Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am so sorry about the long wait! I've had a heck-ton of problems these last few months ranging from work issues to pets getting sick and dying, to small, contained house fires. So, I do apologize for the long wait, but I'm kind of excited for this one! Thank you all for taking the time to reach out, I hope that you enjoy and have been having a better start to 2022 than I am! XD

"Are you going to fill out the participation form for Miss Mystic Falls? Carol was asking me today and I realized that you haven't said a whole lot about it recently," Liz says slowly, trying to salvage the pasta she burned. Caroline just assumes that they are going to be ordering pizza at this rate. She's just waiting for the Sheriff to call their dinner's time of death. A sheriff can do that, right? No, probably not. But in this household, she can.

"No, probably not," Caroline admits, lifting her feet up onto the stool next to her at the peninsula in their kitchen. Had she made it home earlier, she would have just cooked it herself, but unfortunately for their pasta, Liz got to it for. Not a very fitting way to go, as said as it is.

Liz turns, shock written across her face. She looks at Caroline like the younger blonde was a complete stranger to her, which is fair. Caroline has felt like anything but herself for a very long time now. Had this been Caroline, same time last year, she wouldn't be able to recognize the stranger in the mirror staring back at her. But the Caroline of now is starting to get familiar with this stranger wearing her face.

"Really? Well, don't wait too long to register or they might run out of spaces," Liz warns her.

"I know," Caroline says, pulling at the ends of her hair a bit. "Thanks for the reminder but I don't think I'm going to participate this year."

Liz's shock grows. "What? Why? You've been dreaming about this for years. What happened?" Liz blinks a few times, trying to organize her thoughts. "Wait. Is this about Bonnie and Elena? Are you girls still fighting? I thought you guys were doing that Secret Santa thing. Did that not happen?"

"We did it, it's done now," Caroline sniffs, unhappily, trying not to think about Stefan's crappy gift that's sitting on her bedroom floor where she threw it in her anger yesterday. Just thinking about it still doesn't cease to make her angry. It probably landed behind something, but Caroline can't bring herself to care. She's still just so mad about it and probably will be for the foreseeable future.

"What happened?" Liz asks, worry shining in her blue eyes. It seems like the time they talked in her office still worries her. Caroline loves her mom and is so thankful that they are able to finally reconnect after Carline let the anger and hurt of her father leaving them get the better of her. It wasn't even Liz's fault, yet she took the brunt of Caroline's anger and didn't ever complain about it, despite having all the right in the world to do so. And Caroline is so stricken with remorse and shame whenever she thinks about it. She was truly horrible to Liz and she's not sure how she will ever make it up to her mother.

"Stefan Salvatore..." Caroline says slowly, trying to figure out how much to say. "It's stupid but he got me a terrible gift. I didn't even know he was participating in it. I guess I did a little too well in ensuring that it was completely anonymous."

Liz cracks a loose smile, relieved it wasn't as bad as she was no doubt imagining it to be. "Well, don't leave me in suspense. What did he get for you?"

Caroline sends her a droll look. "A horrible little snow globe key chain of Mystic Falls."

Liz blinks in confusion before huffing a little laugh and turning away to hide her smile, despite Caroline having already seen it. "Okay, that's pretty bad," she admits, mirthfully, much to Caroline chagrin, "But I don't know how this has anything to do with Elena and Bonnie."

Caroline shakes her head despite her mom facing away from her. She doesn't want to explain it. If she thinks too much about it she begins to feel like she's splitting hairs and it's foolish to be angry - at anyone. So, she'll just let Liz think that she's not appreciative and leave it at that. Instead, she says, "It doesn't have anything to do with Bonnie and Elena. I'm just not sure I want to participate in Miss Mystic Falls."

Whatever mirth Liz was still holding onto drops completely from her face. Very slowly, she turns off the stove, finally accepting the unfortunate passing of their dinner and turning her eyes to Caroline. Eyebrows pulled together and lips pressed tight. Caroline hates hoe worried her mom looks for her. She had hoped that they were moving passed this, but she supposed it made sense if she still wasn't acting like herself. Maybe she should do it. Just so people will stop looking at her like she was some stranger inhabiting Caroline's body.

