Good Luck

Tyler was woken up in the morning by Marcel's laughter, so loud it filled the whole house. What he was laughing at was a mystery, and when Tyler went downstairs Marcel was in the kitchen with Duke and Ronan, all of them smiling (even Ronan who had struck Tyler as the type to remain strong and silent no matter the scenario) at whatever it was that Tyler had missed. Duke, feet propped up on the chair where he sat at the table, had a cowboy hat pulled low over his head, and Ronan's dreadlocks were pulled back into a ponytail.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, lingering in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest.

"Good morning, sunshine," Marcel said. "We brought you breakfast. It's not as bloody as your usual, but it's tasty. Got it from The Ruby Slipper, nice spot." He started going through a plastic bag on the counter where he sat on one of the stools there, withdrawing plastic containers. Tyler could smell sausage and maple syrup. A closer look revealed pancakes and eggs scrambled with gooey cheese, sausage links and strips of bacon.

"Here," Marcel said, patting the space at the counter next to him. "Sit down. I thought you might be getting sick of what I left for you."

"Well, a little variety in flavor is always appreciated," Tyler said as he sat down at Marcel's side.

"I'll get some more variety in here for you then," Marcel promised.

"You have daylight jewelry," Tyler said nodding to Duke and Ronan basking in the light of the morning sun.

"Just myself and the inner circle," Marcel said, folding his hands on top of the counter. "Helps regulate the feeding. Can't run a city if all its inhabitants are dead and drained." None of them moved to indicate what on them was spelled. Probably better that way.

"I guess you can't," Tyler said, pouring syrup over his pancakes. He ate while Marcel watched. An audience wasn't going to keep him from practically inhaling solid food. Maybe it was the wolf, but the all-liquid diet didn't really do it for him.

"Do you know how to fight, Tyler?" Marcel asked casually.

"I can throw a punch."

Marcel smiled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm sure you're really good at small town brawling out back behind the movie theater or wherever it is you liked to spend your time, but that's not good enough. Finish your breakfast. Ronan's gonna teach you."

Tyler had never considered himself to be bad at defending himself. He could be worse, he supposed. Being a hybrid, being faster and stronger, definitely helped, but not so much when going up against others who were also faster and stronger. Ronan threw him to the ground more than once, smirking above him and leaving Tyler to stare in a daze up at the bright morning sky.

Marcel laughed heartily from his spot near the door, where he was watching Tyler get his ass kicked up and down the courtyard. "Dust yourself off," he called. "Try it again."

"What exactly is the point of this?" Tyler asked as he stood back up, massaging his stinging knuckles. The few punches he'd landed had left his hands aching, and it didn't help that he kept breaking his fall on them either. He hadn't worked out this hard since football season ended, and he hadn't thought he'd really catch back up on it either.

"I need you ready," Marcel answered, popping an M&M in his mouth. He loved those and had promised Tyler a couple if he did well today, like he was a dog that would do tricks for a treat.

"For what?"

"For a fight," Marcel said. "You think I'm gonna send you out there in the city to do my business and not make sure you're prepared? I don't think so."

"What business?" Tyler asked. "I thought this was about Klaus."

"Klaus is the big picture," Marcel said . "Made up of lots of little ones. Relax, Tyler. We'll get started when we get started. We've got time."

"Time?"

"There's something else I need first," Marcel said, not impatiently. Tyler had noticed that Marcel wasn't very quick to anger, or even to annoyance. He just...was. When he got there, you'd know it, but it wasn't broiling beneath the surface like it was with Klaus. Marcel's wrath had to be cultivated before it was let loose while Klaus' was primed and ready all the time, ready to be switched on at any moment.

"What's that?" Tyler asked.

Marcel seemed amused by all his questions. "You'll know when I get it." The doorbell rang, and he glanced over his shoulder. "I bet I know who that is," he said, as he turned back around. "Ronan, take a break. Tyler's got a visitor."

A visitor? Tyler hadn't even realized there was a doorbell, and he certainly hadn't expected anyone to come to the house besides Marcel. The only company he had were the sounds from the attic and those were becoming just another part of the house. Sometimes Tyler didn't even notice them. And it wasn't like he had any friends in town who knew where he was and would come by to say hello.

Marcel went to answer the door. Duke and Ronan unconcerned.

"Who is it?" Tyler asked as Ronan passed him. He didn't answer but joined Duke in a shadier corner of the courtyard.

Tyler heard Marcel open the front door. "Well isn't this a surprise," he said, in the tone of someone who wasn't surprised at all. Then he added, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten where the place was."

