The One You Once Were

Another chance

"Please let me go!", the witch screamed as I once again held her over the edge of the high building.
"Not until you send me back!", I told her, playing with the veins underneath my eyes to look more intimidating.
"Silas will kill me if I do!", she pleaded.
"And I will finish that job before he does if you don't do as I say!", I threatened her. This girl didn't get it, did she? She wasn't sure about the lengths I was willing to take to save the big bad wolf. The person I loved.
She screamed again as I held her a bit lower so she could see how far down it went.
"Send. Me. Back!"
"No."
I held her out a bit more.
"What was that?", I asked again as she struggled, trying to get her feet onto the safe surface of the bulding's top. She coughed and fidgeted with my hand around her neck.
"Answer me!", I shouted, slowly losing my patience.
"Okay fine! I'll do it! I'll send you back, just let me go!", she finally gave in.
Satisfied, I pulled her back from the abyss and threw her onto the surface of the house. Relieved, she let out a sigh and took a deep breath if the air I was granting her to inhale again.
"Thank god.", she whispered and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm waiting."
She looked up at me, terror in her eyes. "I still need some things before I can-", she stopped when she saw my face change to a not so pleased structure and quickly continued before I could throw her down into her abyss, "Just candles! And my spell book! I should be able to do it with those things!"
"You have ten minutes, I'm going to accompany you the entire time, to ensure you don't pull some kind of weird stunt, you understand me?", I warned.
"Absolutely! Most definitely! Please, just don't hold me up over there again."
"That depends on how you behave.", I gave back. "Now, hurry up!"

The witch very quickly told me where to find the necessary things and I speeded there with her. I was kind of wondering how the others were dealing with Silas but it really didn't matter because when I would go back in time, none of this would've happened anyways. I would just have to ensure, I did not cause a time paradox. We carried her necessities back to my home because I guessed my friends wouldn't find me there as easily. After all, in their eyes it made no sense for me to come here.
"Is that all?", I questioned the witch impatiently as she set up the last candle.
"I just have to light them up, then we're ready to go.", the girl answered. If she was playing me, she would be dead in seconds, I hope she was aware of that.
"Can't you do that with your witch powers?"
She shook her head. "Doing it manually strengthens the bond between me and nature."
Right... totally made sense.
"You have one more minute.", I applied pressure to settle things faster.
Carefully, she lit up the candles one by one. Only six more left now.
"Caroline? Honey, are you home?"
Shoot, that was my mother.
"Not a word! And don't do anything stupid!", I warned the witch and left my room for a second.
"Mom, hey, you're home.", I greeted her with a smile.
"Yeah, sorry I took so long, it's just a lot of work, especially with all the new vampires in town.", she sighed and let herself drop onto our sofa. So she knew I was a vamp? "What about you? I thought you wanted to have dinner at Elena's?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Change of events...", I said.
"Really?", Mom frowned. "Come one, Caroline. I know you. What happened? Why isn't Tyler here?"
"Ty and I broke up... and I had a fight with the girls.", I put matters lightly.
"Oh. Why?"
"We had a disagreement on an event that mattered to me. I think I should do something specific and they want to stop me.", I explained.
Mom tilted her head, then offered me a kind smile. She put her hand on my knee and started to calmly put her opinion in words like she always did.
"The most important thing is if you yourself think it's the right thing to do. It's your life. And if you truly believe you know what should be done, then go for it. You always get to where you want. No matter what you do, I love you, sweetie. I'm sure you'll do the right thing."
I nodded slowly. This was exactly why I loved my mother so much. She always knew me best.
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.
"Who's there?", Mom wanted to know.  With a bad feeling in my gut, I stood up and vanished into my room to lock the door. The witch was actually still there and almost done finishing up.
"It's me, Bonnie.", my friend's voice spoke out at the other side of the door.
I heard my mother open the door and my friend entered. It wasn't just Bonnie as I could hear by the footsteps. This couldn't be good.
"We're here to see Caroline. Is she home?"
"Yes. She's in her room.", my Mom answered. I'm sure she meant well but I didn't want her to interrupt this. Bonnie carefully knocked at the door of my room.
"Go away!", I shouted. "You shouldn't be here!"
For a moment, there was silence. Then she made herself known once more.
"Care, please just open up!", she tried reaching out to me. "I get that this must be hard for you. Rebekah told me what happened. And I get it! But you can't just jump back in time, rescue him and come back!"
"Rescue who?", my mother asked confused but noone told her.
"Watch me.", I shot back instead. The witch was now finished with the candles.
"Well, I can't because the door is closed.", she joked. Very funny. "But seriously now, the reason he died in the first place won't disappear! You'd be stuck in a vicious cycle!"
"I'm ready.", the girl told me, disturbing my friend.
"Start chanting!", I ordered and heard Bonnie sigh outside.
"You may be right, Bonnie.", I said loudly. "But I don't care! I'll find a way to set it right! I always do! It's just, I can't live without him!"
The witch flipped for the page in her spellbook.
"Sure you can!", Bonnie now started yelling. "We'll help you! Your Mom, all of us, we'll be here for you."
"This world is wrong, Bon! And you might not know it but it has to change back!"
"I found it.", my hostage stated.
"Go on.", I ordered and she started reading.
From outside the door, more voices started to talk. I had been right, Bonnie wasn't alone.
"She won't listen.", that was Stefan.
"We have to stop her.", Tyler was there too.
"Damon, can you kick in the door.", even Elena. Gosh, why were they all against me?
"The door? But why would you-?", my mother was now completely confused.
"Hurry up!", I yelled at the witch and she nodded, starting to read faster.
With a loud crash, the door flew open and my friends made their way in.
"Stop!", Tyler yelled panicking. "You can't do this!"
Winds arose and the candles' flames burnt up, leaving me in a circle of a storm and fire.
"I'm sorry, Tyler, I really am! But overall, the other world is far better! You'll see!", I spoke loudly to be heard through the noises.
"Other world?", Mom looked startled.
"You're just being selfish!", Elena screamed, covering her face from the gust of wind.
"Oh, shut up!", I yelled back. "You don't know anything! Besides, Jenna died here anyways! What do you care?"
"But you do?", Damon shouted. "How can you be sure, nothing worse can happen?"
I couldn't. But I had faith in it. In Klaus.
"Jenna is dead?!", Mom gasped.
"I'll just have to have it under control! I'm a control freak remember?", I gave as an answer.
"Stop the chanting!", Tyler meanwhile made his way to the witch. But I knew the words. She was almost done.
"I'm sorry!", I shouted again.
"Caroline!?", my mother reached out to me.
"Goodbye!"
A flash, an impulse going through my body and then: blackness.

