Hello, my lovely readers. You might have missed the last chapter because I posted it on Monday. On with the show…

Chapter 34: What is Your Worst Fear?

Figuring out that you're playing with fire when you have no matches or a lighter is not the easiest of tasks. Suffice it to say, that you will still get burned. And as the flames rise you may view your reflection. What is reflected back at you may be a sight that you never imagined yourself to be.

The night before Caroline was due to leave I had a troubled night's sleep and Damon had a difficult time raising me from my bed. "Let me be," I had snapped at him.

"Get up, man," Damon had snarled in my ear. "If you don't get up I will dare Stefan to steal your next letter home to Caroline and feed it to Leo."

Rubbing my eyelids, I have visions of my sister's dog chewing through a well thought out and purposely lacking in details of anything that Caroline might condemn in my behavior. I knew that Caroline would love me no matter what I did but I did not entirely believe that this theory was true. Therefore there were little things that I might do to make sure that things would run smoothly for myself and my friends. Caroline did not need to know about each and every one of them. "Fine," I snapped at Damon, eying him with resentment.

Marcel was already up and walking about the room. "Hey, Klaus. You ready to take down our least favorite enemy."

Sitting up straighter my lips twisted into what Damon teased would one day be my signature smirk. "Yes, there is one perk for the day even if there is nothing else that makes it worth it to get up."

"Don't you want to say good-bye to Caroline?" Damon asked me with uplifted eyebrows.

"No," I retorted. It was a simple enough answer. Good-bye meant that she would be leaving me and I was not ready to let her go again with absolutely no idea when she would return. No, I did not want to say good-bye.

"I think she'll be pissed if you don't," Damon told me while adjusting his tie. I cocked my head to the side and examined him with some curiosity.

"Why are you wearing that thing for?" I questioned Damon as I forced myself to my feet and came to stand in front of him.

"Because I want to look nice for when I say bye to Lena," Damon told me like I was being stupid. 'Damn it, Caroline,' I shook my head in frustration. Now she had me calling people stupid. That was something that I didn't like to do unless they really were dull. Like Vaughn. Galen Vaughn in my opinion was quite dull. Therefore it should not be a problem to have my revenge.

We walked as a group toward the door after I grabbed a pair of jeans and Damon forced me to wear a shirt he said Caroline loved me in. "Are you sure that you're not the one who is turning into a girl, Damon? What is this sudden fondness for fashion?"

"Kiss my ass, Mikaelson," Damon replied before yanking the door open and almost hitting me in the face with it. He then walked ahead of Marcel and I down the hall. Maybe he wasn't taking Elena and Stefan going back home so well.

I trudged after Damon. At the moment I decided that he could bloody well blow off some steam and I could care less what he thought. It was not his life to live as some adults I had heard say. This was my life. If I wanted to take it badly that Caroline was leaving me once again then I could.

These were the thoughts I had when we descended the stairs and arrived in the main room. There were children and adults everywhere you looked. My eyes lit on one girl specifically. She was wearing a light yellow sundress, a white button down sweater and a blue ribbon in her hair. Her hair looked darker in the room. It was beginning to grow out a light brown color but the sunlight still kissed it even in this darkness.

For the first time I realized that Caroline was beginning to grow up. I wondered as I looked at her what she would look like the next time I saw her. Would she be taller? Would her hair be shorter or longer? Would she still care for me or would she find another boy to fancy? She was lovely. Extraordinary really. "Nik," Caroline mouthed as she turned toward me and her face lit up. How could I ever let her go?

"Hi," I mouthed back. She was too far away from me and I needed to cross that space and to hug her tightly. I would only be satisfied with her in my arms. Stepping toward her quickly I almost had her when the worst thing that could possibly happen stepped in between me and my goal. Galen Vaughn. And he did not look happy. I will have to admit I would not look happy either if someone separated me from my best mates but he brought it on himself.

