11. Our Town

At exactly 12am, Caroline used the key she took from her mom to unlock her sister's room, she slowly opened the door and peeked inside, only to see her sister laying on her bed and scrolling through her phone.

"You know, you could have just knocked" Lily said, without lifting her eyes from her phone.

"Would you have opened the door?" Caroline asked, entering her sister's room and then closing the door behind her, all while hiding something behind her back.

"Since I know what you're here for, no, I wouldn't have" Lily replied.

"Which is why I didn't knock" Caroline said, sitting on her sister's bed, "Come on Lily, this year I bought your favorite flavor".

Lily sighed, she knew her sister was way too stubborn, and until Lily gave in she wasn't going to leave, so after placing her phone on her side table, Lily sat up on her bed, "Show".

Caroline smiled and showed Lily the chocolate cupcake she was hiding behind her back, a cupcake that had two candles on it.

Lily shook her head at her sister, "Caroline, you do realise today isn't my birthday, right?".

"You do realise I don't care, right?" Caroline retorted.

"When we were little you used to hate sharing your birthday with me" Lily reminded.

"That was the old Caroline, this new Caroline will like nothing more then to share her eighteenth birthday with her sister" Caroline said, "I know we're not twins, and I also know technically we don't know when you're birthday is because--".

"Because the people who could have told us are dead" Lily stated.

"That" Caroline said, "But that doesn't mean you don't get a birthday, this year and every other year after this, I want us to share the same birthday".

"What changed?" a confused Lily asked, "When we were five and you first found out that technically this wasn't my birthday, you threw a whole tantrum on how I wasn't allowed to cut the same cake as yours".

A guilty look came on Caroline's face, "I'm so sorry Lils, I know I haven't been the best sister but I swear I'm trying to change".

"But that's the thing Caroline, I don't need you to change" Lily said, "I love you either way".

"But I need me to change" Caroline stated, "You deserve a better sister, I need to do better before someone steals you from me".

"Someone like Rebekah?" Lily asked, giving her sister a knowing look.

"Yeap" Caroline confirmed, "And look, human Caroline and Lily were very complicated, they took each other for granted but vampire Caroline and werewolf Lily aren't going to do that, especially since neither of us know what the future holds for us".

"Who knew getting murdered will make my sister so mature" Lily teased.

"Shut it" Caroline laughed, "I'm just saying, we need to start appreciating each other more".

"But I've always appreciated you" Lily reminded.

"I know, and now it's my turn to do the same" Caroline said, "So go on, blow the candle, but first don't forget to make a wish".

"Fine" Lily said, finally giving in, she closed her eyes and wish that her sister got everything she wanted in life, she then opened her eyes and blew out one of the candles, "Your turn".

Caroline smiled at her sister, she closed her eyes and wished that her sister finds all the happiness in the world and then blew her candle out.

"Happy birthday, Lils" Caroline said, pulling her sister into a tight hug.

"Happy birthday, Caroline" Lily whispered into the hug.

***

Klaus closed the casket he placed his sister in, "Sweet dreams, Rebekah" he whispered, a glass of wine in his hand, he then turned to one of his hybrid, "Show her to her room, would you, love?".

"Sure" the hybrid said, wheeling Rebekah away.

"I can't stay too long" Lily said, entering the room, "I have a whole lot of people I have to avoid and I can only do that if I'm locked in my room".

"And why are you avoiding people?" an amused Klaus asked.

"Because they're gonna wish me happy birthday and then they're gonna want to celebrate my birthday with me and honestly I couldn't think of anything worse then celebrating my birthday with people who I could care less about and about people who could care less about me" Lily ranted.

"Today is your birthday?" Klaus asked.

"Yeap" Lily confirmed, "Officially eighteen".

"You didn't tell me" Klaus stated.

"Because I don't care for it, it's not actually my birthday" Lily explained, making Klaus look at her in confusion, "My mother, Liz, she found me on the border of Mystic Falls, with no name, no identity, no birth date, all she knew was that I looked around the same age as her newborn daughter Caroline so that's why she not only gave me a name but she also gave me a birthday, making me Caroline's unofficial twin".

