18. The Last Dance

"Please sign here and here" Henry, the real estate agent told Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded and signed everywhere he was supposed to.

"I can't believe you three agreed to give Jeremy your house" Fae said, as her, Caroline, Kaitlynn and the three brothers stood outside, waiting for Jeremy to invite them inside.

"This is temporary" Brayden said, standing behind Caroline, with his hands on her waist, "Very temporary".

"Once Jeremy becomes the sole owner of the house, he will be the only one who would be able to invite vampires into the house" Stefan explained.

"Making it Caroline and unfortunately, Elena's, own personal safe house" Brayden continued.

"Now on to more pressing issues, you really think you can take on Klaus?" Damon asked Fae.

"Yes, Damon, I can" Fae assured, "I've got the power of a hundred witches by my side, I can take him".

"Elijah thought that would work and he was an Original, so" Stefan said.

"Now it's just about finding him" Brayden said.

"Yeah" Stefan whispered.

"Can't you do one of those witch tracking spells?" Damon asked Fae.

"Sure" Fae replied, "Get me something of Klaus, and I'd gladly do the spell".

"In other words, she can't" Brayden said.

"Do you guys think Klaus killed her?" Kaitlynn suddenly asked, talking about her twin sister who was currently in Klaus's clutches.

"Katherine?" Caroline asked, Kaitlynn nodded.

"Klaus spent five hundred years trying to find her" Fae reminded, placing a comfort hand on Kaitlynn's shoulder, letting her know there was a very little chance that Katherine was still alive.

"It's not like she didn't have it coming" Damon reminded, making both Fae and Caroline glare at him.

"She might have had it coming Damon, but she was still my sister" Kaitlynn snapped, "So if you can't say anything nice about her, keep your mouth shut".

"Yikes" Brayden mumbled, just as the front door opened.

"Thank you" Jeremy said, shaking the real estate agent's hand.

"Alright" Brayden said, after the agent left, "Invite us in Jer, I'm getting impatient".

"It's only been ten minutes" Caroline teased.

"Exactly" Brayden said, "It's been ten bloody minutes".

Jeremy chuckled at Brayden, "Alright, all you vampires, I welcome you into my house, please come in".

"Temporary house" Brayden reminded, as they all entered the house.

"Still my house" Jeremy said.

"You're making me regret giving you my house" Brayden mumbled, making Jeremy laugh.

"Caroline, grab your bag so we can leave" Kaitlynn said, confusing the brothers.

"Wait, where the hell are you guys going?" Brayden asked.

"I'm going to school and Fae and Kaitlynn are coming with me" Caroline replied.

"Since when do you two go to school?" Stefan asked Fae and Kaitlynn.

"We didn't tell you?" Fae asked.

"Clearly not" Brayden replied.

"It's mine and Kaitlynn's first day today" Fae informed.

"Why the hell would you two enroll at high school for?" Damon asked confused.

"Because Caroline isn't going to stop going to school, and Brayden isn't going to enroll in school, because he hates teenagers" Kaitlynn replied.

"Not all teenagers" Brayden defended, after seeing both Jeremy and Caroline give him a look.

"Point of the story, is that when Caroline goes to school, she has no one protecting her, so till Klaus is killed, me and Fae are going to be going to school with her" Kaitlynn continued.

"No, no, we didn't create a safe house for you to leave it" Damon told Caroline.

"Yeah, guys, Klaus is out there, we know that" Stefan reminded.

"Yeah, but we don't know where he is" Caroline defended.

"Are you serious?" Brayden said.

"Yes" Caroline replied, "None of us know anything, Brayden".

"Princess--".

"Brayden, I agreed to staying here till Klaus is delt with, but I can't skip school, I have to graduate and I won't be able to graduate if I start skipping school" Caroline said.

"You're a vampire" Brayden reminded, "You can compel the school to graduate you".

"Brayden, relax" Fae said, "If Klaus shows up, I won't let him harm Caroline".

"All three of us are vampires" Caroline said, "As much as I know you guys can protect us, you need to believe that we can protect ourselves, you don't always have to protect us".

"So now you want to use the girl power card, really?" Brayden asked pissed.

