I don't own any of the characters-obviously!
After Episode 9 (I kind of incorporated some stuff from Episode 10)
Chapter 1: Time
Caroline had been lost for days. She didn't know what to do. How did she get back to where she was before this big mess happened? Nothing made sense anymore. And she couldn't help but feel terrified and guilty.
Tyler's mom was dead. The town thought it had been accident. They thought she was drunk and hit her head or something. But the truth was that she had been murdered. She was killed as a punishment for her son's actions. And it was tearing him apart.
Caroline just wanted to be there for him. She knew what it was like to lose a parent. She wanted to help him, to be his shoulder to lean on. The problem was: Tyler wouldn't let her. He was shutting her and everyone else out. Tyler's anger was bottling up inside of him, and Caroline was terrified for the moment he finally exploded. He was mad at the world, mad at Hayley, mad at Klaus, and mad at himself.
But Caroline wondered in the back of her mind if her mind if he was mad at her. After all, she'd shown that her loyalty would always lie with Elena, with her kind. Tyler had unsired all the hybrids. The longer Klaus was alive, the more danger that put them all in. But Caroline had sided with Stefan to keep Klaus alive to find the cure for Elena. Eventually, they'd found another way to find the cure, and Caroline had helped with the assassination plans, but Tyler hadn't forgotten the stand off. He hadn't forgotten that deep down Caroline was not on his side, not completely at least.
The town held a memorial service for Carol Lockewood, the second mayor that was taken from them. Mystic Falls wasn't taking it well. There'd been too much death in this small town, and it was starting to be un-ignorable. There was a mandatory high school candle lighting in her memory.
Everyone went. Caroline found Tyler beforehand and sat by him. He didn't look at her at all while her mother spoke about the town's beloved mayor. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand, especially when it tightened into a fist. All the talk of Carol's "accident" was too much for him. He stormed out, visibly shaking with fury. Caroline feared he would do something stupid and confront Klaus, which would get him killed. It was a wonder Klaus hadn't killed him already. Caroline was trying to make sure Tyler never left her sight because she was hoping that she could influence Klaus enough to get him to allow Tyler to live. It wasn't a good plan, and she had no reason to believe that Klaus still "fancied" her after her betrayal, but it was all she had.
When the service was over Caroline rushed out to find Tyler. Unfortunately he was no where to be found. She cursed silently. She was about to call Stefan and yell at him for wallowing in his misery when Tyler's mother had just died. It was not okay for him to skip out on the memorial service, even though his brother had slept with his one true love. Tyler got priority.
But then she saw April. April who had seen Caroline come back to life. April who knew all about vampires now. April who hadn't been compelled to forget all this information because she'd been wearing a bracelet laced with vervain.
"Hey April," Caroline gave her brightest smile.
April swallowed and flicked her eyes around the hallway nervously. "Um, hi, Caroline."
"Look, I really need to talk to you."
"About what? The fact that you're a," she lowered her voice. "vampire?"
Caroline nodded, pulling her off to the side. "I'm going to answer all your questions."
The girl stared up in disbelief. Caroline glanced down, noticing the bracelet.
"Oh that's cute, can I see it? Where'd you get it?"
April held up her arm, "Jeremy found it. He just put it on me. I don't know why I still wear-"
Caroline had snatched it off April's wrist. "Hey!"
The blond vampire silenced her with a look. She stared deep into her eyes, "You will forget everything you know about vampires. You'll forget everything you saw and heard from me. All you know is that Mystic Falls is a typical small town and you are a typical high school girl. You are Miss Mystic Falls, and you will do all you can do fulfill your duties perfectly."
April nodded in a trance, "I will fulfill my duties perfectly."
Caroline smiled, "Awesome, so go on this town needs some female leadership."
April gave a hesitant smile and went on her way. With that finally finished, Caroline went to attend to other matters...like Tyler.
Caroline decided to call him instead of Stefan. Of course, he didn't answer. She left a message saying that she was there for him and that if there was anything he needed all he had to do was call. She couldn't think of anything else to do. She couldn't help him if he wouldn't let her. She huffed in frustration and clicked her way out of the high school.
Unconsciously, she made the decision to stop at Mystic Grill. She had this feeling like she knew Stefan would be there. He did not disappoint. He was sitting in a corner, drinking away his sorrows. Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Stefan, what the hell?"
