A/N: This is going to be a series of one-shots using an adjective as a

prompt. :D Hopefully it's a good idea… oh, and it's gonna be

all different characters! Should make it more interesting ;]

R&R

Chapter One: Careful

Caroline/Tyler

Thoughts

(One of my new favorite couples)

Caroline knew she had to be careful.

She knew this situation with Tyler, was a slippery slope. Tyler was unstable and emotional, one of the most dangerous combinations when it came to supernatural beings.

Just ask Damon.

Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel for him.

She wanted to help him, she really did. That was just the kind of girl she was. Pushy, blunt, caring to the extreme, and meddling. She knows it.

Everyone knows it.

Which is why Damon's shaking her hard by the shoulders, warning her with his trademark stare and commanding her not to be his friend.

"He cannot know about us. A bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire, so don't be his friend…understand?"

He's hurting her, lecturing her, but it's Damon. In control of everything Damon, the king of the chest set sending the pawns to fight Damon, the bad ass I don't give a fuck Damon. He's only making sure that she knows if she trusts Tyler it's not only her ass on the line.

She's pissed on the inside, mad that Damon's lecturing her, mad that he knows he can tell her what to do and she'll do it and that he takes advantage, daily. On the outside, she uses her fake whine, enough so he can tell she gets it, and mumbles something about being late for school.

She's careful to try to avoid Tyler the whole day but the school is small and they have math together fourth period, so it's only a matter of time.

Her luck runs out faster than she thought it would and she runs into Tyler on the way to homeroom.

Tyler's upset, she can tell. His shoulders are tense, eyebrows furrowed, and she can see anger and fear raging in his dark eyes. The perfect storm waiting to be released.

She asks him how he's doing and when he answers not good, she deflects the questions she knows are coming with a "how's your mom?" which of course he doesn't answer.

One-track mind. Lucky me.

Of course, she can't blame him. She's the same way.

She rambles, dodges, gives him half-truths and lies as he gives her a stare that's forty levels of intense. Tells him it was an accident, tells him that she has to go, and throws a "don't blame yourself" over her shoulder as she practically runs away.

His body language tells her that he wants to follow her but at the mention of Aimee's death, the ticking bomb ceased, diffusing him just enough so she could walk away. Just like she knew it would.

She can tell he didn't buy a thing she said. Can tell he's not satisfied. Which, he never will be, because Damon's warning is still echoing in her mind and she's not stupid enough to ignore it. At least, not yet.

It's wishful thinking that he would leave her alone entirely. She's accidently piqued his interest; the dodgy, incomplete answers she feeds him convincing Tyler she knows something.

At the end of the day, after avoiding Tyler since this morning when he cornered her, she's exhausted. She's ready to go home and for a second she's careless, takes the shortcut near the basketball courts. Doesn't realize until the last second Tyler's in front of her.

"Hey."

He doesn't respond until he's accusing her, "You lied to me earlier. Why?"

Tyler's tone is harsh and accusing, if she wasn't Caroline she would have flinched. But she is, so naturally, she sighs and plays the innocent blonde card that works so well for anybody else, but Tyler.

Apparently he's immune to her charms, always has been. They've never liked each other.

Now she remembers why.

He's getting angrier, and so is she. Her eyes narrow and she gives him a short "no" as she pushes past him. He grabs her wrist in his vice-like grip, using more strength than necessary.

Big mistake, Tyler.

Caroline uses his strength against him and a little of her own to push his shoulder down, hard enough to immobilize him but not hard enough to dislocate it.

She feels his muscles straining as he tries to push himself upright but she just pushes him down harder and lower before she pushes him away, barely keeping her fangs in check.

Tyler's holding his arm in surprise and pain, "How did yo-" he whispers, "You're stronger than me?"

Caroline looks around, a showdown in the parking lot isn't exactly being careful, "please… that was nothing."

She knows she screwed up so she hits him the only way she knows how to without using her fists, "I'm sorry, Tyler. But I think you're still in shock over Sarah dying, and it's understandable."

She raises an eyebrow in the bitchy way she knows comes as a challenge to Tyler and Tyler rises to the occasion. He gets in her face, a look of pure hatred crossing his features.

She didn't mean to help push him to the breaking point.

