When Tyler sets foot into Beacon Hills, he can practically feel the supernatural. Feel the past, the present and a taste of what is to come to this town. And while he firmly believed there was no place more cursed than Mystic Falls. He wasn't so sure anymore, when his brown colored eyes took the sign of 'Beacon Hills' in sight. His car rolled over the town line, smooth and black. He had hated black cars, had liked silver ones. Or his red cabriolet. But black had been his mother's favorite color, she loved to drive her black SUV. The only thing he couldn't have sold, even if he wanted to. The house now belonged to Matt Donovan, the probably only human left in loony town. The house had to belong to a human again, had to harbor happiness one day. When Matt settled down, married and had kids, running around, skipping steps and throwing balls in the garden. Like he had done when he had been a kid.
He parked it in front of the huge apartment building, one of the newer ones. A pathetic attempt of the small town, to get people to move into the county. He had paid cash for the apartment, had actually bought it with his savings for college. Tyler wouldn't go to college, how could he anyway? A lone wolf, an omega. He still couldn't come to terms with what he truly was, that his dad and his uncle had been werewolves too. And not the sweet kind, that jumps and magically is a huge wolf. Telepathically talking to their pack mates. Damn Caroline for forcing him to watch twilight.
No, his bones cracked in pain, reshaped. Forced him to endure pain, no one would ever understand or feel. Maybe another wolf, a wolf from his species. As far as he had understood from the Alaska pack, there were other werewolves, a kind that did not turn into wolves. Who had an alpha, who had different eye colors, determining their status and some of them even their history.
He lives for a few weeks in Beacon Hills and it actually feels weirdly normal. He works full time in a café, a little like Mystic Grill. Just that it wasn't a bar and a café. It was just a café, with great coffee, a reading corner and students strolling in and out in masses. Before school, during break and after school. Some brought dates in, some made learn groups at the bigger tables in the back. And some just grabbed a coffee to go.
Tyler listened to their rants at the register. At endless and sometimes even mindless babble, when they ordered something. He wiped tables and brought drinks, cleared tables and cashed in. His boss was a nice woman in her thirties, who had long blonde locks, that fell over her shoulders in waves. Always wore an apron in soft rosé and a smile on her lips for everyone. He somehow liked her, not in the whole 'Am so in love with her', 'older chicks are hot' or 'on a scale of 1-10 would totally bang' kind of way, but a 'She is like my mom' kind of way. Especially when she sends him with a cup of hot choc and a big chocolate cookie, to the girl who had been just broken up with, by her dick of a boyfriend. She tells him to say on the house and that chocolate is the best, when it rains outside.
He does exactly that and returns to the counter, the girl stopped crying and was shyly looking to the owner, giving her a small smile. Tyler had almost forgotten that kind of kindness, with all the violence he had seen, in his alarmingly still short life. The bell above the café's door rings in a soft jingling way and alerts him to three people coming through the door. Two of them girls, the remaining one a boy. All the same age, his age and all three blonde. While they varied on degree of their hair color, two had blue eyes one had chocolate brown ones and it was she who dragged his attention away, from the paying costumer. Who had to snap his fingers in front of his face, making him look away embarrassed and cash the man quickly.
Knowing that one of the girls is the Mrs. Singer's daughter, he doesn't know the other or the boy, for all he knew, he could be the blonde girl's boyfriend. Err... the one with the brown eyes – names wouldn't be such a bad thing about now. Mrs. Singer can either read thoughts, which would be really horrifying, or she simply was the kind of person, who liked everyone to know everyone. But he couldn't be more thankful for the introduction she did. "Tyler, this is my daughter Pascal" her arm comes up around the shoulder, of the smallest blonde with the blue eyes, long pale blonde hair and even paler skin. Her other arm falls on the shoulders of the other girl. "This is Erica, she is kind of also my daughter and Pascal's best friend" Mrs. Singer says and smiles her sweet smile. Before taking the arm that had been on Pascal's shoulder to drop it on the boys. Which had her a bit stretching, because he was damn tall. "And this is both best friend, Isaac Lahey..." Tyler nodded and shook each of the people's hands, though he shook Erica's last and couldn't help how their hands lingered touching for a little longer, than with the others.
