Chapter Eight
A/N: So sorry this chapter is sort of a filler. But I need to get all my character development in before any of the exciting stuff can happen. But sorry I've been taking the focus off of Tyler and Caroline so much. That'll change soon. And thank you all for your encouraging reviews. You all are so great. So I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Monster
"Tell us what you know," Damon demanded Katherine.
"No," Katherine huffed. "I'm still mad at you for killing my werewolf. It's hard to find a cute one these days."
"Katherine. Focus." Stefan's forehead was wrinkled with worry. "What happened?"
"Klaus came and let me and vampire Barbie go," Katherine said. "Then Elijah grabbed her and I kept running."
"You left her?" Elena gasped.
"Of course," she replied. "What was I going to do? Dub my last 500 years of trying to survive useless so that I can save some girl I don't even really know or like? Humor me, Elena."
"You need to do something about this house. Y'all can't have vampires running in and out of here like that," Luka said from the corner, causing Bonnie to give him a dirty look.
"Shut up." Damon sneered. "But he's right. Klaus could come in here at any minute."
"Can you put a spell on the house, Bonnie?" Elena asked.
"I'm not strong enough to cast a spell strong enough to keep out a vampire that powerful," she replied. "Even with Luka's help."
"I have an idea," Jeremy piped up. "Give me your house."
"What?" Damon rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious. If you give me the house, I'm a human and Klaus can't enter." Jeremy ended with a serious look on his face.
"He has a point," Bonnie said thoughtfully. Jeremy and Bonnie shared a warm gaze before they both looked back to Damon. Luka scowled.
"This is a Salvatore house. Our ancestors built it," Damon said.
"It's a good idea. I'm willing to do it," Stefan said. "But as soon as all this is over you sign it back over to us."
"Of course," Jeremy said. "Trust me it's yours."
Damon continued to argue for a little bit more but Stefan convinced him it was the only way to have at least temporary protection. Stefan went and fetched the deed that was in their uncles name. Damon winced as he handed it over to Jeremy who signed it hastily.
Before the ink could even dry Damon, Stefan, Katherine and Rose were being pulled out of the house by some invisible force. Under normal circumstances it would have been funny watching four vampires throwing themselves out of a house but this was the wrong time.
Jeremy invited them all back in and Damon rushed to take Rose back to bed. She stirred a little but was relatively unphased by the whole ordeal.
"Now that that's over can someone explain why that warlock is here?" Katherine snarled at Luka.
"He's actually here against his free will," Damon said dryly. "We kidnapped him so he couldn't help his evil father but he's apparently enjoying his captivity. I think he's been staring at Bonnie for the past four hours."
Bonnie blushed and Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"I want to help you guys," Luka said. "I know I betrayed you all but I really want to help."
"We'll see about that," Jeremy glared.
Meanwhile downstairs Tyler and Matt were still being held. Matt had taken to lying on his back and counting the number of times he blinked and Tyler was standing at the door clutching the bars.
"Dude, can you relax?" Matt said to him.
"No!" Tyler barked.
"What's wrong with you?" Matt got up a little. "What's your deal
"It's Caroline." Tyler winced, realizing what he said. "I mean … I don't know. It's a full moon tonight. I'm on edge, okay?"
"What's Caroline?" Matt asked, standing up.
"Everything." Tyler breathed out sharply. "She's the reason I haven't lost my mind these past few weeks. She's also the reason I'm in here right now. She's everything."
"What are you trying to say?" Matt clenched a fist.
"I like her. I really like her, man." Tyler closed his eyes, trying to focus on keeping calm. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Matt asked through gritted teeth. "Like you were sorry about Vicki and about my mother? I think you do things just to hurt my feelings."
"No it's not like that," Tyler replied. "I just feel close to her, closer to her than any girl I've ever met."
"You know how I feel about her!" Matt said slamming his fist into a wall.
"I know, okay?" Tyler said, getting annoyed. "But let's talk about this later. I told you, I'm transitioning tonight and I'm really on edge."
"No we'll talk about it now," Matt said. "I apologized to you and I felt terrible for picking a fight with you last month and you just shook it off. Why? Because you've been trying to get with my girlfriend?"
"No! That's not it. Now drop it. Please." Tyler clutched the bars tighter. "I'm serious, bro."
"What? You gonna hit me?" Matt teased.
"Of course not." Tyler tried to control his anger.
"Do it!" Matt yelled. "You mess with my sister, my mom and now my ex-girlfriend. Everyone you ever touch in my life leaves me and never comes back. And the worst part is you don't even care about any of them. So hit me!"
"I do care about her," Tyler said calmly.
"Like you cared about Vicki?" Matt said. "You were embarrassed by her and you caused her to use even more than she already did and you did nothing to stop her."
