Cupid's Chokehold

In which Klaus is Caroline's dirty little secret, but it's a secret worth keeping.

Okay, so obviously I have this thing about season 4 and how good it was, so I decided to make a few Klaroline-inspired changes to the overall canon in this drabble, and hopefully you enjoy! Oh, and this starts after 4X01. And it does contain dialogue from the various episodes between 4X01 and 4X13, so just putting it out there that I don't own any of that, nor do I own Caroline or Klaus (oh, but how I wish I did).

Oh, by the way, there is smut in this, so you may want to avert your eyes if it makes you uncomfortable.

"Hello, Caroline,"

Caroline groaned, tipping her head and staring up at the sky, as if praying for deliverance.

She turned around, carefully, hoisting her bag firmly over her shoulder. "What do you want?" She asked, coldly.

"I wanted to clear the air, so to speak." Klaus said, rocking back on his heels.

"Yeah, well, not interested." Caroline scowled, making to leave when Klaus sped in front of her, halting her departure.

"Just… listen to what I say, Caroline." Klaus was almost pleading with her.

"Why should I?" Caroline crossed her arms over her chest.

"I came here to explain, Caroline." Klaus took a hesitant step forward.

"I don't think there's much to explain, Klaus." Caroline said, dryly. "You faked your death so you'd win again," She scowled. At the expense of everyone I care about. "You know, I thought I was going to die." She snapped. "And then you totally body-snatched my boyfriend and you tried to score with me while you were in said boyfriend's body. Did I miss anything?"

"I did tell you before you did anything too… drastic." Klaus said, pointedly.

Caroline bit her lip. "Why did you?"

His brow furrowed. "Why did I what?" He asked, confused.

"Why did you tell me who you really were?" Caroline asked, curiously. "You could've just let me go on and kept your mouth shut. We would have had sex and you would've gotten what you wanted." She waved off.

Klaus tucked his hands behind his behind, his face setting in determined lines, so she could read his sincerity. He approached her, warily.

"Do you truly believe that sex is all I want from you, Caroline?" He asked, curiously.

Caroline shrugged, unsure of how best to articulate exactly what she thought.

"Caroline, if all I wanted from you is a cheap orgasm, I would not be making the effort I am making currently to get you to give me a chance." Klaus said, simply. "I am surprised that you don't see that yourself."

Caroline frowned. "Honestly, I thought it was because I was playing hard-to-get. The more I reject you, the more determined you are to get me into bed so you can prove to yourself that no woman can resist the great Niklaus Mikaelson." She finished, dryly.

Klaus' lips twitched. "Love, when – not if – when you finally give into me, while that will be true, it will be all the sweeter because all those other women you speak of are meaningless and I couldn't care less whether they resist me or not. Oh, I won't pretend there isn't an issue of my pride, but I have never wanted anything the way I want you and it does wound me to see you so unaffected when you are all I can think about." He paused, as if testing to see whether his words would be accepted. "It stopped being about you playing hard-to-get a long time ago, Caroline." He said, firmly.

"On what basis am I actually supposed to believe you?" Caroline asked, coldly. "The gazillion plus one times you've tried to murder the people I care about, or the fact that had you not slipped and called me 'love', I would've had sex with someone I never would have dreamed of getting naked with, and you knew that. 'Cause I'm pretty sure that, according to Virginia law, that's heading into rape territory." She said, viciously. He tensed and she straightened, squaring her shoulders. "Sometimes it's not about what I want or don't want to do, Klaus. Yeah, okay, maybe in some tiny corner of my mind, I do want you. I'm not an idiot and I'm certainly not delusional. But I would never act upon it. I have a boyfriend and I'm not going to cheat on him. And at the end of the day, it's my choice to make and I was seconds away from having that choice taken from me. You don't get to ignore that by saying that just because I have eyes and I'm attracted to you, it makes it okay that I didn't know it was you I was kissing. It's my choice that matters, not my sexuality."

Honestly, by the end of her rant, she was surprised she wasn't a desiccating corpse, lying alongside God-knows-what on the ground of the parking lot. But she waited with baited breath to his reaction of her interpretation of how it had gone down in the woods, wondering if those had been the last words she would ever say.

Well, they could've been worse. At least she'd go out defending her autonomy.

"You're right."

And this threw Caroline something like thirty feet back. Hell, she was sure if she looked, she'd find her limbs sprawled out somewhere near that murky green Honda Civic she saw around ten minutes ago closest to the doors.

"I didn't realise this had affected you to such an extent," He rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly, before his eyes squared on hers, deep and sincere. "I had thought it was our usual wordplay, but had I realised you felt so strongly, I would've reacted different. I didn't mean to disregard your freedom to make your own choices in this world. As someone who knows what that means, I would not wish that on you. And to hear that you considered our time in the woods to be 'heading into rape territory', as you so eloquently put it, that is… reprehensible." He finished, fiercely. "Not what you said, of course," He amended, hastily, shooting her a nervous look as if she had misunderstood his meaning. "But what I did. What I did is reprehensible." He pursed his lips. "All I can do is apologise."

Caroline couldn't help but soften from the bare look in his eyes, almost making him look boyish, more of the age he looked, rather than the millennium-old, bloodstained immortal she knew him to be.

"Fine," She huffed. "I'll accept your apology," Her lips twitched. "After all, who am I to stand in the way of serious character growth?" She mocked, her eyes flashing with wry amusement.

Klaus growled under his breath. "Obviously giving you so much power was the wrong move, sweetheart." He bit out.

Caroline snorted. "Yeah, well, no backsies," She taunted.

"How was the funeral?" Klaus asked, curiously, unabashedly taking the seat next to her at the bar.

Caroline sighed. "Why are you bothering me?" She asked, twisting her head to look at him through her curls.

Klaus shrugged, a remarkably casual gesture from someone who relied on ceremony. "I was bored." He said, offhandedly. "Why, is my bothering of you disturbing your attempts to curb your attraction to me?" He asked, innocently, his eyes flashing slyly.

Caroline grimaced. "You're not going to let that go, now that I admitted it, are you?" She asked, dubiously, already knowing the answer, to which Klaus shook her head, causing her to sigh in resignation. "Didn't we just have a conversation about how attraction doesn't equal making the moves on you?" She asked, pointedly.

Klaus dimpled at this. "I respect your autonomy, Caroline." And she actually believed him. "But I'm the Big Bad Hybrid, love. I wouldn't be living up to my reputation, if I got a confession out of you and I did nothing beyond that."

And there went any warm feelings, any modicum of affection, she was beginning to have for him.

"So, you're willing to piss me off to the point where I may actually stab you in the face, all because you're afraid you'll lose your street cred?" She asked, incredulously.

Klaus' mouth quirked up at the sides at the look on her face.

He pressed his palm against his heart. "Rest assured, if I do something that makes me uncomfortable, feel free to let me know and I will revise my strategy."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Wow, you have such a bleeding heart. I can't believe I ever thought you were a bad person." She said, dryly.

Klaus shrugged. "Well, if that's how you feel…" He trailed off, smirking.

Caroline growled under her breath and whacked him on his arm, leaving him slightly shocked in his seat.

Be it playful or violent, no one had dared to strike him in so long that he had almost forgotten what that sliver of fondness felt like, to be touched and to know that it would not end in fear and pain and self-loathing.

"Don't be cute." She said, warningly, wagging her finger. "Charm only goes so far."

"So, you admit that I'm charming?" Klaus asked, playfully.

Caroline pursed her lips, fearing that if she allowed her tongue free-will, she'd say something he'd quickly make her regret, be it through violence, his stupid charisma, or his brief moments of sincere introspection and vulnerability that she didn't want to admit got to her, but actually did.