"Depends is it working?" Caroline asked.

Brayden rolled his eyes in annoyance, "No matter what any of us say, none of you are going to listen, are you?".

"Nope" Kaitlynn replied.

"Great, just great" Brayden mumbled.

"Great, so now we're leaving" Kaitlynn said, as Caroline grabbed her bag.

As the three girls left, the three brothers exchanged an annoyed look.

***

While Caroline and Kaitlynn were busy preparing for the school decade dance, Jeremy grabbed Fae and took her to the side.

"You have to tell everyone, Fae" Jeremy said, "They need to know what it's gonna take to do that Klaus spell".

"I can't tell them, Jeremy" Fae protested, "And neither can you".

"They have to know that you can't do this" Jeremy argued.

"Jeremy, I can do this, you have to believe in me" Fae pleaded.

"That's not fair" Jeremy snapped, "You can't harness the power of a hundred dead witches, it'll kill you".

"But we don't know that for sure, Jeremy" Fae said, "I'm a heretic, there's a chance that I can do this, without dying".

"There's one thing wanting to help people, but there's another thing being suicidal, Fae" Jeremy snapped, "And I'm not just going to sit there and watch you die for my sister, that's not fair on you, or Stefan for that matter".

"Jeremy--".

"Save it" Jeremy snapped, "You've said enough".

"What was all that about?" Caroline asked, as her and Kaitlynn walked over to Fae after Jeremy walked away.

"Um" Fae hesitated, "He got annoyed when I told him he couldn't come to a dance wearing a black hoodie".

"So" Kaitlynn started, "First Tyler, now Jeremy".

"What?" Fae asked confused, as the trio sat at a table.

"You have half of the guys in Mystic Falls in love with you, Fae" Kaitlynn replied.

"That's not true" Fae argued.

"Isn't it?" Caroline asked.

"You know while you're playing hard to get with Stefan, you are allowed to have fun with other guys" Kaitlynn said.

"No" Caroline and Fae said.

"Why not?" Kaitlynn challenged.

"Because Stefan is her epic love" Caroline argued, "Fae , you want my advice? Stop playing hard to get and just go for it, jump Stefan's bones already, no one is ever going to love you like him".

Before Fae could say anything, Dana, a girl in Caroline's class, walked over to the three girls.

"Hey, Caroline, there you are" Dana said, "Okay, this is gonna sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight".

"So Fae isn't the only one with a fan following" Kaitlynn teased, making Caroline roll her eyes, while Fae chuckled.

"Tell this hot guy, that Caroline has a boyfriend" Fae told Dana.

"A boyfriend who will kill anyone if they look at her the wrong way" Kaitlynn added.

"Literally" Fae said, making Caroline chuckle.

"You could at least meet him" Dana told Caroline, "He'll be at the dance tonight, look for him, his name is Klaus".

Hearing Dana, the three girls looked at her in shock.

"What did you just say?" Caroline asked, hoping her ears were playing a trick on her.

"His name's Klaus" Dana repeated, making the three girls exchange a panic look, "I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot".

"Do you know where he is?" Kaitlynn asked, looking around for anyone suspicious, "Is he around us?".

Dana suddenly looked very confused, "I don't know" she said.

"She's been compelled" Fae realised.

"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance, how cute is that?" Dana asked, "Now excuse me, I have to go find Elena".

After Dana walked away, Fae looked at Caroline, "We need to go" she said, "Now!".

Caroline nodded and with that the three girls quickly got up, and after grabbing their bags, they rushed out the school.

***

The three girls had rushed to the boarding house and informed the brothers about what Dana told them.

"So we go to the dance and find him" Damon stated.

"Really?" Stefan asked, "How are we gonna do that? We don't even know what he looks like".

"Something tells me he's not gonna be sixteen and pimply" Damon said.

"He could be anywhere at any time, he compelled somebody at school" Stefan argued.

Brayden looked at Caroline, "Turns out school wasn't as safe as you thought" he said, making Caroline sigh, but before she could say anything someone knocked on the door, and Alaric came into the house.

"There you are" Damon said.

"Sorry I'm late" Alaric apologised.