If she noticed, she was polite enough to not say anything. The line at the register getting longer and he excuses himself to get back to work. Which leads to Mrs. Singer leading all three to the back room that had the big kitchen, probably preparing something utterly delicious for them. Tyler let her name ring in his head, over and over again.
Erica.
There's a shop down the street,
where they sell plastic rings,
for a quarter a piece, I swear
Yeah, I know that it's cheap,
not like gold in your dreams,
but I hope that you'll still wear it.
Tyler doesn't know how it happened, that he got the luck of talking to Erica. But one day she comes in, without Pascal and Isaac. Which was unusual for them, given that they always came in a trio. There is some kind of breakfast bar in the coffee shop, that aligns with the register. Which means she is sitting right in front of him, when he turns around to ask for her order. Her perfect manicured nails tapping a rhythm on the polished wood, like she had been there all day. But Tyler could smell the fresh air on her, the scent of paper, books, people, Pascal and Isaac. There are others too, Tyler is sure he had had their scent once, when they had passed here. But he doesn't know for sure. After all she went to school with half of the customers here.
"I'll take the gingerbread latte~" she chirps at him, her red painted lips in a sweet smile, while Tyler looks at her a bit baffled. He had seen she-wolves. Like Hayley had been one and Maison's friend had been one. But she was different. Wolves recognized their kind, they could smell it on one another. But her wolf smelled different than his, while it was still a wolf. It was probably one of those kinds, the Alaska pack had talked about. And Beacon Hills, was quite a bit away from Mystic Falls. Given that Tyler was an Omega, without anyone teaching him how to be a wolf, or a hand down book or something. He wouldn't have known anyway.
Tyler nodded at her and proceeded to finish the gingerbread latte, his shoulders a tense line. He really couldn't explain why he was so nervous, she wasn't the first girl he had found interesting or had talked to. Placing the steaming mug right in front of her, he tried to find something to occupy himself with. So he wouldn't have his eyes glued to her blonde curl framed face. "There are barely any customers in here, it's pre afternoon. Aside from the coffee machine you already cleaned twice. The tables you swept and the bottles you cleaned up... You could always talk to me..." he didn't flinch, even if Erica would say something different later, he did not flinch.
Instead his brown eyes travelled from her hand, up her arm, over shoulder along the line of her neck, towards her red painted lips. Before he settled to look right into her warm chocolate brown eyes. "What makes you think I would like to talk to you?" and he could have slapped himself for those words. Way to go and show her dick-Tyler from the start. That was what Jeremy had labelled him for the first few years of High School in which he had made sure, the youngest Gilbert, would have the worst time of his life. After all he had been all over his girlfriend back then. Though Tyler wasn't particularly proud of how he had treated Vicky back then.
"Your heartbeat gave you away" she pointed out, not even bothered that she just had said something, no normal human would say. But then again, he figured. That if he had smelled her wolf, she had probably smelled his own. "Though if you want to pretend you don't want to, we can do that too... I was just trying to be nice" Erica said and took a sip from her now a little cooled down latte.
He averted his gaze from her face and let it wander over the three people, who were engrossed in their laptop, book and phone. None of them screaming bloody murder, for a coffee or a muffin. Which meant he actually could squeeze in a few minutes of conversation with the blonde. Especially after Mrs. Singer had told him, to relax a little and not be too serious with his work. Not that she didn't want him to do a good job, but she also wanted him to enjoy what he was doing. Even if it was only working at a coffee shop and serving customers.
"You come here a lot..." he therefore says, to show that he wanted to talk to her. Although his words were a bit stupid, given that she was practically the second daughter of the shop-owner. Though he still didn't understand how that worked. With Erica's name being a different one, her being a wolf and all that.
