Do It

"Believe me, Ty, I don't like werewolves in my city," Marcel said. "I'd love it if this girl just went and dropped dead, but that's unlikely to happen."

Marcel let Tyler sleep on the revelation that Hayley was in town and returned the next morning to tell him more about it. Instead of eating any of the breakfast he'd brought along with him, Marcel popped M&Ms in his mouth, watching Tyler pace the length of the kitchen, also not eating.

"Then let me go kill her," he suggested.

Marcel smiled and made an impressed kind of face. "I appreciate this new murderous side of you - believe me, it's a joy to see it - but I can't let you do that. You go after her, you'll be exposing yourself to Klaus. We don't want that. Remember? We don't want Klaus knowing you're here."

How was it that the two people who'd ruined his life had managed to become pals in the course of a few months? It was some kind of sick irony that way, gods or deities or the universe itself conspiring to have one big, dark laugh at Tyler's expense.

"What about Bonnie?" he said. "We can ask her."

Marcel blinked and folded his hands in front of him. "Tyler, you tell me how you think that conversation will go."

Most likely not well. Bonnie would probably deny the whole thing had taken place, even with Tyler and Marcel both assuring her they knew about it. And she definitely wouldn't hand Hayley over, not if Klaus wanted her for some reason.

"Marcel-" Tyler began.

"You've got better things to do," Marcel reminded him. "Let me deal with this. If there's a way for you to get your vengeance on the wolf girl without getting yourself killed then I'll let you know about it. For now, Ronan's waiting for you in the courtyard." When Tyler stayed where he was, Marcel sighed. "Go," he said.

The conversation over, Tyler stood in a huff to join Ronan outside. He wasn't affected by Tyler's less than positive attitude, and Tyler's bad mood didn't keep Ronan from laying him out on the ground with a silent smirk which he did twice, even faster than usual. Tyler had been making some progress, but he'd pretty much forgotten everything today.

Lying on the ground, Tyler waited for his body to recover, staring up at the puffy, white clouds overhead, floating through the air oblivious to his turmoil down here. They just went along like it was any other day, just giant gaseous formations of water and air, not even solid.

In the house, he heard Marcel poking around, tossing things into the trashcan. Then booted footsteps on the floor and Duke's voice.

"Sloane called," he said. "Klaus is leaving the city for a couple days."

"Where's he going?"

"Back to Virginia," Duke answered. "Bonnie's watching the wolf. I-"

"One second," Marcel said. Tyler heard the whine of a faucet and then water spilling into the sink, drowning out the rest of their conversation. But he'd heard enough.

Two Months Ago

"She ruined my life," Tyler said. "Okay, no. Klaus ruined my life, but Hayley definitely played her part."

Lydia sat across from him at the coffee shop, her sunglasses pushed up onto her forehead while she stirred her coffee. She'd been stirring it for the duration of his story, never drinking from it. It was like she'd forgotten it was for drinking in the first place.

"I'm still stuck on the part where Klaus - scary, old Original vampire - has you in the number one slot on his shit list," she said. "What the hell?"

"I know," Tyler said. "I don't look like the Number-One-On-Klaus'-Shit-List type, do I?"

"You really don't," Lydia said, setting down her coffee. "I mean your face has a kind of asshole-ish quality about it but nothing that serious." She laughed. Only she could laugh while Tyler was telling her all about his shitty life. "Okay, so what? You're on the run?"

"Yep."

"That sucks," she said. "I thought you were just going through some kind of phase. Like a bad breakup or finding yourself or something. I can't believe you're just now mentioning this."

Well, he wasn't about to immediately tell her everything there was to know about him. He barely knew anything about her as it was, even after two months of letting her drag him to various stores at outdoor cafes around New Orleans.

"Well where's this Hayley girl now?" Lydia questioned.

"Don't know," Tyler said. "Probably off somewhere finding her birth family. You know I hope she finds them, so at least my mom dying wouldn't have been for nothing. I take that back. I hope she never finds them. I hope they're dead."

Lydia's eyes widened, and then she laughed. "That's dark." She reached for her coffee and took a sip this time. "What would you do if you saw her again?"

"I'd kill her," he said. He'd do it, and he knew he would. He'd never thought of himself as the killing type. Killing Sarah, even when that had been accidental, had been horrifying. He'd never wanted to go there again, but now he did. He wanted to do it, wanted to do something definitive, something loud, and he wanted someone to pay for something. He couldn't touch Klaus, but Hayley was killable.

"How do people like that exist?" Tyler said. "Doesn't it just kill you to know that there are people out there who care so little about anyone but themselves? People died because of her, and she didn't care. I was her friend. I let her in my house, around my friends, around my family. And what did I get for it? I lost my friends and my family. If I ever see her again, I'll kill her."

