A/N: You all are fantastically ridiculous. I mean that in a very good way. I appreciate everyone who has followed, favourited, and reviewed this fan-fiction.
Honestly, I probably could have divided this chapter into two, but I decided to push on and give you one big chapter instead. I hope my update eases the pain of waiting another week for a new TVD episode. I'm dying to see 4x07!
You might hate me a little by the end of this chapter, but it's where my inspiration took me.
As usual, ignore any missed errors and please pass me along a review with your thoughts. It's always nice to hear from you!
She stepped into the hospital reluctantly. With every step she wanted to turn around, but she felt like she needed to do this. She needed to check in with Tyler and make sure he was okay. She needed to find out what happened.
Worst case scenario he would throw her out of his room, best case scenario he would speak to her.
The last time she was in this hospital it was to meet Stefan and Damon with Elena's body and to pick up Matt after the accident on Wickery Bridge. She hated this place; it was filled with so many bad memories.
After the nurse refused to release Tyler's room number to non-family members, she compelled it out of her and headed for the elevators.
Tyler was on the same floor Matt had been on.
Anxiously, she approached Tyler's room.
She could hear laughter from inside the room. It sounded like Tyler's, his mom's, and another mystery girl.
The door was open so she slowly stepped into the entrance to make herself known.
Mrs. Lockwood was at the foot of Tyler's bed while a girl she had never met before was sitting on the edge of the bed by Tyler's legs.
As all three of them turned to look at her she felt sick to her stomach instantly. Suddenly she felt like she was intruding; like she was a stranger. It's funny how quickly things change.
Tyler was glaring at her and Mrs. Lockwood was giving her a remorseful but stern look. The mystery girl was eyeing her as if she was the scum of the earth.
"Hi," she said to the three, barely audible. "I heard about what happened. I wanted to come by and check in."
"Caroline," Mrs. Lockwood said, "I don't think Tyler is up for anymore visitors."
Tyler was a hybrid; there was nothing seriously wrong with him. His hospital visit was just a show for the media. Nonetheless, she smiled faintly and nodded, knowing Mrs. Lockwood was merely trying to defend her son.
"Mom, it's alright," Tyler said, garnering a glare from the mystery girl in his direction.
His mom nodded and stepped past her into the hallway. He seemed to give a look of reassurance to the mystery girl and she followed in his mom's direction.
"Come to rub salt in his wounds?" the mystery girl chided as she walked by.
Her brows furrowed and she scoffed in the girl's direction before turning back for Tyler.
Tyler shrugged from the bed.
"Is she right? Is that why you're here?" he asked indignantly.
She shook her head and moved closer to the bed.
"Of course not," she said sincerely. "I wanted to see how you were; find out what happened. Stefan seemed concerned," she added. "And p.s. who is she?"
"Her name's Hayley. She helped me when I was in the Appalachians," he revealed
This was the first she had heard about this Hayley person and it caught her off guard.
"You never mentioned her," she stated.
"I guess it slipped my mind," he said, the malice in his voice clearly referencing her secrets kept from him.
She nodded plainly, completely at a loss for words. Her indiscretions effectively prevented her from confronting him about Hayley. She had no right. Regardless, she still felt hurt.
"So what? Too busy with Klaus to stop by last night?" he said sourly.
She scoffed.
"I had no idea what happened. It's not like anybody came rushing to inform me," she said defensively.
"I wonder why," Tyler spewed sarcasm.
She was beginning to lose control of her emotions at this point. Tyler was getting the better of her; her guilt was getting the better of her.
"Tyler, I'm sorry for what happened. I will always feel horrible for what I did. I know I hurt you. I'm sorry for embarrassing you; I never wanted you to find out like that. I swear I was going to tell you everything that night. What more can I say to make things less hostile? What can I do? If you want me to leave and never speak to you again, then I will," she listed.
He folded his arms over his chest and looked down at his hospital bracelet in contemplation.
She couldn't tell if her little tangent made things better or worse between them. She was never expecting to be best friends with him again, but she just wanted things to be civil between them.
"Look, I'm just here to see if you're alright and to find out what happened. I still care about you and our friends even if it doesn't seem like that," she said almost pleadingly.
He glared at her.
"Maybe you should ask your boyfriend Klaus what happened?" he retorted.
She sighed and debated about leaving the room, but ultimately decided to take his comments in stride. He was hurting. She had made him hurt. She deserved remarks like that from him.
"Klaus didn't have anything to do with this," she said confidently. "Stefan said the attacker took your venom; why would Klaus send someone in to do that if he has venom of his own?" she countered.
He knew she had raised a valid point.
"Besides, Klaus has no motive for fighting you - you have more motive than he does - and even if he did want to rough you up, he wouldn't send in one of his lackeys to do it for him," she explained.
Again, she could tell that he knew she brought up another good point.
"Okay, so maybe it wasn't Klaus who was behind it," he relented.
"What did he look like? Did he say anything to you?" she inquired.
He shrugged.
