Chapter 5 – If They Only Knew

And so the days went on without any word from Klaus Mickaelson – or any of the original family for that matter. They had skipped town before the Salvatores could even think of revenge. Last they heard was when Tyler had come to the mansion with apologies from Rebekah. She had told him that they were all leaving and that not even she knew what Klaus was up to but it would be far away from Mystic Falls.

Somehow, a weight seemed to be lifted off everyone's shoulders. Things were about to get back to normal – at least, as normal as they could be. Bonnie was able to craft Elena a daylight ring, and she was working on dealing with her newfound vampirism. She made the Salvatores promise not to go after Rebekah, and although they didn't want to, the boys agreed. Both Damon and Stefan still loved her and continued to fight over her – at least, when she wasn't around. They decided to give her space. Matt, on the other hand, was still human and was still trying to deal with what happened that night.

It seemed that Tyler was the happiest one in Mystic Falls to have Klaus gone. Now he could have Caroline all to himself and he was the alpha male – the only hybrid in town. But the bad news was, he didn't have Caroline. She seemed to grow more and more distant as the days went by.

If he only knew.

Caroline still had dreams about Klaus. A part of her wanted to know where he was, or at least what he was up to. Every time she heard the rustle of leaves, or wind coming from an open window, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder. She felt like he was watching her – or maybe she just wanted him to. She didn't know anymore. What she did know was that no one could find out about this, especially Tyler.

As Caroline looked at him now, playing football with Matt, she couldn't help but sigh. She was driving a wedge between them.

"Oh Caroline" she whispered to herself quietly, trying to clear her head.

"What's the matter with you? You always try to sabotage great things. With Matt. Now with Tyler – do you want to be alone? She was talking to herself now. Caroline rubbed her temples, trying yet failing to find relief.

She paced back and forth across the parking lot. Her hands were now knitted with each other and were resting on top of her head. She didn't know how to deal with all her feelings and that made her extremely furious all the more.

"Baby, can you hear me? Ball please" Tyler hollered from across the lot. It snapped her out of her thoughts. She must have been too distracted to hear him the first time.

"Give me a second" she hollered back, taking her sunglasses off and placing them on top of her head like a headband. She looked left and right until she found the football, sitting not too far away from her on the grass.

It took Caroline less than a second to get there.

"Are you okay?" someone said quietly from behind. But Caroline didn't hear her. She picked up the football and without even looking up, turned around and hurled it to where Tyler was waiting.

"Watch it!" Matt cried. Tyler caught the football all right, but lying right in front of Caroline on the grass was Elena, who had jumped out of the way in the nick of time.

"Oh my gosh Elena. I'm sorry." Caroline said, helping her friend to her feet.

"It's a good thing you're not the only vampire in town." Elena joked, brushing off the dirt from her clothes as she stood up. She looked over to the boys who were about to make their way over. "I'm fine. Get back to your game. We'll be there in a bit"

Caroline thought she was talking to Matt and Tyler, but she hadn't noticed that the Salvatore brothers were standing right behind them. When did they get here? Oh well. The boys got back to their game, while Elena walked with Caroline to a picnic bench nearby.

"What has gotten into you Car? You always seem to be on edge, and the fact that you haven't talked to any of us is starting to make us worry – especially Bonnie and I. Don't try to deny it – please just tell me how I can help you."

Caroline took a seat across from Elena, and put her shades back on, trying to hide her expression. The eyes were the windows to the truth, after all, and Caroline didn't know if she was ready for that yet.

"Is it about Tyler? Did you guys get into a fight or something?"

Caroline shook her head. "That's not the thing. He's been surprisingly great to me the past few days, especially after all that's happened."

"Then what is it?" Elena asked, a concerned look plastered on her face.

"It's complicated."

Elena couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me, I understand complicated."

Caroline forced a smile. Why of course she would, but this – this was the enemy. Would Elena be ready for that?

"By the looks on both your faces, I'm guessing I'm in for some serious girl talk. What's up Car?" Bonnie asked, arriving at the table and taking a seat next to Elena.

"It's – "

"Complicated." Elena finished, rolling her eyes.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at Caroline. "Define complicated. I think we've had more than enough already. Let me know what I'm missing. Please."

Caroline realized she couldn't hide it from her friends anymore but at the same time Tyler was only a few yards away.

"Do you have a piece of paper?"

Bonnie mumbled a few words and then looked Caroline in the eye. "They can't hear us anymore. Go ahead"

"You –"

"Forget it Caroline. You're starting to scare me. Can you please just tell me what's going on?"

Caroline took a deep breath. She couldn't hide it from her friends any longer.

"It's Klaus."

Elena looked alarmed, and both she and Bonnie instantly sat up in their places and looked around.

"No, he's not here. I haven't seen him or heard from him – but I keep thinking about him. I dream about him. He- " Caroline began, but stopped when she saw Elena turn white and Bonnie already biting her lip.

"Wait a minute. Is this a nightmare he almost killed us again or something different?"

