"What did I just do?" Caroline asked her reflection. Water dripped from the tip of her nose. She thought splashing water on her face would ease the burning sensation that plagued her. It didn't. Her heart fluttered in her chest at a hyperactive pace.

She promised Klaus she would stay with him forever. Forever. What was she thinking? She knew exactly what she'd been thinking. She'd been thinking that he was going to find a way to win her over eventually. He would find a way to make her choose him, either willingly or with manipulation, possibly both. She was thinking that it was better now, under her own terms, then later. Now she was thinking about exactly how stupid that decision had been.

A delicate rap came from the bathroom door.

"Caroline?" Klaus called through the door.

Klaus. Forever. Klaus, the Original Hybrid who killed without a thought. She wondered if he intended to kill her too, simply in a different way. Did he plan to make her into one of his broken toys, manipulated until she was no longer the girl she had been, until all traces of Caroline Forbes was gone and she truly was the monster her father had feared she'd become? Was that the forever she had to look forward to?

"Just a minute," she said, "I just need a…"

The door opened.

She caught Klaus's gaze in the mirror and glared at him.

"Did I say you could come in?" She snapped.

He smirked.

Oh, how she hated that smirk. She hated how it made it painfully clear that he could see straight through her.

"Stefan is leaving." He announced.

"So?"

"He's going to take you home."

"You're letting me go home?" She turned around to face him.

"Why wouldn't I let you go home. It's the place you live," Klaus said slowly, "honestly, love, how clingy do you think I am?"

Stefan didn't speak until they were safely in his car and driving away from the Mikaelson Mansion. He wasn't sure how good the hybrid's hearing actually was, so he wasn't going to take any risks. He just counted himself lucky that, while Klaus didn't trust him, he agreed to surrender his grip on Caroline for the time being.

Caroline sat with her high heels in her lap, drumming her fingertips against the shoes. She was avoiding looking at him, he could feel it.

"Caroline…" Stefan started, not knowing what to say.

"Don't Stefan." She cut him off. "I know what you're going to say. It was stupid. I shouldn't have made a promise like that. I know all that already. I just don't want to hear how disappointed you are in me. I can't take it right now, okay?"

"What you did was incredibly brave, Caroline." Stefan cut off his insecure friend. "You sacrifice so much for your friends without so much as a second thought. I could never be disappointed in you for that. I just wish there was something I could do to get you out of this."

She hung her head, her fair curls fell forward like a curtain, blocking her face from his view. He thought she might have been crying, but he knew she wouldn't want him to know. Caroline didn't like to cry in front of people, she felt like it meant that she was losing control, and she loved to have control. The only times he knew of her crying were when she was tortured, when Klaus broke Tyler's neck, and when her father had died.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked.

"Because you're a good person, Caroline." Stefan said. "The very best, actually."

"I'm really not."


"Thanks for the ride, Stefan," Caroline said as she pressed the passenger door shut.

"You sure you're okay to be alone?" Stefan asked.

Caroline glanced back at her house. It looked dark, but she could hear the television going inside.

"I'll be fine." She said, "Besides, I think my mom's home."

Stefan pressed his lips together and nodded, "All right then."

"Good night." Caroline took a step back and waved as Stefan drove away. She felt bad sending Stefan away, she had a feeling that part of the reason he wanted to keep her company was just an excuse to not be alone. He probably could use a friend given the fact that he and Elena were on the outs.

Caroline wanted to be a sympathetic, in fact she had a long and nearly flawless track record of being the person people could turn to with their troubles. At least, since she became a vampire. Well, it wasn't really a vampire thing; it was a growing up thing. She had made efforts to be more understanding since Bonnie called her out on not listening about the whole witch thing, back before she knew about any of the more interesting aspects of Mystic Falls.

But sometimes being a good friend had to take a back seat. She wanted to care about Stefan's problems, but she didn't. She couldn't bring herself to care about anything other than the events of the evening. She didn't know what troubled her more, the fact that she'd made a deal with Klaus or the fact that a part of her, a not so small part, had wanted to make the deal.

In between all the terrible things the Original Hybrid did, there were moments, glimmers of something else. All Caroline's life, people had only loved her when it was easy. No one had ever made her feel like she was a prize to be won. If anything she was the consolation prize. She was what people got when nothing better came along. Matt loved her because he couldn't have Elena. Tyler loved her until he found Hayley. But Klaus didn't see anyone else. Maybe he wasn't exactly the ideal guy, given his track record, but he fancied her and he had never wavered on that, not even once.