Even if that's how it really feels now.

"If you really don't want to do it because it's something that you aren't interested in any more than that's fine, it's your choice," Liz says smoothly, staring at Caroline. "But that's only if that's the case. I just don't want you to regret anything. So long as you're happy, I'm happy. That's all that I want."

Caroline feels love swell in her chest. She pushes off her stool and goes around the counter to hug her mom, smiling softly. "I'll think about it again. Maybe I'll change my mind."

Liz hugs her back tightly. "Don't do it on my account, Caroline. Do it only if you want to. I will support you no matter what."

Caroline smiles a bit more. "Thank you, mom."

"Thanks for taking all the photos, Care," Tiki says, bouncing onto Caroline's bed. "Now we have to pick the color schemes and get with the committee to discuss. Ugh," she lays back, closing her eyes. "I'm tired. Today was a long day. Not what I expected to be doing today, but hey? What else can we do, I guess?"

"Are you saying running to a hundred stores on our only day off this week wasn't what you wanted to do?" Caroline jokes, tossing her purse onto her desk before lowering into her chair and turning to face the other girl.

Tiki grins, flashing bright white teeth her way as she peaks open one brown eye at the blonde. "Oh yeah. Definitely. Although, honestly, it wasn't all that bad. I'm just glad that I wasn't alone. Then it would have really sucked."

Caroline lets out a little laugh. "Agreed. Still, I feel bad that you almost got hurt."

Tiki rolls her eyes. "I blame Taylor Lawson for that. If he's going to be tearing up the road over on Main Street, the least he could do was make sure that those workers cleaned up their mess. There are tools and shit everywhere. I'm telling you, if I actually sprained my ankle on that brick, I'd be pissed."

"I wouldn't blame you in the slightest," Caroline agrees. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm fine," Tiki says easily, despite the displeasure on her face. "You're too nice. I would have left everything where is was. Let him get sued for someone getting hurt. That's his fault."

Caroline shakes her head. "You don't mean that. Besides, it's not like I cleaned it all up, I just moved it off the sidewalk and into the alley. It'll be less disastrous and dangerous in there anyway."

Tiki groans, laying back onto Caroline's pillows a bit more comfortably for a moment. "Yeah, well, still. I swear that man is going to get what's coming to him one of these days."

"Sure," Caroline agrees half-heartedly, not trying to think about the last person that she thought that of when he gave her a 'D' on a paper that she spent three full days working on in their history class. No matter how bad someone is, Caroline refuses to think harsh action on them lightly. Should Taylor Lawson be cleaning up his mess? Sure, but Caroline doesn't want anyone to get hurt from it. Not even him.

Some people, though, she reserves the right to wish harm on. It's just not him.

"Okay, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Sure," Tiki says. "Oh!" She sits up the same time Caroline stands from her chair. "Can I look at the pictures on your phone? I want to compare that blue and red again."

Caroline nods, pulling her phone from her pocket and passing it over to Tiki before heading to the bathroom connected to her room. She does her business and while washing her hands, she looks at her reflection. Damon and Stefan Salvatore weren't the only things that she was avoiding. Caroline barely looks in the mirror anymore since that whole thing with Damon. She just doesn't see herself anymore. Just the haunted shell of who she has become. She certainly wasn't Caroline anymore. Even now, it isn't Caroline she sees. The many sleepless nights still show under her eyes. Her skin lacks any sort of color. Just enough make-up to cover the worse of it. Hair mostly done without looking at her reflection. Just a shell of who she used to be.

Before, Caroline would be horrified at the person staring back at her, but now she can meet the stranger's gaze with near passive indifference. With maybe a 'touch' of sadness for the girl that she used to be. Okay, maybe more than just a touch.

Caroline had to wonder if it was going to be like this for the rest of her life. If this was just her new normal. In some ways, it definitely was. She is never going to be able to unsee the things that she's seen or forget the nightmares that will follow her both waking and sleeping.

"Oh my god!"

Caroline jumps, freezing in place when her feet settle onto the floor. Her brain found itself in her freeze response, as has become the norm for her for the last few months. Damon Salvatore is a hell of a thing to happen to a person.

