The next morning, Elena was getting dressed in Klaus' bedroom. He was still asleep. True to her word, she didn't regret what happened between them. She got exactly what she wanted out of it. She got to stick it to Stefan, even if he didn't know about it, and she ensured that there was no going back to Stefan even if she wanted to. Truthfully, sleeping with Klaus had actually made her feel better. She was still angry as hell and she would never forgive Stefan for what he did, but sleeping with the man he hated more than anyone else gave her some comfort. It didn't hurt that Klaus was amazing in bed. She still hated his guts, but the man definitely had talent in the bedroom.

After getting Dressed, Elena found her purse and started for the door.

"Leaving so soon, love?" Klaus asked from the bed.

Elena turned to him. 'Yeah, it's been fun, but I've gotta get home." Her friends and Alaric were bound to be worried by now. She had been gone all night with no word. She didn't need them doing something stupid because they thought something happened to her.

"Any regrets?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, I have many regrets, like wasting the last several months of my life and letting the likes of Stefan Salvator make me so weak, but I don't regret last night," Elena said.

Klaus smiled. "You know, I like you this way. No more cowering behind a Salvatore or letting them decide your life for you."

Elena glared at him. "I never cowered behind anyone! If you remember correctly, I willingly walked to my death when you came for me. I was never afraid of you, not for myself anyway."

"Fair point," Klaus acknowledged. Truthfully, he'd always respected the doppelganger for that. She hadn't run from him, and when he went to kill her, she held her head up high with defiance. "Now that you have no more use for Stefan, I don't suppose you'll tell me where my coffins are."

Elena laughed. "If I knew where your coffins were, I would've told you after you tried to have my brother killed."

"If I wanted your brother dead, he would be. I knew you'd save him. It was a warning," Klaus said.

"Yeah, well, the next time you send a warning, do it to someone who can actually get you what you want. I never knew anything about your coffins," Elena said.

Klaus sat up and grabbed his pants off the floor before putting them on. "Well, last night was certainly exciting. Perhaps we should do it again sometime."

Elena chuckled. "What happened to it being a one-time thing?"

"That's not what I said. I said it wouldn't be a love story. That doesn't mean I'm not open to a night or two here and there," Klaus said with a smirk.

"We'll see," Elena said with a shrug.

"Of course, you know this doesn't change anything, right, doppelganger. I'll still be using your blood whenever I want, and when I eventually leave this town, you'll be coming with me," Klaus said.

"Of course, you had to ruin a perfectly good night by being yourself," Elena said with a scowl before heading out of the room.

Klaus flashed over to her and grabbed her before pulling her into a deep kiss.

Elena kissed him back, because why not?

Klaus pulled away after a few moments. "On the plus side, we can have more nights like this when that happens."

Elena rolled her eyes and walked away.

Klaus let her leave but stared after her hungrily. He meant what he said last night. He didn't love her and probably never would, but she was his now. She'd always been his, but now, he was never going to let her go.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later, Elena opened her front door to find Caroline there. "Hey, Care."

"Thank God! I've been calling you all night!" Caroline said before pushing her way inside.

"I was a little preoccupied," Elena said before closing the door behind Caroline.

"Yeah, my night was eventful too. Then I find out that my best friend has disappeared. Where have you been?" Caroline asked.

"Well, my night took a turn when Stefan drove like a maniac on Wickery Bridge and threatened to drive me off, after, of course, forcing his blood down my throat," Elena said bitterly.

Caroline looked at her in horror. "He what?! Why would he do that?"

"To force Klaus to get rid of his hybrids. He either got rid of the hybrids or Stefan would turn me into a vampire," Elena, I'm so sorry, and I know this doesn't make it better, but he wouldn't have gone through with it."

"Yes, he would've. I saw it in his eyes, Caroline. He would've done it if Klaus hadn't given in. He essentially admitted it afterwards," Elena said.

Caroline immediately hugged her friend. "I can't believe he would do this."

"Why not? Stefan doesn't care about anyone but himself," Elena said in a cold tone as she hugged Caroline.

Caroline pulled away and looked at her with concern. Her reaction wasn't what Caroline expected. She expected more pain from Elena. What she was seeing and hearing now was simply coldness. "Elena, are you okay? You just seem kind of different."

Elena shrugged. "I am different, I guess. I had an epiphany, I guess you could say. I spent an hour on the bridge last night crying my eyes out, and then I realized just how pathetic I was. I was a fool."

"Elena, you're not a fool," Caroline said.

"I won't be any longer, but I was. I let Stefan make a fool out of me. For months, he's treated me and everyone else like crap, but I refused to see it. I refused to believe the Stefan I knew was gone," Elena said.

"That's because his humanity was turned off," Caroline said.

"Not last night, not when she stole Klaus' coffins. You can't hate someone without humanity. He has humanity on, and he still did what he did. I won't ever forgive him for that, but I also won't shed another tear for him," Elena said firmly.

"You're really angry," Caroline said. She'd never seen her friend so angry before. She'd never heard her say something was unforgivable. Elena was a forgiving person. She'd forgive Damon countless times, even when he killed Jeremy. It was disconcerting to see her like this.

"Yeah, I am, and I'm just done. I'm done pining for Stefan. I'm done trying to save him. He can burn his life to the ground as far as I'm concerned. You know, I made my way to the Grill last night and had a few drinks. I decided I wanted revenge. I wanted to get back at him in the worst possible way, and I did."

Caroline grabbed her friend by the arm and practically dragged her upstairs. She wasn't sure if Ric was home, and if he was, she doubted Elena wanted an audience for this. Once they were in Elena's room, Caroline shut the door. "Tell me you didn't sleep with Damon."

Elena chuckled. It shouldn't have surprised her that Caroline jumped to the conclusion that she'd been with Damon. That certainly would've been one way to get back at Stefen, but she wouldn't do that to Damon. He loved her. She wouldn't give him hope when there was none. Besides, that wouldn't have been enough. "No, I didn't sleep with Damon.

"Thank God," Caroline whispered. Sleeping with Damon would've been the worst thing her friend could do.

"Hold that thought, Care. I slept with Klaus," Elena told her.

Caroline's eyes widened considerably. "You what?! You're joking, right?"

Elena shook her head. "I'm dead serious. He was at the bar last night. We talked for a while and then went back to his place."

"Okay, so he took advantage of you. You were drunk."

"No, I wasn't drunk, and he didn't take advantage of me. It was my idea, and I don't regret it," Elena told her.

Caroline took a deep breath to keep herself from saying something offensive. She didn't want to judge Elena, but what she was hearing was concerning. This wasn't like Elena. Doing stupid things out of emotion was Caroline's MO, not Elena's. "Okay, I'm getting worried about you, Elena. You slept with a guy that literally murdered you. Don't get me wrong, he's hot, and I can understand the appeal, but he's still Klaus."

"Yes, that was part of the appeal. I hate Klaus. There's no possible way that I could ever love him. It was safe to be with him, to take solace in him. And Stefan hates him. That made him the perfect person. I killed two birds with one stone. I got revenge on Stefan, and I made sure there was no possible way that I'd fall back on old habits. When Stefan finds out I slept with Klaus, he'll hate me for it, and I'm fine with that," Elena explained.

"So, you're going to tell Stefan?" Caroline asked.

"Well, I didn't do it for him to not find out. Yeah, I'll make it own at some point. I'm not sure how or when yet. Maybe I'll kiss Klaus in front of him," Elena said a bit sadistically. She was sure she could get Klaus on board with that.

Caroline couldn't help but grin. She did love revenge, even if it was very disconcerting coming from Elena. "Tell me he's at least good in bed. He looks like he'd be good in bed."

Elena chuckled before sitting down on the bed. "Oh my God. He's amazing in bed. He may be a psychotic dick, but he puts both Matt and Stefan to shame!"

Caroline grinned wider and sat down next to her friend. She wasn't sure she totally supported what Elena did, given who it was, but that didn't mean she didn't want all the details about it. "Go on. I need to know everything!"