I hung in there with the school, actually getting to know a little more people in this town. There were two girls with messy emo-hair, wearing black with plaid skirts and we started to nod at each other, I noticed one of them in my math class, so we even said a few words to each other once in a while.
There was the cheerleading squad that suddenly started to say hi to me, just because I had been sitting next to Caroline at lunch. At first I just stared at them, thinking it was a prank and they were going to do something mean to me, but they kept on saying ‘Hi’ so I did the same. When the cheerleaders had acknowledged me, there were the jocks... I got tired just being in the same room as them; did all jocks have to be loud and hyper?
There were a few really good looking though...
Among the jocks, there were especially this Tyler guy that caught my attention; he was all buffed up and had a confidence out of this world. Elena had told me that he was Caroline’s ex and I thought that maybe I should keep my distance. It turned out eventually that I wasn’t the one that needed to keep my distance to him, but the other way around.
Elena, Caroline and Bonnie sat with me in the cafeteria one day. Bonnie was a really sweet girl as well, but they had some issues and I sensed it had to do with the Salvatore’s but they were careful not to say anything in my presence. Bonnie and Caroline left the table and that was the moment Tyler moved over to our table.
“Hi guys, what’s up?”
I looked a little questionably at Elena. “Guys? We’re girls...right?” I sassed a little quiet which made her almost crack a smile.
Yeah I know I’m provocative, I can’t help it.
Tyler just glared at me. “And you might be?”
I couldn’t help myself. “Be what?” I pretended not to understand.
It must have been the lights, but his brown eyes started to flicker almost yellow and he drew a deep breath and then smiled an absolutely charming smile. “Hi, welcome to Mystic Falls High School; I’m Tyler.” He said in the most charming way with a crocked eyebrow and a row of gleaming white teeth that made me think of toothpaste commercials.
“Hi Tyler, this is Emilia; she has just moved here from New York.” Elena introduced me. I had to try hard not to roll my eyes at his curiosity.
Wasn’t that what killed the cat? Oh well, he looked a little more like a dog person anyway.
“This must be quite a difference.” He did his best to be charming and he actually did a really good job; he actually reminded me of that cocky ex boyfriend of mine, the jerk before Jason I fell so hard for. It seemed that he was honest and what you saw was what you got. “So, where are you staying here?”
“At the Salvatore’s.” I answered which made his eyes flicker to Elena with a silent question. It was the same expression Alaric had given Stefan... This time I knew it wasn’t just my paranoia.
“Yes, Stefan is like the big brother I never had.” I interrupted their silent dialogue, which made Tyler flash another charming smile at me.
“And Damon...”
“Yeah, Damon is just cocky as usual.” I cut in which made a real smile appear on his face. I was not in a mood to discuss Damon here at school; that was a way to complex topic. After that lunch he seemed to meet and greet me in every hallway and he offered me a ride home after school for a couple of days.
Amy and Sandra, the two punk-or-emo-style girls at school had made plans to meet me at the Grill one of the nights. They were actually really funny in my epic-sarcastic favourite kind of way. Nobody knew though, because they mostly kept to themselves.
“The pool tables are free, are you up for a game?” I asked enthusiastic and got a glare from the girls. “Sorry... pool?” I repeated in a blasé kind of way, with no energy at all. Sandra and Amy laughed a bit and we got over to the pool table and started to rack up the balls. They were actually really good at the game and we had fun together.
“Oh, here comes that gorgeous Tyler!” Sandra hissed and quickly set her face in the boring non-smiling way she had it when there were other people around.
Oh, get over the doom and gloom, already! I thought.
Tyler walked up to us by the pool table and Sandra pretended not to see him. I rolled my eyes. “Hi Emilia, how’s the game going?” He flashed off his tooth-paste commercial-smile.
“Oh, these girls are a part of the secret pool-world-championships.“ I said, feigning a glare at them.
