Title: Dirty Little Secret

Chapter: 9

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. AU.

Author's Note: Thank you for the continued support as always. I was out of town for the last week or so, so I didn't have much time to write. I'm going to start putting the days at the beginning of each chapter so you (and I) don't get confused! Happy almost Fourth of July!

Monday

Seeing Matt the next day made Caroline feel extremely guilty, though for what she wasn't sure. She hadn't done anything guilt worthy. She hadn't actually kissed Tyler. She shouldn't feel like she should tell Matt what happened, or rather, what didn't happen. But she wasn't listening to herself today, so when she spotted Matt between first and second block, she headed toward him with a surge of determination.

And hit an invisible, but very hard, wall when she saw Dana standing beside him, laughing and resting her hand on his shoulder.

Her hackles rose and she planted her sweetest, fakest smile on her face as she began walking toward him again. She was happy to see Dana's smile faltered when she saw Caroline, but her hand remained on Matt's red lettermen's jacket and her face slipped back into a smile, looking away. Bitch. When Dana's gaze returned to Caroline, Matt noticed and turned around to see what captured the brunette's attention.

"Caroline," he said, sounding surprised. "Hey."

She allowed her eyes to narrow the slightest. Why was it so surprising to see his girlfriend at the small school they both attended? Or maybe he just felt like he had been caught doing something wrong. She'd give him points though: he didn't look guilty.

"Hey, Matt," she said, her voice surprisingly calm despite what she was feeling. "Do you think we can talk for a second?"

He hesitated, glancing at Dana, who looked like she was about to start pouting. Oh grow up! But he nodded and Dana's hand slipped off his shoulder. "Sure, of course."

She shot the brunette a look and started walking, only stopping when she was sure they would be somewhat out of hearing range. Most people were heading to class, completely ignoring them, but there was always a few of the gossip-whores who listened it, just hoping to get something they could spread around the school like the freaking bubonic plague.

"So what's up?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets and shuffling his feet across the floor.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Just thought I'd say hi," she lied. "I haven't seen you since Saturday."

He was smart enough to look guilty then. "Yeah, sorry I didn't call you yesterday to see if you were okay. I got… caught up with some things."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm fine," she said, the annoyance she was feeling finally leaking into her words.

He sighed. "You're mad."

Screw telling him about almost kissing Tyler. The bottom line was they didn't kiss and Caroline was beginning to see she didn't owe Matt much. "Why would I be mad?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like I expect my boyfriend to call me to check up after being harassed."

He sighed again and he had the audacity to look annoyed. "We both know you're not mad about that."

"Then what am I mad about Matt?" she questioned. Him not calling her did irritate her slightly. On principle, he should have called to make sure she was okay. Even Stefan called her and asked if she was okay. But that wasn't what really irritated her to no end.

"You're mad about Dana." It wasn't a question.

"You mean the skank who had her hands all over you this morning and who was undressing you with her eyes on Saturday?" What Damon told her about Dana and Matt was only reinforced just a few minutes ago. She had believed Damon, but she also kept in mind that Damon was Damon. Who would of thought the day would come when she trusted Damon freaking Salvatore before her own boyfriend?

He huffed, like this was the most annoying conversation he'd ever had. "Caroline, you know I don't like talking to you when you're like this."

Her hands dropped to her hips and she raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"When you're acting insecure."

The word hit her like a physical blow and she found her anger boiling. "Insecure? Insecure? Are you kidding me? How is me being mad about a girl flirting with you and you doing nothing about it me being insecure?" She'd be the first to admit she was insecure, but this wasn't her being insecure.

"God, Caroline," he said, lacing his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes. "I can't help it if she flirts with me. It's not like she's the first girl to flirt with me."

"I don't care if someone flirts with you, Matt!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Then what are you so mad about?"

"I'm mad that you just allowed it," she said. "It's Dana we're talking about remember? She doesn't respect boundaries so it's your job to remind her."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You're acting like I'm doing something wrong."

"Not yet."

Anger swelled in his baby blue eyes. "Do you really trust me that little?"

"I don't trust Dana." She wasn't sure whether or not she trusted Matt right now, so avoiding the question would probably be best.

"And I don't trust Tyler, but I'm not freaking out about you two spending so much time together," Matt said. He instantly looked like he regretted saying the words.

So that was what this is all about, Caroline thought. "Are you jealous?" she asked.

"Look, Caroline," he said, some of the anger receding from his voice. "You know how Tyler is."

