Disclaimer: Do not own TVD or any of it's characters.
Warning: Rated M for possible graphic nature/language/violence in later chapters
The last week was one spent on pins and needles around the Hybrid. Something was wrong with Caroline and he didn't know what. He'd confronted her last week about it, but she'd brushed it off by saying that she was worried about her friends. Understandable since there was always something going on with one of their friends. What Tyler didn't understand was why he couldn't touch his own girlfriend. Caroline seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder and he couldn't quite figure out why. Every time he moved to kiss her mouth, he caught her cheek instead. If he tried to hold her hand she would grip his lightly for a second or two, and then let him go again. The furthest he'd get with the blonde was a quick hug.
Caroline wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't tell him what was really on her mind and that worried him. He thought it was supposed to be them against the world. So three days ago he'd had that awkward conversation with Elena. He could remember it vividly. He'd approached the doppleganger and begged for her to look into it. To talk to her best friend and find out what was wrong with her. Yes, Caroline had said that she was just a little overwhelmed by everything and Tyler trusted her completely, but there was still something that was off and he couldn't quite put his finger on what.
Which was why he'd enlisted the help of Elena. He probably could have asked Bonnie or Stefan, but they both seemed a little busy with things of their own. Stefan seemed preoccupied with finding out what Klaus's latest plot was while Bonnie was busy mooning over Jeremy. Everyone knew it, but she still tried to act as though there was nothing happening. He could have asked Matt, but it would have been a little suspicious for her ex-boyfriend to be asking about her current one. There was no one else to talk to. He could have asked Damon.. but.. well.. No one wanted to be around Damon right now, not with the elder Salvatore brother's proclamation of his love for Rebekah.. and her's for him. It was kind of sickening, actually.
Now it was a waiting game, really. Elena had agreed that Caroline had seemed off and had agreed to looking into it for him, but not before reassuring him that there was nothing to be found, that Caroline probably was just distracted. Tyler had allowed Elena to get his hopes up, too. Which was why he'd been a little hurt yesterday by his and Caroline's argument. She'd come over, they'd talked about the weather. When the hell did our relationship get reduced to weather!? He remembered wondering darkly. They'd talked in slightly uncomfortable silence for almost an hour before the blonde had blurted out that she had to do something for her mother and needed to leave. Tyler had wrapped his arms around her and told her that he'd missed her.
She'd told him she missed him too. Tyler told her that he loved her. You too, had been her response. He'd moved to kiss her and caught nothing more than her cheek as she'd turned her face away. The response had been enough to flip a little switch and Tyler began yelling. Caroline yelled right back. They'd screamed at one another, said hurtful things that they never should have.. all the while Tyler was simply begging her to tell him what was wrong, why things seemed to be falling apart. Again, Caroline told him that it was nothing, that she needed to wrap her head around some things and she would be fine again soon. Within an hours time things had settled and she stood on tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, lingering there just long enough to give him hope that everything would be alright. And then she was gone. That was yesterday.
The Hybrid was currently relaxing back against the couch, watching something on TV. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what the hell he was watching anymore since he'd only paid attention to the narrators monotone voice for all of thirty seconds before his vision clouded and he was lost within his own head. Tyler hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep until his phone rang, vibrating roughly on the glass coffee table across from him. Blearily he reached for the phone and hit talk without looking to see who was calling. "Hello?" He grumbled, eyes flashing to the clock to realize he'd fallen asleep nearly four hours ago.
"Tyler." A familiar voice rang into his ear and he yawned in the midst of attempting a response. He wanted to go upstairs and drop like a lead ball into his bed. "I know what's going on with Caroline." Elena's voice rattled through the speaker, causing him to sit bolt upright, all thoughts of sleep vanished.
"What?"
"Can.. Can we meet somewhere?"
"Sure, I can be to your house in 20 minutes?" He suggested, but the doppleganger didn't want to meet there.. or maybe it was too long of a wait. He wasn't sure. "No, I'll be at your house in ten." She responded.
Elena had clicked off after that and Tyler's heart thundered madly within his chest. So.. something was going on with Care. But what? There were only a couple of things that he could think of that were enough for her to hide it from him. Maybe she was planning a surprise birthday party for him. Yeah, Lockwood, and woodpeckers eat steel. He thought bitterly. Elena had sounded worried, that meant it was something a little worse than planning a birthday party.
He walked to the door and paced the porch while waiting for Elena to arrive and when she did the brunette stayed in her car for a short time, simply staring at the steering wheel like she was trying to steel her nerves. Eventually, Tyler got tired of waiting and jogged down the steps and across the gravel to her. After kneeling a little he knocked on the drivers window with an arched brow, causing the new vampire to jump slightly in her seat, chocolatey eyes landing on Tyler and sighing.
