A/N: Ah, so here's the next chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've been busy with school and my beta took a while (LOVE YOU GIRL) but I'll try to update more often! Hope you all like this chapter and keep those lovely reviews coming :D
A few days later, Tyler was at the Mystic Grill with his best friend, Matt Donavan as they shot some pool. It was finally Friday night and the twosome were happy to get some downtime – their new football coach had been really pushing them during the last few practices.
"So, any news about Vicki?" He asked. She was Matt's younger sister and his ex-girlfriend. Her sudden disappearance had rattled everybody's nerves but especially those who were closest to her, including Tyler. On the outside it might have looked like he didn't care too much, even when they were dating. He hardly said that he did anymore because nobody would believe him.
Matt looked at him and shook his head. "I'm starting to get really worried man," he said. "She's never been gone this long before."
"Well, like I said, man, I'm here to help," he said, looking around and spotting Jeremy Gilbert walking into the Grill. Tyler didn't like him much, he'd spent way too much time with Vicki while they were together but he thought that maybe he'd know where she was. "Maybe Gilbert knows a little something about it?"
"Tyler, don't start with him," he said but it was too late – Tyler had already walked over to Jeremy. Matt sighed, knowing he would soon have to break up a fight, as he walked over to them.
"Hey, Gilbert," Tyler said, making his way over to him. "Have you heard anything about Vicki?"
Jeremy looked at him skeptically. "Like you actually care where she is."
"Do you know anything or not, Gilbert?" He asked, already getting irritated by Jeremy's antics.
"No and if I did, I wouldn't tell you," He said. "Oh and by the way, I'm still waiting for you to kick my ass." He challenged, knowing it would set Tyler off.
He was right – it did. It wasn't exactly hard to piss Tyler Lockwood off and somehow, Jeremy knew all the right ways to do it.
Tyler lunged forward and threw the first punch. Jeremy punched him back and soon enough, the two were in a full on fistfight. It didn't last too long, though because Matt quickly came between the two, shoving them both in opposite directions.
Jeremy wandered off and Matt turned back to his best friend, glaring at him angrily.
"When is all this crap gonna end, Ty?" he asked and Tyler rolled his eyes.
"Whatever," he said and walked out.
Brooke stood near the bar area of the Mystic Grill, completely surprised after witnessing Tyler in a fight. She knew he was somewhat of a jerk from their first meeting and Caroline's description of him but she hadn't expected such an intense capability for violence from him.
She looked over at the entrance of the Grill and spotted the other boy involved in a fight, who she knew was Elena's younger brother. She narrowed her eyes and quickly made her way outside, following him.
"Hey you!" She shouted, trying to catch up to him – which was hard in high heels. He spun around and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you!"
He sighed loudly as she caught up to him. He had seen her briefly hanging out with Elena and figured his older sister had sent her friend to question him. "Look, if Elena sent you to spy on me…I'm not doing drugs, okay?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, Elena didn't send me and what you do with drugs is your business!"
He nodded. "So, what do you want?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Jeremy didn't do well around new people. He didn't have very many friends and mostly kept to himself…he had been that way ever since his parents died.
"What happened between you and Tyler just now?" She asked and he looked at her, stifling a laugh.
"Don't tell me you're Tyler's latest victim," he said and she gave him a look. "What? The guy's a dick!"
"Yeah, I've been noticing that lately," She said, frowning. "But, well, what happened between you two?"
"Let's just say we both dated the same girl earlier this year and now she's missing," he explained and she nodded.
"Vicki Donavan, right?" she asked and he nodded. "Yeah, Caroline told me about her disappearance…I'm sorry, that must be hard for you."
"I'm alright," He shrugged but the truth was, he was missing Vicki more and more each day. "So, what? Do you like Tyler or something?"
"Not yet," She said, slowly. "But you never know."
"Well, good luck," he said, sarcastically. There wasn't even a point of giving Brooke further warning to stay way from Tyler – she was already in too deep, he could tell. He started walking off but she grabbed onto his arm. He looked at her and she quickly let go.
"Sorry, it's just," She stopped. "You kind of remind me of someone back home."
"Yeah? Who? You're little brother?" He asked and she shook her head.
"No," she shook her head. "One of my very best friends, actually but… you're kind of like, the edgier version of him," She laughed.
