Because you're you-and I'm me

A/N: Yeah, have fun. I know you'll kill me for the ending. ;)

Disclaimer: Me no own TVD. :P

~VD~

Caroline sighed as she stood in front of the door that lead to her house. She had no idea what was waiting for her. She'd been gone for well over three months. She'd be in heaps of trouble, she knew that.

She took a deep breath as she rang the doorbell.

She heard footsteps approach the door. She was nervous as hell. Maybe she was even beginning to shake a little bit. Sure, she'd been through hell and back, and she still had a few cuts here and there, but nothing was worse than being chastised by an angry mom.

The door flew open.

"Hi Mom." She choked out. Elizabeth Forbes looked at her daughter. She blinked a few times, trying to take it in. It was her daughter. Caroline was standing in front of her. She looked different. She looked afraid.

"Caroline." She cried out, relieved, before taking her in her arms. Caroline was shellshocked. She didn't expect this from her mom.

"I was so worried about you. Are you hurt?" She asked. Caroline shook her head, dumbfounded.

"Come in, darling. Please." She motioned. Caroline went inside, still shocked. She heard her mother call for Jeremy. He went down the stairs, slurred. When he spotted Caroline, his eyes lit up. He ran towards her, crushing her almost. He was hugging her so tight, Caroline actually had trouble breathing.

"I can't believe you did it. Caroline, don't ever scare me like that again." He whispered into her ear. Caroline was about to cry. Really, nothing had changed between her and Jeremy.

"I missed you too." She choked out. "But if you keep squishing me like that, there won't be any of me left to miss."

"I'm holding onto you, so you don't do something stupid and reckless again, you idiot." He said, and Caroline saw tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said, biting her lip. Jeremy dismissed it.

"We thought you were dead, Caroline. Don't ever do that to us again." He warned, sobbing. Caroline was in tears as well. Jeremy really was her brother.

"We'll talk in the morning, Caroline. I'm so glad you're back." Elizabeth Forbes sobbed, giving her daughter one last squeeze. Then she disappeared. Jeremy looked at Caroline.

"You wan't to tell me something?"

"What are you even doing here, Jeremy?" She asked, confused. They were walking up to her room.

"I've been living here."

"Ew, in my room?" She asked, jokingly. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Elena was getting on my nerves. You know, bad, bad, stoner kid." He said. He wondered whether he should tell her about Bonnie.

"She's like that. Is she still with Stefan?" She asked. Jeremy groaned.

"Oh yeah, that's another reason why I'm so annoyed. She found out about vampires. So she broke up with him. Then they got back together because they love each other so fuckin much. Then they broke up again, and now they're back together. It's really straining my nerves." He said, plopping down on her bed. She lay down next to him.

"Jeremy, I know there's something you're not telling me." She sighed.

"What, you've developed the ability to read minds too? It's not a requirement I tell you everything about my life, when I don't even vaguely know what you've been up to the last…" He started, looking at his watch. "…3 months, 2 weeks, 4 days and…9 hours." Jeremy said, giving her a questioning look.

"I know I was gone. And I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone. And…Ugh. I know you're dating Bonnie." She rambled. Jeremy gave her a shocked look.

"So you can read minds…?" He asked, amused.

"No. You're just embarrassingly obvious." She mused. Jeremy smacked her in the face with a pillow.

"Am not." He grunted. Caroline laughed.

"Yeah, you kind of are." She giggled, poking him in the sides. He poked her back on the arm. Caroline gasped, and then her arm began to glow. Her anti tracking tattoo was lighting up the entire room. It looked like something out of paranormal activity, she went to her window, and shut the blinds. This would look weird for anybody outside. Although it sure didn't seem like it most of the time, Mystic Falls was heavily populated. Jeremy was still staring at her arm.

"What the hell?" He asked confused.

"Umm…" Caroline was looking for the right words to explain this to Jeremy.

"I know there's something you're not telling me." He mimicked her from earlier. She rolled her eyes.

"It's not like that!" She began. He laughed.

