Elena beeped in her car outside Caroline's house, and she swiped mascara along her lashes one last time before grabbing her bag and clipboard and shutting the door.
"Thanks again for the lift. I'm in enough of a rage as it is without having to worry about running people over." Caroline hugged the brunette quickly across the gear shift before settling in the passenger seat.
Elena smiled, but it was forced. "Why? Rebekah still giving you a hard time?"
"Worse. I got some weird call from her this morning telling me that she was 'sick' and couldn't show." Caroline frowned, her voice rising. "Vampires don't get sick! If she's planning some stupid thing to ruin the dance, I am going to kill her."
Elena had enough humor left to let out a small chuckle at her friends words, and she pulled out of the driveway and began to drive towards the school.
"She wont do something like that. If anything, she's even more obsessed about this than you are. That Original family sure know how to get what they want."
Caroline recoiled a little and tugged down her sleeve, remembering the night before and very aware of the bracelet that was still around her wrist. She hadn't had the heart to remove it.
Elena noticed. "Everything okay?"
Caroline nodded. "Fine. Its good." She noticed Elena's guilty look, and turned the attention on her. "Why, is everything okay with you?"
Elena risked a glance from the road to the blonde, and then back.
"I made out with Damon in a motel in Denver."
To her credit, Caroline was in enough control for her only reaction to be a slightly open mouth and wide eyes. But Elena noticed everything.
"I know what you're going to say. But I don't even know what I can say about it."
Caroline exhaled, smiling slightly with understanding. "Talk me through it."
"I don't really know how it happened. One moment we were in the room and the next we were on the balcony kissing. No, wait." Elena nodded in remembrance. "He did something incredibly sweet for Rose when she was dying. And I asked why he couldn't let everyone see the good in him. But he said he didn't want people to think of him that way. He said…" She frowned. "He said that when people see good, they expect good." She glanced over to Caroline to see what she thought of this, and saw the recognition in her friend's eyes. But it was gone before she could question it.
"And then you made out?"
"Caroline!" She exclaimed, but Caroline merely lifted her eyebrows. Elena sighed. "Yes. And then Jeremy walked out and caught us."
Caroline let loose her gasp now. "Nooooo."
"Yeah."
"Smooth."
"Thanks, Care. It's not like I was experiencing it or anything."
Caroline squeezed her hand gently as they pulled into a space in the school car park.
"It'll pass. If you want it to." Caroline seriously hoped that she didn't. Damon was just bad news according to her. Yet at the same time, she could see serious similarities between her and Elena's situations, and she wondered if it was hypocritical. But then she realized that she could only be hypocritical if she felt something, and she felt nothing. She. Felt. Nothing. She felt nothing, goddamnit!
"Care?" Elena's worried voice brought her back with a jolt. They were walking along the pavement to the front doors.
"Sorry. Zoned out. What were you saying?"
Elena gave her friend a concerned look that blended into compassion. "I know, you're stressed over the dance. Don't worry, its going to be epic, even with the new decade theme. You do things on a whole other level and it just makes things…magical."
Caroline gave her friend a bear hug. "Thanks, Elena. You have no idea how much I needed that."
"Anytime." She said with a smile, before sighing. "It's the least I can do right now. I feel a bit useless."
"Well you're here to help now." Caroline teased. "Is it Jeremy, or someone else?"
"Alaric." Elena sighed again. "He spoke to Damon this morning. He keeps blacking out, so he's going to try to get away from Mystic Falls to keep us safe."
"Caroline! Thank god, Rebekah's not shown up, we just started but we don't know where to go from here." A red head from their Chem class bounded up to Caroline and she busied herself for a moment, getting into her organizing head space. She handed the girl one of the sheets from her board.
"Check that everything here is done, and if it isn't, then get to it. Then get back to me. I'll be in the gym."
The girl nodded with a pearly smile, and was gone just as quickly as she came. Caroline heaved a breath and turned back to Elena, motioning for them to walk into the gym.
"So Alaric is trying to pull himself together. Why is that a bad thing?"
"I just…" Elena watched the flurry of students setting up the gym around her. "I wish there was something I could do." She wanted to help her guardian. She couldn't keep losing everyone. Especially the people who helped her the most.
Elena screwed up her face, trying to distract herself by diving into extra curricular activities like she used to.
"Where do you want me to hang this thing?"