"And does this friend have a name?"
"Mouth, well, Marvin actually but we call him Mouth," She said and he cracked him. "Don't make fun! He's really cute, okay?" She informed him. "Kinda like you."
He looked up at her and gave her a genuine smile.
"Well, I'm gonna head back inside, I'm supposed to be meeting your sister," She said and he nodded. "See you around." She smiled and winked as she walked back into the Grill.
"Sure," he nodded, watching her go.
While Stefan and Elena made their way over to the grill, Stefan tried very hard to relax and enjoy the situation he knew he would not be having again anytime. He'd been brooding for most of the last 146 years, but it tore him inside to think of the expression Elena would have when he told her that they had to break things off for good and that he was leaving town.
"Why don't you come inside for a bit?" She suggested. Though things had been tense between them since she had found out he was a vampire, she knew her feelings for him wouldn't go away just like that. She didn't necessarily understand yet everything that was going on but she knew that she needed Stefan in her life and she wasn't prepared to let him go. "Maybe you can get to know Brooke and see why Bonnie was acting so weird around her?"
"Sure," he nodded and they walked inside.
"Hey," Brooke smiled, walking over to them. Stefan stared at her, subtly trying to figure out if he had seen her before.
"Brooke, this is my boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore," Elena introduced. "Stefan, this is Brooke Davis."
"Nice to meet you," Stefan smiled, politely.
"You too," She nodded. She felt awkward from the way he was staring at her. His glare was so…intense; she had never experienced anything like it. "You know, you should tell your brother that it's illegal to hit on minors."
"Damon was hitting on you?" Stefan asked, not too surprised but amused.
"Well, he attempted but failed," She told him and he laughed, trying to make his examination of her less noticeable. "Speaking of brothers," She turned to Elena. "I just met yours… why didn't you tell me he was a total hottie?"
Elena crinkled up her nose. "Maybe because he's my brother and I don't think of him that way?"
"Oh, come on!" She said. "I mean, he's got the whole brooding loner thing going for him – a total catch."
"Right," Elena nodded and the two girls laughed. "But he was nice to you, right? Jeremy's been a little… you know, ever since Vicki disappeared."
"No, he was sweet," Brooke nodded and couldn't help but notice Stefan still staring at her. She took a deep breath and swallowed. "Shall we get a table? For three?"
"Oh, I'm not staying," Stefan said and Elena looked at him, disappointedly. "You two enjoy your night," He said and turned to Elena. "I'll see you later."
"Sure," She nodded and watched him go.
"Is everything alright between you two?" Brooke asked and Elena looked at her. "I mean, I don't mean to overstep my boundaries but… I don't know, you could cut the tension between you with a knife."
"Oh, it's nothing, really," She shook her head and Brooke gave her a look but before she could think of an excuse, Caroline came bouncing towards them.
"So, I see you two were hanging out without me, huh?" She asked, grabbing a chair and joining them at their table.
"We were just talking, getting to know each other," Brooke shrugged but felt for Caroline's insecurities. She knew exactly what that felt like.
"I'm actually gonna go," Elena said and the two girls looked at her. "Jenna just texted me and she…needs my help with dinner," She quickly lied. "It was really fun, Brooke, I'm sorry I had to leave so early but I'll see you at school?" She said and then, without giving them a chance to beg her to stay quickly made her way out of the grill.
"Well, now that Elena's gone, I can tell you all the wonderful things that happened with Matt last night!" Caroline said, excitedly and Brooke smiled. She wanted to hear the story but was, for some reason, more interested in finding out what was going on with Elena and Stefan.
A little while later, Elena was at Stefan's house. She didn't understand why he had left so quickly but she knew it couldn't have meant anything good.
"Stefan, are you here?" She asked and he came down the stairs, holding a box. "What's going on?"
"This," He said, lifting up the box. "Is all I have on Mystic Falls in 1864," He explained. "It's not much but, there has to be something about the Davis family in here."
"Why? Is it Brooke?" She asked and he looked at her. "Is she a…vampire?"
"No," He shook his head. "But she was wearing that necklace and it had vervain in it so I'm sure either she's aware of vampires or her parents are and that's not a good thing," He said and she nodded.
