"Let me get this straight," Rebekah said, crossing her legs. "You want me to compel my brother's spy into calling him and saying he didn't find Stefan nor Caroline in Mystic Falls?"

Caroline smiled. "Exactly."

"Whose idea was that?" She asked.

"Mine." Caroline replied, now a bit unsure if her idea was as brilliant as she thought it was.

"Hm," Rebekah nodded slightly. "Not bad. It can work, I guess. Good job."

Caroline grinned proudly. "Thanks, Rebekah."

Caroline looked over at Stefan briefly. His arms were folded, he was smiling, and Caroline could swear he was proud of her. It made those stupid butterflies show up again.

It really did work. The man called Klaus and said exactly what they wanted him to. He said he asked around and no one had seen neither Stefan or Caroline. He said he even stopped by the Salvatore's house and talked to Damon and again, nothing.

Klaus told him to go back to New York, then. And that was it.

Rebekah compelled him to forget about all the compelling and the beating - because Damon had punched the guy one, two or a thousand times, Caroline lost count - and he went his own way back to Klaus' apartment. Or wherever he was at.

"This was too easy," Stefan murmured some time later, after Rebekah left. "It shouldn't be this easy."

"You're right, it shouldn't. But Caroline here had a great idea and it worked. Don't be so negative." Damon snickered. "Oh, wait. You're Stefan! Your middle name is negativity. What a waste of time."

Caroline (and Stefan, too) dismissed Damon's comment. "Don't worry, Stefan. Things are looking up for us. We have more time."

"Time to do what, exactly?" Stefan asked, his voice low and unsure.

"To prepare. We have a weapon. We have a plan, kind of. Sooner or later Klaus will find us, that's for sure, but I'd rather it be later, don't you?"

Stefan nodded.

Caroline smiled.

Caroline lied.

She didn't want it to be later. She wanted it to be as soon as possible. She was good at hiding things, she was great at it, but she was so anxious she was sure someone would notice. Soon. It made her crazy to have to wait for things. Wait for Klaus, wait to see if she's going to survive this, wait to have a confirmation that the weapon they found could actually work. Wait.

Caroline was always waiting for something. When that thing finally arrived, she didn't even pay enough attention to it, because she was already waiting for something else.

She hated waiting. But the sudden realization that once Klaus arrived she would probably have nothing to wait for anymore didn't bring her any comfort or joy or anything good whatsoever, because the reason why she would have nothing to wait for anymore is that she would be dead.

So maybe waiting at those circumstances, as much as it made her angry, wasn't exactly the worst thing in the world.

It had been a week since the little vampire spy incident happened. Things were back to normal already. Caroline and Elena went out at least once every two days to get some fresh air, Stefan was against it and tried protesting but it never worked and Damon continued to use his sarcasm as a way to make fun of Caroline and Stefan's friendship.

Caroline had sincerely lost track of how long it had been since she began hiding in Mystic Falls. It struck her at one point that it didn't even feel like hiding anymore.

It felt like home.

And it shouldn't, she knew that. It shouldn't feel like home because the only reason she was living in that house with Stefan, Damon and Elena was because someone - a very powerful someone - wanted her dead. It shouldn't feel like home because she was running. Hiding. Holding on to the last string of hope that somehow she could escape Klaus.

Except when she went to a shopping trip with Elena or when Damon called her blondie when she sleepily walked down the stairs in the morning or when she laughed with Stefan over the stupidest little things, it didn't feel like running and hiding at all. It just felt like being home, surrounded by people that she loved, people that loved her back.

When she was younger and her dad decided to move out and leave her, he said that home is wherever you have love. If you love someone, then it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are in their company. That's your home.

She loved them. All of them. Even Damon. He was a jerk eighty percent of the time, but she had been living with him for far too long to know there was more to Damon than his witty comebacks. Damon made fun of everyone, Damon was rude and uncalled for on a daily basis, but deep down she knew he cared for her, she knew he loved his brother and Elena and she knew who he really was. So how could she hate him? Damon was like a big brother to her at that point. She had always wanted a brother, and she figured having one was just like having Damon around.

Elena had pretty much become her best friend. Sometimes, she caught herself wondering what April was doing. Was she worried? Or did she find a new best friend to care about? Or, worse, was she angry at Caroline for disappearing and not saying anything? She felt guilty for caring so much about Elena and completely forgetting a friend that had been there for her for 4 years, but she couldn't do anything about it, it was out of her reach. Besides, she wouldn't put April in danger, no matter how guilty or nostalgic she felt. Elena was there for her, at least, and she cherished every moment with the brunette. At first, when Stefan told her about how she broke his heart, she thought Elena was probably the epitome of a bitch.

It didn't take too long to realize she was wrong.

When it came to Stefan, though, it was taking her way too long to figure out how she felt.

She had butterflies every time he smiled at her. Her heart rate would go crazy whenever he came too close, and she prayed to God he couldn't listen. She knew what was happening, but still, she tried to ignore it and pretend it wasn't there.