"I didn't say that. Did I say that?" She snapped, tossing her hair and narrowly missing his face.

Klaus smirked. "You didn't have to." He said, pointedly.

Caroline grimaced, slamming her glass down with a thunderous sound, and she rounded on him. "You know, just because you like to listen to the sound of your own voice, doesn't mean that anyone else does. Ergo, I'm leaving. I'd say it was a blast, but frankly you made me lose minutes of an eternity that I'll never get back, so, thank you." She said, sarcastically, before lunging out of the chair and making to leave, before a warm hand curled around her arm, prickling her skin and leaving goosebumps in its wake, and pulled her back.

"Now, don't get cross, love,"

His voice was smooth, as if he knew what he was doing to her and knowing him, he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

Miserable, smug bastard.

Caroline took a deep breath and turned around. "What do you want, Klaus?" She asked, wearily.

"I just wanted to talk." Klaus said, simply.

"About what?" Caroline raised an eyebrow. "In case you didn't realise, we're not friends." She said, pointedly. Then, she chuckled. "Unless, you want to talk about my hopes, dreams, everything I want in life." She taunted.

Klaus smirked and his bourbon sloshed dramatically in his glass. "Well, it is heartening to know that you memorised my words."

Caroline scowled. "Don't look so proud of yourself. I was just trying to make a point." She huffed.

"And what a point it was," He tipped his head at her. "Now, would you mind putting your claws away and having a drink with me?" He asked, hope bleeding into his eyes.

Caroline pursed her lips. "Fine." She said, darkly. "But no funny business, or I'm walking out of here." She said, threateningly.

Klaus held a hand to his heart. "On my honour." He said, teasingly.

And, as much as she didn't want to, she smiled.

"And Caroline has no idea." Klaus finished, darkly. "I suppose it is only correct that fools make foolish mistakes." He managed to taunt, despite the fury and disbelief that had his teeth grinding together. "She deserves better." He spat, finally, thinking of dancing blonde curls, vivid aquamarine eyes and a smile that always seemed to lighten his immortal heart.

"She's my girlfriend, Klaus." Tyler seethed.

Klaus' grin was bloody and violent, taunting to the point where if he could have reached into Tyler and pulled his lungs out through his throat for an indiscretion that he was sure would leave devastation in Caroline's kind eyes – eyes that should never bear anything but joy and warmth –, he would've gladly indulged.

"We'll see," He said, grimly.

"Isn't it dangerous for a lovely young lady like yourself to be walking alone on the streets at night?"

Caroline laughed and clicked her heels, turning around to stare at Klaus who had miraculously (and just a bit scarily) appeared on the dimly lit pavement behind her. He stood there, a vision in black, almost one with the night behind him. But it was the expression on his face that struck her – sober, sympathetic, concerned (if there had been pity, she may have punched him in the face).

"Not if you're one of the things that go bump in the night." She winked.

And cue the dimples.

"If I may, I would escort you home, Caroline," He said, gently.

"Why?" Caroline snorted. "So you'd like to point out how I made a mistake with a guy who pretended to run off and break his sire bond to you, but used the time away from me as an excuse to shack up with some backwoods stray wolf who happened to come along and comfort him when he was supposedly breaking his bones a hundred times for the girl he loved? Oh, I know exactly how she comforted him." She seethed. "Or maybe it's so you can make sure that someone's with me when I break, because my incredibly stupid boyfriend broke my stupid heart." She said, dryly. She looked at him, defiantly. "Do I look that pathetic?"

"No." Klaus said, firmly.

And surprisingly, she believed him by that simple words. He needed nothing further.

She deflated.

"I just want to walk around, Klaus." Caroline said, miserably. "I'm not really interested in the whole I'm-subtly-going-to-try-and-get-you-into-bed routine tonight, okay?"

Klaus sighed, ducking his head down. "I don't want to bother you, love. But could I accompany you?" He asked, hesitantly.

A small smile flickered on her face. "I'm sure you could. But that doesn't mean you may." She said, teasingly.

Klaus looked disgruntled, as if he were berating himself for his mistaken syntax. Caroline bit back a smirk. If anyone would be a Grammar Nazi, it would be Klaus.

"Very well, may I accompany you?" He stressed, rolling his eyes.

Caroline smiled the first smile since she had stormed out of Lockwood Manor, leaving Tyler and his werewolf friend-not-friend shuffling their feet, awkwardly.

"You may." She said, dramatically, motioning to the empty air beside her.

She marvelled at the swiftness with which Klaus was beside her (she hated hybrid speed), barely able to see his feet twitch before the wind was kicking up into her face and his cologne was grazing her senses.

"Shall we begin our stroll?" Klaus offered, motioning to the stretch of road that laid out beyond them into the darkness.

Caroline's lips twisted and she rounded on him. "Let me make one thing clear, I may be letting you walk with me, but make no mistake, I am in control of this. Not you. Got it?"

Klaus nodded, solemnly, his jaw tensing with the effort of not grinning like an idiot at her half-hearted telling-off.

"So, I suppose you know?" Caroline asked, grimly, defeat sinking in her voice.

Klaus' brow furrowed as he took a cautious step towards her. "I was… made aware." He said, haltingly.

Caroline's fingers curled into a fist, before falling limply at her side.

"I guess you think I'm an idiot, huh?" She laughed, harshly. "Spending so much time worrying about Tyler, whether he was alright or he was suffering, hating you for taking him away from me, and he was having a pretty good time without me." She said, bitterly.

Klaus turned to her. "I don't think you're an idiot. I think you're an admirably strong woman. You were loyal to a boy, who you believed deserved that loyalty. That is not idiocy, Caroline. That is trust. Many older than you have been a victim of it." He said, firmly.

Caroline bit her lip. "Like you?" She asked, tentatively.

Klaus' eyes dimmed. "Like me." He agreed.

"Does it ever get easier?" Caroline asked, quietly.

"Doubtful." Klaus said, slowly. "Considering I am over a thousand years, and I still am waylaid by betrayal."

"Well, then, I guess it's hopeless." Caroline sighed.

Klaus' lip curled. "Life is hopeless." He mused.

Caroline looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Such a defeatist attitude," She teased. "Coming from someone who's survived for like a gazillion years."

"It's still not a word, love," Klaus shot back, playfully. "And, yes, it is a bit hypocritical, isn't it?" He chuckled, smoothly, leaving Caroline's blood warm and her heartbeat just a tad quicker.

"Well, it's you, after all." Caroline grinned.

Klaus glowered. "That hurts my feelings, sweetheart." He joked.

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "You have feelings?" She asked, mock-incredulously.

Klaus laughed, wholeheartedly, and Caroline couldn't help but smile in turn. She looked at him and the weight on her heart softened. His eyes were a bright cornflower blue, soft and warm and sincere, wrinkles taking shape at the corner of his eyes. His head was tipped back, exposing the long line of his neck, thews slack and vulnerable from joy. She wondered if anyone had seen Klaus so guileless, and if so, in how long. She wondered if he realised that she could simply reach out with her hands and snap his neck as if it were made of tissue, and if he did, whether he cared.

Which is why she stepped into his space, her hand sliding up the scruff on his jaw, and tilted her head up, pressing her lips against his, gently. The warmth and strength of his mouth had her wrapping her arms tentatively around his neck, kissing him firmly, as his hands settled on the curve of her hip.

Suddenly, Klaus pulled away, his jaw tight, his eyes hard.

"I would prefer it if you didn't kiss me out of a need for assurance of your own desirability, Caroline." He said, coldly.

"That's not why I did it!" Caroline protested.

