Title: Dirty Little Secret

Chapter: 6

Summary: Caroline Forbes is a lot of things. Neurotic, controlling and insecure being top of the list, but one thing she is not is stupid. So she knows that something is seriously up with childhood friend (and occasional enemy) Tyler Lockwood. She's determine to figure out why all the sudden he's acting as if he's seen a ghost and why he looks at her all the time with a heat she doesn't understand. As she digs deeper, she finds out about a whole new world she didn't know existed and- despite her lack of knowledge- how she's part of it. Mostly AU.

Author's Note: First off, ohmygosh! The episode Thursday was so sad and not how I thought it was going to be): Though I was happy Matt dumped Caroline and she went and cuddled with a very naked Tyler underneath that hideous blanket! Yaaay Forwood is rising! Anyways, I'm moving this weekend so I'm not sure exactly when I'll be updating again. It may be a week or two what with the finishing packing, unpacking and settling in. Bummer, I know. I'll do my best though! So far, this is my favorite chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for those of you who have read and reviewed. The feedback is very appreciated and I'm so glad you like it!

The car ride to Caroline's house was mostly quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence exactly, but it wasn't comfortable either. It was like there was something hanging over both their heads and it happened to be the same thing. As much as he wanted to voice this, he kept quiet- not something he was usually good at. This whole secret thing was already changing him and he hadn't even shifted yet. Little things- like his "hitting and quitting" motto and "speak before you think" way of life- that made him Tyler Lockwood just weren't there anymore. Caroline was obviously the reason he was rethinking the first one- stupid, stupid, stupid!- and as for the second one, when you had to carry around a secret this big, he couldn't accord to not think before he speaks. It could blow right up in his face.

Anyways, Caroline was unusually silent. Caroline was always talking, or humming, or something. But not now. She was just sitting there, staring out the windshield at nothing in particular. She must of felt that same thing he had felt- the weight. But of course, she wouldn't know what it was. At least, not exactly. Like the complete idiot he was, he basically told her he was hiding something yesterday, so she knew it was something, just not what exactly. He was surprised she hadn't brought it up yet.

Trees were passing by in a blur of different shades of green. He'd never really noticed small things like that until his already 20 20 vision improved by a lot. Werewolf eyes and all that. Things that would have been just a blur or unsteady was now a perfect picture. Little details stood out like they were twenty times their usual size and everything seemed brighter. Like Caroline's hair seemed shinier and her natural curls seemed to be more… bouncy or something. And what he always thought were just two plain blue eyes were now like two burning sapphires. Everything was just so intensified.

It made his head hurt.

They were about a minute away from her house and he saw her shift a little in her seat, like she was suddenly uncomfortable. "Have you heard anything about Cody?" she asked, her voice almost shy.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She was resting with her back slightly leaning against the door, angled toward him. She had taken her hair down and it was a little messy. One hand was tangling in it and she was resting her elbow against the door. He couldn't help but notice how sexy she looked in his oversized hoody.

He quickly pushed that thought away, remembering werewolves and best friends. "Not really," he admitted. He felt a little guilty that he'd saved his life and hadn't checked up on him. They weren't exactly friends but still.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I hope he's okay," she said. Something like fear flashed through her eyes. "I hope they catch whatever did that," she said, a small shudder going through her body.

He wanted to reach his hand out and somehow comfort her, tell her that'd he never let anyone or anything hurt her, but he couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. Damn, he needed to talk to Mason. He needed to find out why he cared so much about her all the sudden.

"They will," he said, though he had no idea.

"Its scary," she said, quietly- not the usual loud, perky, bubbly Caroline. "Knowing that whatever ripped him open like that is still roaming free."

"They'll catch it," he said, more certainly. "Don't worry. You'll be safe." I'll keep you safe.

He hadn't said the words out loud but the blood that flushed her cheeks and how she looked away made him think he might as well have.

Her house came into view and he pulled up into the driveway. She unbuckled her seat belt and started to remove his hoody.

"Keep it," he said, opening the door. "Its cold."

"Tyler, I'm not sure…never mind. I'll give it back to you tomorrow," she said. "Thanks."