"Hey, I need you to put me and Brayden down as chaperones at the dance tonight" Damon said, "Klaus made his first move".

"Actually, I'm going as Caroline's date" Brayden corrected, "Why don't you go as Kaitlynn's date instead of a chaperone?".

"No" Both Kaitlynn and Damon said.

"Such idiots" Brayden mumbled.

Kaitlynn ignored Brayden, "Alright, what's the plan once we find Klaus?" she asked, "How are we going to attack him?".

"Not we, but me" Fae replied, "Klaus has no idea how much power I've channeled from the witches, I can take him".

"That's not gonna be that easy" Alaric said, "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around".

"Alaric has a point, I mean, what if he--?", Damon went to charge at Fae, but she used her magic to throw Damon across the room, impressing everyone.

"Well, I was impressed" Stefan said.

"Of course you were" Brayden said, giving Stefan a smirk, who in turn just glared at him.

"How much to do that again?" Kaitlynn asked, making Damon give her a mock smile.

"Look, I get that he is an Original" Fae said, "And it might be hard, but if the witches stay by my side, then I can take him".

"Hypothetically, what happens if the witches can't stay by your side?" Caroline asked worried.

Fae gave Caroline a small smile, "Let's not worry about something that's not going to happen".

"You didn't answer her question Fae" Kaitlynn said, she felt like Fae was hiding something from all of them.

"Why would the witches leave my side?" Fae asked.

"You're the one who said it" Caroline replied.

"It was a hypothetical situation" Fae assured, "Guys relax, the witches won't leave my side, I can take Klaus, I need you guys to trust me that I have it in me to kill Klaus".

***

Brayden stood at the doorway of his room, watching Caroline put on her jewelry, all ready in her Jackie O costume.

"You know, you should be getting ready instead of staring at me" Caroline said, looking at Brayden through the mirror.

"I don't suppose you will agree to staying home with me, will you?" Brayden asked, walking over to Caroline.

Caroline sighed and faced Brayden, "I can't miss a school dance" she replied.

"Why not? We could just get in my car and drive away from this miserable town" Brayden said, putting his hands on her waist.

"Klaus will kill you" Caroline whispered.

"Rather I die then you" Brayden said, attaching his forehead to Caroline.

"Or here's a suggestion, we go to the dance and watch Fae kick Klaus's ass" Caroline said.

Brayden sighed, "I don't like this, if we go to the dance, we're not just risking your life, but we are also risking Fae's life".

"I know" Caroline whispered, "But like Fae said, we need to believe in her, she's Fae Bennett, she can take on Klaus".

"For all our sakes, I really hope she can" Brayden said, he then stared at Caroline for a moment, then smashed his lips on to hers.

Once they broke the kiss, Caroline looked at Brayden, "Brayden I--".

"Shh" Brayden said, putting his finger on Caroline's lips, knowing what she was about to say, "Say it at the end of the night".

Caroline nodded and kissed Brayden again, "We're going to survive tonight".

Brayden nodded, "We have to" he said, hugging Caroline, though both of them haven't said it out loud, it was obvious that both Brayden and Caroline were terrified of what was going to happen tonight.

***

"Fae, wait up!" Jeremy yelled, running over to the bennet witch, who was about to enter the school dance.

"Hey, Jer" Fae greeted, "You look nice".

Jeremy gave Fae a small smile, "Thanks, so do you" he said.

Fae smiled, "Thank you".

"Fae, I want you to have this" Jeremy said, taking his Gilbert ring off.

Fae sighed, "Jeremy, there's no point in giving me that, it's not going to work on me".

"But it was made by a witch" Jeremy argued.

"Yeah, my mother made that ring to protect humans from supernatural beings, not to protect supernatural beings" Fae said.

"Well, I have to do something, I can't just let you get yourself killed" Jeremy argued.

"We don't know that for sure" Fae argued back, "The witches said that their power would overwhelm a normal witch, but I'm not normal Jeremy, I'm a heretic, I'm part vampire, and you can't kill a vampire without either ripping their heart out or staking them".

"So you're saying there's a fifty-fifty shot you won't die?" Jeremy asked.

