"Caroline, don't you think you've had a bit too much now?" Forcing himself to sober up, Tyler pulled the laughing Caroline away from Nathan Fields as she was about to do something she would tragically regret later. He knew exactly why she was drinking so much tonight. The news about her father's escape with a man no less had spread like wildfire through the entire community and that combined with Caroline's natural inclination to be a neurotic freak, the math was pretty simple. "Come on, let's go and get you cleaned up." She seemed to be completely unaware by the fact that half of her dress was covered in mud. Tyler wasn't sure he wanted to know why.

She flung her arms around his neck and the scent of her rose perfume filled his nostrils. Some people had a tendency to smell like someone's grandmother when they wore that kind of perfume but Caroline... she managed to pull it off. She put her head on his shoulder as though they were standing still and contemplating something important whereas he was half-dragging her inside. Besides, he had heard Fields at practice about he was going do Caroline at the party. He was saving her reputation.

Once inside, Tyler wasn't sure how but he did manage to get her into his parents bedroom, which was the only bathroom in the house that currently wasn't filled with vomit. Clearly, he needed to think more practically about a party next year. He needed to hire some cleaning help or something because even though his parents weren't home for another week, there was no way he would have the time to clean the entire house. Sighing, Tyler placed Caroline on the bed, who immediately fell flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. When he came back from the bathroom with a hot towel, Caroline was making heart signs in the air.

"Tyler?" she asked, her voice a little distant as though she was a thousand miles away.

"Yeah?" He sat down next to her, analysing the expression in her features. Caroline turned into quite the philosopher when she was drunk. There was never that much going on with her when she was sober but he always saw her in a new light when she was a bit drunk.

"Why does everyone like Elena more than me?"

There it was. It wasn't a surprise that she was asking but as he was faced with the question he wasn't sure how to answer. "Well... I don't know. Not everyone likes Elena more than you." He sat her up and began to wipe the dirty side of her face somewhat clean. Either she'd had quite the cat fight in the mud or she was drunk enough to trip. It was most probably the latter. Her big blues stared at him and something vulnerable shone through, hitting him right in the stomach. He realised no matter how much of a neurotic freak Caroline was, he'd always prefer her to Elena.

"That's not true," she said sadly, looking away momentarily as her eyes became glittery. All of the sudden it wasn't even like she was speaking to him any more. "Everyone likes Elena. She's perfect. She's got the right smile, the right hair... She doesn't try too hard and..." she laughed and looked down at her costume, "She manages to look sexy without looking like a slut." Tyler wasn't an expert when it came to costumes but he assumed that Caroline had come as some sort of Little Red Riding hood. What Caroline obviously hadn't seen was how every man with a decent eyesight had bee absolutely struck with her when she'd come in. Nathan Fields, the arse, had been high-fiving his friends and even though Tyler had always known she was pretty, he was beginning to realise that they were all growing up. Her dress'd had corset that emphasised her every curve and her long blonde hair swelled down over her shoulders, laying the final touch on her radiant appearance.

"You don't look like a slut, Caroline." He just wished that she would stop talking and telling him all of these things. He didn't want to know. Somehow it destroyed the illusion. Whatever illusions that he might be holding, he didn't know, but it feels like something was changing and he didn't know if he wanted to turn into what it was becoming.

Caroline turned to look at him but when her eyes met his, it was as though she was staring right through him. Like she was gazing into some distant horizon. "Thank you, but I know it's not true. Elena comes in and everyone just rushes to her side. Me? They stare at me because I look like a freak."

Tyler wiped away some dirt just by the corner of her eye. "They stared at you because you're beautiful. Not because you're a freak." There was a silence and by the way she was looking at him he could tell that he had said something wrong. "What?"