"So, why now?" Klaus asked, scathingly. "Why today, after you've just found out that your boyfriend is less faithful than he appears?"

"I just… I wanted-" Caroline stammered.

"You wanted to know that there was some other fool around that thought you beautiful and worth being loyal towards, that thought you worth the time and commitment that Tyler so obviously didn't." Klaus finished, coldly. "While I may be that fool, Caroline, I am not without pride. And I am not willing to be your… rebound." He pursed his lips. "I believe I shall leave you here, Caroline. You are not that far from your home, you should be able to reach safely. Good night, Caroline."

"Klaus-Klaus, wait!"

Caroline called after him, but he had disappeared in a rush that could only be described as unnatural, leaving leaves hovering in the air and her with something that was indistinguishable to guilt eating at her insides.

"What are you doing here, Caroline?"

It was the first thing he said when he swung open the door to find her hopeful and hesitant on his doorstep.

"Well, I came to apologise," Caroline said, biting her lower lip. "You were being a… friend… to me last night, and instead of being grateful, I dragged you into my stupid drama and it was unfair of me." She said, quickly. "Can't really preach respecting women, their personal space and their choices if I'm going to be doing the same to a guy. I shouldn't have kissed you, not when I was so upset over Tyler, and I'm really sorry I made you uncomfortable, Klaus." She smiled, weakly.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "I seemed to have missed the stage where our relationship progressed into friendship." He said, dryly.

Caroline's shoulders slumped. "Can you please try and be less of a jackass? I'm trying to say sorry here." She said, crossly.

Klaus' lips twitched. "Very well." He straightened. "Go on, then."

"I already apologised." Caroline deadpanned.

"Yes, I can see you're truly regretful of your actions." Klaus snapped.

"Oh, come on, Klaus," Her eyes turned teasing. "How can I acquit myself?" She grinned at the spark of amusement that flashed in Klaus' eyes, before it quickly faded.

"If that is all, Caroline, I do have other things to do besides begging for scraps of your attention." Klaus said, sharply, making to close the door before Caroline stuck her foot out.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, what's got you in such a bad mood? Because I'm getting serious whiplash here. One minute, you're laughing at all my awesome jokes, and the next, you look like you're half a second away from literally kicking me out." She growled.

"Well, as long as you got the message."

Klaus tried to close the door, but Caroline was steadfast, her shoulder bracing against the wooden panelling. She shoved it back, fiercely, straightening when it narrowly missed him and banged against the wall on the other side.

"Come on, Klaus. What's going on?" She asked, gently.

Klaus sighed, deliberately. "It doesn't concern you, love." He said, pointedly.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "If that was true, you wouldn't be jumping down my throat now for the wrong reasons. So, come on, spill it." She said, warningly.

Klaus stared at her, half in amazement, half in caution. A girl with barely two years of vampirism on her belt, staring him down, practically ordering him to confess his emotions, and she had no fear. How did she survive so long with such defiance? Or were other monsters inevitably drawn to the fire under her pretty white skin?

The final thought left him furious.

But if he told her the truth, would that warmth, that affection he had seen in her blue-green eyes before she had so sweetly kissed him, would that disappear?

Could he bear it if it did?

"I daggered Rebekah." Klaus confessed, watching her reaction carefully.

Caroline paused, uneasily. "Not that I like your sister or anything, but why did you dagger her?" She asked, wondering whether she wanted to know the answer.

If she had siblings, would her relationship with them be as dysfunctional as Klaus' family?

He looked at her. "There is a cure for vampirism." He conceded and Caroline's eyes widened, dramatically, her fingers curling around the edge of the step. "And Rebekah knew of its location. I daggered her because I thought she would do something foolish and I was worried about the backlash if she were to let it slip to someone who means my family harm."

Caroline swallowed hard. A cure. "Okay, possible life-altering consequences for all of us aside, do you regret it?" She asked, walking over to the steps that preceded the porch, and sank down onto the stone, patting the space beside her for Klaus.

Klaus carefully, sat beside her, placing both of his hands on his thighs. "I don't believe I have ever daggered any of my siblings without feeling regret." He admitted. "But it could mean all of our deaths if this information reached the wrong hands, Caroline." His eyes turned pleading. "Can I trust you to keep this to yourself, just for a little while?"

Caroline bit her lip, the decision warring inside her. She imagined this choice would have come sooner or later, whether to choose the hybrid who, despite his flagrant disrespect of boundaries until she had pretty much smacked him in the face with it, had somehow become important to her (knowing that if she betrayed him now, he would never look at her the same way again, and what a loss that would be), or whether to stay loyal to her friends, friends whom she was finding it harder and harder to cling to as time passed and she drifted away.

Finally, Caroline nodded and she detected relief in Klaus.

"I won't tell anyone." She clarified out loud.

"Thank you, Caroline." Klaus said, sombrely.

Caroline stared out ahead onto the driveway that stretched in a curve from the end of the steps, as far as her eye could see.

"So, that's why you were a mood." She murmured.

"Unfortunately, yes," Klaus nodded. "I do apologise; I should have received you better."

Caroline snorted. "Don't worry about it. After last night, I kind of deserved it."

A smirk grew on Klaus' face. "Well, you won't get any complaints from me."

An offended sound left Caroline's throat and she nudged him in the side.

"Not funny," She wagged her finger, dramatically. Her face sobered. "But, seriously, Klaus, I can't say I necessarily approve of what you did to Rebekah, but I know you don't just stuff your siblings in coffins just when the mood strikes you. Yeah, when she wakes up, she'll probably be pissed, but either she gets over it or she uses it as ammunition to get back at you. You can't sit here, brooding over what she'll decide. You'll just have to wait and see what her reaction is." She said, plainly.

Klaus stared at her, fond incredulity colouring his gaze. "That's a very fatalistic attitude for someone who's not normally passive in anything."

Caroline shrugged. "Yeah, well, sometimes acceptance of the inevitable puts everything in perspective." She replied.

"Thank you, for your understanding." Klaus said, gently, his hand falling into the space between their sides.

It would be so easy for Caroline to simply reach out and pull his hand onto her thigh, feeling the heat of him burn through her clothes and warm her skin. She wondered if he would slide it up further until there could be no question about where he was touching her, what he was doing to her.

"First, my honesty. Now, my understanding. You really do have a thing for me." Caroline teased.

Klaus shrugged. "I imagine if it wasn't obvious before, it is now." He said, mischievously, causing Caroline to laugh.

She patted her thighs, decisively, and slid to her feet, turning to Klaus, who looked up at her with bold eyes.

"I should go." She said, almost reluctantly, but seeing the wisdom in her choice.

Something undefinable was brewing between her and Klaus and she knew it would be wrong if she yielded to it today. Another day, when the mortification of last night had faded away and she could look at him without remembering how sickened and stupid she had felt meeting Hayley, and the taste of his mouth was all she could centre on – which, if she were being honest, had already been spiralling in her thoughts since he had pulled away from her embrace – without any echo of his outrage and her remorse, she would.

Klaus could do nothing but nod, but something heavy settled in his stomach at the thought of her leaving, even if he knew that he would see her soon – he would orchestrate it that way. She leapt off the porch, landing ceremoniously on her feet onto the driveway and began to walk down the gravel path. Klaus sprung to his feet and moved to go back inside the manor.

"Klaus?"

He turned and she stood there, on the driveway, curls dancing in the wind, her teeth pressed into her lower lip and her pretty blue-green eyes hesitant, one foot tucked behind the other.

Caroline bit her lip, doubt and apprehension twisting in her eyes. "Just so you know, I didn't kiss you just because Tyler made me feel like I was worthless. It was… more than that." She confessed, gently.