"He's your best friend."

"And he's impulsive," Matt said. "He doesn't think before he acts."

"I would never do anything with Tyler," Caroline said, though in the back of her head a little voice was asking, are you sure about that? "You should know that."

"You are being so hypocritical right now!" Matt exclaimed. It was practically yelled. Caroline looked around to see how many heads turned toward them, but was surprised to see they were completely alone. She hadn't heard the bell ring.

"No, Matt, I'm not because Tyler may have his faults, but you're his best friend and he would never do anything to hurt you. Can you say the same thing for Dana?"

"I can't deal with this right now," Matt said, shaking his head and taking a step back.

Caroline felt her face go completely blank. "How's this? When you're ready to deal with this, give me a call. Until then, don't even think about it?" Her voice was just as empty as her expression. She shook her head at him and turned, walking away.

Caroline was sitting at a picnic table with Bonnie and Elena at lunch, soaking up as much sun and breathing in as much fresh air as they could. Before long, it would be too cold to eat outside and they would be forced to eat inside their fish smelling, crowded cafeteria with everyone other person they'd loved to avoid.

"Caroline," Elena said, sticking a Dorito into her mouth, "you just finished the last fundraiser!"

Caroline sighed and began poking holes in her sandwich, no longer hungry. "I know, but I feel like I've been slacking." Which was, of course, a total lie. They'd already held two major fundraisers and a couple of smaller ones- all being huge successes. Whenever she felt stressed, she got creative; therefore, planning a fundraiser just seemed like the thing to do.

"You're stressing," Bonnie observed.

Caroline shrugged, picking a piece of sandwich bread out from underneath her fingernail. "Maybe a little bit."

"What happened between you and Matt?" Elena asked. "I saw you guys this morning and you both looked mad."

"I think Matt's jealous that I've been spending some time with Tyler," Caroline admitted.

"Does he have a reason to be jealous?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No way!" she said, a little too quickly. It was practically squeaked. "Not at all!"

Their eyes widened in synchronization. "Are you… did something happen between you two?" Elena asked, Doritos temporality forgotten.

"Yes. No. Kind of?"

"Tell us!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Caroline did a perimeter sweep, making sure no one would be able to hear them. There was a group of guys skate boarding and a girl reading a book, but neither seemed to be paying much attention. Just to be safe, she leaned forward and talked in a hushed voice. "When Tyler dropped me off yesterday from the hospital-"

"Freeze," Elena said, holding up her hands. "The hospital?"

Caroline nodded. "Cody woke up and I wanted to talk to him. I asked Tyler if he wanted to come, but he ran late so I talked to him by myself. Tyler got there right as I was done, so I rode home with him."

"Why did you want to talk to Cody?" Bonnie asked, eyebrows furrowing. "You hate him."

Caroline hesitated. Bonnie and Elena were her best friends, but she didn't feel quite comfortable with telling them about the dreams. It was just too… personal. And creepy. So instead, she shrugged and stuffed her mutilated sandwich back into her brown paper bag. "I don't know… I guess I just wanted to make sure he was okay." She could tell be the look of their faces that neither of them believed her, but they didn't push it. They knew if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

"Okay, anyways," Elena said. "When Tyler dropped you off from the hospital…?"

"I was saying bye and he was looking at me and before I knew it, I was leaning forward." Caroline felt like she just confessed she was a stripper on the weekends. She bit her lip, waiting for her friends' reaction. Would they be shocked? Appalled? Judgmental?

The word insecure floated through her head.

"Did you two kiss?" Bonnie asked, eyes wide. She was definitely surprised- they both were- but there wasn't any judgment in her eyes.

Caroline shook her head, causing her blonde curls to bounce. "No, my elbow hit the armrest and I realized what I as doing. I practically ran inside."

"Damn," Elena said, quietly, leaning back. "That's…"

"Horrible? Gross? Appalling?" Caroline's mood deteriorated more and more as each word left her lips.

Elena shook her head. "I think it's kind of… expected?"

Caroline stared at her, mouth gaping. "Expected?" she asked, her voice going up an octave. "Me almost cheating on my boyfriend with his best friend is expected?" She felt slightly insulted.

"Look," Elena said, leaning forward. "Matt's always been one of my good friends, but he isn't very… understanding, you know? He likes things to be a certain way. He doesn't like conflicts and arguments. And you aren't like that. You don't avoid the problem. Maybe you and Matt just aren't so good for each other anymore."

