Hey lovely people :) Just a quick chapter update as a way of saying a huge thank you to all you readers, followers, favourit(ers) and reviewers :) You guys really make my day when you read, favourite, follow and review and it really makes me eager to update!

This (rather short) chapter has been playing on my mind recently and I finally put down in words. I'm sorry if it makes any of you guys want to throttle me by the end of it - I promise I'll make it up to you! ;)

Again, please note that I'm not fully sticking to the show's storyline.

Enjoy lovelies :)

The Devil In Me

The annoying ringing from the alarm clock woke Caroline out of her slumber. She jerked out her arm and yanked the alarm off her bedside table, nearly sending the thing across to the other side of the room. She was still pretty angry after last night and she hadn't succeeded in getting away from all the angst and hurt that was inside of her. And she couldn't stop thinking about Tyler either.

She grumbled, pushing the covers away from her and sat up in her bed. The morning sun crept in on her through her light curtains. Normally, the sun made her happy, made her think positively of a brand new day and the adventures it held. But not today. She grumbled again, fumbling around for her phone. Just as she did, it rang, making it easier for her to find under her pillow. She pulled it up to find Elena calling her.

"Hello" she answered in a croaky voice.

"Hey" Elena answered, "are you okay? You sound…weird". Caroline rubbed her eyes, before clearing her throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just couldn't sleep." She remembered that the last time she'd seen Elena was back at the dance, before Klaus made an appearance and ruined the night. Did Elena see their heated argument? Actually, where had she disappeared to last night? And what the hell was she doing calling her at six am in the morning?

"Wait a minute, what are you doing up this early?" Caroline asked, standing up from her bed and making her way to her dressing table. She looked at herself in the mirror and cringed; she looked like hell. The dark, tear-stricken eyes paid her another visit again after she left Tyler another pleading message to return home last night. She didn't know why she botheresd, it had been weeks. He had probably dumped the phone godknows where by now.

"Erm, yeah, about that," Elena hesitated, Caroline's eyes widened. This didn't sound good. "We're with Shane. We're going to the island to go find the cu-"

"Wait, what?" Caroline half-shrieked. "Who's we?" she asked, alarmed.

"Erm, me, Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Rebekah, Jeremy and Shane" Elena answered, feeling a twinge of guilt for not telling Caroline beforehand.

Caroline's jaw-dropped. Did anyone tell her anything these days? "Well thanks for the invite." she scolded, getting up and heading for her bathroom.

"I'm sorry Care. It was sort of a last minute thing and then with what happened last night-"

"Wait, what happened last night?" Caroline interjected again. God, how much had I missed last night? Was I actually in the loop anymore?

She place her phone on loudspeaker and began going through her morning routine.

"Well that's the thing. We came up with a plan on how to get rid of Kol and finish Jeremy's tattoo." Elena stated.

Caroline froze in the middle of tying her messy hair into a pony-tail. She half-guessed what Elena was about to say after piecing up everything. They were heading to the island, following Shane's lead. But that would mean Jeremy's tattoo must have been completed. But in order for that to be completed he had to…

"Wait a minute, are you telling me that... that Kol's dead?" Caroline asked, shock overwhelming her.

"Yeah" Elena answered, "You sound like you actually care that he's dead" she added.

Caroline let out a sigh of relief.

"No, of course I don't care. I mean, it completed Jeremy's tattoo which means we're one step closer to the cure." Caroline stated, turning the tap on and letting the water run through her fingers.

"I know," Caroline could hear Elena smile on the other side of the phone. "I just hope Shane can lead us to it".

"I'm sure with the help of Bonnie, he will." Caroline said enthusiastically with a sigh. A small smile appeared across her face but last night's confrontation with Klaus was still replaying at the back of her mind, putting a downer on her mood swing.

"Wait!" Caroline came up short, "What about Klaus? What if he finds out about-"

This time Elena interrupted Caroline. "He already does". Caroline's eyes fixated on her reflection. A million questions went through her mind. He must be royally pissed off, angry, vengeful...

Carolien let out a dismantled sigh and dropped her head into the sink, letting the water soothe her skin, her tired, burning eyes. But that wasn't before she heard Elena's following words.

"That's where you come in Care".

"What!?" Caroline shrieked, flinching from the water instantly, gasping. She grabbed the towel from her side and tapped her face dry.

"What d'you mean that's where I come in? I'm not going anywhere near him." She half-spat. Elena was taken by Caroline's reaction; sure, what she was about to ask wasn't really what she wanted to do. Caroline had tried to avoid Klaus at all costs over the past few weeks. But she had no other choice. She couldn't leave Matt alone.

"Please Care. He won't hurt you. He can't – Bonnie cast a spell on him last night and trapped him – in my living room." Elena added, causing Caroline's forehead to crease and eyes to widen further.

"What?!" was all Caroline managed. God, was she really living udner a stone or something that her so-called friends forgot to keep her in the loop?

"After the decade dance last night, Kol showed up at ours and we had to take the opportunity. So Jeremy staked him." Elena paused, "But coincidently, Klaus happened to be standing at the door when Jeremy staked him; he saw everything and he wasn't happy" Caroline let out another sigh, imagining the anger and rage plastered on his face. He must have passed by the Gilbert house after their confrontation at the school.

"He was really angry. But then Bonnie turned up and she managed to trap him. And that's where he now - with Matt." Elena finished.

Caroline tidied the mini-mess she made up as she spoke. "And you want me to baby sit him?" she guessed.

"Please Care, we'll be back soon".