He rolled his eyes, "Nice to see you too, Caroline."
She huffed and slid into the seat across from him. "This is not acceptable. This is not the time to go on some ripper binge fest!"
To that he downed the rest of his bourbon. "My brother slept with my ex-girlfriend."
"And Tyler's mother died!"
Stefan grimaced. He knew she was right. He was being selfish, but Caroline really couldn't blame him...at least not too much.
It pained Caroline to see him like this, but he needed to realize that there were bigger problems. Others were hurting more than he was. He needed to get over it because she couldn't deal with the Tyler situation without him. In the back of her mind Caroline couldn't help but think Elena just wasn't worth this. Maybe the old Elena was amazing, but this new girl Caroline couldn't quite stomach. And in the recesses of her mind, she believed Stefan deserved better. The new girl just wasn't his soulmate anymore.
Caroline gave a tight smile. "Fine, when my best friend re-inhabits your body call me. Because I have a lot to deal with right now, and I cannot handle seeing you like this!"
She started to get up, but Stefan grabbed her arm, "Caroline, wait, tell me. What's wrong?"
She gave him a look. What wasn't wrong?
He back-tracked, "I mean, specifically today, right now, what is it that you need to talk to me about?"
She sighed, sitting down, "Tyler. I mean everything about Tyler right now is so wrong. He's so angry, Stefan. He stormed out today! And I'm scared of what he might do. I just don't know what to do. He won't talk to me. He's shutting me out. How do I make this better?"
"Caroline, what do you expect? He just lost his mother."
"I know that! But I'm his girlfriend, I expect him to talk to me about it! I mean, it's not like I don't understand! I do. I lost my dad."
Stefan nodded, and pushed a glass towards her. She downed it, "I just-I don't get it, Stefan. I feel so bad. I feel like a bad person because I can't help him. But the reason I can't is because he won't let me in! It's so frustrating and I shouldn't be feeling this way, right? Because he's in pain and he needs time and everything, but I don't understand him. We've been through so much and I've always been there for him. Why can't he let me be there now?"
Stefan stared at her for a long time. She shifted her gaze to the empty glass before her. The alcohol was definitely helping.
"Caroline, I think you just need to give it time. Tyler will talk to you when he's ready. He's grieving."
She sighed. Stefan was right. She was being impatient and overbearing. But there was also a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something was wrong with her relationship with Tyler. He should be able to talk to her. He shouldn't shut her out. She shook her head to clear it.
"Okay thanks Stefan."
"Can I go back to wallowing in my misery now?" He teased, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"As long as it doesn't turn into a ripper rampage, I guess that's okay," she gave him a sad smile. She was worried about him. But maybe his own insight applied here as well. She just needed to give it time. In time he would heal and be able to function again.
As Caroline was leaving the Grill, she was thinking about just how much time it would take. Her bracelet caught her eye, the one Klaus had given her. And she couldn't stop herself before she recalled his statement, "Maybe one day, in a year, or even in a century, you'll turn up at my door, and let me show you what the world has to offer."
At the time she'd blown off his statement. But secretly, she'd held onto his words.
She would live forever. She had all the time in the world. How long did it take to get over something? How long did it take to forget someone? And how long did it take to give in? Would she ever give in to Klaus? She couldn't imagine a world where she would. That wasn't true. She could imagine that world, she had imagined that world. It was one of her most private secrets. But that world never seemed real. It was an alternate universe; her reality was Tyler. She was in love with Tyler, no matter what curiosities Klaus brought into her life.
When Caroline got home, she flopped onto her bed in frustration. She was furious with herself. She was thinking about Klaus when Tyler was hurting. He was grieving over his mother, and she was fantasizing-no, definitely not fantasizing, just thinking-about his mother's killer. She was a terrible person. Caroline wanted to blame it on Tyler for being distant, but she couldn't. This was not his fault, but hers. Klaus was a killer. He'd proven that. And worse, he was a murderer out of revenge and rage. He killed Carol, an innocent woman; her death was only meant to cause Tyler pain.
Caroline wondered why she was still alive-among other things, she'd helped with the plan to take him out. But then she knew the answer, she just didn't want to admit it.
**So I don't promise all the chapters will be this long, I just wanted to get the stage set after episode 9** Please Review. Constructive Criticism is soooo welcome! Just let me know what you think! I need to know if I should continue! (: