Caroline had always been a positive person when it came to other people. If something went wrong for one of her friends, she'd be the first to smile brightly and say 'Hey, don't worry, you can fix this.', no matter how bad things looked like. Being positive about putting Klaus to sleep for all eternity would be a problem for the old Caroline, but that girl lived in New York and lived her life as normally and boringly as humanly possible. She was a new person now.

Caroline noticed Stefan was the opposite, though. He didn't show any sign of happiness or relief at the news, nor any hope that things were going to go the way they planned, nothing. After spending so much time with Stefan, Caroline was finally close to understanding him as a person. Sometimes she got scared at just how quickly she could tell what Stefan was feeling. When he told her to keep her hopes in a safe level, she could read his eyes and his face so well she might as well be a graduate in the Stefan University. She knew what he meant. She knew he was afraid of failing her, Elena, Damon, and everyone helping him. She knew he felt guilty and she knew he would feel even worse if he went around giving everyone hope for something that could possibly go wrong later.

Why did Stefan hate himself so much? Why did he give himself absolutely no credit for the good things he did? Why did he choose to see only the bad things, the things that filled him with guilt and made him so damn self-loathing? Caroline sometimes wished she could manually put some sense into his head. She kept using this word, this damn word to make him see that he's not a bad person, but he didn't seem to take the hint. "Nice, Stefan. You are nice. You are the nicest damn person I have ever met in my life. Look at what you're doing for me. You're not bad. You're nice. You're freaking nice, Stefan! Why can't you see it? Why?" She mentally screamed at him every time he looked at her with those green eyes filled with pain, guilt and self-loathing.

She remembered everything about the night she got drunk. She did it because she was lost. She knew she was the guilty one, she knew Stefan was in this mess because of her, but she couldn't get him to see it. If he could just realize that Caroline was the problem, if he could just leave her and run away, maybe he'd live and Elena and Damon and Bonnie and Jeremy and everyone would also live and she would die, because that's who Klaus really wanted: her. She brought everyone into this mess because she's a helpless, scared little human girl who needs a dozen of supernatural creatures to keep her safe because she can't face her own freaking destiny.

She did, however, regretted being so honest with Stefan that night. The thought that she drunkenly admitted she thought Stefan was perfect made her blush so hard she swore her skin would just fall off or something. She couldn't control herself, it just came out. So for the sake of her friendship with Stefan, she decided to pretend her memory was fuzzy and she didn't exactly remember what she said. She didn't need the awkwardness that would surely take place if she told Stefan she said he was perfect when she was drunk because she actually did think Stefan was perfect.

As far as perfection went, of course. She knew he had flaws, she knew he had a dark side and she knew he had problems too. But for her, he was still perfect.

"So blondie," Damon's voice invaded the room, making Caroline jump a little. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend." She said, visibly annoyed.

Damon sighed. "Fine, then. Where's Stefan?"

"I think he went over to Bonnie's or something."

"Oh." He nodded. "So what's up?"

Caroline frowned. "Why are you trying to have a conversation with me?"

Damon raised his eyebrows and his hands. "Is that a crime?"

"No, I didn't say that. I just asked why."

"Because I want to."

Caroline scoffed. "Alright, then."

Damon nodded, grinning. "So what's up?" He asked.

"Nothing, really. I'm just waiting for Stefan."

"Hm."

"What's up with you?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing. I'm just talking to you."

"Hm." She said, mimicking him.

They kept looking at each other, nodding and smiling uncomfortably. "Okay, this is awkward." Caroline said, finally.

"Yes. Very." He agreed. "It shouldn't be. We've been living together for a while now."

"We've never really talked, though. I mean, without Stefan or Elena around."

"I know. Weird." Damon sighed. "Okay, um..." He thought for a few seconds and then snapped his fingers. "What do you think about our secret weapon thing?" He questioned.

"I think it's great. I mean, Stefan told me not to get my hopes too high, but I'm confident it will work. I mean, Bonnie is a witch. Witches know stuff."

Damon scoffed. "Witches know nothing."