He shut the door and opened up his trunk where both of their bags were. He picked hers up and shut the trunk. She reached out for it but he said "I got it" and she raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, though she didn't make any remarks about it. He walked her up to the door and waited patiently for her to unlock it.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile. "For everything."

"Yeah, no problem," he said.

They stood their for a moment, just staring at each other. He was getting lost in his newly discovered feelings for her and he couldn't read what she was thinking. After a moment, she looked down and cleared her throat. He handed her the bag and said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Twelve o'clock," she said. "Don't be late."

"I won't," he promised.

She stepped in the entrance of the door and switched on a light. "See you later, Ty."

"Bye Caroline," he said and turned around, making his way back to his car.

…

Mason was in the kitchen on his lap top when Tyler got home. Once again, he tried to sneak away, and once again, it failed. Mason called him into the kitchen and he almost ignored him, but the whole "I didn't hear you" excuse would no longer work on him.

"How was the game?" Mason asked, looking up from the screen.

"Fine. We won."

" What happened to your hand?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tyler sighed, not wanting to get into it. "A misunderstanding."

"How's the other guy look?" he asked, seriously, like he thought Tyler probably beat the hell out of him.

Tyler felt a sliver of irritation go through him, making his hands clench and eyes narrow, before he calmed himself down. This was what Mason was talking about- how easy it was to lose control. "Not a scratch on him. At least not from me," he said, remembering how Elena looked like she was going to kill him. Elena had always been very, very protective of Jeremy, but Tyler had seen Elena kick his ass plenty of times for stupid things. He almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"Good," Mason said, looking a mixture of proud and surprised. "I'm glad. You're already learning to control yourself."

"Not like I have much choice," he said, thinking of how much control he used when he was around Caroline….

"You're right," Mason said, his eyebrows raised in curiosity at Tyler, like his thoughts had been an open book. He looked him over for a minute. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked.

Yes. "No," Tyler said, shrugging in hopes of looking nonchalant. He didn't really want to talk to Mason about this whole Caroline thing, though he knew he probably should. But he just couldn't shake this feeling of not trusting Mason. "Not really."

Mason sighed and shut his laptop. He leaned back and gave Tyler a pointed look. "One of perk of being a werewolf is you have better hearing," he stated, like this should mean something to Tyler.

"I know?" Tyler said. He didn't understand where this was going but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"And because of that, I can hear your heartbeat," Mason pointed out. "So I can hear when it starts beating faster, which is an effect of lying."

Of course, Tyler thought. The word "privacy" just didn't apply to him anymore. He wasn't even safe in his own head anymore. "Fine," Tyler said, dropping his bag on the floor and taking a seat across from Mason. "There is something."

Mason waited patiently for him to continue.

"Its this girl," Tyler admitted. "Caroline."

"Caroline," Mason said, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remembered. "Caroline… blonde, perky, talks a lot?"

Tyler nodded and his lips lifted up just the slightest. That was definitely Caroline. "Yeah."

"What about her?"

"Something… weird is going on," he said, though weird just didn't cover it.

"With her or you?" Mason asked.

"Me, I guess," he said. "When I'm around her its like…I can't focus on anything but her."

"When did you notice it?" Mason asked, looking slightly confused.

"A few days after the Masquerade Ball," Tyler said.

Mason's look of confusion turned into one of realization and his eyes widened. Whatever was happening, he clearly knew about it and understood it.

"What?" Tyler asked, leaning forward.

"Oh my god," Mason said, in disbelief.

"What?" Tyler asked. The waiting was physically painful.

"She's… she's your mate."

"Caroline, I'm sorry," Bonnie said for the millionth time. Bonnie and Caroline were in Bonnie's baby blue Prius, driving to school for the Sexy Suds car wash. Later last night Bonnie realized that she was suppose to have given Caroline a ride after the game and called her a million times until finally Caroline answered. She apologized over and over and offered her a ride to the car wash. Caroline almost declined because the last time it had worked out so well, but finally accepted. Bonnie was still apologizing, thinking that Caroline's quietness was because she was still mad. She was definitely still a little irritated, but that wasn't the reason why she was being quiet. Not even close.

