thirty-three. save the last dance for me

It was dark when you walked into the mansion, the only light gleaming from the fireplace. You could see his silhouette in an armchair, a drink in his hand as he sat in silence, looking at the flames.

"Klaus," you said.

His grip on the glass tensed, but he made no other movement at your voice. "You're back."

"I am," you said, walking closer.

"Already done with my brother then?" he asked. You could hear the anger simmering under his tone.

You rolled your eyes and walked to stand in front of him. He looked up at you, a resigned expression on his face. "He's your brother," you said softly. "Regardless of what was happening between us, I would never do that to you."

"He doesn't seem to share your loyalty," Klaus said petulantly. "I know what resides in his heart."

You couldn't respond to that, because now you couldn't deny it. Now, Kol's feelings hung like a chain between you. "Are you going to be in this self-pity party for long? Because if I recall, we have other things to do."

He suddenly grabbed your arm, pulling you to sit on his lap. His eyes were blazing as they met yours. "We?"

"Well, I can't exactly let them kill you, can I?" You said. "Especially considering your death means my death too."

A small smirk came to his lips. "And we can't have that."

"No, we can't," you said.

He reached up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing your bottom lip. "I will never let anything happen to you, love," he said, his eyes meeting yours again. You saw the promise in them, and you knew you could take him at his word. "Rebekah is currently en route to destroy the last stake as we speak."

"I won't let anything happen to you either," you said, reaching up to pull his hand from your face. "But I'm not here to be with you again. What I said before, it still stands. When we are sure this is over, I'm still leaving again."

His smirk only grew. "We'll see."

You hated how sure he sounded. "You don't need to keep sending me dreams by the way. I remember our history all on my own just fine."

He looked at you in confusion. "I haven't sent you dreams since you left Mystic Falls. Why? Have you..." he face broke out in a grin, much like a Cheshire Cat. "You've been dreaming of me, have you, love?"

You blushed as you realized he was telling the truth. You'd been dreaming of him since you'd left Mystic Falls, every night, another memory. If it wasn't him...was it your subconscious trying to tell you something? You sighed, and pushed your hair back. "I'm gonna go to bed."

"Perhaps I should come with you," he said. "It's not safe out there until we know the stake is gone. I shouldn't let you out of my sight. Protect you at night and all."

"You wish," you rolled your eyes before leaving to go to your room.

• • •

You were walking up the stairs when you ran into Rebekah. Still angry, you began to brush by her without saying anything when she grabbed your arm.

"You've returned," she said.

You pulled your arm out of her grasp. "Clearly. I take it the stake is destroyed?"

She stared at you intently, not answering you, and you felt an unease under her gaze. "What do you want, Rebekah?"

She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Are you going to the dance with Niklaus tomorrow?"

"What dance?" you asked.

"The decade dance at the school," she reminded you.

"Seeing as neither of us are students, probably not," you said. "If that's all." You turned to leave but she stopped you again.

"I think you should go," she said. "To the dance."

"Why would I do that?"

"You weren't always so cold, Y/N," she said after a moment.

What was with her tonight? You knew Rebekah could hold a grudge better than anyone and you were clearly in a fight. Why was she acting like it never happened? "I'm cold for a reason, Rebekah. Remember?"

"Y/N," she said sadly. "I know this family has hurt you. But I'm just trying to make amends."

You looked at her closely. What did she mean? Once again, you felt uneasy under her watchful gaze. "It's too late for that, Rebekah. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

You sped away before she could stop you, the conversation weighing heavy on your mind.

• • •

When you walked into the living room the next morning, there was a dress box on the coffee table. You touched the tag and saw it had your name on it. You sighed and opened the box. There was a gold flapper dress folded neatly inside. You touched the fabric, sighing.

"I never did get to see you in the 1920s," Klaus said, appearing behind you.

"And whose fault was that?" You asked, not turning around.

"I'll admit, it was a self-imposed punishment," he said. You could hear the smirk in his voice as he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. "The 1920s. When the girls were reckless and sexy, and literally danced until they dropped. I bet you were marvelous wherever you were."