"They know more than you, apparently."

"Ouch." He said, putting his hand on his chest. "Seriously though. I'm confident, too. It's about time we find a way to stop Klaus without busting off our asses along with him. He's done enough already."

"I agree. You know, Stefan-"

"Wow." Damon interrupted her. "This is like, what, the fourth time you've mentioned Stefan and we've been talking for two minutes."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Definitely more than two minutes."

"Whatever, blondie. What matters is: why are you so obsessed with my brother?" He asked, mockingly.

"Oh my God, Damon, seriously?"

"What? You started it!"

"You too keep mentioning Elena all the time." She defended herself.

"But she's my girlfriend." He said, emphasizing maybe a little too much on the word girlfriend.

"And Stefan is my friend. Probably my best friend right now."

Damon scoffed. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Caroline shook her head, huffing. "As I was saying, Stefan told me about how Klaus killed a lot of people you know. Elena's aunt, Tyler's mom... I just don't understand why he would do all of those things. At first I thought it was because he's a vampire, but you guys are all vampires too, and you're not like him."

"Klaus is different. Bad different. He's lonely, desperate. He did a lot of crap and instead of trying to make up for it, he just keeps on crapping up more stuff. I didn't understand him, either, until he asked Stefan to go to New York with him. He actually asked. I think that he hates being alone, and that even though he knows the reason why everyone hates him, he doesn't wanna change."

Caroline nodded. "It's a pity. No one likes being alone. But some people, they just... don't do anything to deserve other people's love and concern. Klaus is just one of those, I guess."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Stefan isn't one of those, I suppose."

Caroline grinned. "No. He's not."

"Bonnie got a location." Stefan announced, walking in the boarding house.

Damon appeared quickly. "Where is it?" He asked.

"In a spell-protected cave in the middle of the woods." Stefan replied.

"Spell-protected? Protected from what?"

Stefan sighed. "Supernatural beings."

Damon's eyes widened. "All of them?" Stefan nodded. "Even witches?"

"Even witches."

"Well, that's just great." Damon said sarcastically. "How are we going to get it?" He asked, and Stefan shook his head, sighing.

"I can get it. I totally can." Caroline said, nodding as she spoke.

"Caroline I-" Stefan sighed. "I don't know. It's too dangerous."

Caroline scoffed. "Come on. The cave is protected against all kinds of supernatural beings. How is that dangerous?"

"I'm not saying that the cave is dangerous, Caroline. I'm saying that it's just dangerous. I don't want you there."

"I'm not asking for your permission, Stefan." Caroline spoke.

Stefan took a deep breath. "Caroline, please. Stay here. It's safer for you, the house is in your name, you have to invite vampires in. We don't know what Klaus is doing or where he is. What if he finds out what we're planning and decides to pay us a surprise visit? I can't take that risk."

"How are you going to get in the freaking cave? Because as far as I'm concerned, everyone in this town is a supernatural being."

"Jeremy isn't." Damon said, and suddenly Caroline remembered both Damon and Elena were also in the room.

"Not gonna happen." Caroline said firmly. "I'm not risking it. I don't want to bring anyone else into this, I don't want Jeremy risking his life for me, I don't even like the idea that you are all being hunted by Klaus just because you're helping me. I'm not going to sit back like a rich little princess, watching all these people get hurt and possibly die for me while I paint my nails."

"Caroline-"

"Don't 'Caroline' me, Stefan. I get it, alright? I get it I'm not strong, I get it I don't have vampire speed and vampire strength and vampire whatever, I get that I'm a fragile little human being but guess what? I don't care. I want to fight. And if I die? At least I died fighting. I don't want to keep acting like a scared little kitty, I'm done. Klaus can go screw himself if he thinks I'm afraid of him. And you can also go screw yourself, Stefan, if you think I'm going to let you put yourself and the lives of the people you love in danger because of me."

The room went silent then. Damon had an amused grin on his face, Elena was still and silent, and Stefan stared at Caroline, his features full of worry and, again, guilt and self-loathing. She wanted to slap all that away.

