fourcolorlove | (no subject)

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It had been a few years since Tyler's been back in Mystic Falls. After things ended so badly with Caroline, after being freed from Klaus, after somehow managing to graduate despite all the other crap he'd gone through he got the hell out and never looked back. Between the Lockwood money and his skills as a football player he had managed to get into a good college. He never came home. He only saw his mother when she came to visit him.

Until now.

His mother had fallen ill in recent years, and couldn't keep up with her role with the Founding Families. When she first asked him to consider taking her place, he had refused. But something relented in him when she asked him to at least come home and test it out. Which was why he was here now.

He had spent years trying to escape his past. His family. This town. And now he was back here. At a stupid event at his childhood home with far too many familiar faces around.

He so needed a drink.

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As far as Elena was concerned, the Founders Events kept her sane.

Everyone left after high school. Everyone but her. They turned around and never looked back, and while sometimes they would return for different things (Caroline always came back for Miss Mystic -- or at least she tried to) they never stuck around for long, which is what was the hardest part. Skyping or calling wasn't the same as having her best friends there with her, and she missed them. She missed them a lot.

After Klaus, there wasn't really any reason for her to stay, but there wasn't really any reason for her to go either. She was the last Gilbert standing in Mystic Falls, and someone had to represent them. On the Founders Council, in town events, whatever the case may be, she did it with a smile, commuting to school for classes and just dealing with the fact that she was the only one left. And she was okay with that.

Really. She was.

After all, she couldn't blame her friends for leaving after everything they had been through. It had been enough to drive most people insane, and clearly her friends weren't most people. But it did make these events a little lonely, when you had no one to talk to. This, more than anything else, is the reason why she zeroed in on a familiar pair of shoulders pushing his way through the crowd.

" ... Tyler?"

Out of all of them, Tyler was the one who had been the most scarce. In fact, she only knew that he was still around from Carol when she would ask. She couldn't really blame him for not keeping in touch with her, and she respected that, but that wasn't going to stop her from excusing herself from the people she was talking to, and cut across the room to cut him off.

"Tyler!"

Tyler supposed he shouldn't have been surprised to hear Elena's voice. His mother had told him that she had remained in Mystic Falls. That she had even chosen to represent the Gilbert family for Founder's events (not that there was anyone else to do that, last he heard, Jeremy had stayed as far from the town as everyone else had been).

It had been a long, long time, since he had seen anyone from Mystic Falls. And most of the faces here weren't that familiar to him, not anymore. So maybe he should be grateful for Elena as she made her way to him. He and Elena had never been exactly close, but they had always ran around in the same circles. He had known her his whole life.

Still, it had been easier, not to keep in contact with her. He didn't talk to any of them. Not anymore. A clean cut, that had been the plan. Sometimes he had regretted it (he missed Matt, wondered how Caroline was, what Jeremy was up to) but he was stubborn too and he refused to change his plans now.

But he did smile a little at Elena, nodding his head to her.

"Elena, long time no see."

Personally, Elena couldn't really blame Tyler for cutting all ties. After everything he had been through with Klaus, she probably would have wanted to get as far away as she could too. That didn't mean she hadn't wondered about him every once in a while, or asked his mom how he was doing. She supposed that on some level she should have been grateful that he even had that much. Otherwise she probably would have never seen him again, and spent all that time wondering.

He looked the same -- then again, there was no reason why he shouldn't, he was a hybrid, after all. Still, she smiled at his smile, and he was getting hugged whether he liked it or not.

"Yeah, it has," she said as she pulled him in. "You look good."

He didn't resist the hug. Instead, he returned it. He kept it brief though, and soon took a few steps away from her, creating distance between them again. It felt easier that way. It was strange, seeing her again, after it had been so long since he had seen any of them.

At her words, however, he grinned. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Okay, so while parts of him had changed through the years, he'd always have his attitude with him.

The attitude was welcome. In a way, it let her know that at least for the most part he was okay. "So what have you been up to?" she asked. She had asked his mom every once in a while, but it wasn't the same as hearing it straight from the source. "School?"

