Tyler is standing in front of the school. So there it is, his first day as a werewolf. He wonders is this day is going to be that different from usual. He can't ignore it though, everything feels different since he has turned: he's hot, like his skin is on fire, and he can feel everything being amplified. His perceptions are heightened, so are his emotions and pulsions. It scares him. He wishes Jeremy or Matt would be there so that he wouldn't face it alone, but he texted both of them this morning and no one answered. After staring at the building and taking a deep breath, he finally goes in.

The first thing he sees as he walks through the corridor are notices about Aimee being missing. She was with him during the Masquerade ball, what if she also was...? No, he doesn't want to think about it. But as he continues walking another painful reminder of that night shows up, a painful reminder of what he has become.

There is a memorial of Sarah in front of her locker. As the wolf looks at the candles and flowers he realizes he did not just trigger his curse by killing Sarah. He also took her life away, he also took her away from her friends and family. Other people are gonna have to grief because of him, and he only realized it now! How could he have been so selfish and self-centered all this time?

Another guy pushes Tyler by walking through the corridor, breaking him out of his thoughts. It annoys him, enough to trigger this urge to fight he has every time someone pisses him off. He has tried to control himself for a while but it has always been hard, moreover being a werewolf amplified his anger. He can't fight, now less than before. He's stronger than everyone now, if he kicks someone's ass again this could get more wrong than ever, and no one will be able to stop him. He has to calm down, even if it's hard he has to! The wolf goes to his locker and tries to open it, but he's so tensed his hands are brutally shaking. Damn it's hard! Anything that requires dexterity is impossible to him in these conditions! But he has to open it, he has to only focus about that damn hasp instead of all of the other craps that are happening in this damn town! He's so sick of all of this! He's sick of people dying and grieving all the time!

A gentle masculine hand gets on Tyler's, keeping him from losing control.

"Easy Tyler, you're going to break it."

Hearing Jeremy's voice and feeling his touch calms Tyler. For the first time today something good is happening to him, he can feel something good being amplified. The electric feeling he used to feel at the touch of his crush's skin is added with some sort of magnetic fluid coming through his entire body. Not only the sensations were different but also the feelings that came from them. Before he hated having these weird sensations because of the boy's contact, it made him uncomfortable and ashamed. Now he enjoys them, he could feel the disturbing sensations become something amazing. And his voice... it's now more than just something cute he liked to hear. There's also something warming about it, like a melody that doesn't require any singing or instruments.

For a moment things felt right, everything felt right.

When Jeremy saw that Tyler got calm again he lets go off his hand, satisfied he helped. The wolf shortly misses the contact but it quickly goes away because what matters the most is his crush's presence. He turns towards him and looks at Jeremy's face, he finds him more beautiful than before even if it isn't one of his best days. His hair are obviously quickly adjusted and he's wearing another one of his multiple hoodies. Tyler likes that style, some people could call it neglected, he calls it comfortable. It brings out an absence of pressure, familiarity, and comfort. Which makes the wolf feel that way.

"Thank you Jeremy"

The human likes the way his friend is looking at him. Jeremy often feels like his presence never matters to anyone, except when he's around Tyler. He knows he has an impact on the wolf, he can see his presence changing something, bringing out something good. And it feels great.

"Anytime"

Tyler turns and looks at Sarah's memorial again. Jeremy notices, looks at the memorial too then looks back at Tyler.

"This really doesn't ease things, doesn't it?"

Tyler doesn't answer. He just turns to Jeremy and sights.

"It wasn't your fault Tyler"

"If you're right, then I won't turn next full moon"

"You told me she stabbed you. It was self defense"

"So what? She's still dead, people miss her and I became a..."

Tyler stops. He doesn't want to finish the sentence. Saying it out loud relieved him the first time but saying it again would be rubbing salt in the wound.

Jeremy tries to reassure him "Maybe it's not all that bad you know?"

"You're joking right? I'm a freaking monster now!"

"You're a creature, it's not the same. Sure, you're not human anymore. But isn't humanity plain and boring? Now you can heal quickly, you're stronger, faster..."

"And every full moon I will turn into a wolf"

"Nothing's perfect. But still, I think the best way to handle it is to discover the plus sides of it"

"I don't even like the plus sides! I still have anger problems, and being stronger is dangerous. If I fight again, I could send someone in the hospital or worse!"

