Our Town

Dear diary,

I'm actually writing in this again. I feel like Elena... But this is badly needed.

Stefan - my best friend - is a full blown ripper... someone who kills without remorse. He flipped the humanity switch in the back of his head, which means he feels nothing. Not love, hate, anger... nothing. But Damon thinks he can be saved, so I do too.

Damon told me he loves me. That's a lovely thing to hear, but it's so damn annoying when after that, he doesn't call you for three days. I know he's alive and well. Both Elena and Bonnie have spoken to him... but he's ignoring me.

I had him compel my little brother, Jeremy, to leave town and go to Denver. Which sucks... because I miss him, but I know this is the best thing for him. He can't stay here with everything going on.

And I'm just wondering, but what the hell is 'a fire' other than a really hot flame?

"Writing in a diary? Isn't that Elena's thing?"

I looked up to see Ric, smirking in the doorway. I grinned. "Well, it's mine now. It's better than venting my frustrations out on you or Elena. And coach said my swimming techniques go plop when I'm angry."

He held up his hands in defense playfully. "Hey, hey, I didn't say anything."

I threw my pen at him, but with speedy - almost vampiric - reflexes, he caught it. "You can do better than that, surely. Have I taught you nothing?"

"I didn't want to hurt you," I lied.

"Hm... Elena's my new favourite student."

I stood and stormed over to him, my diary still in my clutches. Ric chuckled and ran a few feet, but I caught up with him and slammed the book on his head. "Take. That. Back!" I demanded between giggles.

"Fine, you're my favourite!" I smirked and back away from him.

"Good."

I went back to my room, only to hear him mutter, "Elena is so my favourite student."

And he intended for me to hear it.

As soon as I walked into the High School, I was practically pounced on by an angry Bonnie. "You told Damon to compel Jeremy," she said angrily. "You didn't even tell me!"

"Hey, Bon," I tried to soothe her, but she was getting angrier by the second. "Look, I was only protecting him."

"You're trying to control his life!" she bellowed. The people around us turned to stare, so she continued in a much more hushed voice. "You and Elena... you think you know what's best for him, that you can just rule his life, but you can't. You deserves choices, you can't just take them away."

Guilt washed over me. "Bonnie, I'm sorry, but it's for the best."

I bit my lip and walked past her. "Don't you dare walk away from me!" she called after me.

I went over to Caroline's locker, more depressed than I was when I came into school. Elena had decorated the locker. She frowned when she heard the first bell. "Caroline's late. She's never late unless she's not coming in."

"We'll just go to her house later, then," I suggested.

She nodded. "Yeah." She looked at me for a moment. I tried to will myself to smile at her, but I couldn't. "Bonnie pounced on you too?"

"She's right, isn't she? We shouldn't have taken his choice away."

"It was for the best."

I sighed. "I sure hope so."

"Happy birthday!" Matt yelled after we jumped up from our hiding places.

We all had a party hat on our heads and balloons in her hands. I had my present in my other hand. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked us.

"Well, you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so..." Elena started.

"Change into warmer clothes, we are going to the Falls. S'mores, camp fire..."

"Cake!" I boomed. "Like when we were kids."

Matt sing-songed, "Except with the tequila!"

She looked a little depressed. "Thanks, guys. Really... I'm just not feeling my birthday this year."

We were all shocked. "I'm sorry, what? You've already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year."

"Yeah, and now, it's just a reminder that technically... I'm dead. Look, I didn't even like seventeen. And the only point to being seventeen is to get to eighteen. It's a filler year... I'm stuck in a filler year."

"You're not stuck, Caroline," Elena assured her.

"Yeah I am, but it's okay. You know, it's all good, I'll be fine. But I just need some time to wallow in it."

Elena grinned mischievously. "Okay, well I think I have another idea."

We entered one of the mausoleums. "There it is!" Elena exclaimed happily.

"This is creepy... even for us," Bonnie commented.

"No, Caroline was right... technically, she's dead. Sorry. But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life, so that you can move on with your new one."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "Here lies Caroline Forbes..."

"...Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion..." Elena continued, sticking candles into the cake.

"...friend, daughter, overachiever..." Bonnie added.

"...one of the bestest friends a girl could ask for, but a dolly and barbie robber..." I mock-glared at her and she laughed.

"...Mean girl, sometimes, no offense," Matt said.

She giggled. "None taken."

"She was seventeen, and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward. That's what you really need. What we all really need. Amen, or cheers or whatever. Bonnie?" Elena gestured to the cake. Bonnie lit the candles using magic. "Nice! Okay, make a wish."

The vampire closed her eyes and made a wish.

The five of us were shoveling down cake. Matt took a bottle of tequila from Bonnie, but Elena snatched it from him before he could drink it. Rude. "I need it more than you do, trust me." Nobody needed it more that Matt Donovan did. Living on his own, supporting himself, being dragged into supernatural business... Elena just had a ripper boyfriend. Which was pretty bad... but still. "Caroline, what are you doing?""

Caroline stopped texting and straightened up. "What? Nothing." She was playing innocent.

"You're a disgraceful sober liar, Care," I said with a smile. "And you're horrendous when your drunk."

