take care of Alaric, before anything else. Especially since, he has the white oak stake.

Caroline loses herself staring numbly, not able to notice the figure emerging up behind her. He chuckles, "How was the party? You don't look so good right now."

She turns sharply, "How can I see you?"

"Deflecting the question with a question."

Caroline rolls her eyes, "You're avoiding the question."

Mikael huffs, "Well, if you must know." He moves forward. "I made a deal."

"A deal? What type of deal? With whom?"

Mikael moves forward, towering over her prone figure. He smirks once she takes a small step back. "You don't need to make yourself worry. All you need to know, is that you can't get rid of me, and I'm only here to help."

Caroline scoffs, "Seriously?" She takes a step forward, but her phone vibrates over on the nightstand. She huffs, walking over reading the message.

Mikael raises an eyebrow, before catching the sight of her fallen expression. He rolls his eyes, "What happened to the doppelgänger?"

"She's in the hospital."

XX

"Mom?!"

Nothing was going right.

Caroline had spent most of the night trying to ignore Mikael, and the memories threatening to overwhelm her. Alaric was still coming after everyone. Elena had been put in the hospital, but she was luckily able to come home with much-needed rest.

The blonde had put all of her focus on making Elena comfortable, before she had received a frightening phone call from her mom. Which, now leaves her to picking up Tyler and rushing towards the Lockwood Mansion.

Caroline rushes into the mansion frantically, with Tyler directly behind her. Carol perks up at the sound of her sons voice, while she steps forward. "In here!"

They both run into the room, while Caroline panics seeing the anxious look resting upon her mother's face. They really didn't need any other problems to deal with.

Caroline frowns, while Liz let's put a deep sigh of relief. "Mom?"

"What's going on?" Tyler glances at both of the older women curiously.

"Alaric outed us to the council. He told them everything. The whole council knows what you are." Carol sighs, while walking up towards her son.

Sheriff Forbes comes up beside her, "He's got them looking for Klaus, and then they're gonna come looking for you. You can't be here when they do."

Caroline frowns, "What are you saying?"

Mikael appears behind the worried blonde mother, glaring slightly. "You both need to get out of town."

Caroline tries not to stare at the new figure in the room, before she looks at Carol Lockwood who continues, "I pulled together some cash and Liz will get you some new identification, and we'll get school records..."

Tyler scoffs, "Woah, wait a minute, you want us to run?"

Mikael leans against the wall behind them. He stares down at Caroline, stating darkly, "You're not running."

Caroline's eyes go wide, and her mother walks forward trying to calm her. "We can't protect you anymore."

The blonde ignores Mikael, focusing on her mother, while exclaiming; "Well, we can't just pack up and leave!"

Carol sighs, "If you stay, you're going to end up dead. You don't have a choice."

Mikael scoffs, "The mutt can run from his problems, but I'm not letting you leave Mystic Falls, little girl." Caroline looks over at her mom exasperated. Liz shakes her head, indicating that there is no other choice.

XX

"We can't just leave town."

Caroline frowns, as she paces around the room anxiously. Turning towards Tyler, who's staring numbly at the fire burning in the study. He shakes his head, completely disagreeing with her statement. "Yes, we can."

She freezes, while she tries to get her brain around the idea of leaving. "But our friends need us."

Caroline just couldn't see herself leaving.

Something was going to happen.

Something had to keep her here, and it can't just be a creepy ghost from the past. A ghost that she still needs answers from. She could feel it in her gut.

Tyler sighs, "And our mothers need us to stay alive." He gets up off the couch, before walking towards Caroline, "Look, Stefan and Damon are gonna do whatever it takes to protect themselves, but this is our lives. So let me protect you."

Mikael appears behind Tyler with a glowering expression. Almost as if he can read her mind, he growls, "Caroline."

Caroline ignores the new addition to the room, along with her heart telling her to stay. She instead goes with the safest option.

Run.

She grabs Tyler's hands pulling him closer, "I'll go anywhere with you. I mean, if we have to spend the rest of our lives running, I will run with you. But, first, I have to help our friends."

Tyler nods smiling, "I'll get stuff together and meet you at the cellar in two hours." Mikael shakes his head angrily before disappearing out of site.

Caroline nods, "Deal." She pulls their body's closer, closing the distance between their lips. Tyler moans softly against her lips, but she pulls back.

It doesn't fill like it use to.

In fact their relationship hasn't been that great since he became a hybrid, with how angry he's been lately. Almost reminding her, of before his transition into a werewolf.

Tyler smiles, "We've got to travel light, so what do you need?"

"Just you. Maybe a curling iron." She laughs and kisses him again, before continuing, "Oh, I have to tell Bonnie!"

Tyler shakes his head, "I'll call Bonnie, okay? Two hours, don't you dare be late."

"Okay." The share a final kiss, before Caroline runs out of the room. She had two hours before they leave, but something inside her started twisting at the thought.

XX

Klaus was dead.

The big bad hybrid, who was supposed to be un-killable, was dead. And for some reason Caroline's stomach was in knots, not just from the fear of dying, but from guilt. He had saved her, and in return her friends killed him.

She runs down the cellar, distracting herself from her confused thoughts. Caroline cries out, "Tyler! Tyler!" She stops in the middle of the cellar, looking around frantically in the empty space. "Oh my God."