"You know, it was already like that when you were human"

This reminds Tyler of the people he has beaten up when he was human: Jeremy at the football field, Matt at the Founder's party... The two guys he cares the most about. He may haven't regretted it right after but now he has never felt more guilty.

"Sorry Ty. That wasn't helpful"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry I beat you up at the football field"

"Oh well, I'm the one who started the fight"

"And I'm the one who should have stopped it! You were on the ground and I was keep hitting, someone else had to come between us to make me stop. Same thing with Matt, I'm not the one who stopped myself either. Do you think anyone could be able to stop me now that I have a supernatural strenght?"

Jeremy wasn't worried about that. He knows that vampires are stronger than werewolves. Stefan or Caroline could easily stop him from hurting someone else. But he can't tell Tyler that, he has to reassure him another way.

"Maybe two people can be enough. Or maybe someone can just calm you."

"The only way to calm me is the brutal way"

"I calmed you earlier. You could have break the hasp of your locker without me"

This makes Tyler uncomfortable. What if Jeremy is suspecting something? It's true, his crush has the ability to calm him the gentle way. But he's the only one who can and the wolf doesn't want to admit it out loud.

"Congratulations, you may have saved a hasp's life! Big deal" he says sarcastic.

"That's still something. Maybe that's all you need, a friend who knows what you're going through. If you want to, I can stay with you and we can see if I can stop you from fighting without using my strenght"

The wolf likes that thought, he would never mind some extra time with Jeremy and that plan has big chances to work. Though if it does, what would Jeremy think of that? Would he find out about Tyler's feelings?

"So what? You're going to babysit me now?"

"Fine, if you want to get through this hard time by yourself..."

Jeremy starts walking away. He knows Tyler will stop him, it happened twice and it will happen again.

"Wait!"

Jeremy turns back to Tyler with a smile on his face. So predictable!

"Stay with me. Please"

Tyler looked defeated. He can't pretend he doesn't need Jeremy anymore. The boy liked it, to feel needed. He has always felt useless and has even wondered if it would matter to somebody if he ever died. Even if there is Elena it's just because she's biologically made to love him, he's her brother. Well, cousin biologically but it's the same; family bond is the only thing that makes him matter to her. On the other hand when he's with Tyler he knows he's liked because of who he is.

Their moment get interrupted by the bell, which disappoints them both.

"Well, unfortunately, I won't be able to babysit you during classes" the younger one says.

"Don't worry, I'm harmless when I'm asleep"

Jeremy giggles, he doesn't really know if it was that funny but Tyler has that way to speak when he jokes that makes him funny. Yeah, he's a really fun and entertaining guy, Jeremy's glad to have him back. He cannot believe he wanted to stop their friendship, it has become so precious to him now!

On the other hand what's precious to Tyler right now is Jeremy's overwhelming smile. Seeing it feels as warm as a bonfire in the woods.

"I'll miss you" the older one lets out.

Jeremy looks at Tyler intrigued, is his friend that dependant of him?

Crap! the wolf went too far "Let's just forget I just said that" he says

"Damn, look at us now! I cannot believe we used to hate each other"

I've never hated you Tyler thinks, staring at Jeremy walking away. It's painful to think of what a dick he used to be around him, but he's also glad things have changed. Yeah, it's only going to last a few hours, but he's gonna miss him.

Jeremy barely listens to his teacher as the class goes on, all he can think about is Tyler. He wonders what could be different about his friend now that he has turned into a werewolf and how this could change their friendship. He knows he's Tyler's only confident right now, which is pretty cool. He likes that feeling of exclusivity and being that important to somebody.

Though he also wonders: how important is he to his friend? He's thinking about the kiss again, he didn't want to have second thoughts about it after the guy gave him a rational reason but it has actually never left the back of his head. This big question goes back to the surface now: is Tyler attracted to Jeremy? It's possible after all; a yes could explain something else that has been intriguing the boy about his friend. He has often wondered why Tyler was keep pushing him away at some point no matter how close they could be. Tyler would always keep a distance between them, as if he was afraid of something. What if this something was unwanted attraction? Or even love? The thought of that frightens Jeremy. This could affect their friendship if those unrequited feelings were confirmed. On Jeremy's side, that would make him uncomfortable but he wouldn't stop their friendship for anything in the world now. He's more worried about Tyler. Could he handle being just friends with his crush?

Jeremy wants to stop thinking about it but he knows he has to answer these questions if he wants to be sure that what he has with Tyler will last.

The bell rings. Jeremy didn't catch a sentence of the class, kind of shameful for a first day without danger when he can finally focus on school again. Oh well, after all he's allowed to be worried about stuffs that aren't life or death situations. He'll catch up, eventually...

The boy puts his stuffs back in his bag, puts it on his shoulder and leaves. The second he gets in the corridor he's stopped by Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline standing in front of him. They all have worried looks, which intrigues him.

"Okay... What's with the gathering?" he asks

Stefan is the first one talk "Do you know where Elena is?"

"No, why?"

"When was the last time you saw her?" Bonnie asks

"The Masquerade ball, why?"

"None of us have seen her since" Caroline says

Jeremy turns to Stefan "Wait, didn't she stay at your place? I thought you two were back together"

"No, she didn't. We're not back together."

"She didn't stay at my place either" Bonnie continues

"Mine neither" says Caroline

Jeremy is confused "But said her car was still in the driveway. Where did she go then?"

After learning that the blonde vampire thinks and attempts an answer.

"You're not gonna like it Stefan, but there can be a simple explanation"

Tyler thought of what Jeremy told him about thinking of the plus sides of being a werewolf. He wanted to give it a try so he decided to play basketball with his former friends. Turns out they can always hang out with him as long as he doesn't look depressed. Playing with them again feels different than before. Their presence is insignificant, he doesn't care if he's playing with them or anyone else. They're just playmates to him. Playing on the other hand is much cooler. He has never been so good: after stealing the ball before his adversary could blink an eye he passes easily though the others, jumps higher than he has ever jumped and scores under a few cries of amazement. Tyler loves it, he feels like a star again.

Jeremy was sitting on a bench not far from him, watching the game. He was going to ask the wolf about Elena but when he saw him play he wanted to stay and see what he's capable of now. It's impressive, he's never been into watching sports but with a supernatural specie playing it brings basketball to a whole new level. The boy is fascinated, he could watch his friend play for hours.

The wolf's attention drifs away when he sees his crush admiring him too, which makes him stop and stare for a second. The wrong second.

"Tyler, watch out!"

He only has the time to turn his head before he gets a flying ball right in his face.

"Ouch!"

Jeremy laughs.

"Dude, what the hell were you doing?" yells a random guy

Then another adversary gets the ball and scores. The wolf starts to get angry and leaves the game before he hurts anyone, so that he could see the only person who has the ability to calm him with only his company.

"Dude, where are you going?"

He's not listening, he doesn't care.

When he's finally in front of Jeremy he can see a smirk on his face. He knows he's gonna mock him but it doesn't bother him, what makes Jeremy laugh makes Tyler laugh too.

"Awesome! I especially liked the part when you get the ball in your face"

"Shut up. What do you want?"

"Did Elena spend the night with you?"

"What? No! Why would I do that? She's your sister!"

"Dude, you slept with Matt's sister"

"Good point"

"Look, I don't care if anything happened between you two right now. I just wanna know if you've seen her after I left"

"No, I've seen her car at my place but that's it. Why?"

Jeremy doesn't answer. Tyler guesses something went wrong by the look on his crush's face.

"Is she missing too?"

"We're not sure of that. Maybe she just ran away"

"That's still being missing. Have you tried to call her?"

"I haven't yet, actually. Thanks for it, I'll try"

Jeremy gets up and grabs his bag before starting to leave.

"Hold on" Tyler stops him "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'll handle it"

Tyler knows he's not fine but he gets that Jeremy wants to be alone in this.

"Okay, call me if you need anything"

"See you"

Tyler doesn't like letting Jeremy walking away like this but he doesn't want to force his help. Not that he would know what to do anyway. He doesn't want to go back to the game, he's too worried about Jeremy's sister.

Jeremy gets back in the school and thinks about Elena as he walks though the corridor. Turns out Katherine wasn't their only problem. It's unbearable, can't they spend just a day in peace? He stops when he gets in front of Alaric's class, with Elena's friends and Alaric waiting for his news.

"She's missing" he tells them.