"I was in Paris for a bit, and then New York," you said.

"I would have loved to see it, if only I hadn't been so selfish," he placed a kiss on your shoulder and you sighed.

"Klaus," you said softly. "I meant what I said."

"Yes, yes, now that the matter of the stake is all done, you'll be leaving and I am not allowed to follow, I understand," he said, his arms tightening slightly. "I don't like it, but I realize now that if I don't let you go, you may never come back to me."

"Elijah's not here," you said suspiciously. "Where did you get such sage advice?"

He chuckled, the vibration sending a tingle down your spine. "Believe it or not, I can come up with my own sage advice."

"Right," you said, smiling slightly. "So you called him."

"I had to call him five bloody times, he kept sending me to voicemail," Klaus grumbled.

You laughed, reaching up to put your hand on his cheek. "You know why I can't do this anymore, right?"

"Elijah believes I have broken something irreparably," he said. "But I have to say I disagree. Perhaps for now, it is broken, but I believe our hearts have always been one and one day, yours will bring you back to me. In this life and the next."

You stayed silent, because you hoped for it. You hoped for it so much. Despite everything, Klaus was your other half. He was the keeper of your heart, and you knew that even when you were dead and gone on the Other Side, you would still love him. But it just wasn't enough anymore.

"Come to the dance with me," he said, knowing you wouldn't respond.

"Klaus," you sighed.

"Oh come on, love," he said. "One last hurrah. Rebekah begged me to go. Think of it as a proper send off. One last night of holding you in my arms, knowing what it could have been like if I hadn't royally screwed it all up and sent you away. What could it hurt?"

What could it hurt? It could convince you to stay. "Fine," you said, reaching down to touch the dress again. "It is too beautiful a dress to just lay idly in this box."

"That it is. Though, I'm sure it would be equally beautiful on the floor afterwards."

You rolled your eyes, fighting a small smile from forming on your lips.

• • •

You walked down the stairs in your get up, meeting Klaus at the bottom. He was staring up at you, a transfixed look on his face. "You look positively enticing," he said. "Perhaps we should stay home."

"Not on your life," you smirked, stepping up to him and fixing his bow tie. "You don't look bad yourself."

"Yes well, I had this lying in the closet. Shall we?" He offered you his arm. You hooked your arm with his. "Have you seen Rebekah? I haven't seen her anywhere since she begged me to go to the blasted dance in the first place."

"Not since she accosted me on the stairs earlier," you said. "She's head of the dance committee now. She probably went early to finish setting up."

"Perhaps," he said. You could tell he wasn't completely convinced. "I'm sure she'll turn up. Well then, love. Let's get on with our last hurrah, shall we?"

You nodded, though you felt uneasy in your chest. After tonight, you would be leaving him. You had left before, but you knew you'd have to come back eventually because of the daggers. Now the danger had passed and you were very likely not going to see him for a long time. Last time the possibility of separation came up was after New Orleans and you had begged him not to send you away. This time, however, you were leaving of your own choice. And it was killing you.

• • •

The high school gym was packed when you walked in. You saw Stefan and Elena dancing not too far from Caroline and Tyler. You felt Klaus tense next to you and knew he had spotted them too. "I see my hybrid has returned," he said.

"Be nice," you admonished.

"I am still curious as to how he managed to leave without my permission," he said.

"He loves her," you said, looking at them for a moment. Caroline caught your eye and she smiled hesitantly at you. You couldn't stop yourself from smiling back slightly. Despite everything between you, you still liked Caroline. You wanted her to be happy and feel the kind of love you'd experienced with Klaus.

"Yes well, I'm not feeling particularly partial to your friend after what she did," he said. "I should go have a word with my hybrid."

"I'm going to be anywhere else while you do that," you said, knowing you wouldn't be able to stop him. He nodded and walked away. You stepped out of the gym when you heard something, a voice you knew all too well, sounding quite alarmed.