Caroline sighed. "I might have texted Tyler."

"Caroline..." Elena said.

"What? I'm delicate," she said innocently.

"Give her a break! You can't control what everyone does all the time," Bonnie snapped.

"Wow."

"Ouch, Bon," Matt said.

And like that the mood went bash. "Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong that you guys compelled Jeremy to leave town."

"We did it to protect it. He didn't deserve to be dragged into all this," I said.

That didn't calm her down at all. "He should be able to choose how he wants to live it, you're taking his choices away."

"Bonnie, you can't tell him," Elena begged.

"Why? Are you gonna compel me not to?" Bonnie spat.

Matt attempted to ease the sour mood. "You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral."

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said, standing up. "I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something." She turned to Caroline. "Happy birthday."

A few minutes after Bonnie left, Tyler arrived in the crypt. "Sorry, I didn't mean to crash the party."

Matt narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "So don't."

"No, it's-it's okay." She turned to Tyler and smiled. "Hi."

"Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important."

Caroline nodded and left the crypt with Tyler. "Are you okay?" Elena asked Matt when the two lovebirds were go.

Matt took the bottle from Elena and drank from it. "Yeah, I want her to be happy, you know? It's what I want for all of you guys, in the middle of this crazy life you got stuck living."

"You think we're stuck?" I asked him.

Matt shrugged. "I'd say it's attached itself to you all pretty tight, yeah."

Elena pursed her lips and there was silence. "Bonnie is right, you know." She looked to me. "We had no business messing with Jeremy's head. I suppose we didn't know what to do... he's in danger here. And we can't lose anyone else that we love."

I nodded. "As much as I hate myself for doing it, we did what was best for him, 'Lena."

Caroline didn't come back to the crypt. Matt and Elena were looking for her through the woods and so was I. We separated, considering they were two humans who needed all the muscle they could get and I was witch who could fry people's brains.

I had taken to observing my power. At night, I was stronger, on a full moon, I was amazing... scary, but amazing.

I found Caroline slumping against a tree, sobbing. "Care," I said, kneeling beside her. "What happened?"

"He bit me!" she exclaimed. "Tyler bit me!"

"What? Tyler would have never..." Then it dawned on me. "...oh."

She looked up to me, tears in her blue eyes. "What?"

I shook my head. "Nevermind. Come on. We gotta get you home."

Caroline's arm was wrapped around my neck. "Daddy... Daddy... is that you?"

"Caroline..."

"Why would you hurt me, Daddy? I never did anything bad... and you t-tortured me. No! I'm not!" She was brought back to reality and began to sob. "He was there, Louise. I saw him! I saw him!"

"Shh..." I soothed. She looked hungry. I stopped in the middle of the path and offered her my wrist. She shot me a questioning look. "Here. Drink."

"I-"

"You can," I finished. "You need it."

She nodded unsurely and bit down on my wrist. The control-freak inside her stopped pretty quickly, only draining as much blood as she needed. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

She leaned on me as I carried her the rest of the way home. "If I'm... if I'm gonna die, I-"

"Caroline, you're not gonna-"

"If I am," she cut me off. "I just want to say sorry. Damon... he loves you, and you love him. And if anyone deserves to be happy, it's you."

"Thank you." I rang the doorbell of her house. "But you're not going to die tonight. I'm not gonna to let you."

She smiled at me. Caroline's mom answered the door, looking at her daughter worryingly. "What happened?"

"Tyler bit her," I said. "We need to get her inside."

"Oh my God, sweetheart. Oh, honey. Caroline, honey, can you hear me?"

Sheriff Forbes helped me bring her inside. "I'm sorry, Mom," Caroline said.

I laid her on her bed. "She keeps hallucinating. Klaus, you know Klaus?" She nodded. "His blood is the cure. I need to get him. Take care of her."

I stormed into the Town Hall, where the Wickery Bridge Fundraiser was going on. I gave up on being the perfect Founders' daughter a long time ago, Elena fitted that role better than I ever could.

Klaus was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere, asked the majority of people at the party who said that he had either left or was somewhere else in the house. I even checked the back yard!

I went to the front of the Town Hall and saw Klaus, who was leaving the party. "Klaus!" I called, he ignored me. I rushed down the steps and followed him as he walked down the path. "Klaus! Klaus! I know you can hear me!"

He whipped around angrily. "I've had enough of you lot to last a lifetime! Stefan almost drove your sister off a bridge! Were you in on it too?"

"No, no, of course not," I replied, shaking my head. "I was too busy taking care of my friend who's dying from a wolf bite."

I glared at him. "Are you genuinely not afraid of me or something that you have the audacity to speak to the Original Hybrid like this?" He seemed amused at the prospect that I wasn't quaking in fear.

"My fear for my best friend's impending death overrides any fear I have for you." The amusement was wiped off his face. "Tyler bit her, which I find curious. It can't be a coincidence that Tyler Lockwood, who so happens to be sired to you, bit Caroline, the girl he's madly in love with. My guess is that you used the sire bond to make him do it. But why? To get back at Stefan? Because that's just stupid, Klaus. Stefan doesn't care! And you don't have a right to be mad because all of this is your fault! You're the one who compelled him to flip the switch, if you didn't then all this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have stole your stupid coffins! You're forcing the repercussions of your mistakes on us! And it's not right. So I'm going to ask you to fix it."

