Lessons
"It'll be small," Marcel assured Tyler. They were sitting in the living room, Marcel eating from a bag of M&M's (Marcel's favorite candy), and Tyler watching. "Just the inner circle. You'll be safe. You might even have fun."
Tyler wasn't as worried about his safety as he just wasn't in the mood for a party. But it was Marcel's house, despite his assertions that it was Tyler's home now, and he couldn't exactly argue with him.
"Bonnie will be there, too," Marcel added, in a tone that was obviously meant to be enticing for Tyler. It annoyed him that the prospect of seeing Bonnie again, despite her obvious wishes for the opposite, excited him.
The summer Tyler turned eleven, his parents sent him to a football camp in Richmond where he hadn't known anyone except for Danny Lewis, who Tyler used to pretend didn't even exist. But surrounded by strangers, Tyler had attached himself to Danny, who was more annoying than Tyler had realized. Still, better a familiar stranger than a complete one.
He could feel it happening again, could feel himself reaching for Bonnie, to latch on to the one thing that felt like home. He told himself not to do it, and he replayed Bonnie's cold words and the feral look in her eyes when she'd wiped his memories. Still he thought about it, how nice it could be, to hang out with someone who knew where he came from.
"Why?" Tyler asked.
"Because I invited her."
"But why is she coming?" She didn't want to see him, and Tyler doubted she wanted to see Marcel. Why spend a night with them when she could be dancing around Turbulence instead?
"Because Klaus isn't. She'll be his eyes and ears," Marcel answered.
Tyler bent his fingers, heard the quiet cracking of the bones. It would be nice if he could go without feeling like his bones were trying to break through his skin whenever he heard mention of Klaus. It had been so long since he'd heard his name spoken so frequently.
"Don't worry," Marcel said. "Klaus definitely won't be here."
"Yeah, I heard you the first time."
Marcel's eyes widened in amusement. Then he chuckled, popping another M&M into his mouth.
"He was your mentor, right?"
Marcel gave his head a quick nod. "Mentor and sire."
"But now you're going against him."
"No," Marcel corrected. "He's going against me. This is my city. Not his. Klaus left to go chasing after his dream of being the first hybrid. I stayed put, and I built myself a kingdom. I did that. There used to be werewolves here, a threat to myself and to every vampire here. They're gone now. The ones who survived left nearly one hundred years ago, and they haven't returned. The witches are under control. I did all that. Not Klaus.
"Imagine that you've poured your heart and your soul, every fiber of your being, every drop of blood you could spare, into something. Imagine that someone shows up and plans to take that from you. Now tell me what you'd do."
"I wouldn't let them."
"And you shouldn't," Marcel said. "Don't let anyone take what's yours. Klaus thinks he gave me something when he turned me. Vampirism was a gift, that's true. Immortal life, incredible strength, unimaginable power. I went from being at the bottom of the food chain to the top. Klaus turned me, but he didn't make me. He didn't make you either."
He poured more of the little candies into his hand and put them into his mouth. "These are so good," he mumbled. Then, "You know who made vampires? Who made Klaus?"
"A witch."
Marcel snapped his fingers. "Witches make the world go 'round."
"That's why you don't let them practice."
"Exactly. If I did, I wouldn't be where I am right now. Don't ever underestimate a witch, Tyler."
Tyler was learning all kinds of lessons today. "Speaking of witches," he said. "I've got a question for you."
"Ask."
"Your plans against Klaus," he began, "do they involve hurting Bonnie? Because if they do, I'm out."
"You're out?" Marcel said, eyebrows raised curiously. "Just like that?"
"Yeah," Tyler said. "I won't help you if you're gonna do something bad to her."
