Because you're you-And I'm me

A/N:

Disclaimer: I don't own the vampire diaries.

~VD~

"Stay with me forever. The choice is yours."

Her mouth flew open. She began to stutter incoherent things. She knew where this was going to lead.

"Damon…" She tried, sighing. Maybe she could explain.

"I'm tired of it, Caroline. Tired of being afraid to lose you. Tired of worrying about you. Now for whatever reason, you don't want to be a vampire. I get that. I also get you don't love me yet. But I know you care about me." He said, cupping her cheek, looking deep into her eyes. "So, I'm giving you an ultimatum. You either turn, or were done." He finished, exhaling. Caroline looked at him, swallowing hard.

"I…I..I can't. Damon. I'm sorry." She said, crying.

"I get it. I'm not important enough. It's over then" He said, pressing his lips together. She looked at him, with a heartbreaking face, and turned around to leave, not wanting him to see that this hurt her more than she wanted to admit. She felt ripped apart. Completely and utterly torn apart. But she couldn't let him know that. She left the house quietly, and got into her car. Then she started crying. She quickly drove away.

Damon felt as though someone had torn all his insides out. It had taken him so much willpower to not to just forgive her secrecy. Maybe it was necessary. Maybe she just wanted to protect him. That had to be the stupidest thing he had ever heard. A human wanting to protect a vampire. What from? What in the world could want her so much, that she had to face danger every day? She wasn't even eighteen yet. And still, her life was full of danger, and awfulness.

He slumped against a wall, breaking down, and crying. What had he done? He only knew her for a little over three weeks. It seemed like an eternity to him, but probably not to her. If she had trust issues, pushing her continually would only cause her to close herself up more. Why couldn't he wait with her? Hell, he couldn't wait with anyone. He was very quick.

He had to stop blaming this on himself. He was going to go wallow in despair. For a few days maybe. Then he got another idea. He was going to call her. He got his phone out of his pocket. Caroline's number was on his speed dial. It went straight to voicemail. Oh God, what had he done?

~VD~

Caroline arrived in Richmond at about Midnight, stopping several times to cry, and to make a call. Mystic Falls needed a hunter to weigh in while she was away. She didn't know if she even wanted to return. She knew Alaric would be good. Maybe he could make a friend in Damon. After he got over the fact that Damon killed his wife. Damon could use a good friend. Thinking of him made her cry though, so she focused on her task. The one thing that stood between her, and a normal life. Casper. She parked her car in a parking garage, and walked through the streets. She saw a bar that was open, so she headed inside and ordered a bourbon. It was a beautifully crafted bar. And it was also empty. There were a few people lounging the back, but the bar region was completely empty. She smelled vampire all over. The barkeeper seemed hesitant, but she stared him down until he poured her a drink, sighing heavily.

"Rough night?" He asked empathetically, after he saw her drown it in one gulp. She rolled her eyes.

"More like rough life." She smiled, sadly. He nodded in understanding.

"So what's your story?" He asked.

"Tortured."

"By?" The barkeeper seemed curious.

"Cut the crap, Bela." She said, standing up, and pulling him by the collar.

"Who are you? How do you know me?" He asked, irritated. He was a vampire. He was one of the 17. She remembered every single second of her pain.

"I can list…every…single bite mark on my body that you caused. Take a guess on who I am." She spat out.

"Malifecent." He said; his eyes wide in realization.

"My name is Caroline. Malificent is the name Casper wanted me to have. I do not belong to him, I am not his creation. I am a person. And you are going to tell me where I can find him, so I can kill him, and be a person." She threatened, staring him down.

"What happened to you? You used to be sweet. And innocent. You were good." He choked.

"Monsters like you destroyed me." She spat out. He shook his head.

"I had no choice. Casper has my heart. I owe him." His voice was cut off. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Tell me where he is, and I might not kill you." She offered.

"You can't kill me. You're human." He spat out. She looked at him from under her lashes.

"Funny. That's the same thing Lucifer said before I sliced open his intestines, turning him into ash." Her eyes widened, and her voice grew mysterious. Bela stared at her. He swallowed.

"He's in Rumania." He choked out. "I hope you do not plan to go there alone. Most of the seventeen are still with him."