With that, she walked away, purposefully, leaving him dumbstruck and leaning against the pillar beside the steps, as he processed what she said.

When Caroline walked into the Grill, she spotted Klaus sitting at the bar, his hand curled around a glass of red wine she was sure cost more than everything in her closet, although she was slightly doubtful of some small-town bar's wine collection.

She squared her shoulders and walked up to him, letting her hips sway captivatingly, until she was standing beside him and pulling her jacket off, exposing the cuts of her dress to his wandering cornflower blue eyes.

"Place looks pretty good considering your hybrid got blown up in it." She said, dryly.

"Caroline. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Klaus asked, innocently. "And in such deliberate attire." His mouth twitched in amusement.

Caroline shrugged. "I've been asked to convince you to let Elena go." She explained. "And this is the sexiest thing I own that doesn't fall into the category of 'slutty'." Caroline explained, gesturing to the top that she was pretty sure made her breasts look fucking amazing.

Klaus paused. "Why do I feel like if I say you look beautiful, you'll misunderstand my intentions?"

Caroline mulled it over. "Because I will." She said, simply.

Klaus ducked his head down to hide his smile from her curious gaze. "Good form, love, but I'm afraid I can't do it."

Caroline cocked her head, questioningly. "Why not?" She asked, in genuine curiosity.

While she knew Klaus was only a few steps shy from being a megalomaniac, he never did anything without cause and he wouldn't just up and run off with Elena without a good reason.

Klaus shrugged. "She needs my help."

Caroline raised a disbelieving eyebrow and Klaus reached out to pat her hand, both ignoring the spark of heat that travelled across their nerves.

"Look, I'm not gonna burden you with the gory details, I know you have enough on your plate already." Klaus said, gently.

Caroline grimaced. "I don't want to talk about it." She said, gruffly.

And, honestly, she didn't know what to say. She had no idea where she and Tyler stood, not when she seen the way Tyler and Hayley had exchanged uneasy looks when they thought she wasn't looking, the spike in heat when the wolf girl had walked into the room, and it hadn't been her who had been turned on, that was for sure. And if that weren't enough to raise her suspicions, the telling guilt that had surged in Tyler's eyes when she had directly called him out on the possibility of him cheating on her with Hayley had been enough to confirm her doubts. Whether it was guilt concerning an already transpired mistake or one yet to come, it was guilt and it had been enough for that last part of her heart that was still clinging onto some hope (and perhaps even looking for a door-marked exit).

But what surprised her was that she didn't seem to care. Oh, she was hurt by the idea of the boy who had become her friend, her lover, her partner in all things supernatural betraying her so easily as if she didn't mean anything to him, but at some point, when the few tears she had managed had dried up, she had felt empty. Instead, she had chosen to centre on the kiss she had never intended but had happened so beautifully.

"Yes, well, just know that if Tyler was still sired to me he never would have hurt you." Caroline stared at him and Klaus looked up at her. Something moved between them and the flush rose up her neck. "I wouldn't have let him." He said, firmly. "Can I at least offer you a drink?" He asked, hopefully.

Caroline bit her lip and looked around, before settling on the bar stool beside him. "You know what, I could really use one." She murmured.

Before he could motion the bartender over to them, she snatched his glass and downed the remaining wine in one, quick gulp, causing him to chuckle and her to smirk, triumphantly.

"Well, you sure showed me." He teased.

Caroline's lips twitched. "I get by." She shot back.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down.

I lost Elena.

I need a vampire to kill. I'll turn someone if I have to.

Get an answer. Fast.

Caroline sighed, irritated. This is why she didn't like to play the blonde distraction. It always seemed to come back and bite her in the arse. She didn't see anyone else willing to take one for the team. She bit her lip, praying that this wouldn't be the moment where Klaus' intolerance for betrayal ousted his fondness for her and her heart didn't occupy the dirty floor in front of the bar. But there was a part of her that was curious up to what line she could push him before he turned from charming-and-persistent Klaus to serial-killer Klaus.

"So, here's the thing," Caroline fluttered her eyelashes. "I didn't just come here to try to get you to release Elena."

Klaus smirked. "You don't say." He drawled.

Caroline bit her lip. This was her moment of truth. "I came here to distract you so that Stefan could go to your house and break her out, which he did. And, don't get mad," She said, hurriedly. "But then he lost her." She admitted, cringing.

Klaus leapt to his feet, fury etched on his face, and Caroline, her fingers scrambling against the bar to push her up, did the same.

"Klaus." She called out, warningly, imagining the destruction he would impose on her friends, as he proceeded away from the bar, towards the door.

Klaus stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "Caroline, you're beautiful and I care a great deal about you, but if you don't stop talking, I may be tempted to harm you." He growled. "And I'd rather not do anything that I will regret."

Klaus turned around and started to walk off.

Frankly, she was impressed by his restraint.

"They figured out how to stop the hallucinations." Caroline threw out.

He stopped and turned around towards her again, the muscles in his jaw tense with repressed violence.

"I suggest you tell me everything." He said, coldly.

Caroline looked around, seeing the patrons of the restaurant oblivious to the gravity of their argument but not willing to take any chances. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door that led to the alley behind the restaurant.

"Okay, but not here." She stressed.

Once they were outside, Klaus pulled away from her grip and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her balefully.

"Explain." He ordered.

Caroline rubbed the back of her neck. "Okay, so basically they thought you were going to do something awful to her, so they broke into your place and stole Elena, but obviously whatever crap she's seeing spooked her and she made a run for it and now they can't find her." She said, quickly.

Klaus ran a tense hand over tousled blonde curls. "What else did Stefan say?" He asked, roughly.

"He said that he needs a vampire to kill." Caroline explained.

Klaus frowned. "Why?"

Caroline looked down her at phone, swiping over her messages. "Apparently, the hallucinations will stop if they can create another member of the Five, which, in this case, happens to be Jeremy. But he'll only become one of the Five if he can kill a vampire. So, yeah," She finished, lamely.

Klaus pursed his lips. "So, you need a vampire."

"Yeah." Caroline nodded.

Klaus stared at her. "Very well, I will give you one of my hybrids for the young Hunter to inexplicably murder. But I want something in return." He said, firmly.

Caroline's eyes widened and an angry flush rose up her neck. "Seriously?" She snapped. "Elena could die any minute now and you're bargaining with me?" She asked, incredulously.

Klaus shrugged. "Love, this all happened because the imbeciles you unfortunately call friends freed Elena from where she would have been spared the inevitable fatal consequences of the Hunters' Curse, at least for the near future. It was their haste that caused his in the first place." He said, sharply. "Don't blame me for not wanting to be too generous when it's you lot who've made a mess of everything."

Caroline sighed and resisted the urge to plant her fist in his face. "What do you want?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"I want a date." Klaus said, deliberately.

Caroline mouthed the words back to herself. "A date? You want a date?" She said, incredulously. "What happened to respecting boundaries and not doing anything that made me uncomfortable?" She asked, pointedly.

Klaus shrugged. "Oh, I still won't. But, sweetheart, I am the evil hybrid. At some point, I had to do something devious and underhanded like this." His eyes were playful, and then they darkened with something angry. "And if you're content to go back to your old blonde distraction ways so easily, then I may as well go back to propositioning you." He said, coldly.

Caroline shook her head. "That's not fair, Klaus." She argued.

"You only agreed to approach me tonight in order to buy time for your simpleton friends." Klaus' face was calculatingly blank.

"First of all, don't call them simpletons," She said, warningly. "Second of all, it's more complicated than that." She said, weakly.

"I thought we were friends," Klaus mocked, bitterly.