Caroline eyed the bulky chandelier that the brunette had hefted. It looked like it would be more at home in some gothic vampire mansion. Perhaps that was why she had brought it. But then that bitch should have shown up, rather than dump her with all of this stress that she had created with her stupid 20s idea that Caroline should have thought up herself!
"You know what? If Rebekah wanted to hang this monstrosity, she should have shown up to do it herself." She spun and handed the wire mess to a girl floating around nearby. "Just…no!"
Caroline looked up to find Jeremy and Matt tying stars. It just looked all wrong, and she couldn't hold back her annoyance.
"What are you doing? You can't just hang them! They're supposed to trickle down!"
Elena shot her a look, fighting back a smile, and Caroline inhaled and exhaled peacefully through her nose. Too much stress today, too much stress last night. She just had to take a few breaths and focus on the sweeter things.
"Look at them, all bromancy." She smiled, as Matt and Jeremy continued to try to 'trickle' the stars, non-fussed about her screeching at them.
"Yeah, I asked Matt to help Jeremy readjust. He got him his old job back at the grill."
Alarm bells went off in Caroline's head. Any boy who had a history of feelings towards Elena shouldn't get involved right now. She was trying hard enough in her matchmaking services to get her with Stefan, it didn't help if Matt was going off course too. And she had thought that he had his attentions still focused on a certain Original Blonde…?
"Well that was nice of him." She said warily, watching Elena carefully.
Elena kept herself busy, feeling Caroline's gaze and watching her hands movements till she could tell her friend had reverted back to watching the boys set up.
"Jeremy has a lot on his mind the whole thing with Alaric has got him really stressed out."
"You sure it has nothing to do with witnessing you and Damon getting hot and heavy in a skeevy motel?" She shot, seeing her chance to bring Elena back to her current triangular dilemma.
It worked. Elena glared at her with a hint of playfulness. "I didn't tell you that so you could torture me with it."
"Aww, what are friends for?" She laughed, holding folded tablecloths and picking invisible dust off them. "So, who are you bringing to the dance?" She fished.
Elena picked up a long black boa and wrapped it around her neck. "What do you mean? I thought you, Bonnie and I were going as – " She shot Caroline her famous doe-eyed gaze, complete with eyelash flutter. "-girl dates."
Caroline chuckled, and grinned. "Hmm, Bonnie has a date."
"What?"
"Jamie called and wanted to see her, so she asked him."
"Hmm."
They smiled at their simple gossip, reminiscent of girl nights before all the monsters came to town. Caroline didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to take the chance to put in a good Stefan word.
"So…here's a thought." She started as if the idea had just occurred to her. "Why don't you ask Stefan?"
"I cant ask him on a date! I just…made out…with his brother." Elena flustered, giving Caroline a sign that perhaps…just maybe…she was more into Stefan.
"All the more reason." She said. "Look, you're supposed to be figuring out what you want, that's what Stefan wanted you to do, right?"
"Yeah, but – "
"But nothing! I've watched The Bachelor! Fair is fair! It is Stefan's turn!" Caroline's stress for everything showed, and she took a deep breath.
"Yeah, and you're not biased or anything." Elena scoffed.
"I'm sorry. But Stefan is your epic love." Caroline noted the recognition in Elenas eyes, and it made her resolve come back. "And I'm not going down without a fight."
Finally everything was ready.
Finally she was ready.
Let the Decade Dance begin.
Caroline surveyed the party with a feeling of pride, success and smugness. She'd been getting praise and compliments all night for the set up, for everything, and she felt like she was right back in her element. Rebekah wasn't here to steal the limelight either, so she was able to sit right back down on her queen bee throne that she had fought so hard to get to. No threats tonight. Everything was perfect.
"Have I told you how amazingly awesome you are?" She gushed to Matt, and he turned from where he had been helping restock the punch bowl.
"Yeah, I'm one of the good ones, I know." He joked, and looked at her with suspicion, knowing how bossy and stressed she'd been all day. "Why the compliments, what else do you want?"
Caroline sighed. "I know that you and Elena have been getting closer lately…" She trailed off.
"And your point is?"
"One way or the other…she's pretty much spoken for." She finished, watching for his reaction, wondering how he would take it.
"Elena's my friend, Caroline. I'm just looking out for her." He kept looking at her like she was being jealous, and she started to get worked up, trying to prove that she was just looking out for them all and that she wanted her matchmaking plans to work.
"And I'm just looking out for you. Because sometimes the people who love her get caught in the crossfire."
She watched his face as he took in her words. Then his eyes settled on a spot somewhere above and past her shoulder.