He almost told Marcel how Bonnie had saved his ass a couple of times, but he held that back. It seemed like fairly innocuous bit of information. It didn't require specifics, just a broad sense of appreciation and lingering gratitude for this Bonnie who didn't seem to be very much like the one he'd known back in Mystic Falls. Marcel's little speech seemed a bit too convenient, a manipulation to lower Tyler's guard. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but if it was Tyler wasn't about to fall right into it. Marcel wasn't his friend, and Tyler wasn't about to forget it.
"I don't want to hurt her," Marcel said. "The opposite actually. Which is where I'll need your help. I need you to convince Bonnie to join the team. I can't proceed without her."
"I know you skipped out yesterday to give us our privacy," Tyler said, "but she doesn't want to see me, doesn't want to talk to me. I don't think I'm the right guy for this one."
"You are."
"Why can't you do it yourself?"
"I would if I could, and believe me, I've tried. Worked my best stuff on her," he said. "Didn't take."
"That must have been awkward," Tyler commented which earned him a grin from Marcel.
"Stung a little, I'll admit."
"If you did your best, what do you think I'll be able to do?"
"Remind her of home."
"She doesn't want to be reminded of home."
He didn't blame her. If Tyler could forget about home, maybe it would be better. Nostalgia was like a paralytic. He didn't do anything, didn't think of anything but home. He thought about his house, about Caroline, about his locker (prone to jamming) and going to the Grill after school every day. It didn't help him at all, but he couldn't let it go.
"Doesn't mean you can't remind her anyway. Just do it, Tyler."
"I'll see what I can do," Tyler said finally. Marcel's face relaxed into a smile. "Why do you let her practice? You know if she works for Klaus and Klaus wants the city for himself, that he's going to use her to get it. So why let her?"
"I couldn't tell Klaus that he couldn't have a witch of his own, could I?" Marcel said. "Not without making him suspicious. And besides, Bennett witches aren't like the rest. Anyway," Marcel said, glancing down to the face of his watch. "Don't worry about that. I've got it covered, and...I've gotta go. I'll be back tonight. Make sure you're ready for some fun. Duke'll be stopping by. He's bringing you some clothes."
Before Tyler could ask Marcel what was wrong with the clothes he had (all three outfits) Marcel was walking away.
With Marcel gone, the house was quiet except for the occasional bump and rattle from the attic. In Tyler's bedroom, the sun spilled through the window and even after he closed the curtains, the mere leakage of sunlight was there, splaying itself across the floorboards. It annoyed him to see it, though he couldn't begin to explain to himself why. Duke came by as Marcel said, dropping off several shopping bags before leaving again, telling Tyler he'd see him tonight.
T-shirts, jeans, button-downs, shoes, jackets that Tyler wouldn't even need in this heat, two watches (both Swiss and looking very similar to the one Marcel wore), bottles of cologne, even a charcoal colored suit.
There were worse situations to be in, Tyler supposed. Having the vampire king of New Orleans putting him up in a nice house and footing the bill for anything Tyler required - and a few things he really didn't - wasn't so bad. Maybe this was how Bonnie felt, working for Klaus and not having to want for anything.
Once he put everything away, he pulled his duffel bag from under the bed and dug out his phone. It was another shiny and new Thursday.
One unheard message sent August 14 at 7:32 PM Eastern Time
"Hi," Caroline said, sounding happy. Tired but happy. It had been a slow return to her usual self after Bonnie's death. Or rather, Bonnie's not death. "So Elena and I are all moved in. The room's really cute. I mean, it's like the half the size of my room back home and both of us are in it, but it's nice. Elena's saying goodbye to Damon and Jeremy so I thought I'd call. It's weird that you're not here. And it's weird that Bonnie's not here."
Tyler wondered what she'd say, if he called her right now and told her that Bonnie was alive and well in New Orleans, that he'd seen her with his own two eyes, wrapped his own two arms around her, had his own memories erased by her. She'd be happy, beyond happy even. Maybe a little angry. Confused, too. Maybe if Caroline was the one doing the asking about Bonnie's reasons for being here, Bonnie would actually answer.