"I was really drunk. Matt took me outside to cool off since he didn't want the Grill getting busted for underage drinking. This guy came up from behind me and literally paralyzed me and then injected a needle into my gum. Matt tried to push him off but this guy just threw him across the alley like a rag doll. My vision was blurry but he was bald, dark-skinned, he had some facial hair," Tyler described.
"Do you think he was supernatural?" she asked.
"He definitely wasn't a vampire or a werewolf...or both, I could smell his blood," Tyler said, "but there's no way an average human could just overpower a hybrid and throw a quarterback across an alley," he concluded.
"So I guess the question is why would he want your venom? What benefit would it be to him?" she wondered.
"Well it's fatal to vampires; maybe he has a grudge with one?" Tyler proposed.
She nodded.
"But how did he know to come after you?" she thought.
He shook his head.
"He has to know what the Council knows," Tyler suggested.
- "Maybe he's in with the Council?" she added.
Before their conversation could go any further, Hayley interrupted their brainstorming session.
"Tyler, the police are here to question you," she informed them.
Tyler sighed.
She took this as her cue to leave.
"Get better; I'll see you at school," she said to Tyler as one of the officers who worked under her mother stepped into the room.
Tyler said nothing, obviously having returned to his bitter state of mind.
She frowned and turned for the exit, bumping shoulders unintentionally with Hayley as she did.
Hayley scoffed behind her but she ignored it.
Once in the hall, she was met by her mother who was staring daggers in her direction.
"Caroline Forbes, where have you been?" her mother asked sternly under her breath so Mrs. Lockwood wouldn't overhear. "Look, from what I understand by your text message, you hit a rough patch with Tyler the other night. I gave you your space. But that doesn't give you the right to disappear for almost two days. I've been trying to call you all day," she chastised as she pulled her aside by the arm, out of earshot from a nosey Mrs. Lockwood.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I left my cell phone at Klaus's..."
- "Klaus? What the hell were you doing with him? I thought he was dead?" her mother questioned.
Even though she knew she could physically overpower her mother, her mother's scorn still terrified the hell out of her.
"Mom, it's a long story, can we please talk about this later?" she requested.
"Fine," he mother agreed. "I have a couple more hours left of my shift. You better be at home when I get there."
She nodded, and with that her mother stepped into Tyler's room.
Turning for the elevators, Mrs. Lockwood stopped her before she could make her escape.
"Listen, I don't know what you did to my son – he won't talk to me about it – but I think it's best if you keep your distance from him. Seeing you makes him upset. He doesn't need that right now," Mrs. Lockwood explained.
She was surprised by Mrs. Lockwood's confrontation
"It wasn't my intention to make him upset Mrs. Lockwood, I was just concerned about him," she said.
Tyler's mom mustered her best bitchy smile.
"Well he's fine. He has me, and he has his friend Hayley," Mrs. Lockwood assured her.
She scowled under her breath.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"I hope this break-up between you and Tyler won't affect our working relationship; we have a lot to do in the next month for Miss Mystic. I trust you can be professional?" Mrs. Lockwood inquired
She nodded hesitantly, quickly covering up her reluctance with a fake smile.
"Of course Mrs. Lockwood," she replied, before quickly turning to leave.
At this point she wished she could use her vampire speed. She couldn't get out of there any sooner.
As the glass sliding doors to the hospital opened to release her, she was confronted by Damon's blue car parked in front of her – in a designated parking spot for the disabled no less.
She glanced around the parking lot for any sign of him, and hurried quickly for Klaus's car. The last thing she wanted was to talk to Damon.
"Vampire Barbie, where's Hybrid Ken?" Damon called after her.
Knowing a confrontation between them was unavoidable now that he had spotted her, she turned on her heels to see Damon in a wheelchair by his car, hardly being discreet about the fact that he was sipping from a blood bag like it was a juice box.
She crossed her arms in annoyance and rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure there's someone around here who actually needs that parking spot and wheelchair Damon," she chastised him.
He smirked gingerly as his lips pursed around the blood bag sucking out the final drops before tossing the bag aside on the pavement.
Thrusting his hands forwards on the wheels, he rolled quickly towards her and jumped out of the chair.
"So you never answered my question? Where's Hybrid Ken, back at the Barbie dream house?" he snickered.
She quickly decided against this confrontation. Scoffing, she started back for Klaus's car, eager to go home.
"Elena told me everything. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see it all go down. I can just picture the look on wolf-boy's face," he sneered. "I really didn't think you had it in you blondie," he said, as if he was impressed with her indiscretion.
He really wasn't impressed; he was just trying to get to her.
"I shoulda known something was going on between you two just by the way you were acting around each other that day at the Grill when we sent you with him to investigate," he said. "I'm sure you just loved that," he mused.
She spun around to face him.
"Look Damon, just say what you came to say, or lay off. The last person I need to take this shit from is you," she hissed.
His eyes widened in surprise by her outburst and he gave her a small smirk. He held up his hands defensively.