"What's he doing here?"
Caroline whirled around, almost expecting Klaus. He did have a knack for showing up at their events and ruining the night.
It was Tyler. That was worse in a sense. She left Matt with only one backwards glance, marching over to Tyler.
He watched her with eyes that she couldn't read.
"Are you crazy? If Klaus sees you – "
"What's he gonna do, draw you another picture?"
Ah, the fire was back. But much as she enjoyed it, his life was worth more.
"Tyler, this isn't a joke!"
"I can pretend I'm sired if I have to. But I'm not gonna hide while he's macking all over you!"
The words stirred memories and Caroline shoved them down. "Tyler. You do not need to be jealous of Klaus."
"I am jealous." He said, and she knew that there must have been more going between her and Klaus than she let herself realize, if Tyler found it enough to get worked up over.
"But I'm also competitive." He said, a sly grin sliding into place. "So hang on, I'm about to sweep you off your feet."
Before she could protest that they would make a spectacle that she really wouldn't mind too much, Tyler had her in his arms , spinning her around.
The thrill was back too. She had missed Tyler trying for her affections, and she liked it. Perhaps all wasn't lost after all.
He set her back down and smiled as she laughed, carefree and lovely. They joined in with the old style dancing around them, happy to let everything go for the night.
Tyler danced her round in small circles, and Caroline allowed herself to get lost in the moment. Just for now, everything was perfect. Tyler was back, and she felt at home, comfortable again.
He suddenly glanced sharply to his right, and she struggled to come out of her happy bubble.
"What is it?" She asked in a heavy, warm voice, before glancing over.
Her bubble burst.
Klaus was standing there.
She blinked, stunned. His eyes caught hers, and it felt like she was alone with him in the room, just the two of them…and then his gaze flicked back to Tyler and he grew harsh again.
"Where've you been, mate?"
"I just got back in town." Tyler's strong, opposing voice rang out beside her, and she remembered what side she stood on. She leaned against him, placing her hands in a claiming way upon his left shoulder, to give him strength as well as her.
"That's funny, I don't recall giving you permission to leave in the first place." Klaus' knowing tone gave Caroline chills, and she couldn't help but glance at Tyler warningly, pressing her fingers gently into his shoulder for emphasis.
Klaus stepped forward to meet them. "You don't mind if I cut in, do you?"
"Yes, actually, we do." Caroline bristled at his rude, dominating behavior. Really? It would have been less obvious if they had simply both peed on her like animals. She thought, eyeing the way both men tried to claim her. Who'd have thought she'd be fought over in the first place? That was Elena's job.
Klaus looked to Tyler, knowing that if all was well, his hybrid wouldn't refuse him. Tyler turned to Caroline slowly.
"No. Its fine." His dislike was printed all over his face, and Caroline felt for a wild second that she would have preferred he defied the side bond right now, just to get that territorial look off both of their faces. Yet Tyler backed away without a word.
"Why do you always have to prove you're the alpha male?" Caroline gritted.
Klaus took pleasure from her rage. "I don't have to prove anything, love. I am the alpha male."
She scoffed, yet he noted that she did not completely deny his position, and he felt pleased in his state of dominance.
"Come on, one dance?" He held out his hand to her, a permanent smirk etched onto his face. "I won't bite." He shot, knowing just how it would wound both Caroline and Tyler.
She glanced back to Tyler, and knew that she could have easily said no to Klaus herself. She wasn't sire bound. And yet there was a bond of sorts. She felt herself pulled to him. Caroline met his eyes again and felt the irony of the 1920's song lyrics as the words echoed in her head.
'He'll look at me and smile, I'll understand, And in a little while, He'll take my hand, And though it seems absurd, I know we both won't say a word.'
Caroline placed her hand in his, thankful for the glove protecting her from his pure touch, and Klaus drew her away from Tyler, his eyes locked on hers. He spun her elegantly and drew her into an embrace closer than she was expecting. Their faces were mere inches apart, their bodies brushing with every sway, his hand flat on the small of her back. Clearly he was in his element, and in an era of different dancing, and back to his old cocky, seductively evil self. Caroline found herself missing the more honorable character from before.
"You would have loved the 1920's, Caroline." Klaus said conversationally in her ear. "Girls were reckless, sexy, fun." He murmured, eyeing her devilish red dress and how it contrasted with his graceful and misleadingly angelic white tux.
Her sour expression stayed in place, and he felt the need to shift her mood, to stop her looking at Tyler while he in turn glared at Klaus.