"You think this is easy for me?" Caroline snapped, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm stuck in the middle of this and no one seems to see my side." She growled. "My friends don't know about this," She gestured to the space between her and Klaus. "And if they did, they'd hate me, because it's you. And now, you want me to turn my back on the people that have been my friends since the sandbox because it benefits you. No matter what choice I make, I lose." She said, fiercely. "So, tell me, Klaus, if you're so smart, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I thought you were loyal to your friends," Klaus said, lowly. "But apparently, that only applies to someone that is not me."

"I'm trying, Klaus." Caroline said, desperately. "I'm trying to find that stupid place in my life that means I won't lose anyone, and for the life of me, it doesn't seem to work. So, yeah, today I had to be a bitch and I'm sorry, but don't blame me for being hot and cold while I figure how to work this out." She said, sharply.

"Caroline, somehow I have the feeling that I will inevitably be the one that you cast aside, and it is not in me to just wait here until you decide that." Klaus said, gruffly.

"So, what? You just want to give up, before anything's even started?" Caroline asked, angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I want you to accord me with the same allegiance you accord your other friends, or this change in our relationship is meaningless and we might as well go back to where we were before."

Caroline's hands fell from her chest to her side, limply. "Is that what you want?" She asked, hesitantly.

Klaus sighed and walked over to her, taking one of her hands between his. "No, but you know me enough to know that I do not want mere friendship from you. I agreed to this concession because I know you were not quite ready for the depths of my feelings, but if you cannot award me the appropriate sentiment in friendship, then I cannot have any hope of being more with you. And that is what I truly want."

"What if I am?"

Klaus' brow furrowed. "What if you are what?" He asked, confused.

"What if I am ready?" Caroline asked, quietly.

"You and Tyler-"

"-are non-existent." She finished, determinedly.

And that feeling sat well with her.

Klaus frowned. "You haven't broken up with him yet."

"Semantics." Caroline waved off. "I've made a resolution that any guy who makes me feel as horrible as I did the night I found out about Hayley – whether he really did cheat on me or they are, in fact, just friends – is not worth my time. It's just a matter of telling him that fact." She paused. "So, when I say I'm ready, I'm ready."

Something fierce awakened in Klaus and it showed on his face. "You don't know what you're saying." His voice was rough.

Caroline scowled. "We've talked about this already, Klaus. I make my own choices, no one else. And if I say I'm ready, then I'm ready." She said, firmly.

There was a telling pause and she swore Klaus looked awkward after her resolute statement.

"Well, then, how do you suppose we proceed?" He asked, uncomfortably.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Well, you could kiss me and this time, not jump away like I have leprosy or something." She said, dryly.

Klaus nodded, as if to assure himself of something, and she saw his heel twitch in one moment and the next, he was standing right in front of her.

He placed a hand carefully on her waist, and the other curved around her cheek, his thumb grazing over her cheekbone back and forth, as if he had never touched anything so infinite. Her eyes raked over the line of his thumb, searching until her gaze landed on his eyes, so cornflower blue and devastating. Her teeth sank into her lower lip and his eyes were immediately drawn towards the action, and she heard him pull in a sharp breath, and she smiled, boldly, staring up him through hooded eyes, waiting for him to take that single step and wondering what it would be like now, now that they would be nothing between them, nothing to pull him away.

When his mouth brushed against hers, she felt her muscles slacken. Her hands curled around Klaus' jaw, pressing herself insistently against him. The hand on her cheek travelled down the length of her arm and her side, leaving spiralling heat in its wake, before settling on the curve of her hip, pulling her close.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, Caroline pulled away, bracing her hands on Klaus' chest, his eyes hot as they raked over her flushed skin and plump, red mouth. He ran his tongue over his mouth, pulling in the taste of her, and revelled in the way she coloured at his innocuous action.

"Somehow, I think this date will go well." Klaus said, roughly.

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Okay, just because we kissed and it was awesome, don't go getting ahead of yourself." She said, warningly. "Let's go get that hybrid of yours and then we'll talk about a possible date."

Klaus sighed. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

Caroline shrugged. "It's doubtful."

"So, how did Tyler take it when you told him I was accompanying you today?" Klaus asked, curiously.

Caroline sighed. "I suppose as well as anyone would, after you break up with him for either already having cheated on you or gearing up to cheat on you – not to mention your undeniable feelings for someone else –, and then follow that up with telling him that you're planning on going on a date with said someone else, who he really does hate, to a town-wide affair that's very much likely going to get you and him some very awkward questions, considering he's the Mayor's son and I'm the Sheriff's daughter."

It had actually gone down as well as she had said. After she had finished saying the words that would end their relationship (with Hayley sleeping on the couch, curled up against Tyler's side, because apparently she had been through an ordeal and she had needed comfort), he had asked her what Klaus had wanted in return, and when she had confessed it was a date (with no less defiance than she was owed in the circumstances where one of his hands was on the wolf bitch's thigh), it had resulted in a glass narrowly missing her head and hitting the wall.

Two hours later, she had still been pulling shards out of her arm, cursing Tyler's name with every breath, and resolving never to mention the incident to Klaus, lest Lockwood Manor be known as the sight of a slaughter for decades to come.

Klaus touched her arm and turned her to look at him, his face unfathomable. "You broke up with him?" There was something in his voice that made her frown.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm not going to go on a date with you if I'm still in a relationship with someone else." Caroline said, slowly.

Klaus' face softened. He reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, the pads of his fingers brushing her soft cheek as he did.

"And your friends? Will you tell them the cause of your breakup?" Klaus asked, curiously.

Caroline grimaced. "It's a bit harder than that. I mean, breaking up with Tyler was easy, in a functional sense, of course. I was already considering it before I kissed you."

"Which time?" Klaus asked, mischievously.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "The first time, you schmuck." She said, scathingly. She sobered. "My friends think I agreed to this date in return for you 'giving' us one of your hybrids for Jeremy to kill." She explained. "… which is technically true." She said, hastily.

"So, I'm to be your dirty little secret." Klaus said, lowly, disapproval working into his voice.

Caroline stilled and looked at him, confused. "Just for a little while, until I figure out how to explain all of this to them." She said, soothingly. She placed a hand on his harm, warm and wilful. "That's okay, isn't it?"

Klaus looked unsure, but said nothing when Caroline pulled him away towards a tray of champagne, handing him a glass while taking one for her own.

Caroline stared up at Kim, one of the hybrids that had recently broken the sire bond and apparently wanted something more interesting to do until they could completely be free of Klaus (like torturing her), biting back a flinch when Kim reached for her shackled wrist and broke it as if it were made of paper.

"What, no screaming?" Kim asked, mockingly.

Caroline bared her teeth. "I'm not a huge fan of turning on my torturers."

Kim shrugged and bent down in a crouch in front of Caroline, brushing away some of Caroline's sweat-matted hair away from her face. "Look, this is nothing personal. Tyler just needs to realise who's in charge."

"Newsflash, genius, Tyler and I aren't even going out anymore." Caroline snapped.

Kim frowned, sliding back to her feet – obviously this had been news to her. But she recovered quickly. "Well, then, I guess it'll send Klaus a message, won't it?" She said, slyly.

Snap.

And Caroline's other wrist was fractured.

She was shuddering back against the barn wall, when Tyler rushed into the bar, Hayley bringing up the rear at a much slower pace – wow, could she care any less? –, his face contorted with horror and disbelief. Caroline stared at him with fury, blaming him and stupid desire to be the knight in shining armour for these hybrid sociopaths for her current predicament.

"Stop!" Tyler shouted. "Stop it, Kim. Caroline's with us. All right? We're all on the same team." He said, soothingly.