"I actually came here to see Lockwood; trying to figure out what happened last night," he said.
"Well I already talked to him. My mom and another officer are talking to him now," she told him.
He laughed.
"He actually talked to you? Wow," he replied. "So what did he say?" Damon questioned.
She shrugged.
"He was drunk; he doesn't remember much. The guy who attacked him was dark-skinned, facial hair, bald. Tyler said he was human; he paralyzed Tyler with something and then took his venom," she revealed.
Damon looked past her pensively for a few moments.
"So what would a human want with wolf venom...and how did he know he could get it from Tyler," Damon thought aloud.
"Tyler and I are assuming he has an in with the Council and maybe a grudge against a vampire..." she informed him.
Damon nodded, still seemingly unconvinced.
"Why would the Council give up info on Tyler when they're supposed to be on good terms with you two?" Damon wondered. "Maybe they really aren't? Maybe they know about Klaus's missing body?" he suggested. "Either way, this guy sounds like bad news. You sure Klaus didn't have anything to do with it?" he asked.
She groaned aloud as she began to fiddle with the key to the car, ready to leave at any second.
"For the third time today, no, Klaus didn't have anything to do with it," she scowled. "Why would Klaus take Tyler's venom, when he already has an abundant supply of his own?" she retorted.
Damon's eyebrows rose and his lips bunched together as if to acknowledge her point.
"So, basically all we know is that there's some human out there who has the capability of paralyzing hybrids and has a supply of wolf venom that could kill us," he summarized.
She nodded.
"Perfect," Damon sighed.
"So what should we do?" she asked.
Damon rolled his eyes before grabbing her shoulders possessively.
She went rigid, and for the first time in a long while Damon frightened her.
"I should kill you for betraying Elena," he hissed. "But I know somewhere deep down within Elena's annoying lingering humanity she still cares about you," he admitted before letting her go. "But, We're not gonna do anything. I'll handle this," he assured her.
She rubbed her arms where Damon's hands had been, and for a moment it was as though he felt sorry.
"And I'm sure if someone gets attacked with this venom, you'll have an opportunity to redeem yourself by convincing Hybrid Ken to give up his goods and make a little blood donation," Damon suggested.
She sneered at him, even though he had a point. If she could help them in anyway get to the bottom of this peculiar attack, she had a chance for redemption.
"Anything else?" she asked sarcastically.
He shrugged.
"I guess I'm concerned about you..." he relented coldly.
Her eyebrow arched in sincere disbelief.
"Since when have you ever been concerned about me?" she asked bitterly.
He smirked
She supposed his concern began where his genuine feelings for Elena began, but she said nothing.
"I mean, I never was the biggest fan of wolf...hybrid-boy, but Klaus? Really? This guy has been like the bane of our existence for the past year. He killed Elena; he wanted to use her as a human blood bag. Since when did those become attractive qualities?" he mused. "Do you really think he has genuine feelings for you?" he asked with a critical tone.
She scoffed and turned for the car, uninterested in hearing Damon's ridiculous lecture.
He grabbed her by the arm.
"I'm serious," he hissed.
"Let go of me," she growled, using her vampire strength to step out of his grasp.
"Why would you question that, Damon? Because no guy could ever willingly have genuine feelings for me? Because they're all out to use and abuse me, like you?" she spat.
He let go of her instantly.
"You talk about killing me for betraying Elena...why didn't anyone threaten Elena for betraying me!?" she demanded. "You abused me, physically, mentally, emotionally. You raped me," she breathed, tears forming in her eyes.
That had been the first time she had ever admitted that to herself so decisively.
Damon looked dumbfounded and almost seemed ready to say something, but she interrupted him again.
"You raped me," she repeated, as if it was just beginning to sink in. "Sure, I approached you on my own free will, but you compelled me and took advantage," she argued. "And let's not forget the times you were ready to kill me."
She was so angry she could almost feel the remaining blood in her system pumping through her veins.
"And yet, Elena developed feelings for you and you developed feelings for her, and I never once called Elena out for betraying me!" she cried. "I saw past what you did to me and acknowledged your genuine feelings for her. And now that the tables are turned, no one cares that I cheated on Tyler, you only care about the fact that it was with Klaus; that I betrayed you all for having feelings for him," she explained.
For once, Damon was speechless.
"Yes I have feelings for Klaus. Despite everything else he's done, when Tyler was off breaking the sire bond and everyone else was concerned about Elena, he listened to me; he was there after my dad died. He saved my life, in so many ways. And you know what? I was ready to give that all up for Elena. When Klaus was still after Elena for her blood, I refused him. I did that for Elena," she stated. "Oh, and before you claim that a 'monster' like Klaus is incapable of genuine feelings, or criticize my feelings for him, I suggest you and Elena take a good look in the mirror, Damon," she berated.
She gasped for breath and spun back around for the car only to find Klaus standing there behind her.
Relief overcame her instantly and she fell against his chest, disregarding Klaus's earlier discomfort with their open display of affection, or the fact that Damon was standing behind her.
