Title: Dirty Little Secret
Chapter: 12
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: So if all goes as plan, next chapter is going to be when Tyler turns! I'm probably more excited than you guys are… I've had this chapter written (both in a document and in my mind) since like, chapter two. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it too. So what the heck is Mason up to? Any ideas?
Oh and school just started and it is KICKING MY ASS already. So… updates may be a little long….
Thursday
School the next day was obviously closed. Liz came in early this morning and shut off Caroline's alarm clock, successfully waking her up. She then proceeded to tell her to please stay in the house because she "felt like she was safer there" and "this psycho killer could be anyone." Okay, well she didn't say psycho killer but Caroline knows she was thinking it. So now she was stuck in the house with nothing to do for entertainment or even distraction.
And God, did she need a distraction.
Angry Birds and Supernatural could only keep her entertained for so long, and that so long wasn't very long at all. In fact, it had lasted approximately three hours and then neither of her two favorite things could keep her occupied. Her thoughts kept traveling to a.) Mr. Tanner and the message written beside his body, b.) Matt and his recent behavior, c.) Tyler acting strangely like the douche bag she was so used to and d.) when she was going to be able to leave the house.
She wasn't sure which one she was most annoyed by: Matt acting strangely like a jealous version of Tyler, or Tyler acting like Tyler. Matt was never the jealous type; that was her field of expertise. And as for Tyler, he had been acting like a decent -even nice!- person lately. Why the all the sudden change? Either she was just missing something, or he was bipolar. How could someone go from almost kissing you one day, to completely blowing you off the next? She had to be missing something.
She groaned into her pillow, which she had taken down from her bedroom along with her comforter and other supplies needed to survive a boring day home alone: Ipod, Ipod charger, cell phone, cell phone charger, magazines, a book and her favorite Chapstick. Oh, and she also had on Tyler's gray hoody, but she told herself that was because it was super comfortable. Period.
She was going stir crazy! She had to get out of here or at least, have someone come over here.
As if on cue, her cell phone buzzed with a text from Bonnie.
I'm going insane waiting at my house. Can I come over? I have an idea.
Caroline happily texted back: Yes, please! What kind of idea?
Caroline felt all jittery and nervous as she waited a few minutes for Bonnie to reply back. The reply was full of typos and errors, indicating either Bonnie needed glasses, or she was doing something.
Somethinb Grams tolf me abouy once. I'll explain whem I get there.
She sent back a quick "okay" and scrolled in her contacts to "Elena."
Can u come over? Bonnie has some kind of witchy idea.
Ugh, can't. Jenna is watching over me. I'll try when she goes 2 work.
Caroline frowned. She liked Jenna, but that was because Elena's aunt was sort of a teenager herself. She had rules of course, but she also let them get away with a lot. If she was holding them hostage, she must be extremely worried.
Time?
3
It was about two now, so they wouldn't have to wait that long.
Okay, c u then.
She wondered what Bonnie was up to. Caroline still wasn't a hard core believer in the "woo woo" but damn it, the recent events of her life were making her reevaluate certain things she thought were set in stone.
Bonnie was experiencing a world pool of emotions. Fear. Curiosity. Excitement. Dread. She had been feeling all these things since yesterday, when she found out she was, in fact, not crazy and her weird little vision was a glimpse into the future. She hadn't wanted to admit the inevitable out loud, but she didn't seem to have much choice anymore.
She was a witch. A real, live witch, descended from Salem witches.
It was completely insane. She didn't know how to be a witch! Of course, Grams was there, but the woman was so vague and cryptic, she was more of a problem than a help. She had given Bonnie the grimoire she was currently stuffing in her bag, along with candles, matches and her long sleeve T-shirt from yesterday in a bag, to go to Caroline's, though.
It was after she had gotten home and went into her bathroom for a shower did she see the small blood stain on her sleeve. At first, she had tried to convince herself that it was just her blood, but because she had no cuts or scrapes of any kind, she admitted it was Mr. Tanner's. Instead of screaming and burning the shirt, she remembered a spell Grams had read to her. It allowed you to slip into the person's head if you had something of theirs. A piece of clothing, a hair, jewelry, blood.