Caroline looked down at her hands, fidgeting. "Something different."

"Car!" Bonnie began, her voice louder than usual.

Elena, who had been silent for the past few minutes, held Bonnie's arm, trying to calm her down. "Bonnie, it was only a dream okay?" She then turned to her other friend. "Caroline, I really don't know how to put this gently – but you do know he tried to kill us right?"

"Well Damon tried to kill us too, didn't he?" she retaliated, surprised at her own words and confidence.

"Point taken. But he's –" Bonnie began, but Caroline already knew what she was going to say next.

"Different? I know he is. Damon's changed a lot because of you Elena, but what makes you guys think Klaus hasn't either?"

Bonnie was now running her hands through her hair exasperated while Elena was still trying to process the situation.

"He saved –"

Elena reached across the table and took Caroline's hand in hers, silencing her. "He saved himself Caroline. Like he always does. Don't you see? He only cares about himself. Last I checked he tried to kill us – in our own house – all of us. And we barely escaped. We got Bonnie and Tyler back alive, do you remember that?"

Caroline didn't know how to explain to her friends how she felt about him – and how she believed the dreams were signs in some way. She hadn't told them that he had saved her. Well it might have been after he bit her – but nonetheless, he saved her, doesn't that count for something?

At that moment Caroline realized that even if she told them the truth they'd only think he saved her to save himself – to not have any baggage or ties left in Mystic Falls. But didn't he want to kill them all anyway? Boy, this was getting confusing.

Caroline looked up to see concerned and hurt looks on both her friends' faces. "I know okay? I know that the last time we saw him he tried to kill us. I feel lucky to be alive and to have all of you here with me. But honestly, I just think that there is a whole other side to him. He's not entirely a bad person Elena. You believe that too right?"

Elena smiled. "Yes I do. I believe that there is good in every person. But it isn't your responsibility to fix him Caroline. I knew we were playing with fire when we told you to distract him. He responded accordingly and perhaps in the process you developed some feelings for him then. But remember Caroline, it was all just part of the plan. And knowing Klaus who is always a step ahead, how can you say that his response – his feelings for you, the paintings –everything weren't just a part of his own plan as well?"

Caroline felt like she had been struck by lightning. Elena could be right. Klaus might have been playing her just like she had been playing him.

"You may be right. I'm just really confused right now, I hope you understand."

Bonnie stood, walked over to Caroline's side and gave her a hug. "Of course we understand Caroline. We just don't want anyone to get hurt – especially you. We're family and we care about you. If you feel like your feelings have changed for Tyler then that's one thing and we can fix that, but the whole Klaus thing – I don't know."

"Are you girls okay? There seems to be a lot of drama going on." Stefan asked, taking a seat next to Elena. The boys had finished playing and had already headed to where they were seated.

Damon took the seat on the other side of Elena. "Girl drama? Boring. What I wanna know is how come we couldn't hear anything you guys were saying?"

Bonnie mumbled a few words and the spell was off.

"Oh witchcraft. I should have known." Damon said, smirking.

Elena smacked his arm. "Of course you should have known. Eavesdropping is wrong. Girl time is strictly girl time. So butt out."

Tyler laughed. "Fine then boy time is strictly boy time. Hmmm I wonder what we can do or where we can go?"

He smiled naughtily. Damon gave him a high five while Caroline smacked his arm.

"Don't even think about it."

"Okay, boss. Breathe. So anyway, why did you call all of us here? I don't want to be in school while its still summer. I don't think anyone wants to be here."

Caroline smiled. This was the distraction they all needed, especially her. "Okay, since school is just around the corner – okay maybe a month away – I'm thinking we should have a bonfire."

Elena cocked her head. "A bonfire? Are you sure this is a good idea?" She then turned to Matt. His sister had been bitten the night of the bonfire once before, it might not be a good idea to bring back that memory.

"It's okay Elena. I know what you're thinking. Caroline came to me with the idea yesterday and I wasn't for it at first—but then I realized that we have to enjoy the time we have together. Things are different now, and we don't know how long this peace is going to last. So while we still can, we should celebrate life – and I think a bonfire is a great idea to get everyone together. Plus, we have a lot of good vampires in town, and a really strong, though cocky, alpha hybrid."

Tyler put an arm around his friend. "You got that right. I'm in. This town is in dire need of a good party. And we are, after all, the best party planners."

Bonnie smiled. "I'm in. As long as we only keep to the beach, I'm sure everything will be fine. This is going to be fun!"

Caroline looked to the Salvatores and to Elena. "Come on you guys, it's going to be fun. I promise. We all need this."

Elena looked from Stefan to Damon and then back to Caroline and smiled. "Of course we're in. We'll have to convince the sheriff and your mom Tyler but other than that, I think this party is a definite go."

Caroline clapped her hands in approval. "I can't wait! This will be the best bonfire Mystic Falls has ever seen!"

Everyone at the table had their share of worries but couldn't help but be just as excited.