"Everything was supposed to happen differently," she sighed. "I hope you're doing okay, wherever you are. I know I told you when I found out, but in case you forgot, I'm in Danby Hall, Room 403. If you're ever around, I'd love to see you."
She knew what a slim chance that was, that he'd be able to come back. She didn't even know what a close call his return for prom had ended up being, but she sounded so hopeful about it.
Tyler heard Elena's voice then her lapse into silence when she realized what Caroline was doing. "I have to go now," Caroline said. "We got invited to a party by the girls next door, and you know how long it takes me to get ready so. I'll call you later."
Tyler turned off the phone and put it back in the bag. He wondered how that party had gone which made him wonder how this one was going to go.
Three Months Ago
"You wanna pick?" Lydia asked, nodding her head toward the people walking the streets outside the casino, its golden lights illuminating the street, packed with people despite the dark sky and the late hour.
"No, you go ahead."
Lydia shrugged and scanned the people who passed them without looking their way. Tourists walking back to their hotels after the riverboat cruises or losing all their money on the slots. They walked in twos and threes, laughing and cheery, unaware of the predators watching their every step.
It was Tyler's first feed here, the traditional way anyway. Lydia had been trying to get him to come out with her to sample some of the tourists, but Tyler had chosen instead to make himself familiar with the nearby hospitals, compelling himself entry to snag some blood bags. But the nurses and security staff were being asked questions by the higher-ups about the disappearing blood, and Tyler felt bad about costing someone their job. So he accepted Lydia's offer, and she'd happily brought him out with her tonight.
"Don't see any I like," Lydia said, sounding disappointed. "Well, now's as good a time as any to tell you what the rules are." She shifted on the bench at his side, putting a leg underneath her body. "Marcel's got three. Rule number one: No killing."
"Really?" Tyler said. "That's...nice of him."
"Not nice, necessary," Lydia corrected. "You think the human population's going to stand to see itself whittled down one-by-one? No way. You want to feed, you feed, but you leave the victims alive. Which brings me to rule number two: Compel away the entire encounter. And number three: Heal them. You've got to keep your feed clean, nothing that you can't clear off without making them look like they just stepped out of a horror movie. When they leave you, they should be as good as when they met you. Everyone goes home happy."
"What happens if you break the rules?" Tyler asked.
"You break Marcel's rules, you die," Lydia said. "He usually has someone else handle the vampires who step out of line. The witches are the only ones he sees to personally."
"The witches?"
"You're so new," Lydia said, rolling her eyes. "Not a single witch in this town still practices. That's how Marcel wants it."
Tyler thought of Bonnie, dead and in the ground. He was thinking about her more and more lately. Everything seemed to remind him of home since he'd left, but now he saw Bonnie everywhere, too. Nestled among his hopeful glances to young, blond women on the street who he almost thought were Caroline, were dark skinned girls with dark hair and petite frames who could have been Bonnie.
"How's he manage that?" Tyler asked.
Lydia shrugged. "No one knows, but he does." She glanced to the side. "What about him?"
Him was a tall white guy sporting a baseball cap, texting on his phone while he walked. "He's fine," Tyler said. This was Lydia's thing so she could take point. He was just there for the ride.
With a happy smile, Lydia stood up. She approached Him first, Tyler hanging back. When she linked her arm with Him he looked confused, but his expression relaxed as she spoke to him, looking directly into his eyes. He gave his head a quick nod and allowed Lydia to guide him down the street and down a dark alley. Tyler followed.
He joined them as Lydia was reaching into Him's back pocket, withdrawing his wallet and flipping it open to check the ID. "Good evening, Toby Marshall," she said with a smile before she put the wallet back. "I like to know their names," she told Tyler, "feels rude to make them into my dinner and not know what to call them."
Then to Toby, "Don't scream, okay?"
"Okay."
