Tyler led me out on the stone path and into the garden away from the music and crowds of laughter. 

"Sorry, it was getting a bit stuffy in there," He apologised rubbing his neck again.

"It's fine." 

The night air was crisp now that we were out of the warmth of the hall. Hairs stood on end as its chill touched my exposed arms.

The garden behind us was neatly kept, stone statues standing quietly among the brush. A fountain stood in the middle of the court, the water reflecting the moon light as it poked out from the clouds. Two cherubs stood upon it, silently tipping a pot of endless water cascading into the fountain.

Tyler rubbed his arms, "It's a bit cool out here. Aren't you cold?"

"No. It's not too bad at the moment." The meal was still warming me up so I wasn't going to feel the cold just yet. I looked up at the moon who kept sheepishly peaking in and out of the clouds. I wanted to just whisk away the clouds so I could gaze upon it's full, pale face. Tyler grabbed my hand, leading me towards a bench in between the garden statues.

A twig snapped under weight. I froze, jerking my head to the sound. Tyler turned noticing my rigidness.

"What is it?" Tyler's eyes narrowed. 

I couldn't see what was concealed in the brush, the dark's grip a little too heavy there. The moon had been swallowed up by the passing clouds.

"I thought I heard something," I said, frowning.

Tyler moved forward.

"Ty, it's probably a bird," I insisted. He kept walking.

Another twig snapped now to the left. I grabbed Tyler's arm, trying to indicate the urgency.

"I'll have a look," He said, shrugging me off. The moon broke out from the clouds' cover, a glint of metal catching my eye as it reflected back.

"Ty, it's fine. You don't have to. Let's go!" I pulled Tyler towards me now but he was being so persistent on seeing what it was. I tapped into my vampiric abilities, discretely trying to slow him down.
A click! echoed from the brush.
I knew that noise. It was a spring-loaded weapon. It was loaded.
Wide eyed, I yanked Tyler backwards.
The weapon released.
The air whooshed before me.

I panicked.


In that moment, I had made my greatest mistake. The weapon, which was now safely a modified crossbow, had sent a stake my way. Except, that same stake now hovered millimetres from Ty's heart, my shaking hand tightly wrapped around it. My reflexes caught it in mid-flight. I barely had time. I knew I needed to save him.
Why didn't I pull him out of the way?
The bushes rustled as the hunter scurried off, but I didn't care.
They had just outed me in front of the Mayor's son and I was the fool that let them. They aimed for Tyler, not me. They knew what I would do.


Tyler's face was ghostly, his eyes frozen on my hand clutching the stake. His mouth kept parting trying to talk but his voice kept failing him. He saw this of either two ways- I was going to kill him or I just dashed around him at and ungodly speed and stopped a stake from piercing his chest.
  
"What the hell was that!?" His voice was shrill, his eyes fixated on my hand were mixed with terror and disgust.

"What do you mean?" He twisted his head, his eyes looking dead on into my soul.
I couldn't lie my way out of this this time. He saw me catch the stake with my hand.

"Ty, please," I begged, trying to calm him down. I threw the stake to the ground. I reached a hand out to his shoulder. He ducked away from it,

"No, what are you? Normal people can't do that," He yelled. The look in his eyes had my innards ripping apart. He reeked of fear.
Maybe if I told him, I could get him to understand. It might not go the way I feared.

"I'm a vampire, Ty." My face was neutral. I had to look serious.

A smile stretched across his face,

"Good one, but seriously, how did you do it?"

"I'm not lying, Ty." My voice wavered as the true fear set in.

The smile disappeared and he moved back further; his thoughts readable on his face. A part of him thought I was joking, the other absolutely sure I was telling the truth. He saw me as the mythological monster; a blood thirsty beast. He stepped further away from me, bringing an ache to my heart. Our time together was for nothing.

The shock weaved itself into his brain. His heart became thunderous and the words played in his thoughts again and again and again. It was about to come down to fight or flight.
I took a step towards him.

"No!" His hands shot up in front of him, keeping me at a safe distance.

"Please don't do this."

"Stay away from me!" Forever screamed his expression.

I rushed forward, wrapping a hand across his mouth, checking no one was coming as I did so. He mumbled loudly; his eyes large as he tried to get somebody's attention. He brought a hand to my wrist, trying to pull my arm away. It didn't budge.

"Ty, please be quiet. Someone will hear! I'm not going to hurt you." He mumbled more to me now. This time it was words and not screams. "I know you're petrified of me right now, but you're judging me based on story tales and films. Not all of us are bad."

Silence came as he breathed in,

"I'm going to lift my hand now and we're going to talk like adults." If this didn't work, I'd have to compel him and I didn't want to do that.

I lifted my hand, it hovering for a second before I was positive he wasn't going to cry out for help. I left my hands at his shoulders. Anyone who saw us would see a romantic waltz under the moonlight.

"Are you going to kill me?" He blurted now I had given him the power of speech again. I resisted the urge to slap some sense into him.

"Why would I kill you? You're my friend." He frowned. How absurd that a vampire wanted to befriend a human, right?

"And if I wasn't your friend?" He spat back at me.

"I still wouldn't!" I groaned, "I won't hurt you, Tyler!"

He looked to the ground, jaw clenching. Hopefully, he believed me. His brow furrowed. Everything we had built a friendship on had been a lie. He had a new look now, that of one who had been betrayed. He was directing fear, betrayal, and anger all towards me.

"What you said can't be true then."

 I stood back, puzzled.

"About what?"

"All of it. Your brother doesn't have anxiety does he? If you even have one that is." He was almost feral. It radiated off him; this compulsive anger. It made his eyes so dark.

"I do have a brother and no, you're right. He doesn't have anxiety. I came to this town so i could save him." I kept my cool, any adverse emotional response was going to make this worse.

"Save your brother then you have to go. I never want to see your face again." I really wanted to object but bringing both arms to my side, I accepted my defeat. It was never going to work anyway. It never did. I was created to be lonely. A creation of someone else's cruel intent to spite my brother.

"Saving him was always the plan, Tyler. You're just the complication." I whispered, knowing full well he heard. I went to leave before stopping.

"Living for as long as I have gets lonely. You made it a little less, even if it was for a brief second."

This stirred a reaction from him. His angry gaze softened. It was slight but it was enough. He was as cut up about this as I was. I pulled my keys from the pocket of his frozen form, avoiding eye contact. I should have compelled him but i wouldn't. What was the point of all of it anymore?

"I wish it wasn't but I guess this is goodbye, Tyler Lockwood."

Tears blurred my vision. Was I crying because Tyler hated me or the fact he could very well end my life with one slip of his tongue? I wasn't even sure anymore. I let the stone path lead me to the front of the hall where I strode to my bike. I hitched the skirts of my dress high enough to avoid getting caught before kicking it into life.

I looked to the hall one last time.
He stood on the steps in front of me now, that sickly expression still on his face.
I had to go.
I had been such a fool.

I rolled the bike back before steering it onto the driveway. With a flick of my wrist, the beemer roared louder, the sound of the motor carrying me away from hunters and Lockwoods alike.

These past weeks had been a stupid fool's dream. I needed to refocus on my goal. I needed to find Dmitri, and in my urge to quench my loneliness, I had screwed everything up. In focusing on the Mayor's son, I had forgotten the decades long pain of having no one. What a fool I had been to expect a different reality from a boy whose parents controlled a vampire hunting council.
This was proof; proof that no amount of kindness could win them over. Once I got back to the boarding house, I was turning off my human side. It wasn't needed to find Dmitri and definitely not to interrogate Damon again for my ring. He would give it to me this time, even if I had to use force to do so.

I came to an intersection, the road sign reflecting back at me through the light of my bike as I turned onto the near derelict back road. The wind changed, whipping my hair around my face.
A laser prick of red light caught my attention, flashing in my eyes. It disappeared swallowed back up by the darkness. I watched it's position.
My eyes widened.

Shit! 

My attention snapped back to ahead of me.
A slender brown object came rushing into focus, intercepting the Beemer's solitary headlight. I jerked the steering to the left to avoid it.

thunk!

The bike careened out from under me. The object shredded into my abdomen, piercing my flesh. I slammed into the asphalt hard, my unprotected head cracking against the ground. Momentum pitched me forward into a roll, shredding skin from my limbs as the tumbling shattered my bones; each contact with the road creating a new break. My ribs drove themselves into my lungs ripping the oxygen from them. I came to a halt on my side, metres away from the bike, blood seeping through the fabric of my now raggedy dress and onto the road. Limbs splayed, stuck at awkward angles.
The bitumen was warm against my torn cheek. My eyes fluttered open, trying to stay awake.
I laid there unable to move, unable to cry out.
Shakily, I turned my gaze to the wooden mass protruding from my belly. Fire and lightning ate at the wound like tendrils reaching into my core, ripping away my immortal life. I grabbed onto the stake but my arm was too broken to muster the strength to rip it free from my body. I gasped in air, my brain finally realising it needed to survive. Bones grated together as my chest attempted to heave.

The crumpled mess of my bike still shot a beam of light back towards me, the Beemer's now struggling idle echoing in the darkness.

In between us was the silhouette of my phone, having been thrown from the bike storage compartment.

I needed to get to it and call Stefan. I was going to die.

I kicked out with my good leg, bloodied toes digging into the asphalt, trying to get some footing. the other was a mangled mess, my foot twisted in an ugly direction.
Bone fragments shifted and grinded as I inched myself towards the phone, a howl of pain the only noise in the night as nerves screamed at me to stop; to just lay down and die. I dug my nails into the road as if they would help pull me there.
I stretched out with my broken arm, still too far away from the phone. A metallic tang enveloped my mouth now as warmth oozed down the side of my cheek. I was exhausting too much of my energy for something that possibly didn't work anymore. The stake was poisoning me, halting any healing.

I groaned, pushing myself closer again, shuffling along the ground. My skin screamed for reprieve, the sting becoming almost unbearable. Bones cried out to stop moving.
Once I could get the call out, I could rest.
I gritted my bloody teeth and in anguish, kicked off against the ground one last time, my hand firmly grabbing onto the Nokia.
I clicked the centre button, the screen light burning my eyes. My blood stained it's matte black surface which was now speckled with deep abrasions.
I felt faint, my head going light; a cacophony of cicadas ringing in my head. Limbs tingled with toxins as they started to numb. It was my body's final scream for help.

In a haze I hit speed dial, knowing it wasn't for Stefan. I brought it to my ear, fingers shuddering at the weight of it. All i hoped was deaf ears didn't hear this.
The line connected,

"Valerie, I thought I just told you..."

I rasped trying to build up enough air in my lungs.

"Tyler..." His name came out in a long wheeze.

"Val... Are you okay?" He sounded concern. A part of me was glad. It meant he cared.

"Please, I need help," I said, the words grating against my insides.

"Where are you?"

"Mill Road."

"Hold on, I'm coming."

Call disconnects.