She closed her eyes and clenched the edges of his open jacket as she steadied her breathing with his calming familiar scent.
Klaus wrapped an arm around her.
"It's okay, love. Get in the car," he whispered to her.
She looked up at him to see his eyes fixed on Damon.
Letting go of her, Klaus bolted towards Damon; a malevolent look spread across his face.
"Hybrid Ken, so good to see you alive and well," Damon said in a constrained voice as Klaus's hands held him tightly by the neck.
"I can't say the feeling is mutual," Klaus hissed. "I always knew you were a pathetic excuse for a vampire," he muttered with a clenched jaw. "This little enlightening conversation that I interrupted solidifies my suspicions beautifully."
Shivers ran down her arms at the tone of Klaus's voice.
He flung Damon against his SUV and pinned him up against the back door, shielding his assault from the plain view of anyone passing by.
Klaus's fist connected with Damon's jaw before she even had time to blink. The force of the hit sent Damon onto his knees by the car's back tire.
"Klaus," she said hesitantly, glancing around the parking lot self-consciously.
He looked at her over his shoulder.
"Sweetheart, I told you to get in the car," he said to her.
She stepped back as if to go for the passenger door, but she stopped when Klaus's foot connected with Damon's stomach.
Damon released a loud yelp and Klaus laughed in response.
Admittedly, seeing Damon be handed a taste of his own medicine was thrilling to her; seeing Klaus be the one to give him that taste even more so, but she knew she could only let Klaus take this so far. Klaus killing Damon here in the Mystic Falls hospital parking lot would do nothing for her cause. Despite everything, these people were still her friends and she still wanted to resolve their issues.
"How does it feel mate?" Klaus snickered as he picked Damon up by the collar of his jacket. "Perhaps I should call in one of my hybrid pals to really take advantage of the situation, hmm?" Klaus said suggestively.
Damon's eyes widened.
"I don't think that's necessary," Damon squeaked out.
She had never seen Damon this weak before with her own eyes.
"You know...after all the trouble you've caused me, what with all your attempts to kill me and now this, I would love nothing more than to dig my fingertips into your chest," Klaus threatened, positioning his fingers over Damon's heart.
He pushed his fingers into the material of Damon's shirt which garnered a painful groan from Damon.
"...and press them right against your heart," Klaus continued, "to rip that waste of an organ from your body."
Klaus's lips curled into a smile.
Damon shrugged.
"You won't," Damon challenged him, glancing over Klaus's shoulder at her. "Vampire Barbie won't let you. If you kill me, you'll destroy any chance at her salvaging her friendship with Elena," he said confidently.
Klaus considered Damon's words and smirked.
"Unfortunately, you have a point," Klaus acknowledged as he removed his fingers slowly from Damon's flesh. "However, the thought of getting to kill you over and over again is much more appealing anyways," he added. "Like this," he said simply, snapping Damon's neck effortlessly.
She shook with surprise as Damon's limp body collapsed in Klaus's arms.
After using Damon's jacket to wipe Damon's blood from his hands, he tossed Damon to the pavement.
He eyed her cautiously as he approached.
"Are you alright, love?" he asked, almost in a panic as he clutched her face in his hands, much like he had done after her run in with evil Alaric.
She nodded reluctantly.
"I've been looking for you," he said, pulling her cell phone from his pocket. "You forgot this."
He handed her the phone.
"I heard about the attack on Tyler at the Grill last night. I thought you might be here..." he explained.
She gazed down past him at Damon's seemingly lifeless form and Klaus's eyes followed hers.
He sighed, realizing her discomfort.
"Let's leave before he comes to," he muttered.
Walking her to the passenger side, he opened the door for her and then climbed in the driver's side beside her
"I need the keys, love," he said, holding out his hand.
Handing him the keys, she fell back against the seat.
Klaus said nothing more as he started the car and reversed from the space.
The car rose and fell slightly as they backed up.
She noticed a grin form on Klaus's face as he gazed out the window.
They had evidently run over a part of Damon, and judging by the look on Klaus's face, it was entirely intentional.
She bit her lip and tried hard to maintain a look of disapproval, but she quickly lost the fight and broke into a small smile which she tried to conceal by looking out her own window.
Fully expecting Klaus to drive them to his house, she was surprised when they pulled up in front of hers. She was relieved. She wanted her own house; her own bed. She didn't want to be confronted again by Rebekah and Kol.
She got out of the car quietly, unsure of what to say to Klaus.
Should she thank him? Should she explain what he interrupted? Should she bring up Tyler?
Klaus opened the door to the backseat and retrieved her things and she couldn't help but smile on the inside at his thoughtful behaviour. Sometimes this side of Klaus was still a surprise to her.
Grabbing her house keys from her coat, she unlocked the door and stepped inside with Klaus following behind.
He placed her things on the table in the front hall as she removed her coat and shoes.
She noticed a glint of uncertainty and worry in his eyes as he looked up at her.
