Shh. Just Go With It.
Chapter 2: Lovesick Mistake
"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it." -Thomas Jefferson
God, her head hurt. It was the throbbing pain that came with being extremely hung over. It was a slow, steady pain that increased with each beat of her heart as it tried to pump blood through her dehydrated body and made her stomach roll, threatening to spill everything she had put into it last night.
She cursed Jesse and the drinks he had given her as she cracked open her eyelids, which each felt about three hundred pounds. Low light was streaming in through dark curtains, barely lightning the large room. She took a second to allow her eyes to adjust before opening them all the way and looking around.
She was in a guy's room; she knew that immediately. Everything was done in grays and blues and blacks. The walls were white and had posters and pictures on them. There was a large TV in front of her, surrounded by tons and tons of DVDS. Beside the TV she saw something resembling black twisted metal. After staring at it for a moment she figured out it was a CD stand, which was filled top to bottom with cases. To the right, two floor to ceiling windows were covered in thick, dark curtains. To her left was a chair and a two other doors. Beside the bed on the left was another door. She assumed one was for a bathroom, the other a closet and the last, the exit.
For just a second, panic welled up inside her because she didn't recognize the room at all. She wasn't at her apartment. She wasn't at Matt's and she certainly wasn't at Elena and Bonnie's. There was nothing familiar about this room.
Well, one thing was.
To the right of her, by the windows, was her little black dress.
And then it all came back to her. She was at Tyler Lockwood's house. She remembered being at that club and meeting him. They'd danced and then they were leaving. She'd said she wanted to go to his place. She hadn't wanted to- god-forbid- run into Matt at hers. So he'd driven her to his house, which wasn't huge, but still hinted that he had money. She hadn't seen any other cars in the driveway last night, but that didn't mean someone else didn't live here. They hadn't done much talking last night, but she could tell he wasn't much older than she was. It would be a lot harder to own a house by himself. Then again, she did remember him saying he was a mayor's son. Maybe daddy bought it for him.
Speaking of said one night stand, Caroline wondered where he was, because he wasn't in the room with her. She listened for a moment for any sound indicating he was in the bathroom, or the house even, but heard nothing. The only noise was birds chirping outside.
She frowned, feeling a little hurt. And then she felt angry at herself for being a little hurt. For Christ's sake, Tyler was a one night stand. She should be rolling around in joy that he wasn't around. That way she could get dress and leave.
As she thought this, something hit her. She had absolutely no idea where she was. At least, not geographically. She knew she was in Tyler's house, but she had no idea where Tyler's house actually was. She'd been so out of it last night, she couldn't begin to remember the roads he had taken, or any signs they may have passed to get here. Quite frankly, she couldn't remember anything.
She didn't know whether it was because she was beyond hung over, or just scared out of her mind, but the burning sensation in her stomach rose until she tasted those drinks again. She clamped a hand over her mouth and jumped out of bed, desperately trying to keep it all in. Having no idea what door was to the bathroom, she ran to one and threw it open, praying it was the bathroom. Someone was watching out for her today, because it was the bathroom. She dropped down on her knees in front of the toilet, vowing she would never, ever, ever drink again.
Coming up, the drinks tasted just as bad as the first one she drank, a mixture of apple and battery acid. After her stomach was inside the toilet, she flushed it and laid her head against the cool tile floor, waiting for the room to stop spinning. She had no idea how long she laid there, her head pounding and her heart racing, before finally deciding to sit up. She couldn't just lay here for hours, waiting for her hang over to pass or Tyler to come home.
She'd do a little snooping in hopes of finding out where she was, then she'd call a taxi or Elena or someone to come and pick her up. Problem solved. She wondered if she should leave some kind of note for Tyler… no, that was dumb. What would she say? Thanks for a great night and I fervently I hope I never see you again! No, just no.
She cracked open the door and peaked out. She could see a staircase, three others doors and a large window. She paused to listen, thinking that maybe Tyler had retuned. When she heard nothing, she ambled out of his room and down the hall, looking at the pictures as she went. They were mostly decorative pictures, like you would find in a typical guy's house. There was a small table that had a few photos. One was of Tyler and Jesse, arms around each other shoulder while the other hand held up a beer. They were both cheesing like crazy. Another one was of Tyler and a exceedingly handsome guy with curly brown hair and blue eyes, which were filled with mischief. He reminded Caroline of Damon… the looks… the cockiness… the smirk. There were a few more of another guy and then two girls, but Caroline didn't linger too long. She needed to go.