"I know," Caroline said, tearing her gaze from outside to Bonnie. "I'm not mad anymore."

Bonnie looked relieved but then worried again. "Then why are you being so quiet? Are you sick or something?"

Caroline shook her head, realized that Bonnie wouldn't see that and then said, "No, I'm just… distracted."

"Is it Tyler?" she asked, quietly. While they were talking last night, Caroline told her that she had gotten a ride from Tyler. Bonnie must have picked up on something in Caroline's voice while telling her.

"Sort of," Caroline lied. It wasn't "sort of." Of course it was Tyler. Lately, it was always Tyler. He was the source of her annoyance, her confusion, her dreams and her curiosity. It was like every second he was just there. Last night when she needed a ride home, he was there. In her dreams when she needed to be saved, he was there. He was even popping up in her thoughts at random. And the most confusing thing of all was that she wanted him to be there. Thoughts, in person… all of it. What was wrong with her?

"Honestly, Care," Bonnie said, her voice sounding almost shy, "I think you should stay away from him."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and angled herself in the seat to get a better view of Bonnie. "Why?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Because I-"she cut off and cleared her throat. "I just don't think he's a good influence."

Caroline almost laughed. "A good influence Bonnie?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Really? What were you actually going to say?"

"That's what I was going to say!" she said, quickly. Bonnie had never really been a good liar and they both knew it.

Caroline just gave her a pointed look and waited.

"Okay fine!" Bonnie said, her voice rising. A tight frown formed on her lips and she stared out the windshield intently. "Its just that lately I've been getting a bad vibe from Tyler."

"What kind of vibes?" Caroline asked, curiously. She'd been getting a lot of vibes from Tyler lately, but none of them were bad exactly. Wrong maybe, but not bad.

"Like he's changed," Bonnie explained, slowly. "I don't even know how to describe it, but when I'm around Tyler I feel… darkness coming from him."

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed. She'd been around Tyler plenty the last few days and she didn't feel "darkness" coming from him. She didn't even know how to feel darkness. "Bonnie does this have anything to do with you talking to your Grams?"

Bonnie blushed visibly. "I felt it before I talked to my Grams, Care," she said.

"Okay, okay," Caroline said, raising her hands. "I believe you. So what did your Grams say about, you know, everything?"

Bonnie shook her head and sighed. "She said that I'm a witch." Her tone suggested that she clearly didn't believe this to be the case.

"Wait," Caroline said. "A witch? Like a witch, witch?"

Bonnie nodded. "She said part of being a witch is having psychic powers. I can read energies and have visions. That's why I felt something at the party. She said I was reading the negative energy."

Caroline was really doing her best not to laugh. She didn't want to be mean and hurt Bonnie's feelings, but a witch, really? "That's…" she trailed off, not knowing the word.

Bonnie gave Caroline a small smile. "Its okay, you can laugh," she said, her smile widening, though it looked a little forced "I laughed too."

"Sorry, Bon," Caroline said, shrugging as a small giggle escaped her lips. "I just don't believe in that kind of stuff."

"I know. Believe me, I do. I didn't believe it either."

"And now?"

"I'm not saying I believe that I'm a witch," she said, "But I felt something out in the woods. I wasn't hallucinating."

"I believe you," Caroline said, honestly. "I just don't understand what it could have been."

"Yeah, me either," Bonnie said.

They arrived at the school, where a few people already were, setting up for Sexy Suds. It was 11:40 so they were all a little early. All they really needed to do was set up the table where they would accept the cash and get all the supplies together. They parked off to the side so the customers would have enough room and got out, ending all conversations of witches and other supernatural things.

When they were almost done, Elena, Stefan and Damon all arrived in the same car. Elena looked gorgeous in a simple red bikini and short shorts. Stefan was in a blue swimsuit and was not so subtly staring at Elena, who was giggling and blushing. Damon was- of course- in a plain black bathing suit but did he make it work. Damon was the kind of guy that could wear a dishrag and still look heartbreakingly sexy. Caroline had to physically make herself stop staring at his abs.

"Take a picture, Blondie," Damon said, smirking as the three approached her. "It'll last longer."