It took what feels like a lifetime to work through the realization that Damon hadn't busted into the bathroom to finish what he started but something was happening in her bedroom. And Tiki was in there!

Caroline nearly ripped the door off its hinges as she flew into her room, eyes flying around wildly looking for the danger. Then nothing - and no one - immediately jumped out at her, Caroline's eyes fall onto her bed, where Tiki was still, beautiful brown eyes blown wide and hands covering her mouth. They both stare at each other in terrified silence, neither knowing what to say or do, their nerves both frazzled, but Caroline only knew her own reason. She has no idea what happened to her friend.

Caroline doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary aside from her phone halfway to the edge of the bed. Caroline drags her eyes over to her friend, eyebrows raised toward her hairline as she tries to reign in her terror and control her breathing.

"What? What happened? What's wrong?" Caroline asks, panic still tinged the edges of her voice. She's running her eyes around the room one more time, just to be sure that they really aren't in any immediate danger from a possible vampire invasion of her bedroom. When nothing immediately jumps out at her, she turns her stunned eyes to the dark-skinned girl.

"Are you okay?" She finally manages to get out through numb lips, the panic still tangible in her words. "What happened?"

Tiki stares at her, mouth opening and closing on repeat, her mind actively whirling as she tries to put her thoughts into words. Finally, she mumbles out, "Nothing."

Caroline quirks an eyebrow at that, pounding heart finally starting to slow down in her chest. Tiki isn't the sort of person to just blow up like that over nothing. Tiki might be dramatic, but not explosively so like Caroline is - or was. She's a lot calmer than Caroline ever was. The blonde's disbelief must have shown on her face because Tiki quickly amends with a flat, " Well, I saw a spider."

Caroline's eyes nearly bug out of her head in horror. "There's a what?"

After about twenty minutes of fruitless searching for the illusive spider - because Caroline will not be sleeping in a room that has a confirmed spider sighting. She's going to wake up with it on her face and she's going to lose her mind - that the angel that is Tiki found it by slamming her Kleenex covered hand onto it, giving a little wipe to clear away any guts before she crumbled up the Kleenex and went to the bathroom to flush it. Thankfully, sparing Caroline from ever having to see it in the first place.

Caroline hugs her tightly before going back around her room to organize her room back to the way it was before. Tiki helps out, making small idle conversation while they reset the room. There was this twinge of weirdness that followed Tiki since the whole spider debacle began - no doubt because of their unwanted spider guest decided to show itself right in her face.

Once they are all done, Caroline and Tiki pile back onto the bed and begin discussing possible color schemes for their next even - Tiki, albeit a bit hesitantly, still shooting strange looks at Caroline and then around the room. Caroline could point out that their pest was gone, but figured her friend was still just rattled but the experience. Caroline knows that she'll at least be giving it a thought tonight before she goes to bed. Maybe she should rewash her sheets, just in case. Yeah, she should.

"So...?" Caroline asks, hoping to push through the awkwardness and get right back to what they were doing.

"So what?" Tiki parrots back, giving her a side look while chewing on her lower lip.

"The red and blue?" Caroline asks, staring at the dark-skinned girl. When no recollection reflects in her expression, Caroline elaborates, "You were going to see how they looked?" No reaction, just blank stares. "Before I went... to the bathroom? Remember?"

"Oh!" Tiki gasps, smacking her forehead. "Yeah, sorry. I got freaked out about, uh, the spider. I don't remember anymore. Let's look at it again." Tiki scoots closer, then looks hesitant, then shakes herself, pulling a determined face.

Caroline offers her best friend a sideways glance. "Are you okay?"

Tiki nods, turning beautiful brown eyes toward Caroline's blue ones. "I'm okay, Care. Are you? Okay, I mean?"

Caroline lets out a little laugh, familiar tension starting to chip away from her shoulders as Tiki seems to start acting like her normal self again. "Yeah, I'm okay. Especially now that I know I won't have an eight-legged roommate for the night."

A familiar smile tugs at the corners of Tiki's lips and the look on her face softens a touch as the tension seems to start leaving her too. "Yeah. At least you've got that going for you." Caroline lets out a little laugh, grabbing out her notebook that she'd been carrying around all day for her notes, sliding to the correct page to start skimming through them, already accepting that they'll have to go back out again to look through everything one more time. Caroline's eyes find Tiki's playful notes in the margins of each sheet of paper, out of the way enough that Caroline's neurotic mind wouldn't freak out over Tiki's favorite lilac colored pen clashing too much with the rainbow of notes that Caroline took.

Never mind the fact that almost none of the note pertained to what they were looking at.

Caroline's lips curl slightly higher at the little note left behind to sue Taylor Lawson for everything he's worth in Tiki's chicken scratch. Normally the chaos would have driven her crazy, but there is something undeniably comforting about Tiki being so close, even if representationally in their writings as well as their persons.

Tiki, who was staring at Caroline in the corner of her eye, finally says, "You know I love you, right?"

Caroline blinks, pulling from her thoughts to look over at the other girl. She tilts her head a bit. "Of course, I do. And I love you just as much."

Tiki finally smiles, a dark touch of worry in her eyes flash but as quickly as it's there, it's gone. "Just remember that. No matter what, I love you. You're my best friend. And I will always be with you, through thick and thin."

A coil of pain tightens in Caroline's chest at the moment. She can't tell if it's filled with sadness, shame, or love. Maybe a bit of all of them. She wished she could put to words everything that has been going on with her. She wished more than anything that she could talk to Tiki about it. But she's scared. She's scared to talk to Katherine and Kol too. And that's despite how much she wants to reach out. Anytime she starts to get to that point, she feels like she can't breathe. Her heart starts to pound madly in her chest, and she starts to panic.

Kol, wonderful, always understanding and seemingly all knowing, just tells her that whatever she wants to say, she can, when she's ready. No matter what it is. And doesn't press any more. Katherine looks like she wants to argue the point, but one look from Kol is enough to get her to drop it, which makes Caroline both relieved and sad. She wants to trust that these friends would understand. That they would hear her out and understand that she's scared and doesn't know what to do. That she just needs them to understand that while everything has changed, even her, that she was still Caroline, despite how she feels.

But she tried that. She tried to say what she needed to Bonnie and Elena and that blew up in her face so epically that just thinking about talking about it makes her feel like she did that day. Caroline's always had pretty low self-esteem, but that moment did a lot of damage. It'll be fine. She'll find a way to work through this feeling and finally be able to tell everyone the truth, she's sure of it. She just... needs a bit more time.

But she'll tell the truth. She'll tell everyone. Or, at the very least, she'll tell Tiki. Once she finds the words, that is.

Caroline smiles at the other girl. "Me too, Tiki. I'll always be with you too. No matter what."

"How is it fair that they give us so much homework?" Tiki sighs, leaning back into the booth behind her at the small shop that they were currently studying in. They had been there for hours working through all of their assignments, and by the time they finally finished - well, Caroline finished a bit sooner but that was because she had some time in self-study to get started whereas the other girl wasn't so lucky. It's been a few days since that day at Caroline's house and things have returned to relative normality as far as Caroline's life can be normal.

Thankfully, whatever was going on with Tiki finally came and passed and it was like nothing happened. It was weird, but Caroline doesn't have room to push someone into saying something when they don't want to, considering how many secrets that she's keeping of her own. She'll wait until the other girl is ready to talk about it, because Caroline is starting to suspect that it might not just be the spider that was bothering her.

While answers would be nice, it would be hypocritical of her to press for them considering her own circumstances. And it's not fair. So, she'll hold off for now.

"It's cruel," Caroline admits, grinning at the exasperated sigh that her friend sent her, head falling back against the booth. The little shop is closing up for the night as Tiki and Caroline are the last of their customers and have been for a while. It's pitch-black outside on Main Street while the day is finally winding down.

"I'm done," Tiki says, closing her books and putting them into her backpack.

Caroline runs a hand through her straight blonde hair, leaning back in her booth to watch as her friend annoyedly stuffs everything back into her backpack. Unable to help herself, Caroline adds fuel to the fire by remarking, in jest, "So I went by Lawson's place and it's more torn up than before."

Tiki sends an annoyed glare her way. "I know. I walked past it to get here, too. I swear, he's asking for trouble. Well, I parked right next to it, but same deal."

