Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

89. Stranger Things

"No," Caroline said again, pointing at him. "This is not my mess. This is your mess."

"A mess that wouldn't have happened if you guys had left me alone," Stefan reminded them both. "Enzo turned her, not me."

Caroline's resolve began to waver, before she remembered something else. "Are you forgetting that Riley's human? Ivy is a newbie vampire with no self-control!"

"And if there's anyone that can teach her self-control, it's you," he flattered her, knowing exactly what to say to make her compliant. The kind of thing that comes from years of friendship.

"Plus, I'm actually about to head out," Riley told them. "I have class, and then I'm meeting Tyler."

Caroline's eyebrows drew together. "Why are you meeting Tyler?"

Riley stared in disbelief. "We're going to the party in the cornfields together. Please don't tell me you forgot?"

Caroline smacked her palm on her head, careful to keep her towel in its correct place. "Sorry, I completely forgot. I can meet you there later."

Riley shook her head, smiling. "I think you have your hands full," she reminded her, pointing at Ivy who was watching them in silence, probably imagining what Riley's blood tasted like. "Plus, if you bring her with you, then there's a huge chance that someone's gonna get eaten."

***

"It just makes no sense," Tyler was saying when they climbed into his car that evening. Riley rolled her eyes sardonically as she strapped herself in.

"Oh no, a girl doesn't want to date you. What is happening to the universe?" she asked sarcastically, mocking him. He rolled his eyes.

"You're not listening. She does want to date me. She's just being stubborn," he said. The current object of his affections was Liv, the witch.

"Have you ever tried, I don't know, being with a human girl?" Riley wondered. "Y'know, because there was Vicki the vampire, Caroline my vamp sister, the werewolf girl from the Appalachians, and now a witch."

"I never dated Hayley," Tyler corrected her. "And Vicki wasn't a vampire when we were together. What can I tell you, I must have a thing for supernatural blondes."

Riley giggled, looking out of the window. Out of the blue, something occurred to her. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Tyler shrugged, his eyes focused on the road ahead of them.

"How did you trigger your werewolf curse the first time?" she wondered. "Because all I remember is that one day you weren't a werewolf, and the next you were."

Tyler thought back. It had been so long since it happened that he barely remembered the details.

"Katherine needed a werewolf," he said. "She compelled Matt to attack me, and when Matt failed, she compelled another girl called Sarah to finish the job. She stabbed me, I pushed her away, she hit her head and boom – instant wolf."

Riley shook her head and tutted. "Do you miss being a hybrid?"

"Yeah," Tyler answered immediately. "Not enough to trigger my curse again, if that's what you're thinking."

Riley shrugged. "Actually, I was thinking about the werewolf gene. If Katherine had never turned the Salvatores in 186-whatever, you and Bonnie would be the only supernatural ones in our group. The Salvatores would have died way back when, Caroline would probably still be dating Matt, and she'd be human, Bonnie and Jeremy might never have got together, Vicki and countless others would still be alive... can you imagine how different our lives would be?"