He's new, vulnerable, emotional, and alone. At least she had Stefan and Damon however fucked up they are. They showed her the ropes, they knew how to be a vampire and they told her what to expect.

Tyler had no one.

Partly, because of me.

She feels bad, but she's not about to give him an advantage over her by being stupid enough to tell him.

She barely gets home, before she can smell werewolf around her house.

Fucking Tyler!

Hoping he had enough sense to just stay stalkerish outside her house, she goes in and sure enough, there's his scent. Everywhere.

If Damon's in her house anytime soon, which he will be, he'd be able to smell Tyler.

She's cautious, tiptoeing, and unsure whether he's going to try to snap her neck. He was mad enough earlier to try.

She closes her eyes and tries to focus her hearing, and then he's there behind her.

Caroline puts her mask in place and turns pretending to be startled and breathing hard. "What are you doing here?"

Tyler's invading her personal bubble and practically snarling like a rabid dog.

Disgusting.

She thinks that maybe the boy wasn't so far from the wolf in the first place.

"I know." His eyes are accusing, as he starts to circle her the predator in him taking over for a second. "Go ahead. Keep dodging, keep changing the subject, but I know. You're just like me, aren't you?"

Caroline closes her eyes at the accusation and once again denies it. She's getting tired of this same old song and dance. "I'm not leaving here until you tell me the truth," he gets closer, his eyes excited, "You're a werewolf."

What?

She made a deal with herself not to keep riling him up but at that statement she had to laugh. Tyler thinks she's a werewolf, he thinks he figured out her secret.

She can imagine him in the 300 costume he wore last year, shaking his spear in victory like the cocky bastard he was. He couldn't have been farther from the truth.

She giggles out a "what?" and the next thing she knows she's against the wall, pinned and he's breaking everything around them.

He needs to stop thinking he can manhandle me!

She's tired of him stalking her, grabbing her, accusing her. She shouldn't have to take his bullshit too.

Caroline "vamps out" and reverses their positions and once she's thoroughly convinced he gets the picture, she throws him to the ground. She can't help but be a little satisfied as she watched him scramble away in fear.

"I'm not a werewolf, okay?"

The secret's out and she can't help but feel a little relieved. She smiles and crosses her arms waiting for him to get up.

"Hungry?" She asks nonchalant. This whole thing was getting old, and despite what she's read in Twilight, Tyler still smells great. Not exactly human, but food nevertheless.

They order a pizza, and when they sit down at the counter to eat, he stares at her incredulously and shakes his head.

"What?" She catches his gaze and looks to the pizza in her hands. "Oh, I eat to keep the cravings in check."

"Oh." He puts his head in his hands and starts laughing. It's not a "haha that's so funny laugh", but more like a haunted almost hysterical laugh.

"Tyler?"

He looks up, tears in his eyes from laughing. "What?" He notices her apprehensive gaze and laughs harder. "I'm a werewolf." Her expression just looks even more confused. "I'm a werewolf. Moreover, you're a vampire. And we're eating lunch together. I mean, is it just me, or is this fuckin' crazy."

He's losing it.

"Ty-"

"This is crazy. We shouldn't exist. We're a fuckin' child's nightmare! Wha- I just… how?"

"I don't know. Believe me Tyler, I had no idea vampires and werewolves existed before I turned." Caroline runs her fingers through her hair and collects the plates. "I mean one day, it was all about teenage angst and being prom queen. And then-" She let out a sigh, "then I was a vampire, trying to keep from killing everyone I met in the street."

"I have that. I mean, not the eating part, but I am angry. I wanna hurt people." It was quiet for a few seconds; Caroline could tell he wasn't done. "How long? Since you turned."

"The carnival. I was turned the night before." She chuckles. " Went to bed human, and woke up a vampire."

"Wait. Weren't you in the hospital? Who turned you?"

"It's a long story. Let's take a break from all this supernatural drama."

"But" Tyler begins, he's still confused and she hasn't really answered any of his questions.

"It'll still be there tomorrow."

Caroline tells him to meet her in the living room by the fireplace and grabs glasses and the biggest bottle of liquor her mom had.

"I know this sounds crazy, but alcohol helps. At least, it helps me, you know, with all the inside-jittery stuff."