Tyler enters the cellar confused, "Caroline?"

Caroline gasps in relief, "Tyler! Oh my God."

He was still alive, so maybe there was some hope left for all of them after all. Maybe, that meant everyone could stay safe.

Tyler rushes towards Caroline, and pulls them into a comforting embrace. "Hey. Sorry, I was just with Bonnie." They pull apart, but stand almost touching the other. He frowns seeing how upset she is, "What happened?"

Caroline let's out a shaky breath, before mumbling, "Klaus died. He's dead."

Tyler calmly nods, before comforting, "You're going to be fine, Caroline."

She shakes her head, "No, it's not me that I'm worried about." Caroline doesn't need to focus on her upcoming death. She couldn't focus on that.

Tyler sighs, "There's no point. I'm a lost cause, but you're strong, and you have a beautiful future ahead of you. And when you make it through this, just tell my mother I left town like I was supposed to, okay?"

He brings her forward for a passionate kiss, before she pulls away. This kiss felt different, though she doesn't allow herself to focus on the thought. Because they were about to die and in death everything feels different.

Suddenly, Tyler falls to the floor, coughing and clutching at his heart. He stops and tries to stand up, looking towards Caroline. "Do you feel anything?"

Caroline frowns confused, "No, I feel fine."

Tyler let's out a sigh of relief, before stating, "I need you to get out of here. I don't want you to watch me die."

Caroline shakes her head, "No, I'm not leaving." Tyler falls to the ground in pain again, while Caroline kneels down next to him. "I'm staying."

"No."

"Yes!"

Tyler growls out in anger and pain. "You run. Or I'll make you run."

Caroline shakes her head, eyes filling with tears. "I'm not leaving."

Tyler looks at her and then begins to painfully transform into a wolf. He yells, "Go!" Caroline cries out, before rushing out of the cellar. Not getting over the feeling, that something was different.

XX

The surrounding air was cold, as they could see their breaths in front of them. Rebekah steps towards her older brother in tears. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to be her older brother that lived forever.

She gasps, at the sight of the older man in the suit. "He's gone, Elijah. There was nothing I could do to stop it."

The siblings walk towards each other and enter a comforting embrace. Before Elijah pulls back confused, "Tyler Lockwood is dead, but the rest survived. You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline."

Rebekah nods, "I thought he did."

"It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol."

She shakes her head, before looking him in the eye, "It wasn't me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it."

Elijah shakes his head, "Then how are they still alive?"

Nothing made sense anymore.

The unkillable, had become killable, while the innocent had become monsters.

The remaining monsters had become scared.

XX

Illusions can come in many forms.

Mental. Psychical. Anything. They are fake, after all. But the true question to ask yourself, is how much of it is fake?

Bonnie enters the cellar, with confidence bouncing around her in the air. She calls out, "I know you're here."

Tyler walks out of the shadows smirking, "I must say you really did that spell brilliantly. I didn't think you had it in you."

Did anyone ever believe in her?

Bonnie scoffs rolling her eyes, "I did it to save my friends and my mother, Klaus. Not you."

"The spirits won't be happy with you."

She looks at him blankly, "The spirits don't get to tell me what to do anymore." Bonnie wasn't going to let anyone suck her into a new illusion.

She was not going to be weak anymore. "I'm done getting pushed around by all of you. I did it because I wanted to."

She was going to control the illusion.

XX

Caroline could barely see the figure in front of her emerge. She can't make out the frames of the blurry trees in front of her. She couldn't see straight with all the suffocating tears.

She harshly tries to wipe off the tears from view. Before calling out roughly, "What do you want?"

Caroline couldn't deal with him.

Mikael calmly walks forward, not hesitating upon seeing her messed up appearance. "I told you earlier I wasn't going to let you run, child."

Caroline scoffs, "Seriously? The council is still after me. Klaus is not only dead, but now Tyler is too. So, what the hell do you still want from me?"

She wanted to be left alone.

Left alone to come to the realization that Tyler's not coming back, she's seeing a ghost, and that her friends made the stupid decision to put down the big bad hybrid, instead of the fucking vampire Hunter that was after all of them.

Mikael calmly stops in front of her, "The question you should be asking, is not what I want from you, Caroline. More of what need from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That means your special." Mikael rolls his eyes, "More special than you could possibly imagine, and I have to honor my deal."

"What deal?"

"You don't need to know."

Caroline snaps, "What do you mean, I don't need to know? Of course, I need to know! You're a ghost and I can see you when no one else can. I deserve answers!"

Mikael scoffs, "You deserve answers? What about your friends, Caroline? Or that mutt boyfriend of yours. Don't they deserve to know how you almost kissed that abomination?"

Caroline hesitates, "I-..." She can't come up with an answer. No, she doesn't want to answer.

Mikael nods, "You don't have an answer, do you? You don't know how to tell them, that killing him felt wrong. Even after all the damage he did to the doppelgänger." He pauses, giving her a minute. "No. You just chose not to tell them. Just like I chose not to tell you the deal." He disappears, almost as if he was never there in the first place, leaving Caroline alone to her thoughts.

Alone in the unknown.

XX

The voices in my head

telling me not to confess

But I'm running out of time

and they think they know what's best

~Wicked: AVIVA