Instead of speaking, Caroline leaned forward and before he had a chance to stop her, she pressed her lips against his. Initially, the shock overwhelmed him but what was even more surprising was how quickly his body seemed to get over it. His lips instead found themselves quite comfortably against Caroline's and before he could register what was happening, her lips parted and he kissed her back. Once he started it was as though something inside of him exploded and he was unable to stop. Perhaps it was because they were both quite drunk but no matter how much he thought about it he couldn't figure out a reason to stop. He didn't want to stop. His soul be damned and may he forever rest in hell but even though he should know better, Caroline seemed almost irresistible and the way she was responding didn't help either.

Caroline's fingers found the hem of his shirt and soon he could feel her well-manicured fingers roam all over his chest and pulling him closer. It wasn't necessarily graceful but it was as though they filled a need in the other. Caroline needed someone to be close, to give her the time of day. Tyler, he... well he supposed he just needed this. This in its pure and simple form. He didn't know why but he found himself smiling as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. He didn't know if he ought to be disturbed by the sudden power this tiny girl seemed to have over him.

"Do you like me?" Caroline asked, a little dazed.

Feeling nauseous and strangely afraid, Tyler leaned forward and kissed her again, drowning the answer he didn't want to say. Yes, I like you a lot. And she was never going to know. After tonight, he was going to forget that he ever entertained the thought. It was probably just the alcohol but even at the remote chance that there was something more in that small, fleeting thought, he knew that he had to give it up. He didn't do feelings and Caroline did them too much. He was a jackass at best and Caroline... she always tried her best to be good. He was incredibly selfish right now, he knew that extremely well. He had no illusions about his own character but...

"Why do you trust me?"

Caroline gazed at him, her eyes were painfully gentle as she kissed him gently and responded without a trace of doubt. "I just do." She paused before continuing with a grave tone. "You're a good man, Tyler."

He hoped with every fibre of his being she'd never found out how wrong she was.

/

"Matt's in the car, sleeping it off. I'll deal with him, I don't want him involved in any of this."

Of course she didn't. He didn't want him involved in any of this either, which was strange because he was already involved but then again, being knocked out prior to all the bad things happened gave you a certain kind of innocence. Caroline had seen everything and to boot she was now covering up for him. Perhaps she wasn't as innocent as he thought she had been. He didn't know why but all of the sudden, he felt very alone.

"What are you doing?" He moved closer to her, just in case his mom would come back early. Discussing murder wasn't exactly something you did across the room from someone, much less the covering up of of one. If he had ever painted Caroline Forbes up to be a sweet, innocent though slightly neurotic girl this was the day when all that changed. She was the one handling everything, talking to his mom just right and managing to keep it together while he was breaking at the seams.

"I'm fixing a very bad situation."

"Why?" He was ready to face his punishment. He knew what he had done and for once, he wasn't going to be a coward. But here she was, helping him out of it. She didn't get it. He didn't deserve to be saved. "I did this. I killed her." He was going to have this curse hanging over him for the rest of his life. Whenever he would close his eyes, he'd see her face. Even if the truth would be buried and gone he would always know... And he would have to live with it.

"No, you didn't mean to. And I think it's best for everyone-" Having her trying to save him felt like some sort of cosmic joke. He was a killer and that was what he was going to be for the rest of eternity.

"But she's dead. You don't know what that means." But how could she possibly know? He didn't expect her to understand but... was she really that stupid to not realize that he needed to take responsibility? That everything had now changed?

Her eyes seemed to almost feel sorry for him. Why would she pity a killer? She should be throwing him to her mother. She should be putting him in jail. That was the right thing for everyone. For Sarah, for her parents... for himself. But then again, what would be best for him required a lethal injection and despite having pushed her, he was now getting offered a get out of jail free card. It was frustrating and somehow she'd seen the worst of him and she was still there.

"Actually, Tyler... I think I do."

"No, you don't Caroline."

"Has your wound healed?" What kind of a thing was that to ask? His wound? Brushing away the collar of his shirt, he expected to find blood but despite a small stain, it was completely gone. No sign of where Sarah had stabbed him.

"...How did you...?"

Author's Note: I hope you liked it and that it wasn't too bad. I didn't have a beta and I haven't written in a very long time but oh well, it's all in good you so much for reading and leave a review if you like.