"Well," Elena interrupted the silence a few moments later. "I guess it's decided, then. We'll go tomorrow."

Caroline nodded and started walking away, catching Stefan's eyes for a second before walking up the stairs.

"Caroline's a big girl, Stefan. She can take care of herself." Caroline's attention was captured by Damon's voice in the hall.

"Really? She's human. Can she really take care of herself when there's an original vampire wanting to kill her?" Stefan argued, his voice angry.

"Dude, you gotta stop. I get it, alright. You wanna protect her, you feel responsible, great, that's typical Stefan, but you can't chain her to her bed while you go on a suicide mission, dragging down Jeremy and Bonnie and whoever else is willing to help with you. You gotta give her a chance to do something because this is her life, and she's in this just as much as you and I." Damon argued back.

She could hear Stefan sighing through the door. "Look, Damon, I can't do it. I can't put her life in danger like this." His voice softened. "If something happens to her I... I won't be able to handle it."

"Relax, Stefan. Nothing is going to happen. We trained her, remember? Plus, she'll have like, 4 vampire bodyguards if we convince Rebekah to come with us. Don't forget the witch."

Stefan replied his brother with a breathy "Okay", and Caroline heard the door to Stefan's room open and then close, while footsteps could also be heard walking down the stairs.

Caroline breathed deeply. Damn it, Stefan.

She started thinking about how Stefan still blamed himself for what was happening even after practically everyone told him he was not the one to blame. She started thinking about the fact Stefan wanted so desperately to keep her safe he was willing to put his own life at risk, like he meant nothing to no one. She got really, truly angry, and before she knew it, she was knocking on Stefan's door.

"Come in." She heard him say. She twisted the doorknob, her heart racing on her chest. When he saw her, he furrowed his eyebrows and got up from his bed, where he was sitting with a book in his hand. "Caroline, what are you doing here? You've never been to my room before."

It was true. She would notice the room better, she would find little things and details that made Stefan's room his room, but she was too angry to look around. "Why do you keep doing this?"

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "This... what?"

"This. This whole 'Caroline is fragile and I'm the one who has to keep her safe' thing." Stefan finally understood what Caroline was talking about. "Why do you keep doing this? Blaming yourself like this, carrying all the weight by yourself, taking all the guilt."

"It's not like that."

"Yes, it is!" Caroline's voice sounded louder than she had planned. "Stefan, I can't deal with this anymore. You need to understand that I'm not helpless. You need to stop blaming and hating yourself. Just-just stop it!"

"I already did." Stefan said, quietly.

Caroline scoffed. "Are you joking? Yeah, you're joking, you gotta be. Because Elena said it, Damon said it, I said it: this is not your fault, I am not your responsibility. You keep doing this - involving other people, putting them in danger because you think I'm weak. You blame yourself and when someone says you shouldn't, you say you understand that it's not your fault, but you don't. You keep blaming yourself and it drives me mad!"

"It shouldn't drive you mad because it's my life. My decisions, my guilt, my fault. You have nothing to do with it, you're merely a victim."

"I may be merely a victim, yes, but I'm not your victim, Stefan." Caroline took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"I know that. I do." Stefan said calmly. "But Caroline, try to understand. I care about you. You are my responsibility, it doesn't matter if it's my fault or yours or Klaus'... I can't help it. I have the opportunity of keeping you safe, so that's what I'll do. I won't let you get hurt, and that's it."

Caroline's features softened. "Stefan... I appreciate that. But I care about you, too, and I don't want you to get hurt either."

"I'm a vampire, you're human, and you don't want me to get hurt? Come on."

Caroline laughed slightly and sat on Stefan's bed, sighing. "It's a bad habit, I know, but I always end up caring more about other people than about myself."

Stefan sat next to her, putting his left arm around her shoulder. "That's actually one of your qualities."

Caroline smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Do you think we're gonna get through this alive?" She asked, and Stefan rubbed her shoulder with his left head.

Stefan nodded. "Of course we will."

And she believed him.

Review please! :))