Title: Dirty Little Secret

Chapter: 8

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: Thank you for the reviews! I'm REALLY sorry for the long wait. I've been having some serious writer's block with this story. So if you haven't already found it, I started a new Forwood fic: Shh, Just Go With It. Its very, very, VERY different from this one, just a heads up. So check it out!

Thankfully, the rest of the night was not filled with goose bump inducing dreams about golden eyes, woods and inevitably, Caroline's death. She did dream, but it was much like her usual dreams of cheerleading and kissing her favorite celebrity at the time, which was Ryan Reynolds by the way. She felt more rested than she had in a few days and she was grateful for that. Maybe the bags under her eyes she had seen developing over the last few days weren't permanent after all.

She got up much earlier than she initially would on a typical Sunday morning: 8 o'clock. She probably wouldn't physically need an hour and forty five minutes to get ready to go to a hospital, but mentally she needed it. She needed uninterrupted, quiet time inside her own head to reflect on the very recent past. Cody was attacked, Tyler had suddenly stopped being a dick and started being important, her and Matt were more or less fighting and she had the living hell scared out of her. It seemed impossible that all this occurred over the span of four days. Maybe that was why she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around it all.

Normal felt like a lifetime ago. Normal wasn't blood, or scars or calling Tyler Lockwood after a bad dream. When she woke up from the dream about the man with golden eyes, she had been terrified. The days of crawling into bed with her mom after a bad dream were long past, and she would feel silly calling Elena or Bonnie. She and Matt were fighting, not that she would have called him anyways. If she was being honest, those options didn't present themselves in her mind when she'd woken up. The first thing she did was reach for her cell phone, dialing the first number that popped into her head: his. By the second ring she was praying he wouldn't pick up, so she wouldn't have to explain why she was calling him. She could have hung up, but she just couldn't bring herself to it. Then he answered and she couldn't bring herself to tell him why she actually called, so she made up one. It was a pretty good one too. She was proud of herself.

She didn't know exactly what she thought she was going to get out of talking to Cody. What was he going to tell her that he wouldn't tell the cops? Cody couldn't stand her. He might not even talk to her at all. But she would try it because she wanted to know what happened that night. Maybe it was because of the weird dreams, or maybe it was just human nature, but she was dying to know.

After taking a shower and blow drying her hair, she smoothed her hair back into a ponytail and did her makeup. She put on a pair of Skinny jeans and a short sleeve white shirt with a blue scarf. When she felt like she was presentable enough, she went downstairs.

The clock read 9:17, but her mom was fully dressed in her police uniform and ready to go.

"If you're ready, I'd like to go ahead and go," Liz said. She was using that voice. That voice meant she was doing what she wanted regardless, and only sounded like she was giving Caroline a choice.

She sighed. "Yeah, let's go."

As they walked out of the door, she sent Tyler a text.

Change of plans, sorry. We're leaving for the hospital now. Can you still come?

Tyler cursed. He hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, let alone gotten ready to leave. Maybe he should just cancel. Who cared? Cody wasn't his friend, nor was he his responsibly. He didn't want anything bad to happen to the guy, but in all honestly, he didn't particularly care either. It would be so easy- just text her back with an excuse. She's a big girl, she'll be okay to go to the hospital. And anyways, she was going with her mom.

But damn it… sighing, he texted her back.

Yeah, sure. I'll be there in fifteen minutes.

If he skipped a shower… and breakfast… and broke the speed limit. Yeah, he'd make it in fifteen minutes.

He was downstairs in five, but of course, Mason couldn't just let him leave.

"Hey Tyler, come here! I wanna talk to you for a minute."

Tyler walked to the kitchen where he heard Mason opening up cabinets and drawers. "What are you doing?" Tyler asked, flatly. Mason was opening up a cabinet, looking around. He closed the door and moved on, not having found what he was looking for. Jesus, the guy thought he owned the house.

"Oh, looking for something," Mason said, shrugging.

"Like?"