You saw Damon, Stefan and Elena huddled together by the lockers. "What?" you heard Stefan said. "You think he'd go after Elena?"

"So wait," Elena said. "What are you suggesting we do?"

"I'm suggesting you stop talking about this at the moment," Damon said as his eyes met yours as you walked up to them. "Y/N, what a pleasant surprise."

"Damon, what an unwelcome sight," you responded. "So who's after the doppelgänger now?"

"I'm not sure how that's any of your business," Damon said.

"Well, if something supernatural is going down in the good ole town of Mystic Falls, it is," you said. "And given that I can't rely on my 'friends' to ensure my survival, I'll have to look out for myself. Which means I need to know what's going on."

"Seems like you're gonna be disappointed, cupcake," Damon said, smirking. "Buh-bye now."

"She needs to know," Stefan said. "Besides, she may be able to help."

"Is that before or after she rats us out to her boyfriend?" Damon asked.

"Depends on what you tell me you screwed up this time," you glared at him.

"It's Alaric," Stefan said finally. "He isn't taking the magical herbs Bonnie made him to keep his dark alter ego at bay."

"Okay," you said slowly as you processed that. "And that's bad because?"

"What?" Elena looked at you in irritation.

"What? I mean he doesn't have the stake anymore, right? So his current goal is kind of moot," you said.

"Because his current goal is killing vampires which includes us too and unlike your boyfriend, the regular stakes do it for us too," Damon said.

You smirked slightly at the irony. "So it's your life on the line. Hm I guess you're right. It's not my business after all," you started to turn to leave, but Stefan stopped you.

"We don't know when he stopped taking the meds which means we don't know what he's planning," Stefan told you. "He knows everything Alaric knows, which means he knows everything we know and he could have another plan."

You stopped and turned back to face them, knowing he was right. "Fine. So what's the plan?"

Damon kept his mouth shut but Stefan smacked his arm and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm suggesting that we put him out of his misery."

"What?" Elena gasped.

"It would probably be a mercy at this point," you agreed.

"No way in hell," Jeremy suddenly arrived.

You all turned to look at him. "It's what Alaric would want," Damon said. "And as much as I want to disagree with the traitor, she's right. It's a mercy killing."

"I'm the traitor?" you scoffed at the same moment Jeremy said, "You are out of your mind."

He turned and ran away. "Jeremy," Elena sighed. She looked at Damon before running after her brother.

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan shoved Damon.

"I'm the traitor?" you asked again.

"You switched teams," Damon told you before looking at his brother. "And what? You know it's what he would want."

"He's your best friend," Stefan said as you scoffed.

"Yeah well, as his best friend, I know what he would want," Damon said.

"Damon has no problem betraying his best friends, Stefan, don't sound so surprised," you rolled your eyes. "Let me know if you find anything else out?" Stefan nodded. "Great, thanks. I'd rather get away from people who actively try to kill me."

"Oh come on," Damon rolled his eyes. "I didn't actively try to kill you. At most, I was trying to make sure you didn't die."

"Oh please," you scoffed. "You were just making sure Klaus wasn't the originator of your sire line so that you could kill him, screw me and Tyler and whoever else he sired."

"It's not like we were definitely gonna stab him," Damon smirked slightly. "It was just to have the option."

"Well good thing I have the option of finding Alaric and leading him right to you," you shot back.

"Like you'd ever actually let me be killed," Damon said.

"Wanna bet?"

"Okay, enough," Stefan said. "This fight has gone too far. You need to remember that you guys are friends."

"Some friend," you said.

"Stay out of this, Stefan," Damon said at the same time.  You both glared at each other.

"Enough," Stefan said. "What are you guys? 10? You guys have been friends for how many years now? Remember New York? Chicago?"

You and Damon looked at each other. He smirked at you and you rolled your eyes. As per usual, he wanted you to just forgive his dumbass mistake regardless of the consequences of his actions. But you weren't going to fall into that pattern again.

"Yeah well none of that matters when he almost let me be killed twice," you crossed your arms, and glared at him.

"Y/N..."