"They literally used to dance till they dropped." He chuckled, spinning them abruptly, trying to shock her.
She refused to respond to his sudden good humor, preferring to respond to his wit with her own cutting words. "I don't suppose that ever happened to their dance partners." She remarked dryly.
She got what she wanted: his mood shifted abruptly.
"You should be nicer to me. I'm leaving town tomorrow." He said.
Caroline had refused to look at him the whole time, close as he was, but his words made her eyes flash to his face. He read disbelief, but there was more in her eyes. She was…hurt.
"I'd invite you to join me, but we both know you're not ready to accept my offer." He continued, recalling their conversation and her utterly point blank statement that she wouldn't take his offer. "Perhaps one day, in a year, or even a century, you'll turn up at my door, and let me show you what the world has to offer." What I have to offer. He added in his mind, gazing down into her eyes.
Caroline had looked at Tyler during his statement, knowing that regardless of his sweet promises to put her first, he had never put a time on their relationship. And here was Klaus saying that it didn't matter if she didn't feel as strongly as he did for her, he would wait lifetimes to have one moment of her time.
Caroline looked up at him, wondering if she should believe him for one second. He gazed back with honesty, but there was something so predatorily about his eyes that she began to doubt his true feelings. And she needed to go back out of there fast before her heart was on that table.
She scoffed, wanting to wound, and she succeeded. She broke a little as she saw the pain in his eyes. Klaus looked down, needing to break away from her cruel, beautiful eyes, and stepped away slightly. Caroline hated how vulnerable she had made him with that one sound, and how boyish and injured he looked. Worse, like an injured puppy.
But he soon returned full force, eyes blazing. "You mark my words. Small town boy, small town life, it wont be enough for you." He threw her own phrase back at her.
He gazed at her for one more moment, searching her face, before he brushed past her harshly. She was left breathless, like he had just stolen her lungs. He managed to make her feel guilty, hurt her and get under her skin, all within three minutes. She hated him.
Tyler's hand found hers, and she kept herself together just so he wouldn't see how affected she was.
"He's gone, Care." Tyler soothed, and she smiled, all teeth and fake joy, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"Good riddance." She said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around him.
"Not quite." Matt interrupted, and they turned to look at him as he came close so they wouldn't be overheard. "Esther has Elena and she's got some sort of boundary around the school. Bonnie's trying to find a loophole in the History classroom."
"What can we do?" Caroline asked.
Matt shrugged. "I don't know. I'm on my way there now."
"Lets go." Tyler started walking with Matt, and Caroline was pulled slightly with him since her arms were around him. She dug her heels slightly.
"No!"
The two boys stopped and looked at her curiously.
Caroline bit her lip. "Klaus will be there too, he's just as trapped as we are. We should stay away from him, Tyler. Because of the sirebond."
Tyler frowned at her, but nodded. "Good idea. We'll see you later, all right Matt?" He looked over to his friend for the reassurance that they would actually see him later that night, and he smiled back grimly.
"Take care. If you stay here it should be fine."
Matt left them for the classroom, and Tyler turned back to Caroline.
"What was that about? Is it because of something Klaus said to you earlier?"
Caroline didn't answer. In truth, she knew that if she saw Klaus again tonight, she would be very tempted to apologize for her behavior and beg him to take her anywhere but Mystic Falls. Seeing him hurt had done things to her. But she didn't want to feel like that. She just wanted to hate him for what he had done to turn her world upside down, and she found herself liking that instead.
"Care?" Tyler held both of her hands, grounding her once more, and she shook her head.
"Its just cause I don't want to be near him again tonight. He gives me the shakes." Caroline said truthfully. She just hoped he would never that the shakes weren't from fear, per se, but from something else.
She exhaled, and stepped closer to him, meeting his gaze. "Can we just…just enjoy the rest of tonight together?"
Tyler nodded, and she kissed him, letting herself be soothed by his comforting presence that reminded her of home, reminded her of her self.
He pulled away to gaze at her, before tugging her into another slow dance.
Their peers left the dance in small groups as the night grew late, many congratulating Caroline on her efforts. She accepted the compliments with a smile, not letting them see her worry. When Tyler got into a conversation with his football teammates about where he had been and how everything was going sport wise, Caroline took the chance to have a moment to herself and left, telling him it was to powder her nose. He let her go without too much of a backward glance.