"Thank you," she whispered, hoping he knew she wasn't just referring to him carrying her homework.
He nodded and she tried hard to fight the random tears that were threatening to fall from her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she apologized as she laugh-cried.
She dragged her fingers under her eyes to catch the tearful overflow.
"It's just been a really hard day," she sighed.
"There's no need to be sorry, love," he assured her, replacing her hands with his thumbs to wipe some more tears from her cheeks.
She closed her eyes and indulged in the feeling of his hands against her skin.
At one point in time not long ago she never thought a moment like this would be possible. She had traded her friends for this and while she didn't have much regret, she knew this moment would have been so much more enjoyable if she had her friends' support.
He lightly brushed his lips against hers.
"Why don't you take a shower; I'll fetch us something to eat," he said.
She nodded, knowing a shower would help her relax.
Taking her things to her room, she picked out some of her own comfortable clothes to wear after her shower.
She slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, undressing as she waited for the water to heat up.
The shower felt better than expected.
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back underneath the spray of the water, concentrating on nothing but the darkness. Surprisingly no deep thoughts about her day crossed her mind. As the water cascaded down her body so too did the tension she felt.
Spending longer revelling under the water than she had anticipated, she quickly washed her hair and body to finish the shower.
Once she was changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top she towel dried her hair and tried to make herself look decently presentable for Klaus.
When satisfied, she gathered up Rebekah's clothes into a pile and returned to her room.
She found Klaus perched atop her bed. He was using one of her textbooks as a hard surface against his legs as he wrote on a piece of paper.
Candles and her dim bedroom lamps illuminated the room and she smiled when she noted two plastic cups filled with blood.
Klaus smirked.
"I couldn't find any wine glasses," he explained.
She shrugged.
"My mom only takes the wine glasses out of the cabinet in the living room for special occasions; which is like never," she laughed.
He nodded.
"You should drink. You haven't fed since yesterday," he said plainly as he focused on the piece of paper.
While his comment might have seemed overbearing, she was beginning to understand that's how he expressed his concern.
As the scent of the blood became more prominent to her she felt her vampire features emerge under her eyes.
She reached for the full cup and sipped eagerly at the warm liquid.
He was right, she hadn't fed since yesterday and she had nearly met her limit for going without. She would have preferred to drink from him, but it wasn't the time and she wasn't about to ask.
Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she placed Rebekah's things beside her and watched him curiously as she drank.
"What are you doing?" she finally asked.
He smirked again and held up the piece of paper.
It looked like her math assignment.
She arched her eyebrows.
"You enjoy doing my math homework in your spare time?" she mused.
"Well, I figured I owed you one since my last moment of inspiration caused you to have to re-write your entire assignment," he said.
Taking another sip from the cup, she shook her head.
"You didn't have to," she told him.
He shrugged as he set the book and paper down and reached for his own cup.
"It's mind exercise. Besides, I'm already finished," he bragged.
She scoffed and set the now empty cup back on the nightstand.
"Show-off," she scowled.
Chuckling under his breath he grabbed her playfully and pulled her down onto the bed so that she was underneath of him.
Her gasp of surprise quickly turned into a laughter that matched his.
She beamed up at him. In spite of everything, she couldn't remember a moment when she felt happier.
His laughter was soon silenced with the press of his lips to her neck, then to her jaw, and then to her cheek.
The very sequence of his actions coupled with earlier events brought back long repressed memories of Damon.
Her breathing stilled and he responded accordingly.
Lifting his head, he gazed down at her with concern as if her body language was an open book to him.
He propped himself up beside her with his arm while his eyes avoided hers and his fingertips etched a pattern on her arm.
She could tell by his distant expression that he was deep in thought, likely ruminating about the confrontation with Damon; she could almost feel his affliction.
"You never told me about, Damon," he said quietly. "You and Damon," he added lowly.
Sighing, she looked away from him and up at the ceiling.
Damon was not something she had ever talked much about. Once her memories came flooding back to her after turning there really wasn't really time to deal with it. She had barely acknowledged the events with Damon to herself let alone to anyone else.
"I guess I just assumed you knew. You knew I was Miss Mystic Falls," she pointed out anxiously.
"Well that was general public knowledge. You and Damon, however..." he trailed off.
She shrugged against her pillows.
"It was nothing," she said, looking away from him at her window.
He turned her back towards him.
"It didn't sound like nothing, sweetheart," he said, a hint of bitter anger under his breath.
She bit her lip as her eyes welled up with water.
There was a painful silence between them as she prepared herself to tell him and he prepared himself to listen.
"It was when he first came to Mystic Falls..." she started. "He was pissed that Stefan got to Elena first, and I was the insecure teenage girl who was pissed that Elena was someone's first choice yet again," she sighed. "He took advantage of that to get to Stefan and Elena..." she paused, debating about whether or not she would elaborate as to what 'took advantage of' meant.
He tucked some loose hair behind her ear and she curled her head against his chest.
