Gifted (Vampire Diaries Fan-fiction)

Sacrifices - Chapter 61

Jeremy POV

"What do you mean you can't control it?" I ask. Tyler's eyes continue going from brown to the red-orange of a hybrid before going back to brown.

"Ever since Klaus died I haven't been able to control my shifting." Tyler says. He squeezes his eyes shut and breathes slowly. He inhales slowly and exhales quickly, he repeats the cycle a few times before opening his eyes again.

"Are they...?" Tyler asks, letting the question drift off. I shake my head. His eyes weren't flashing between brown and red anymore, now they were just glowing red-orange.

"They're worse-" I reply. There was no other way for me to put it. "-they're red now, like the color they turn right before you shift." Disappointment fills Tyler's face. I could tell that he had been trying, not just here in front of me, but other times as well, to control his hybrid side.

"You can't control yourself, at all?" I ask. Tyler shakes his head.

"Not without some type of help-" He replies sighing. "-I don't fully turn. Usually it's just my eyes, but if it gets really bad then my fangs come in."

"What type of help do you get?" I ask. Maybe that was why he was always hanging out with Matt and Bonnie? But then why would he ask me not to tell anyone about his shifting problem?

"Not human help, I can tell you that much-" Tyler replies. He points to the bracelet that was hanging between my fingers. "-I use the bracelet to cause pain....the pain reminds me that I'm human, and that keeps me from shifting. It controls it." I look down at the bracelet. Something that was so harmless to me, helped keep Tyler from turning into a monster.

"So you wear the bracelet all the time?" Tyler shakes his head no.

"If I wear it for more than a certain amount of time then I get used to the pain and it doesn't help. I don't wear it for more than a few hours."

"And what do you do afterwards?" I ask looking down at the bracelet.

"When I'm done using it I soak it in a Wolfsbane mixture, I let it dry and then I put it away until I need it again."

"And what if you start shifting again right after you take it off?" I ask.

"I don't. I weaken myself before I put on the bracelet." He replies slowly. His eyes begin fading back to their regular chocolate brown color, just as I begin to think they're going back to normal they quickly flash back to their reddish-orange.

"How?" I tear my eyes away from Tyler's piercing stare. I couldn't stand looking at him for more than a few minutes. There was something about his eyes that seemed...darker. Not just the color of his eyes themselves but something about him overall was...off.

"I eat Wolfsbane."

"Eat?" Shock flows through my body in a ripple. I had heard about mixing Wolfsbane with water, but I had never heard about a werewolf, a hybrid, actually eating it. Tyler nods patiently. 

"I dry Wolfsbane leaves, once they're dried it's easier to crush them and turn them into a powder. But usually I just crumble them in my hand before I put them in my mouth." Tyler sighs again and then gently holds out his tongue. I wince as he opens his mouth further, the top of his tongue was covered in welts and angry red marks. The sides of his mouth were bleeding.

"Are you okay?" The disbelief was clear in my voice. Tyler nods.

"It hurts, but it helps me control my shifting."

"What does it feel like?" I ask touching my own throat. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to drink something that was absolutely poisonous to you.

"It feels like your throat is closing up. Like no matter how much you try to breath, you just can't get air into your lungs. And then there's the burning, imagine swallowing a hot iron set on it's highest settings. It's one of the worst pains I've ever felt." I swallow hard. Here everyone thinking that Tyler was keeping a secret, that Tyler was somehow playing us, when in fact he was only trying to find a way to help himself. He was looking for a way to control himself, so that he wouldn't end up hurting anyone but none of us ever bothered to figure out the true story before pointing fingers at him.

"I'm sorry." I say looking at Tyler. His eyes flash their bright red-orange and then they slowly dull back to brown. He nods and holds out his wrist again. I tie the bracelet around his wrist and then I grip his hand.

"No more secrets-" I say, giving him the hardest look I can muster. "-you're not going to be the only one who has to make sacrifices." Tyler swallows hard and nods. Before I know what I'm doing I'm pulling Tyler into a hug. Tyler and I hadn't always seen eye to eye, but we'd been through a lot together. Pain constricts my chest, I was going to help Tyler through thick and thin, whether he wanted my help or not. I had lost a lot of people, every time someone I loved died I felt like the wound in my chest was re-opened and each time the wound got bigger and bigger. I knew what it felt like to lose someone, but I wasn't about to let anyone lose Tyler.

                        End of Chapter 61

Hey everyone! Here's the second chapter that I promised! I hope you enjoyed it! If you liked the chapter don't forget to Comment, Vote, and Like!! I'll post another chapter soon! Thanks for reading!

P.S. There is a picture I included of what Tyler's eyes look like for any of you had trouble visualizing it.