Kim rolled her eyes. "She's on your team, not mine." She said, dryly.

Behind Tyler and Hayley, the other hybrids entered the barn and restrained them. Tyler attempted to break out of their hold, but failed, and Caroline rolled her eyes – obviously this hybrid rescuer's not up to the task.

"Stop it! Stop!" Tyler exclaimed.

One of the hybrids that wasn't keeping Tyler and Hayley back, Adrian, Caroline believed his name was, stepped forwards.

"Ease up, Kim. Klaus won't like this." He said, warningly.

Kim pursed her lips, thoughtfully, and bent down, snatching up a small, wooden stake, the tip of it pointed at Caroline's heart. "That's a very good point. Do you think he'll like this?" She asked, viciously.

"Honestly, it's not one of my favourites."

The hybrids all collectively turned to find a sober Klaus standing in the doorway of the barn, cutting a dangerous figure in his black Henley and jeans, which reminded Caroline to put some colour into his wardrobe. He strode into the barn, the corner of his mouth quirking up as the hybrids all gave him a wide berth, the ones holding Tyler and Hayley letting go of their prisoners.

"Now, shall I guess what's happening here?" Klaus asked, lowly, cracking his knuckles before they wound behind his back. "You lot, with the inspiration from these two lackwits," He gestured to Tyler and Hayley. "-have managed to break the sire bond and let me guess, before you can experience your newfound freedom, you have a plan to put me down somehow. Shall I make it clear that your plan will fail?"

Kim's hand tightened around the stake and the tip pressed against Caroline's chest, and Caroline winced when it broke through her skin.

"I will kill her, Klaus." Kim said, warningly.

Klaus ducked his head down to hide his smile and then, he was gone. He appeared behind Kim, grabbing her by her hair and wrenching upwards until her head tore clean off her neck, tossing the appendage somewhere over his shoulder. His fingers tore off the shackles that bound Caroline with seamless ease.

"Love, perhaps you should stay down," He said, lowly, his lips brushing her ear. "This is bound to get a bit messy."

Caroline nodded, her hands falling into her lap, cringing when the bones finally knitted back together, rubbing at the sore flesh of her wrists.

"You killed her." One of the hybrids had his eyes trained on Kim's mangled corpse, unable to remove his gaze.

"Yes, I killed her. I have no use for disloyal hybrids."

Klaus' eyes were forbidding and Caroline didn't need to search deep to know that, but for her, each and every supernatural creature in the bar – Tyler and Hayley included (even though they'd never admit it) – was itching to run away before his fingers starting tearing into their flesh.

Boy, was she glad that he was in love with her.

Although, watching him loom over the rest of them, not even shifting in the slightest, something warm settled low in her stomach and her thighs clenched subtly, and she hoped that everyone was too focused on Klaus' reaction to pay attention to her ill-timed libido.

"I gave you freedom and you repaid me with treachery. What do you suppose is an adequate punishment for your transgressions?" Klaus asked, curiously, cocking his head.

Tyler snorted. "Give me a break." He scoffed. "You made us into hybrids because you didn't want to be alone. Don't pretend you did it for us."

Klaus grinned. "You know what, I'm going to enjoy this."

His pupils dilated and Caroline could see the hybrids' eyes glazing over as his compulsion took hold of them.

"Unfortunately, your days of autonomy are at an end. From now on, you will obey any order I give you as if the sire bond is intact and submitting to me is the greatest peace you will ever find. As far as you are concerned, the sire bond was never broken, cannot be broken, and you will protect me and mine with everything in you. Oh, and you will be happy to die if you cannot carry out your orders. Doesn't that sound sensational?"

His eyes were vengeful, dark with a fury that Caroline was sure had led to many bloodbaths in the past, a cold smirk etched on his face.

Caroline wanted to protest, wanted to beg him to spare the life of a boy who was her friend (the other hybrids could go to hell, as far as she was concerned), but she knew there was nothing she could do to save any of them from their fate.

It was the price they would pay for breaking faith with Klaus.

She saw the hybrids all nodding, fallen under the obligation of Klaus' compulsion, and there was something in Caroline that brimmed with vicious glee at the sight, and she cringed into herself, loathing that something. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Hayley, unaffected by the compulsion, making a break for it, and with her free foot, nudged Klaus in the leg. He brushed his palm over her damp hair to soothe her and then, his fingers were reaching into Hayley's chest cavity, his wrists dripping with blood, and he was pulling her heart right out of her rib cage without much ceremony.

At least there was something positive about this night.

Suddenly, he was towering over her. His hand wrapped around her waist and they were off. Her feet finally landed on solid ground and they were standing in the entrance hall of his manor.

When she finally turned her gaze on him, she found him staring back at her with anger darkening his eyes.

"Tell me, sweetheart, any particular reason why you neglected to tell me that your ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend had managed to unsire all of my hybrids that are currently in Mystic Falls?" He asked, sharply.

Caroline frowned. "You have more?"

He bared his teeth. "You didn't think I'd restrict myself to a handful of them and keep them all in one place, did you? Hybrids can still be quite breakable, love." He said, grimly. "Now, back to my original question, why didn't you tell me?" He gritted his teeth. "Unless, this was all a ruse."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. I don't tell you one thing and you're convinced that I've been screwing with you since the beginning." She scoffed.

His smile was bitter. "I can't think of a better explanation. Here I thought we were preaching honesty in this relationship."

"You didn't tell me you knew that they were unsired." Caroline said, accusingly.

He laughed, roughly. "Love, don't try and turn this back on me." His hand wound around her wrist in a grip that was forceful but not painful, and he pulled her to him, trapping her against his chest. "I want the truth, Caroline. Why didn't you tell me what Tyler was planning?"

Caroline shoved him away. "Don't act like you have the moral high-ground here, Klaus." She said, sharply. "Yeah, okay, I didn't tell you about Tyler, because it all fits in with my huge problem of telling my friends that I'm currently seeing the psychopath who's been terrorising us for the past year and who they're still convinced is the Devil personified. I knew if I told you about Tyler, you'd go and do something like you did today, which, by the way, I'm totally not okay with." She said, fiercely.

Klaus cocked his head. Dare she say there was hurt in his eyes, but the fury overwhelmed it.

"Psychopath? And that's how you continue to see me?" He asked.

"Well, when you go and do shit like this, what else am I supposed to call you?" Caroline snapped, the knot in her stomach loosening and the righteous anger swelling. "You just stole the collective will of like thirteen people! You compelled them to die if they couldn't carry out any of your stupid orders. What the hell is wrong with you?" She shouted. "So, yeah, I can't not call you a psychopath right now."

Klaus took a step toward her, loaded with intention. "What I did, I did to protect myself and you. What they did tonight to you was as much because they believed you to be Tyler's girlfriend as they believed that I would suffer at harm being done to you. What I did was necessary." He said, fiercely.

Caroline scoffed. "No, what you did was because you are incapable of allowing anyone to get the better of you. So, you punished them. Don't pretend like you did it for me." She hissed.

"I did do it for you!" He roared and Caroline took a step back. "I showed mercy tonight, Caroline. Something that you seemed to be forgetting. I spared your once lover because I knew you would hate me if I killed him. I spared a pack of treacherous hybrids because I knew you would mourn their deaths even if they had intended to kill you tonight. I did it all for you and you have the audacity to call me selfish and scared, when you not only lied to my face, but you also claim to care for me but remain ashamed enough to keep me a secret from the people who you insist are so very important to you."