Caroline strode out of the gym and sighed as she walked down the halls, slowing her step. She found herself wandering aimlessly around the school, taking care not to get too close to the room where Bonnie was working with the others. Of course, she didn't take into account that Klaus had feet that could easily take him to her, and she suddenly found herself walking next to the man she had been trying to avoid.
She didn't pay him any attention aside from her quickened breaths, and they walked down a corridor in silence before she acknowledged him.
"Haven't I made myself clear?"
"Crystal, love. I just don't give up."
"Well you really need to."
This time it wasn't should, it was need to.
"I'm taking my last few moments. I don't know where I'll find a creature as delicious as you for the next millennium."
His words finally made her look at him, and she found him looking right back at her, like he had been watching him the whole time. Rather than find it creepy, like she had countless times before, she liked his focus on her. It made her feel like she was the only one that mattered, and even if it wasn't true, she still liked to believe it, just for a moment.
"You're really leaving?"
He chuckled darkly. "Of course I am. Why else would I say it?"
"I don't know, to lie to me and Tyler? To make us feel at ease?"
He held her gaze as his turned bittersweet and soft. "I couldn't fight forever, little one. One can only be rejected so many times in a month." His mouth curved upwards slightly. "But there's always another month, another year, another decade."
"You'll seriously be trying for that long?"
He looked incredulous. "For much longer than that. Why wouldn't I be?"
Caroline didn't know how to respond to that. How was she supposed to? She just kept walking till they came to a dead end and she had to stop.
"You could be taking a huge risk by thinking I could ever give in to you."
Klaus just smiled. "If you haven't noticed, sweetheart, I'm a bit of a gambler."
She rolled her eyes. He grew serious. "I would wait, Caroline. You're worth that and more. Don't mistake my leaving for me giving up on you, or for running away."
Caroline felt his reference to what Tyler had done, and she felt defensive, but let it slide.
"How can you have so much faith when I haven't given you anything to hope for?"
He smirked now, and several memories of her own actions that would have easily given him hope flashed across her mind. He clearly was thinking of the same instances. But instead he focused on a more recent sign.
"Why is your glove puckering around your wrist?"
Caroline instantly covered it.
"It looks like it's a fairly distinctive shape. A bracelet, perhaps? A thin one, with some sort of round ornament. Now I wonder where you could have got that?"
She scowled at him, and he let loose a genuine smile.
"I have every reason to have faith, love. I just have to wait till you realize that."
He strolled back up the way they had come. She stood still for a moment before following him quickly, not wanting him to have the last word.
"So that's it? No aggressive show of your power?" She scoffed. "Boy, I got away easy. I was almost expecting more."
She got the reaction she had unconsciously been fishing for. He immediately had her backed up against the lockers, body to body.
"This enough for you, then?"
She only smiled up at him, defiant and yet sweet, and he let his own face soften into one in return.
Caroline still hadn't gotten over what had happened in her kitchen, when she had nearly kissed him and had been brushed off. She stared at his mouth like when they had been dancing, finding herself drawn again. She blamed that incredible scent of his: forests after an electric storm. Her eyes wanted to close so she could savor it, but she fought to keep them open so she could watch his parted lips, so close, so close.
His lips moved into a lopsided smirk, and he chuckled. Her heavy eyes lifted to his, which had darkened to the color of a turbulent ocean. And then his face was looming closer, and she closed her eyes, her head lifted expectantly. His lips brushed just under the left side of her jawline, burning her, branding her.
"Till we meet again, Caroline."
She had arrived back in the gym to find that everyone had finally left. She was glad. She felt shaken. Caroline walked slowly along the wooden floor, rubbing at that one spot near her neck. Branded. And she had liked it. She had wanted it. She encouraged it.
"Care?" Tylers voice rang out, and she whirled to find him on the bleachers.
"Hey," She smiled falsely, and walked over to him.
"Where'd you go?" He asked without suspicion.
"Just took a bit of a walk. I needed some air. Tonight's been…a bit crazy." She said with a half-laugh.
"Good. I thought you'd been taken…or something."
She knew who he meant. "No chance. He's a creep, but he's a bit distracted trying to find his way out of here."
Tyler growled, a pure animalistic sound, and rubbed his face with his hands. "I hate this. I want him to die, so badly, but if he dies, I die. And I have absolutely no idea of how we can solve this."
"Its okay, we're going to solve this and be free," Caroline came closer to comfort him, drawing nearer to the bottom of the bleachers, but his face fell as she neared and his nose screwed up slightly. Caroline frowned. "What?"
"You smell like him."