"Klaus," Vaughn addressed me with a grin that held not even the hint of warmth. "Come to see your little girlfriend home?" Moving to the side Vaughn wrapped an arm around Caroline's shoulders. "You know, Caroline, you are such a sweet little girl. Why would you want to waste your time with someone like Mikaelson here? He's such bore. He must have been more fun at home, right?"

"Get off of me," Caroline snarled at Vaughn. She attempted to wriggle away when Vaughn slid his arm lower and it fell to her waist. When she tried to step on his feet he side stepped.

"I would be nicer to me if I were you," Vaughn warned Caroline who was glaring up at him when Damon appeared by my side. I was about to interfere with the new problem between Caroline and Klaus when Damon grabbed my arm.

"Have you seen Elena or Stefan?" Damon looked panicked as he scanned the room for the people he had expected to find in the room. Feeling tension course through my body I scanned the room quickly. When I did not see any sign of Elena or Stefan my gaze fell on Vaughn. My enemy was smiling now as if he found something quite amusing.

"Are your friends missing, Salvatore? That's horrible. I hope that you'll find them soon. Seeing as I was just about to take a walk outside with Caroline maybe you would want to join me. You never know. Your friends might be closer than you think," Vaughn's words told me that he was up to something and I felt like we would be walking into a trap. However, we had no choice as Vaughn walked along with Caroline.

I had little choice than to follow Vaughn as he made his way through the many families. To the casual observer it might seem as if we were all leaving to get a spot of fresh air but my friends knew that this was not the case. When we had left and the door swung shut behind us I allowed the smile that I had forced onto my face to drop. This was between us, not the adults who might want to intervene if they sensed that there was trouble. "Alright, Vaughn, why are we out here?" I demanded.

Then Alexander and Conner appeared and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. Caroline looked at the older boys that were now flanking Vaughn which lessened her odds of being able to get away from her capture. However, I was fully intent on freeing Caroline and then giving Vaughn the revenge that his misdeeds had brought down on him. "Let her go," I snarled, trying to keep control of my temper.

"I don't think so. You see, Caroline here is my insurance that you three will do what I say. Then of course there is the not so small matter of if you try to get help Alexander and Conner have their orders and Damon I don't think that you'll like the outcome."

Damon stiffened and walked toward Vaughn until they were less than an inch apart. "Where are they?" Damon's were so quiet that I could barely hear them but I knew that he was almost farther gone than I was. One more word that sounded like a threat and Damon was going to allow his instincts to take over and try to fight Vaughn. I couldn't let that happen because we had no idea where Elena and Stefan were.

"Damon," I called, forcing my voice to come out calm and steady. He could not see that I was as terrified for my friends as he was.

Damon turned his head to the side but never took his eyes off of Vaughn. "Don't, Nik. What if it were Kol or Bekah? Don't try to stop me."

"Damon," Marcel called. "We can find a way to deal with this without resorting to violence."

"Really?" Vaughn asked and he began to laugh. "Is that what you think? Let's put that theory to the test," without another word Vaughn began to lead us toward the old church that gave all of us the creeps. When we entered Vaughn took a moment to stare around the place. "This place is great. Would you like to know why?" Spinning around Vaughn faced us and waited for us to answer him.

"Why?" Caroline asked before I could open my mouth.

"Because, Caroline. There are so many places to hide. You have no idea how many times I've given out punishments in this very church. You could call it my playground. Honestly, I've been at this school since before I could remember so I never had a real playground, you know with swings and stuff. No, they're very strict here. You're not allowed to have any fun. But I decided that all that would change. Now, welcome. Would you like to play a game of hide and seek?"

"Are you kidding?" Damon asked Vaughn, shaking his head, his rage emanating from every part of him. "My friend and brother are missing and you want to play games for babies?"

Smiling widely, Vaughn looked down at Damon because he was four inches taller than Damon he was taking full advantage of the height difference. "If you play the game then you get them back without a scratch. If you don't… let's just say that they will not be visiting again unless their parents don't like them much."