Caroline scoffed and Elena and Stefan rolled their eyes in sync. "Please, Salvatore," she said, using her bitchy tone that she generally reserved for the hard to deal with cheerleaders. "I don't want a picture of that."

"Yeah, right," Damon said, rolling his eyes at her.

"You should really start working out," she lied, and poked his rock hard abs. "You're going soft."

Damon narrowed his eyes and said, "Am not," but his hand dropped to his stomach.

"Alright children," Stefan said, sounding a lot older than seventeen. "Are we going to finish setting up?"

"Shut up," Damon said, smacking Stefan on the arm. Stefan returned a smack and within seconds they were wrestling.

Elena shook her head and sighed. "When you put them in the room together, they become the most immature people you can ever imagine."

"I see that," Caroline said. "But at least they're getting along better."

The Salvatore brothers didn't always use to get along so well. Apparently they had sort of started hating each other after some girl came in between them, but after a while they worked it out, though they were far from being perfect, loving brothers again. At least things were getting better between the two.

"Yeah," Elena said, nodding. "Now if we could just work out Damon's maturity issues."

"I heard that!" Damon said, an arm locked around Stefan chest, about to throw him to the ground.

"That was the point!" Elena yelled. She turned back to Caroline, rolling her eyes. "Let's finish."

Ten minutes later things were all set up and the rest of the volunteers began to arrive. Matt arrived and Caroline turned her back, hell bent on ignoring him.

"Whoa what's all that about?" Elena asked, curiously.

"I'm a little irritated at him," Caroline admitted.

"Why?"

"We were suppose to go out after the game last night, but he forgot. He said that Josh and Grant wanted him to go to the Grill and shoot some pool."

"Ouch," Elena said, her eyebrows furrowing. "That doesn't sound like Matt."

And it didn't. Matt never forgot about their dates and on the rare occasions he did, he apologized and fixed it, whether it was rescheduling or just coming over and hanging out. He never blatantly blew her off for his friends. Until last night, that is.

"Well, it was," Caroline said. "And as far as I'm concerned, he's on restriction."

Elena giggled. "Restriction?" she repeated. "From what?"

Caroline gave Elena an evil smile and slipped off her sundress, revealing a very cute, very revealing orange bikini. "Everything," Caroline said, doing a little spin.

"Matt's drooling," Elena said, giggling. But Caroline only vaguely heard her because just when she stopped spinning she saw Tyler. She locked eyes with him and couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. He gave her a small smile and wave in return, so obviously trying not to stare at her.

"Good," she said, still locking eyes with Tyler. "I hope it hurts knowing he won't get to do anything. Bikini on or off."

"You're evil," Elena said, approvingly. "Just so you know."

"They don't call me 'Queen Bitch' for nothing," Caroline sing-songed. "Hey, I'll be right back."

"Okay," Elena said, a question mark on her face.

Caroline strutted towards Tyler, whose jaw was slowly dropping, as was everyone else's she passed. She was satisfied when she saw Matt with an awed look on his face. It was quickly replaced with jealously when he saw who she was approaching.

"Hey, Tyler," she said, giving him a wide smile.

"Hey, Care," he said, returning with a small one.

"I just wanted to thank you again for the ride," she said, genuinely. She really did appreciate it. It would have sucked to had to walk home.

"Really, it wasn't a problem," he said, looking almost bashful.

"I have your hoody in Bonnie's car if you want it," she said.

He shook his head. "Its fine. I'll get it later."

She shrugged. "Okay."

He looked at her, a curious expression on his face, like he was trying to read her or figure something out.

"What?" she asked, feeling blood begin to burn in her cheeks.

"Nothing," he said, quickly. "You look really pretty by the way."

She blushed even harder and happened to notice that he wasn't wearing a shirt. His abs were just as impressive as Damon's, if not more and were tanner. "Thanks," she said.

"Caroline!" Elena yelled. She turned to see the brunette motion her over. "Come here!"

"Sorry," she said, giving him an apologetic look. "Duty calls."

"Yeah, sure," he said. "See you."

She smiled before hurrying off to see what Elena needed.