"She seems like a great mother" Klaus commented.

A small smile formed on Lily's face, "She's the best".

"Then why don't you like celebrating the birthday your mother gave you?" a curious Klaus asked.

Lily sighed, "Because it's not really mine" she whispered, "Today is Caroline's day, not mine, I don't know when I was born, but I do know I don't want to take this day from my sister".

"Does your sister feel the same way?" Klaus asked.

"She used to" Lily admitted, "But then we grew up, she died and became a vampire and I turned into a werewolf and all of a sudden sharing a birthday with me seemed the least of her worries".

"But you still remember the Caroline who didn't like sharing this day with you" Klaus realised.

"Sometimes it's hard to let go" Lily whispered.

"I know" Klaus whispered, making Lily look at him, realising he was right, no one better then him knew how hard it was sometimes to let go of the past.

"Aww, what a heart touching exchange".

Lily sighed while Klaus groaned in annoyance in hearing the familiar voice.

"You really have the worse timings, Stefan" Klaus said, as he and Lily turned around and faced the youngest Salvatore, "I'm surprised you're still in town, I gave you your freedom, you could've gone anywhere".

"I live here, Klaus" Stefan reminded.

"Well, if we're playing this game, then I was here first" Klaus retorted.

"You know, I don't like your hybrid friends" Stefan stated, as Lily poured herself a drink, knowing this exchange was going to last a while, both Klaus and Stefan were too stubborn to back down, "They're everywhere, kind of like fleas, I want them gone".

"Yeah, well, I kind of like having them around" Klaus said, "You know, I'm hurt, I hoped that I'd free you and we'd pick up where we left off, but here you are guzzling vervain like the rest of them, I'm sure, so much for friendship".

"Friends don't strip friends of their free will" Stefan said.

"Okay, granted, yeah, that was a little extreme" Klaus admitted, "I get a little moody, just ask my siblings, speaking of whom, isn't it time you handed them over?".

Stefan took a step towards Klaus, "Klaus, get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls or I will remove them myself".

"Hmm, you see, if you continue to threaten me, I'm gonna be forced to retaliate" Klaus stated, "Kill people, and it'll get messy again".

Stefan shrugged, "Do whatever you want, I don't really care" he said, "Or you know what? Maybe I do, yeah, yeah, maybe I care so much that I drop Elijah in the Arctic".

"Well, maybe I'd be willing to lose one brother if it meant killing yours" Klaus said, letting Stefan know if any of his siblings were harmed, Stefan's brother wouldn't survive either.

"Try me, let's find out" Stefan challenged, making Klaus chuckle and Lily shake her head.

"Is everything okay?" one of Klaus's hybrids asked, entering the room after putting Rebekah away.

"Everything's fine, Mindy" Klaus assured, "Stefan was just leaving after failing to make his point".

Stefan looked at Klaus for a moment, the next second he grabbed a saw blade that was placed on the table and used it to cut Mindy's head off.

"Oh my god" a shocked Lily whispered, really not expecting Stefan to do that.

Stefan turned to a equally shocked Klaus, "Well, one down" he said, "You may want to send the rest of them away before it gets messy, again".

Once Stefan had walked away, Lily looked at Klaus, "You're going to retaliate, aren't you?".

"What do you think?" Klaus asked.

"Look, I know I can't stop you, you're too stubborn to listen to anyone but yourself, just can you do me one favor?" Lily asked.

"What?" a curios Klaus asked.

"Keep my family out of this" Lily said, "I can forgive you for a lot of things Klaus, but if my family gets hurt in this war between you and Stefan, I won't be able to forgive either of you".

Klaus nodded his head in understanding, "Fine, your sister and mother will come to no harm, but I can't say that about the rest of Mystic Falls".

"I know" a worried Lily said, wondering how many people were about to get hurt because of the war between the two vampires.

***

Damon entered the founder's charity event, where he saw Klaus talking with Carol Lockwood.

"You know, when I think of a mayor, I think of an old fuddy-duddy" Klaus told Carol, "But you really have changed my perception".

"Thank you" Carol laughed.

"I mean you are just amazing, what color are your eyes?" Klaus asked.

"They're blue" Carol replied.

Seeing Carol gushing over Klaus, caused Damon to roll his eyes and walk over to the duo, "Look at what the cat dragged in" he said, "Nice vest".

"Thank you very much, good to see you, Damon" Klaus said, Damon gave him a forced smile, "Uh, Carol and I were just discussing whether you would be tonight's other big benefactor".

"What do you say, Damon?" Carol asked, "Klaus has made a very generous pledge, you know how we're comping at the bit to begin the renovation".

"Carol, don't take this the wrong way but do you realize you've been kissing the ass of an immortal hybrid who ruined your son's life?" Damon asked.

"Oh come now, some might say I saved it what with that nasty full moon business" Klaus defended, he turned to Carol, "I never had to go through it myself more than twice, to be honest but still, I'm very sympathetic".

Carol nodded her head in understanding, she then turned to Damon, "Klaus has promised to protect Tyler, Damon" she said, "And our town".

"From who?" an annoyed Damon asked, "His hybrids are the ones this town needs protection from".

"Well, I'd have no use for them if your brother would kindly return my family" Klaus retorted.

"Not gonna happen" Damon stated.

"That's what I thought, which is why I've come to an agreement with the mayor" Klaus informed, "You and the council stay out of my hair, I'll stay out of yours, your town gets protected, my hybrids get left alone, and everybody will be happy, all you have to do is to get Stefan to stop decapitating my friends".

"Please, Damon, just get your brother under control or the council will be forced to take action against him" Carol warned.

"You've gotta be kidding me" a furious Damon said.

"Oh, come on, mate" Klaus said, a smug look on his face, "Give peace a chance".

***

After her talk with Klaus, Lily decided to spend the rest of her night holed up in her room, rejecting her sister's plea to meet up with her and her friends at the cemetery, she knew that though her sister will be happy seeing her, her friends will have a whole different reaction if she crashed their party, and honestly, Lily was in no mood to argue or defend her actions to anyone tonight.

As Lily walked up to her front door, she started rummaging through her bag, trying to find her keys.

"Oh please don't tell me I left my keys at Klaus's" Lily mumbled to herself, trying to find her house keys in her very unorganized bag.

While Lily was going through her bag, trying to find her keys so she can go inside her house and sleep the night away, she failed to see the youngest Salvatore sneak up behind her, by the time Lily realised there was someone behind her, it was too late as Stefan had injected her with wolfsbane, causing the Forbes werewolf to go limp in his arms and making it easier for him to take her away.

***

Lily groaned and slowly opened her eyes, her head felt heavy and her body really weak because of the amount of wolfsbane Stefan had injected in her.

Once Lily's eyes had adjusted and she could see clearly, she realised she was in someone's car, looking to her side, Lily realised she was in Stefan's car.

"What the hell are you doing?" an annoyed Lily asked, this is not how she wanted to spend her night.

 Stefan ignored Lily's question and kept driving down the empty and dark road.

"Hello?!" Lily called out, "Anyone home?!".

"No" Stefan replied simply.

"Have you lost the plot?!" Lily asked, "Why are you kidnapping me for?".

Before Stefan could say anything to the werewolf, his phone interrupted their conversation.

"Hello, Damon" Stefan greeted, answering his phone, "I'm a little busy right now with Lily".

"Why the hell is Lily with you?" a confused Damon asked.

"Making my next move" Stefan informed, "Let me ask you something, who will Klaus choose, his hybrids or the girl who went against everyone and saved his life?".

"Excuse me?" a shocked Lily asked, not wanting to believe that Klaus was right, Stefan was using her for his revenge against Klaus.

"Stefan, leave her out of this" Damon warned, Damon didn't want Lily hurt because he cared about her, but he knew, that once his brother came back, what he did to his best friend, that guilt will haunt his brother forever, something he didn't want.

Stefan ignored his brother's warning and hanged the phone up on him and then threw his phone at the backseat of the car.

"Stefan, stop this damn car!" a furious Lily demanded, but Stefan completely ignored Lily, "Are you deaf?! I said, let me out, Stefan!", but once again Stefan ignored Lily, causing her to let out a bitter chuckle, "God, I really hope destroying Klaus is worth you destroying all your relationships, Stefan!".

