Disclamer : I own nothing.

Warning : the second (and possibly the third) part of this OS will contain Mature themes.

Pairing : mainly Stefan/Caroline romance, Damon/Caroline friendship.

A/N : If you want me to carry on with this, let me know. It'll be a little different from what I've published before, a little darker. I appreciate reviews, comments and criticism all the same. Love y'all - M.

Beauty in the Dark (1/3)

Caroline's personal Hell had a name – Lord Niklaus. Who did he think he was, showing up and wreaking havoc on her life like this? She had never even laid eyes on him properly and yet, he was pulling at all the strings, and every day brought its share of new Klaus-related problems to solve. He had already turned her best friend into a "ripper" and now Tyler was happily sired to him? She was nothing short of fed up with this hybrid business.

She couldn't help but notice that she was carefully left out of every defining moment - the sacrifice, Prank Night, Homecoming. She had never directly spoken to Klaus, and that was a real shame. She would have given him a piece of her mind, even though that might have resulted in her head being ripped off her body. Everybody was constantly trying to protect her, and although she appreciated it, she could not tolerate it any longer.

When she finally got Bonnie to explain what had happened at the Lockwood's that night, it became crystal clear to Caroline that as long as she stayed in Mystic Falls, she would always be a spectator of her own life. Her friends would always look at her like a bright and bubbly blonde who needed protection and she would always be left out of the plans. Because she was not trusted enough, not strong enough, or even not smart enough. It had to stop.

Caroline knew enough about Klaus to fear retaliation. Even if the death of his father had put him in a sufficiently good mood to spare Damon's life, the mercy wouldn't last. He would come for them all: Katherine, Bonnie and Damon, for trying to kill him. As for Stefan, well, he was free of Klaus' compulsion, but he was gone. Bonnie didn't know where to, and after his latest defection, Elena was apparently ready to let him go.

Well, she was not. After she hung up with Bonnie, she suddenly decided that she would bring Stefan back, at any cost. Unlike Elena, Caroline was not fooling herself into believing that she could turn him back to the Stefan she knew and loved. She knew he was broken and she knew it would take decades to fix him but she was a vampire, she had time. She would go wherever, do whatever, and be whoever it took to make him care again.

She packed frantically and drove straight to the boarding house after she texted him, of all people.

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"Damon," she acknowledged when he got into her car. "Thanks for coming."

She was all ready to go. It seemed right to tell him that she was leaving. She was determinate, but not strong enough to face her mother, or Bonnie and Elena. She knew Damon wouldn't try to hold her back.

"Going somewhere?" he said, gesturing to the four bags she had set on the back seats.

"I'm leaving town."

Caroline didn't elaborate. Damon had never cared much about what she did as long as she stayed out of his hair, and there was no reason for that to change now.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it," she said absentmindedly. "Just came to say goodbye."

"You're sneaking out. Where to?"

She stayed silent. He grabbed her arm roughly.

"I've had a really bad evening, okay? I don't have time for this. Where are you going?" he repeated, detaching every word.

Again, she said nothing.

"Caroline," he growled. "Don't make me ask again."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She had not planned to tell him anything – just goodbye. She tried to come up with a plausible excuse, but she had never been able to lie to him. Despite the fact that their recent confrontation had led to a victory on her part, she still felt like Damon was in position of authority. He was her Sire.

"I'm going to Chicago. To get Stefan back," she just said; Damon laughed.

"The way I see it, Stefan doesn't want to be saved."

"Yeah, and the way I see it, you and Elena are too busy losing yourselves in each other's eyes to do something about it."

He looked as though she had just slapped him. His jaw clenched and he glared at her, upset that she didn't look down. Even though it took all of his willpower to hold back, he would never do that to Stefan – act on his feelings for Elena while his brother was out there being a monster because he had taken upon himself to repeatedly save his life. Elena said Stefan would come back because he loved Damon more than he loved her – well, it was also true that Damon loved Stefan more than he loved Elena.

"There's nothing we can do until he's decided to care again," he just mumbled.

"I'll make him," she said stubbornly. "I'll fix him for you, Damon. And for me. For Elena."

Damon sighed.

"You'll have to stop Bonnie from coming after me," she said. "And you have to make sure they don't look for me - for us. I'll keep in touch – but only with you. I – they wouldn't understand."

After a few more minutes, Damon motioned to get out of the car.

"Promise me you'll be careful, Caroline. Text, call or email me every day."

"I will."

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In Chicago, Stefan tried to scare her away.

Caroline double checked the post-it on which Damon had scribbled Stefan's address. She stared at the door, painfully aware that, the minute she'd push it, everything would be different. She would have to be different. But she had made the decision. No going back.

She exhaled deeply, pushed the door open and peered inside. The room was dimly lit, and her eyes instantly adapted; she frowned when she found several caskets in what she assumed was the living room. She could smell Stefan's cologne all over the place – it was the right place.

"You've got to be kidding me," she whispered to herself.

"Right back at ya," Stefan snapped.

Caroline jumped and slammed the door behind her. Stefan was sitting in a chair in the far right-hand of the room, a glass of Bourbon in his hand. She cursed herself for not sensing his presence before – her plan relied on her being able to make a strong impression from the first second.