"No, Stefan," you said. "I forgave him for giving me up as a lamb to slaughter to Mikael. Now I have to forgive for him trying to kill Klaus knowing it would kill me too? Sorry, I don't have any more forgiveness in me."

Stefan tried to call you back as you turned and walked back to the gym but Damon stopped. "Let her go, Stefan. She made her choice."

You ignored them and walked into the gym. You saw Klaus dancing with Caroline with Tyler staring at them coldly. You walked over to him. "Hey," you said. For whatever reason, you felt a connection to Tyler. Maybe it was because he too was of Klaus' line, or maybe it was the sire bond. You knew the hardship it caused.

"Y/N, hey," Tyler said, his eyes darting back to the dancing pair. You knew that look in his eye.

"He's not into her, you know," you told him.

"What?"

"Klaus," you said. "He's nice to her because he's my friend. You don't have to worry."

He looked over at you, slightly surprised you knew what he was thinking. "He gave her a drawing," he said. "A drawing of her and a horse."

You had had many moments yourself of feeling jealous. You remembered watching Aurora throw herself at him, and then Katherine. There were always people after him for power, for money, for his looks, for the chance of him turning them. He liked to tease you, make you jealous by letting these people clamor for his attention. After England, you had gotten better with those moments. And so did he. He stopped teasing you as much.

"Tyler, you left without his permission and now you're back, with attitude," you reminded him.

"I shouldn't need his permission to do anything I want," he shot back at you.

You held your hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm on your side. I have always hated the sire bond. But I just meant he's trying to mess with your head. He's not into Caroline." Your eyes met Klaus' across the dance floor and you saw his gaze devour you, if you were human, you would have blushed under it. "Trust me."

Klaus escorted Caroline over to you both. "Thanks for letting me borrow your date, mate," Klaus told Tyler.

"Y/N, hi," Caroline said eagerly. "You look so pretty."

"Thanks," you said. "You do too, Caroline."

"Pretty does not quite describe it in my opinion," Klaus' gaze raked over you again before he held his hand out to you. "Shall we dance, love? Our last hurrah can't end until we do."

"Your last hurrah?" Tyler asked.

"Yes, the Mrs and I are going to be shall we say flying the coop," Klaus said. "Don't worry, mate. I'll be leaving you here with your charming friend to keep an eye out for me." He looked at you again as you saw Caroline and Tyler exchange a look. "Now, shall we show them how it's done?"

You nodded and took his hand. He spun you into his arms as you stepped onto the dance floor. You put your hands around his neck as he pulled you in by the waist. "I imagine the 20s would have been quite like this for us," he said as you danced with him.

"At a high school dance?" you smirked.

"No, I definitely did not picture that," he laughed. "But this, you in my arms, dancing the night away. Quite like those nights in New Orleans."

You smiled wistfully, remember the nights he meant. There were too many to count, but you remembered each and every one. You would dance with Klaus until he had business to attend to and then you would dance with Marcellus, Kol or Elijah. "New Orleans shouldn't feel this much of a different life, should it?"

"New Orleans was the first place we were a family again since we were turned," Klaus said. "And the last."

"I sometimes wonder if we'll ever have that again," you said. "But then I remember even if we do, Marcellus won't be there."

"No, and I would give anything to change that," he said. You looked at him seriously, because even back then, he had never admitted how much it grieved him, losing Marcellus.

"We need to talk," Stefan suddenly appeared beside you.

You followed Stefan outside with Klaus. He told you he needed to show you something. You froze when you saw the salt on the ground. You reached your hand out but an invisible barrier kept you in. You and Klaus exchanged a look. "What's going on?" you asked Stefan.

"If this is your attempt to try to kill me again..." Klaus growled.

"Your mother's back," Stefan cut him off. "She took Elena."

Klaus' face dropped. You grabbed his hand, knowing how he was feeling. You looked at Stefan. "What's the plan?" you asked.