"You just want to play hide and seek? That's it and then you'll let them go?" Caroline looked hopefully at me nodding slowly.

"Oh, yes," Vaughn nodded, his smile still in place. "As long as you follow the rules then you will get Elena and Stefan back. And the slate will be clear. It will be as if nothing ever happened and you will be free to leave."

"What are the rules?" Marcel asked quickly. I could see that he did not like the idea of playing a game that followed any rules that Vaughn came up with.

"First rule is that you must stay within the confines of the church. Second rule is that you must not scream under any circumstances. Third rule is that whoever catches you gets to do whatever they like with you until the game ends. Understand?" Vaughn continued to smile and I felt my fists clench.

"What if someone did not want to play the game?" Marcel asked

"Then Elena and Stefan would be very, very sorry," Vaughn told him. "Now, are you ready to play?"

"Wait!" I yelled, holding up my hand before Damon and Marcel could run. "When does the game end?"

"When the visitors are supposed to leave. So, that gives us a total of three hours. Are you ready?" Vaughn asked me his smile disappearing.

"Yes," I said.

"Oh, and Caroline will be joining us," Vaughn whispered, letting go of her arm. "GO!" He thundered and we all ran in different directions. My main priority was to stay away from Vaughn and to find Elena and Stefan. Once I found the missing members of our group then it was just a matter of finding Damon, Marcel and Caroline. After we were united we would get out of here and wait for the three hours to be over.

"I can hear your breathing, Mikaelson," Vaughn taunted me and I felt my desire to seek him out and punch him in the mouth beginning to overcome my desire to find the missing children.

"I'm going to find you and then I'm going to make you sorry that you messed with Alexander and Conner," Vaughn whispered to me. "And then I'm going to find your little girlfriend and make her sorry she ever met you."

"I swear if you lay a finger on Caroline I will rip you bloody head off," I whispered to myself. I would not allow a bully to get the best of me. The mission was to find the others and to get out of here.

"Come out, Come out wherever you are?" Vaughn called and then I heard him grunt loudly. "You little bitch." Whirling around, I saw a flash of yellow sprinting up the stairs who appeared to be limping slightly. "I'm going to find you and I'm going to make sure that you're not so cute anymore."

Vaughn would have kept his focus on Caroline if I had not whistled. "Hey, jackass. Over here." I taunted Vaughn who looked at me and sneered. "I thought you wanted me, not some little girl who couldn't give you a real fight. Or is that your thing. You like to pick on the people you think are too weak to fight back like Elena and Stefan. Why not grab me? I know, because you don't want to fight me."

"Oh, well, that's where you are wrong, laddie, I intend to fight you and make you cry for your mother," Vaughn told me before charging forward. I dodged him and then ran for the stairs. I ran up them as fast as I could until breathing became a problem and my lungs began to scream. I wondered how Caroline had been able to run with such ease and grace.

"I'm comin' for you, Klaus," Vaughn called after me and I realized that I did need to hide after all.

"Damn," I muttered looking around at open space and then someone clamped a hand over my mouth and began to drag me backward. I wanted to scream or wriggle but the person was stronger than I was which made it difficult to struggle away.

The person dragged me into another part of the upper floor of the church, deep in the shadows. I almost felt like I was being pulled off my feet when the person sat me down and I whirled around to gasp in shock. "Finn?"

"Shush," Finn placed his finger to his lips and then I noticed that Caroline, Elena and Stefan were with him. "Keep your voice down, Nik. Do you want him to find you?"

I shook my head, "But how did you get here?" I was very confused about what in the world was going on around here.

"I came to collect these three," Finn nodded in Caroline's, Elena's and Stefan's directions. "Father thought it would be a good excuse to get me out of town and away from Sage. He doesn't know that I brought her with me."

"Is she here?" I whispered back. I was hoping that Sage was here because she might be able to distract Vaughn and his gang or be able to help us fight them off.

