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Chapter 1 (Flipping the plot)

Caroline's POV
Date: August 20, 2011
Location: Mystic Falls, Caroline's room at the Forbes residence

Caroline woke up in her bedroom. She looked around and noticed she wasn't in the boarding house anymore. Just yesterday, she remembered being the headmistress after Alaric retired.

Caroline thought back to her last memory; it was of Lizzie and Josie. They came to visit her and talked about a spell that could make you see your family, and they had spoken to their biological mother. Of course, Caroline never blamed the girls for being curious; she did raise them, but she wasn't their original birth mother.

She remembered that Lizzie and Josie had gotten along well with Jo, but they still loved Caroline dearly. When Caroline went to bed that night, she felt odd. She had been in pain for a while—the pain of losing Stefan, the pain of knowing she'd be the only person in her friend group still alive—but losing Klaus had truly hurt her. Caroline loved being a vampire, but eternity—the thing that would make her outlive everyone else—hurt.

Caroline never told anyone, but when Hope was two years old and the Mikaelsons were trying to free Hayley, Caroline and Hayley had teamed up and got extremely close. Of course, Caroline loved Stefan, but she knew deep down that Stefan wasn't always going to choose her first.

Stefan had chosen Damon, and she always would. Stefan loved Damon. They had a great brotherly bond, but Stefan wanted to be the hero brother who was always there to pick up where Damon messed up or to save him. She lost her husband on the day she married him because of it; she never blamed Damon. He had tried his hardest after Stefan's death to be there for her, taking her to certain events, even with Elena, but she knew Elena was struggling and that her marriage with Damon wasn't as perfect as everyone thought it was.

She truly did see Stefan and Damon as family. They were her friends, and though she and Damon had a rough start, he truly did become a good person. However, Elena was not his person—maybe at first—but Damon was better as a vampire than he was as a human. He loved being a vampire: the speed, being able to get drunk whenever he wanted—that was just how he was when he turned human.

Caroline sat up and looked around. She really was in her old bedroom, but if this was her old bedroom, then that meant her mother was still alive. She didn't have cancer yet. Caroline had to be sure, so she grabbed her phone to check the date, and she let out a sigh of relief. She still had time to save her mother.

Caroline had so much she could change; she could make sure Jo lived to give birth to her babies. She could save her mother. She could save Elena from being put under a sleeping spell. But there's one thing Caroline wanted to do the most: she wanted to see Hayley and Klaus again.

Caroline remembered when class was away, and she was helping collect venom with Hayley while also taking care of Hope. She and Hayley had a real connection, and Caroline always loved Klaus, even if she felt like just one of the girls who were insecure. Klaus saw the real her. He chose her first. Stefan chose Elena; Damon chose Elena; Alaric had Jo, but then he also had Jenna. Tyler—Tyler was so not hers. Tyler was a playboy. They grew up together, yes, but they weren't meant to be. Tyler was gone; they were broken up now.

Caroline got up and vamped over to her mirror. Thank God she was at least a vampire; she didn't want to have to suffocate to death again.

Caroline noticed her eyes were red, which meant she was really heartbroken over Tyler. She was taking the breakup hard. She remembered that much; it was before the baby drama, before she had slept with Klaus.

But Caroline knew how she could change her life. First, she would get an appointment for her mother to see a doctor and get her treated for cancer before it became too severe. Today was the day; hopelessness conceived Klaus could never deny her anything, and she wanted to see if anyone else also came back.