A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, they were amazing! They really encouraged me to write and I'm glad you guys are enjoying this fic so far :) Well, this is Chapter 2 and I would still welcome any criticisms, no matter how harsh they are! Thank you so so much again :)
The sunlight cast a cheery glow around her bedroom, warming her skin as she readied for school. School,she thought, who needs school when I have the rest of eternity to figure the world out? But Caroline did need school, she needed it as a reminder that even though she was a monster normalcy existed, and it was the natural – as opposed to the supernatural – that would keep her sane. She looked at her cheerleading uniform peeking out from the rest of the outfits hanging in her closet and thought of Tyler for the a millionth time since they'd left what Tyler had now called the dog cage...
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"Tyler we should get going," came her gentle tone, "or our parents are going to panic."
"Yeah, I need to get out of here. Caroline... This place will never be the same to me again. It's like a torture cell, a cage where I become an animal that needs to be trapped. A fucking beast with no humanity! Jesus Caroline, at least you still look human, you still have human emotions, but me... for the rest of my life I'll fear the moon, I'll fear what's inside of me". His voice was jagged, in fact everything about him was ripped apart and it tore straight through Caroline as she took in his face, distorted by pain and a loss of identity.
"C'mon Tyler," she helped him to his feet, supporting his fragile form as they walked up the stairs to the car parked in the forest. Yes, you are a monster. Just like I am. But I have never seen you more human before tonight. You have never shown me – or anyone – as much emotion as you showed tonight.
The drive to the Lockwood residence was silent; no words were needed to communicate all that happened that night. There was a bond between them that was so strong it was as if they were creating a new form of energy, one that was too powerful to ever be diminished. Caroline could feel it intensify with each minute they spent alone together in the confined dimensions of the car, and with it her breathing increased. If she had a beating heart, she knew it would be racing.
What is this? What's happening to me? I'm just driving a car with Tyler sitting next to me. Sure, he's a werewolf and tonight was... indescribable. I held him through it, but there is no reason for me to be struggling to keep my breathing steady. Unless this is post-traumatic stress disorder... Can vampires even GET post-traumatic stress disorder? Yes, they can! Damon is a psycho sadistic tool, and if he can have mental issues then I can have post-traumatic stress disorder!
Subconsciously, Caroline knew she was irrationally babbling to herself. She was in a state of denial, refusing to acknowledge any deeper feelings for Tyler may be brewing. But that didn't stop her from thinking about him. His gentle, tender goodbye kiss lingered on her cheek as she drove home and moved to bed. His murmured thank you, the breath of his words lightly swirling the air, teasing the fine skin of her face. The soulful warmth of his dark brown eyes, expressing his gratitude and affection in a way that made her want to fall into him and never surface. Her brain might attempt to reason what was happening – even if a certain degree sensibility needed to be lost – but her body reacted with thrilling emotions that, unlike the wolf in her mind, could not be caged.
"You are not a dog Tyler, you're a man. Not everybody can survive what you went through tonight, but you did. I'm so proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself too. You're the strongest person I know." Those had been her last words to Tyler, as he'd hugged her in the car. And she had meant every single word.
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Caroline rushed through the school hallways – her idiot dazes were making her late for class. Get it together you stupid dysfunctional vamp! It's against the laws of supernature for you to be friends with a werewolf! If you had vampire ancestors, they would totally stone you for sleeping with the enemy. Well, we're not sleeping together, and I don't even want to sleep with him... Even if he is beautiful covered in sweat... Argh!
Her preoccupied thoughts blinded her, until she slammed into the person she least expected to see.
"Matt! Wow, hey, how are you? I'm so sorry, I wasn't even looking where I was going!"
"Woah, don't worry about it Care, take it easy." He smile was calm and casual, but Caroline knew him well and she could tell that something was wrong. She looked into the blue of his eyes and felt a familiar stirring within her. God, I miss him so much!
"Is everything okay, Matt? You seem... different. Like something is off."
Matt's expression crumpled slightly as his smile wavered. "Look Care, I really need to talk to you," he reached out and took one of her hands into his, "it's really..."
His voice drowned out as Caroline felt a molten gaze spear her spine, sizzling upwards, making her stiffen. Slowly, she turned and saw Tyler standing behind her. He appeared calm, but his eyes... They were murderous with rage. For the first time since she became a vampire, Caroline was frightened of a figure in human form. She noticed his eyes moved towards her hand clasped in Matt's grip. His whole body tensed and the rage seethed furiously.
"... so please could you meet me after school? It'd mean so much to me," Caroline stared at Matt, wondering about Tyler and his fury at seeing Matt hold her hand. Is he really angry about that? She felt Matt squeeze her hand, and quickly snatched it out of his grasp. His last words to her finally registered.
"Um... Yeah, sure Matt. I... I'll see you after school," her smile trembled as she agreed to talk to him, and her hearing picked up the thunderous movement of Tyler's shoes as he walked away. She felt an acute sense of guilt and regret. And she had no idea why.
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Caroline spent the rest of the day in a dwell, moving aimlessly from class to class, her thoughts focused on Tyler and his reaction to Matt.
"Caroline, wait up!" Stefan's voice cut across the ramblings of her mind as he ran up towards her.
"Hey, Stefan. What's up?"
"Listen, I know you told Tyler you're a vampire, but I need to make sure that after last night you still haven't told him about the rest of us and that a werewolf bite can kill vampires," Stefan was looking at her hard, his expression serious.
For a minute, Caroline had forgotten that she had lied to Tyler about everything, but with Stefan's words everything came racing back and her guilt intensified. Is it normal for a vampire to get headaches?
"No, I didn't tell him a thing. He's totally in the dark. And just so you know, he stayed in the cellar throughout his transformation and he deliberately drank wolfsbane to weaken his strength. Tyler doesn't want to hurt anyone Stefan." Caroline's voice became defensive.
"I understand that, but accidents happen Caroline. Look what happened when you first transformed. I'm willing to bet that werewolves have even less control than vampires when they're newborn, so we just have to be careful."
"Okay, I hear you Stefan," She needed to go. She was gonna be late for her talk with Matt. Whatever that was about.
"Oh, and Caroline," Stefan looked at her again, his eyes searching, "I'm glad you're helping us keep tabs on Tyler, and I know he's your friend, but make sure it stays that way, alright? Don't get too close Caroline, things could end really badly and I haven't forgotten my promise to keep you alive."
Typical Stefan. Always overthinking everything. Like I said, if I'm neurotic vampire then he's serious vampire. Way too serious.