Hey everyone! I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but enjoy!
Caroline's eyes shot open when she recognized someone else's presence in her house. She looked over at the alarm clock on her bedside table, and groaned when she saw the fluorescent lights flashing to tell her that it was only five in the morning. She rolled over and nearly jumped out of her bed when her eyes fell on Bonnie, forgetting that she had slept over the night before.
Cursing under her breath, Caroline swung her legs out of bed and got up to go grab a drink of water. As she advanced towards her bedroom door, she realized that there was another presence in the house besides Bonnie. Staying on her guard, she slipped out the door and shut it behind her to ensure that Bonnie would be safe. As she stepped out into the hall, she was pretty sure she knew exactly who was in her house. Klaus had promised that he wouldn't come back until Bonnie was gone; and she was ready to give him a piece of her mind.
When someone grabbed her from behind, Caroline resisted the urge to bite a chunk out of his arm. "You promised that you wouldn't bother us."
"When was this, Blondie?"
Caroline whirled around to find Damon twisting her arm painfully, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. She frowned, taking in his irritated expression. "What're you doing here?"
"Did you think I was Klaus?" asked Damon, his grip tightening around her arm. She winced, trying to pull it away.
"No," she lied, avoiding Damon's eyes. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she sighed in defeat. "Fine, yeah, I thought you were Klaus. So?"
"So," he growled, pulling Caroline down the hallway so that Bonnie wouldn't hear. "You're messing around with a psychopathic killer."
"Not the first time," she snapped, yanking her arm away from him. "Besides, I'm not messing around with him. He's messing around with me."
"Bonnie may be naïve, but I'm not," growled Damon, getting back up in her face. "You think I don't know about your little dinner last night?"
Caroline felt her cheeks go red, but she forced herself not to break eye contact with a very annoyed Damon. "Stop freaking out, it was just dinner. And I was hungry."
Suddenly, Damon's hand closed around her throat and he shoved her against the wall, baring his fangs in her face. "He's dangerous. Get him out of Mystic Falls, or I'll rip your heart out."
Slamming her head into the wall one last time, Damon released her throat and let her drop to the ground, turning around to leave. "You have until the end of today, Blondie."
Caroline watched him go, her eyes watering and her throat constricting with fear. She hated being afraid of Damon, but she didn't have a choice. He was older, and therefore stronger. He could kill her if he wanted to, and after hearing about how he killed Mason, she knew better than to get on his bad side.
It was by pure chance that Klaus happened to drive by the gas station where Caroline was filling up her car. A grin spread over his face when his eyes caught her reflective golden locks, and he turned his shiny black Mercedes Benz into the station. Her jewel-like blue eyes snapped up when the car stopped beside her car, and they narrowed when they fell on his smirking face.
"Morning, love," called Klaus as he got out of his car, walking over to stand beside her. She bit her lower lip and looked down at the pump she was holding, trying to ignore him. He looped his fingers around his belt loops, studying her face. "How was your night?"
"Fine," she replied curtly, clicking the nozzle nervously. Taking a deep breath, she tried to look up at Klaus but found herself looking at the front of his shirt. "Y-you have to go."
"Are you expecting someone?" he asked, looking around mockingly at the empty gas station. When he looked back at Caroline, however, he saw in her eyes that something really was bothering her.
"I mean you have to leave Mystic Falls," she said, finally looking up to meet his eyes. He looked down at her and saw nothing but fear. However, Klaus got the feeling that it wasn't him who she feared. He reached out and took her face in his hands, tilting it up.
"What's wrong, Caroline?" he asked, running a thumb gently over her cheek. For a moment, she actually let him touch her, leaning her face into his hands. But suddenly, her eyes flitted around wildly and she pulled away, slamming against her car.
"You!" she blurted, glaring up at him accusingly. "If you weren't here, everything would be in its usual, boring drone, and Damon wouldn't be threatening – "
She suddenly went quiet, and her eyes widened when she realized what she had just said. Klaus's eyes narrowed dangerously, every last trace of his smirk disappearing from his face. "What are you talking about, sweetheart?"
Caroline could feel the tears filling in her eyes, and she swiped at her cheeks furiously to prevent them from flowing down her face. There was no way she was breaking down in a gas station, especially not in front of Klaus. "It's because of you! He won't do anything if you leave."