"Caroline? Wake up!", Ayana shook me awake. Where was I? Carefully, I took a look around.
"We have to prepare you for the ritual.", the witch informed me, smiling.
"Ritual?", still confused, I got into a sitting position.
"To send you home?", she reminded me.
"Oh... right."
Would it be best to return home now? No, I couldn't. If the ritual went through as planned, I'd forget all of this ever happened. But I couldn't really back out of this now, could I?
"What are you wearing?", the witch eyed me. I was still in my ordinary clothes from the future.
"I changed back into my normal clothes. But you're right, I should get back to the dress I had on previously.", I chuckled and rushed to put on the different dress.
"Before we get started, there is some information you need to know.", Ayana started. I already knew all that and wasn't really up to hearing it again.
"You already told me about all this.", I lied. Though, was it really a lie if in my mind, she really had done it already?
"I have?", she sounded a bit perplex and I nodded.
"Before I went to sleep. You told me how I was to stay by your side and we have to wait and all those things."
She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if you say so, I guess it must be true."
I nodded.
"Then we are just going to wait here.", she said. I didn't really pay that much attention. There was something, I was waiting for desperately. Klaus' face had by now entirely left my mind and I needed to see him again. Nervously tapping my foot on the floor, I couldn't seem to find a calm state of mind. I was way too worked up for that. When someone finally knocked at the door, I shot up immediately while Ayana opened to wooden blank.
"Niklaus, what are you doing here?"
He was here! Right there, seconds away from me.
"Can I see Caroline, please? I know, she's here. I only want to talk.", his voice sounded calm.
Ayana turned to face me but I was already next to her.
"I'll be fine. Can you give us some privacy? Thanks!", I hurried to say.
"Of course.", the witch turned around and stepped inside, leaving me outside with Klaus. I quickly shut the door and looked up. There he stood, beautiful as ever. As soon as I saw his face, it felt like it had never been gone in the first place. What a wonderful sight.
"Klaus.", I brought out quietly.
He hurried to take my hands in his. The touch set my heart on fire and I had to be careful not to shed tears. I had lost him too many times lately.
"I am so sorry for my reaction yesterday, I was being dramatic. I do not want you to part like this. We shall see each other again in the future, right? At some point. I believe in it.", he tried explaining himself.
"It's okay!", I intertwined our hands, which clearly cought him off-guard. "I know you'll always care for me! So will I! And I will never forget you!"
A smiled spread across his face. "You won't?"
"How could I? You're such an incredible person, you'll forver be in my heart.", I said, not wanting to let go of him. Last time, this was the point I had said goodbye. This wasn't exactly what I wanted to do now.
"Caroline...", he seemed like he was unsure what to do now but I knew what he wanted. He had done it the last time. As if we both had the same thought at the same moment, we leaned in and our lips crashed together. How I had missed him. How I loved him. So very much.