Chapter 6: Anyone Else But You

Caroline came home feeling just positively awful. She thought things with Tyler were going great, and then tonight happened and all that greatness went out the window. Sure, Tyler could tell her he loved her, but in the end, Mrs. Lockwood would always hate her (for some reason) and eventually Tyler would get tired of defending her to his mother. He would resent here and by extension their relationship. Maybe it was better to end it, but the thought of not being with Tyler was like drowning.

She felt like she couldn't breathe (well, she couldn't as she was technically dead) but that's how much she loved him. She didn't know what to do. She was just feeling miserable.

Her phone beeped.

I'm so sorry for what happened tonight. Please call me.

But she didn't.

Fifteen minutes later came another text.

Caroline, please.

And again she didn't respond.

Beep.

Car, I swear to you I had no idea that she would do that. I love you.

She turned her phone off and went to bed. She didn't want to have to answer all those deafening questions and silence the doubts that were ringing in her ear. She hadn't been asleep for that long when she suddenly was jolted awake. She looked up from her bed and saw Tyler standing in her room.

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer my texts."

"No, I mean how did you get in here?"

"Climbed through the window. But don't change the subject. Why didn't you answer any of my texts? I must have sent about fifteen. And I left you a voicemail." Caroline shrugged. "That's all I get is a shrug? That's great Caroline. I'm pouring my heart out here and you're giving me nothing."

"Maybe that's the point."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I've been through this before."

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't compare me to Matt. What you two had was completely different. Don't. Do. That." Tyler's jaw stiffened.

"I wasn't. I was just stating that this isn't the first time my boyfriend's mother disapproved of me."

"But don't you get it? I don't care what my mother thinks."

"But you will."

"Oh, and you know that how? I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were a vampire and psychic. Wow." Caroline got up from the bed.

"And don't you patronize me. "

"Then don't tell me how I feel or what I feel or what I will feel."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are." Caroline folded her arms.

"I'm just saying eventually you're going to resent our relationship and me. It's inevitable. I'm just trying to make this easier."

"What is inevitable, Caroline? Tell me." But Caroline just stood in silence. "I thought we told each other everything."

"You want the truth? You want me to tell you everything? Fine, here it is. You are going to wake up one day and realize that being with me means you can't have a normal life. No kids, no white picket fence. You'll have to lie to everyone. And even if your mom doesn't know now, she will, and if you think she hates me now, well, wait until she finds out what I am. "

Tyler put his arms around Caroline's waist and held tight.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't care what my mom thinks? I don't care what anybody thinks. I don't care about having a normal life or kids or the white picket fence. All I want is you. All I need is you."

Caroline could see this wasn't working.

"Well, then maybe I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of risking my life for you every month. I'm tired of…." Say it, say it. He'll never believe you if you don't, said her mind. "I'm tired of pretending I love you." Tyler stood there, shell shocked.

"You….you don't mean that."

"Yes, yes I do. I don't love you, Tyler." Tears began to stream down Tyler's face.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it's true."

"No it's not. You're just trying to hurt me so I'll leave. I get that you're scared, and I get that my mom hurt you tonight, but what I don't get is why you're trying to intentionally break my heart."

"I'm not trying to do that. I'm being honest, Tyler. I have feelings for you, but I don't love you."

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

Now Caroline was crying. She pulled herself out of Tyler's embrace.

"No, you should go. You need to go." But Tyler wouldn't budge.

"No."

"Tyler…"

"I'm not letting you end this." Caroline laughed.

"I am ending this. It's over. Don't you get it? You think your mom was wrong about tonight but she was right. You should be with girls like Tierney."

"I don't give a fuck about girls like Tierney. All I want is you."

"And that's what you say now, Tyler. This is why I don't deserve you, because you're selfless." Now it was Tyler's turn to laugh.