Mason shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Mason, I live here," Tyler pointed out, like this might not be obvious. "I know where everything is."

Mason huffed like being asked what he was looking for was the most horrible, inconvenient thing he'd ever had to deal with. Tyler wanted to scream, break something and kick his uncle out of his house. And not in that order either.

"A pen," Mason said. "I'm looking for a pen."

Tyler looked at him evenly. He was lying. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. Mason wasn't looking for a pen, but he'd wonder what the hell Mason was snooping for later. He had somewhere to be.

"Top drawer to the left of the fridge. Can I go now?"

"No," Mason said, shaking his head. He didn't make a move toward the drawer. "I need to talk to you about something."

Tyler sighed. "Be responsible, the full moon is coming up, talk to Caroline. Did I cover it?"

Mason narrowed his eyes. "No, smartass, you didn't."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Then what?"

"Yesterday, when that guy was harassing Caroline, he said your name."

Tyler felt his temper simmer as he remembered. "So?" he asked.

"Do you know him?" Mason asked.

Tyler shook his head. "Nope."

Mason sighed like the point he was trying to get at was painfully obvious and Tyler was just too naive to get it. "Then how did he know your name?"

"I don't know. Maybe Caroline told him?"

"Why would Caroline tell him?" Mason asked, doubtfully.

"I don't know. I'm going to meet her at the hospital, so I'll talk to her about then."

"The hospital?"

"Yeah, Cody can have visitors now."

"Are you going to tell her while you're at it?"

"Nope," Tyler said and turned around, heading to the door.

"Tyler!" Mason called after him, but he was already outside.

Caroline glanced down at the clock on her phone. It was a few minutes past ten and Tyler still hadn't shown up. She couldn't feel irritated because she did say she would meet him at ten, but she was starting to get a little impatient. Her mom was talking to Cody's doctor about his injuries and Caroline saw it as the perfect opportunity to sneak in. She wanted to talk to him before the police did. She'd just have to do this without Tyler.

Making sure her mom wasn't paying any attention to her, she stood from her seat and walked quietly down the hall to his room. His door was closed, so she peaked in through the window. His eyes were closed, but his fingers kept moving, making her think he was awake and not just twitching.

She slipped in, closing the door behind her and closed the shades just for good measure. She smiled, feeling very proud of her sneaking skills. She always knew they'd come in handy one day.

She sat down in the chair beside Cody and looked him over. His face had a few scratches on them and was pale and his neck was covered in thick gauze pads, but other than that he didn't look completely terrible. "Cody."

His eyes flew open and then when he realized it was her, turned to confusion. "Caroline?" he asked, his voice scratchy and rough.

She nodded. "The one and only."

He rolled his eyes. "Now, I know I died. I don't think I've done anything bad enough to deserve to go to hell, though."

"Shut up," she said, narrowing her eyes. If Cody was insulting her, he was fine. Because it was the next obvious thing to say, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic. Really. I've never felt better."

"Stop being a jack ass," Caroline said. "I'm being nice."

"Fine. I feel like I nearly got my throat ripped out."

She bit her lip, her mind taking her back to the woods and all that blood. She wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Ouch."

"Yeah."

She looked down at her hands. "Do you remember that night?"

"Not really," he admitted. "But the doctor told me you, Stefan and Tyler saved my life."

Caroline shrugged. "I don't like you, but I wasn't going to let you bleed to death."

He sighed, like the words he were about to say were going to physically hurt him. "Thank you, Caroline. For saving my life."

She grinned at the discomfort in his voice. "No problem, Abrams. But just so you know, you owe me."

"Oh, great," he said, groaning. "I can't wait to see what torture you're going to make me go through."

She bit her lip again; she needed to stop or they were going to turn into a mess Chapstick couldn't fix. "Actually, I can think of something right now."

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked at me?" he asked incredulously. "I don't think I'm going to be much help for at least another week."

She ignored the sarcasm in his voice and said, "I just need you to tell me something."