"It's not like that my ass! Come on, Caroline. I'm your bro. You can tell me what happened." He tempted, staring at her glowing arm. Caroline closed her eyes for a second, and then it was gone.

"Interesting." Jeremy snickered. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"It's a cloaking device. Bonnie couldn't find me because of it." She murmured. She didn't fancy going into too much detail. Jeremy looked at her, in shock.

"So…what happened while you were gone?"

"I was in a coma."

"Well that seems to be a regular thing for you nowadays, doesn't it?" Jeremy smirked. Caroline slapped him playfully.

"But I killed him. He's gone." She said, nodding at herself. Jeremy watched her. Then he scoffed.

"And you went in there…with no help?" He asked.

"You really think I'm that stupid? Yeah, I had help. He bailed. Asshole." She said, lying down on the bed in frustration.

"Okay."

"He thinks I'm dead now."

"Okay." Jeremy drawled again. Caroline looked at him.

"I'm boring you, right?"

"No. I'm incredibly glad you're back. I'm just wondering if it's too late to head over to Bonnie's." Jeremy said.

"Ohhh." Caroline wiggled her eyebrows. Jeremy laughed. Then he started tickling her.

"You can join, you know?"

"Ugh threesomes are not my thing." Caroline dismissed jokingly.

"Haha. No, I was only going to head there to tell her you're back." He said.

"Yeah, you do that. I have something else I have to do." She said.

"Damon?" Jeremy asked. She smiled. "He hasn't been the same. Be careful." Jeremy said, giving her a peck on the cheek. Then he left. Caroline thought about what Jeremy had said. It was only ten. Maybe she'd find him at the grill. It was possible, right?

~VD~

Damon was leaning over the bar, eye-flirting with Vicky. He'd sweet-talked her all night long, hoping to get her into bed. It was closing time now, and she was closing the bar, leaning close to him, her cleavage popping out of her uniform.

"So…your place or mine?" She asked. Damon wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm taking you home. Let's go." He said. Vicki didn't even need to be compelled. She really was a slut. He remembered vaguely when he had tried to pick up Caroline. He had failed miserably, but his want had taken over then. He'd done the thing he usually avoided at all costs. Compelled a girl to sleep with him. But then again, she had only pretended to be compelled, so his morals were intact. But it still felt wrong. Maybe it was because he loved her, and she was dead. That could be it. He sighed as he sped Vicki over to his place.

~VD~

Caroline was jogging around the corner, trying to get to the grill before it closed, but stopped when she saw the light go out. She sighed. She'd have to try the Salvatore mansion next, and she did not feel like running into Stefan. Possibly Elena. That would be a sucky reunion.

So she took a different path.

Then she bumped into someone.

"Caroline?" He gasped. Caroline sighed. This was not the person she wanted to run into.

"Hey… Lucas." She said, trying to step around him, but he stopped her. She smiled, kind of getting annoyed.

"Where've you been? It's been what? Three months?" He asked, empathetically. She smiled curtly.

"Yeah, I was visiting my dad, and stuff. You know? Nice talking to you." She said. She had to get to Damon. So she tried to get around him. But he pulled her back, and crashed his lips to hers. She pushed him off, giving him a slap.

"What the hell, dude?" She yelled. He grabbed his chin.

"Sorry, I just really wanted to do that." He said. She looked at him, as if he was a lunatic.

"Well now that you have, never do it again." She said, staring at him, wide-eyed.

"So. Um…listen. About your boyfriend. Damon?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you not a strong enough vampire hunter to take him down, or did you just…give up on that?" He said, as she was beginning to shift around uncomfortably, checking her watch for the time. She looked at him.

"And that's your business why?" She snapped. It was getting later and later. She didn't like this.

"Because I'm a vampire hunter." He said, as if it was obvious.

"U-huh." Caroline said, looking at her wrist again.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I chose to be one?" He asked, slightly offended. She shook her head, tongue in cheek.

"Nope. Don't care. Busy week and such. I got to run. And you should leave, there's already two hunters in this town." She said, calling over her shoulder.