Lydia had to leave soon after, but she gave Tyler's shoulder a comforting pat before she left. "I hope you find her one day," she said. "I hope you get what you need."

So did he.

Walking back to his apartment, Tyler checked his voicemail.

One unheard message sent June 5 at 10:12 PM Eastern Time

"Hey," Caroline said. She let out a heavy sigh, and he could practically see her on her bed, lying on her back and staring up at her ceiling. "I had a fight with Elena and Jeremy today. I was kind of - I definitely was - a real bitch."

You couldn't have been that bad, Tyler thought, as he reached the front door of the building, taking the stairs two at a time until he got to his floor.

"You'd probably say I wasn't that bad," Caroline said, "but I definitely was. I said - God, I'm such an asshole - I said that it would have been better if Jeremy had just stayed dead. I said that. Out loud. To Jeremy's face. And to Elena's face. And now neither of them are speaking to me."

Okay that was bad, he conceded.

"I'm just still not used to it, you know," Caroline went on. "I'm not there yet, at the point where it stops feeling fake. I drove past Bonnie's house today. Her dad's gone. He just left, and no one has any idea where he went or if he's coming back. I've been trying to find her mom, but I can't. I don't even know if she knows. I mean, I assume she knows because I figure her dad would have said, but I don't know for sure. She wasn't at the funeral."

Tyler let himself into his apartment and collapsed down onto his mattress, where he stared up at the water stained ceiling. The stain had grown some, and now it looked a bit like an airplane.

"I don't know," Caroline said. "I shouldn't have said that to Jeremy. I didn't mean it. Well...I guess I meant it. I just didn't mean to say it. I just feel like I'm all alone here now. You're gone, and Bonnie's gone. I've tried calling Stefan, but he's...wherever he is. Matt called, and he's in Germany. He was gonna come back but then he figured that he was sick of going to funerals for people so he stayed. Can you believe that? He stayed! In Germany! With Rebekah! Bonnie's dead, and Matt's in Germany drinking beer with Rebekah."

It was hard to tell these days which of them was more miserable.

"I should try to sleep," Caroline said. "I'll have to go on an apology tour tomorrow. Love you."

End of message.

Present Day

Tyler didn't consider himself much of a mastermind, but he was definitely patting himself on the back for coming up with this plan. Marcel had said he'd call Bonnie and ask her (very politely of course) to stop by the house at Tyler's request, and he delivered. Tyler was alone when Bonnie turned up. It was dark out by the time she came, which was better for his plans anyway.

"I can't stay long," she said as soon as he opened the door. She brushed past him and stood in the foyer, looking at him expectantly. "So what's up?"

"I wanted to thank you for yesterday," Tyler said. "For warning me about the drinks."

Bonnie shrugged. "I figured I was too late anyway."

"Well, yeah," Tyler said, "but it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Sure," she said. "That all?"

"Got somewhere to be?" he asked, searching her face for a break, even the slightest falter. He didn't find one. She had to get back to Hayley, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"No," she said. "Just don't want to be here."

"I thought you might know why Marcel had to drug me in the first place," he said. "Maybe he told you something."

"He didn't."

"There was something going on in the attic," Tyler said.

Bonnie laughed lightly. "You and the attic."

"There's something up there."

"I'm sure there is," she said sarcastically. "We done?"

Tyler let out a sigh that he hoped sounded convincingly annoyed but resigned. "Yeah, we're done."

"Bye." Bonnie turned on her heel and was out the door in seconds.

Tyler hurried to grab his baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses (he didn't mind being that guy who wore sunglasses at night) where he'd placed them on the sofa, putting them on. He stepped outside and saw Bonnie going down the street, walking at a leisurely pace. He followed. He stayed several feet behind her, keeping other people in between them while keeping his gaze locked on the canary yellow of her top. He thought he lost her a couple times, but heard the metallic clang of the bangles on her wrist and located her again within seconds.

It got tricky when she made for one of the streetcar stops, and Tyler had to find a guy to compel for some spare change. There was a bit of a crowd at the stop, and Tyler managed to maneuver his way to the front while Bonnie remained patient and content at the back. When the car stopped, he boarded in a hurry and went straight to the back where he looked down at his phone and pretended to text.

Bonnie sat at the front. Even if she looked back, it would be hard for her to see him courtesy of the many people boarding, even standing in the aisle and gripping the metal bars lining the row. He had no idea what was going on tonight, but apparently everyone was out. Tyler kept his eyes on Bonnie, waiting for her to move. She got off a few stops later, and Tyler followed suit.

More walking along well lit streets until Bonnie stopped at a tall apartment building with a revolving door. Once she disappeared inside, Tyler gave her a few minutes to get out of the lobby before following. A balding security guard was sitting at the desk.

Compulsion was a really handy device. Tyler learned that Bonnie was in apartment 6B. Sneaking in wouldn't work. He'd need an invitation, and asking Bonnie for one probably wouldn't yield the results he wanted.

Back outside, Tyler tilted his head back to look up at the building and saw fire escapes along the north side of the building. He ducked into the bordering alley and waited for the passing foot traffic to die down before beginning his climb.

He caught snippets of casual conversation as he went, laughs coming from TVs, the beeping of stoves and ovens and the slamming of doors. At the sixth floor, he moved down to the second set of windows. The first set was dark and silent. No one home. At the second he heard voices, both of which he recognized.

"Have you talked to Klaus or Elijah today?" Hayley asked.

As quietly as he could, Tyler inclined his head closer to the window, trying to see past the edge of the curtains. He saw a flash of pale skin and dark hair as Hayley walked past him, unaware of his presence.

"Nope," Bonnie answered. "We don't exactly chat."

"I ordered in," Hayley said. "Chinese. There's some left in the fridge."

"I'm not hungry."

It was nice to know Bonnie's less than stellar attitude wasn't directed toward Tyler personally.

"How aren't you hungry?" Hayley said. "Don't you eat?"

Bonnie's only response was, "I'm going to shower."

"Before you do that," Hayley said quickly. "I'm really craving some ice cream, and since I'm not allowed to leave the apartment, I thought-"

"No."

"It's just down the street," Hayley argued. "It'll take you like ten minutes."

"No," Bonnie repeated. Tyler heard receding footsteps then a shower being turned on and a steady spray of water smacking against tiles.

Hayley was quiet for awhile then shuffling and the jangle of keys. When he heard the front door opening, he realized she was leaving. Going to get her ice cream herself. Perfect. He leapt over the railing and hit the ground with bent knees. He waited in the shadows until he saw Hayley walking by in shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

Tyler hadn't planned this far ahead. He'd just figured he'd go to Bonnie's apartment and see what happened. If he was being honest with himself, he hadn't thought it would work out quite this well with Hayley just walking right in front of him like it was no big deal. He'd expected complications, difficulty, having to return to the house to brainstorm and then coming back tomorrow to try again. The ease of it threw him off.

"Hayley," Tyler said, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, and when she turned to face him her eyes grew wide. "Tyler. What are you-" She was tense and mid-turn, to return to the safety of the apartment, but Tyler sped forward to grip her arm, pulling her into the dark of the alley and throwing her against the wall.

"Tyler," Hayley began. "I'm so sorry about-about everything. I-" She was quieted by his hands on her throat, squeezing. More pressure, and he'd crush her windpipe. It would heal, but at least it would keep her quiet. The last thing he wanted to hear was Hayley's bullshit apology.

"Don't," she sputtered. "I'm...I'm..."

I'm sorry. Let me go. Don't kill me. I'm sorry.

He couldn't do anything with sorry. It wouldn't bring anyone back.

Hayley's hold tightened, her nails dug into his skin. "I'm...pregnant."

White hot pain exploded behind his eyes, blinding and deafening at once. The alley fell away, but he clung to Hayley's presence, told himself to pull it together. He could take some pain, he'd done it before, but he gripped the sides of his head and dropped to the pavement. Level with Hayley's feet, he saw her hurrying away from him, her sneakers scuffed and dirty.

No, he thought. He reached for her, but the pain slowed him down. He couldn't even see her anymore. She'd been replaced by multicolored spots that popped in front of his eyes, moving in and out of darkness.

The pain stopped, slowing to a dull ache before disappearing entirely. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to see Bonnie, hair wet and wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and flip-flops.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie demanded.

"I came to talk to her," Tyler said, glaring at Hayley, cowering behind Bonnie with a hand held tenderly at her throat.

"You shouldn't be here," she said. "If Klaus-"

"Klaus isn't here," Tyler snapped. "You and I both know that."

Hayley shifted behind Bonnie, taking a couple quick steps away from her. "Did you know he was here?" she asked. She was going to run, Tyler could see it all over her face, but Bonnie got to her first, spinning around and gripping Hayley's wrist.

"Shut up," she hissed. Hayley's eyes went from being wide to drooping drowsily. Then she slumped, unconscious, into Bonnie's arms. She moved Hayley gently onto the ground and sat her up against the wall.

With that done, she turned back to Tyler. "You need to go back to the house. Now."

"Not until I talk to her."

A little more time, and he could take her heart out or her head off. Just like Klaus did with the hybrids. If drowning her was an option, he'd go for that, too.

"You don't want to talk to her, you want to kill her," Bonnie said with a roll of her eyes. "And I can't let you so you might as well just go home."

When Tyler didn't move, Bonnie folded her arms across her chest. "You heard her. She's pregnant. Are you really gonna kill a pregnant girl?"

"I could."

Bonnie cocked her head to the side. "Could you?"

"You want to talk about morality when you're doing all of Klaus' dirty work?" Tyler said. Who knew what Klaus had Bonnie doing?

"Then do it," Bonnie said. "Kill her right now. Then go home and think about how much better you don't feel."

Tyler didn't care about feeling better. He just cared about Hayley not feeling anything, being just as dead as the hybrids, just as dead as his mother. "She got my mom killed," he said. "You knew my mom."

"Yeah, I did," Bonnie said, stepping away from Hayley to lean against the opposite wall. "So do it. Kill her."

Did she think he wouldn't? Tyler moved toward Hayley, feeling Bonnie's eyes on him. He crouched down and looked into Hayley's face, her head turned to the side and her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in her magically induced slumber. She looked younger when she was asleep, less harmless, more innocent, like a teenager. Like him. He dropped his gaze to her stomach where he could make out the faint outline of her stomach through her t-shirt, its giant size now explained.

"Does she want it?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bonnie answered. "Does it matter?"

"I lost the only family I had left because of her," Tyler said. "I could take hers."

It would be...poetic.

"Sure," Bonnie agreed. "So do it."

Tyler knew what she was doing. She thought this reverse psychology crap was going to work on him. It wasn't. He could kill Hayley, even if Bonnie didn't think he could.

Tyler could kill Hayley. He looked at her again, remembered the last time he'd seen her among a winter wonderland, walking away from him as he went to find the hybrids' dead bodies and return home to learn that his mother was dead. His mom paid for Tyler's transgressions, got caught up in Klaus' ideas of showing Tyler who was in charge, reminding him of who was powerful and who was weak. Would Tyler be like Klaus if he got Hayley's baby all caught up in his vengeance?

All the wrong people kept getting hurt.

He stood up and faced the street, unable to look at Hayley anymore and refusing to look at Bonnie. He didn't want to see how satisfied she'd be that she'd pegged him correctly, that she knew exactly what he wasn't capable of. There was a soft shimmer, a muted ripple in the air, and he reached out to touch it, feeling his finger press against a warm barrier that gave way beneath his touch. A woman passed, glanced in Tyler's direction and kept walking. She couldn't see him.

When Tyler turned back to Bonnie, he was prepared for her smug expression, her delightful "that's what I thought" smile, but she was just looking at him. It was the same expression she'd worn almost every time she'd seen him since, mostly blank, observing and cataloguing, maybe caring a minimal amount.

"So now what?" Tyler asked. "She knows I'm here. She could tell Klaus."

"She'll forget," Bonnie said. "All she'll remember tomorrow is that I caught her out here before she could get her stupid ice cream and made her go back inside."

"Thanks."

"I get it," Bonnie said, taking in a breath. "I really do, but if you get struck by one of these killing urges again, ignore it. Don't come looking for Hayley again. Messing with her is messing with Klaus, and you don't want to do that. If you wanted to let Klaus know that you were in town, you should have just told me so I could have let him know."

"Bonnie-"

"The fact that I know you're here is dangerous," she said. "The fact that you're here at my apartment is dangerous. For both of us. So don't come here again."

"I heard Klaus left, that's the only reason I came," Tyler said. "I wouldn't have come otherwise."

"What would you have done if you'd actually killed her?" Bonnie questioned. "You think Klaus would just let that slide? That he wouldn't want to know what happened to her? He would find you and kill you. This is after he'd kill me for letting you get close enough to touch her at all. If by some kind of miracle he decided to let me live, he'd kill me as soon as he found out that I'd known you were here."

He wanted to ask her what Hayley and Klaus had to do with each other, but Bonnie wasn't about to let him get a word in.

"I'm on the line, Tyler," she said. "I was on the line the minute I wiped your memories that night, and I am on the line every day that I don't tell Klaus about you. Maybe you don't think it's a lot that I'm doing for you, but I am doing a lot for you. You'd be dead by now if I'd told Klaus that you were here, and if I'd told him that you were with Marcel you'd be even deader if that were possible. So don't ever pull this kind of shit again."

"I got it," Tyler said. "I'm sorry."

"Good."

And now he felt bad.

"Do you need help getting her upstairs?" he asked, gesturing to the still sleeping Hayley, who hadn't stirred at all. It was the best olive branch he could come up with.

Bonnie promptly rejected it.

"No, I'm waking her up," she said. "So you should go."

"Okay," he said, as Bonnie knelt down at Hayley's side. "Bye."

She didn't look at him when she said, "Bye."