She kept her hand pressed to Toby Marshall's chest, pinning him to the wall as she buried her head in his neck. Toby let out a light whimper as Lydia's fangs punctured the skin, but he did as he was compelled and didn't scream. He closed his eyes, rested his head against the wall, and let her drink.
"Tyler," Lydia said, taking her mouth away. Her lips and teeth were covered in blood which she licked away with a flick of her tongue. "Your turn, kid." She kept hold of Toby, but stepped aside so Tyler could take her place at his neck. "Make it quick. And remember, not too much."
Tyler couldn't remember the last time he drank fresh blood, directly from a living, breathing person. The rush remained, warm blood spilling into his mouth, coating his tongue and teeth. It was a kind of euphoria, one he hadn't understood before, when he was just a werewolf, when blood didn't call to him. The blood bags from the hospital didn't compare.
"Okay, Ty," Lydia said, tapping his shoulder. "That's enough."
Regretfully, Tyler released Toby and wiped the blood on his mouth onto his sleeve while Lydia took a quick bite of her wrist and lifted it to Toby's mouth. "Drink," she said, and he latched on eagerly. She practically had to tear her wrist away. Then she straightened his jacket, wiped his mouth and turned his head toward her, leveling his eyes with hers.
"Forget this entire thing," she said. "You walked back to wherever it is you were going, got stopped on the street by some hot girl -" Lydia cut her eyes to him when he laughed, a smirk growing on her face "- and she asked you for directions to the streetcar. It was a good night. Goodbye, Toby."
After patting Toby on the shoulder, Lydia turned to Tyler, looping her arm with his and leading him back to the street. "So what'd you think?" she asked.
"Nice," Tyler said.
"Gonna make it a regular thing?"
"Maybe." It made him nervous, feeding like this. He probably never would have done it without Lydia. If she didn't mind him tagging along, he'd just go with her.
"I'm going to a party tonight," Lydia said. "Want to come?"
"You're always trying to get me to go to some party."
"Yes, I am," Lydia said. "All you do is sit in your itty bitty apartment. You need to get out, have some fun."
Tyler shook his head. "Next time."
Present Day
It was a small party, as Marcel promised. There were only about a dozen people there, but they certainly knew how to utilize the space. Everywhere Tyler looked there was a vampire. Tyler saw when Bonnie came in, but he didn't approach her right away. He tried to prepare himself for it, and he wasn't ready yet when Marcel found him, throwing an arm around his neck and pulling him toward Bonnie without a word.
"Tyler, look who came," Marcel said, once they were right in front of Bonnie. She stood against the wall with her hair pulled back into a shiny ponytail, her lips covered in red lipstick and her dress black and formfitting.
"Yes, look," she said dully.
"Always a delight, Bonnie," Marcel said, grinning at her. It only made Bonnie roll her eyes. "Excuse me."
Once Marcel was gone, off to chat with Duke, Bonnie seemed a little more relaxed, but not by much.
"You look nice," Tyler said.
"Thanks."
"Klaus get that for you?"
Bonnie wasn't offended which was a relief because as soon as the words left Tyler's mouth he figured he shouldn't have said them. Especially since he was here wearing one of the button-downs Marcel had bought for him. But she only smirked. "I got it myself, with the money that Klaus paid me. So I guess that makes it my money."
"I guess so," Tyler agreed. "Are you having fun?"
"A blast," Bonnie said. "You?"
"Ditto."
"Do you know any of these people?" she asked.
Tyler shook his head. "Nope. You?"
"Just a few," Bonnie said. "Duke and Ronan." She stepped closer to him, nodding her head toward two vampires talking near the kitchen door. One was in a satiny white jumpsuit which was a sharp contrast to the darkness of her skin. Her hair was twisted up into an elegant bun. The second was a lighter skinned, much shorter woman with hair that fell in corkscrew curls past her shoulder blades. "The one in the purple," she said, "that's Sloane. She's the oldest vampire here after Marcel. He turned her himself. She's one of two people he's turned. She's nice, I guess. The one she's talking to is Veronica, everyone calls her Ronnie, but she hates it so don't call her that unless she likes you. And she's not gonna like you. She doesn't like anyone but Sloane and Marcel."