The next three hours were busy. Tons of people came- mostly from school- and Caroline wondered if it was because of their superb car cleaning skills or their total lack of clothing. Whatever it was, it brought in some money so who was she to complain? Car after car appeared, keeping them all pretty busy. The whole "bring Damon so tons of girls show" plan was successful. He brought in almost twenty customers, who were less than thrilled when they had to be passed over to someone else because Damon wasn't Superman and couldn't clean that many cars in a reasonable amount of time. Caroline just got done cleaning her fifth car and was happy for the break. She seemed to be the only one who wasn't cleaning a car right now.

"Excuse me, miss," she heard someone say behind her.

She turned, a pleasant smile on her face. Her smile cut off for a second as she took in the man in front of her. He was probably in his mid thirties and was fairly tall. He had dark brown hair, shaved short and dark brown eyes. What made her smile falter was the long, jagged scar stretching from the right corner of his right eye to the right corner of his lip. It reminded her of the joker from Batman.

She instantly felt bad for staring and smiled wider, though it was a little forced. She looked him directly in his eyes, avoiding staring at the scar. He probably didn't like people staring at it; it was rude.

"Good afternoon," Caroline said, pleasantly. "Here to have your car washed, I assume?"

He nodded, smiling at her. "That's the plan."

"Did you already pay at the table?" she asked.

He nodded. "I did."

"Alright," she said. "Where's your car?"

He pointed to a black car, which Caroline instantly recognized as a Mercedes Benz, though she couldn't place the year or model. Matt had taught her basic brands of cars and how to recognize them, but gave up when Caroline asked him why they were named after letters like "SL." She thought it was a legitimate question but he had shook his head and rolled his eyes, ending the learning session.

"Impressive," she said, heading toward it, the man right beside her. "I assume you aren't from around here?"

"I'm not," he said, grinning almost slyly. "How'd you know?"

"Small town," she explained. "I would have recognized you."

"Well, that's ashamed," he said.

She had no idea if he meant it was ashamed she didn't know him or something else, so she chose not to respond. She got the hose and wet down the car, feeling him staring at her ass while she did it. She rolled her eyes.

"There's a snack bar set up over there if you would like to grab something while you wait," she hinted. What she really wanted to say was "Stop staring at my ass you old perv" but that was bad business so she didn't.

"I'm fine," he said, smiling creepily at her.

She shrugged. "Alright."

"So what's your name, darling?" he asked.

Oh great, she thought. She almost didn't tell him but figured what harm could it do? He was just a lonely man who had nothing better to do than stare at seventeen year old girls' asses while they washed his car. "Caroline," she said.

"That's a very pretty name," he commented. "Its means 'womanly' I believe."

She stopped herself from laughing out loud. "Womanly?" That was the best this guy could do? "Oh, really?" she said. "I didn't know."

"A gorgeous girl like yourself must have a boyfriend," he said.

"I do," she said, ignoring the "gorgeous" comment. She so was not thanking an old guy for perving on her.

"The dark haired one over there, I assume," he said, jerking his head in the direction of Tyler, who was washing a car and talking to a golden browned hair man she recognized as Mason. He looked away when Caroline looked at him.

"No, actually," Caroline said. "Not him."

"He likes you then."

Caroline shrugged, though she wanted to ask him why he thought that. "He's just my friend."

"Does he know that?" the man asked, getting way too nosy for her taste.

"Well, since I'm dating his best friend, I'm guessing yes," she said, a little annoyance leaking into her voice.

If he heard it, he ignored it. "Let me take you out sometime, Caroline," he said, a wide smile on his face.

Caroline stared at him, incredulously. "No thank you," she said, trying to remain as polite as possible when she really just wanted to tell him to fuck off.

"Aw, why not?" he almost whined.

"I have a boyfriend," she reminded him. "And I don't date strangers who are twice as old as I am."

"I don't have to be a stranger, Caroline," he said. The way he said he name made her shiver and not in a good way.

"I said no," she said, seriously. She was no longer smiling, remembering how when she was a freshman the sex ED teacher said to stand up straight, don't smile and say "no." Because "no doesn't mean no if you're smiling."

"No need to be difficult, Caroline," he said, giving her another sly smile. It made chills run down her spine and it screamed "danger."

"You're the only one being difficult," she said, fear beginning to take residence in her stomach.