"What I'm saying is that it's not going to be this easy to kill me" Fae replied, "I can feel the witches power running through me, it's making me really strong, yeah there is a small risk that comes with this amount of power, but I have to take that risk, not just for your sister or Caroline, but for everyone else Klaus might hurt to make sure this sacrifice happens".

Jeremy sighed, but before he could say anything, Fae looked behind him to see Damon and Brayden.

"Uh, hey guys" Fae greeted, really hoping the twins hadn't heard anything.

Brayden glared at Fae, and without saying anything to her or Jeremy, he went inside, Damon stood there for a moment, and then decided to follow Brayden, ignoring Fae.

"Oh god" Fae whispered worried, the twins reaction confirmed her doubt, they had heard everything.

***

"Thanks for being here, everybody" Dana said into the microphone, just as the group entered the hall, "We have a special shout-out tonight, this is for Elena and Caroline, from Klaus".

"Oh, he is so dead" Brayden mumbled, as To The One I Love started playing.

"That was a lame, cheap shot, he's just trying to bait us" Damon assured everyone.

"I know everyone here" Elena said, walking over to the group.

"As if this night couldn't get any worse" Brayden said, glaring at Elena.

"Maybe he's not here, he just wants us to believe that he is" Stefan suggested.

"It's a party, people, blend" Damon said, "Let him come to us".

"Gladly" Brayden said, he grabbed Caroline's hand, and dragged her to the dance, after giving Jeremy a small nod.

Elena turned to Stefan, but before she could ask him, he turned to Fae, "May I have this dance?" he asked.

"Yes, you may" Fae teased, looping her arm around Stefan's and letting him lead her to towards the dance floor.

Kaitlynn turned to leave, but Damon grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor.

"Damon!" Kaitlynn yelled annoyed.

"Just shut up and dance, Kaitlynn" Damon said, spinning Kaitlynn around.

"Why do I have to dance with you?" Kaitlynn asked, as Damon pulled her closer.

"Because no one else will dance with you" Damon replied.

"No one else will dance with me or you?" Kaitlynn asked.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad of a dancer, amuse me with just one dance" Damon said.

"Fine, but only one" Kaitlynn said, putting her hands on Damon's shoulder.

"Great" Damon said, putting lacing one of his hand with Kaitlynn's, the other on her waist, and both the vampires started to sway to the music.

***

"You seem upset" Caroline noticed, as her and Brayden slow danced together.

Brayden sighed, "I promised you that I'm not to let anyone die because of Klaus, I need to know if you believe me?".

"Of course I believe you" Caroline replied, shocked that Brayden thought otherwise, "Brayden, what's going on?".

"Klaus isn't going to die tonight" Brayden revealed.

Caroline looked at Brayden in shock, "What?".

"I can't explain it right now, but something really bad is going to happen tonight, but don't worry, I have a plan to stop it" Brayden assured.

"What's going to happen, Brayden?" Caroline asked worried.

Brayden looked behind Caroline to see Damon and Kaitlynn dancing together, Damon looked towards his brother, who gave him a nod, Damon nodded in understanding, and after whispering something into Kaitlynn's ear, he started walking towards Caroline and Brayden, leaving a confused Kaitlynn behind.

"I'll explain everything soon, right now, just stay with him" Brayden said, before Caroline could ask any more questions, Brayden spinned Caroline right into Damon's arms.

"What the hell is going on!?" A very confused Caroline asked Damon, while Brayden walked over to Jeremy.

"Relax Caroline" Damon said, "Brayden's going to fix everything".

"Fix what?" Caroline asked, frustrated with not knowing what was happening.

"You'll find out soon enough" Damon assured.

"That really doesn't help my worry" Caroline said.

"Come on, remember the last decade dance?" Damon asked, "The vampires were all, aah! And you were all, aah!".

"Yeah, you three brothers saved me" Caroline remembered.

"After you kicked some ass yourself" Damon reminded.

Caroline sighed, "Just tell me, whatever Brayden's doing, is he going to be safe?".

Damon nodded, "Everyone's going to be safe" he assured.

***

"May I?" Brayden asked, interrupting Stefan and Fae's dance.

"Uh, sure" Stefan said, a bit confused.