"Mostly. I just finished up my last semester a few months ago." But even after the graduation, he hadn't come home yet. He didn't really have plans on what he wanted to do with his life now yet, but with his family's money, it hadn't been a problem.

"What about you? I heard you were the only one who stuck around."

"I did," she said with a sigh. "Someone had to represent the Gilberts, and Jeremy was doing really well in Colorado so I decided to stick around. I commuted, though! Still went to school, even if it was a little slower. I'm finishing up my education degree this semester, and there's an English teacher position opening up at the high school, so ... hopefully when I'll get out I'll have a job."

"You're becoming a teacher?" He asked, genuinely curious. It made enough sense. Elena had always been trying to help people, always giving more of herself than she should. "I bet Alaric's happy about that one."

"I think he'd be happier if I was doing history rather than english, but yeah, he's pretty happy," she nodded with a grin. "And I think I can do a lot of good here. It's kind of like giving back for all the times the town's helped me."

"That sounds like you." He said, with another almost smile and shrug. "I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do yet." He had played football all throughout college, but it wasn't anything he wanted to pursue professionally.

"What'd you major in?" she asked, tipping her head to the side. She knew so little, and after having lived in the same town their whole lives, it was a strange feeling.

"Art,"He replied simply. He had always liked sketching, drawing. It helped soothe him. It had seemed like as good as anything to study, at the time.

And that made Elena smile. She remembered Tyler's art, even if it didn't come up that often, and hearing that he had actually put some effort into it was a good thing. "Good for you."

He smiled a little more at that. "It was kind of nice, being able to choose what I wanted to study." Instead of just doing what he thought he had to, for once.

Which was why she was happy for him. She remembered how she had felt about his art, and she was glad that he finally got the chance to pursue it. "Did you focus on a specific kind of art? Like graphic design, or art history?"

"Sketching mostly. I had a focus on "mythological" creatures." He smirked at the shared secret. Of course they knew things like vampires and werewolves were very, very real.

She smirked back as well, before nodding. "I'm sure they found your interpretation very ... inventive?"

He nodded. "They seemed to think I was very creative."

"You should pursue it," she nodded. She wasn't sure how, but this seemed like it could be something that was good for him, one way or the other. "It sounds like it would be good for you."

"It's a thought." One he had considered. "Mom wants me to move back here." Which was why he was here in the first place. Somehow, pursing his art didn't feel like somehe could do if he did stay.

The idea of someone she knew actually coming back to Mystic Falls had her more excited that she had any right to be. She hated being alone, had hated it for all this time, but she also knew that it wasn't really about her. It was about Tyler and what he wanted, and moving home while his mom needed him was probably the good thing to do, she didn't want him to get stuck like her. Getting stuck in Mystic Falls never seemed to end well for anyone.

"What do you want?"

"I don't know."

And it was the honest answer. Tyler had never planned on returning to Mystic Falls, but he wasn't sure he could say no to his mother if she really needed him back home. But he didn't want to get stuck here, and that seemed pretty likely if he came home. So he was at a loss.

She nodded slowly at that answer. It was the one she was expecting, to be honest. "If you ever want to talk about it, while you're still here -- we could get a cup of coffee or something?"

"I'd like that." And he would. Though he's purposefully kept contact to a minimum over the years, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy to see a familiar face while he was in town.

"Good," she said with a smile. "It's really good to see you, Tyler."

"It's good to see you too, Elena." And surprisingly, it was. He had missed a lot of the people he had left behind here. Even if he tried to pretend he didn't.

She nodded a bit, before glancing back around the party. "I should probably let you get back to the other people who haven't seen you in a while, but I'll call you? About coffee?"

"Sure," He smiled a little at that. "I'll be waiting to hear from you." At least Elena was a familiar face he didn't mind seeing. It'd be nice to have one chance to catch up with her, especially in case he did end up leaving. Who knew when he'd be back again.

"Good," she nodded, reaching over to give his hand one last squeeze before heading back to disappear into the rest of the crowd again. "I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later." And with that he went back to mingle more himself.

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