"Mercy? You think that was mercy?" Caroline asked, incredulously. "All you did was prolong their suffering because you didn't want to give them an easy death. It was punishment. All for doing something they had every right to do. You took advantage of their gratitude and made them do things that they would never have dreamed of doing and what, you got pissed that they wanted to get themselves off the hook?" She asked, mockingly. "Don't act like you did it for me. You just wanted them to feel their mistake and that wouldn't happen if you killed them. My morality is just an excuse for you. Yeah, I lied to you. If I had told you the truth, you would have freaked out and done something that was even worse than what you did today. And seriously? You're using the fact that I'm trying to find some middle ground where I can keep both my friends and you as ammunition against me? Did it ever occur to you that my friends are important to me, so, yes, unfortunately for you, it does matter to me what they think? They've gone through a lot because of you. That doesn't mean that my feelings for you don't matter, Klaus. I just don't want to lose anyone. And you're important to me, Klaus. You're so important to me that sometimes I can't breathe when I'm with you and I don't want to screw this up by bringing my friends into this relationship before I'm ready to deal with the fallout and I don't-no, I can't lose you because they don't approve. But if you can't see that-"

Suddenly, she found herself pressed up against the wall, Klaus surging against her. His lips were fierce and insistent on hers and she found herself gasping into the kiss, clutching onto his shoulders, while his hands dragged across her rib-cage. One hand not-so-subtly palmed her breast and she arched her back into his touch, his thumb rolling over her nipple until it hardened.

His hands were slipping under her dress, between her thighs, which she eagerly spread, rising up until he was pressing right fucking there, and Caroline gasped, letting her head thud against the wall. Her fingers made quick work of his belt, tossing it somewhere unseen, before she was pulling down the zipper and reaching into his boxers – not briefs, hm? – and pulling his cock out, running her hand up the length of him and smirking when he growled against her neck.

His fingers hooked in the scraps of lace that masqueraded as underwear and he flicked his wrist, tearing it from her body and throwing it away from them so it could join his belt. He curved his hands around her thighs and urged her up further against the wall, spreading her wide for him, as her hot, little hands surrounded him and pressed his cock between her thighs.

With a jerk of his hips, he was inside her and groaning, Caroline sinking her teeth into his shoulder as a cry spilled from her mouth. She was warm and wet and tight and felt oh-so good-and-right. Her nails raked down her back, drawing sweet pain that had him thrusting firmly, her legs tightening around his waist.

They settled into a pagan rhythm with no words that needed to be spoken, only the feeling of him inside her – like he was meant to be inside her – and her clenching around him. When his fingers dipped into that jut in her pelvic bone and tightened, and Caroline pressed her fingers where they were joined, he groaned her name into the warm skin of her breast, his hands skimming over every inch of soft, supple skin he could find, and his name fell like a plea from her mouth, her head tipping back, exposing her long, pale neck.

Finally, the ache in her cunt sharpened and her hands hit the wall beside her with furious smacks as he rode her up to the point where she was shamelessly seeking her orgasm, eager to have it steal her away. A moment later and she was crying out, abruptly, her cunt pressing firmly into his pelvic bone, as the spasms spanned through her body, right to the tips of her fingers. Her fingers scrambled against the wall and against his shoulders until she slackened, the convulsions leaving her slowly and deliberately, the slightest movement starting it off all over again. She slumped against him, arms and legs winding around him like a tree, burying her face in his shoulder, revelling in the way his hands tightened around her hips. A few shallow thrusts later, and he was spilling inside her with a groan, her thighs becoming slick fast.

He pressed his mouth to the curve of her shoulder, reverently, and the expanse of damp skin available to him, and she smiled.

"So, Caroline," Rebekah grinned, her eyes flashing. "Tell me, is there any particular reason why my brother threatened to dagger me and drop my coffin at the bottom of the ocean if I hurt you?" She asked, innocently.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, resolving not to look at Elena's face lest her face betray her. "Doesn't he always threaten to do that?"

Rebekah shrugged. "Well, yes, but there was something quite deliberate in this threat." She said, pointedly. "Is there something you should be sharing with the collective?" She said, gesturing to the table that held Caroline, her, Stefan and Elena.

"No," Caroline said, defiantly.

Rebekah hummed, disbelievingly. She turned to April.

"April, be a darling and take Stefan and Elena away for a bit; I think I'd like to have a private conversation with Caroline." She said, sweetly.

April, who stood at the door, motioned for Elena and Stefan to come with her, and they reluctantly followed, fallen under Rebekah's compulsion.

Rebekah took the seat beside Caroline, whose fists clenched around the table.

"So, tell me, Caroline, from what I can tell, your relationship with my brother has considerably changed since he daggered me. Is that true?" Caroline remained silent, but struggling. "Remember, you're compelled, darling."

Caroline bit down but couldn't stop the nod.

"Ah, lovely. I was wondering when he'd finally break down all your defences. Tell me, was it before or after you broke up with Tyler?"

Caroline couldn't help the words spilling from her mouth.

"I kissed him twice before, but we only went on a date after."

Rebekah snorted. "I'm surprised he even waited, to be honest. But, apparently, you are different." She said, jealousy creeping into her voice. "Now, tell me, what do you think about being in a relationship with my brother?" The sly smile returned.

"I'm worried he'll change his mind." Caroline said, quietly, self-consciously.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, but was struck by the younger vampire's self-doubt. At first glance, no one would expect it from the always-a-tad-too optimistic blonde cheerleader, the girl who voiced her stream-of consciousness with no filter, and had admittedly experienced more trauma than most her age, but managed to jump right back to her feet with remarkable resilience. At her age, with her life, even Rebekah wasn't sure of her own strength, if it quite matched up to Caroline's.

Her own spine of steel had only emerged after some centuries of her dipping her fingers into blood and flesh and stealing away life as if it nothing more than a game to her – and, she supposed, it had been.

But Caroline's had been with her since her genesis.

And Rebekah had always lauded strength. If she had Caroline's grit when she had human and wide-eyed and hurt, perhaps she would be a different woman now, a thousand years later.

"He won't." She said, firmly, ignoring Caroline's doubtful look. "Have you met my brother? He's not fickle, Caroline. He won't go to all of this trouble to get you only to just walk away at a later time. There would be no logic in that. This is a man that spent a thousand years searching for a way to break the curse on him. This is a man who literally stabs his siblings and stuffs them in coffins just so they won't leave him. He won't ever let you go." She said, resignedly.

It was a warning. Her brother was not built for teenage romance. If the girl wanted to live, she should get out as soon as possible.

"Now, tell me, Caroline, do you friends know about you and Niklaus?" She asked, curiously. "Do they know while they've been hating him with every bone in their body, you've been making your home in his bed?"

"No, they don't know." Caroline said, through gritted teeth.

Rebekah hummed. "That's a shame. Although, I can only imagine their reactions. By the time you're through with all the confessions, Nik may be the only one you have left."

Caroline bit down, screaming on the inside.

When she opened the door, Stefan was waiting on the front porch. Her eyes widened, slightly, but she forced herself to stand still.

"Hey, Stefan," Her voice sounded fake even to her. "What's going on?"

Stefan shrugged. "I can't stay too long. Rebekah's waiting for me. But I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Wait, Rebekah?" Caroline's voice was high. "Original Bitch Rebekah, who literally trapped us in the school and compelled us to play her psychotic game of Truth or Dare? That Rebekah?" She hissed. "What are you doing with her?"

Stefan's lips quirked up at the corner by the mere panic written on Caroline's face. "It's nothing. We've decided to… work together, in order to get the cure."

Caroline frowned. "That… sounds like it's going to end badly."

"What's life without a few risks?" Stefan said, teasingly. He sobered once he saw Caroline's answering smile. "I just wanted to let you know that I know."

"You know about what?" Caroline asked, confused.