Elena did have a point. Caroline wasn't perfect and sometimes she felt like Matt wanted her to be. He hated the fact that she was insecure, but it wasn't like she could just change that. It was a part of who she was. She always tried to keep it at bay because of Matt, but maybe it was time he started accepting all of her faults.

"And maybe," she went on, "Tyler is a relief. It's not like the guy doesn't have his own problems. So maybe around him, you feel like you don't have to hide your problems."

Caroline thought that over for a minute. Elena had another great point. Tyler didn't make her feel like she needed to hide any of her faults or problems, because he had just as many, if not more than she did. He was like a fresh breath of air after being cramped inside a box for so long.

"I still don't know what to do though," Caroline said. "I don't want to break up with Matt, but things are just getting bad between us."

"I say give it a little bit longer, and if things don't get better, end it," Bonnie said. "You can't say with him if you're not happy."

Caroline nodded, but her head still hurt. While their talk was refreshing, she still had decided absolutely nothing.

Tyler missed the days when he didn't give a damn about anything or anyone but himself. He missed the days where his biggest problem was where to hold the next party and how he was doing to get the beer. He missed the days when he was a selfish bastard and didn't have a care in the world. He hated feeling. He hated worrying about the full moon. He hated worrying about what Mason was up to- because he knew it was something. He hated feeling like his life was spinning out of control. And he especially hated feeling about Caroline.

He had seen her and Matt arguing this morning and he had felt worried about her. Was she okay? What were they arguing about? He could have easily listened to what they were saying, but it felt intrusive. Tyler Lockwood was respecting boundaries. What the hell was the world coming to? And throw in the fact that he had wanted to knock Matt out for making her look so upset, it was a whole world of confusion.

And that didn't even include their almost kiss from the day before. He would never in a million years thought she would try and kiss him, but she did. He didn't insinuate it; she did. He wasn't sure whether he was fervently glad or fervently pissed her arm hit the armrest, stopping her. He didn't get much time to react though, because she had practically ran into the house after that.

God, he wished he didn't feel anything like he used to. It was so much easier like that.

He could hardly concentrate during practice, but it didn't effect his performance. Nope, he did exceptionally well. He had his stupid werewolf gene to thank for that one. He idly wondered if anyone was going to suspect he was taking steroids, and if they did, what would show up in his blood? He didn't think "werewolf gene" was in the medical textbooks, so he would be a mystery. If anything showed up at all. It made him idly curious and he almost wanted to get tested.

Mason would kill him for even thinking it.

After showering, he gathered all of his stuff and knocked on Coach Tanner's office door. Tyler was dreading this talk. Coach Tanner was a bigger dick than he ever was and he was even less understanding.

He heard him call "Come in" and he opened the door.

"What can I do for you Tyler?" he asked, already looking as if he didn't like it.

"Um, I can't play in the game Friday."

Coach Tanner quirked an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "And why is that exactly?"

Because I'll be a little busy turning into a werewolf? "A family thing," Tyler explained. Technically, it wasn't really a lie. It was a family thing.

"What kind of family thing?"

Of course, he couldn't just accept that issue. He had to press. "Some of my dad's family is coming up. My mom says I have to be there."

Coach Tanner laughed, the dick. "Son," he said, "I don't care if the president of the United States is coming to your house Friday night. You're playing in that game."

Tyler's anger boiled at being called "son" by him. "I can't-"

He leaned forward and waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Play in the game or you're off the team."

Tyler's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. He walked out of the door, closing it harder than necessary. He obviously couldn't play in the game, so he was off the team. He wasn't sure he really cared anymore.

Caroline caught her mom just as she was about to leave. She was sweaty from practice and was in desperate need of a shower, but instead of running upstairs to take one like she usually did, she went into the kitchen and saw Liz. Earlier this morning she was suppose to go back to the hospital and talk to Cody.

"Hey, mom, how did this morning go?" Caroline asked, trying not to look eager for her answer. What would her mom think of Cody's explanation of a golden eyed man?

"Fine," she said, sighing.

"Well, what'd he say?" Caroline pressed.

"He said it was an animal," Liz said. "He couldn't tell exactly what kind, but a mountain lion maybe."

Caroline's eyes widened and she felt like her whole world was spinning. An animal. He told her it was an animal.

Why would he lie?

Sorry that this chapter was kind of boring. I had it planned differently originally, but the timing wouldn't have worked out right. Next chapter is a lot more interesting, promise!

Review!