Caroline cracks a smile. "No kidding. I don't know if he doesn't see it or doesn't care."

"I'm guessing the latter," Tiki grumbles.

Caroline huffs. "I'm sure he'll care if someone complains to my mom, and she pays him a visit."

Tiki casts her a contemplative look. "You mind passing a message along to the Sheriff for me? If that guy calls me little girl to my face one more time, I'm going to punch him in his little boy."

Caroline barks out a laugh, shaking her head. "Let me tell my mom before you do anything dramatic. Or catch a case for aggravated assault."

Tiki grins. "It'll be worth it." Then, the humor slips from her face. "We got to be careful. It's almost ten-thirty. It's pitch black out there. The last thing we need to do is twist our ankles walking past that place."

"No kidding," Caroline mumbles, rolling her shoulders back a bit. "Okay, I'm tired, it's time to call it a night."

Tiki nods in agreement. "Yeah, I'd better run to the bathroom and head out too."

"Want me to wait for you?" Caroline offers. "I don't mind."

Tiki shrugs her shoulders. "Sure, thanks." She hopes up. "I'll be back in a minute."

Caroline packs up the rest of her things as Tiki heads toward the back of the store where the bathroom is located when the owner walks out from the back, spotting her going before waving her hand to get the other girl's attention.

"Tiki, perfect timing, I didn't know you were here," she says, coming up to the counter as Tiki diverges from her mission to the bathroom to walk up to the counter. "I need to talk to you about your grandfather's bridge game. Do you have a minute?"

Tiki nods, turning to look at Caroline. "Go without me, Care. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Caroline asks, worry coiling in her gut at the prospect of leaving Tiki alone so late at night. "I can wait, I don't mind."

Tiki offers her a charming smile. "No problem, Care. It'll be a bit. I'm going to have to call granddad anyway. Thanks, though. See you."

"Okay..." Caroline mumbles, packing the last of her things before heading to the door, pausing only to glance over at her friend and the shop owner talking and Tiki dialing her home so that her granddad can join. Caroline hesitates for a moment longer before heading out into the sticky, warm night. The only source of light comes from the sparce number of streetlamps and the very few shops that still have their lights on as they close down for the night. But it's almost complete darkness in the direction Caroline's heading.

Anxiety twists in her stomach, curling up like a snake. She contemplates waiting for Tiki out here but the sounds of the night - namely the uncanny silence - is enough to scare her into moving toward her car. She hates that it was so busy earlier that she had to park so far away. Wrapping her arms around herself, with her head on a swivel, Caroline keeps an eye on her surroundings as she fast walks her way to her car.

Passing darkened shops heightened Caroline's paranoia. Like shadows dancing around inside of each shop and darkened alley. She feels eyes on her, following her, lurking closer and closer and closer until it's breathing down her neck and Caroline is full-blown sprinting down the sidewalk. Caroline catches sight of Tiki's car, lucky enough to have found a parking spot closer to the shop than Caroline had managed to. Caroline passes it with a forlorn look, wishing that was her car but accepting that it's probably for the best that Tiki parked closer.

Caroline sees it, somehow, in the darkness. The hole in the cement outside Taylor Lawson's shop where they had to rip up the slab, break down the pieces around it and will be pouring new concrete soon - if the good people of Mystic Falls are lucky. Caroline catches the moon glint off her car's windshield in the distance, and she feels herself suck in a breath as she full-blown leaps over the hole without so much as slowing down. The feeling bearing down on her more and more and more, until the little voice in the back of her head is screaming at her to run faster or you're going to die, idiot, before she manages to get to her car, fumble with the keys for a few precious moments that feel like hours, before getting it unlocked, opening the door and hurling herself and her bags in before locking it again, all the while feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Caroline stares out over the empty street as the light in her car slowly fades out, bathing her in darkness once more. Caroline's eyes scan around her car, barely breathing despite the pain in her lungs and the stitch in her side. Caroline sits in silence until her lungs can no longer take it, and she lets out a long, slow breath, rubbing her shaking hands across her face.

It couldn't just be her. There is no way that wasn't a normal reaction, right? The world is a dangerous place without vampires in the equation, right? It's better to be safe than to be sorry. It's better to think like that rather than chastise herself for overreacting.

Caroline sits in the silence, counting her breaths in hopes that it would help settle her frayed nerves. Caroline resigns herself to staying there to make sure that Tiki gets to her car before heading home. After what she just went through, she wouldn't feel comfortable until she was sure that Tiki was at least safe in her car.

Five minutes pass, Caroline checks her phone. Nothing. Another five. Still nothing. Another five, then Caroline's phone dings. It's Tiki wishing her a goodnight.

Caroline lets out a little sigh of relief, rubbing at her tense shoulders, still unable to shake this horrible feeling. She reaches toward her ignition, key in hand when she stops. Her blue eyes flicker up to where she can see Tiki's car in the distance. Unfortunately, with the way that the street is shaped, Caroline can't get a full view of the car with the subtle curve. But she does see the lights flicker as it's unlocked.

Caroline almost leaves. She almost plugs her keys into the ignition, starts up her car and goes home, but something stops her again. A feeling of dread that she can't explain. Caroline stares at the partial view of Tiki's car that she can see, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the engine to turn on and for the other girl to drive away. After almost a full minute, Caroline grabs at her phone, sending a quick text back to Tiki, wishing her a good night too, and to get home safe, before laying her phone onto the center counsel next to her and staring.

Had Tiki been waiting for her to respond that she knew she was safe too? So, she would start up her car and leave as soon as she heard from the blonde. Caroline hopes so as her anxiety starts to grow more and more.

Caroline stares at Tiki's car, counting the seconds. Once she reaches a hundred and twenty, the anxiety grows to be too much and without thinking, Caroline jumps out of the car and heads for Tiki's, heart pounding in her chest so loud she can barely hear the sounds of her feet slapping against the pavement. Caroline's not sure what she expected to see waiting at Tiki's car when she got there but absolutely nothing wasn't it. Now Caroline's mind is whirling, throwing half thoughts and blinding her mind with horrors of what could have happened that Caroline almost missed it.

She sucks in a deep breath, forcing her mind into silence as she focuses on hearing. The sound of a shoe sliding across the concrete catches her attention. Caroline turns toward the alley right next to Tiki's car, feeling her heart pound in her chest as her eyes lower to Tiki's bag laying in the hole between the two sections of pavement, her phone just on the other side, furthest from Caroline. Upon inspection, the screen is so horribly cracked that Caroline had to wonder if it had always been like that or this was just a harder drop than she thought.

Now, Caroline's mind is turning toward Tiki having fallen and hurting herself just like what they talked about. Caroline makes her way into the darkened alley, thankful someone had thought to put up some lights and never took them down, giving her enough light to be able to see somewhat in the alley.

As Caroline slinks deeper in, surprised that if Tiki hurt herself, that she had made it this far when this strange sound reaches her ear. Like a mix between a pained moan and a whimper.

Caroline takes three larger strides deeper into the alley before stopping, stunned. Her blood runs cold throughout her whole body when she spots Tiki, being held in the arms of a strange man while his face is buried in her neck. Tiki's eyes are closed, and she looks so pale. Even in the terrible lighting, Caroline can tell something is horribly wrong. Caroline's eyes flicker back to the man's head and knows, in that moment, that he was a vampire. A vampire drinking Tiki's blood.

Panic and terror set in, forcing Caroline to turn and retreat. Her instinct to flee hitting her like a ton of bricks. She has to go! She has to run. If she stays, she'll die. Danger, danger, danger! She has to run away. She isn't safe there!

As Caroline makes it to the entrance to the alley, she forces herself to push through the haze of panic to think. Yes, that's a vampire. Now that she thinks about it, maybe she smelled the tang of blood in the air? He will kill her too if he gets his hands on her - Caroline's muscles tense up again as her body shifts back into flight mode - when she forces herself to completely stop moving. Yes, he's a vampire. Yes, he's a danger. Yes, he'll probably kill her. But she's not alone. She forces her panic riddled brain to focus on that. Yes, she isn't alone. Tiki is here. Tiki is in his arms right now. He is drinking her blood. Yes, Caroline might die if she doesn't run, but Tiki will definitely die if she does.

