Tyler Lockwood (firstsuccess) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-01-23 15:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, tyler lockwood |
Who: Tyler and Caroline
What: Tyler's first full moon on the Network.
When: This evening
Where: A bar/club.
Warning/Rating: There's a fight involved. Otherwise low.
Status: Complete.
There wasn’t any reason for Tyler to be more on edge today than he was any other day, but he was. He’d been a little testy for most of the day, but now that the sun had gone down it felt like anything could set him off.
Caroline didn’t often piss him off, so he figured that going out with her that evening was safe. He wasn’t likely to bite her head off, and hanging around with her was a good way to take his mind off of how irritable he was. It wasn’t as though he was going to spend Saturday night at home just because he was a little more aggravated than normal, though it was probably a good thing he didn’t have to work that evening. He felt much better about being in a crowded bar tonight drinking the beer instead of serving it.
“Did I mention I’ve got an actual job now?” He’d only had a couple of shifts so far, but he was enjoying it.
So far Caroline had enjoyed Tyler being back. It wasn’t like she had spent a ton of time with him, mostly just class and more on campus coffees. But he didn’t seem like he was as much of a douche as he had been in high school. But going out for drinks needed to happen. She owed him a celebration after all. Caroline kept a busy schedule, so the first night she had free she made plans with Tyler, luckily he was free too.
“No! Way to keep me out of the loop,” Caroline replied nudging him with her shoulder. “Selling sports equipment?” she asked taking a sip of her rum and coke. That was what he had mentioned wanting to do so it was the logical conclusion.
Tyler laughed. “No, I decided I really wasn’t cut out to help sell sporting equipment to middle-aged dads. I actually got a job as a bartender at this burlesque club that opened last week. It seems like a pretty sweet gig so far.” Most of the tips went to the dancers, but Tyler wasn’t doing so bad in that department himself. “You should come visit sometime.”
“Well now where am I going to go for all my sporting equipment needs?” she teased. It didn’t surprise her at all that Tyler had ended up working in a burlesque club. “I’m sure you’re enjoying it,” there was a knowing smile on her face. “Do I get free drinks if I do?” Strip clubs, burlesque clubs, whatever. They didn’t bother her. One of her close friends had been an exotic dancer until she took over running the club anyway. In fact… “Speaking of burlesque clubs, I actually have been taking some pole dancing classes from my friend.”
“You can always call me if you need help picking out new pom-poms,” Tyler laughed. He knew Caroline said she’d quit cheerleading, but he definitely couldn’t picture the girl doing any other kind of sport. “I might be convinced to buy you a drink if you come visit me.” He had the feeling Chuck wouldn’t exactly appreciate it if Tyler just handed out free drinks to all of his friends. Tyler did have quite a few friends, after all.
His eyebrows shot up at the mention of pole dancing lessons though. “Is that so?” he asked. “For your uh, boyfriend, is it?”
“i feel like I have more expertise than you on that one.” He was correct though, she wouldn’t be picking up any new sports. Cheer had always been her thing. As sad as she was to leave it behind she just didn’t have the time anymore. “May? What’s the good in knowing the bartender if I have to pay for drinks.”
Caroline laughed shaking her head. “No, not for Peeta.” Like she would ever do anything for a guy. She wasn’t insecure little Caroline anymore. “For me. My friend is an exotic dancer and offered me lessons. How could I not take advantage of that?”
“I don't know, I’ve watched a lot of cheerleaders in my time,” Tyler teased. “But I guess that's a fair point. You give me free coffee and I'll see what I can do about free drinks.” Fair was fair, after all.
Tyler nearly choked on his beer. Not just because he had really only known Caroline in high school and still kind of thought of her as the insecure girl he’d known back then (though, he had to admit he liked this new Caroline a lot better), but because of her boyfriend’s name. “Pita? What kind of name is -”
He was cut off then by some clown ramming into him, causing him to drop his beer. The bottle smashed and the beer splashed over his and Caroline’s feet. Already in a bad mood that he couldn't exactly explain, the world turned red and, deaf to the man’s laughing apology, Tyler grabbed him by the throat, slammed him against the wall, and punched him in the face. He wound up to punch him again.
Caroline was going to make some joke about how maybe Tyler would have done better on the field if he spent less time looking at the cheerleaders and defend her boyfriend’s name. But before she could do any of that events transpired and before she knew it her feet were covered in beer and Tyler have some poor guy up against the wall.
What the hell? That was a little extreme for someone bumping into him and causing him to drop his drink. Okay more than a little.
Caroline only remained frozen in shock for a moment. Then she sprang into action. “Tyler,” she exclaimed still shocked as she rushed up behind him using her vampire strength to pull him off the guy before Tyler could punch him for a second time. “What the hell?” she asked her friend before turning her attention to the guy still holding Tyler back. “I’m so sorry,” she gave her most apologetic smile.
Tyler was pulled off the asshole who’d run into him with such strength that he would have sworn it was a bouncer who had pulled him off, and he got ready to punch him too. But when he turned to do so, he saw only Caroline, and his anger quickly gave way to confusion. Caroline had always been in shape, but he had never thought of her as particularly strong before.
Caroline’s ‘what the hell’ was echoed by the guy Tyler had punched, who, despite his newly bloodied nose, was also being held back by his friends. “I don't care if you’re sorry,” the guy spat. “I want to hear it from your douchebag friend.” Which only served to enrage Tyler again, and he attempted rather futilely to lunge at the guy again.