"Damon compelled me to be in a relationship with him," she continued as she felt a few hot tears slide down her cheeks.
She could feel Klaus tense beneath her.
"He compelled me to do his bidding, he demeaned me, he used my blood...he raped me, and he nearly killed me more than once," she admitted. "Then Katherine turned me against my will and I remembered all of it."
Klaus grumbled softly under his breath.
"And despite all that, I've tried to be understanding of Elena's feelings for Damon. Now that things have kind of been reversed, neither of them cares to do the same for me," she murmured.
He tucked his hand underneath her chin to raise her eyes to his.
His eyes looked sympathetic and remorseful and she wished her friends could see him this way.
"I'll never hurt you like that," he proclaimed quietly.
Curling her lips together, she nodded as she tried to hold back more tears.
For some reason she had accepted his statement without question. It was automatic; instinctual, as though she could feel the promise in his voice.
"I know," she said barely audible as she kissed his bottom lip tenderly.
He kissed her back gingerly, only deepening the kiss after she herself had made the first move to do so. It was him being considerate.
She climbed over top of his hips and rested in his lap, determined to erase her thoughts of Damon and the horrible memories that had been drudged up.
Their kisses intensified and she concentrated on the lovely feeling of his hands drifting through her damp hair.
When he pulled her away from his lips unexpectedly she glanced down at him confused.
"It's okay. I want this," she assured him.
He shook his head and smiled.
"As much as I would like to pick up where we left off this morning, your mother is home," he told her.
She concentrated her hearing in response.
Sure enough, she could hear her mother fumbling with her keys outside the front door.
She groaned at her mother's perfect timing. Her mother was yet another confrontation she would have to endure before the day was over.
"I need to talk to her," she told him. "Will you wait?" she asked, hoping he'd say yes.
He nodded without a word as they could both hear her mother step inside.
She climbed off the bed reluctantly, closing her bedroom door partly before meeting her mother in the hallway.
"Mom," she greeted her anxiously.
Her mom put her things down on the floor and crossed her arms.
"I want you to start talking right now, Caroline. What's been going on?" her mother inquired sternly.
She smiled faintly at her mother, hoping her innocent look would win her over, but she did not seem to be buying it.
"Don't you want some tea, or something to eat, first?" she suggested to her mother.
Her mom shook her head.
"Not until you talk," she replied.
She stammered a little as she tried to figure out where to start and how much to tell her mom.
"Tyler and I broke up," she revealed. "The night of the Miss Mystic thing."
"I figured," her mother said bluntly. "That's the impression I got from Tyler, although he wouldn't tell me much. How about you get to the part where you explain Klaus's survival and why you were with him," she demanded.
She fumbled nervously with her fingers and decided to start at the desiccation.
"The night Damon was gonna hand over Klaus's desiccated body to Rebekah, Bonnie had done a spell no one knew about. It transferred Klaus into Tyler's body. So when Alaric daggered Klaus, he really didn't kill him," she told her.
Her mom looked severely confused.
"But Tyler was here that night. He came to see you after he survived..." her mom recalled, slowly putting the pieces together.
"It was Klaus, not Tyler," she said, pushing her mother's conclusion along. "He posed as Tyler; you gave his body up to the Council to protect me. When I started to get suspicious, Klaus had no choice but to tell me what was going on," she explained.
Her mother's eyebrows furrowed.
"So, Klaus is still in Tyler's body and that's why you and 'Tyler' broke up. That's why you were at Klaus's?" her mom asked, still clearly bewildered.
Her expression scrunched together in response to her mother's question.
"Not exactly," she revealed. "Bonnie put Klaus back in his body at the Miss Mystic Falls Nomination Ceremony the other night. I already knew about the body-swap then. Klaus is back in his body and Tyler is back in his now. The Council isn't aware, as far as we know."
A gasp escaped her mother's lips as a hand covered her mouth.
"Caroline, do you realize how much trouble you and Tyler could be in if the Council discovers Klaus is missing from that coffin!? The Council agreed to leave you alone because they believed you helped kill Klaus. And now, according to Tyler there's someone in Mystic Falls running around with werewolf venom! It's not safe for you," her mother said frantically.
Before she could defend giving Tyler his body back, a throat cleared from behind her and she saw a stunned expression form on her mother's face at the sight of Klaus.
Her mom's eyes began to dart between her and Klaus as she struggled to put together a coherent explanation.
"Caroline, why is he here? What's going on?" she interrogated.
She glanced at Klaus and then back at her mother.
"You said Tyler and Klaus switched back at the Miss Mystic Nomination Ceremony; that that was the night you and Tyler broke up. You said you left your phone at Klaus's...meaning Klaus was already back in his body...meaning you were there with him. Why? What am I missing? Why did you and Tyler break up? And why is Klaus standing in my hallway?" her mom demanded.
Rubbing her lips anxiously against one another she inhaled anxiously at her mother's questions.
"Tyler and I broke up because of Klaus..." she began.