If Bonnie could successfully perform the spell, maybe she could see the face of the person who had killed Mr. Tanner. She couldn't go to the police department and say "I performed a spell to find out who killed Mr. Tanner. This is what he looked like!" but she could write a note or something and drop it off. Maybe that would lead them in the right direction and catch the freak who did it.
By the time she arrived at Caroline's house, it was around two thirty. She parked in the driveway, gathered her bag and bounded to the door.
Caroline opened the door and Bonnie quickly stepped in so Caroline could close and lock it. Clearly, she wasn't the only one who was a bit paranoid. When the door was securely locked, Caroline turned and said, "So what's going on?"
Bonnie felt a moment of insecurity. Could she really do this? Yes, she was a witch, but she was brand new. Could she really perform this spell? Would she get both their hopes up for nothing?
"Bonnie?" Caroline asked, looking worried.
"It's a spell," Bonnie said. She couldn't turn back now. "And if it works, I think I can find out who killed Mr. Tanner."
Caroline's blue eyes widened. "How? What do you have to do?"
"I don't know how to explain it exactly," Bonnie said, her eyebrows furrowing. "But if I understand it correctly, I might be able to get inside Mr. Tanner's head before he died. Like see what he saw right before he died."
"H-how?" Caroline looked a mixture of fascinated, curious and scared.
"I'm a witch, Care. Remember?"
"Right," Caroline said. "So what exactly do you need me to do?"
Twenty minutes later, Bonnie and Caroline were sitting in Caroline's kitchen floor, looking at the finished product. They had set up a ritual site, so to speak: Five different candles were lit and arranged so each was the point of a star and in the center was a drawing in black paint - the symbol that would allow Bonnie to slip into Tanner's head before he died. If it worked, of course.
Caroline was studying the finished product, hands on her hips. "Is this right?" she asked, biting her lip.
Bonnie nodded, her curls bouncing against her shoulder. "It's right," she said. She reached for her bag and pulled out the shirt.
"What's that?" Caroline asked, curiously.
Bonnie bit her lip. "When I passed out, yesterday, I got Mr. Tanner's blood on my shirt. I'll put it in the center on the symbol. It's the only thing I have connected to him."
Caroline's eyebrows were furrowed. "But will it work? I mean, since it's your shirt? The shirt is connected to you, not Mr. Tanner."
Bonnie sighed. She'd thought of that before. "I know, but it's the only thing I've got."
The doorbell rang then, and Bonnie jumped.
"Sorry, it's Elena," Caroline explained. She jumped up and began down the hall. "I'll be right back."
Five minutes later, they were all sitting around the candles, ready to begin.
"Okay, so here's what's going to happen," Bonnie said, looking between her two best friends. "I'm going to place the part of the shirt with blood on that symbol right there, set it on fire and then say the spell. If it works, I'll slip into Tanner's mind and see who killed him."
"And if it doesn't work?" Elena asked, swallowing nervously.
"I don't know," Bonnie said, quietly.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Caroline asked. "What if it doesn't work, and you get hurt?"
"I have to try, Care," she said. She picked up the material - they had cut the section with the blood off - and placed it in the center of the star. "Ready?" she asked.
Elena and Caroline exchanged a brief worried glance, but nodded.
Bonnie lit a match and set the material on fire. After taking a deep breath, she began. The spell was in Latin, which most of the spells were. Even though she had never spoken the language before in her entire life, she felt comfortable saying the words, like she'd always known what they meant. She distantly saw the lights flicker and heard the gasps of her best friends.
Her body felt light and tingling. Her mind was becoming foggy and her vision was blurring. She felt as if her body had become a dead weight and her mind became air, lifting up, up and away from her body. She was floating.
And then-
It was dark. So, so dark. And cold. Her arms - no, not her arms - had goose bumps on them.
Something was wrong. She didn't know what was, but something was wrong with the image in front of her.