• • •

You were leaning back on a table as Klaus paced and the others stood anxiously around as Bonnie tried to break the spell. There was a boy you hadn't met, but Stefan had told you his name was Jamie, Abby's adopted son. He looked afraid as he stood by you.

"It'll be okay," you told him, trying to help. You knew all this supernatural stuff was difficult for someone who had never been part of it. And his life had changed so suddenly because of everything with Bonnie's mother.

"She does this all the time, right?" he asked you.

"Yeah," you told him. "Don't worry. Bonnie is a Bennett. They are the strongest witches I've ever met."

"They? You've met Abby?" he asked you.

"No," you said. "But I've met their ancestor, Ayana. Trust me, she can do this."

"Then what's taking so long?" Klaus growled. "All boundary spells have a loophole."

Matt ran in. "People are walking right out of the dance past the barrier."

"Well, if Matt and I can leave, we could stop Esther ourselves," Jeremy said. "We just gotta find out where she is."

You laughed out loud and they all looked at you. "Sorry. I just wonder where all the Gilbert confidence comes from," you said. "Jeremy, Esther is a thousand year old witch. You can't take stop her. You'll just get yourselves killed."

"She's right, Jeremy," Stefan said. "It's suicide." He glared at Stefan and stormed out.

Klaus sped over and grabbed Jamie by the neck. "Suicide would be disappointing me. Now work your magic, witch, or I'll start killing people you fancy."

"Let him go," Bonnie snapped.

"Not until you get us out of here," Klaus responded.

"Don't be stupid, Klaus," Stefan said. "Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us. The only reason she's helping right now is to save Caroline and Tyler. If you start killing people she cares about, she'll tell us all to go to hell."

"Klaus, let him go," you put your hand on his. "That isn't going to work, and we don't have time for this." You looked over at Bonnie after Klaus finally released the boy. "Your people here are safe, Bonnie, but your best friend Elena is not. Esther will use her however she can to get what she wants, even if it means her death. The longer the boundary spell stays up, the longer it will take to save her."

"You expect us to believe you want to save Elena now?" Damon asked you. "You hate her."

"We all know I don't care for the doppelgänger," you glared at him before looking at Bonnie again. "But I do care about saving my family and keeping Elena safe and alive right now is the only way to ensure that. You can trust me on that."

Bonnie looked at you for a moment before she got a determined look on her face. Bonnie took a deep breath and nodded. She looked at Damon. "I'll need Jeremy's blood."

"One vial of Gilbert blood coming right up," he said, walking to the door.

"Hang on, I'll come with you," Klaus said.

"No thanks, I'm good," Damon said.

"I wasn't asking," Klaus said casually. He looked at you questioningly and you nodded. You would take care of things here. They left.

Stefan came and sat by you as Bonnie started chanting again. "So uh, Caroline told me you're leaving," he said.

"I am," you said simply.

"With Klaus?"

"Is that your business?" You asked. You weren't sure what it was that pissed you off about that question. Hell, you weren't even leaving with Klaus but you sure as hell weren't going to put up with Stefan's judgment.

"We were friends once, Y/N," he said. "I'm just making sure you're okay."

"You weren't making sure I was okay when you were plotting to kill Klaus and his entire sire line," you said.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's not what you..."

"You know what pisses me off about it the most? Just like with Damon, I've been here helping you guys. From the second he dragged my ass back to this town, I've been helping you. Yet you guys had no problem with risking my life to save your precious Elena," you said. "And then you think just saying sorry is enough."

"I love her," Stefan said quietly. "And as much as I hate to admit it, so does Damon. I'm sorry you became collateral damage in that. I didn't want that. But I will always protect her. Just like you protect Klaus."

You laughed coldly. "The difference, Stefan, is that even when it's against Klaus, I've always still tried to save your lives. I stayed here despite the risk to me to keep Damon alive despite the danger his love puts him in. But I'm done. I think I've paid him back enough for Chicago. Forgive me if I don't pay with my life too."

"I'll uh I'll go fill Caroline and Tyler in," he said finally, leaving the room.

"That was...interesting," Jamie said.