"Such a beautiful girl like yourself needs someone who can show them what they deserve. They need a man, not a boy."

"What?" she asked, though her instincts were screaming at her to run, she couldn't help but ask. Her bitch side was taking over. "A man like yourself?"

He nodded once.

"A man doesn't hit on girls young enough to be their daughter," Caroline said. "I think you should leave."

He took a step closer to her and she took one back.

"I'll give you your money back," Caroline said. "But you need to leave right now."

He took another step forward, which she mirrored. She hit his car and jumped. He took another step forward.

"I don't think so Caroline," he said, shaking his head. "You're being very rude you know."

"Leave or I'm calling the cops," she said, her voice beginning to shake.

"No need for that," he said. He was too close to her, barely a foot. If he took another step closer, they'd be touching. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. A few girls across the parking lot were watching, an eyebrow raised. She didn't see anything else because at that moment he reached out and touched her.

A scream bubbled in her throat.

*A few minutes earlier*

"Have you told her yet?" Mason asked, looking at Caroline who was talking to an older man with a sick scar across his face.

"Told who what?" he asked, though he already knew.

Mason rolled his eyes and sighed. "Caroline and you know what."

That he did. "I'm not sure I'm telling her," Tyler admitted.

"What do you mean you're not telling her?" Mason exclaimed, causing a few heads to turn in his directions. Tyler shushed him. In a lower voice he said, "Tyler, you have to tell her."

"Look, Mason," Tyler said, though his eyes never left Caroline. "I can't just ruin her life like that."

He'd been struggling with the decision of telling Caroline she was his mate since he found out last night. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all. He was too busy thinking about it. Never in a million years would he have thought Caroline Forbes would be his mate. It was just too weird. He couldn't just drag her into this world.

"You're not ruining her life," Mason argued. "If anything you're doing her a huge favor."

"How?" Tyler asked, shooting him an incredulous look, before looking back at Caroline. To his surprise, she was looking at him so he quickly looked down.

"Because everything you feel when your around her, she feels in some way too when she's around you," Mason explained. "The only difference is she doesn't know why she feels it."

He had to admit, it made him feel a little good that she was somewhat feeling what he was feeling, but not enough. "I can't do that to her," he said, shaking his head and a smile forming on his lips as Caroline's face filled with annoyance at something he didn't see. It was probably the guy hitting on her.

"Tyler," Mason said, more seriously. "She needs to know. She's probably confused."

Tyler shook his head, his eyebrows raising as Caroline turned to the man with a pissed off expression on her face.

"Tyler, listen to me!" Mason exclaimed. "Has she been in your dreams lately? Because guess what, she's having those dreams too. You're sharing dreams with her."

Tyler barely processed that information because the man was getting closer to Caroline, who was beginning to look a little scared. Tyler dropped the sponge he had been holding and stood up, watching them. He had already begun to walk toward them when the guy reached out a hand and touched her hair, causing her to scream. Tyler was there in a second, pulling the guy off of her and pushing him a few feet away. He quickly stepped in front of her and shot the guy a death stare.

"Have you lost your mind?" Tyler asked, anger burning inside of him.

"I don't believe this concerns you, Tyler," the man said. Tyler didn't even bother to ask how the man knew his name. Anyone relatively close to them were watching them, debating what to do.

"When you touch her," Tyler said, "It concerns me."

"Does she belong to you, Tyler?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave right now, or I'm going to kick your ass," Tyler warned. He turned to Caroline, who looked like she was about to burst out in tears. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. "Hey, its okay," he said, as she grabbed onto him. She was shaking. "You're okay."

He shot the guy a look and said, "Leave" before leading Caroline away from the car and the him. The guy stared at them a moment before opening his car door and slipping in. Tyler didn't stay long enough to watch the guy pull away. He was too busy pulling Caroline away from everyone and leading her to the awning over the gym doors. She was holding onto his arm for dear life.

"Its okay," he said, softly. "He's not going to hurt you."

Her face began to break before finally a small sound escaped her lips and tears began to fall down her face. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his chest.

"Its okay," he repeated. "I've got you."

I don't know about you, but hero Tyler totally turned me on…

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