Hello, my lovely readers. See, only two weeks. Now hopefully, I can get more chapters written so that we can go back to weekly or at least bi-weekly updates since this story is a personal favorite of mine and there is a ton of plots that have yet to play themselves out so far. On with the show…

Chapter 30: Alone

Monday morning, Caroline found that neither of her roommates were in her room. Looking around, she found that she was completely alone. Even Klaus was gone. However, that part was her fault because she told him they needed space after finding out about the sire bond. Getting out of bed, she got ready for school quickly and then walked to class by herself.

Walking into Geography class, Caroline noticed that everyone was sitting somewhere else. Peering at the seating, she realized that there was not one seat left for her. Sighing, she walked down to the front of the room and sat down. She was just relieved that two of her classes did not involve her being around Rebekah who seemed to be the ringleader of this 'give Caroline the cold shoulder' movement.

Going to English was a relief from the stress for once. Rebekah and Hayley were avoiding her. Klaus was off limits which meant Kol and Elijah were, too. Bonnie and Elena barely spoke. Damon was Damon. And that was company she could do without. Stefan had disappeared. Again. This left Caroline talking to the new ficus plant, she bought for the room. She was surprised Rebekah did not call it hideous and toss it out the window.

When Caroline walked into her Drama class, Marcel treated her like he always did. He made her get on the stage and sing. They were in the middle of auditions for Rent and she was up for the role of Maureen. It was such a great role with lots of range. Marcel seemed to be intent on giving her the role since he was coaching her along the way. However, after her fallout with Rebekah, Caroline wondered if he would still want her to play the part.

Sitting down, Caroline waited for the people who would be auditioning for the role of Joanne. Caroline's jaw dropped when Rebekah walked onto the stage. Caroline had no idea if Rebekah remembered the role she would be performing. Nor was she sure if Rebekah knew who she would be working with if she received the part.

Once Rebekah began to walk around the stage with her usual swagger from the pre-George days she nailed the role. Caroline had to stop herself from jumping to her feet and applauding. What made her droop in her seat was when Klaus got on the stage to audition for the role of Roger. He was lovely as she knew he would be.

Finally, Damon walked onto the stage to audition for the part of Angel. Caroline had to stop herself from laughing at the thought of Damon in a dress. Oh, this would be a lot of fun, except for the part where Rebekah would probably try to kill her if they got the parts they had auditioned for.

There was one more role that had yet to be auditioned for. Bonnie and Elena were competing for it. Caroline thought Bonnie should get the part but thought that Marcel might give it to Elena due to her doe eyed look. They had auditioned for the role of Mimi.

They would find out who got what role later in the week or if any of them would be in the play. Until then Caroline would just have to endure the silent treatment.

During Bio Dr. Wes was passing around a signup sheet for an extra credit project. When she was handed the sheet, she saw there were two other names for a ten person study. 'What the hell?' Caroline thought, signing up. It wasn't like she had a thriving social life anymore.

When Wes took the sheet, he smiled as Caroline was leaving. "Miss Forbes, I wanted to thank you for signing up for my experiment. I've been trying to find something that would impress the department and it never hurts to have a spokesperson. I heard you're an actress, is that right?"

"Yes," Caroline said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Good. It's always nice to have a non-science geek such as myself around," Dr. Wes replied with a wide grin.

Caroline tried to not let her revulsion show. "Yeah. I'll see you then." When she was walking away, she wondered if they put something in the drinks of the professors here or if it was her imagination that he was creepy, Dr. Wes was flirting with her. Maybe he thought she was flirting with him. Maybe he was just a lonely, little geek. Not really, he was kind of cute and probably had a girlfriend.

"Ugh," Caroline muttered, walking into her Study of Theater class to find Rebekah was there early and there were plenty of available seats surrounding her. Forcing herself to not allow Rebekah to intimidate her, Caroline walked over and sat down next to her.

Rebekah didn't even look up. She kept her eyes on her book like Caroline wasn't even there.

Bending over, Caroline pulled out her book, notebook and pencil. "I saw you at the auditions. You were really good," Caroline informed Rebekah, who shrugged.

"I suppose I was," Rebekah said, not looking up from her book.

"You do know that the character you auditioned for is the love interest of the character I auditioned for." Caroline told Rebekah, watching her carefully.

Rebekah flipped a page before retorting, "You don't say. A former friend told me that it was a great play. So, I thought I would try out. Probably won't get it but whatever."

"I'm sure you'll get the part." Caroline reassured her, trying to avoid the former friend part of the conversation.

"Maybe," Rebekah said. "I'm going to get a cup of coffee." Getting up, Rebekah walked away from Caroline and Caroline had to stop herself from going after her friend. Rebekah came back at the same time as Marcel came in the other door and they both looked slightly disheveled. Caroline wanted to ask how things were going with the two of them but she knew she couldn't.

Sitting down, Rebekah sat her coffee down on the floor and wordlessly held out another. Caroline looked at the cup and then at Rebekah before taking it. "Thanks," Caroline whispered.