She looked tired, almost defeated, even. A frown tugged at Tyler's lips in response before opening the door to help her out. "You okay, Elena?" He asked. The two had never really been all that close, but they'd talked throughout the years and it was enough that they both considered the other a friend. Or perhaps it was more that they had mutual friends and they were nothing more than acquaintances. That seemed likely as well. It didn't matter though, because it was enough for him to have asked Elena for help and enough that she was here to help him.
"Yeah.. I just.. I need to walk.." She muttered, obviously fighting with herself about something. What, Tyler hadn't the faintest clue. He gently took hold of her arm and lead her toward the back of the house, allowing Elena to set the pace as she walked in silence, staring at the pond ahead. The hybrid wouldn't admit it, but he was so nervous that he felt sick to his stomach.
When he couldn't take it anymore he turned to look at her. "Elena, what's going on with Caroline?" He asked at the same time she looked at him and said, "Caroline's cheating on you." Tyler froze, taking a moment to be sure he'd heard her correctly. Cheating? Caroline? Impossible. "A-Are you sure? I mean.. this is Care." He asked, his dark eyes still a little wider than normal.
Elena frowned when she noticed how pale he'd gone and wished she'd kept her mouth shut. But there had been an internal struggle on what was important. Caroline was her best friend, she'd known the blonde since before they could walk, but Tyler was her friend too and he'd come to her, begging for help. She didn't know what she should listen to, the loyalty to her best friend, or the promise she'd made to that friend's boyfriend. In the end, that promise meant more. "Yeah.. I'm sure.." She whispered.
Tyler looked down at the girl in disbelief. Caroline. His Caroline was cheating? With who? "How are you so sure?" He asked instead. His mind had begun reeling, who could Caroline possibly be cheating on him with? Matt? Matt was still hung up on the crush he'd had on Rebekah. Jeremy? Was with Bonnie, he was sure. Damon was with Rebekah and Stefan? Well, Stefan was single since Elena had turned both brothers down after she'd been turned, but Tyler knew that both Stefan and Caroline saw each other more as siblings than something romantic. So.. Who?
"I went over to Caroline's, I was going to visit with her and talk to her, see if I could find out what was up. I get over there and I could hear laughing and giggling inside. So.. I crept around to the window and... I saw them together, curled on the couch kissing." Elena swallowed hard as she looked into Tyler's face. She bit down on her lower lip and frowned, waiting for some sort of backlash.
"Wh... Who was she with?" Tyler asked, running through the list of people he knew once more before one name triggered into his head. No, he thought as his eyes snapped back to Elena's face. It couldn't be.. "Klaus." Elena's voice confirmed.
Tyler's mouth fell open as he gasped for a breath, feeling as if someone had blocked off his airway. Even though the name had popped into his head he hadn't truly believed for a second that it could be. Tyler had never had a panic attack in his life, but he was sure that's what was happening now. The world around him spun as he sucked mouthfuls of air into his lungs, though with each breath he felt as if his lungs weren't getting any. "Tyler?" He barely heard the girls voice as his knees went weak. Klaus? Of all the people in this god forsaken world, KLAUS?! "No. No.. no, no, no. Not Klaus! Anyone but Klaus!" He begged aloud without really realizing he'd spoken the words.
His hands raised to cover his face and Elena reached out to gently touch his arm. She was hoping to comfort him in anyway that she possibly could, but really didn't know how. Everyone knew that Caroline was the first girl–of the many that Tyler Lockwood had been with–that he'd actually loved. She honestly didn't know how he was going to jump back from this or if he would ever trust anyone fully again. He'd been so head over heels for the blonde and then this happens. And she'd thought that Caroline was better than this. After seeing what Jeremy cheating on Bonnie had done to their best friend she would have assumed that Caroline never would have done the same thing.
"I don't know how long it's been going on.. but they looked pretty cozy." Elena said softly, though Tyler barely seemed to hear her. Of course, Elena didn't go into full details either. Caroline and Klaus weren't just cuddled up together on the couch like she'd told him, there had been so much more than sweet kisses. She wasn't going to tell him that, though. It was bad enough that she'd had to tell him that Caroline was with Klaus, but to go into the details she'd seen? That would shatter the Hybrid.
"Klaus!?" Tyler repeated, sounding breathless. His hand raised to clutch at his chest, feeling as if it were constricting painfully. His heart felt like it were beating a thousand times faster than normal and he was still sucking in gasping breaths as if he couldn't get enough air. Without warning he dropped to his knees, feeling them give out from under him.
"I'm.. Oh god, Tyler, I'm sorry!" She said as she dropped in front of him, her hands resting gently on his shoulders.
"Why?" He asked to no one in particular. At a loss for more to say, Elena simply waited there, waited for the shock to pass. She was expecting anger, fury beyond anything she'd ever seen. Everyone knew that Tyler had a temper and was more likely to start swinging than hope for a civil conversation. The doppleganger chewed at the inside of her lower lip while watching him. What she hadn't expected were the tears that sprang to his eyes, which made her feel even more horrible for having to tell him.
"I.. I was going to talk to her, tell her that she needed to tell you.. but..." Her voice trailed off, thinking that once more he wasn't listening. Again, he shocked her by locking those dark eyes against hers.
"But, what?"
Elena took in a deep breath as she watched him. She felt even more horrible for telling him as a tear slid down his cheek. She'd just broken him, torn out his heart. He asked for it, a small part of her brain told her. And it was true, he had asked her to find out what was going on with Caroline, but he'd never expected it to turn out like this, that much she knew. Elena swallowed hard, "but I don't know when she was going to. Like I said, they looked pretty cozy... like it's been going on for a while..." She said while looking at him.
So Caroline had been cheating on him for God only knew how long and didn't even have the guts to tell him. He was reminded of their talks over the last week.. how she'd told him she'd just been worried about her friends. LIAR, he screamed internally. She hadn't wanted to touch him or kiss him because she was with Klaus. "Oh.. god.." He cried out as his hands raised to cover his face when an image of the two of them ran through his head.. Five people in his entire life had seen him cry. His mother, his father, Matt, Caroline and now Elena. He hated adding someone to that list, hated knowing that anyone could see him as weak. Even when he felt that he was.
No sooner had the cry left his lips and Elena's arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, dragging him closer to her to hug him. "I'm so sorry, Tyler. I wish it would have been different. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you. I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as her grip on him tightened. Tyler couldn't get the thought out of his head. Caroline and Klaus, his Caroline wrapped around his arch-enemies body, their lips on one anothers, their bodies wrapped in ways that Tyler had only wanted for the two of them for the rest of their unnatural lives.
Again his chest tightened as he couldn't get the images to stop flashing through his mind and his breathing hitched. His hands left his face, quickly wrapping around her lower back as he buried his face into her neck, crying even harder than he had before. The cries, mixed with his already erratic breathing made it harder to catch the breath his lungs seemed to ache for. She held tightly to him, stroking his hair and murmuring comforting words into his ear that he didn't seem to hear.
It was thirty minutes later that Tyler managed to calm his breathing and stop the flow of tears enough to extract himself from Elena's embrace. His eyes were red and swollen, though there was a hardness to them that actually sent a shiver of terror through the doppleganger. "Tyler. Tyler promise me you're not going to do something stupid." She commanded.
"Like what?" He asked with an edge to his voice that Elena had never heard before.
"Like go.."
"..After Klaus?" He finished the sentence, causing her to nod. Tyler scoffed and shook his head, turning his gaze toward the sky momentarily. "What more could he do to me?" He asked when he finally looked back at her. "He turned me, he killed my mom, he ran me out of town, he killed all the other hybrids and now he took Caroline. What more could he do?" He asked, his eyes still tearful but that dangerous tone gave an edge that once more made Elena shiver.
"He could kill you." Elena countered.
"He already did." Tyler retorted, pulling himself away from the brunette and shoving himself unsteadily to his feet. After sitting on his knees for over half an hour they were a little weak.
"Tyler!" She shouted while jumping to her feet and running after him as he stalked up toward the house. "Tyler promise me!" Tyler said nothing, simply kept walking toward the house with a scowl set into his lips. "Tyler please!" Elena shouted desperately. She couldn't stand the thought of losing even one more friend to that monster. He had just reached the bottom step on his way to the front door when Elena reached out and snagged his arm, halting him and pulling him back just enough so that she could see his face. What she saw made her heart sink and terrified her all at the same time. His eyes looked so dead, there was a hardness in his features that she'd never seen before.. in anyone. Even Klaus. He looked so lethal that it took everything in her not to pull her arm away. "Tyler.. please, promise me that you're not going to do something stupid." She plead again.
Tyler ripped his arm out of her grasp. "You'd better go home, Elena.. before you get hurt." Even with that deadly look on his face, his tone had softened slightly to speak to her. When she opened her mouth to protest, however, the anger seeped back into his voice. "Now." He commanded before running up the steps to the manor. Elena wanted so desperately to follow him, to tell him not to go, but she knew that in the end he wouldn't listen. A part of her also wanted to call Caroline and warn the blonde, but couldn't bring herself to do either. Instead she went home, calling Matt and Stefan along the way.
Matt promised to check in on Tyler as soon as he'd gotten off work. Stefan had no idea about Caroline, sure they talked a lot, but the blonde had had everyone convinced of her undying love for Tyler and Tyler alone. With the promise that Stefan wouldn't talk to Caroline about it just yet, Elena hung up and dropped onto the couch. She could hear Bonnie and Jeremy laughing gently upstairs and contemplated going to sit with them, if only for a little while to distract herself. Sadly, she couldn't bring herself to get back off the couch. Elena felt like hell for telling Tyler because she felt like the cause of that heartache that had come over his features. She felt responsible for the pain he was in and the anger that was coursing through him. Sure, she could have kept it to herself until Caroline had been ready to spill to truth, but she'd promised Tyler and didn't want to go back on that promise.
Review, lemme know what you think so far.