Caroline stiffened, and she hoped he would take it as disgust rather than fear. She'd rather not tell him about anything between her and Klaus, and she certainly wanted to forget their walk in the corridors.
"It's probably from when I danced with him. Remind me not to ever do that again."
He let out one laugh at her poor attempt of a joke, and shook his head. "You're most likely right. I just don't think I noticed it before. Probably cause everyone else was there."
Caroline nodded, but Tyler still had a look of uncertainty etched on his face as Stefan entered the gym and strode towards them.
"Did you find out where they are?" Caroline asked immediately.
"They're at the old cemetery. Jeremy and Matt are headed there right now."
"You let them go?" Caroline's voice rose. "They're gonna get themselves killed!"
"I didn't have a choice, Caroline!" Stefan shot right back at her. "We're useless right now stuck in here." He paced away, something she was used to in his brooding periods, and she let her anger fade away. Stefan was just trying to get to Elena. He wasn't thinking about who would be hurt in the process. Love was like that, and Caroline was only just beginning to realize the full power of it from two very different people.
"Hey, she'll be fine." Caroline comforted him, her words bringing him back. "Elena always manages to find her way through this stuff."
"Yeah, well, I'm just as worried about what Esther is up to." He reminded her of yet another reason to be worried. "She lead Klaus here for a reason. If she succeeds in whatever she's doing –"
"-Klaus could get killed." Tyler called from his spot above them. The tone in his voice made them both turn to watch him warily. "And I die along with him."
"No one's going to die, okay? Bonnie's still looking for a way around the boundary spell. Its not too late." Stefan said with more than an ounce of hope in his voice, before walking away to check on Bonnie's progress.
Caroline was too busy watching Tyler. His face was set. He had a plan. And something about his demeanor told her that she would not agree with it.
She turned to watch Stefan leave, all the while thinking of what she could possibly do to make this whole situation better. She turned back with a slight smile on her face.
"So, best case scenario: Bonnie gets us out of here," She climbed up the bleacher towards him, painting the scene of their happiest possible future from here. "Klaus hauls ass to Timbuktu, and you and I," She stopped in front of him, hope dawning on her face. "We're home free."
Her hopes for changing his mood were short lived.
"Or we let Esther come and kill him." Tyler said slowly. His brooding look told her that it was a situation he had had to come to terms with for some good reason. She couldn't imagine why.
"That's not a best case scenario. That's not even a remotely acceptable scenario!" She couldn't imagine a world without Tyler. Sweet, lovely, loving Tyler. Her boy, Tyler. No one would get the chance to take him from her again. And Klaus…she couldn't imagine the rest of the world without him. He needed to be there. It was like balance. The world wouldn't be right without him.
"It would be an option if we knew he wasn't the one who turned your bloodline."
Caroline shook her head, wondering where on earth he was going with this crazy plan.
"You'd be safe." Tyler looked up at her with wide convincing eyes. "At least he'd be gone." The bitterness was beginning to seep back into his voice, and her frown deepened.
"How could you say that?"
"Because I'm angry! Because I hate him! I should have never let him dance with you!"
"What were you supposed to do? He can't know that you're not sired anymore!" But Caroline understood now. Jealousy and anger. In some twisted way, it was his one final sweet gesture: in Klaus' death, she'd be free. And he was willing to sacrifice that with his life.
"Tyler, it doesn't matter how many times I dance with him." She soothed, coming to sit beside him, warmth in every footstep, feeling like she was coming home. "I love you." She admitted softly. The words had never felt as right to her as they did now.
He gazed into her eyes, and started to look away with a small smile, but she wasn't ready for their connection to end. She caught his cheek, and kissed him. It felt like she was sealing her fate, and for once, she was happy with that.
This was my biggest chapter yet, I'm quite happy. I did think about splitting it up like I did with the others, but I just wanted to keep it together in one big Caroline-centred chunk this time.
Also, thank you to the reviewers! Just to make one thing clear, cause rereading the last chapter I know what it sounded like: I don't actually think that Tyler is doing anything wrong in any sense. I was a bit of a Tyler fan before Klaus stepped his sexy self onto the scene. I just know that there has to be a wedge between Caroline and Tyler, cause otherwise how is she ever going to be able to do any of the evil things that I'm planning for the very end of season 3? (evil smile) Just know that I myself don't believe there is anything wrong with the Forwood relationship currently, but I have to write some small cracks in what they have.
Thank you for reading, review if you feel inclined. xx