"Why would I want that? I might want to kill your little boyfriend first. What about your traitor ass? Or Jeremy, he's a traitor too. Maybe even your witchy little friend. See, I need answers. I know you were attacked, and in a coma. I know you're a traitor. Refusing to kill the only two vampires in town? Wouldn't want the ministry to find out about that, now would we?" He said, stopping her again. He was really getting on her nerves. She turned around, scoffing.

"So what do you want me to do? I love him." She said, stepping closer to him.

"I know. That's your first mistake. Believing vampires have emotions.

"You're so naïve. What do you know?" She asked back. She couldn't believe Lucas…he had seemed so nice. Like a normal teenage boy. Maybe no one was normal after all. Maybe she couldn't trust anyone. Maybe Damon didn't actually love her? No, he definitely loved her. She knew that.

I know you're a traitor." He said, taking a knife out of his pocket. She laughed.

"Oh that's cute. You're going to threaten me?" She smirked. He stood, pointing the knife at her.

"I was planning on capturing you and turning you over to the ministry." He shrugged. He seemed so confident. Caroline laughed.

"Cute." Then she snarled, her eyes lighting up a bright green again. She used her enhanced speed to knock the knife out of his hand. Then she pressed him against a tree, holding him up.

"You want to come after me? Fine. But come after the people I love, and you'll be screwed." She said. Suddenly, she felt something poke through her gums. What was that? Was she growing vampire teeth? No. Those were...Oh my god. She was going full demon. What did Lucifer do? This had never happened before. She wasn't going to let that show through though. She could worry about that tomorrow.

"What are you?" Lucas gasped, all confidence erased from his face. Caroline looked at him for a second, dead-serious.

"I'm a real hunter. So take your sissy-knife, and get out of my town. Cause the brilliant thing about me, I have no rules by which I have to hunt. I have faced down so much worse than you that you're not even worth my time. So I'll say this once more. Get out of this town, never come back. Or I will kill you." She snarled. When he didn't respond, she changed her face back to normal, and smiled sweetly.

"Kthanksbye." She waved as she left. She heard scrambling behind her, he was gasping for air.

~VD~

It was almost midnight, when Damon heard a knock on his door. He had finished with Vicki, she was lying next to him, wearing one of his shirts. He knew that shirt from somewhere. It held a certain significance to him, but at the moment, he couldn't pinpoint it.

It was raining outside, there had been a storm. Damon nearly felt pity for everyone who was damned to walking the streets outside. He was inside, getting laid, feeling like his old self again. The one who couldn't feel, that was. He'd turned it off a while ago, to ignore the pain. Ignored Alaric's help. He couldn't deal with those heavy emotions. Grief was not something he liked, so he chose to ignore it. Ignorance was bliss, right? So why was he still feeling so empty and hollow?

There was a knock on the door again. Who would that be? Stefan was sleeping over at Elena's. Not to mention, he wouldn't have knocked. So, lazily, he got up, and walked to the door. He opened it, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. He felt his throat dry out. He coughed.

"Ca…Caroline?" He stuttered. There she was, standing in front of him. Her clothes were completely drenched. He even saw a small cut, bleeding away on her face. She'd walked here. Wait. She was alive?

Caroline had been alive all this time.

And she made no effort to contact him.

He didn't know whether he should be mad at her, for leaving him like that. He had broken up with her, sure, but come on. That was just cruel. Then again, he'd brought it on himself.

Or if he should kiss her, because she was alive. She was not dead. He had a chance of tasting her again, holding her, feeling her.

She was standing in front of him, quivering. She was cold, and seeing him, sent her brain off the deep end. Maybe she should've put a filter between her brain and her mouth, but that disconnected. She should've apologized , maybe. But when she saw the change in emotion in his eyes, fluttering from sad to happy to relieved to hurt to loving, she just said the first thing she had in mind.

"I love you."

~VD~

Uhhhh…Yeah. Take your guesses on the next chapter! I want a detailed description of what you want to happen in my review box after you read this. This goes to every single one of you reading this. ;)