Stefan looked at Lily, "It is" he stated, pressing harder on the gas pedal.

***

"What now?" an annoyed Klaus asked, as Damon led him to a room, "You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the town square".

Damon closed the door behind him and Klaus, he then turned to Klaus, a worried look on his face, "Stefan just grabbed Lily" he informed.

Klaus looked at Damon, anger evident on his face, "I beg your pardon?".

"He's gonna try and use her against you" Damon said, "So if you care for her as much as she cares for you, do what he says, get rid of your hybrids".

"Or what?" Klaus challenged, "Lily is Stefan's best friend, when no one was there for him, she was, Stefan would never dream of killing her".

"You sure about that?" Damon challenged back, "He tried to behead someone in the middle of a council party, he's operating on crazy right now".

"He's bluffing" Klaus stated, refusing to believe Stefan would hurt Lily.

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't" Damon said, walking closer to Klaus, "But if you don't want to believe him, believe me, I know my brother better than anyone, and right now I don't have a clue how far he's willing to take this so if he says blink, I suggest you blink".

***

"What's your big plan, Stefan?" an angry Lily asked, "What big move are you planning against Klaus?".

"I took Klaus's family to make him suffer" Stefan informed, "I'm not going to let him make himself a new one".

"Then why not kidnap Elena?" a confused Lily asked, "She's the key to his hybrids, not me".

"You're the key to his emotions, Lily" Stefan said, "The small amount of emotions I've seen Klaus show, they've always been with you, you're the person whose going to help me get what I want".

"In your dreams" Lily snapped.

"I never said willingly" Stefan retorted, "If Klaus really cares about you, then he will do as I say, he will send his hybrids away, or--".

"Or what?" Lily asked, "Or what Stefan?!".

"Or I will kill you" Stefan replied.

Lily let out a bitter chuckle, "Well, you better be ready then Stefan, I'm not going down without a fight".

"I expect nothing less from you" Stefan said, pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket and dialing Klaus, he put the phone on speaker and put it on the dashboard.

"Stefan, how nice to hear your voice" Klaus answered the phone.

"Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus" Stefan demanded.

"Well, that's not gonna happen until I get my coffins back" Klaus retorted.

"Okay, well then I'm gonna drive Lily off Wickery Bridge" Stefan threatened.

"I don't believe you Stefan, you won't kill her" Klaus said.

"Really?" Stefan asked, "Try me, because your coffins are next to go, say goodbye to your family, Klaus".

"Stefan!" Lily yelled, as Stefan sped the car, "You insane person, stop the freaking car!".

"Fine" Klaus finally said, the panic in Lily's voice getting to him, "I'll send them away, you win".

"Did you not hear him?!" Lily snapped, when Stefan made no indication of stopping the car, "Stefan, stop!".

"Stop the car, Stefan!" Klaus demanded.

Seeing Stefan not stopping the car, Lily decided to take things in her hand, so she pulled the handbrake causing Stefan's car to spin a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Lily leaned her head against the chair and took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart down.

"Lily?!" Klaus called out, "Are you okay?".

"I'm fine" Lily whispered, she looked to the side and glared at her best friend, best friend, she wasn't sure she could still call him that, "I hate you".

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked, seeing Lily open the door.

"Away from you, asshole" Lily snapped, stepping out of Stefan's car and walking down Wickery Bridge.

Realising Lily had gotten down Stefan's car, Klaus quickly hanged the phone up and sat in his car to get to Lily.

"Lily, get back in the car" Stefan demanded, following after the Forbes werewolf.

"Get lost!" Lily yelled.

"Get back in the car, Lily" Stefan repeated.

Lily turned and glared at Stefan, "What is wrong with you?!" she asked, "You hate Klaus for everything he did but how is this any different?!".

"Look, he had to believe I would do it, all right?" Stefan defended, "Your fear sold it".

"And what if Klaus didn't believe you?" Lily asked.

"He did" Stefan replied.

"You didn't answer my question!" Lily yelled, "What would you have done if Klaus didn't believe you?!".