"Great" Brayden said, grabbing Fae's hand, and spinning her around, with her back now facing Stefan, and while she wasn't looking, Jeremy tapped Stefan's shoulder and gestured for him to follow, Stefan looked at Brayden in confusion, who just nodded at him, telling him to go with Jeremy.

"What are you up to, Brayden?" Fae asked, after Stefan had walked away, missing the silent conversation between the two brothers.

"Is it true, Fae?" Brayden asked, "And don't you dare lie to me".

Fae sighed, she knew Brayden was asking about what Jeremy and her were talking about, "Yeah" she replied, realising there was no point in lying to Brayden.

"I want Caroline to live more then anyone, but at the same time, I can't let Stefan lose you, not again" Brayden said.

"I'm the only one who can stop him, Brayden" Fae argued.

"Not like this" Brayden snapped.

"Bray--".

"No, Fae" Brayden interrupted, "You want to help defeat Klaus?", Fae nodded, "Then you're going to follow my plan, we are doing this my way, not yours".

"What's your plan?" Fae asked confused.

"For you to die tonight" Brayden replied simply, shocking Fae.

***

"Jeremy, what is going on?" Stefan asked, as he and Jeremy walked in the empty school hallway.

"Fae didn't want me to tell you this, that's why I've been quiet for so long, but Brayden made me realise, I can't hide this from you, it's wrong" Jeremy said.

Stefan looked at Jeremy in confusion, "What is it?" he asked, worry rising in his heart.

Jeremy sighed, "If Fae takes on Klaus, channeling all that energy's gonna kill her"  he revealed.

"What?" Stefan asked shocked.

"But she didn't want you or anyone else to know, because she knew if you guys knew you would try to stop her" Jeremy replied, "And then it's Elena and Caroline that could end up dead".

For a moment, Stefan stood there in shock, he then turned around and rushed back into the dance, needing to speak to Fae immediately.

***

Stefan entered the dance and started looking around for Fae, who he saw standing next to the punch with Caroline and Kaitlynn, Stefan quickly walked over to her, "Fae" he called out, gaining the heretic's attention, "You and I need to talk", before Fae could say anything, Stefan grabbed her hand and dragged her out the dance, confusing the other two girls, but before they could follow, Brayden walked over to them.

"Fae's on a suicidal mission" Brayden revealed to Caroline and Kaitlynn, shocking them.

"How could you hide this from me, Fae?!" Stefan asked, once both of them were outside the school.

"Because I didn't want you to stop me" Fae replied.

Stefan shook his head, "You're not doing this, I'm not going to let you" he said.

"There is no other way, Stefan" Fae snapped.

"There's always another way, Fae" Stefan snapped back.

"If I don't kill Klaus tonight, then he will kill Caroline" Fae argued.

"We will figure out how to save Caroline, but I am not going to stand there and watch you die!" Stefan yelled, "I don't have it in me!".

Fae sighed, she stepped forward and cupped Stefan's face, "I love you" she whispered.

"Don't do this" Stefan whispered, "Please Fae, don't do this".

"I'm going to see you again" Fae promised, "Very soon, I promise".

Fae moved closer to Stefan, and placed a kiss on his lips, and after a moment, she stepped back from Stefan and gave him a small smile, before Stefan could say anything else, Damon speeded behind him and snapped his neck.

"Was that necessary?" Fae asked.

"Stefan would have never agreed to Brayden's plan, this is for the best" Damon assured, "I'm going to take him home, you ready?".

Fae nodded, "I'm ready".

***

"We have to stop her" Caroline said, after Brayden told her and Kaitlynn everything, "Brayden, we can't let Fae die".

"No one is dying" Brayden said, he turned to Kaitlynn, "You need to go home".

"What?!" Kaitlynn asked shocked, "I'm not leaving until I know my best friend is okay".

"Fae is going to be fine Kaitlynn, I have a plan" Brayden assured, "But you need to go home and remove the dagger from Elijah".

"Excuse me?" Kaitlynn asked, not sure if she heard Brayden correctly.

"I might be able to stop Fae from getting herself killed tonight, but I won't be able to stop her when Klaus goes to sacrifice Caroline" Brayden replied, "Look, daggering Elijah in the first place was a stupid idea, and now we need his help to save not only Caroline but also Fae, so go home, and wake him up".