"Yes, she's here," Finn told me. "We just got here when we saw you going to this church so we followed you. My thoughts were why would you come here when there was no service at this time of day and this place does not look like it's used that often and why would a group of kids want to play in a church? Sage thought that Caroline looked afraid and that Damon looked angry. That was all it took for her to tell me that we would come over here and find out what was going on."

"Thank you for coming," I told my older brother and then I surprised us both by hugging him. Just as Finn started to reply the door swung open and Vaughn stepped inside.

"There you are," Vaughn grinned triumphantly until he saw Finn. "Who the hell are you?"

Finn smiled down at the younger boy. "I'm Finn Mikaelson. Now, would you like to explain to me why you are trying to hurt my brother and his friends?"

"I wasn't. We were just playing hide and seek," Vaughn explained to his elder by all of four years. However, there can be quite a difference between an eleven year-old and a fifteen year-old in height and weight. This is what Vaughn seemed to be thinking as he stared up at Finn and gulped. What he did not know was that Finn would not fight anyone for any reason. However, I was not going to inform my enemy of this information.

"That's not what it looks like to me," Finn replied and then there was a shout from downstairs and it sounded like Sage.

"So much for the no screaming rule," Caroline muttered and we all ran downstairs. When we got to where the others were gathered I noticed that Marcel had a black eye and his lower lip was swollen. By the looks of Alexander I would say that the redness of his fist would be enough evidence to show that he was the one who inflicted the damage.

My lips curved upward when I saw fourteen year-old, Sage digging her knee into Alexander's back. "I will say this one more time and only one more time," she was saying as she twisted Alexander's right arm behind his back. "I am sorry… I don't know your name," she murmured, looking at Marcel.

"His name is Marcel," I told her and Sage grinned at me before returning her attention to Alexander.

"I am sorry, Marcel, for beating on you like that. I will never beat another younger boy up as long as I live," Sage informed Alexander. "Say it. This is your last chance."

Alexander lifted his head and looked at Marcel. "I'm sorry, Marcel. And I will never beat up another young boy as long as I live. Now, get off of me."

Sage looked satisfied when she climbed to her feet, "My work is complete. Now, if no one minds I want to get out of this place. It gives me the creeps."

Vaughn looked unhappy as he walked ahead of his friends and into the mostly empty main room. "Galen," a woman with too much hair spray and a string of pearls called to the startled looking Vaughn.

"Mother?" Vaughn muttered and then an older man appeared who was unmistakably Vaughn's father.

"Son, it's time for you to come home," Vaughn's father told him.

"What?" Vaughn looked horrified at the thought as he looked to his friends for help. "But… but…"

"But what?" Vaughn's mother shook her head with a smile. "Come along, dear, we have lots of people that you'll meet once we get back. They've heard so much about our offspring but never got to meet you."

"Yes, son," Vaughn's father added. "It's time that you come home."

As Vaughn was pulled out the door I began to chuckle. "What's so funny?" Damon asked me.

"None of us knew what to do to get revenge on Vaughn. As he said himself this place, this school, is all he ever knew. Now, he has to go home and I have a feeling that the people that he encounters will not be so willing to play his game under his rules." I explained to Damon.

"You're a genius," Caroline whispered into my ear and I grinned to myself. What I did not know was that this was just the beginning.

Rose: There are a few hiccups in Klaus and Caroline's relationship because it seems like every time they get to spend time together something comes in and tears them apart. I can't really explain what's going on because I have to write a paper between now and Tuesday and my brain is kind there right now. But I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story.

Laoise: Umm… methinks that you're thinking that Enzo is moving to Mystic Falls. Correct?

Lavanya: Caroline can not go to the boarding school with Klaus because he's at an all male school. That way he won't be messing around with other girls. ;)

Thank you for reading, faving, following and for reviewing: jessinicole, ferrylis, xXAncientbaneXx, redbudrose, pleasesaycaroline and lavanya.

Peace,

LL