He growled. "And if I don't? What'll you do?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. That's why I'm asking. Caroline's an innocent person, she shouldn't have to pay for yours or Stefan's mistakes."

"You speak of innocent people dying, but yet you're in love with a vampire. Isn't that hypocritical?" Klaus asked me.

"I see the good in him and he hasn't killed anyone in a long time."

"How do you know that?" he inquired.

"Because I trust him." Klaus looked a little shocked that that was all I was going on, but it was true. Damon told me he hadn't killed anyone, save for Klaus' slave minion hybrids, and I believed him. I realised I was staring at Klaus and pulled my gaze away. "Please, Klaus. Give Caroline your blood. I'm begging you."

He smirked. "I'll take it under consideration."

He walked away from me. "By the way, it's her birthday," I called after him, hoping that would help shift the weight to our side.

Elena was crying into her pillow when I went into her room. Her sobs were heartbreaking. Since my parents died, I was afraid to cry... in case I didn't stop. There were two people in the world I ever told that to: Stefan and Jenna.

Saying 'I love you' to Damon was a huge step for me. That was the last thing I said to my mom before she died. I was healing... slowly but surely. It takes a little while to get over losing so many people... especially your parents.

I laid down on the bed next to her. "He-he was about to d-drive me off W-Wickery Bridge!" Elena sobbed.

"I know," I said. "I heard."

She sat up and wiped her eyes. "Will we e-ever get over it? Their deaths?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

The doorbell rang late that night. I grumbled and answered it. Whoever was calling...

Klaus.

"Uh... hi," I said.

"I don't suppose you'd like to invite me in?"

"No offense, but..."

He nodded. "I understand. Can I speak to you for a bit?" I rose an unsure eyebrow. "I promise I won't bite."

I rolled my eyes and stepped outside. "First of all, bite jokes aren't funny."

He chuckled. "Got it. I just thought you'd like to know your friend Caroline is healed up."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

Why was I thanking him? He was the one who made Tyler bite her, but this was a step up from evil, homicidal hybrid, I guess. Maybe he wouldn't terrorise us anymore.

"You surprised me today," he said. I was confused. "You're loyalty to your friend, it was admirable."

I shrugged and shoved my hands into my nightgown pockets. "It's nothing. I'd do anything for the people I love."

"Loyalty is one of the few qualities I admire in people," he said. "I think it's one of the greatest traits a person could possess."

He wanted loyalty. That's why he sired hybrid. He wanted loyalty and friendship... and that made him that bit more redeemable. Not that I was willing to forget everything he did, nor did I have any reason to, he was still a horrible person in my mind.

"I'll try not to hurt the people you care about anymore," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you care about them. Good night, Louise."

He'll try not to... like it was so difficult. But it at least it was a step up from killing everyone I love.

I found myself staring after him, more confused than ever. Because you care about them... what did that even mean? That he cared about me? No. No way. Homicidal hybrid, duh, he doesn't care about anything but his safety. He's playing games.

I shook my head and went inside. Ric was standing there, waiting for me in the hall. "What did Klaus want?"

I shrugged. "Caroline was bit by Tyler and he healed her because I asked him to. He was just coming over to tell me." Ric's expression didn't change. "But you knew that, didn't you? You were listening."

"He's dangerous, Louise," Ric said. "More so than Damon."

"You're saying that..." I shook my head frantically. "No. Nope! Absolutely no, Ric! I'm going to bed."

I made my way half-way up the stairs when I heard Alaric mutter, "What's up with her and the bad guys?"

I stopped when I heard that. What is up with me and the bad guys?

The morning after, Elena and I were saying good-bye to Jeremy on the front porch. Elena was going first with hugs. "You're gonna have to let me go eventually," he joked.

"Be safe, okay?" Elena said.

"Yeah, okay, alright."

She let go of him, but as soon as he was Elena-free, I pounced on him and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm gonna miss you, Jer."

He laughed. "I'll miss you too, Lou."

I pulled away from him and smacked his arm. "Hey, I am not a toilet!"

We laughed. "I should go. Alaric is waiting."

I nodded, but just then, Bonnie ran up to us. "Good, you haven't left yet."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to say goodbye."

The two of them hugged. Jeremy grabbed his bags, looking at the three of us for one last time before going towards the car.

That was harder than I thought it would be.

The car pulled away, my brother along with it. I sat down on the swing, but twisted uncomfortably when I felt something underneath me. I slid over to the other side of the swing and saw a navy, velvet box. Hopefully it's from Damon. I opened it. Inside, there was a gold bracelet decorated with diamonds. Elena sat down beside me and took the note.

"From Klaus," she breathed.

I was shocked to say the least. I shut the box suddenly and stood up. "What does he want?" Bonnie asked.

"I have no clue."

A/N: Follow, favourite, review! Klouise, Damise or a completely different pairing? Do you like the diary entries or are they horrible?