"The shop belongs to Mama-Singer and she has the best coffee in the whole town. Which is why it's always so cramped in here, at afternoons or mornings..." the blonde replied and took another sip, her red lipstick leaving a stain at the coffee mug's edge. "You are doing that face again though, where you try to figure something out. Like when Isaac, Pas and me came in the other day..." her finger was pointed at him, the pad of her finger upwards, nail pointing at his heart.
"Just trying to figure out, how the whole thing here works..." and Erica tells him.
Yeah, the ink may stain my skin,
and my jeans may all be
I'm not perfect, but I swear,
I'm perfect for you.
He learned about Beacon Hills and it's werewolves, which were a total different kind than his own. These werewolves, were born or turned. Though apparently only an Alpha could turn people into a werewolf. And even that was dangerous, because it posed a 5050 chance of being turned, or killed. Isaac, Boyd, Erica and Jackson were werewolves turned by Derek Hale, the current Alpha of Beacon Hills. While Scott McCall had been turned by Derek's Uncle during his Alpha time, before he got burned, his throat slashed and then returned, but only as a beta to Derek's Alpha. It was all fairly complicated, when Scott just freshly had decided to join Derek's pack.
The pack included Scott's best friend Stiles Stilinski a human. Allison Argent, also a human but a trained hunter for the supernatural. Lydia Martin a banshee and girlfriend to Jackson Whittemore. And Pascal Singer, whom none of them had an idea what she was, but she belonged with Erica and therefore with the pack.
While he got filled in on everything and had to promise both Chris Argent – father of Allison and current head of the hunters in that area – and Derek Hale that he wouldn't harm anyone during his stay. He filled them in on what he knew about his kind and his home town. It was a fair trade, when he was about to call Beacon Hills his residing town. He would never be able to call any place home anymore, not after what Klaus and Mystic Falls had taken from him.
Derek made an entry about the witches and covens into his bestiary. He also made an entry about the Original Vampires and vampires in general. With all the freaky stuff that had already happened in Beacon Hills. Tyler had been fairly surprised, that no vampire had found his way to the town.
But then again, sometimes one kind of freaky, was enough for the rest of your lives. Like him being introduced to his werewolf nature? Would have been enough, if he hadn't been turned into a hybrid as well.
His hybrid hunger didn't pose any problems, with the compelling powers that came with being a vampire. Tyler was able to compel the nurses to forget he ever came in and ever went out with his blood bags. Always circling around the tones of Beacon Hills, never right under the nose of Chris Argent. Which was how he could honestly say, he did not commit any crimes on Beacon-ground.
Getting to know Erica, also meant getting to know her overly sarcastic best friend and daughter of the business he worked in. The blonde was short, smart and well how could Tyler phrase it without sounding mean? Sometimes didn't know when to not say something. Or well try to walk around people's feelings. He had winced, when she had flipped off the poor guy, who had asked her a third time for a date. And while she had said twice 'No' and the boy hadn't gotten the message. There was no necessity to actually tell him in great detail what a loser he was.
And while Mrs. Singer made Pascal apologize to the boy, with a café latte and a big caramel chocolate cookie, the blonde had done so with great dislike.
..and there's no guarantee,
that this will be
It's not a miracle ya need, believe
Yeah, I'm no angel, I'm just me,
but I will love you
Wings aren't what you need, you need me.
Tyler gets to know the blondes a bit better during his stay at Beacon Hills. He learns that Pascal has powers, much like Bonnie's but can't control them. And unlike Bonnie who had her grams or the grimoire. Pascal has no one to tell her, as he's been told the blonde was adopted. Like Jackson was adopted and both still didn't like each other. Because like Tyler had been a jock in Mystic Falls. Jackson was Beacon Hills' jock.
He hangs out with the pack, slowly gets to know everyone. Like that Derek's default mood is 'grumpy', that Boyd wasn't a boy of many words, but great gestures. Isaac always wore scarfs and somehow seemed to always gravitate towards Pascal. Like he was trying to protect her, or to charm her. Tyler would have bet many on the last, but the blonde didn't seem to really notice. He learned that Isaac and Boyd, were close to Erica, like brothers. While Erica and Allison didn't get that well along, because of past story. Scott was the boyfriend of Allison and seemed to think about her 24/7. While Stiles seemed to be between Derek and Lydia, like he couldn't decide which of the two, was more likely to shatter his heart in thousand pieces.
