Caroline was standing in the Lockwood cellar, not knowing what to do with herself. Everything was crumbling around her. It felt like the world was turning its back on her and she was left all alone in the dark.

She thought about Graduation Day, the day the end had its beginning. They'd defeated Silas, turning into him stone. They'd graduated together, an accomplishment Caroline many times had doubted they all would achieve. Damon survived and despite how much Caroline was against it, he made Elena happy. Jeremy was resurrected and Tyler was allowed to come home.

For a short moment Caroline allowed herself to feel the bubbling happiness she felt as Klaus told her Tyler was free. And then he promised her that he would wait for her. For a brief second as Klaus had kissed her to cheek, her knees had weakened and her heart fluttered. After leaving the football field, Klaus had said his goodbyes and disappeared before her eyes with his last words: "Take care, love".

Caroline had waited an hour before calling Tyler because of a strange wish not to violate what had just happened between Klaus and her. She had sat on her bed as she dialled his number and recorded a message on his cell phone.

"Tyler, it's me. It's over. He's gone, Silas is gone. And so is Klaus. He said you could come back, he won't hunt you anymore. You can come back to me, Tyler. Something about a graduation present, but it doesn't matter. Come home, Tyler. I love you. See you soon."

Tyler was outside her house the next morning and Caroline had flung herself at him. Their lips had met over and over again and Caroline never wanted to let go of him. They had spent the day mostly naked, "catching up" and only stopped to tell the others about his return.

Caroline had forgotten all about the "cleaning" they now had to do. Katherine was human with no memory of her vampire life. Jeremy was back from the dead and Bonnie had apparently left for the summer. Stefan had also disappeared and even though she was a bit hurt he didn't say goodbye to her, she understood him.

Caroline also felt the need to get away so she packed a suitcase and told Tyler to do the same. They drove to the nearest airport the morning after and were suddenly on their way to Buenos Aires. Caroline had never really left Mystic Falls and the first couple of days, she couldn't stop smiling. Everything was new and exciting. Just as Klaus said, the world had been waiting for her and if it hadn't been for Tyler, she could have travelled right up until her first day of college.

But reality had called them back to Mystic Falls and as the summer break drew to a close, everything slowly collapsed.

Stefan was back in town and Caroline tried to cheer him as much as possible, knowing it was hard for him to see his brother and the love of his life together. Looking back, Caroline should have known something was wrong but she was living inside a bubble of happiness with her boyfriend, friends and the future just waiting for her to take it.

The day before her leaving for college, they still hadn't seen any sign of Bonnie but Jeremy had been communicating with her so Caroline even though Caroline was hurt about Bonnie not saying goodbye, she wasn't worried. Bonnie had used every inch of her power to stop Silas so Caroline figured that she was regenerating somewhere that wasn't just as overpopulated with supernatural creatures as Mystic Falls.

But then he told her. Silas revealed himself to her and showed her everything as they really were. Bonnie was dead. Stefan was gone. Hell was descending. And her world shattered into a thousand pieces.

Caroline never experienced her first day of college. Tyler and her mom tried to convince her to go, to get out of town and be safe. But Caroline knew that she could never leave her friends and family like that and especially not without Tyler. She had managed to get her tuition back with a bit of compulsion, not knowing if she would ever go back.

Something inside her had shifted since the trip she and Tyler had to South America. After visiting Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile that all were filled with obnoxious tourists, Caroline wanted more. She wanted to see the real beauty of the world and enjoy everything it had to offer her.

But there was a dark pit in her stomach that kept telling her she would never get to do those things. Silas was out there and they had no idea what he was up to. It was like he had awakened just to haunt Mystic Falls, supposedly like all other supernatural villains, Caroline thought.

Caroline made a slow turn in the cellar, noticing every little crack in the wall with her vampire sight. This was where Tyler and she had first connected during his first transformation to a wolf. This was where Tyler had turned not only into a wolf, but also the person she loved, in front of her.

Caroline's eyes watered at the thought of losing Tyler, again. She could clearly remember their goodbye in this same cellar as she thought Tyler would die because of Klaus' death. And how her heart broke watching him run from Klaus, not knowing if she would ever see him again.

But this time was different. He didn't want to be with her anymore. He didn't trust her. And of all the things that had happened between them, this was the worst. They had always found a way back to each other despite all the things, especially Klaus had put them through.

