Author's Note: Huh, a month. My longest hiatus yet. I'm sorry you guys. Truly. I've had a lot of really personal stuff going on in my life... Stuff that I don't really wanna talk about in an AN. But anyway, this chapter is the second to last. I've already written about a quarter of the last chapter, but it probably won't be up for another week.
As far as God's Gonna Cut You Down... That's my summer project. I hope you all follow that story as well. I'm sorry again. But enjoy.
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine.
Damon couldn't help but feel like this entire situation was one big, cosmic joke. If you had asked him one year ago how he felt about Caroline Forbes, he probably would have shrugged and gone back to staring at the picture of Elena he kept in his wallet.
A picture that was now replaced with one of him and Caroline in Italy.
It would have been so easy to pretend Caroline meant nothing to him. He had done it with Elena for almost two years, he could handle pretending the neurotic, blonde vampire hadn't wormed her way into his heart. But just when he came to the conclusion that everything would be easier if he kept up the pretense, a hole the size of Texas started aching in his chest.
Damon's fists curled, his teeth bared in frustration. Why couldn't he forget her? They had been together for less than a month, any attachment he felt was sure to be superficial.
Right?
Staring out the window of the private jet Klaus insisted on taking to California, Damon knew in his heart of hearts that Caroline would be better off with him. He had never done anything for anyone without some sort of personal gain, where as Caroline made a hobby of being a martyr.
They just didn't fit together.
But if Damon left... That would mean Klaus won. Klaus, with his egotistical, self-serving psychotic tendencies. The thought of subjecting Caroline to a man such as the Original Hybrid literally made him shudder.
"You alright, mate?" Klaus' voice broke Damon's inner monologue. "You've been glaring out the window for at least twenty minutes now."
It took everything for Damon not to roll his eyes. It was amazing how much he was willing to risk for this one girl. Being alone with Klaus for such an extended period of time was not exactly how he had planned on spending any of his eternity.
"Fine." he grunted back, tearing his eyes away from the window.
Damon knew Klaus didn't believe him from the smirking, unapologetic glance the Hybrid threw his way. But why should Klaus care if he was on the brink of self-loathing? As far as he was concerned, if Damon was too busy hating himself to love Caroline, that meant it was a clear path to the blonde's heart.
This realization, the fact that if Damon gave up it meant Klaus won, made the younger vampire stiffen in his seat. Instead of glaring out the window, he shifted his attention to the Hybrid sitting diagonally across from him. He was consumed in a map of Los Angeles, trying to decode Caroline and Stefan's patterns and figure out where they could possibly be.
It was amazing how consumed they both were by this girl. Neither ever expected to fall in love, not again. Not after what they had both been through.
To be in love was to be stupid. Both Klaus and Damon had preached this on multiple occasions, both believed it whole heartedly. Love made you weak, and weakness to a vampire was almost as destructive as vervain or fire.
But both had been captivated by this one girl, a girl who wouldn't put up with their misogynistic, 14th century views.
And perhaps this was the one area where the two manically different vampires were destined to be equal.
Caroline wasn't sure what was worse- watching an emotionless vampire flirt with an equally terrifying Original, or the constant ass grabbing and leering she had to deal with if she left them.
After finding Rebekah at the beach, Stefan had insisted on celebrating. Caroline only rolled her eyes, content to let the two reunited love birds go off without her. But Stefan wouldn't have any of that.
"Stefan, you're being ridiculous." Caroline yelled through the closed bathroom door of their hotel room. He was showering, no doubt primping for his date with the Original.
"No I'm not. You need to be there, Care. I can't do this alone." Stefan yelled back. Caroline just rolled her eyes and pulled a short, sequined dress from a shopping bag on the floor. If she was being forced to go club hopping with two of the moodiest people she knew, she would definitely be needing a drink. Of the human variety.
"When did you turn into such a sissy? Suck it up." She heard the door creak open and quickly pulled up her dress. Even if they were close, Caroline still didn't want Stefan seeing anymore of her than he already had.
Stefan just smirked and rolled his eyes. Riffling through his suitcase, he suddenly stopped and looked at Caroline.
"I know you're not exactly Rebekah's biggest fan... But this is what I came to California to do."
Caroline stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "I know. But I'm not going to be sticking around for much longer. If she's here, then I'm not."
"You're not even gonna try to tolerate her?"
"Nope. Because I don't have too." Caroline said, going back to applying mascara. "That's the beauty of having your emotions turned off. No attachment."
Stefan didn't reply, just buttoned up his shirt. He appeared deep in thought, and the two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked, nudging Caroline to the side for more room in the mirror.
"I haven't decided yet," she answered, elbowing him in the ribs. "Maybe Barcelona. Continue the Caroline Killing Streak. Are you ready yet?"
"Not quite. I told Rebekah 10:30."
"Come on, your hair is gelled enough."
Stefan grumbled, taking one more look in the mirror. After taking a deep breath, he followed Caroline out of the hotel room.
That had been two hours ago. The second they stepped in the club, Caroline made a bee line for the bar. It was one thing to deal with Stefan and Rebekah, but dealing with Stefan and Rebekah with no alcohol in her system? Impossible.
The alcohol had been a good distraction for about twenty minutes before she realized that she was a vampire, and no matter how many shots of vodka she consumed, there was no way she was getting drunk tonight. At that point, Caroline had glumly made her way back to the table Stefan was flagging her down from, with no alcohol warming her belly.
"Caroline!" Stefan hissed at her through his teeth, his arm draped around Rebekah's shoulder. "Stop drinking so much. Any human would be passed out by now. We need to lay low for the time being."
Caroline just scowled, throwing herself into a chair, crossing her arms over her chest like an insolent child.
"What's wrong, Caroline?" Rebekah asked, a sickly sweet smile on her face. "Don't like sharing?"
"No, I've never been particularly good at it. Had I known Stefan intended on seeking you out, I wouldn't have come with him." Caroline said bluntly, looking the Original straight in the eye.
Rebekah just narrowed her eyes. Stefan looked on with mild interest, unwilling to break up the inevitable cat fight that was brewing. She turned to Stefan, realization glinting in her eyes.
"Are her emotions off?"
"Well... yeah." Stefan answered unwillingly.
"Oh, this is excellent!" The blonde said, turning back to a glaring Caroline. "I have to say, you never seemed like the type. My brother will just love this. What happened? Rejection? Did you breake a nail?"
For the first time since she repressed her emotions, Caroline felt a pang jolt through her heart. She wasn't stupid enough to believe it was the remnants of any true, real feeling. It was just the semblance of annoyance, pure dislike radiating through her body. If she had to deal with Rebekah for any longer, there would be a body count.
"Actually, my mom died." Snatching up her purse and getting up from her seat, she spoke to Stefan. "Sorry Stef, I put up with her for as long as I could. I'm out of here."
Caroline strode away, leaving the two vampires alone. Rebekah just rolled her eyes, snuggling into Stefan.
"Now that she's gone..." The Original said coyly, tracing her fingers up his chest. "Maybe we could spend a few hours getting reacquainted ?"
Klaus was about ready to paint the town red. He and Damon had been in Los Angeles for almost four hours, and they were no closer to finding Caroline than they had been in New Orleans. Pacing around his hotel room, he had a sick sense of déjà vu.
It was starting to feel as though they would never find Caroline. She had eluded them for nearly a week, slipping through their fingers like water.
Damon looked on from the mini bar despairingly. Nursing his bourbon, the heavy weight of desperation had returned. It was so easy to believe they had it all figured out. Get the girl, get the witch, undo the spell. Simple.
But nothing was going according to plan. They couldn't find Caroline no matter how hard they looked, who the compelled. It was beginning to see, useless.
The heady silence was broken by a shrill, sharp ringing. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, Klaus barely glanced at the called ID before answering.
"What."
"So," Damon heard from the reciever across the room. "Have I got news for you."
Klaus rolled his eyes, Damon groaned and put his head in his hands. The last thing either of them wanted to deal with was the Original Bitch herself.
"I don't have time for this Rebekah." Klaus growled.
"Oh, I think you're going to want to hear what I have to say."