And while he observed all this, as an outsider, which made it easier to actually see all of it. He didn't feel like one at all. With Erica bringing him into their group. With Scott asking him to stay for movie nights at Derek's loft. With Pascal actually bringing him lunch, with her mother when the two were working in the coffee shop. With Derek asking him to help, when they have a weird case of pixies. As the only one who could fully turn into a wolf and well pixies?
He becomes more and more part of the pack and less and less of an omega. And he wonders if that is the path, he was meant to walk right from the beginning. If that was why he had lost everything, so nothing could tie him to Mystic Falls. And everything could pull him to Beacon Hills, to Erica.
Erica comes to the coffee shop more often without Pascal or Isaac. Sometimes she orders something, sometimes she doesn't. Most of the time she watches him work, gives a comment here and there. Declines an offer from some customer and keeps watching Tyler. She gets caught by Mrs. Singer. But she doesn't deny it. When the elderly woman says "He's a good looking young man, isn't he Erica?" and if Tyler listens a little more closely for Erica's reply. And his neck reddens a little, pulling it up to the tips of his ears when she says. "Can't get enough of that behind, Mrs. Singer" no one would really know. Cause Tyler loves his job and is very busy in cleaning the machines.
A year passes and Tyler finds himself drawn to the she-wolf. More and more often does he have to keep himself in check, so the vampire side of his hybrid nature doesn't perk up. So that the thirst actually doesn't overweight his werewolf nature. And while he can see her pulse point so clearly, like it was a real life HD picture or video. The urge to get to know her, was greater than the one to bite and suck her blood.
Well good intentions only get you so far
There's a house on the hill,
with a view of the town,
and I know how you adore
So I'll work everyday,
through the sun, and the rain,
until I can afford it.
Crimson it is, glistening in the light of the veterinarian's neon lamps. Erica's arm isn't healing, or well it is, but it is so slowly it's barely noticeable. The wound had been inflected upon her by an alpha. A flesh wound that is stitched by Deaton the veterinarian and cooled by Pascal's hands, so the blood doesn't flow too much. Tyler has to excuse himself, so he doesn't have any reaction to her blood. Though the vampire inside him is protesting, throwing itself against the cage Tyler had made for it.
Pascal finds him outside, while he's fighting his inner demons. And he doesn't want to attack her, which is why he stops right then and there, pushing his claws into the palms of his hands. "You're not complete werewolf are you?" she asks and her blue eyes are piercing, are even more frightening than the ones of Erica in pure rage. He can't lie to her, because Tyler is so done with lying. All it had gotten him in Mystic Falls, had been his mother's death.
"I was turned into a vampire by Klaus... with my born werewolf nature, it made me a hybrid..." he swallows around the thirst clawing at his throat. "I can survive without blood, though it's sometimes easier to heal, when you drink blood..." he explained, avoiding her eyes and staring on his shoes. He does not expect her next words. "Well alright then... explains so much... Anyways you wanna come in? Derek arrived and with her alpha around, Erica's wounds actually healed faster..." Tyler is somewhat shocked to hear just acceptance. But when he thinks of the other's nature and heritage, it makes more sense. He nods
Things go smoothly from there and the urge to drink blood goes down significantly. Tyler doesn't know wether it is, because he and Erica actually got to date, or because his wolf can sense Erica's and therefore overlaps the vampire nature. But he goes out with her, she is the one to ask him on a date. After that near-death/alpha experience, something must have click with her. And while Tyler feels super stupid, for not having had the balls to ask her out first, he is impressed with her surety of him wanting to go out with her.
He says 'Yes' anyways and they go out. They go bowling with the pack, they go on a double date with Scott and Allison. Which both kind of regret a little, with Scott being all day dreamy and stuff. But Allison makes a great effort to actually get along and have fun. The date with Lydia and Jackson goes well and when they meet for Pascal's birthday, the Singers actually take him in as Erica's boyfriend. And he gets the 'dad-talk' with papa Singer.