Scoffing, Rebekah flipped her notebook open and watched as Marcel began to give them his newest lecture. Every time he looked at Rebekah, his eyes would light up. Caroline noticed the way that Rebekah would tilt her head or cross her legs and then uncross them, causing Marcel to drop his pen at one point.

When the lecture was over, Caroline gathered her things and left. Walking out of the classroom, Caroline was surprised to find Rebekah walking with her. "Marcel and I are going out tonight." Rebekah said without preamble.

"Oh," Caroline said.

"I'm going to stay at his place," Rebekah said, staring ahead of her. "I just thought you would want to know, in case I did not come home and you thought something had happened."

Nodding, Caroline wasn't sure how to ask the question in her mind. "Have you… you know with him since… you know… ?"

Shaking her head, Rebekah's expression darkened. "No. I couldn't." Stopping, she turned to look at Caroline. "Thank you."

"For what?" Caroline asked, feeling confused.

"Thank you for not thinking me a petty woman for my behavior of late and for caring," Rebekah replied stiffly. "I know that you have not been seeing Nik lately. I do appreciate that you are trying to keep your distance. He's my family. And whatever this sire bond business is, it isn't right. It is never right to have that much control over another. Many people do not fully appreciate self-control until someone takes it away from you."

Watching Rebekah stride away, Caroline groaned. She wanted nothing more than to run to Klaus and Kol's apartment and jump her boyfriend. But she knew she had to stay away from him. Being with him while he was bound to her would be wrong. 'Maybe just an hour,' Caroline thought as she imagined his arms around her. 'No, bad Caroline.'

Walking back to her dorm room, Caroline found a note from Hayley saying she was at Elijah's. Sighing, Caroline flopped on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Getting back up, she checked her plant. He looked happy in the light, all green and leafy. She envied her little plant.

Undressing, Caroline decided to take a bath. When that was done she walked over to the closet and pulled out dresses that she knew Rebekah would kill her for touching and had a private runway show. When that became boring she turned on her iPod and danced around.

Yawning after three hours of nonstop dance, Caroline looked under Hayley's bed and found the box of Lucky Charms. Striding over to Rebekah's bed, she turned on her laptop and decided to watch her favorite actor, Joseph Montgueson. He was so adorable and funny. Unfortunately, the actor reminded her of Klaus so she had to turn the laptop off.

Opening her door, Caroline went across the hall and knocked on Bonnie and Elena's door. There was no answer. Moaning, because she was so very bored, Caroline slid to the floor of the hallway. "Hey there, stranger," a familiar voice called. Looking up, Caroline jumped to her feet.

"Tyler," Caroline squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I am so happy you're here. I've had no one to talk in the past five hours."

"Oh," Tyler replied, raising his eyebrows and grinning. "Because not having anyone to talk to for five hours must suck."

Caroline smacked, Tyler on the shoulder. "Someone decided they were funny while they were gone. So, where have you been?"

Tyler shrugged. "I needed to get out of here for a while. This place was just not working for me. And you are one to talk, considering the fact that the last time I checked you're the one who ran off first with no word to anyone."

"Yeah but I came back," Caroline argued.

"After months according to Kol," Tyler argued.

"You're friends with Kol?" Caroline asked, feeling she had been left out of something else.

Tyler shook his head. "No. I'm friends with Klaus."

"What?" Caroline cried, trying to keep her voice down and failing. "You're friends with Klaus."

"Yes, I am," Tyler said. "You know someone had to listen to him whine about you and after a while his family couldn't handle it. Stefan wasn't the one he was going to go to. Damon, for about the same reasons. So, it all fell to me to help your boy power through it. You owe me one, Forbes. I was always in your corner telling him what a great girl you were."

"Yeah, that sounds like you, Ty," Caroline rolled her eyes.

"It's true. Speaking of great girls I was actually with this girl I just met, Liv Parker for the last couple of months. We've been dating and things are going really well, she's even talking about transferring to Whitmore."

"Oh, Ty," Caroline whispered. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. So, do you want to tell me what is going on that I got a drunken call for Klaus whining again?" Tyler questioned Caroline as they walked into her room.

"Tyler, do you believe in supernatural creatures?" Caroline asked while closing the door.

"It depends on what day it is," Tyler joked.

"No, Ty, I'm serious," Caroline said as she pulled the door open and they walked inside. She shut the door behind her and locked it so that someone wouldn't walk in and wonder why she was talking about monsters that weren't supposed to exist.

Tyler grinned as he sat down on her bed. "Have you been watching Halloween movies again? Or is it that Damon's in the closet ready to jump out at me and make me pee my pants like that time during our junior year. You remember that night, right? Stefan threw a party at his house and Damon was scaring the shit out of every third person who walked through the front door with his vampire costume. I still say he actually bit me that night. I guess he was on something."

"I remember. But that's not the important part. I need to know if you believe in vampires and werewolves and witches and all that. Because I need to tell you something and I need for you no to freak out," Caroline said seriously while Tyler continued to smile at her like he thought she was joking.

"Come on, Care. You know that there are no such things. I mean there might be weirdoes who think they'll turn into a bat or something, but seriously, they're nuts," Tyler told her and Caroline blew out a long breath.

"What if they're not?" Caroline asked and Tyler shook his head.

"You know, you really need to talk to someone about this," Tyler said and started to get up when Caroline sped forward and pushed him back down. Gasping, Tyler's eyes widened as he stared up at Caroline, his expression was horrified and Caroline felt guilty but she knew she had to continue.

"Tyler, I have to tell you something," Caroline began when he interrupted her.

"Like how the hell you moved that quickly," Tyler demanded as he shifted uneasily on the bed.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Caroline replied with an eye roll. "I'm a supernatural creature. You see I died months ago from a brain tumor but then I came back as a vampire because Stefan feed me his blood and he turned out to be a vampire, too. Then after I was turned I killed a man who was trying to kill Klaus. That caused me to become a werewolf. I guess I was born with this werewolf gene that wasn't activated until I killed that guy."

"Wait! Did you just say that you killed a guy?" Tyler seemed too stuck on that one piece of information and was not accepting the rest of it. But he had to because Caroline needed someone to talk to about everything that had happened to her lately and everyone else seemed to have disappeared on her. And she was lonely and needed one of her friends. She knew that it was kind of selfish to be putting all of this on Tyler who was seemingly normal, but still, she couldn't help herself.

"Tyler, listen to me. I'm a vampire and a werewolf. See," Caroline changed her visage and Tyler opened his mouth to scream in fear when she slapped her hand over his mouth. "Don't scream," she ordered and Tyler nodded.

When she removed her hand, Tyler tried to get up and run but she shoved him back down. "What do you want from me?" Tyler asked her with an unhappy look.

"I want you to talk to me. Everyone else is freaked out because they're either turning into werewolves or vampires or because I turned Klaus into a hybrid, like me," Caroline stated slowly with wide eyes.

"Klaus is a what?" Tyler yelled and Caroline felt like she was losing her mind.

"Tyler, lower your voice," Caroline snapped, focusing her eyes on his. When Tyler's pupils dilated, Caroline felt triumphant. "You're fine. You're with me. I would not hurt you. Okay?"

"Okay," Tyler said and adjusted his position on the bed. "So, why didn't you tell me all of this stuff before?"

"Because of how you just reacted. Do you think that I enjoy this new lifestyle? Actually, I kind of do because it made it easier for me to adjust to my new life as a person with sight. At first it was like you can't move and then you're speeding everywhere which is terrifying in the beginning but once I could start reading without having to sit with my braille in one hand and a book for people with sight in the other it was like a brand new world. And the colors. Do you know what it is like to never see the sun, and then, there is was and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life."

"But what about you're being this… this thing… this hybrid? Do you kill other people? I mean in the movies and books they eat people. Are you going to eat me?" Tyler asked his face draining of color.

"No, Ty," Caroline exclaimed, feeling she was making no progress at all. "I would never do that to you."

"So, you don't eat people?" Tyler repeated.

"No, I don't eat people. I drink from blood bags," Caroline stated, walking over to her mini fridge and pulling one out. "It doesn't taste as good as it does from the vein but it's okay. And I don't want to hurt people."

"Okay," Tyler replied but he did not look convinced. "And you said that Stefan is a vampire. And that there are other vamps and wolves? Who are they?"

"Well, Damon is a vampire," Caroline began.

"I knew it. He did bite me that night," Tyler cried. "Son of a bitch."

"Yeah, and Hayley is a werewolf. And Rebekah is one, too. I guess that they inherited the gene from their father," Caroline told Tyler whose eyes widened.

"Oh, my God. You're kidding?" Tyler looked like he was very confused as he shook his head and Caroline felt sorry for him. It must be a lot to take in all of this information at one time.

"Are they hybrids?" Tyler asked.

"No, I'm the only one who can turn someone into a hybrid," Caroline said. "I guess because I'm the first of my kind. Oh, and Marcel Gerard is a vampire."

"What?" Tyler groaned. "Now, it is the faculty, too. What about witches?"

"Bonnie's a witch. And so is Rebekah," Caroline explained.

"Wait. You said Bekah is a werewolf," Tyler protested.

"Yes, so she's both. I guess she's a hybrid, too," Caroline said thoughtfully.

"This is nuts," Tyler said as Caroline sat down beside him.

"Tell me about it," Caroline replied.

"You know I think that my uncle is a werewolf," Tyler finally admitted and Caroline nodded.

"Huh," she murmured. "Well, then that would mean that you carry the gene."

"Great," Tyler moaned.

Caroline could sympathize with how he felt. It could be awfully lonely when you were forced to discover what you were even if you did have people with you because they couldn't feel your pain.

I promise that we will see Klaus and probably Stefan in the next chapter as soon as I figure out what they're up to.

Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, read and/or reviewed this fic. And thank you to everyone who has faved or followed me as an author.

Thank you Genesis Salvatore and Redbudrose for reviewing.

Peace,

Jessica