She failed every time, though. The more she ignored it, the stronger it got. She didn't want it to happen, she knew it couldn't, but somehow, it did.

Somehow, Caroline Forbes found herself falling in love with Stefan Salvatore. The one who left everything behind to keep her safe, the one who made her laugh, the one who cared for her, the one who put the people he loved the most in danger for her.

She had no idea if he felt the same way, but she didn't care. Deep down she knew nothing could ever happen. Not in their situation, it couldn't. It didn't change the way she felt, though, not even a little bit.

She loved him. Being with him made her feel safe, it made that house full of vampires feel like home, it made her feel things she shouldn't be feeling when her life was in danger.

She hated him for that.

She sighed, defeated. She was in love with Stefan. It was past the point of pretending she didn't feel it now, it was out in the open, at least for her. Now she only had to learn how to hide it.

"I think I like him." Caroline admitted, throwing herself on Elena's bed.

"Oh, really? I'm surprised." Elena spoke ironically.

Caroline knew it was coming. "That's nice Elena, thank you for the support."

Elena sat on her bed, next to Caroline. "Okay, sorry. But come on! It was so obvious."

"It shouldn't be obvious." Caroline said, exhaling loudly. "I mean, for a while I didn't feel anything romantic for him and then suddenly I get these really weird feelings in the pit of my stomach whenever I'm around him and I realize that, hey, I really like him!"

"That's exactly what love feels like, Caroline. It creeps up on you and you don't have a say on it." Elena told Caroline, a sympathetic smile on her lips.

She knew what love felt like. She also knew how it ended. "It can't happen, though. Look at what's happening right now. We're practically sitting ducks waiting for Klaus to show up and kill us all."

Caroline swore she saw a flash of fear shining in Elena's big brown eyes. "He won't kill us all."

"Maybe not. Or maybe he will. That's exactly why nothing can happen. Not to mention the fact he doesn't see me that way."

Elena threw her head back and laughed so loud Caroline jumped a little. "You're joking, right?" She said, breathlessly. Caroline didn't respond, so Elena shook her head and laughed again, this time not as loud. "He's crazy about you, Caroline."

"I very much doubt that." Caroline said.

"You shouldn't. He loves you. Everybody knows that."

"Everybody but me. And himself too, by the way."

Elena sighed and rose from her bed. "By the way," Elena imitated the blonde ironically. "Stefan knows it too. I know him. He's just as afraid as you are."

"I'm not afraid." Caroline protested. She knew she was afraid, but it didn't mean that she wanted other people to know it too. "I just know it's not gonna work out. Things don't work out for me, ever."

"Stop being such a drama queen! If you two love each other, why wouldn't it work out?"

"Oh, I don't know." Caroline began. "Maybe it wouldn't work out because I've been in love before and it didn't matter how much I was loved back, in the end it just didn't work out anyway. Or, maybe, it's the fact there's an original vampire looking for us out there right now who wants both our heads on a silver platter. Really, it could be anything."

"Caroline, I love you. I do. You're usually very optimistic and happy and bubbly, but right now, you sound so much like Stefan that the only thing missing is the hair." Elena said, and Caroline couldn't help but giggle. "You're positive about so many things. Why can't you be positive about yourself, too?"

Caroline wanted to answer, but she really had no idea why. She was extremely positive when it came to other people's situations and problems, she knew that. When it came to her, though, she usually always expected the worst. She was positive about Klaus not killing everyone, but she was nowhere as optimistic about Klaus not killing her.

Because in the end, Caroline was just a human. A weak, meaningless human, and Klaus definitely would not spare her life. He could, however, spare the life of all these vampires, vampires he knew for a long time and could potentially care about, somewhere (way) deep down.

After a moment of silence, Caroline got up from Elena's bed and headed for the door. "Are you gonna tell him?" Elena asked.

Caroline turned to Elena. "I can't." She sucked in a deep breath. "It wouldn't be fair to him. I've caused so much trouble already and ruined so many lives. I can't act on stupid, childish feelings when there's a much bigger and dangerous thing coming our ways."

"Have you considered the possibility that acting on those feelings could actually do more good than damage?"

Caroline didn't answer. She shot one last look at Elena, who stood smiling at her, and left the room.

Her head hurt. So did her heart.

How could falling in love make anything other than damage in the situation they were in? How could she let Stefan know she loved him when she would most likely be killed in a few months, weeks even? She couldn't. She wouldn't.

Stupid feelings, she thought to herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was the only word for it. Stupid feelings, stupid heart, stupid Caroline. And stupid Stefan too.

It was really all his fault. Everything he did for her, how could she not fall for him?

Stupid.

She didn't care how early it was. She went straight to her room and headed to bed. She was fast asleep.

She dreamed of Stefan. His face, his eyes, his touch. And then Klaus showed up, his fangs digging into her neck, and Stefan's screams and a voice muttering "more damage than good" over and over again. Her eyes shot open, and she watched as the sun rose.

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