"How do you think they got vervain? I mean, I though Zack was the only one in town who supplied it?" Elena asked, as Stefan brought the box over and set it on the coffee table. They sat on the couch and started rummaging through the papers.
"The counsel, maybe?" He offered. "I'm not sure but there's definitely cause for worry when it comes to the Davis family."
Elena took a deep breath and nodded as she continued trying to look for information. She quickly snuck a peek at Stefan and smiled to herself, liking that they were working together again.
Later that, Tyler returned to the Mystic Grill to play pool. Matt wasn't working that night, so he assumed he'd be over at Caroline's. The two had been spending way too much time together – Tyler knew there was something going on between them.
"So, can I join you or do you plan on getting into another fight tonight?"
He spun around and saw Brooke standing in front of him with a cue stick in her hands.
"You heard about that, huh?" He asked, as he took the pool balls out of the holes.
"Not only did I hear about it," She said, reaching over for the cue ball. "I witness it," She informed him and his eyebrows rose. "But it's okay," She said and then smirked. "Guys fighting over a girl kinda turns me on."
He laughed, every conversation he had with Brooke amused him to no end. "Didn't think you were that kind of girl."
"Oh, there's a lot you don't know about me, Lockwood," She teased and started setting up the balls. "So, wanna play a round? Loser buys drinks?"
"Sure," he nodded and moved around the table, watching as she made her first move. "So, since there's a lot I don't know about you, why won't you fill me in?"
She looked at him, waiting for him to make the next move. "Well, first of all, I love beating boys at pool," She informed him and he laughed. He found himself doing that a lot when he was around Brooke, he hadn't realized how much he enjoyed himself when he was around her until now. "I love long walks on the beach, getting dressed up with my girls…" She trailed, setting up her stick to hit the next ball. "What about you?"
"Uh, I like sports – mostly football, and I would have been Captain if it weren't for Stefan," he rolled his eyes and she looked at him. "That guy just rolls into town and gets everything handed to him."
"You don't like sharing, do you?" She asked and he laughed, shrugging. She hit the next ball and it sunk into a hole. "Ha! You're losing!"
"No, no, no," He shook his head. "A Lockwood never loses."
"So you're competitive," She noted. "I like that."
They stared at each other for a moment. She was flirting with him and he knew it but she was going to leave it up to him to decide what he wanted to do about it.
"So, what's it like being back in town?" He asked, after taking his next shot.
"It's alright," She shrugged. "Moving away sucked but, I'm getting used to it, I guess."
"Where did you guys move?" He asked and she looked at him. "I mean, from what I can remember, you used to live down the street."
"Mm, you would like that, wouldn't you?" She asked and he laughed, shrugging sheepishly. "We just moved up to the Whistle Creek Mansion," She told him and he nodded. "It's huge and it's creepy and I swear if we didn't have tons of staff running around, I would get lost."
He laughed and took his last shot but missed the hole. Brooke set herself up and took her shot, successfully getting the eight ball into the hole.
"Yes, I won!" She said, happily and he groaned, not believing he had just lost to a girl. "You, my friend, owe me as many drinks as I want!"
He smirked and walked over to her. "How about a little something else first?" He asked and her face lit up. He placed his hands on her waist and slowly brought them up to the small of her back, pulling her closer towards him. "Do you kiss, Brooke Davis?"
She looked up at him and smirked herself, knowing what was coming next. She felt the adrenaline flowing through her veins as she usually felt when hooking up with a guy. It gave her a sense of control and was an easy way for her to block out how she was really feeling.
She didn't want to admit it to herself but the adrenaline was mixed with nerves that she felt from the way Tyler was holding her, the way he was looking at her.
"You bet your ass I do," She smirked and then kissed him. They both pulled away and looked at each other for just a moment before returning to the very steamy kiss. Brooke ran her hands up his chest and he did the same to her back. He then brought his hands up and cupped her face, pulling her closer to him, as if that was even possible.
She pulled away and he stood there for a moment, his lips still puckered as if wanting more. She giggled and he frowned. "Why'd you have to leave me hanging like that?"
She shrugged. "I was just thinking we could go somewhere a little more… private, you know?" She suggested, tugging on his belt buckle.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Yeah, I think I got a place where we can go."
"Good," She nodded and he smiled, taking her hand as they made their way to his car, knowing it would be a good night for the both of them.