"What?" he asked, suspiciously.

"That night that you were attacked… how much do you remember?"

"Why do you want to know?"

She huffed. "Just tell me and you won't owe me."

He still looked suspicious but he said, "It's a little fuzzy, but I remember some."

She resisted the urge to happily yell "yes!" and leaned forward in her chair. "What happened?"

"I was… I was drunk and I walked away from everyone and further out into the woods-"

"Why?" she interrupted.

His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't remember," he said, sounding far away.

"Okay, go on." She wasn't sure how much time she had until her mom came in or noticed she was gone.

"I heard something." He still had that far away, distant look in his eyes. "So I started walking but…"

"But what?" she asked.

He was staring at something she couldn't see, listening to something she couldn't hear. "I saw it."

Caroline's chest felt like it was about to burst. "Cody, what did you see?"

"Eyes," he said, vacantly. "They were… wrong."

She stopped breathing as she listened to him. He was acting like he was in a trance, like he wasn't fully in the room with her. His eyes looked almost glazed and his voice was becoming more and more empty. She wondered if he was going into shock.

"What was wrong with them?" Caroline asked.

"They were yellow. Bright, bright yellow. Gold, even."

Caroline's stomach twisted into a tight, tight ball and her breathing became uneven. Golden eyes… woods… noises….

"Are you sure?" she asked because that was just too much to comprehend. "I mean, it was dark out that night and-"

"No, I'm sure."

Deep breaths, Care, deep breaths.

"Then what happened?"

"I saw someone. A man. The golden eyes belonged to him."

"Cody, a man couldn't have golden eyes…."

He wasn't listening. He again was staring blankly at something she couldn't see. What the hell was wrong with him?

"And then he attacked… but there was something wrong with him… his face… it…."

"What?" she asked. Her voice sounded tight, like she was choking on something.

His eyes were completely empty. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Cody?" she asked. Now her voice sounded scared. She touched his hand. Nothing. "Cody, what happened?"

The steady beeping of the machines suddenly started faster and faster.

"Cody?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"

No reply. Just the steady increasing of the machines.

The door opened suddenly, filling the room with light. Caroline's mom and the doctor she had been talking to came in, looking worried.

"Caroline?" her mom asked, surprised to see her in the room.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, all professional.

Caroline stood up, trying to get out of her way while she fussed over Cody and his blank stare. If the heart monitor wasn't showing his heartbeats, she would think he was dead. He was too still, too blank. Something was seriously wrong with him.

"I- I don't know," Caroline said, her voice shaking. "We were just talking and… and then he just…" she trailed off, motioning to him.

The doctor continued to fuss over him and Liz pulled Caroline out of the room.

"What the hell were you doing in there?" she asked.

Caroline blinked. "I told you, we were talking."

"Caroline-"

"Look, mom," Caroline interrupted. She spotted Tyler come around the corner. She gave him a look that told him to stay and he stopped, his eyebrows raised. Caroline turned back to Liz. "I'm sorry, I should of told you I was going in there."

She sighed. "Will you please just go wait in the car?"

"Actually, I'm riding home with-" she cut off quickly, changing her mind, "-Bonnie."

"Bonnie?" she asked, incredulously. "Bonnie's at the hospital?"

"No, but she's close and she wants me to help her with something so…"

"Alright, go ahead. I'll see you at home later."

Unlikely, she thought, but didn't argue. She waited until Liz had her back turned and her attention elsewhere to head in the direction of Tyler, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a quizzical expression on his face.

"What was all that about?" he asked when she was close enough to hear him.

"That night that Cody was attacked… did you see anything?" she asked, ignoring his question. She was probably crazy for believing Cody, but she did nevertheless. She believed he saw something- someone. And she had to know who it was.

His dark eyebrows furrowed, scrunching up in the middle. "What do you mean?"

She began walking and he followed close in pursuit. "I mean- I don't know- an animal or a person or something."