He stared at her for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Before Caroline could open her mouth, he flitted over to her side and took her hand gently. "Did he threaten you?"
She pressed her lips together nervously, contemplating over whether she should say anything. Maybe if she told him the truth, he would leave. "He said he'd rip my heart out, if that counts."
She watched his eyes travel down her face, pausing on her lips before continuing to travel down. His expression hardened as he eyes fell just past her chin, and he reached out to brush a finger gently across her neck. "He strangled you."
Caroline's hand flew up to rest at her throat, and she winced when she felt the bruises on her neck. She hadn't even bothered to check after that morning to see if he had left scars, an obvious mistake. While she mused over the bruises, she didn't notice that Klaus's eyes were turning red with rage. When she looked up, however, the red was gone. He ran a finger over her cheek again, a small smile on his face. "Don't worry about him, love, he won't come near you again. I promise."
"How can you be – " Before Caroline could continue, he placed a finger over her lips, silencing her next words. She raised an eyebrow at him, getting a smirk in return.
"So, if I recall correctly, you owe me," said Klaus, his smirk morphing into an evil grin. She felt her heartbeat speed up as she thought of the multiple ways he might want to be owed back. He chuckled lightly, running his thumb over her cheek again. "Don't worry, love, nothing too bad. How about a make-up dinner date?"
Caroline sighed, folding her arms across her chest and leaning away from him. "You're supposed to be my teacher, Klaus. That's inappropriate in so many ways."
"Substitute teacher," he corrected, his lips quivering as he tried not to laugh. Her eyes widened questioningly, and she moved her hands to rest on her hips.
"What're you talking about?" she exclaimed, her eyebrows knitted together. "You said that you took the position!"
"I lied," he said simply, shrugging innocently. "Just subbing in."
Forgetting who she was talking to, Caroline reached out and slugged Klaus on the arm. He laughed good-naturedly, reaching out to pull her towards him, ignoring her protests. "So how about that dinner date?"
Caroline bit her lower lip, thinking intently. A dinner date? It was a lot less harsh – and kinky – than what she had in mind when he told her that she owed him. Then again, she shouldn't be complaining. "Fine. One date. And you'll leave me alone after?"
"Only if you don't like what you see," replied Klaus with a wink. He leaned in and kissed her swiftly on the forehead and left before she had a chance to yell at him for kissing her. Caroline watched as his shiny black car pulled out of the gas station and wondered how much longer she had before Damon found out and murdered her with his bare hands.
Damon reached into his liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky, pouring it into the cup that usually held blood. Before the whisky could hit the bottom of the cup, something shot through the door and straight at him, pinning him to the wall. The whisky hit the floor moments later, shattering onto the hardwood.
Klaus tightened his grip on Damon's throat and raised him off the ground, baring his fangs. "How dare you even go near her?"
"Oh, Caroline?" Damon managed to spit out, his face turning red. "Right, the one who's going to end up dead because of you."
Klaus threw Damon onto the ground, his spine crashing into the hardwood. "Coming from the bastard who used her?"
Klaus let go of Damon's throat as he noticed his eyes rolling back into his head, giving him time to recover. Damon sat up, massaging his throat tenderly. "Why are you really here? We both know it's not for that blonde."
Before he knew it, he was pinned against the wall again. "The only reason I would ever come back to a town as lifeless as this is for Caroline, and Caroline alone. If you so much as breathe on her again, I will personally rip every limb from your body."
Klaus dropped his grip, letting Damon smash into the ground again. "Don't worry about your precious town. I'm getting out of here as soon as I can, and I'm taking Caroline with me."
Dusting off his shirt, Klaus turned on his heel and headed for the door. "Oh, by the way, I stationed a few of my best Hybrids around the doppelganger's house. If you touch a single hair on my Caroline's head, they'll rip out every last one of Elena's."
Damon shot up off the ground and ran at Klaus, only to be stopped by a potentially fatal punch to the lower stomach. Klaus grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him up to meet his eyes. "Stay away from her. Or I'll rip this town apart, starting with your precious Elena."
Klaus released the front of Damon's shirt and exited the boarding house, leaving a furious Damon behind panting on the floor of his own house.
Dum dum dummm. The next chapter will be the last chapter in this story, seeing as it's a five-shot, but I have a lot of ideas for more stories so stay tuned! Till next time :)
