Title: Eavesdropping Pays Off

Category: Vampire Diaries

Characters: Caroline, Matt and Tyler

Summary: Tyler's about to leave Mystic Falls and he's telling Matt how he feels for Caroline. However, Caroline happens to be listening in from the bathroom.

Status: In Progress

AN: I do not own anything if did things would be different.

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Chapter 1

Caroline had dropped Luca off at The Grill and was fixing to come out of the bathroom. She had been avoiding Tyler all day and now he was out in The Grill. She groaned shutting the door back, but she could hear everything that Tyler was saying. She bit down on her bottom lip and fought everything that was telling her not to leave the bathroom. He had betrayed her, but she loved him. God, did she love him and it was the reason it hurt so much.

"She's been there for me like nobody's ever been there in my life," Tyler said because he was leaving and he had to make things right. Leaving was the only way to fix what had happened. He could leave and get out of the way of Matt so he could get Caroline back. He had hurt Caroline and almost gotten Elena killed, he had to go. He just didn't know how he was going to be able to do this.

Matt was listening, but he didn't know what Tyler fully meant by those words. He'd broken up with Caroline and then tried to get her back. However, she was always with Tyler these days. It wasn't hard to find Caroline; she'd be anywhere his best friend was. It went the opposite way too because he'd been looking for Tyler one day and Caroline answered his door. It had shocked him that she was at Tyler's house.

"She's this amazing person," Tyler said wishing that he could change what had happened, "I never meant for what happened, but I fell for her," nothing had happened yet between them besides the kiss he'd given her, "I don't know how anybody wouldn't and I love her, man,"

It wasn't some kind of friend love either; he loved Caroline Forbes, the girl that had shoved him down when they'd been kids. She'd called him a jerk and bully, but three days later she was laughing right beside him. She was this wonderfully perfectly girl and becoming a vampire had made her even better.

Caroline didn't know what to do, but she couldn't let Tyler go. She knew that it was probably going to hurt Matt, but she opened the bathroom door going out walking up behind Tyler. She needed to tell him so many things. She had to convince him to stay because she couldn't be abandoned. If Tyler left her then she'd be left in this horrible black pit of nothing. He was the only thing she had going for her right now.

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Matt knew he could either fight for Caroline, and never really have her heart because she'd always be half there or he could give her the freedom she wanted. She'd never be happy because he could see it already. He had lost Caroline when he ended things months ago before the Masquerade ball. Caroline was being herself when she'd been jealous and he hadn't been able to take that. It was his own fault that she had found Tyler and that his best friend fell for his girl.

"She is an amazing person and I was dumb enough to let her go," Matt said with a sigh, "Don't make the same mistake, Ty," he walked away leaving them standing there. He'd lost Caroline, but he could see that they both had feelings for each other. They kept denying it, but it would always come back to the fact they had feelings for each other. He would never really have Caroline as his again. He didn't really have her before either, because he had been hung up on Elena.

"You love me?" Caroline asked as Matt walked away, she didn't know what to think and she was stunned. He had told Matt that he loved her; she was trying to fight the tears because she never thought that coming from him. She thought maybe he really liked her, but Tyler didn't do love.

Tyler had been distracted by what Matt had just said. His best friend had just told him not to make the mistake of leaving Caroline. He turned around looking at her; she looked so beautiful right now. He couldn't lie to her; she had already heard what he'd said to Matt. "Yes, I love you, Caroline," he never meant for her to be taken or to get hurt, "You mean everything to me and I'm sorry about everything,"

Caroline moved towards him so she was standing almost in his personal space. "You drive me crazy, you're frustrating, I want to smack you sometimes, and you will have to learn who not to trust, but…" She looked into his eyes hoping they showed what she was about to say. "I love you too," she couldn't deny it either, "It's why it hurt so much, why I slammed the door in your face," she saw the side of Tyler that nobody else got to.

Tyler smiled at her before he dropped the bag he'd been carrying. He'd planned on leaving tonight so he could get far from her and maybe get his heart to stop thinking of her. He was going to try and keep her safe by leaving her behind. He had thought if he did that he could find a way to live without her, but he was wrong. He couldn't live without the girl he loved with every fiber of his being.

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Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck before she kissed him. He kissed her back cupping her face, there was no way he could leave her, and he wasn't going to. He didn't want to pull out of the kiss and he damned the fates that made him need oxygen. He looked at her and he saw her not as a vampire, but as Caroline, his best friend. "I'd rather live in vampire country than never be near you,"

Caroline wasn't sure what he meant by vampire country, but she smiled, "I think we should go home," she was holding his hand and lifted the bag he'd had. "Damn, why you walking with this?" she asked glad she had her vamp strength or she would never be able to lift it. She looked up at him scared about what he was going to say. It wasn't a full moon for another month so why was he carrying the duffle.

Tyler took the bag from her, "I was going to leave, I thought if you wouldn't talk to me, I had no reason to stay," he needed her and without her he was alone, "I got no one else," he could never trust anybody, but her. She had lied, but he understood why now. The girl had the biggest heart in the world.

Caroline hugged him thankful that she had come out of the bathroom. She was thankful that she had taken longer dropping Luca off. "Please don't leave me," she couldn't deal if he left. "We can do this together, Tyler, I'll be there every full moon," she would chain him up and make sure he was safe. She would get him wolfsbane, she would borrow Ric's tranquilizer gun if she had to.

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"I'm not," Tyler said back before they left The Grill together. He had walked here from his house. He'd needed to talk to Matt to let him know the truth at least part of it. He never expected to see Caroline. He had planned on going to her house, dropping her phone in the mailbox, and leaving, "I didn't drive here, I was supposed to…" he stopped realizing that he had told Jules to meet him at Caroline's house.

"Supposed to what?" Caroline asked opening her car door looking across at him.

"It doesn't matter," he said taking his phone out sending a text message.

He had to make sure Jules didn't come looking for him. He told her he could never leave and she'd never be able to change his mind. He also sent one to his mom saying that Caroline changed his mind about leaving. He couldn't let her think he had left town since he had left her that letter. He was dealing with a lot and all, but it just wasn't about what he put in the note. There was so much more that she didn't know about, couldn't know about.

Caroline didn't ask who he'd text. She didn't know if she wanted to know so she got in the car with him before starting it. "So I spent most of today, some of tonight, with Bonnie and Jeremy doing some witch stuff," she said pulling out of the parking spot. "Bonnie has the hots for him and Jer likes her, bad," she smiled telling him about her idea that they would soon be dating too.

"Elena and Stefan told me the other half of the truth tonight," Tyler said telling her that Brady was dead. "I just didn't want to be like this forever,"

Caroline took his hand nodding, "You got me, I'll always be here," she would do anything to keep him safe. "I will just need you to help reinforce the wall," she couldn't let herself get bit and knew he wouldn't want that either.

"No problem," Tyler said glad he had her back. He had thought he had lost her forever when she told him to leave. He hadn't gone back to the damn pack that night; instead he'd gone to the cellar and sat all night long. He had drunk two bottles of whiskey trying to get his self wasted. She was everything that was good about him. He smiled at the thought of her using a welder. He might just have to see if she could use one.

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The End