Caroline took a deep breath. "Fine." she replied, regretting it immediately. But what more could she do? Her friends needed her. "Just get back soon before god only knows what happens" she cried.

Elena laughed once, "Thanks Care".

She hung up and looked at herself in the mirror.

What was she about to let herself in for? She'd said everything she wanted to say to him and more last night. Frankly, she didn't want to see his face, ever again. But she had to.

But that didn't mean they had to exchange words. She hoped he'd be so royally pissed off that he wouldn't make conversation.

She got dressed quickly, pulling on some leggings, boots, a long top and her jacket. She pulled her bag off the table as she left the house. Pushing her key into the ignition, she took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing" she said to herself quietly as she pulled up at the Gilbert's. She didn't know why she dreaded it so much. After all, she'd been in his company several times before. The only difference was that this time, she was imminently more disgusted by him, and he was well aware of that. She guessed a part of her was scared of what he might be capable of. But wasn't she always? It was Klaus after all, the ancient original with the ability to massacre an entire town in a heartbeat. She wondered what happened to his victim last night and shuddered at the thought. There's nothing to be afraid of, she told herself, if it all goes sour, I'm not going down with a fight.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Matt asked as she walked in through the back door.

"I've come to relieve you of your duties" she replied with a small smile. She hadn't seen Matt in a while; the familiar face brought back her human memories.

She heard slow footsteps creep up behind her. She didn't have to turn to know who it was.

"Hello Caroline" he said in a small voice. She glanced back, composing and keeping her face calm, not letting the sight of him get to her. Her eyes met his and a pang of guilt went through her. He looked… sad.

For Klaus, seeing her face at this moment in time was what he needed to distract him from the decaying corpse of his brother across the room.

He watched longingly as she turned her head back to Matt. He had to admit, he didn't know why the simple movement of her looking away from him affected him so much.

"You should go," she said to Matt, walking up to the counter, "I'll stay here" she finished, focusing her eyes on the counter top.

Matt shrugged, "Nah I think I'll stay here" his eyes shot to Klaus, "I owe it to Tyler to watch him suffer". Caroline was surprised at Matt's reaction. "After all, he did ruin his life" he finished, wiping his hands.

His eyes met Caroline's again and softened lightly.

"Fine." Caroline said, glancing around. "You can help me clear up. This place is a disaster." she commented, looking around. She walked over to the other side of the counter, ignoring Klaus' gaze on her. She pulled out cartons of bleach and a roll of bin liners. "We can start with the horrific burnt corpse over there," she pointed, standing back up and folding out a throw. Matt helped her open it up and laid it on top of the remnants of Kol. Klaus just watched, as the corpse of his brother lay under the green sheet.

He held back the anger and rage that threatened to consume him and just sighed, avoiding the twingeing sparks in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but no words escaped for a few seconds.

"Tyler's mother is dead" Klaus finally spoke slowly. Caroline didn't look at him and instead just watched Matt turn around to hear what the monster was about to say. "So is my brother" he continued and this time, Caroline met his eyes. They were focused on her, as though he was only speaking to her. "We're even".

He lightened up, stepping closer. "Call Bonnie" he urged her, "Get her to let me out of here" he finished, hoping she would just listen to him, just this once.

She put her hands on her hips, a disgusted smile on her lips as she let out a huff. You gotta be kidding me, she thought as she took in his appearance; he waited for her response with wide eyes. "I will never, ever help you" she spat.

Matt's eyes glanced at them both.

"How quickly you forget that I saved Tyler from the misery of being a werewolf. Or how I saved you from that fatal bite after your mother's pleas. Or how I forgave you and all your friends after all your pathetic attempts to get rid of me." he asked, not raising his voice but saying it with enough intent.

"God, how delusional are you? You killed Tyler's mother. You killed Jenna, you made Tyler bite me and let's not forget how many other innocent lives you killed or hurt in order to get what you wanted. You know what? No," she caught herself, looking away, "I am not going to stoop to your level and engage in this" she paused, looking back at Matt. "We have better things to do." she said, looking down at Klaus.

She grabbed her jacket from the counter "C'mon Matt." she called, rushing for the door.

"Wait," he called but she didn't. "Go to hell Klaus" she spat back, glancing back, trying to see why Matt wasn't right behind her.

Matt grabbed his jacket and walked round the counter, aiming for the door.

But then Klaus flipped the switch for a moment, letting his inner demons take over. It was a releif, giving in to the emotions that consumed him.

He grabbed the old oak coat hanger from the corner of his trapped surroundings so quick that Caroline missed it with a blink. Without a second thought of the repercussions of his actions, he pierced it like a dagger into Matt's torso, taking him completely off guard. A sharp, loud scream of agony echoed through the entire house as Klaus pulled the coat hanger into his seclusion, along with Matt hanging at the tip of it.

"NO!" Caroline shrieked, instantly in front of him, trying to reach Matt but she just wasn't quick enough.

Klaus pulled Matt off the hanger as though he was nothing but a piece of meat on a skewer, pulling him up to look at his agonised face. A huge grin plastered Klaus' face; he was surely pleased with his actions. He let go of Matt, watching him fall to the ground, blood splurging from the gaping hole in his chest.

Caroline couldn't believe her eyes. Tears strolled out of them as she met Matt's struggling, helpless ones on the ground. She didn't know how to help him. Her heart was racing; she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears.

She slowly peeled her eyes away from Matt's, looking at the dark, cold ones that looked back at her. He flashed her a dashing, mesmerizingly menacing smile.

She couldn't find the words to speak. She couldn't find her heartbeat. All she could do was stare back at the beautiful devil that stood before her.

To be continued...

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