Klaus was the root of all her problems, it seemed. The dreams about him had started a week after they returned from South America and because of her habit to talk in her sleep; Tyler knew that Klaus was appearing to her in the night. Tyler had stormed off into the night, not even bothering to yell at her and she had waited up all night, waiting for him to return so she could explain.

Her dreams about Klaus were usually far from the white sheets and that god awful nakedness she sometimes dreamt of. They were terrifying and fear inducing and saying Klaus' name in those dreams, was often a plea for him to stop doing whatever horrific thing he was doing to her or others. In the beginning it had only been those kinds of dreams that haunted but recently it had changed.

Caroline had dropped to her knees, not caring about how the dirty the floor must be. She sat down, resting on her tibias and feet, not feeling the pain humans would, sitting in such a position on a stone floor. With a hand over her mouth she tried to prevent the sounds of her sobs escaping her and echoing of the walls.

"Caroline, love. What's wrong?" Caroline froze as she heard his voice behind her, realizing that it was Silas and not Klaus that was actually standing behind her. She took a deep breath, stopping her crying and quickly wiped her face dry with her sleeve. Then she stood up and turned to face him, knowing that she would not be seeing Stefan's face.

"What do you want?" Caroline said with a small voice and her arms down the sides in defeat.

"That is for me to know and for you to wonder." Silas said using that creepily charming English accent. He was smirking and the light in his green-blue eyes showed both his slight amusement and curiosity.

"You could have killed me. Why didn't you?" she asked, seeking an answer to what she had been wondering about ever since she found out he hadn't ripped her heart out. "Why should I? Do you want to die, love?" Silas said, taking a step towards her. There was still more than six feet between them but Caroline had to fight the urge to take a step back.

Silas kept Klaus' eyes on hers in an attempt to drag her in and chuckled silently when he failed. This girl in front of him was something else. She was so strong and yet so fragile, standing there before him with red eyes and face that told him she was giving up. He was fascinated by her and Silas had learnt to understand the hold she seemed to have on the original hybrid. He definitely had plans for her but he couldn't tell her that, not just yet.

Caroline felt uncomfortable as Silas studied her from head to toe but didn't feel any real incentive to get out of there. Silas would probably just snap her neck if she ran and she wasn't quite over the last time. Besides, she wanted to know what he was up to and why he seemed so interested in her.

"Actually, I really like being me but it would be a great help if you just jumped in the Atlantic and drowned." Caroline sneered, feeling her fighter instinct reappear. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have your demise to plan" Caroline continued as she took a step towards the stairs, knowing he would stop her.

"Slow down, love" Silas said as Klaus' hand grabbed Caroline's arm and made her stop right beside him. Caroline looked him straight the eyes as she took a step back, away from the hand on her arm. "Where's the fire? It's not like Tyler is waiting for you, is it?" he asked with a proud smile, showing Caroline just how much he was in her head.

There was something about his apparent complacency that made Caroline shiver. She took another step back, now with her arms crossed, fighting the best not to show him that he was getting to her. She tried to switch subject, knowing she didn't quite managed to do so:

"Why Klaus? Why do you think Klaus has any effect on me?" she demanded to know. The first time he had shown up as Klaus, not counting the time before everything went horrible wrong, was a couple of months ago, startling Caroline so much that she had nearly screamed when he suddenly stood behind her as the real Klaus had a habit of doing. But Caroline hadn't seen the Silas version of Klaus since and she couldn't help but wonder why he kept appearing as the hybrid now.

"Oh, sweet Caroline. Don't forget I've been inside your head. I know all about your allure to darkness." Silas said, emphasising the last three words. He had started moving around in the cellar, walking in a circle around her. Caroline kept staring at the same spot despite of how vulnerable she felt, when she couldn't see him behind her.

"Seriously?! There. is. no. allure. to. darkness!" Caroline yelled, throwing her hands in the air. She turned around to look at him, only to find him right in front of her. Before she managed to take a step back, he grabbed her around her waist with one arm, pressing her against him. A shiver went through Caroline of being so close to him and she turned her face away from him. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him again. Right into those blue eyes.

"Are you sure, Caroline? Are you absolutely sure?" he said with Klaus voice, looking straight into her eyes. Slowly, he raised his free hand, placing it on her neck with his thumb caressing her cheek. As Silas saw her pupils widen, he couldn't help but smile and then he was gone.

Caroline fell to the ground with a shock and unable to stop herself, she began crying once again.