"Then why does everyone call her Ronnie?"
"I don't know. Maybe that's why she hates them."
Then Bonnie turned him around to look where past Duke and Marcel to where Ronan was lounging on the sofa with two other men. "The one on Ronan's left, that's Thierry. When Klaus came here the first time, he got pissed and bit him. He healed him a few hours later."
"To get back on Marcel's good side?"
"Yep."
"And the others?" Tyler asked.
Bonnie shrugged and sipped her drink. "They don't talk to me."
"Oh." He searched for something more to say. Bonnie didn't look that bothered by the silence. If she didn't mind going to a party where she wouldn't enjoy herself, this probably didn't bother her either.
"Do you know what's in the attic?" he asked. "There's something up there, and Marcel won't tell me what it is."
The music was so loud it was hard to concentrate on any sounds from above so he wasn't sure if there was any movement up there right now.
"How would I?"
"I don't know, you're more familiar with this place than I am."
"Show me," Bonnie said.
Tyler led her up the stairs to the attic door, shut tight like usual. Bonnie pressed her ear against it. "I don't hear anything. Don't sense anything either. I've been here a few times, and I've never noticed anything."
"How many times have you been here?"
"A few."
"Right," Tyler said, leaning against the wall. "So. Caroline left me a message the other day. Her and Elena are all moved in at Whitmore."
Bonnie blinked at him like she didn't know why this was relevant.
"Do you miss them?" Tyler asked.
Bonnie blinked up at the ceiling. Tyler didn't think she'd answer. It was more likely that she'd just walk away without saying anything else. But she stayed. She didn't answer, but she stayed.
"Have you...made any friends since you've been here?" he asked, changing the subject. "I mean, not these people obviously. But others?"
"Have you?"
"Well, I did," Tyler said, "but she kind of fell off the face of the earth, I guess. It's been awhile since I've seen her."
He tried to mentally calculate how long it had been since he'd seen Lydia, and he couldn't even come up with the day. There was an image of her in his head, giant sunglasses and red lipstick, but he couldn't remember the occasion. One day she was here and the next she wasn't. She'd said she liked to go from one place to the other and didn't stick around for long. Lydia had always been clear that she was going to leave New Orleans at some point, but Tyler had thought she'd say goodbye first.
"It's kind of lonely, you know," he said. "Aren't you...lonely?"
"When I first got here, it was hard," Bonnie admitted. "But I got over it."
Just like that, she got over it. Tyler had been away from Mystic Falls longer than she had, and he still wasn't over it. He didn't think he'd ever be over it.
"And you're fine now."
Bonnie nodded.
"What's your secret?" Tyler said, with a weak smile. "How can you not be lonely? You're all alone." He could feel himself annoying her, could see it written all over her face, but he couldn't stop himself.
"I've always been alone," she said finally, looking at him directly. "It just took me some time to realize it."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I told you it wasn't any of your business?" she said, raising her drink to her lips. "That's still true."
"Yeah, okay," Tyler said. "Sorry. I'm just trying to understand."
"You don't need to understand."
"Okay," he said. "I just...I miss Caroline. Don't you miss her, at least?"
"No."
On Caroline's behalf, he felt like he'd been slapped. "She misses you," he said. "The night you died - the night you didn't die - she called me, and she was a mess. The day of your funeral she almost killed someone. She was-"
Bonnie set her glass down on the table they stood next to. Well, set wasn't the right word. Slammed was more accurate. "I don't care," she hissed, stepping toward him with the same cold look she'd worn that night in the alley, right before she'd stripped him of any recollection of her at the club. "I. Don't. Care," she repeated. She shoved past him, and he watched her go down the stairs, staring after her until she disappeared from sight.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