"I'm hot. It feels like my skin is on fire."

"Really? I've never had any of that." Her brow creases, she's exactly the opposite, she's overly cold. "I guess wolves are different." She pours them another glass. "At the beginning I was very, very overly emotional, like everything was heightened."

Tyler looks down at his glass. She takes another drink, waiting for him to purge.

Here it comes. 3,2,1…

"How can you be a vampire?" She doesn't think, just counters. "How can you be a werewolf?"

He sighs and stands up, setting his glass on the coffee table as he walks around her. "Who else is like you?"

She closes her eyes as yet another lie pours from her lips. She feels bad, especially since they have this tentative understanding of each other. Since she can relate to him and what he's going through.

"How many other werewolves are there?"

She gets him back to talking about him, because when it comes to her all she can do is lie.

He crosses his arms and lets out a regretful, "Just me." He looks down. "And my Uncle Mason, but he left town."

She thinks it must be hard for Tyler to think the only person in the world that could understand left him. Abandoned him. She can relate.

She sets her glass down and walks towards him pleading. "Look, Tyler. No one can know. Not about you, not about me, no one will understand. "

Caroline is searching his eyes, and he lets out a resigned, defeated "I know."

She knows what it's like to be alone, but he has to understand.

"I want to tell you, about my mom, yours, and the founding families, and the council, but I need you, to promise me. No one will find out about us. This is life and death, Tyler."

"I have no one else to tell. I'm sorry, about earlier. It's just… I'm alone in this. It's gonna happen to me, the next full moon, I'm gonna turn, and I won't be able to stop it. " His voice cracks and he's pleading with his eyes. Caroline can see him breaking. "I'm scared."

She pulls him into a hug. Tyler rests his head on her shoulder and she can smell the salt from his tears as she rubs circles into his shaking back. "Tyler, shhh…"

Caroline's at a loss of what to do. She has a distraught werewolf in the middle of her living room.

Thank god, Mom has the night shift tonight.

She pushes him to the couch and lifts his chin with her finger. "Tyler. Everything will be okay. You have me now." Fuck Damon.

She knew it wasn't careful to tell him about her. This morning, she had every intention of listening to Damon's warning, but now, now, Tyler was opening up to her. He had no one, at least, no one he could talk to about this.

Caroline knew it wasn't her responsibility. Problem is, she wants it to be.

"You have me now," she repeats softer. Almost a whisper.

She kisses the tears away and brushes the tear trails away with the pad of her thumb. "It's okay…Tyler. You'll get through this. I'll help you… I will." He's grabbing her jacket with clenched fists, his jaw flexing as he tries to keep himself from losing it even more.

She tries to remember what Stefan said to her that first night she was a vampire. Stefan helped her be okay with it, helped her accept it. Accept that she was strong and that she would make it. That night Stefan was her anchor, the only thing that kept her from losing herself. She could do that for Tyler; she could be that for Tyler.

"I feel like I'm not me. I feel hazy, Caroline, it's so blurry. It'll never be the same. I'll never be the same." He's looking up at her, lips quivering, hands shaking, shoulders tense and eyes so broken she feels herself breaking. This was not something he could escape and he knew it.

Caroline puts her hand over Tyler's heart. "This, Tyler. This right here. This is you."

Tyler bites his lip and then pulls her down and kisses her.

Caroline's brow furrows. He needs this. She kisses him back. So do I.

Tyler's soft kisses become rough, hard, and almost angry. He's all blurred lines and fury. Caroline's passionate, all consuming, but reserved, everything done with purpose.

She knows they have to be careful with each other. She could easily push too hard and snap his neck. He could turn to a wolf and tear her to pieces. Nevertheless, right now, right now they needed each other.

He has no one to understand, and she has no one to be hers. Caroline needed Tyler, just as much as Tyler needed Caroline.

Tomorrow might be a different story. She might come to her senses and won't be able to justify this thing with Tyler. But as Tyler slips his hands under her shirt, and she keeps brushing the tears from his face, she'll make allowances.

She tells herself she could handle it, after all, she was being careful.

A/N part 2:

I may be taking requests for pairings and prompting adjectives. Just

to make sure I don't get lost or less motivated. Just review and

leave your suggestions.

Hope you liked. :] 3