She peaked downstairs, seeing a living room with a black leather couch, large TV, a smaller black chair, a glass coffee table, a bookshelf and a palm tree in the corner. She laughed because really? A palm tree? Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, she turned and saw a hallway leading in to what she assumed was the kitchen. From where she was, she could see a black table and out the window, beyond that, a patio with a black grill and a table. Jeez, did the guy not ever hear of some color? Rolling her eyes, she walked into the kitchen.
And nearly had a stroke. Because standing at the counter, with a muffin half in his mouth, low, low gray sweatpants hanging on his hips and no shirt on, was the brown haired, blued hottie she'd seen in the picture. The one with the cocky attitude and mischievous grin.
"Who are you?" she asked.
He pulled the muffin out of his mouth and looked over his shoulder, like there might be someone behind him she was talking to. He turned back around, an eyebrow raised. "Who are you?" he asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest and for the first time realized what she was wearing: Tyler's t-shirt from last night. It barely covered her modesty. "I asked you first," she said, feeling heat rush to her cheeks.
He looked like he wasn't sure whether to be annoyed, confused or amused. He combined the three in one look: a slight smile on his lips, one eyebrow raised and an incredulous glint to his eyes. "Well," he said slowly, like she was mental, "I'm Jace and I live here."
Well that explained how Tyler could afford a house like this. This guy- Jace- must have been extremely quite or either she was just plain deaf. How had she not have heard him at all last night or this morning? Maybe he had just gotten here? No, that didn't make sense. Why would he come home in pajamas, not to mention his hair looked like it had been slept on. She couldn't help but notice his very sculpted body. He was probably 5'10 and somewhat lanky, but he had muscles. Impressive ones at that. However, no as impressive as Tyler's.
"Oh," she said, wishing a hole would open up in the white tile floor so she could jump in it. Anything to save her from this embarrassment. "I'm Caroline. I'm Tyler's…" She trailed off because she wasn't about to say she was Tyler's one night stand. Even though she, well, was.
The annoyance and confusion seeped out of his ocean blue eyes, leaving amusement. Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. She could already tell they weren't going to get along. At least, for the short amount of time they would have to. "And you're the one whose been puking up their guts for the last hour, I'm assuming?"
Her narrowed eyes turned to slits. "In wasn't an hour actually and- wait, how did you know I was throwing up?"
"You weren't exactly quiet about it," he said. He wrinkled his nose suddenly. "And from the smell of it, I'm gonna guess you were drinking Shameless last night."
She raised an eyebrow. "Shameless?"
"You know, the green drink at Sub Zero's," he explained. "Tastes like battery acid, then apple?"
"Its called Shameless," she said, her voice flat.
"Yup," he said, popping the "p."
Well, she thought, huffing. Irony is just a bitch isn't it?
"Where am I?" she asked, suddenly wanting nothing more than to leave this godforsaken house.
He smirked. "Oh yeah, you definitely drank Shameless last night," he said.
She narrowed her eyes impossibly more as a response.
He raised his hands out in front of him, surrendering. "Sorry, Barbie," he said. "I didn't mean to inconvenience you in, you know, my house."
"Where's Tyler?" she asked in the coldest, bitchiest voice she could manage.
"I don't know," he said, picking up his muffin and rolling his eyes. "I'm not his keeper."
"Well, as fun as company as you are," Caroline said, sarcastically, "I think I'll leave now. Later Jackass."
He smirked again. "Its Jace."
"Yeah, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes.
He narrowed his blue eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but a new voice interrupted him.
"Ahh, I see you've met Jace."
Tyler came in, looking not hung over, balancing two cups of what she thought was coffee and a bag in his hands.
"Unfortunately," Caroline said, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
Tyler smiled, apologetically. "Sorry, I went to get breakfast."
How… sweet? She pegged him for the kind of guy that didn't stick around to cuddle, not the kind that got up to buy breakfast. She wasn't sure whether she should be thankful or curse her luck for choosing someone who didn't more or less boot her out after the deed was done.
He held out a cup to her. "Here you go."
She took it, giving him a small smile. "Thanks," she said, the smell making her mouth water.
"And I got the perfect hang over food too," he said, sitting the bag down on the counter and beginning to open it.
"Thank you, really," Caroline said, setting the coffee back down on the counter. "But I should probably be going."
"Come on," Tyler said, looking like he was awfully close to pouting. "I got breakfast."
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling somewhat guilty. "But I really need to go."
"Well, that's that," Jace said, shrugging. "Bye, Barbie!"
Caroline rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. Tyler shot him a look. Jace raised his hands in response and said, "Fine, fine. I'm going." With that, he turned and went out the door and onto the patio, closing the door behind him.
Cue awkward silence.
"Are you sure you can't stay?" he asked after a few seconds.
"I really need to get home," she lied. With a quick glance at the clock on the stove, she added, "I'm suppose to meet someone at one."