The oh-so-annoying Rebekah crossed her mind and she mimicked the blonde's posture: back arched, hands on the hips, head slightly tilted and pouting lips. Caroline Forbes was one Hell of an actress and she was about to give Stefan her very best performance. Hell, she'd deserve a Golden Globe for that one.

"All this drive from Mystic Falls and you're not even going to offer me a drink before we start antagonizing each other?"

"Where are my manners?" he said ironically. "Please, help yourself," he said, motioning to the cupboard where the glasses were kept.

She made her heels click on the wooden floor and reached for a glass. It went to shatter on the floor when Stefan sped behind her back and pinned her against the wall, his hand closing tightly around her throat.

Caroline smirked – she had seen that one coming. She had fed heartily just before she got out of the car.

Quirking a perfect eyebrow at him, she deliberately took her time to remove his hand, careful to apply pressure until she heard bones cracking. Stefan's eyes widened in surprise and before he could say a word, she had him pinned against the opposite wall.

"So predictable," she sighed. "And definitely rude."

She threw her arm in front of her and was rewarded by a groan of pain when a stake tore into his side. He fell, trying to catch his breath. He nodded his head bitterly and noticed how easy it was for girls these days to have him on his knees.

"Did Alaric teach this to all the damsels in distress of Mystic Falls?" he said.

She laughed and turned to retrieve another glass from the cupboard. She opened the freezer to fetch some ice cubes and went to sit on the couch/bed, waiting for him to recover. With a grunt, he extracted the stake from his stomach. She nonchalantly tugged a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, poured herself a glass of Bourbon and crossed her legs.

Inside, she was everything but nonchalant.

"So, now that we gave each other a proper greeting 'vampire style'," she said in the most casual tone she could muster. "What are those caskets?"

"I'd say it's none of your business, Blondie."

Stefan clearly didn't feel threatened by her presence, despite what had just happened; it merely amused him to see her, of all people, sitting in his apartment like she owned the place. His eyes travelled down her body, and he noticed that she had dressed up for the occasion. He wondered what the occasion was, actually.

"Lose the attitude, Stefan," she snapped. "Damon was always better at the nickname thing."

He smoothed his shirt and leaned against the wall, folding his arms against his chest. She took a sip from her drink, simply to go along with her act. It occupied her hands and partially hid the tense expression of her face. She enjoyed the sensation of the alcohol burning down her throat.

"What are you doing here, Caroline?" he said.

"What are we doing with a family of dead Originals?" she fired back.

Stefan silently shook with a small laugh. Caroline had always amused him; she, contrary to everybody in Mystic Falls, called a spade a spade. He liked that she was blunt and that she could always see the good side of a situation. She was quite witty and for one second, he analyzed her use of the pronoun "we".

She would certainly keep him entertained. But he couldn't risk it.

"There is no 'we'. Now, do I have to escort you out?"

"Oh no, I'm staying," she shrugged with a bright smile. "Your snarky remarks aren't going to scare me away."

"Because you 'know it's not the real me talking'?" he mocked.

She swallowed her drink and smiled.

"I'm not Elena, Stefan," she spat. "I got over the fact that you're now a first-rate jackass slash maniacal killer slash blood addict. I am not here to change you, because I know that the Stefan who promised he'd never let anything happen to me was too good to be true. Nobody is that selfless. Not to mention, he was a bore."

Stefan smiled. She had a point, there.

"So you're here because you need tutoring to embrace your dark side and everyone's too busy worrying about Elena to notice your existential crisis?"

"I'm here because I'm seriously pissed at your BFF, the hybrid asshole. And something," she said, motioning to the caskets, "tells me you are, too. We both need a partner in crime."

Caroline internally congratulated herself when she perceived a slight hesitation across his face.

"Why would I believe you?" he asked. "How do I know this is not another intervention you've staged with Elena and Damon?"

Caroline got to her feet and closed the gap between them. This was the defining moment.

"Klaus took everything away from me," she said in a low, spiteful voice. "May I remind you that he's the reason why Katherine smothered me with a pillow and turned me into a vampire? He took you away from me and he turned my boyfriend, who is now my ex-boyfriend, into a sired pet who puts his master's needs before his own – and before mine! Not to mention that he has tried to kill all of us several times, now. Do you seriously think I'll let him get away with this?"

She exhaled deeply. It had been a while since she had properly vented, and she immediately felt better. However, when Stefan stayed silent, she almost faltered. Was he going to call her bluff? Damn those Salvatore boys and their intuition when it came to her lies, she thought.

Stefan paused. Caroline was too closely linked to his old life; she used to be his friend, his protégée. She projected the image of someone he knew he could never be anymore and the sight of her made him uncomfortable. But he knew her; she wouldn't leave unless she decided to, and he didn't want to end her. And so, with an internal smirk, he figured he had ways to make her decide to leave.

"You can't handle this," he stated, aware that this argument would only make her want to stay more. "There's a reason why Damon calls you Vampire Barbie."

"There's a reason he stopped calling me that," she beamed. "You've been gone for a while, Stefan. I'm not the Caroline you used to know anymore."

He slowly strode to the coffee table and grabbed his drink, as well as Caroline's. He gave it to her and clinked his glass with hers.

"We'll see about that," he said with a smirk. "To revenge, then."

She winked at him, burying the remaining doubts she had. He was making it easy for her.

"To revenge."

In Chicago, she fooled him.