"It's always interesting in Mystic Falls," you told him. "Sometimes too interesting."

"Is that why you're leaving?" Bonnie asked you.

"No," you said. "I'm leaving because there's nothing in this town for me anymore."

She sighed. "There's Caroline. She misses you."

You looked at her. "I thought you would have been glad I ended my friendship with her."

"I'm still not completely okay with it but from what I've seen, you were actually a good friend to her," Bonnie said. "And you've just tried to protect your family the way we all have. The difference is you don't just kill anyone to do it."

"Bonnie Bennett, are you saying you actually like me? A vampire?" you smirked.

She smiled slightly. "I wouldn't go that far. But maybe I'd learn to be okay with your friendship with Caroline."

"We'll see," you said. You had to admit you did miss Caroline. In such a short period of time, she had become a good friend to you. Maybe because she reminded you so much of Lexi, of your friendship with her. You'd never had a friend like that before Lexi. "But first, maybe let's make sure Esther doesn't kill me, Caroline and every other vampire in town, yeah?"

Bonnie looked around until her eyes settled on the wall. She went over and grabbed the map hanging there, placing it on the table. Damon and Klaus walked back in and Damon handed her the vial of blood. "Here," he said. "One Gilbert blood donation for your spell."

Klaus looked over you, as if making sure you were okay. You nodded at him. You were still angry at Stefan, but you wouldn't let that stop you from your goal here.

"Do I have to do this with you two lurking over me?" She looked between Damon and Klaus.

"You're still mad at me for what happened to Abby," Damon said. "Let me apologize. I'm sorry Elijah forced us to turn your mother into a vampire to save Elena's life. Didn't exactly have a choice."

"Better than his usual non-apology apologies, at least, Bonnie," you chuckled and he glared at you.

"There's always a choice," Bonnie told him. "Whenever you make one, someone else suffers."

"Let's cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?" Klaus cut in.

Bonnie sighed and took the vial, pouring the blood on the map. She cast a spell, but the blood remained pooled in the middle. "She's still fighting me," Bonnie said.

You touched Klaus' arm. "Esther shouldn't be able to fight a Bennett like this," you said.

"You're right. She couldn't possibly have this much power," Klaus said. "She must be channeling something."

"A hotspot," Bonnie said.

You and Klaus exchanged a look. You knew what that meant, the only thing it could possibly mean. "Get the humans ready," Klaus said. "I know where she is."

• • •

You decided to go find Caroline. You realized you wanted to say goodbye. Once Esther was dealt with, you were going to leave. You finally found her with Tyler and Stefan in the gym.

"Hey, she'll be fine," you heard Caroline say. "Elena always manages to find her way through this stuff."

"Yeah, well, I'm just as worried about what Esther's up to," Stefan said. "She led Klaus here for a reason. If she succeeds in whatever she's doing..."

"Klaus could get killed," Tyler said. "And I die along with him."

"And Y/N," Caroline said softly.

"No one's going to die, okay?" Stefan said. "Bonnie's still looking for a way around the boundary spell. It's not too late."

You scoffed. Like they cared about your life now?

They fell into a silence for a moment and you were about to walk in. But then Caroline spoke again. "Does she know you fought for her?"

That froze you in your spot. Were they talking about you? "I didn't get a chance to tell her," Stefan said, sighing. "But I don't think it matters anymore. She's leaving and she said she's done with us. After everything we've done, I don't blame her."

"She might not hate us anymore if she knows though," Caroline said.

"You don't think we deserve it?" Stefan asked. "It doesn't matter if I disagreed despite everything Klaus has done to me. In the end, we still went to find out if Klaus was our sire so we could kill him. We betrayed her." He sighed again. "I'm gonna uh I'm gonna get some air. Hopefully this ends tonight."

He left and silence fell over the gym. Stefan had...fought for you. You knew the anger he had for Klaus. No one wanted him dead more than Stefan but he fought for you. You wiped a tear away from your eye as you heard Caroline speak again.