"Caroline?"

Caroline turned slowly, she knew his voice, but she didn't want to see his stupid cheating face.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" She grimaced at the sight of him, hands tucked in his pockets. He looked agitated. Maybe Hayley dumped his ass. It would have served him right.

"I came to see you." He said.

"What a coincidence," she faked a smile, "Because you're the last person I want to see right now."

She brushed pass him. He caught her arm, she tried to pull away but he tightened his grip.

"Let go of me, Tyler." She said.

"Did you sleep with him?" His voice cracked.

"What are you talking about?" She pulled against him again.

"Don't play games with me, Care." Tyler slammed her against a tree, hard. "I saw you leave together. Did you sleep with him?"

"It's none of your business." Caroline snapped, struggling against his tightening grip. "We're broken up, remember? Besides, you slept with Hayley."

"That's not the same."

"Isn't it?" Caroline gritted her teeth. She could feel the veins on her face pressing against her skin.

"It's not the same and you know it." Tyler protested.

"Why not?"

"He's a monster."

"We're all monsters."

"He's evil, Care." Tyler said. His voice went soft the way he used to whisper to her as his lips brushed against her skin.

She shivered at the memory. Then the betrayal came rushing back and a rage boiled up in her and she shoved him away.

"He may be evil, but at least he's not a lying, cheating asshole." Caroline spat the words out like they tasted bad. She stormed away from Tyler, toward her house.

"Don't walk away from me." Tyler yelled, chasing after her.

"Don't tell me what to do." She hollered over her shoulder.

He caught her wrist and yanked her around.

"We're not done." Tyler said.

"Oh yes, we are." Caroline said. Rage burned hot in her face and she said the one thing she could think of to really hurt him. "That's why I slept with Klaus."


Honestly, Klaus rather liked the idea of Caroline to staying at the Mikaelson Manor forever. However, he had several things he wanted to take care of, and he didn't think she would approve. Since he had noticed that it was easier to gain her forgiveness than her permission, he thought it was better to allow Stefan to take her elsewhere for the time being.

"Kol," Klaus nodded to his brother as he stepped into the office of Atticus Shane.

The Professor and the Bennet witch sat, tied to their chairs and gagged.

"You ask the strangest favors, brother." Kol mused, studying his hostages. "Might I ask why you wanted them?"

Klaus circled the two tied up. He knew he couldn't harm Bonnie if he wanted his deal with Caroline to stay in place. But he also had no intention of allowing her to run off crying wolf.

"According to the Salvatore Brothers, the professor here is rather knowledgeable about certain topics I have an invested interest in."

"Illuminating." Kol smirked.

"Apparently he knows a great deal about the five."

"I thought the five were dead." Kol said.

"Ah, yes." Klaus leaned close to the professor, studying the man's face. He was so human and fragile. It would be quite easy to snap his neck, enjoyable even, but that wouldn't get him the information he needed. "Turns out they are more resilient than I thought."

"What does this matter to you?"

"I thought that was obvious," Klaus said. "I want the cure."

"I never knew you wanted to be mortal." Kol teased.

"I have no interest in being cured," Klaus said, "but I also have no interest in standing idly by while someone else gets a hold of a weapon they can use against me."

"Ever the strategist, brother." Kol hopped off the desk and began inspecting the bookshelves, knocking books and artifacts off as he went.

Shane wriggled against his bindings, whining into his gag.

"Kol." Klaus reprimanded. "Give it a rest."

Kol raised his hands in surrender, but Klaus knew it was only a matter of time before he started up again. The younger Mikaelson brother was incapable of holding his peace for longer than a few minutes at a time.

Klaus untied the gag and pulled it from Shane's mouth. He opted to leave the Bennet witch gagged, he found her significantly less annoying without her pious "Vampires are bad" routine.

"Do you know who I am?" Klaus asked the professor.

"Klaus Mikaelson. One of the original vampires." Shane said reluctantly.

"Ah, my reputation precedes me." Klaus smirked. "Good. So you know, if you value your life, you will tell me everything I want to know as quickly as possible."

Shane pressed his lips into a thin line. His eyes darted between the two brothers as though trying to determine exactly how serious to take their threats.

The sound of the door knob turning made them all freeze. Klaus clamped his hand over the professor's mouth before he could speak. The door swung open.

"So, problem." A young woman stepped inside, she did not even glance their direction as she closed the door behind her. "I pushed too hard and I think Tyler might have broken up with me."

Klaus's smirk widened, because he recognized the girl almost immediately. "Hello Hayley."