The Lockwood hybrid feels how something inside of him changes, how he fits in. Fills the holes in his heart, with new people. New faces and new bonds, formed over two years of living in Beacon Hills. And while he still keeps in touch with Matt and Caroline. He doesn't tell them where he is and they don't ask. They accept that he had to move on and that he was doing the right thing.
And one day the young man wakes up, curled around Erica, his arm over her waist. Thinking that he finally found it, once again. That he finally found, his home. Even though his mother wasn't there, his dad long gone. Maison merely a fragment of his memory and Klaus just a shadow behind his silhouette. He found his home, not in a place. Because nothing really differed between Beacon Hills and Mystic Falls. But in people he grew to like, wanted to protect, felt bonded too. Or maybe one person, he actually kind of started to love more and more every day.
He doesn't expect the applications for the Deputy in training position in his locker at work. He contemplates it, thinks about it and eventually one thought makes him fill out the forms. He wanted to give Erica a lot more, than he could as a mere barista. He wanted to actually have her by his side for ever, or well as long as she was going to have him. And therefore, he had to start planing his life. Had to start being an adult and stop being a searching teen.
Yeah, your friends may think I'm crazy,
cause they can only see,
I'm not perfect, but I swear, I'm perfect for you.
He goes down on one knee, in front of the whole party guests on February 8th. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Pascal grinning into her red solo cup. And although Tyler wants to turn around to look at everyone's reactions, he has arms full of blonde hair, a petite body and doesn't really care much for the others anymore.
Isaac is speechless when he hears the proposing of Tyler, though he could have expected it. Derek just nods, like he bet money on Tyler doing it and Peter is just his usual creepy self, giving a comment about puppies and more dog collars. Allison cries a little and Scott looks like he wants to, but he kind of is hugging Allison and everything to do with Allison? Made the McCall actually break out into tears. Lydia just seems to be pleased with herself, probably had picked out the ring with Pascal and Tyler. And Jackson is a little bit horrified and a little bit awed, which you can't of course see, with his 'bored' expression full on.
Boyd is just kind of happy for his little werewolf-sister, which he shows in simply eating a piece of her birthday cake. And giving the two not the full on stares. And while Stiles really wants to say something, he doesn't. Instead he just stands next to Derek his shoulder touching Derek's. As much PDA as the two would probably muster in front of the whole pack.
She will definitely put it on the rush of emotions, being all happy for her best friend and actual sister. That's her reasoning if anyone questions her doing next, or well if Isaac does. So when Pascal, pumped up with happiness, pulls Isaac down at the lapels of his jacket. And presses her lips against his, she doesn't only catch him off guard, but also the whole pack. There are whistles, sounds of 'Finally' which were probably coming from Jackson, Lydia and Stiles. And some other comments. But she breaks the kiss, to step back and look at Isaac, who has recovered from his shock. And seems to not like the kiss being stopped just like that. He leans forward and pecks her lips once again, simply to confirm that he was on board with this.
Erica is in Tyler's arms, when she turns around, leaning against his chest, smiling brightly at her friend. "Looks like happy ends do happen..." her bright smile, is what puts Pascal at ease. That makes her think, that all of this was right. That Erica accepting Tyler for being a hybrid, when he told her. That Tyler accepting Erica's crazy full moon moods, that all of it. Just had to make sense. And if the Alpha was okay with it and no objections were made on anyone's side? They had a wedding to plan.
The ring bought with Tyler's first real Deputy salary was a simple one, not a big diamond or anything. Just a simple silver band with a small stone and an engraving. Pascal didn't know what he had engraved, but she knew Erica would love it anyway. Tyler had shown himself worthy of her.
Life gave you choices, possible ways and a lot of them could break you, but many of them. Were just preparing you, for the greater to come.
..and there's no guarantee,
that this will be
It's not a miracle ya need, believe
Yeah, I'm no angel, I'm just me,
but I will love you
Wings aren't what you need, you need me.
The moon to my werewolf