Kaitlynn hesitated for a second, she then looked at Caroline, then at Brayden, "Fine" she finally said, "Just make sure Fae doesn't die tonight".

"She won't" Brayden assured.

Kaitlynn nodded and rushed out of the dance.

"Brayden!" A panicked Elena yelled, running over to Brayden and Caroline.

"Not now, Elena" Brayden said.

"Jeremy's missing" Elena informed.

"What?" Brayden asked confused.

"Jeremy's gone, I looked everywhere for him, but I can find him anywhere" Elena replied.

"God, dammit!" Brayden snapped, he turned to Caroline, "Stay here, don't move, I'll be back".

Caroline nodded, "Be careful".

"Always" Brayden said, rushing out of the hall to find Jeremy.

***

Brayden rushed out the dance and started looking for Jeremy, he finally found him getting beaten up by a bunch of students.

"Hey, dickheads!" Brayden yelled, gaining everyone's attention, one of the student grabbed a crossbow and shot at Brayden, the wooden stake hitting him in the shoulder, "I'm going to go on a limb here and say Klaus says hi", Brayden took the stake out of his shoulder and speeded over to the guy who shot him, grabbing his head, Brayden smashed it on the locker, knocking him out, he then turned to the other three students and knocked them out as well.

"You alright?" Brayden asked, helping Jeremy stand.

"Yeah, I'm good" Jeremy replied.

"What the hell happened here?" Brayden asked confused.

"After I told Stefan everything, I was coming back to the dance when they just attacked me out of no where" Jeremy informed.

"This was a distraction" Brayden realised, "We have to find the girls, now".

Jeremy nodded and with that the human and vampire ran into the dance to make sure the girls were okay.

***

"Hey" Fae said, walking over to Caroline, "Where's Brayden?".

"He's looking for Jeremy" Elena replied, before Caroline could say anything.

"Looking for Jeremy?" Fae asked confused.

"He's missing" Elena replied.

Before Fae could ask anymore question, Alaric walked over to the trio, "Guys" he called out.

"What is it?" Elena asked, confused seeing his panicked face.

"He has Jeremy and Brayden" Alaric informed.

"What?" Caroline asked shocked.

"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy and Brayden, come on" Alaric said.

The three girls exchanged a panicked look, but nonetheless followed Alaric out of the dance.

"Alaric, where are you taking us?" Caroline asked confused, after they had been running for some time.

"Just a little further" Alaric replied.

"Wait" Elena said, looking around in confusion, "Something's not right".

"Where the hell are Jeremy and Brayden?" Fae asked, losing her patience.

Alaric suddenly stopped walking, "I just had to get away from that dance" he said, confusing the three girls, "The 60s, ugh, not my decade", Alaric faced the girls, "I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the 20s, you know, the style, the parties, the jazz, Caroline, I know for a fact that your boyfriend had a special place in his heart for the 20s".

"And how would you know that?" Caroline asked confused.

"Alaric, are you on vervain?" Elena asked.

"Now, why would you ask me that question, Elena?" Alaric asked, slowly walking over to the girls.

"He's being compelled" Elena realised.

"Nope, try again" Klaus said.

"What the hell is going on?" Fae asked confused.

Alaric sighed, "Okay, I'll give you a hint" he said, "I am not Alaric".

"Oh my god" Caroline whispered, realisation crossing her face, "You're Klaus".

"Surprise" Klaus said.

"Oh, no" Elena whispered, shaking her head, "No, it's not possible".

"Just relax, Elena, I'm not here to hurt you or Caroline" Klaus assured, "None of you are on my hit list tonight", Klaus looked at Fae, "But you are".

Fae smirked, "That's funny, cause you're on my hit list as well".

Klaus glared at Fae, he went to charge at her, but Fae used her magic to slam him against the lockers.

Klaus groaned in pain and slowly stood up, "Now, did I mention that I know a witch?" he asked, "You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that".

Klaus went to charge at Fae again, but she used her magic to shove Klaus into the trophy case.

Klaus laughed, "By all means, fire away" he said, provoking Fae, "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one, maybe Jeremy, or Brayden?".

Fae looked at Caroline and Elena, "Run" she demanded.

"No" Caroline said, shaking her head.

"Caroline, go!" Fae yelled.

"Fae--".

"Find Brayden and Jeremy!" Fae demanded.

Caroline shook her head, refusing to leave Fae alone with Klaus, but Elena grabbed her wrist, "Caroline we have to go" she said.

"We can't just leave her here!" Caroline yelled.

"She's got this, we have to make sure Brayden and Jeremy are okay" Elena said.

Caroline looked at Fae, who was giving her a small smile, "Please don't die" she cried.

"I'll try my best" Fae assured.

After giving Fae one last glance, Caroline followed Elena to find Brayden and Jeremy.

***

"Caroline!" Brayden yelled.

Both Brayden and Jeremy had spent ages looking for the girls, but they found no sign of them anywhere, making Brayden panic, but he finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing Caroline in the hallway.

"Brayden!", Caroline ran towards the middle Salvatore and hugged him, "You're okay, he didn't hurt you".

"Who didn't hurt me?" Brayden asked confused, but nonetheless hugged Caroline back.

"Klaus" Caroline cried.

"What?" Brayden asked shocked.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body" Elena informed.

Caroline finally broke the hug and looked at Brayden, "It was like he was possessing Alaric".

"Okay, where's Fae?" Brayden asked worried.

"She's fighting Klaus" Caroline replied, "Brayden, you have to stop her, she's going to die if she takes Klaus on".

Brayden cupped Caroline's face, "She's not dying, no one is" he promised, he then turned to Jeremy, "Take your sister and Caroline away from here, I'm going to find Fae", Jeremy nodded in understanding, Brayden then turned to Caroline, "Go with Jeremy, I'm going to get Fae".

"Please be careful" Caroline pleaded.

"I will" Brayden promised, "Now, go!".

Elena and Caroline followed Jeremy out of the school, while Brayden went to find Fae.

***

Brayden ran into the school cafeteria, to see all the lights bursted, with a unconscious Fae on the ground, with Klaus no where to be seen.

"Fae!" Brayden yelled, he kneeled next to the heretic and realised her skin had desiccated, "Don't actually be dead, please don't be actually dead".

Brayden slowly picked Fae up in his arms, and carried her away.

***

Brayden entered the boarding house, only to see everyone, including Elena, waiting for him.

"Where is she?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Stefan--".

"Don't Stefan me!" Stefan yelled, "Tell me where the hell Fae is!".

"She's dead" Brayden said.

Stefan glared at Brayden, then punched him in the face.

"Okay, I deserve that" Brayden whispered, rubbing his jaw.

"Stop!" Damon yelled, pushing Stefan away from Brayden, "Would you listen to him first?!".

"There's nothing left to listen!" Stefan yelled, "You and Brayden got Fae killed".

"Brayden, please" Caroline cried, "Please tell me, you didn't let Fae die just so she could kill Klaus".

"What aren't you saying anything?!" Kaitlynn yelled.

"Because none of you are letting me talk!" Brayden yelled back, "Before blaming me, just listen to me first, I know all of you think that I'm selfish and only think about myself, that to make sure that my girlfriend lives, I would let the girl you love Stefan, die, but I'm not that selfish! I would never let Fae die just so Caroline could live, I would kill anyone for Caroline, but I would never snatch my brother's happiness, Fae had to die tonight, for her own sake, none of us were prepared for Klaus using Alaric's body, not even Fae, and Klaus made it pretty clear that he wasn't going to stop until he killed Fae, so she had to die, Klaus had to believe that Fae was dead, that was the only way we were going to get ahead of him, so me, Damon and Fae, came up with a plan, while Damon took care of you Stefan, Fae was casting a spell on herself, that for a few moments, would create a illusion, make it seem like she's desiccated, that she's dead".

"What are you saying?" Elena asked confused.

"Oh my god, it's not rocket science Elena" Brayden snapped, "Fae is okay" he looked at Stefan, "She's at the witches house with Jeremy, she will call you once she wakes up".

After sparing everyone one last glance, Brayden walked away, Damon sighed and followed his brother, knowing even if he didn't show it, he was hurt with everyone thinking that he let Fae die.

***

"Brayden, wait!" Damon called out.

"Not now, Damon" Brayden said, going up the stairs.

"You're hurt" Damon stated, causing Brayden to stop in his step.

"And why would I be hurt?" Brayden asked.

"You know why" Damon replied.

Brayden turned around to face his twin, only to see a guilty Stefan and Caroline standing behind him.

"Did you both actually think I let Fae die?" Brayden asked.

"I didn't know what to think, Bray" Stefan confessed, "All I could think about was Fae, and--".

"And you thought I got her killed" Brayden finished, "Got it".

"Brayden, I--".

"Save it, Caroline" Brayden interrupted, "I told you I need you out of everyone to believe me, but I saw the doubt in your eyes tonight, how bad do you guys think I am exactly?".

Caroline shook her head, "No--".

"Fae is like a little sister to me" Brayden interrupted, "I would never in my life let her die, but if you both actually think I'm capable of that, then screw it, I honestly don't care anymore".

Before Stefan or Caroline could say anything else, Brayden speeded up to his room, no longer wanting to hear anything else.

***

Stefan paced back and forth in his bedroom, impatiently waiting for Fae to call him, he really had to stop himself from rushing to the witches house and seeing Fae himself, Stefan stopped pacing when his phone started ringing, picking his phone up from his bed, Stefan realised Jeremy was calling him.

"Jeremy" Stefan greeted, answering his phone, "Is she okay? Is Fae okay?".

"Stefan" Fae whispered.

Hearing Fae's voice, Stefan closed his eyes and sat on his bed, feeling extremely overwhelmed, "You're okay" he whispered.

"I'm so sorry" Fae cried, "There was no time to tell you everything".

"It's okay, you're okay" Stefan whispered, "Fae, I love you".

Fae sobbed, "I love you too" she said, "And like I promised, I'll see you soon Stefan".

"Soon" Stefan whispered.

***

"Brayden" Caroline called out, entering his room.

"Not here" Brayden called out from the bathroom.

Caroline sighed and walked towards Brayden's open bathroom, she saw the middle Salvatore, leaning against the sink, wearing nothing but a pair of black track pants.

"I do believe in you" Caroline whispered, walking behind Brayden, and hugging his back.

"I don't believe you" Brayden said, separating himself from Caroline and sitting on his bed.

Caroline sighed, and followed her boyfriend, "Look, when I asked you whether Fae was dead or not, it wasn't because I didn't believe in you", Caroline kneeled infront of Brayden, "I believe in you Brayden, more then you'll ever know".

Brayden looked at Caroline, "I am selfish, I'm not going to deny that, but Fae isn't just important to Stefan, she's important to me as well, I would never let her die for my happiness".

"And I believe you" Caroline said, "I'm sorry if I made you think that I didn't".

Brayden sighed, he grabbed Caroline's hand and made her stand up, he then put his hands on her waist, and pulled her on to the bed, making her let out a surprise yell.

"It's been a long night, princess" Brayden whispered, "Go to sleep".

"Before we sleep, there's something I need to tell you" Caroline said, facing Brayden.

"What?" Brayden asked.

"I love you" Caroline said.

Brayden smiled, he scooted closer and placed a kiss on Caroline's lips, "And I love you" he whispered.

***

After Brayden came home, Kaitlynn finally decided, he was right, if they wanted to save Caroline without Fae dying, they needed Elijah's help.

Which is why, Kaitlynn was currently in the Salvatore's basement, she kneeled down, and placed her hand on the dagger, realising Damon lied to her about there being a spell on the dagger as nothing happened to her.

Kaitlynn shook her head, and looked at Elijah, "Please don't make me regret this" she whispered.

After a moment, Kaitlynn finally took the dagger out of Elijah.

***

Presenting 2x18 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Fae and Kaitlynn enrolling in school to protect Caroline?

Thoughts Brayden and Damon overhearing Jeremy and Fae's conversation?

Thoughts on Brayden telling Kaitlynn to remove the dagger from Elijah?

Thoughts on Brayden's plan on fooling Klaus and saving Fae?