Someone shoved past him, shoes sounding on the floor. "Where is he?" a voice asked. It was familiar. It tugged on his brain insistently. Remember me. Remember me. Female and annoyed with no time for Marcel's pleasantries.

"Courtyard," Marcel answered. "You know the way."

Tyler started walking, going back into the cool, air conditioned interior. Neither Ronan nor Duke tried to stop him as he went. He followed the voice, moved closer to the footsteps. He recognized Marcel's gait, slow and casual. The other person was moving at a quicker pace, impatient.

"In a hurry?" Marcel said.

"Shut up," the other voice replied. Remember me. Remember me. Tyler moved into the living room, looked toward the archway on the other end. She was just around the corner. Tyler hit the turn just as she did, almost bumping right into her.

Bonnie Bennett with her hair pulled back into a wavy ponytail, a pair of sunglasses on top of her head. He stared at her, looking her up and down, registering her rapidly beating heart and slightly widened eyes.

"You're alive."

Three months ago

Tyler sat outside beneath a giant umbrella in front of the slightly uneven table, his back to the sun which was becoming steadily more blocked by the clouds rolling in, punching buttons on his phone to call his voicemail. Five minutes. He had plenty of time.

Two unheard messages. First unheard message sent May 27 at 9:07 AM Eastern Time

"The funeral's today," Caroline said. She wasn't crying. That was something at least, but he almost would have preferred the tears to her contained grief. She sounded empty. "I'm at the boarding house right now. Elena's getting ready upstairs. Damon's here, too," Caroline added.

He heard her disdain. Of all the people Caroline would want there today, with Bonnie dead and her attendance expected at her funeral, was Damon, who'd only say the wrong things and make it worse. Maybe he knew what to say to Elena right now, but whatever he had to say to Caroline would only add to the burden.

If Tyler was there, he thought he might know what to say to her. Or maybe he wouldn't know at all. He pictured her, all in black and standing outside the boarding house with her phone pressed to her ear, looking out at the beautiful day (Tyler had taken to checking the forecasts though he wasn't sure what he expected that knowledge to do for him) and wondering how the universe could bother to look this way on the morning of Bonnie's funeral. He'd give her New Orleans' coming storm if he could.

"Matt's still..." Caroline sighed deeply. "We don't know where Matt is. He's still on his little trip with Rebekah, and no one can get a hold of him. We're waiting for him to call one of us. We keep expecting one. It's been like a week since they left. You think he'd let us know he's alive at least." She stopped suddenly, realizing what she said. When she exhaled, her breath was shaky, but she kept talking.

"Stefan's gone, and Jeremy's...I haven't really seen him since he told us. I think he expected to be seeing her because she's gone, and he can see ghosts and all, but he hasn't seen her. I think-I think he thinks there's a chance she's not gone. Her body...We don't know where it is. We looked for it but..."

Caroline sniffed. "She's dead. I think it really hit me when I got up this morning. No Bonnie. She's not here anymore." A moment of silence to let it sink in, the quiet sound of someone approaching her on the other end. "I have to go, but I'll call you later. I love you."

End of message.

Next unheard message sent May 28 at 1:02 AM Eastern Time

"I fed on someone," Caroline said, her voice glum. "I didn't kill him, but I almost did. The only reason I didn't was because Elena showed up with Damon telling me how I'm not myself and Bonnie wouldn't want me to do it, and I got so mad because we don't know what Bonnie would want because she's dead. Bonnie doesn't want anything because dead people don't want things because they're dead."

She sounded like she'd been drinking. It wouldn't surprise him. He hoped she wasn't alone, that someone - anyone - was with her. Maybe she was at the boarding house again, where Elena could keep an eye on her, but more likely than not Caroline was at her house - or at least she was at Tyler's house - mourning by herself because there was no one else to do it with. Maybe the blood was still on her mouth from her feed.

"I can't believe she's gone," Caroline said. She remained quiet on the other end and Tyler wanted to curl up in her silence. She didn't speak again.

End of message. If you'd like to hear this message-

Tyler turned his phone off and slid it back into his pocket.

There was a memory tugging at the back of his brain. Before a big game, he was walking around the field going over the plays for the night. He usually ducked out of the locker room, finding it too stifling right before kickoff. Bonnie was out there, too, kicking off her sweatpants to reveal her skirt underneath. He wasn't going to say anything to her at all, but she saw him coming. "Hey," she'd called, all smiles as she began her stretches, "good luck tonight." It was an emptier wish than one she'd have extended to Matt or even any of the other guys on the team, but she still said it. She didn't have to say it.