He shook his head. "No, nothing besides Cody."

"Did you hear anything?"

They reached the elevator just as it was opening. They waited for everyone to step out and the doors to close before he answered. "I don't think so," he admitted. "I mean, I was kinda freaked. I wasn't paying attention all that well."

She bit her lip. Could whoever of attacked Cody really gotten away that fast? Tyler said he heard screaming and he left immediately to go see what was going on. Was the man hiding, watching as Tyler drug Cody out of the woods? That made her heart race in her chest. Whoever attacked Cody could have attacked Tyler too.

Tyler touched her arm to bring her back to reality.

She jumped.

"Caroline, are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.

No, not really. Actually, she was completely freaking out.

"I talked to Cody," she explained. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but I wanted to talk to him before my mom did."

"Did he say what attacked him?"

She looked up at him. His face was open, patient, listening- waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was so different about him. Maybe it was something in his eyes or his voice, but he wasn't the same guy she'd known her entire life.

"He was fuzzy on the night, but he said he remembered eyes."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Eyes?"

"He said there was something wrong with them."

"Like what?"

"He just… he just said there was something off about them," she said. Even as the words left her lips, she had no idea why she lied to him. Maybe it was because if she said the words out loud, it would make them more real. It would make her dreams feel more real.

Neither of them spoke until they walked out of the exit, away from people and listening ears, and Caroline realized that she actually wasn't helping Bonnie with anything, so she didn't have a ride.

Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "I'm sorry to ask, but can you take me home?" she asked. "I told my mom Bonnie was picking me up…."

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Hop in."

She got in and took extra care hooking her seatbelt. Really, she was watching Tyler out of the corner of her eye. He looked… deep in thought, like he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle in his head.

When he pulled out of the parking lot, he said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said, happy he was finally talking. He was hardly ever completely silent; it was weird and not very Tyler-ish.

"Yesterday, that guy…" he trailed off when he saw a small shudder go through her.

"Go ahead," she said.

"Did you tell him my name?"

She raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that. "No, why?"

He swallowed and fidgeted in his seat. "It's probably nothing, but…."

"But what?"

"He knew my name," he said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "He said it more than once."

A bad feeling she didn't quite understand was forming in the pit of her stomach. "I didn't tell him your name, Tyler."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel just the slightest.

They were completely silent the rest of the way to her house. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice how Tyler kept looking over at her, watching her bite her lip with curiosity. On top of worrying about what Cody told her, now she had to wonder how that man knew Tyler's name. It was probably a reasonable, logical explanation like he heard someone else say it, but the feeling in her stomach kept telling her to look deeper.

"Caroline?"

"Hmm?" she asked.

He nodded in front of him. They were in her driveway. Oh. She hadn't even noticed the car stop moving.

"Oh," she said, feeling flustered and not like herself. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but after a few seconds, he looked down at his lap and she undid her seatbelt.

Tyler Lockwood was being so damn weird lately.

Just as her fingers were on the door, she felt his warm hand on her other hand, stopping her. She turned back around to face him. He was closer than she expected, leaning forward slightly. She stopped breathing.

"Caroline?"

"Yes?" Her voice sounded breathy and nervous.

"Be careful, okay?" he said. "With everything that's happened… just be careful."

"I will," she said.

He was so close. Just a few inches. He was looking intently into her eyes, like he was looking at more than just the color of her eyes, but it wasn't like how Scarface had looked at her. There was nothing menacing or creepy about Tyler looking into her eyes. It felt comfortable, right even.

She didn't know she had leaned forward until her elbow hit the elbow rest, pulling her back into her body and knocking some sense into her.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" she asked, suddenly needing to get out of the car. It was too hot in there; she felt like she was choking on heat.

He nodded. "Yeah, sure."

She bounded out of his car as quickly as she could while still staying on her feet. She could feel his eyes on her but when she reached the door and turned around, him and his car were both gone.

She leaned back against the door, eyes wide.

She had been seconds away from kissing him.