Really? Tyler couldn't apologize for slamming the guy against the wall and giving him a bloody nose? She remembered he had a bit of a temper in high school but this was just ridiculous. After holding Tyler back from his second attempt to lunge at him Caroline locked eyes with the poor guy. "He's sorry too. Now stop being angry and walk away," her pupils dilated as she compelled the guy. He did as he was told, his friend however remained in place looking at Caroline with confusion. Just as Tyler had moments ago. She locked eyes with the friend. "Everything is fine. Go take care of your friend." He just nodded and off he went.
She had a feeling Tyler wasn't going to apologize so compulsion seemed like the best option. Sure, she could have compelled Tyler to say he was sorry but she wasn't a fan of compelling her friends. However if he didn't calm down she might just have to resort to that.
Letting Tyler go she scowled at him. "Let's go," she turned on her heel to walk out. Once she got Tyler outside she would figure out what the hell had gotten into him.
“Yeah, you'd better run,” Tyler called after them, though if either of them heard him over the din of the bar, neither of them gave any indication of it.
Though, seeing Caroline walk scowl at him and walk outside, his anger ebbed away to be replaced with shame, and he followed her outside without another word.
The moon was full and bright, washing the street with it’s light, and while he was still agitated, he was ashamed enough that he wasn't likely to lash out again. “You’ve been working out,” he said, in a playful tone, though he couldn’t meet Caroline’s eyes.
Once they were outside Tyler seemed a little better. And he hadn’t gone after the guy again after Caroline let him go. But still. He had seriously over reacted and she was not a fan.
“Good thing,” she replied to his tease, her tone flat. “Otherwise things could have gotten a lot worse in there. What was that, Tyler?” She looked up at the moon noticing how full it was, but even with her dreams it didn’t exactly click. Sure she knew a little about werewolves and the gene, but she had dreamt about that so long ago. So much had happened since. Tyler wasn’t even in them anymore. No werewolves were.
“I don’t know, Caroline,” Tyler snapped, annoyed at her hounding him while at the same time being aware that it was a very valid question. He ran a hand through his short, black hair. When he continued, slightly abashed, with none of the animosity in his voice. “He just, I don’t know, pissed me off for some reason. I wasn’t thinking.” He couldn’t even use ‘being drunk’ as an excuse this time, because he hadn’t drank enough to be drunk and both he and likely Caroline knew that much.
She had to admit she was a little taken aback by the snapping. Bad mood or not, Caroline had done nothing to deserve that. If anything she had helped Tyler out. “Clearly. You should like, work on that,” she replied a frown on her face. It was beyond obvious that she didn’t approve of Tyler’s actions. She didn’t approve of fighting in general. Unless it was absolutely necessary which it hadn’t been tonight.
Scolding him for the remainder of the night wasn’t going to do any good. So subject change instead. “Why are you back?” Yes it was probably out of the blue but she had been wondering about it since he showed up. He had given vague reasoning and although the intention for tonight was to celebrate she had ulterior motives, mostly to get him drunk enough to tell her. That plan hadn’t exactly worked out but she was still determined to know. And when Caroline set her mind to something she didn’t give up until she got what she wanted.
Caroline had always been smarter than she acted, and Tyler really shouldn’t have been surprised that it seemed as though she had figured it out. He sighed, wishing he had a beer in his hand that he could chug back. “I got kicked off the football team,” he said after a moment. “For fighting. But he threw the first punch.” Even if he had had a fairly good reason for it.
It didn’t surprise her that Tyler had been fighting. Especially after what she had just witnessed. It did surprise her that the other guy had thrown the first punch. Again given what she had just witnessed. Tyler had attacked a guy for just bumping into him. She wasn’t about to press that fact though. Honestly, she was just glad Tyler trusted her enough to tell her. Even if she had pried a bit. “Did the other guy get kicked off too?”
“No,” Tyler said, and if he was bitter about the fact, it didn’t creep much into his voice. “I came out of it with a bloody lip, but he came out with a busted jaw.”
“Damn,” Caroline commented, no judgement in her voice though. She had done that enough back in the bar and he was probably well aware that she didn’t approve of the fighting. Now it was time to lighten the mood. “Remind me to never get in a fight with you,” she teased. Although Caroline could definitely hold her own.
Tyler managed to crack half a smile, and a “yeah,” in response, but after talking about Duke, especially in light of the fight he’d almost gotten into tonight, he wasn’t much in the mood for joking. Or drinking, for that matter. He’d thought the fight at Duke had been bad, but he’d never really felt a rage like the one he had felt tonight and that, frankly, scared him. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was because he was living back at home after a few years away, which meant that he really did need to get his own place soon.
“Hey, listen. Thanks for the night out, but I’m not really feeling it anymore. I should probably head home,” he said, feeling a little guilty about bailing so early in the night.
Caroline nodded she understood. She wasn’t in all that much of a mood for partying anymore either. The fight had definitely dampened the mood. “No problem,” she gave him a reassuring smile. The though of offering to drive him home occurred to her, but he hadn’t had that much to drink considering their evening had been interrupted. “I’ll see you in class,” she added reaching out to give him a hug goodnight.
“I’ll see you in class,” Tyler said, returning the hug. Having Caroline in his arms was surprisingly nice, and just doing it helped ease some of the irritability and the guilt. He wouldn’t make it one of those awkward lingering hugs though, and he reluctantly released her before he headed off to his car.