Klaus paused, swayed. He was never very good at denying his baby sister. "You have two minutes."
"I happen to know a certain long lost love of yours is currently running on blood thirst and vengeance." She said triumphantly.
"Rebekah, unless you have anything useful to tell me, I'm going to hang up."
"Oh, shut up you pompous-"
"Goodbye, Rebekah."
Klaus had just gone to hang up his phone when he heard an angry shriek from the other end.
"Wait! I have a proposition for you..."
Klaus' eyes glinted. He slowly put the phone back up to his ear, turning away from Damon.
"Baby sister, what can I do for you?"
"I hear you're after Caroline. Stefan told me the entire story. He forced her to turn off her emotions, they ran away to California together, blah blah blah. Now if I know you, you're out for blood. Probably already out in Low Angeles. Am I right?"
"All irrelevant, but yes. Correct so far. Get to the point."
"Just taking a wild guess here, but you've probably got something pretty nasty planned for Stefan when you find them."
Klaus' silence was the only response she needed. The second they found Caroline, he had been planning on ripping out his old friends heart. Harsh, yes. But it was necessary to get Caroline back.
"I thought so. Look, I don't want to be involved, but I'd like to keep Stefan around for a while. We just got back together, and-"
"Get to the point, Rebekah!" Klaus roared, almost crushing his phone.
"I'll tell you where Caroline is if you promise not to kill Stefan."
There was a stunned pause. Both men went completely still, and there was only the sound of unnecessary breathing on the other end of the phone.
"Hello? Klaus?"
"Okay. But this is the last favor I do for him, Rebekah. The next time I see that traitor... You're going to wish I just ripped his heart out."
"Fair enough. Caroline is at the Four Seasons. But hurry, she's leaving in the morning. She can't stand the thought of me." There was a strange sort of pride in Rebekah's voice that told Klaus the two hadn't been getting along.
Klaus hung up the phone without saying goodbye. There was no time to waste, and looking at Damon, he knew their search was finally coming to an end. Both men ran out the door, finally going to claim what was theirs.
"Caroline," Stefan said angrily, slamming their hotel room door. "We need to talk."
He was met with a stony silence and a scathing glare, both from the blonde currently packing a very large suitcase.
"I have nothing to say to you." Caroline finally said, breaking the silence.
"Well good, I have enough to say for the both of us. Caroline, you can't just take off like that! What if you died? What if someone staked you? Or took you? Damon and Klaus could be anywhere!"
Caroline stared at one of her oldest friends, dumbfounded. "Why do you even care? Wait..." she said, realizing something. "How can you even care?"
This time, it was Stefan's turn to fall silent. Caroline narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.
"She compelled you to turn them back on, didn't she?"
"That's not important! Care, the point is I care for you. Why is that so hard to believe?"
"Why is it so hard to believe?! Great question Stef. How about because when Elena died, no one cared enough to let me know. When Klaus deamed the world to unsafe for an immortal vampire, no one cared to hear my opinion. And when you took advantage of my grief and forced me to turn off my emotions, I don't think you gave a damn about me or my life."
"Caroline..." Stefan said after a few moments, stretching his arms out to hug her. "Stop this. Save yourself the grief, just turn them back on. I can explain everything... I just need the old you back."
"Too late, psycho Ripper. I'm leaving." Caroline strode past Stefan, who stood shell shocked by the dark bathroom. He heard the door open, but not shut. Good, she might still be there.
"Caroline, wait-"
He ran down the hallway, but froze when he turned the corner.
"Hello, brother. Long time no see." Damon was lounging on the wall opposite, a ghost of a smirk on his face.
The last thing Stefan could see was Caroline framed in the golden light of the hall, with Klaus cast in the shadows. They were locked in a battle of wills, each refusing to be the first to look away.
Stefan was just about to cry out when there was a sharp pain in his neck, his head jerking sickeningly to the right. Then, everything went black.
AN: Almost done. Now, as far as the sequel... I have a name. And a partial plot line, but I don't wanna give it away. Look for the bottom AN in the last chapter for both!
Thanks for your patience, I really appreciate it. And as always, thank you for reading.
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