And whether she knows it or not, Tiki saved her life. Tiki was there. Loving and kind and present. She was everything Caroline could ever need and want. More than she ever deserved. Tiki, almost single handedly, saved her life. Tiki has been nothing but wonderful and present in her life. Tiki was there when no one else was. Tiki saved Caroline's life. And now she needs Caroline to stop running. She needs Caroline to save her life.

Or get both of them killed trying.

Caroline's eyes lower to the demolished remains of the sidewalk, reaching down to grab a chunk of the concrete bigger than her hand to use as a weapon before turning around and heading back to her friend, praying that it's not too late. Terror tugs at every piece of Caroline's being but she forces herself to ignore it. She's not just going to let Tiki die here. Not if she can at least try to save her life.

Caroline tries not to think about how pale her friend is, or how unmoving, as she gets as close as she dares, somehow able to get within a few feet without the vampire noticing before she yells, strong enough to surprise herself, "Hey! Look right here!" The man jerks in surprise, lifting his head up and away from Tiki. Once those lips - those teeth - were safely away from her best friend, Caroline rushed forward, raising the make-shift weapon back as far as she can and slams it into the side of his face. The edges of the concrete bite into her hand and her fingers tingle on impact, making her stumble back a bit with the force of it. Tiki drops to the ground, crumbling, while the vampire howls in pain, clutching at his face.

Emboldened and not really sure what to do next, Caroline braces herself and strikes him again. He stumbles back, bringing up his arms to defend his head as blood spills forth from a crack in his skull that would have killed a normal person. Caroline is shaken by the sight, pausing long enough for him to rip the piece of concrete from her and toss it away. He calls her something harsh, but she can't hear it over the pounding of her heart and the screaming of that little voice in the back of her head.

Caroline doesn't have time to start to panic as he grabs onto her arm, spinning her around and sinking his teeth into her neck. Caroline screams in surprised pain before this bitterly cold terror settles over every inch of her body. She's going to die. She's going to die. She's going to die. She's going to die. And as she felt her life being drained from her in big gulps, Caroline felt her eyes flutter closed as darkness crept across the corners of her vision. All of the fight left Caroline as she felt herself fade more and more and more. She felt that same helplessness wash over her that she did the night that she first met Damon Salvatore. And every night that followed.

And for a moment, there was something cathartic about knowing it was all over. She didn't have to worry or be scared anymore. She didn't have to be afraid of what tomorrow would bring or how much the rest of today was going to suck. It would all be over. She wouldn't have to fear the unknown anymore beyond this moment. It would all be over after this. Despite her terror, Caroline wasn't in any real pain, to be honest. Just a pinch with the uncomfortable feeling of her life being drained from her with every swallow.

Caroline, for just that moment, really considered letting go. Greeting that darkness like an old friend and hoped that it treated her better than any that came before it. But then, Tiki flashed into her mind and the moment was over.

She couldn't die. Not here. Not now. Not while Tiki was still here. Not when her life was still in danger. Not when Caroline still hasn't told her the truth. Or admitted to just how much the other girl is her hero. How the other girl saved her life. And Liz. Liz, who has always been great and got a daughter that was less than she deserved yet she loved whole heartedly anyway. Liz didn't deserve to bury her baby. Not when there is still so much that they have to do. Not when there should still be more time. They just reconnected. It can't be over now.

Caroline didn't think - or maybe she couldn't with all the blood loss? - but one moment she was limp in the vampire's arms and the next she was moving. She grabs onto his arm, bringing up the hand that was pressed to her chest while the other was still around her waist, up to her own mouth. Instincts command that she do anything she can to get him to let go, so just short of pinching him or somehow managing to wiggle free of his iron-clad grip, her next best option was her mouth. Opening wide, she brings his hand close before clamping down on the curve of his hand around his thumb and where it connects to his wrist.

She bites down harder, harder, harder until her teeth puncture his hand and blood fills her mouth. Caroline opens her eyes then, eyes locating Tiki pressing into the wall trying to climb back to her feet, looking shaky and pale as a ghost. She turns to look at Caroline and in the reflection of her brown eyes, Caroline catches a glimmer of shimmering gold reflected in them.