"Caroline, I know." Stefan said, pointedly.

Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh, crap."

"Yeah," Stefan chuckled. "It came as a surprise to me too. Although, I probably should've guessed. You've been… different, lately." He said, thoughtfully.

"I wanted to tell you, but-" Caroline began, quickly.

"I understand." Stefan said, reassuringly. "Confessing to this kind of thing in our group isn't exactly easy… or free from judgment."

Caroline shifted, awkwardly. "If it makes you feel better, I really do like him, Stefan." She said, seriously. She laughed to herself. "I may even be falling in love with him." She said, awed, as if she couldn't quite believe it herself.

Stefan cracked a smile. "I'm fairly sure he already is in love with you."

Caroline bit her lip. "And you're okay with it?" She asked, hesitantly.

Stefan's hands were warm on her shoulders, his forest-green eyes earnest and affectionate. "You've been through so much and I know a lot of it was my fault." She opened her mouth to protest. "No, it was. And I didn't protect you the way I should have. Honestly, breaking up with Elena meant that I could finally see past her, and I failed you." He said, firmly. "After everything that has happened to you, Caroline, you are owed this. You deserve to be happy. Don't feel guilty for being happy." He said, resolutely.

Caroline swallowed back tears. "Thanks, Stefan," She said, roughly, her hand coming up to cover his on her shoulder.

He smiled and squeezed back.

"So," Caroline drawled. "I have a question. Did you do the whole boombox-outside-her-window routine? Or was it even more romantic than that?" She asked, teasingly.

Stefan groaned. "You watch way too many movies." He said, accusingly, making her laugh.

"So, does this mean that Stebekah is officially canon?"

"Okay, I'm leaving now." Stefan deadpanned and turned around, walking down the driveway to the sound of her giggles.

"Okay, we may have a problem." Caroline told Klaus, hurriedly.

Klaus frowned down at her, his hands steadying her shoulders. "What is it?"

"It's Kol, and Elena and Jeremy. They've decided to complete the Hunter's Mark by killing Kol and everyone in his sire line." Caroline explained. "And, while your brother may be even more psychotic than you are, I'm not going to let them kill innocent vampires God-knows-where in this world just because Elena's finding vampirism a little difficult." She wallowed hard. "So, we need to stop them, preferably without killing Elena or Jeremy, of course."

"Let me guess," Klaus began, coldly, his fingers curling absentmindedly with the need for violence. "They have the the white-oak stake?"

Caroline nodded, reluctantly.

"Very well," Klaus held out his arm for her to take. "Shall we go stop genocide, then?"

Moments later, they were hurrying up the driveway to the Gilbert house, only to find Kol writhing in the kitchen as Elena and Jeremy assaulted him with vervain. Caroline cursed under her breath and rushed in, knowing that Klaus couldn't cross the threshold. She grabbed Kol and tossed him outside to Klaus, before slamming Jeremy's head up against a cabinet and knocking him, turning her ire on Elena.

"What the hell, Caroline?" Elena shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from doing something incredibly stupid and incredibly selfish." Caroline said, coldly.

"Caroline, if we can't trigger the Hunter's Mark, then we can't get the cure, then we can't become human again." Elena said, slowly, as if she were explaining this to a small child.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Okay, first of all, don't pretend like you were doing this for me. You were doing this for you, like you always do." She said, pointedly. "Second of all, seriously? You think killing God-knows-how-many vampires, who have nothing to do with any of this, is the way to go about getting the cure? What, turning a hobo or some druggie was too far over the line?" She asked, mockingly.

"I thought we were friends." Elena snapped.

Caroline snorted. "Elena, I consciously stopped being your friend the moment you told me you fucked my rapist. Subconsciously, probably even before that." She mused.

Elena stared at her, hurt, but honestly, it felt good to get that off her chest.

"Why are you even with him?" Elena asked, disgusted, shooting Klaus a withering look, to which he simply glared at.

Caroline shrugged. "Honestly? I'm dating him." She said, impassively.

"Are you crazy?" Elena cried out in surprise. "Did you forget who he was or something? It's Klaus." She said, furiously. "He destroyed our lives. He's the reason I'm a vampire now and we even need the cure. He's the reason my life is officially a tragedy." She seethed.

Caroline laughed, harshly. "Oh, please. You losing your parents and Jenna, that is a tragedy. Bonnie losing her grandmother because of your boyfriend, that is a tragedy. Me being raped and abused by your boyfriend, forced to be in proximity with him because of you and then almost murdered to be used in some stupid sacrifice, that is a tragedy. Matt losing his sister because your boyfriend killed her, that is a tragedy. Tyler losing his parents and his freedom, that is a tragedy. Stefan having to watch the girl he loves shack up with his brother less than a week after they broke up, that is a tragedy. You turning into a vampire after falling in love with two vampires is not a tragedy." She said, viciously.

"How long have you been screwing him?" Elena asked, coldly.

Caroline shrugged. "Around two months now. But, if we're being technical, the actual screwing didn't start until sometime around Christmas." She mused.

"So you've been lying to us this entire time, while you ran around with the guy, who ruined our lives, whose body count's probably greater than the population of this country. And now you're even sabotaging our one chance to get the cure so things can go back to normal. Some friend you are." Elena scoffed.

Caroline laughed, harshly, dragging her hands over her face, before her eyes snapped to Elena's defiantly.

"You know, I was so worried about telling you about Klaus and I that I actually let you almost ruin something that could be great, all because I was scared of your reaction." Caroline shook her head in disbelief. "But do you know why now I can choose Klaus without any hesitation? Because at least he owns up to the monster in him. Yeah, maybe he's killed a bunch of people and the toll's only going to rack up in the future, but at least he acknowledges it. You made a decision to kill an unpredictable amount of vampires all because you couldn't handle being a vampire. Well, I'm sorry you can't make peace with something that was bound to happen sooner or later, but why do innocent vampires going about their business, all around the world, have to pay for your choices?" She asked, fiercely. "Doesn't that make you a monster too, Elena? Or does 'monster' only apply when the damage is done to you?" Her voice was cold.

Elena's mouth opened but no sound came out, as she simply stared at Caroline.

"So consider this 'friendship' on standby until you can get your head out of your arse and stop thinking about yourself for once." Caroline snapped. She grabbed onto Klaus' arm and pulled him away the wreckage that was now their kitchen and living room, towards the door. "Come on, Klaus. I think we're done here."

Once they were outside and Caroline could feel the chill of the night air wash over her face, making her smile as something lightened inside of her, her skin prickled and she knew Klaus was staring at her.

She frowned. "What is it?" She asked.

"Damon?" Klaus said, pointedly.

"Oh." Caroline said, lamely. She sighed. "Okay, you can torture him, but you can't kill him, got it?" She said, warningly.

"Caroline, my love-"

"Don't you 'Caroline, my love' me. I said no killing, and I meant no killing." She paused. "Maybe in a couple of centuries, I'll feel differently, but for now, no killing."

Klaus grimaced but acquiesced, wordlessly and reluctantly, reaching out to take her hand in his, their fingers threading together. She smiled as his warmth bled through her skin and she nudged his shoulder with hers, resting her head against his arm, as they walked away from Elena's house.

"At least we know who wears the pants in this relationship." Kol muttered under his breath from behind them.

Klaus looked over his shoulder, furiously. "I will put you back into that coffin for two centuries if you don't shut up."

Kol rolled his eyes. "You need new threats, Nik. Your usual ones are getting a bit lifeless." He smirked at his own joke. He looked at the back of Caroline's head. "So, when exactly did you two become a thing?" He asked, curiously.

"It's a long fucking story." Caroline deadpanned.