"So best case scenario, Bonnie gets us out of here, Klaus hauls ass to Timbuktu and you and I, we're home free," she said.

"Or we let Esther come and kill him," Tyler said.

"That's not a best case scenario," Caroline said. "That's not even a remotely acceptable scenario."

"It would be an option if we knew he wasn't the one who turned your bloodline," Tyler said. "You'd be safe."

"But you'd be gone," she said. "How can you say that?"

"Because I'm angry," he snapped. "Because I hate him. I should never have let him dance with you."

"What were you supposed to do?" she asked. "He can't know you're not sired anymore, Tyler."

"So you did it," you stepped out finally. They both looked at you in shock. "You broke the sire bond."

"What? No, I didn't," Tyler said.

You rolled your eyes. "Do you think I'm dumb?"

"Y/N..." Caroline started. "Please..."

"I'm not going to tell him," you said, your eyes meeting Tyler's. "I promise I won't. I told you, I've always hated the sire bond."

He looked at you for a moment before sighing. "Thank you," he said finally.

"So how'd you do it?" you asked. "I thought Bill Forbes tried and failed to break it."

They both tensed. "No offense, but I can't tell you that," Tyler said. "You may not tell him about the sire bond, but I can't risk him finding out."

"Fair enough," you said. "I'm still the enemy."

"You're not," Caroline said quickly.

"I am but that's okay," you said. "I wouldn't risk it either."

You understood. You were a bit surprised you were so willing to keep this from Klaus. This was not a small thing and he would be angry if he ever found out. But you knew why Tyler had done it. He did it for Caroline. He did it because he loved her. And you couldn't fault him for that. Besides, you weren't lying. You hated the sire bond. You always had since you realized that's what it was.

"Tyler, do you mind giving us a moment?"

Tyler looked between you and Caroline who nodded at him before he stepped out. You looked at Caroline. "So," you said.

"So, you um you said you're leaving," she said.

"I am," you said.

"Where will you go?"

"New York at first," you said. You needed to pick up your new identity from Will. "Then Paris maybe."

"I'll miss you," she said. "I know you don't want to be my friend anymore and you hate me, but still. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," you said. "And I don't hate you."

"You don't?" She looked at you eagerly.

You sighed. "I still hate what you did but you gave me a place to stay when I felt I had no one. You were a good friend to me. And maybe I do have room for a friend like you in my life."

"Oh my God, really?" she sped over to you and hugged you. "I'm so glad."

You laughed and hugged her back. "Thank you, Caroline. For being a friend to me. And I'm glad Tyler was able to break the sire bond. You deserve the biggest love."

"You know you have other friends here too," she said as she pulled away.

"I don't know about that," you said, knowing she probably meant Stefan. "But it doesn't matter. I'm still leaving."

She sighed. "Fine, but you totally have to send me post cards from all your big world travels."

You laughed. "Sure, sure. Maybe one day you can come with me."

She hooked her arm with yours. "Well, maybe once we deal with Esther. We will have all the time in the world after all."

You smiled. You could admit you had missed her.

• • •

You wanted to speak to Stefan. You wanted to know why he had fought for you when even your supposed best friend couldn't. When you walked out of the high school, Stefan and Klaus were sitting on the steps as you all waited for Bonnie to break the spell.

"There you are, love," Klaus said, holding his hand out to you. You ignored it, coming to stand near them. He looked at you sadly for a moment before smirking. "I suppose this last hurrah didn't turn out quite how we wanted, did it?"

"With your mother trapping us here and trying to kill you again? I guess not," you said.

"You know, this is your fault," Klaus said to Stefan. "You set us on this path when you released my mother. I wonder if revenge will prove worth the cost."

"As far as Esther, we've stopped her before, we'll stop her again," Stefan said.

"We are strange bedfellows, you and I," Klaus. "You know, all of this reminds me of our time together in the twenties."

"You say that like I'm supposed to have happy memories about it," Stefan said. "Besides, weren't you all down and depressed for losing the love of your life?"