"He did, Lily!" Stefan yelled back, "He backed down! He has a weakness, if I know his weakness, I can destroy him".

"At what cost?!" Lily asked, "You're losing everyone Stefan, is revenge really worth being lonely for eternity?".

"I lost everyone the minute I left town with Klaus" Stefan retorted.

"No you didn't!" a hurt Lily said, "Because I was there Stefan, I was there the whole time, whenever you needed me I was there for you, was that not enough? Was my friendship not enough for you?".

Stefan hesitated for a moment, "No" he finally said, "It wasn't enough".

A heartbroken Lily watched with tears in her eyes as Stefan walked away from her, once he had gotten into his car and driven away, that's when Lily let the tears fall down her face, Stefan's words having broken her heart.

***

Klaus pulled up at Wickery Bridge, stepping out of his car, he walked over to Lily who was leaning on the railing of the bridge and watching the water below her while waiting for the sun to rise.

"I thought he was going to actually kill me" Lily whispered, sensing Klaus's presence next to her.

"On your birthday?" Klaus asked, "Surely he's not that cruel".

"I think today he is" an extremely hurt Lily whispered.

Klaus sighed, "I love birthdays" he informed Lily, trying to distract her from thinking too much about Stefan and his actions.

Lily looked at Klaus in confusion, "You? A thousand year old vampire likes birthdays?".

"Yes, why do you sound so surprised?" Klaus asked.

Lily shrugged, "Because you're a thousand plus, how do you even keep track of your age?".

Klaus chuckled, "You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire Lily, celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human conventions, you're free".

"I'm not a vampire" Lily pointed out, "Does that mean I'll never feel free?".

"You're not a vampire" Klaus confirmed, "But you are a werewolf, you are someone who has the rest of her life infront of her".

"It didn't seem like that today" Lily said, "It's weird, I never feared death, even when that accident happened, the one in which I triggered my curse, I remember the last moments before I fell unconscious and it wasn't fear that I felt, it was nothingness, but today, for the first time, I actually feared dying, I realised there is still so much I haven't done, so much of the world I haven't seen, I realised this town is not the town I want to die in".

"You're not going to die in this town, little luna" Klaus assured, "I'll let you in on a little secret, there's a whole world out there waiting for you, great cites and art and music, genuine beauty, and one day you're gonna have all of it".

Lily looked at Klaus, "One day, will you take me?" she asked, "Will you help me explore this world and it's beauty?".

Klaus smiled at Lily, "I would love nothing more, Laya".

Lily gave Klaus a small smile, she then turned back and watched as the sun rose, her smile widening slightly as she felt Klaus's hand slip into hers.

***

After watching the sun rise with Klaus, the original hybrid dropped the Forbes werewolf home and this time stayed till she found her keys and went inside.

After waving goodbye to Klaus, and having a sense of deja vu of Elijah doing the same thing, making her realise that this was something in the family, a smiling Lily entered her house and walked straight into her room, really needing to sleep the pervious night away.

As soon as Lily entered her room, she was confused seeing a small box placed in the middle of her room.

Lily walked over to the box and picked it up in her hand, she took the note attached to it and read it.

Happy Birthday, Little Luna.

A small chuckle left Lily's lips reading the note, she figured Klaus had left this gift before he went to the charity thing, after placing the note on the bed, Lily proceeded to open the black box, and immediately a small gasp let her lips seeing such a beautiful necklace.

Klaus's Gift

It was a simple necklace, but it was exactly the type of necklace that would attract Lily's eyes, with a huge smile on her face, Lily took the necklace out of it's box and proceeded to wear it around her neck.

***

Presenting 2x11 of Fire & Flame!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Lily and Caroline's little moment in the beginning?

Thoughts on Lily opening up to Klaus about how she feels about her birthday?

Thoughts on the argument between Lily and Stefan?

Thoughts on Klaus comforting Lily after the Stefan incident?

p.s. just thought to let you guys know, Tyler never bit Caroline, if he did that then I just don't see Lily forgiving Klaus as she mentioned in this chapter, she won't forgive Klaus if her family is hurt and Klaus is a simp for Lily so no hurting Caroline 😂