Unbreak the Broken

Bleedin' Me Dry Like a Goddamn Vampire

This chapter was a pain to write, but I hope you enjoy.
Chapter title is a lyric from Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo

Flashback in italics marked by ***
Season 1: Episode 4

( Two Days Later - The day of the Founder's Party)

The Founder's Party was the last thing Caroline wanted to deal with. Her presence was expected, of course, but she knew who would be there. He would be there. Caroline could face the love of her former life, her dead best friend, and her mother, but Damon Salvatore might be her undoing. She'd learned how to cope with being around him after she'd become a vampire, but things were different now. He had yet to grow as a person at all, and Caroline had no way of defending herself against him.

She wore a yellow dress and her best smile. Caroline didn't want to go, but she needed to keep an eye on the supernatural goings on in Mystic Falls, and that meant keeping an eye on the resident vampires. Bonnie was her date to the function, and Caroline was happy that she didn't ditch her friend this time around.

It was a big day. Zach Salvatore would call her to strike a deal, or he wouldn't. Caroline decided that she would make good on her threat, in part at least, if he didn't make the right choice. She put that thought aside for the time being. Bonnie's car pulled into her driveway and Caroline went to greet her. She would play the night out very carefully.

She and Bonnie were a vision. The most lovely girls at the party, one in yellow and the other in red. They looked like autumn, like fire, like warmth. Why did Caroline feel so cold then? She knew in an instant. She felt his eyes on her when she stepped beyond the threshold. Damon had not forgotten their previous encounter, and they seemed due for a rematch soon. Carline hoped to avoid that rematch. She found him in the crowd and met his gaze evenly. She would not give him an opportunity tonight. Her gaze slipped to the girl next to him. Caroline knew her. Serena Hart was in the same class as her. She came from one of the oldest families in Mystic Falls and was Elena's neighbor across the street. She seemed almost dazed, her eyes glazed over like newly cut glass. Damon had his arm wrapped around her waist. He gave Caroline a predatory smile and walked his date across the dancefloor to antagonize Stefan.

It hadn't occurred to Caroline that Damon would find a different innocent girl to do his dirty work, but she wasn't surprised. A small part of her felt guilty, but that didn't last long. It wasn't her fault that Damon was a monster.

She'd have to add rescuing Serena from the elder Salvatore to her long list of tasks to complete in the near future. She watched as Serena led Stefan to the dance floor and went to grab Bonnie.

She found her best friend staring at a candle. Caroline watched it light on its own. It went out as Bonnie blinked. She watched from the shadows as Bonnie began to truly discover her powers. She would one day become one of the most powerful witches in the modern age. She left Bonnie, abandoning her plan to drag her to the dance floor. She needed to start her journey as a witch uninterrupted. It was part of the plan.

***

Bonnie looked at Caroline with a tired smile. They'd been working together with Kol to figure out his hairbrained time spell, and no one had gotten much rest.

"Caroline if this works," the witch started. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything, " she responded.

Bonnie took her by the hands. "I need you to put your Caroline-ness aside and not interfere."

"I'm going to need you to elaborate."

"You like projects, I know you do, and I was a mess when I first came into my powers. But you have to leave it alone, leave me alone." Caroline must have let the mild hurt and confusion show on her face, because Bonnie continued. "You have to let me make mistakes and figure out how to be a witch on my own. If you're there to guide me down the right path, I'll ask too many questions. If we want Kol's plan to work, I need you to keep me in the dark, even if it means letting me screw everything else up."

Caroline looked at her best friend solemnly. "Alright," she conceded. "I promise to let you do your baby witch thing and not interfere."

Bonnie's shoulders practically sagged in relief. Caroline could save Bonnie a lot of trouble by guiding her in the right direction at the start, but sticking to Kol's plan was more important. It was the only hope they had.

***

All she had to do was stick to the plan and not die along the way. Simple enough.

Stefan and Serena were standing by the champagne. It was odd knowing that another girl was basically living her life in her place, but Caroline could only pity her for her role as a puppet. She kept her eyes on the vampires for a little while longer, but had more pressing matters to attend to.

Caroline snuck upstairs. She had to go looking for a little while before she remembered where it was. She'd long grown out of her childish objection to theft, so Caroline didn't feel bad at all when she stole Emily's talisman. It belonged to the Bennet family and far out of Damon's reach.

Caroline wondered for a moment if she'd stolen enough magical relics for the evening. No, she decided, she had not. Poking around more wouldn't hurt, not when she knew that no one would catch her. Her mom had once, in her first life, told her the real reason for the Founder's events. This was when the Founder's Council got together. Most of their meetings were mundane, but Caroline would bet money that this meeting was very important. While the Founders focused on the vampire threat in the town, Caroline could hide in their shadows and work the bigger picture.

She didn't know the Lockwood mansion well, and she wasn't desperate enough to flirt with Tyler to find what she was looking for, but she knew that it was here. Somewhere, at least. The mayor had the moonstone somewhere in his home, and now was as good a time as any for Caroline to begin searching for it.

Caroline didn't find shit.

The false bottom she found in a desk revealed old documents and alcohol. Disappointing. A secret bookshelf door held a musty gun safe. Cliche and stupid. She even found a cutout behind an old painting, but that only hid cobwebs and the smell of failure. Caroline was a damn good detective. She knew she was. The amount of secret hiding places that she'd discovered already were proof enough of that. There was one room that she truly suspected would hide the moonstone, and it was the one she couldn't enter. The mayor's study. She'd watched her mom and Mrs. Lockwood lock themselves away inside, probably with a few other council members. That's where they were meeting to discuss the attacks.

Caroline abandoned the search. Bonnie had found her as she walked back downstairs. They'd laughed and gossiped for a little while longer before deciding that they wanted to go home. Bonnie was acting strange. Caroline knew that her friend was going through difficulties with her newfound powers, but she didn't pry. Caroline had her own issues to worry about, and Bonnie certainly wasn't sticking her nose into her business.

Bonnie dropped her off at home, and Caroline made her way upstairs. She made note in her notebooks of the night's events. She also added to her list of tasks that she needed to rescue Serena and maybe get her hands on the Gilbert watch-compass.

Caroline was tired, so tired. She fell back on her bed with a sigh, not bothering to change out of her dress. Her eyes felt heavy and her thoughts were getting foggier. She could feel herself dozing off when she jolted up. The sound of her phone ringing startled her from her near-sleep.

There was no caller ID, but she answered it anyway.

"Hello Ms. Forbes," a man said on the other end.

" Hello Zach."

A/N

I kept this one shot for funsies. Exam season just ended and I've been picking up more shifts at work.
I hope yo guys are having a good holiday season, whatever you may celebrate.

The votes are still pretty close between KolxCaroline and KlausxCaroline, but one is definitely pulling ahead.
You can also find this story cross-posted on AO3*