"Yes well, aside from the depression, there were moments," Klaus said. "You helped me carry on. It was real friendship, brotherhood."

"He already has a brother," Damon suddenly arrived. "Not to be, you know, territorial or anything."

"Oh no, of course," Klaus smirked. "The Salvatores and their unshakeable bond. I wonder what'll happen when Elena finally makes her choice? Will we see you shake just a little bit? I mean, Damon, you're losing allies left and right, aren't you? The vampire hunter history teacher, Y/N. Will you lose your brother too, I wonder?"

Damon's jaw tightened as he looked over at you, but your expression didn't change as you met his eyes. Klaus wrapped his arm around your neck. "Word of advice, mate. You made the worst mistake of your life. You'll miss her. Trust me," Klaus said.

You pushed his hand off. "Stop antagonizing him," you said.

"Seems I still have an ally there," Damon smirked. "I guess ours is an unshakeable bond too."

You glared at him. "I'm not protecting you. I'm protecting my ears. The more he antagonizes you, the more I'll have to hear your voice."

Klaus' smirk widened as he let out a chuckle. "What's that about having an ally?"

Before Damon could respond, the door opened and Bonnie walked out. "It's done," she said. "Esther's not fighting me anymore. The boundary spell is broken."

"Perfect, let's go, love," Klaus said. Stefan's phone rang and he walked away to answer it.

"You go, I'll catch up," you said. He looked at you for a moment before leaving. You looked at Bonnie. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"I didn't do it for you," she said before turning and walking away.

Stefan walked back, his face solemn as he looked at his brother. "Elena is fine. She said she'll meet us later."

"Didn't want to run off into the sunset with your boyfriend?" Damon sneered at you. He scoffed when you ignored him and sped off.

You turned to Stefan. "I heard what you said before," you told him. He looked at you in confusion. "To Caroline." Realization hit his face. "Why?"

He looked away for a moment before looking at you. "You kept me human," he said. "When we were on the trip from hell, you kept me human. I know you tried to help me as much as you could when he was...pushing me to lose my humanity. And even after, you were going to help me like...like Lexi. Whatever else he's done, I couldn't do that to you."

Your eyes widened slightly. You hadn't expected that answer. You were sure he would sacrifice anyone for Elena, the way she would for the people she loved. But he was willing to let Klaus live for you. "Thank you," you said. "But it doesn't change anything. I'm still done with you guys."

"I know," he said. "You're leaving."

"I am," you said. You began to turn away but stopped and turned your head to look at him. "To answer your question from before, no I'm not leaving with Klaus." You turned and sped away.

• • •

When you walked in, Klaus was standing by two coffins. You stopped beside him and looked down. You saw the dagger Klaus had probably pulled out of her. "Rebekah?"

"Seems my mother has been here longer than expected," Klaus said. He turned his head to the other coffin where his mother's body lay.

"Your trap failed, mother," Klaus walked over to his mother's coffin. "I live and I will go on living. Let your beloved spirits try to preserve you again. I dare you to come after me. I will build an army so big, no one will ever touch me. My survival will haunt you through eternity. You will never destroy me!"

You saw the tears welling in his eyes though his face was angry. You walked over to him and wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your cheek against his back. You more than anyone knew the pain in his heart. You had been there when they were humans, when you had seen how his mother had stood by and kept silent during the cruelty Mikael had bestowed on him. You had been there when the truth of his birth was revealed and his mother rejected him. You alone knew what had transpired that night he killed his mother. You knew the fear he still carried of her.

"At least it's over now," you whispered. "She can't hurt you anymore."

He embraced you tightly, tears cascading into your hair. It was as though he couldn't bear to release you, sensing the impending departure. Despite knowing you would leave soon, in that moment, you shared his anguish, allowing him to cling to you. Tomorrow, you would leave him, but tonight, you were determined to shield him from further pain.

• • •

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! I feel like some of the parts were rushed but this episode had sooooooo much lol I needed her to make up with Caroline sooooo bad because I love Caroline so much. Anyways! Hope you'll tell me your thoughts! Until next time!