"I think I might be in love with Caroline, okay?" Tyler dared not look Matt in the face. "These last few days without her have been the worst of my life. I don't think I can make it worst by losing my best friend too."
Matt clenched his fists even harder. He considered letting it go but there was too much pent up inside of him. He was struggling to pay the bills by himself, keep up his schoolwork and deal with the absence of his mother and death of his sister plus he just went through a break up. This was just the last straw. Rage filled him up until he couldn't even see straight anymore and he charged at Tyler and flipped him around and punched him square in the face. Tyler looked shocked at first but he didn't react much after that. Matt continued to hit him over and over again in the face.
Tyler was so numbed by emptiness that he hardly felt Matt's hits. He wished that he wasn't a werewolf and that Matt's punches could actually do some damage. He just wanted to feel something because for the past few days since Caroline was kidnapped and he was locked up he felt absolutely nothing except hopelessness. The tears began to well up in his eyes as he let himself be hit over and over again and he realized how impossible of a situation this was.
Elena came rushing downstairs.
"Matt, stop it!" she cried. "Stop! Please, stop!"
Matt seemed to realize what he was doing and backed off, examining his bloody fists. He looked disgusted with himself and backed up against the wall.
"Matt, what was that?" Elena eyed him worriedly.
"I just lost control. I-I-I'm sorry." he didn't quite know who he was apologizing to but he felt he had to do it.
"Are you okay, Tyler?" Elena asked, truly concerned at the amount of blood on his face.
"Yeah I'm fine. I've already healed." Tyler replied. "Just get him out of here please before I do something I regret."
"Damon has the key and won't give it to me," she replied.
"You have to let me go before nightfall. Tell Damon that," Tyler said. "I have to prepare."
"I'll try." Elena knew there was nothing she could do if Damon said no.
"No you'll do it. You can't try," Tyler said sternly.
Elena nodded and headed back upstairs to everyone.
"So our little wolf is in love with our very own Miss America," Katherine said in a bored tone as Elena reached the top of the stairs. "How positively cliché."
"Be quiet, Katherine. You're lucky we even let you stay here," Stefan said.
"Why do I get yelled at for everything?" Katherine pouted.
Stefan rolled his eyes at her and turned to Elena.
"I want to take Matt to your house with Jenna when I go to pick up Alaric, okay?" Stefan said. "I don't want him getting involved in all of this and it's safe there. We had Bonnie and Luka cast a spell over the entire house and the two of them will be properly vervained and kept upstairs."
"Do I even really have a say?" Elena said dryly.
"When this is all over you can say whatever you want," Damon's voice slithered into her ear and shook her soul.
Elena followed Stefan to the cellar where Tyler and Matt were. They were sitting on opposite sides of the cell, not talking or looking at each other.
Stefan opened up the door and took Matt, while Tyler glared at them all, still annoyed by his captivity.
"Be careful, Stefan," Elena said slowly.
"I always am," he replied and he disappeared with Matt.
Elena grabbed a hold of Tyler's hand that was hanging outside the bars after Stefan left.
"I'm really sorry for all of this, Tyler." she sighed. "I know what it's like to not be allowed to save the people you really care about."
He smiled weakly at her and snatched his hand away, going to sit back down in the corner where Matt had previously been.
Elena sighed again and went to ascend the stairs back to the house, but Damon was standing at the top. He closed the door behind him so it got very, very dark and he walked down a little.
"Come down here to pout, Elena?" he whispered.
"I came to talk to your prisoner," she snapped. "Now move."
She tried to push passed him but it was useless. She was nowhere near as strong, so he laughed a little and grabbed her wrist.
"Get off of me," she whispered, hoping that Tyler could not hear.
"Stop teasing me, Elena." Damon was now less than an inch away from her face. Elena replied with a puzzling look.
"You tell me you don't want me but Rose tells me you do and that you both talked about it. Why?" his clear blue eyes pierced through her.
"I'm in love with Stefan," Elena said, trying to break free again.
Damon backed Elena into the wall, still holding her wrist. He slipped his other hand into the waistband of her jeans and she gasped a little.
"If I die tonight, my biggest regret will be not kissing you," he said and he brought his lips down to hers.
Elena couldn't help but respond to his touch. There was something desperate and passionate about it that made her feel as though she'd explode with ecstasy. Elena lost her sense of time and seemed to forget where she was.
But Damon suddenly back away leaving Elena disheveled and unsatisfied.
"What the hell?" Elena retorted, trying to rearrange her clothing properly.
"I hear something upstairs," he replied with a serious look on his face.
"Klaus?" Elena asked.
Damn shook his head no.
"Elijah."
Tyler shot up at just the mere mention of the name.