"What do you mean? Klaus forced you to break up?" her mother inquired, throwing a cold glare in Klaus's direction.
She shook her head at her mom and covered her face with her hands before dragging them through her hair.
"No mom; I cheated on Tyler...with Klaus," she confessed.
Her mom's eyes widened with what she could only describe as pure horror and disappointment.
"Caroline..." she scolded.
- "I know," she said, interrupting her mother's attempt at a lecture. "What I did was wrong. It happened after dad died and Tyler left to break the sire bond. I just acted on my feelings. I shouldn't have let it happen, but it helped me realize that I didn't care for Tyler in the way that I thought I did," she revealed.
Her mother arched an eyebrow, shooting her a look of disapproval.
"The way you think you care for Klaus? He's made your life and the lives of your friends' hell for the past year," her mom interjected.
She nodded steadfastly; somewhat surprised that Klaus had remained relatively silent.
"He's more than that now, mom," she explained.
Her mom rested her hands on her hips, clearly not convinced.
"So what? You're with him? You're together?" she asked in an accusatory tone.
Hesitating for an answer, she began to stutter. While they had both confessed their feelings for one another, they had never formally established that they were in a 'relationship.' She didn't want to say anything that Klaus may not be ready to admit.
She felt Klaus's fingertips brush against her own as he stepped closer beside her.
"Yes, we are, Mrs. Forbes," Klaus acknowledged.
Her stomach knotted with conflicted emotions. While she could tell her mother was not pleased, and that upset her, Klaus had just openly and verbally recognized their relationship, and that provoked a small smile.
She looked at her mother who appeared utterly distressed.
"Caroline, do you have any idea of what you're getting yourself into? He's dangerous; he could hurt you!" her mom exclaimed. "Are you being compelled? Are you compelling her?" she asked Klaus.
Klaus shook his head.
"No, she's not being compelled by me," he said in a surprisingly calm voice. "I would never do that to her. Why would I want to compel her to be with me?" he asked rhetorically. "I can assure you Mrs. Forbes, I have nothing but honourable intentions for your daughter," Klaus said, as though he was a human boy needing to secure her mother's approval.
She was amused by it really. He really didn't need to say those things to her mother. In fact, she really didn't need to justify herself to her mom either. She was a vampire – he was a hybrid. The thought was liberating. However, here he was being polite, and she was grateful. Her mother's acceptance was still important to her.
"And what exactly does a centuries old hybrid see in a young...vampire...like my daughter?" her mom challenged.
She was becoming uncomfortable and exceedingly nervous as she found herself caught in the middle of an intensifying verbal match between her mother and Klaus; the latest question of which she didn't expect Klaus to answer, knowing he could barely describe his feelings even to her.
He pondered her mother's question for a few moments as she watched both him and her mother apprehensively.
"My salvation, I suppose," he said simply.
His admission nearly sucked the breath from her lungs. It was short and simple, but its meanings were endless.
Even her mother appeared to be moved by his response.
"Mom, I know what I'm getting myself into. I've had to sacrifice my friendships for this, and I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't serious...if my feelings weren't real. Klaus would never hurt me," she said, eyeing Klaus as she made reference back to his earlier words.
Her mom let out an exasperated sigh.
"But he's already putting you in harm's way," her mother argued. "Without your friends and their protection, you're vulnerable to whoever this person is with the wolf venom. And once the Council discovers they no longer have Klaus, they are going to come for you," she said.
"My blood is the antidote for wolf venom, as I'm sure you recall," Klaus retorted. "And I plan to leave Mystic Falls before the Council discovers my disappearance," he added.
"They could find out tonight," her mom countered hypothetically.
- "Then I'll leave at dawn," he replied.
She glanced at Klaus in surprise at his readiness to leave Mystic Falls so soon. She didn't want to leave yet.
Her mother shrugged.
"What good is your absence to my daughter?" she questioned.
"She would come with me," he answered.
Scoffing, her mother began to pace in front of them.
"No," her mother said flatly. "She can't leave with you; she's barely eighteen. She needs to finish school," her mother reasoned, clinging to her human life as she was.
She wanted to inject herself back into the conversation – to defend herself – but Klaus began to speak again before she could.
"It's my understanding that you and Mrs. Lockwood were ready to send Caroline and Tyler away under a similar circumstance," Klaus reminded her.
Her mom nodded, knowing Klaus had raised a valid point.
"You were prepared to let your daughter flee with a young hybrid who barely knows his own strength. I can offer Caroline the protection she deserves, and anything else she so desires. I want nothing more than to keep her safe," Klaus added.
She could tell her mom was at an impasse. She was conflicted.
While partly convinced by their appeal, she was also reasonably reluctant. All she really knew of Klaus was his vindictive side, apart from the time he came to save her on her birthday. She could understand why her mother was hesitating.
She herself was reluctant, especially if being with Klaus could mean leaving Mystic Falls tomorrow.
Her mother exhaled sharply and let her arms fall to her sides as if defeated.
"I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you," she relented. "The choice is yours, Caroline. I just want you to be happy and safe," her mother said passively.
Despite her mother's apparent change of heart, the confusion, anger, and sadness could still be heard lingering in the tone of her voice.
"When you both are finished, have Klaus see himself out," her mother said plainly, turning down the hall for the kitchen.
She wanted to say more to her mom; to convince her that all of this was okay, but she was at a loss for words. There was nothing more to say. She would have to give her mother time to digest everything she was just told.
Thankfully, her mother's initial reaction had been more subdued than that of her friends' at least.
She had expected her mother to be enraged and she had anticipated a shouting match between the two of them that rivaled some of their best from when she was a younger teen. She wasn't sure if she should take her mother's failure to respond this way as a good sign yet or not. Time would tell, she thought.
Either her mother would be more understanding or she would be ignoring her like her friends were come morning.
Klaus was looking at her affectionately and now she found herself conflicted.
Klaus had been very open with her mother about the nature of his feelings; the type of confessions that made her heart flutter and her knees weak. However, his eagerness to leave Mystic Falls was not something she shared.
He followed her back to her room quietly as she dwelled upon how to reveal that to him.
"What did Tyler have to say when you went to the hospital?" Klaus asked, breaking the silence and distracting her from her mother and what she really wanted to discuss.
She could sense a hint of jealousy in his voice at the fact that she had been to see Tyler, but by the tone of his question, Klaus seemed to be more interested in what information Tyler had about the attack.
"Whoever he was, he was human; bald, facial hair, dark skin," she listed. "He paralyzed Tyler with something and took his venom...he threw Matt across the alley," she added. "Stefan, Tyler, and Damon all thought you had something to do with it..." she told him.
He sneered as he began to pace her room much like her mother had been doing in the hall.
"Of course they would. They're always making assumptions," he chided. "Why would I need Tyler's venom when I have plenty of my own?" he asked.
- "That's what I said..." she replied.
He seemed satisfied that she believed him.
"Whoever it is knows that Tyler is at least a wolf, and knows that wolf venom is lethal to vampires...perhaps the Council is aware of the fact that my body is no longer in that coffin," he surmised as his mind raced.
Looking up at her, his serious gaze penetrated her.
"We can't take any chances. We should leave immediately. It's no longer safe for you here," he stammered quickly.
"And go where?" she asked, completely unconvinced by the idea.
He shrugged.
"Anywhere you want to go, love," he offered. "Or, I'll surprise you as you requested," he suggested.
"For how long?" she wondered.
"Indefinitely," he replied.
She began to hesitate and he noticed before she had the chance to hide it.
"I-I...I don't want to leave," she blurted out.
His jaw clenched and she could see that he was displeased.
"Is this about your mother?" he questioned. "Because I'm sure she could be convinced."
She shook her head. While her mother's approval was important to her, it wasn't a necessary condition to be met in order for her to leave.
As much as she wanted to leave with Klaus she couldn't abandon her friends, even if it seemed as though they didn't want her help.
"I can't just leave my friends to deal with whatever this new threat is," she explained. "I want to help them."
He scoffed.
"Your safety is more important," he argued. "Besides, these so-called 'friends' of yours don't seem to care much about you, so why take such a risk?" he lamented.
"Because I care about them, and I want to make things right," she said defensively.
His eyes were burning at her defiance.
"You could be killed if you remain here," he hissed to her impatiently, "if not by the Council then by this mystery attacker."
"They don't scare me," she stated effortlessly. "What scares me is the guilt I'll feel if I leave having not made amends with my friends," she described. "I can't leave."
She watched him apprehensively as she tried to read his stoic expression and body language.
Closing the distance between them, he stepped in front of her so that they were only inches apart.
"Don't be foolish, Caroline," he warned; his eyes boring down into hers.
"I can't leave, not now," she resisted.
He growled and almost seemed ready to grab her arms, but he hesitated, dropping his hands to his sides instead.
"So be it, but it is your mistake to make," he deplored. "Do not ask me to be an accomplice to your certain death," he bemoaned.
She frowned.
"So you're making me choose then yet again, between you and my friends? Why?" she cried. "I told you once that no matter how much I cared for you, I wouldn't give up my friendships," she reminded him.
"I haven't forgotten," he admitted. "But you also told me that I would never lose you," he challenged. "Your suicide mission to save your friendships will see to it that your latter words are proven to be false."
He stormed past her towards her bedroom door.
"Where are you going!?" she panicked.
With his back to her, he glanced slightly over his shoulder.
"Your mother told me to see myself out when we were finished," he answered.
A/N: So I hope you didn't think Klaus was going to stop acting impulsively. Don't worry, his anger and impulsiveness come from an honest place. I also hope I didn't lure you into a false sense of security where Klaus and Caroline are concerned. Of course it wasn't going to be smooth sailing for them after the last few chapters, we haven't reached the end of the story yet. They've hit a minor bump in the road. Feel free to express your dislike for me in the form of a review. I appreciate love and hate. :D