She loves him, or at least, she thinks she does; and he loves her, or at lest, he says he does. And they smile at each other and pretend that everything is all right, but they both know it isn't. She's a seventeen year old vampire and he's a seventeen year old werewolf. In ten years, she'll still look like a seventeen year old vampire while he'll look like a twenty seven year old werewolf. He will grow old, and she'll always remain forever young.

But they love each other, and they have time. A few years anyway, and who knows? Maybe that's all the time they need. Maybe they're not the grow old together, forever kind of love that Caroline sees in her girly movies. Maybe they're the imperfect, good for a while but will inevitably destroy each other kind from TV dramas and soap operas.

For the most part, they avoid the philosophical discussions about their futures, but every so often, Tyler gets curious. An outsider would assume it would be Caroline who'd be the one to bring it up, but it's always Tyler. Maybe because he only knows what Caroline tells him, maybe it's because he has no one else and he's so fucking scared of losing her.

"Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies, right?" he asks one night. The two of them are in his bed, and he's holding her close, and she feels his really, really warm breath against the back of her neck.

Caroline closes her eyes and tries not to shiver as the vampire instinct to protect herself rears its head. She sighs. "We've been over this, Tyler," she says. "Yes, a werewolf bite, as far as I know, may be able to kill a vampire. It's dangerous—we're dangerous."

"But what about the other way around?" he wonders softly, almost as if he's not asking her, just wondering aloud. "What if a vampire tried to turn a werewolf? Would they turn? Would it just kill the werewolf? Or would werewolf blood completely negate the blood of the vampire?"

Caroline bites her lower lip, drawing blood. It heals quickly enough, but it reminds her of her need for control. She won't risk it, she won't. Instead, she holds his arms to her stomach and squeezes herself tighter to him. "I don't know, Tyler, but we're not going to find out."

Caroline understands his curiosity. She wishes he'd be around forever too. She's always scared he's going to actually realizes what she is—what she can do—and turn his back on her. But she'd never risk his life like that. She loves him too much, and even if they aren't the forever kind, they have now, and she refuses to waste a moment.