Tyler's P.O.V.
My heartbeat was thumping loudly as I made my way down the cellar steps. I could sense Caroline behind me as we descended into the darkness only illuminated by the few streaks of sunlight coming from the opening that led into the cellar. I opened up my backpack that snugly rested on my shoulders and brought out the chains that I had bought for the transformation. I set them up doing my best to tighten them and put the wolfesbane-mixed water off to another side. I didn't want to come in contact with that until I most certainly had to. Images of Uncle Mason sprawled out on the floor, clouded my mind until I couldn't shake off the visions. A silent tear rolled down my cheek but thankfully, my back was facing the blonde so she couldn't see it. Tyler Lockwood doesn't cry. He makes others cry. I could feel Caroline's concerned gaze digging a hole into my back and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and insecure. I turned around only to see her on the other side of the room leaning against the cement wall while her hypnotizing blue eyes didn't stray away from my face. I couldn't pick up her train of thought through her facial expressions, so I went ahead with what a normal person would be thinking at a time like this. Of course, Caroline was anything but normal but that's beside the point.
"Caroline…" I hesitated. I didn't want her to leave, but he had no idea what she was thinking, so he went with his best guess. "You know you don't have to stay right?" Her face stayed the same. That worried him even more. He knew that she wouldn't show what she was feeling until he made his feelings crystal clear. "Caroline. I. Want. You. To. Go," I said firmly even though every bone in my body was yelling at me in disagreement. I watched her very carefully and was even more confused when a look of hurt crossed her face for a split second before her face settled back down into its calm and firm manner.
"Too bad, Tyler, cause I'm not leaving," she stated in a strong voice and crossed her arms over her chest protectively.
"You should go Caroline," I repeated with a softer voice this time, trying to make her see sense. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, a natural habit for me when I was irritated.
"No! I'm not scared Tyler I'm staying."
"Don't you get it Caroline? You're supposed to be scared! Why the hell aren't you?" I questioned harshly losing my patience and turning around just to slam my hands onto the wall.
"Tyler," I heard her quietly whisper. I could sense her moving across the room towards me and then I felt her cool hands on my unbelievably hot shoulders. "Tyler, what's wrong?" I heard her whisper before she tried to turn me around. I complied with my head facing the ground.
"I'm sorry that I yelled at you," I said with guilt washing over me. She was just trying to help and I had to keep reminding myself of that. I still couldn't meet her eyes.
"No, no it's okay. You're just on edge Ty. Everything's going to be okay."
"I'm not on edge, Care….I'm scared," I admitted with shame.
"I know," she said putting her hand on my cheek and lifting my face to meet hers. "You don't have to be scared, Tyler, because I'm going to be here the entire time.
"Care, it's not me I'm scared for, it's you!" I said watching her facial expression. Her hand that kept my cheek cool dropped to her side.
She stayed silent for a while as her concerned features slowly relaxed into a thoughtful and understanding one.
"Oh," she whispered quietly with a tiny bit of shock. I studied her emotions a little more. She looked up towards the gate where you could see the moon rising. "Ummm, you better get ready. It's almost time."
"Awww come on Care, don't do that," I groaned putting my face in my hands.
""Do what?" she said taking out the chains and adjusting them.
"You know what. Don't shut me out," I pleaded with her and got closer to her as she stood up.
"What do you want me to say Tyler. That I'm scared too. That I don't want to be down here." Even though that's what I wanted her to say, it still hurt. "Well too bad Ty, cause there's nowhere else that I'd rather be."
"Why?" I asked. That one word could've applied to so many things, but she understood what exactly I was talking about.
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Because, you're my friend Tyler. Friends stick by each other and there is no way that I'm gonnna leave you alone in this."
I was about to reply when a wave of nausea passed over me. I groaned out loud and Caroline flashed over to me to see what was wrong. Her cool hands held my face as the nausea started to pass but then unbelievable amount of pain erupted in my shoulder.
"Oh my god! It's starting. Tyler, you're going to be okay. Come on we got to get you to the chains. You're going to be okay, Tyler, I promise. I'm not leaving you no matter what." She whispered more comforting words and tried to coax me into the chains.