"How come you are not?"

"I…I ran away."

"He has your heart. Why not kill you?"

"He knows you are in America. He needs someone here."

"Why you? You're weak." She said. He looked at her.

"I have enhanced brute strength." He acknowledged.

"Thanks to your unquenchable thirst, so do I." She whispered. He stared at her. She continued speaking. "Casper screwed you all over. Every time one of you bit me, your powers flowed over to me…slowly. You are not as strong as you used to be, and I am twice as strong. I can see Adriel sitting in the corner. I know he can hear every word we're saying. You suck at hiding." She said, not bothering to look at him. He got up out of his chair, swaggering over to the bar. She couldn't believe Adriel and Bela were brothers. While Adriel had the hair color of almonds, with bright, grass green eyes, and a slim but muscular figure, Bela showed a crass difference. He looked like a constantly drunk Mexican. Including the taco mustache. All that was missing was a sombrero.

"Look who's all grown up." He smirked, trying to play friendly.

"Do not talk to me like we are old friends. I will not hesitate to kill you." She snapped, staring him down.

"Relax, darling." He smiled. Adriel was very full of himself. He was just like Damon. Oh God, she could not think of Damon right now.

"I think you two might want to leave." Caroline said.

"And why's that, sweetheart. The party is just getting started." He replied.

"Because Klaus is coming here, and he's the reason you formed your alliance to Casper, isn't he?"

"How do you know Klaus?" Bela asked, curious, yet scared. No human knew Klaus. Most vampires didn't even know Klaus.

"It's always good to have an ally." Caroline smirked. Adriel stared at her. "Spread the word. Casper screwed all of you over. Tell them I'm stronger than all of them combined. Maybe then they'll reconsider their loyalties. The ones whose hearts Casper doesn't have, of course." She smiled, deviously. Adriel cocked his head at her. Bela was already packing his stuff. Then he was out of the door in no time. But Adriel continued stalking Caroline with his eyes.

"Stronger? I don't think so. But maybe I'm wrong." He said, changing his face and launching at her. She sent him back flying with just a look, crashing him into the wall. She was on top of him almost immediately, sticking her hand into his chest.

"You feel that?" She asked, listening for his heartbeat. He couldn't.

"I'm dead. I have no heartbeat." He said, choking.

"It still hurts like a bitch, yes?" She asked. "I can hear, Casper. He's talking to Caia. Oh, I didn't know she was still alive." Caroline said. Adriel sputtered, he began coughing up blood.

"Caroline, you're killing me." He said. She smiled.

"I know."

"Please don't." He sputtered.

"You didn't listen to my pleas for mercy, why should I listen to yours?" She asked, looking at him, skeptically. He reminded her so much of Damon at that moment. She couldn't help but grow weak. But she wouldn't let them know that.

"I…I…just…please don't." He coughed. She took her hand out of his chest. It healed. He was leaning against the bar, catching his breath.

"You…you didn't kill me." He said, checking his skin for leftover marks. There were none.

"No. I didn't." She said.

"Why?" He asked, incredulous.

"Because, out of the two of us, I'm not the monster. Now leave, before Klaus gets here. Believe me, he's a monster." She said, her eyes widening. Adriel nodded, scared. Then he was gone. Caroline sighed. She had planned on killing him. She cursed herself for being so weak. She went behind the bar, and washed her blood drenched hand. Rumania, huh? That would take a while.

"So, a hybrid walks into the bar…" She heard a voice from behind her, then one whisper into her ear. "Boo." It said. She raised her eyebrows before she turned around to punch him straight into the face.

"Lovely to see you too, Caroline." Klaus said, clenching his jaw.

~VD~

"Where's Caroline?" Lexie asked as she entered Damon's bedroom. He was lying on his bed, shirtless, and had emptied three bottles of scotch. He was out of bourbon. Scotch had to do.

"Gone. I broke up with her because of something stupid." He sighed.

"You what? Damon, are you out of your mind?" She asked, lying down next to him.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked back.

"I'm not dating him, I'm not obligated to know that." She said.

"But you know anyway." He acknowledged.

"At Elena's. Convincing her to come to the party at the grill." Lexie sighed.

"I love her, Lexie." Damon said, cutting her off halfway. She snapped her head to look at him.

"Elena?"

"No. Caroline. I love her." He said, close to sobbing. "So…much." He whispered.

"How long have you known her?"

"Three weeks."

"And why did you break up with her?"

"Because she wouldn't turn." Damon sighed. Lexie groaned.

"Ugh. You're such an idiot. Of course not. If she turns, she'll be a supernatural killing machine. Programed to kill everyone her master makes her kill." She rambled. Damon stared at Lexie.

"A what?" He yelled.

"You heard me just fine, Damon. She couldn't turn even if she wanted to. For the sake of everyone."

"She never told me that."

"Because she's afraid. I only know because I know one of the people who tortured her, and I helped get her out." She shrugged.

"I am such an idiot." Damon groaned. "She's never going to take me back." He whispered, afraid. He looked at Lexie.

"Probably not, no. And…you should find someone who doesn't have the emotional damage she does. And someone whose not as opposed to turning as she is. You have to move on. You can't have a future with her." She pondered out loud.

"I want to. And I can. I can make it happen." Damon yelled. Lexie shook her head at him.

"How stupid are you? She doesn't love you. She said so herself. Get over her already." She yelled. That was too much for Damon. He pushed her against the wall, overcome with rage. He plunged his hand into her chest, and pulled out her heart. He regretted it the second he had done it, but it was too late. Lexie was gone. He broke down, crying.

~VD~

Caroline brushed a strand of her hair out of her face as she regarded Klaus, lying on the floor of the bar.

"That was for compelling me." She said. Then she kicked him in his private parts. "And that's for forcing blood on me." He snarled, and had her pushed against the wall in no time.

"I could've let you die. But I chose to save you. Is that how you thank me?" He screamed. She stared him down. Then he started to clutch his head, sinking to the floor.

"Do not act like you care. I have had enough of that in my life. I know you only saved me so that I can't die. Because if I do die, he can make a new one." She growled. Klaus wiped his lips.

"Alright. Sorry, that was out of line, I'll admit. Nice to see you by the way, you've grown."

"Well, I'm not thirteen anymore." She stated.

"I can see that." He nodded, very obviously checking her out. She looked at him, irritated.

"Shut up? Did you bring a car?" She asked as she pushed past him.

"Yes I did. Why? Did you figure something out?"

"He's in Rumania. We're heading to the airport. And just this once, I'll let you compel someone. We need to leave right away. This needs to go down fast, people cannot remember that we took that plane. Got it?" She asked, as she seated herself in his car.

"And just how do you know this, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me that. I have my sources."

"Ooh, you threatened someone. Wish I could've seen that. You can't hurt a fly." Klaus laughed.

"I hurt you, didn't I? The big bad wolf? How is that going, by the way? Any of your family out of their coffins yet?"

"How do you know that?" He asked, lips pressed together.

"I'm batman." She smiled, wiggling her eyebrows. He couldn't help but laugh. He was going to revisit that subject at another time then. Then she was quiet. She looked out the window. He started driving, also in silence.

~VD~

"She's gone! Jeremy! She's gone." Bonnie said, entering Jeremy's room with an amazing amount of force. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes before regarding her.

"Who?" He asked, his voice drunk with sleep.

"Caroline! She's left this note in the cellar. She's going…going to…"

"Going to what?" Jeremy asked, getting up. He was shirtless. Bonnie glanced over his nicely shaped abdomen and arm muscles. Then immediately hated herself for checking him out in a situation like this.

"…k…kill herself. She's going to kill herself." Bonnie sobbed. Jeremy looked irritated.

"She didn't write that." He sneered. He snatched the note out of her hands. "It merely says: I'm going to kill…Oh." Jeremy said, gaping. Bonnie continued sobbing.

"Bonnie, look at it this way: If she succeeds she's a free woman." He shrugged.

"And what if she doesn't?" Bonnie asked, tears streaming down her face."

"Then, she'll most likely be a vampire soon." Jeremy shrugged.

"We have to help her! What do we do?" Bonnie said, distraught.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to a Sabaton concert with Tyler and Lucas." Jeremy said, completely nonchalant. Bonnie stared at him in disbelief.

"Why am I the only one that's worried about her?"

"Because you don't trust her power. She's strong Bonnie, and something tells me she's not going in alone. Caroline always has a backup." He shrugged. Bonnie nodded, trying to stop the tears.

"Now. Feel better?" He asked. She nodded slowly. "Good. Was there anything else you wanted?" He asked politely. She stared at him. He stared back.

"Oh screw it." She said, before crossing the room to kiss him. He smiled.

~VD~

"Why are you so quiet?" Klaus asked once they were seated on the plane. She turned to look at him.

"My life is miserable. I'm thinking of just jumping out the airplane right now." She said.

"It can't be that bad. I heard you have a boyfriend who loves you very much." Klaus tempted. She snorted.

"Yeah, loves me that much, that he asks the 'turn or don't turn' question after three weeks of dating."

"That's a bit impulsive. What'd you say?" Klaus asked, interested. She shot him an irritated look.

"You're kidding me, right?" She asked.

"No. I'm genuinely interested." He smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"You know more about this shit than I do. You know what would happen if I turn." She dismissed.

"Uh…only if Casper is the one who turns you, or whose blood you turn on. Otherwise, you'd be a free vampire. And if he's not there for the transformation, he can't take your heart." Klaus explained.

"So…all these years, I could've just turned, and I wouldn't have all these problems?" She raised her voice. Klaus shushed her with one finger.

"Technically, yeah. But would you really have wanted to be stuck at fourteen? You had a few pimples."

"Shut up, that isn't even funny. Now Damon broke up with me, over something that could've…" She trailed off.

"If he broke up with you, it's his fault. Not yours." Klaus tried. "The question remains the same though. Even if you knew you could, would you still want to be a vampire?" He asked. She pondered that for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No." She whispered.

~VD~

They arrived in Rumania the next day, around noon. Caroline was on the phone, while Klaus was out feeding. She had bought a prepay, to discard as quickly as possible. There was only one number, and that was the one from the prepay she had gotten Klaus. Her usual cellphone was rotting away in the cellar. She wondered whether Bonnie had gotten the letter yet.

"I'm back." Klaus said. She just nodded.

"Do you have something of his?" Caroline asked, out of the blue.

"Pardon?" He asked. She cleared her throat.

"Do you have an item that belongs to Casper?" She asked.

"I don't see how that's relevant." Klaus shrugged.

"Well, I don't know how you usually find people, but a locator spell usually does the trick." She explained to him, as if he was stupid.

"We'd need a witch for that, darling. Do you see one? I don't." Klaus said, a hint of humour in his voice.

"Or, we can use someone with the power of claircognizance." Caroline pointed out.

"I don't see any of those either…" Klaus started, but when she raised her eyebrows at him he smiled. "Well, what do you know?" He asked in amazement. She shrugged.

"Getting to the actual point, do you have some of his personal effects?" She asked again.

"I just so happen to have one of his teeth." Klaus said, shyly.

"How do you…?" She asked, but trailed off when he took off the necklace he wore, with what looked like a shark tooth.

"No. I want one!" She smiled. He shrugged.

"Try not to destroy it." He smirked. She nodded. She placed the tooth on the table before her. Then she closed her eyes. The tooth started to levitate. Klaus could see a map appear. He heard screams. Terrible, terrible screams of pain. He didn't like it, it made him cringe. He saw endless terrifying creatures, biting down on soft flesh. Then he saw a red mark appearing on the map. He jotted down the address on his hand, just seconds before the map disappeared, and he saw a girl tortured with fire. It looked absolutely terrifying. He then realized the girl was Caroline. He was shellshocked. An electric current ran through him, and then he snapped out of it.

"What just happened?" He asked, panting.

"You went inside my mind." She shrugged. "Do you know where to find him?" She asked. Klaus couldn't move. The torture for her had been worse than she had ever let on.

"Yes. Shouldn't be a problem." He nodded.

"Good. Tomorrow, we kill the bastard." She said, determined.

~VD~

"You killed her. Damon, you killed her!" Stefan growled, before pushing his brother against the wall.

"Kill me now, Stefan. I want to die. Life makes no sense anymore." Damon sighed.

~VD~

TTaadddaaaaaaa. :D Yaaay, chapter is done.