"Oh," he said, frowning. "Well… do you want me to drive you somewhere?"
"No, that's fine," she said. "I'll just grab a taxi."
He rolled his brown eyes. "You don't have to pay for a taxi. I can just give you a ride."
She resisted the urge to sigh loudly. She couldn't believe she was arguing with him. "I know, but its not necessary."
He pursued his lips. "Fine," he said, but before she could sigh in relief, he added, "But under one condition."
She raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"Coffee date," he said, simply. "Tomorrow."
"Oh, can't," she said, feeling amused and annoyed at the same time. "I'm busy."
He smiled, like she was simply playing hard to get and he knew he was going to win in the end. "The day after that."
"I'm kinda booked all week," she lied. "I'm a very busy girl."
He huffed out a breath. "Now you're just lying."
"How's this?" she asked. "You call me a cab and if I see you again, I'll agree to a coffee date." She highly doubted she would ever see him again (she was avoiding Sub Zero at all costs now), so who cared?
"And if I don't?" he asked doubtfully.
She shrugged. "Then I'll guess you'll just always remember me as that amazing blonde girl you hooked up with one night."
"I don't like this deal," he said, frowning.
"Sorry," she said. "Take it or leave it."
He sighed. "Okay, deal."
She smiled in response. "Then I'll just be headed upstairs to get dressed."
Not waiting for a response, she sauntered down the hall and up the stairs. She took off his shirt and laid it down on the bed, swapping it with her dress. She decided to go to the bathroom, partly because she knew she looked horrible and partly because she didn't want to talk to Tyler anymore. He seemed sweet enough, but she wasn't looking for anything more with him.
She was right about looking horrible. What was left of her makeup was smeared and she had bags underneath her eyes. Her hair was a complete mess, sticking up in different directions. She quickly combed her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it. She turned on the faucet and waited for it to turn hot before splashing the water on her face, wiping away the last of the makeup. She spotted a thing of mouth wash and happily took a swig of it. Going back into the room, she grabbed her heels and then made her way back downstairs.
Tyler was sitting on the couch, drinking his coffee and holding another one in his hands. He held it out to her. "Here, take it."
She walked forward and took it. "Thanks."
He nodded. "Taxi's on the way. It should be here any minute."
"Okay," she said. "Thanks… again."
His lips lifted up into a smile. She didn't know why, but the smile made her uncomfortable, like he had a secret and was just dying for her to figure it out. Before she could say anything, he stood up and started towards the stairs. "I'll be right back."
She raised an eyebrow and sat down on the couch, taking a sip of the coffee. It wasn't as sweet as she usually liked it, but she'd deal.
She saw the taxi from the window and glanced up the stairs, though no sign of Tyler. Well, she certainly wasn't waiting. She made her way to the door.
"Wait," he said, suddenly bounding down the stairs. "Here, take this!"
He held out his t-shirt.
"Why?"
"Because," he said, giving her that smile again. "I want you to have a reminder. But when we see each other, I want it back."
She rolled her eyes but took it anyways. His loss. "I hope you didn't like this shirt too much."
"Oh I like it," he said.
She shrugged, opening up the door. "Your loss."
He shook his head, grinning. "Nah, I don't think so."
"Bye, Tyler."
"See you soon Care."
He watched her the whole way to the car. She could feel his eyes on her back, but she ignored it. Soon, she'd forget all about Tyler Lockwood and his wicked grin and chocolately brown eyes. She might just keep his shirt though. It was pretty comfortable.
"Oh, man, you are in trou-ble," Jace said as soon as Tyler closed the door.
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Am not."
"That," he said, pointing to the taxi pulling away, "is not a girl that wants a relationship."
"Stay out of it," Tyler said, giving his friend an easy, playful punch on the shoulder. "Its all under control."
Jace scoffed. "You and I both know you don't have it under control."
"Whatever," Tyler said.
"I just don't want to be the one dealing with your mopey ass for the next… ever."
"I won't be needing to mope."
"Uhuh."
"You're gonna be eating your words pretty soon," Tyler warned.
Jace laughed. "We'll see. Barbie doesn't seem like the understanding type."
Tyler frowned. "Its Caroline."
Jace simply laughed in response.
AN: Wow, I'm glad you guys like it! Thank you to those who reviewed (:
So when I was writing Jace, this is who I thought of:
http:/24(dot)media(dot)tumblr(dot)com/tumblr_li6tvybpMQ1qdsbkoo1_400(dot)jpg
Replace the (dot) with a .
For those of you Eragon fans, yes, this is Ed Speleers. I swear, he looks so much better as a brunette. :D
Review(;