"Selfless? No, I'm not. I'm the most selfish guy in the world. I want you because you've changed me. You've opened my eyes to a new world and I can't imagine going back to who I was before that, and I don't want to. It has nothing to do with me being selfless. If I was selfless, I'd walk out that door. I know what you're doing, and I'm not going to let you do it. You're the selfless one, Caroline. You're the one who would rather be alone and miserable just to save me the pain, right? Isn't that what you're doing?" Caroline didn't answer. "Isn't that why you're trying to get me out of your life? Yeah, it is. It has nothing to do with you not wanting me, it's because you want better for me. But there is nothing better than you. I can't picture my life without you in it. So, you can say all these things to me about how you don't love me, and how you don't want me, and guess what? I'm not going away. I'll come here and I'll tell you every night that I love you and I need you, because not being with you? Caroline, that is the worst thing imaginable. So, please. Please don't do this. Don't end this."

Caroline hugged Tyler hard, and then kissed him.

"I'm so so sorry for what I said," she explained, tears streaming in buckets down her face. Tyler wiped them away with his finger and kissed her forehead.

"I know. I know you didn't mean it."

"I love you, Tyler. I love you so much."

"I know that too." Caroline pulled Tyler onto her, and let him watch as she took off her shirt, revealing her succulent breasts. Then she took off his shirt, admiring his abs and rock hard stomach.

Tyler picked her up and put her on her bed, kissing her mouth, then her neck, then her stomach, then lifted her legs up to put around him.

Slowly he moved inside of her, letting her feel every inch of him, and he felt every inch of her.

He could do this for all eternity, he thought, make love to Caroline.

When she gasped he thrust himself harder, and then without warning, Caroline turned him over with her vampire quickness. Suddenly she was on top moving.

It lasted for what seemed like hours, as neither of them wanted to let go. But finally it did and the two of them lay contently next to each other.

Tyler was moving his fingers up and down Caroline's arms.

"You know how lucky I am? If it had been any other guy, he would have left when I started saying all of those awful things."

"Well, I doubt any other girl would be so cavalier with her boyfriend trying to kill her once a month."

"That doesn't matter to me. You aren't you. I mean, you are but…you know what I mean." Tyler chuckled.

"I do." Tyler moved a stray hair out of Caroline's eyes. "I needed to dig deep, didn't I? You made me work for it. But if you had made me leave, I don't know what I would have done. You scared me, Caroline. Don't ever do that again. I can't, I couldn't lose you. I'd go insane."

"I'm sure Tierney would keep you company."

"Yeah, she was pretty cute." Caroline punched him in the arm. "Ouch."

"You deserved it."

"I know. When you said you pretended to love me, I've never been in that much pain when it wasn't a full moon."

Caroline took a pillow and covered herself with it.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to kill myself, again." Tyler took the pillow off.

"Hey, come on. I know why you were doing it."

"I know, but thinking about how that must have felt. I just kept thinking about the break up scene from New Moon with Edward and Bella." Even in the dark Caroline could feel Tyler roll his eyes.

"I can't believe you read that."

"What? Are you jealous because Jacob Black is cooler than you?" Tyler got up on his side.

"What? Jacob Black is not cooler than me. He doesn't even turn on the full moon! I can't believe you're making me talk about Twilight."

"No, baby. Nobody is cooler than you. But I am sorry, and I won't ever do that again."

"Good." Caroline snorted. "What?"

"What kind of name is Tierney anyway? And did you see the look she gave me? What a bitch."

"Jealous?"

"Of her? No way."

"Right."

"What. I'm not jealous."

"Whatever you say."

"Why? Do you…I mean do you ever get jealous?"

"Seriously? You really want to know?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah I get jealous. I see Matt looking at you sometimes. You don't notice, because you're too busy looking at me, and I'm glad, but I can see he regrets losing you. He may not say it, but he does."

"He does not."

"He does. And Damon, too."

"Damon does not regret losing me."

"No, I know that. But knowing you've been with him, it irks me. I don't want to think about anyone else's hands touching you. It's for me only," Tyler said winking.

"Yes, it is. And I guess I was jealous of Tierney. She looked like she wanted to mount you on her wall."

"Oh, really? Hmm, I'm intrigued. Maybe I should give her a call…" Caroline punched Tyler again. "Ow! Man. Having a vampire for a girlfriend means you get a lot of bruises."

"Serves you right."

"I don't care about anyone else. I don't want anyone else but you."

"Me either."

"In this lifetime or the next?"

"Forever."

"That was just the answer I wanted to hear."