Everyone had always liked Bonnie, even if they didn't know her. She was sweet and funny and was the only person ( back then at least) who could tolerate Caroline's spirals into manic event planning.

He looked up to see Lydia pushing through the glass doors. She came toward him, latte in hand.

"Why the long face?" she asked, sinking down into the chair across from him. She raised her cup to her lips, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I was just checking my messages."

Lydia scrunched up her nose, her eyes almost invisible behind the dark lenses of her shades. "Bad news?"

"A girl back home died. Her funeral was a few days ago."

"Oh," Lydia said. "I'm sorry. Were you close?"

"Not really," Tyler said, and it made him feel guilty because they should have been closer. He was Caroline's boyfriend, she was Caroline's best friend. When it came down to saving his life or keeping Klaus at bay, she'd saved his life, and in the end they were hardly anything but people who'd known each other their whole lives without really knowing each other. "But she was...nice. She was really nice."

Lydia lifted up her sunglasses to meet his eyes. "Look, you go home, take some time. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" he asked, even though he wasn't really up for their plans. It was mostly going to involve following Lydia around while she did some shopping, but it had seemed like a good idea when she'd suggested it. Now he didn't really want to be anywhere.

"I'm positive," Lydia said, dropping her glasses back into place and flashing a grin. "I'll find you tomorrow." She gave his hand a friendly pat before he stood and left.

Present Day

Tyler didn't know what made him do it. In all his life he couldn't remember ever hugging Bonnie Bennett, but he did. She didn't shove him away so he assumed it was okay, and he felt her touch his back awkwardly with the flat of her hand.

It was probably some lame, pathetic thing related to his being alone in this possibly haunted or at least suspiciously occupied house, owned by the vampire king of New Orleans with no contact with any of the people he'd once called friends. Bonnie being alive after being thought dead probably had something to do with it, too.

Tyler stepped away from her, but let his hands remain on her shoulders. "You're alive," he said again. "I thought..."

Caroline's message had been more than clear. Bonnie was dead, killed doing a spell to resurrect Jeremy. Except she wasn't dead at all.

Bonnie dropped her gaze to the floor then she turned her head to Marcel. "Can you give us a minute?"

For a moment, Tyler thought Marcel may protest. It was his house after all, but he called for Duke and Ronan, who came at once and followed him out. "We'll be back in twenty," he said. Once they were gone, Bonnie looked back to Tyler.

"How are you-" he began, quieted when Bonnie reached up to touch the side of his face. He stilled beneath her hand curiously. "What are you doing?"

Bonnie didn't answer, but he felt pressure. Cool and warm at the same time, she pressed on his brain, handling it with careful firmness. It felt like his mind was being lightly caressed, small and pliable in her hand, artfully manipulated until it gave way beneath her touch.

Images accosted him. The flashing, multicolored strobe lights of Turbulence and a brown skinned girl - Bonnie - walking underneath them in a brilliant hot pink dress. He followed Bonnie on the street, calling her name and realizing it really was her right before she swung him up against a wall and pressed a hand to his head to murmur a spell.

Bonnie dropped her hand back to her side while Tyler swayed slightly. He groped for the wall to hold himself up.

"It's okay," Bonnie said. "It'll stop. Sit down." She touched his shoulder to ease him toward one of the chairs where he sat, blinking rapidly as he tried to will the room to stay still. There was an ache forming between his eyes. He wondered if Marcel had any aspirin around, if aspirin would even work on a hybrid.

"Tyler," Bonnie said, taking a couple steps away from him. "I'm sorry about the memory thing. I just...I panicked, I guess. I didn't want you to tell anyone. You can't tell anyone, especially not Caroline."

Tyler stared at the floorboards. Bonnie was wearing sandals, and her toenails were painted an inky black. Once they stopped revolving, he looked up at her.

"How would I tell Caroline?" he snapped. "I can't call her back anyway."

Bonnie pressed her lips together. She was annoyed with him but trying not to be. After all he was justified wasn't he? She'd manipulated his memories right after he'd found out she was alive. After thinking she was dead for most of the summer.

"At least I know where my missing time went," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie repeated. "I didn't want to take the risk."

"So why are you taking it now?"

"I had to before Marcel told you himself," she said, rolling her eyes. "I need you to understand that you can't tell anyone I'm still alive. Please."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Are you in trouble?" That would make sense. They were always in trouble. Maybe someone was after her, threatening her.

Bonnie laughed a little. "No. I'm not in trouble."

"Then what?" Tyler asked.

"It's complicated," she answered. "I'm here because I want to be, and that's all you need to know."

"And you being alive is a big secret," Tyler added. "Right?"

"Right."

A secret from Caroline, Elena, Jeremy and Matt. Even from her parents. From everyone. He couldn't wrap his head around it. The Bonnie he'd known (he hadn't known her well, but he did know her) wouldn't skip town and let everyone believe she was dead, wouldn't let there be a funeral and let her friends mourn her death. Caroline's voice, her tears and then her silence echoed themselves in his ears. The Bonnie he'd known wouldn't have let that happen.

"Why?"

"It's none of your business why," Bonnie said, standing up and turning her back to him in annoyance. He expected her to leave at any moment, agitated with him and his questions. As much as he expected it, he hoped she didn't.

"Bonnie," Tyler said, careful to keep his agitation out of his tone. He didn't want to run her away. "Sit back down, we can talk some more."

"I don't have anything else to say," she said though she turned back around to look at him.

"Where are you staying?" he asked. "Do you have some place to stay?" He didn't know what he could do for her if she didn't. But judging by her clothes, by her perfectly painted toes and nails, she was far from homeless.

"I have an apartment," Bonnie said. She didn't elaborate any further.

"Of your own?" Tyler asked, laughing a little bit. "I was basically living in a closet before I ended up in here. How'd you swing that?"

Bonnie inhaled deeply, like she was considering not telling him the answer. Then she reclaimed her seat. "Klaus is paying for it."

The cold heat returned, burning in the tips of Tyler's fingers.

"Klaus?" he said skeptically. He watched her face closely, looking for a slight twitch, a barely there collapse of the muscles into some kind of smile. Something playful, amused, joking. But there was nothing. Bonnie's expression remained stoic.

"You're here with him?" Tyler said slowly.

"Yes."

"Are you...with him?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes in irritation. "No. I'm just working for him."

"You're working for Klaus?" Tyler said. He felt the need to repeat it, just to make sure. It all sounded so crazy. Bonnie and Klaus, in the same city, Bonnie in an apartment Klaus was paying for, Bonnie alive while all their friends thought she was dead and Klaus knowing all along.

There were a lot of things he could have imagined her saying but that she was helping Klaus with whatever plans he had now wasn't one of them. In fact, it was near the bottom of that list of hypothetical scenarios.

Bonnie folded her arms across her chest and leaned away from him. "I like to think I'm making Klaus work for me," she said.

"Do you really?" Tyler said sarcastically. "How's that going for you?"

"Pretty well actually," she snapped. Then, sounding like it required great effort, she spoke more gently. "Are you going to tell?"

"No," Tyler sighed. "I'll keep your secret. I won't tell anyone, especially not Caroline." But he could imagine telling her, imagining how happy she'd be. She'd come to New Orleans in a heartbeat. Tyler wondered if Bonnie would find it so easy to dodge all these questions if Caroline was the one asking them.

Relief crossed her face, and she sat up a little straighter. "Thank you," Bonnie said before she stood. "I have to go. Marcel will be back soon."

"Do you know what he wants with me?" Tyler asked. She was familiar, with Marcel, with the house. Out of the two of them, Bonnie had more answers.

"No," she said. Then she swallowed. "I'm not going to tell Klaus about you being here. So you don't have to worry about that."

"I wasn't worried," he said honestly.

Bonnie didn't say anything, but she answered with a tight smile before she turned and started toward the door.

Tyler stood to follow her, hanging back at the front door as she pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes and took the left-hand stairs down to the stone path.

"Hey," he called, before she could get too far. He couldn't see her eyes behind her glasses when she turned around to look at him. He didn't even know if she was really looking at him. "Can I see you again?" He could already see the refusal in the fold of her lips and he backtracked appropriately. "I mean, I know I can't. If Klaus found out...well. Never mind. It was just good to see you. I haven't seen anyone from home in so long, and I miss it, I guess..."

He used to make fun of that town and talk about going to college on an athletic scholarship. There was a time when all he wanted to do was distance himself from Mystic Falls and his dad and their stupid Founders' events. Now all he wanted to do was go back, even though most of the things that made it home were gone.

"I don't," Bonnie said. A beat passed where Tyler dropped his gaze to the ground because he didn't know what else to do. Finally, she said, "Good luck." Then she turned and walked away, going down the street without a second glance.

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