"Caroline…oh Caroline. You need to go now! Argh go Caroline!" The pain was absolutely horrible. All I could think about was keeping Caroline safe.
"I'm not going anywhere Tyler," she said firmly. "Shhh, concentrate on me, on the sound of my voice. You're going to be okay."
"You need to go," I said with determination in my voice. Another back-breaking scream erupted from my mouth as the bones in my legs broke like a twig. I fell onto the floor unable to carry my own weight and curled myself into a fetal position trying to suppress the cries wanting to erupt from my chest. A curtain of blonde hair covered my face and I felt a familiar body press up against my back. Tears that didn't belong to me hit my back and I could distinctly hear Caroline apologizing over and over again, offering to take the pain away. I gathered enough strength to get up and try to push Caroline behind the bars of the cellar; away from danger. "You need to go! Now Caroline!" I yelled. I saw fear cross over her face as she quickly escaped behind the bars and secured the latches. Everything hurt. All my body parts were screaming in pain. All the bones in my body had already broken. I could see Caroline crying her eyes out and I wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into my arms where no one else could touch her. Suddenly the pain increased and I blacked out, Caroline's tear-stained face etched into my memory as my last image.
"Tyler?" I heard a voice ask. Who's Tyler? I tried opening my eyes, but they felt like they were glued shut. "Tyler, come on! Open your eyes," I heard a melodious voice say. Cold hands placed themselves on my shoulders trying to revive me. Her voice was anxious and filled with worry as she begged Tyler to wake up. Slowly the memories flooded into my head. I was Tyler. I had just gone through my very first transformation into a werewolf. The pain was unbearable. I had completely blacked out with no idea of what was happening around me. The mysterious yet soothing voice tried to revive me again. "Please Tyler, Please wake up." Caroline. She was the one who stood by me and the owner of the voice who sounded desperate and anxious. I tried my hardest to open my eyes and put a stop to her worrying but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. "Tyler," I heard Caroline ask hesitantly, and then I heard her soft sobs fill the quiet. I felt my heart break. I didn't want her to cry. I tried even harder to open my eyes and finally, finally they opened.
Harsh daylight filled my vision edging me to close my eyes one more, but I knew that if I did, I may never open them again. I needed to find Caroline who I saw was holding my hand unaware of my awakening. Her fingers were intertwined with mine and her head was pushed into her knees that were pulled up to her chest.
"Ca-Caroline," my voice whispered weakly.
"Oh my God. Tyler!" she cried with tears streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming out of her gorgeous eyes. I used all my energy to try and sit up, but by the time I finally did, I was covered in a new layer of sweat. Caroline watched me with nervous eyes as I finally sat up and slowly let out the breath I was holding. She still held my hand, her grip like an iron fist around mine. She was still sobbing and I just couldn't see her in pain. I could never handle crying girls, but Caroline was a different case. I blocked out my own screaming pain, and pulled her closer to me. I pushed her into my side safe from the fears of the world.
"Shhh Caroline, calm down. Come on Care, relax," I whispered soothing words into her ear and brushed the hair out of her face. She clung to me as if she was going to lose me forever: her head on my chest and her harm wrapped around my toned stomach. I only then realized that she had wrapped a blanket around my lower half. I could feel her tears cooling my chest. My head was l against hers and my arm was tightly wrapped around her waist to bring her closer to me.
"I-I th-thought you w-were dead!" she exclaimed, her grip tightening around me while mine did the same to her. "You w-weren't moving o-or opening y-your eyes," she stammered gasping for breath.
"Shhh Care. I'm sorry. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," I said planting a loving kiss on her forehead. We stayed there for who knows how long, but soon enough I heard her breathing slow down and even out. I tested my body and was surprised to see that there was no pain. Damn I healed fast. I quickly lifted myself and put on my shorts while grabbing my backpack and swinging it over my shoulder. I carried Caroline bridal style to my car and placed her in the backseat giving her a gentle and loving kiss on the forehead before going to the drivers' seat to take the girl who had stood by me for all that time; home!