sinking under tension
pushpopcaroline:
Caroline had been in a deep sleep when her phone started vibrating on her bedside table. Sheâd been dreaming about something she couldnât quite remember now, the image fading from her mind the longer she was conscious. Which is why it had taken her a while to wake up enough to answer the call. Groggy and not entirely sure what was going on, she pressed answer and lifted her phone to her ear without checking the caller id. When Stilesâ voice answered her grunt, she was immediately more alert. Sure, sometimes Stiles climbed in her window in the middle of the night, or heâd call her in the morning to check in, but he wasnât one for early morning phone calls. And god, whatever hour it was, she knew this wasnât just a casual check in.Â
Caroline climbed out of bed, somewhere in her mind noting how cold the floor was on her bare feet. She grabbed her hoodie from behind her door as she went, forgetting in her tired haze that she had vampire speed and didnât have to walk the distance. She opened the front door as silently as possible, careful not to wake her mom as she slipped out. âWhatâs going on?â she asked him, pulling her hoodie tighter around her even thought she wasnât cold. âWhy didnât you just come up?â He wasnât facing her, which made her worry more. This had to be bad news, she could tell something was off the moment she saw him. A billion questions ran through her mind. Who died? Whoâs a monster? Whoâs in danger this time?Â
It didnât take long for Caroline to come to the front door, even in her undoubtedly groggy state. Stiles only wished she had taken a little longer just so that he had more time to figure out what to say to her, how to tell her that he had gone out on his own again and bled to death. There were enough vampires around them, enough they knew that he could see that being a vampire wasnât the end of the world, that it was just another thing one could learn to live with. But it just wasnât what he wanted to be, not just because he never planned on being anything other than human, but because he was afraid to be anything other than human. Caroline, Daniel, the rest of the Salvatores âthey could all handle being vampires, but he wasnât so sure he could. And the thought that he might not be someone that could so easily control their urges, that he might end up hurting someone he loved scared him to death. Sure none of them were monsters, but heâd been around long enough to know that not everyone was like the people he knew.
Stiles remained quiet as she stepped outside and shut the door behind her, didnât even turn when she spoke. He was still trying to figure out what to say. Surprise Iâm a vampire now. Undead boyfriend at your service. Stilesâ shoulders sagged as he shoved his hands into his pockets, blankly staring out at the houses across the street. âI couldnât...â He spoke finally, though trailed off immediately. He couldnât. He wouldnât be allowed inside her house again, not until her mother invited him in, and he wasnât exactly thrilled about letting her mother know what he had become. âCaroline...â He uttered, his voice thick and barely audible, but he knew she could hear him. âCare, something happened... to me.â Stiles turned around finally, his gaze slowly moving to meet her worried one and chewed on his bottom lip.
âI was stupid, I went out and I was trying to find who the new hunters in town were. Turns out theyâre really good at what they do and found me first, but I think they thought I was someoneâs beta and I...â He swallowed thickly, wondering if sheâd been able to pick up what he was struggling to tell her, the lack of a heartbeat that usually accompanied the times he spoke fast like this. Unable to find the words now, he instead pulled back his hoodie to show the dried blood on his shirt, the ragged hole from where heâd ripped the bolt out that had pierced him in his chest. That side of his shirt was covered in blood and his shirt was torn, but the skin underneath was untouched, completely healed over. âDaniel was too late when he found me... but his blood...â He trailed off again, as if he were incapable of saying the words himself out aloud and hoped she could piece it together for him.