“I think you need a pro on your team, and lucky you, here I am.” He had the most charming smile as he took the cue from my hand. The rest of the game was really funny and we ended up playing another round. Sandra was giving Tyler longing looks, but unfortunately he had only eyes on me.
Darn!
It’s not easy to make friends within a love triangle. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but he turned out to be a real charmer and in no time I was giggling at his jokes like a little schoolgirl.
Oh, wait a minute? I was in school... Oh, never mind! You know what I mean.
“Thanks’ for evening the plain field!” I said with a big smile.
“No problem! Glad to help!” Tyler said and gave me a hug.
Wow that felt so good!
“I think we’re gonna go home.” Amy interrupted our hug. Good! It was Sandra who liked him, not me!
“Can I offer you girls a ride?” He offered chivalrous.
“Thanks, but I have my car.” Sandra said with a little sadness in her voice. Stupid girl! I could have taken her car and she could have gone with Tyler. I would have to teach her some slick moves later on...
“Can I offer you a ride?” He turned to me.
I shrugged. “Sure! Thanks.” I said and followed him out of the door. When we got to his car Damon drove right by us and I caught him staring weird at us.
Why; jealousy? Yeah, I wish...
Tyler was a real gentlemen and not this sleazy guy he seemed to be at school. When you got him alone he was actually both sweet and funny, a real charmer. That was the biggest surprise. He drove me home and wished me a good night. Not a single word was uttered about following me inside or anything.
“See you in school, Emilia.” He said before he drove off.
Over the next few days he talked to me in the hallway in the innocent way and he engaged in the discussions with us in the cafeteria for lunch. Often Caroline sat awkwardly with us, but there was some bad blood between them and you could almost touch the tension. Tyler seemed relieved every time she left the table, even though he always looked longingly after her.
I had to ask Elena for the status on their relationship.
Elena and I had started to do some weightlifting at the high school gym a couple of nights a week and it felt good. Life seemed to be catching on. After persistent suggestion and persuasion, I finally managed to get into an Italian class to brush up on my mother’s language.
There were several times I happened to bump into Tyler at the Grill, and we shared a meal or a game of pool together. He was getting to me; I could feel his flirty eyes on me before I knew he was in the same room as me. It was both weird and good.
One Friday he asked if he could take me out on an actual date. I looked a little surprised at him, but I had been looking forward to going out and said of course yes. Things had felt good between us, not in a life-altering crush, but more in a nice friendly way.
"I'll pick you up around six, and we go grab something to eat and maybe catch a movie? Is that okay?"
"Sounds like a date..." I said a bit shy all of a sudden.
When it was time to get ready, I didn't know what to wear; everything felt different just because we made plans. I missed Lisa who would have guided me through this. I called her and she helped me via the phone.
"What is this guy?"
"A friend from school..." I said sounding casual, trying to deflect. "He’s a jock and he's gorgeous." I just had to brag.
“You and a jock?! Have you entered an alternate universe?”
I laughed. “Yes, in many ways...”
She continued to help me with the clothes and soon I had my make-up on and was ready when Tyler came to pick me up. I got some real appreciative looks even though he was the perfect gentleman.
He didn’t take me to the Grill, but to a different place, just a little bit fancier. We had steaks and fries and it tasted like heaven. Afterwards he took me to the movies. It was an action with Aston Kutcher, but with a lot of humour and romance in it; a prefect film actually and he held my hand in the darkness.
When he took me home he walked me to the door and gave me a light kiss on the lips. I hadn’t really expected that and bit my lower lip afterwards. He wished me a good night and drove off as I walked into the house.
"Was that Tyler?" I jumped a bit, not noticing Damon standing there in the hallway.
"Yes..." I said with a smile on my face.
"You shouldn't get to close to that boy." He said and his eyes on me were scrutinizing.
I looked surprised at him. "Why? He's been nothing but sweet to me."
"He's having a bit of trouble with his temper..." he said in an elusive way.
"Is that what happened between him and Caroline? Did he hurt her?"
"Yes he did..."