A car. There was a car in front of her. It wasn't the car that was what was wrong though. It was something beside the car. A figure. The figure was nothing but a shadow, but she could tell it was a man. What was he doing at her car? She knew she should stop. This was bad. Very, very bad. Why couldn't she stop herself from walking forward?
The figure spoke. "Hello." It was definitely a man's voice. Smooth, calm, relaxed. Pleasant, even. So why didn't she trust him?
The figure stepped forward, but there was something wrong. She couldn't see his face. She should have been able to. He was standing right in front of her. Why couldn't she see his face?
"Can I help you?" she said, though it was not her voice.
Damn it, why couldn't she see his face? It was like looking at a silhouette. She could see the outline of him: he was fairly tall, and had short hair. He wasn't incredibly built, but he wasn't little either. But distinct details… they were impossible to make out.
Suddenly, her vision went black and then brilliant white. The world began shaking and her head began spinning. Something was tugging her. Tugging her mind from Mr. Tanner's. Something, or someone was pulling her out of his head. With one final mental shove, she was thrown out of his head.
It wasn't the world that was shaking. She was. She was lying on her back looking up at the ceiling. Her body felt strangely sore.
"Oh, my god!" Caroline screeched, leaning over her. "Are you okay?"
Bonnie tried to sit up and winced. What the- "What happened?" Bonnie asked. She put a hand to her head. Why did her head hurt so badly?
"Y-you were just sitting still and then the flames jumped up and you went flying backwards," Elena said in a gust of breath. "You hit your head on the cabinet."
Ahh. That explained the headache. She rubbed the tender spot and frowned. What had gone wrong? She thought she said everything correctly, and it did work at first, but something… or someone stopped her. "I think someone stopped me from seeing the man's face," Bonnie said.
"Stopped?" Caroline squeaked.
Bonnie nodded.
"So it was a man? And that was all you could tell?"
She nodded again. "I need to go see my Grams and figure out what this means." She braced her hand on the floor and stood up slowly. She was a little sore, but she was hardly injured. Nevertheless, she lost her footing and grabbed onto Caroline's arms.
It happened immediately.
She was in some kind of cellar or basement - somewhere dark and cold and old from the looks of the chains and walls. The air felt heavy and smelled heavily of sweat and something else. Something… earthy, maybe? No, not earthy. Musty. It smelled musty wherever she was. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the pitter pat of water hitting the ground.
She did a full body turn. Where on earth was she?
Suddenly, she heard a shout. No, not a shout. A scream. A scream of pure agony.
She strained to hear where the scream had come from, but the only sound was the water. And then another scream sounded and she was running in that direction. She wound through corners and twists and turns until finally, she came to an opening in the walls. There was a tall, dark door in front of her, looking like it had seen better days, She tugged on the handle. It didn't budge; it was locked. She tried again and again and again, all the while listening to someone's agonizing screams.
She pounded against the wall, yelling, trying to get in so she could help whoever was inside there. Was someone hurting them? Trying to kill them?
If got very, very quiet suddenly. She heard nothing but the sound of her heart pounding against her rib cage and her labored breathing.
Something hit the door, hard and fast, causing her to stumble backwards and scrape her hand against the stone wall. A small cracking line was beginning to form right down the center of the door, growing larger and large by the second as that thing continued to hit the door. She heard a low, rumbling growl before the door burst open in a shower of wood and dust.
When she came to, she was screaming. Someone was holding her down and it took her a few more seconds of screaming and thrashing to realize it was Caroline and Elena. They were wearing identical expressions of horror and concern.
"What just happened?" Caroline screeched, looking almost in tears.
"I-I-" Bonnie cut off and jumped to her feet, only swaying slightly. She held the counter for a few seconds so her head would stop spending, and then she was grabbing her grimoire and bag, blowing out the candles and then running down the hall.
"Bonnie, wait!" Caroline said.
"I have to go," Bonnie said. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
She had the door unlocked and was running to her car before Caroline and Elena reached the door.
A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter sounded a bit forced, because honestly, it was. This was not originally what I had planned, but my original plan was screwed up because of something I wrote a few chapters ago, so I had to improvise. I just wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way, so… yeah. Review?(: