"Kiss With A Fist"
You hit me once, I hit you back.
You gave a kick, I gave a slap.
You smashed a plate over my head,
Then I set fire to our bed.
Tyler Lockwood had been working at the Mystic Grill for exactly two weeks and three days when he finally decided that he could no longer stand it. He was tired of Matt freaking Donovan bossing him around like a child, and he was tired of long hours with barely any pay. Any other job would be better, he began thinking. And with the new full moon approaching in only two nights, he needed get his… protection arrangements in order.
He was thinking about all of this as he strolled up to the bar at the Grill. Matt was working the register, typical. He would give himself an easy job. Tyler walked right in front of him and caught his attention. He untied his standard bus-boy apron and placed it on the bar.
"I'm done here, Matt," he said quietly, not bothering to make a scene. He turned and promptly walked out of the Grill, wondering what he could do with the rest of his newly free day. He couldn't go see Caroline; she was at home, trying to patch things up with her mother. He thought about going to the swim hole, but that was a scene that he didn't feel like getting into. He settled on heading over to the Gilbert house. He wasn't sure why he was going there, but he felt like he needed to. He hadn't seen Jeremy Gilbert in a while, and their friendship had been left somewhat rocky. Maybe while Caroline was trying to repair her broken relationship, he could, too.
It wasn't a far walk from the Grill to the Gilbert residence. Once he arrived, Tyler knocked on the front door. There was no answer, so he peered into the top window. He didn't see anyone coming to the door. He knocked once more, and when nobody answered, he tried the doorknob. It was unlocked, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
It didn't dawn on him that he was breaking and entering. If it had, he'd have reasoned that he was technically just entering, since he didn't have to break anything to get in. He walked into the living room and, upon convincing himself that the house was empty, plopped down on the comfy sofa.
Just then, he heard footsteps behind him. He jumped up and turned to see Jeremy Gilbert standing there, a small wooden baseball bat in his hand.
"Tyler?" He asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"
You hit me once, I hit you back.
You gave a kick, I gave a slap.
You smashed a plate over my head,
Then I set fire to our bed.
"Would you have hit me with that?" Tyler asked incredulously. Jeremy glanced down at the bat, as if he'd forgotten that he was holding it. He lowered it, still watching Tyler.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I might have."
"Great," Tyler said sarcastically. He rubbed his forehead where the bat would've hit. "Very nice."
"Why were you sitting on my couch? How did you even get in here?" Jeremy started, regaining his composure. Tyler shrugged, not sure how to answer him.
"The door was unlocked," he stated. "And your couch is comfortable." He fell backwards on the couch and laughed. Jeremy didn't look amused.
"You broke into my house!" Jeremy shouted, grasping what had just happened. "I could call the police, I could have you arrested."
"But you wouldn't do that, would you?" Tyler smirked, sitting up on the couch. He cocked one eyebrow and Jeremy's gaze shifted, letting Tyler know that this criminal act could go unnoticed.
"If you must know," Tyler continued, "I came to see you." When Jeremy looked confused, Tyler rolled his eyebrows and continued. "I came to mend our broken friendship, bro!"
Jeremy glared at him. "What friendship, bro?"
"Oh, you know," Tyler said, glancing around. "We used to uh, play basketball together… and stuff," he finished, lying. It was Jeremy's turn to roll his eyes.
"Look, Tyler, we can't-" Jeremy was cut off by the sound of his phone vibrating loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open, holding up one finger and motioning for Tyler to 'hold on.' Tyler stretched back on the couch and folded his arms behind his head. He had nowhere to go and, as Jeremy began to talk on his somewhat girl-ish phone, he realized how much he missed the youngest Gilbert.
My black eye casts no shadow; your red eye sees no blame.
Your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit.
So we remain the same.
Blood sticks, sweat drips.
Break the lock if it don't fit.
"I thought she was with you," Tyler heard Jeremy speak urgently into the phone. He looked up from his spot on the couch and strained his ears to listen.
"No, you were on 'Elena Patrol' today," he said to the person on the other line. Tyler's curiosity had been piqued, and now he was openly eavesdropping. Jeremy swore under his breath and shut his eyes tightly.
"Fine, we'll try and figure out where she is," he muttered and snapped the phone shut. By now, Tyler was sitting up and watching Jeremy.
"What is it?" He asked, not bothering to feign disinterest. Jeremy shook his head.
"You don't need to get into it," he said quietly, opening his phone and scanning through his Contacts. Tyler was on his feet and standing in front of Jeremy before the boy could even blink.
"I want to help," Tyler said honestly. Jeremy sighed, open to all the help that he could get.
"Elena's missing."
A kick in the teeth is good for some.
A kiss with a fist is better than none,
A kiss with a fist is better than none.
The boys piled into Jeremy's aunt's car, which Jeremy had taken the keys for, and set off in search of Elena. Aunt Jenna was with her boyfriend, Alaric, for the day, so they didn't need to worry about getting the car back anytime soon. They started off by calling anyone that would have information on Elena's whereabouts.
Jeremy began by ringing Damon Salvatore. It was a long shot, since the call that Elena was missing had come from Damon's brother, Stefan, but he still thought that it was worth trying.
He spent three minutes on the phone with Damon and learned nothing. Damon had been anything but helpful, but Jeremy could tell that he was worried about Elena. He'd promised to call Jeremy if he found out where she was, and Jeremy could hear the concern in his voice.
Next on the list was Caroline. Matt dialed her number and waited patiently, but he got her voicemail. He left a message saying that Elena was gone and he was trying to find her.
Matt was the only person left to call. Considering the events that had transpired earlier in the day, Jeremy was willing to call so that Tyler didn't have to talk to him. Tyler thanked him and dialed the number.
"Is this Matt?" Jeremy asked when someone answered the phone.
"Yeah, who's this?" Matt Donovan asked on the other line.
"Jeremy Gilbert," he answered. "I got your number from a, uh, friend. I need your help with something," he continued. "Have you see Elena today?"
"She was in here this morning. She was in a hurry," Matt said.
"Did she mention where she was going?" Jeremy asked hastily.
"No, I don't think she did," Matt said. Jeremy shook his head and slammed his hands on the dashboard. Tyler threw a questioning glance from the driver's seat.
"Well, thanks anyways, Matt," he said and was about to hang up when Matt continued.
"Hey, you haven't seen Tyler around today, have you?"
"Uh, I don't think so," Jeremy looked over at Tyler who was freaking out behind the wheel. "Why?"
"It's nothing really, the jerk just quit on me today," he said. Jeremy snorted and Tyler nearly wrecked the car in his frenzy.
"What is going on?" He mouthed. Jeremy shook his head, stifling laughter, and Tyler banged his hands on the steering wheel.
"Huh, well, if you see him, tell him to watch his back," Matt said menacingly.
"Thanks, will do," Jeremy managed before he closed his phone and exploded into laughter. He then explained the conversation to Tyler, who laughed and shouted, hitting the steering wheel with the palms of his hands.
"Screw you, Matt Donovan!" He yelled out the open window of the car. Jeremy joined in, grinning.
"Yeah, screw you, Matt Donovan!"
I broke your jaw once before, spread your blood upon the floor.
You broke my leg in return, so let's sit back and watch the bed burn.
Blood sticks, sweat drips.
Break the lock if it don't fit.
Jeremy and Tyler had been driving for an hour when Jeremy's phone vibrated on the dashboard. They'd driven all over town, looking for Elena. They came up with nothing, but they had fun.
Jeremy reached for his phone and saw that it was Damon Salvatore.
"Damon," he said, opening his phone.
"Jeremy," Damon mocked. Jeremy rolled his eyes for the second time that day and continued.
"Any news?" He asked.
"Well, I'm not calling to chat," Damon said impishly.
"What is it?" Jeremy said, annoyed with Damon already.
"Stefan and I have gotten word that Elena has gone down to the tomb to visit Miss Petrova," he said. Jeremy gulped and turned to Tyler, who started panicking at the wheel again.
"We're headed over there now," Damon finished.
"We're on our way," Jeremy said, snapping his phone shut.
"What is it now?" Tyler asked, not liking being out of the loop.
"We're going to the tomb," Jeremy told him, his voice shaking slightly. "Elena's in the tomb with Katherine."
A kick in the teeth is good for some.
A kiss with a fist is better than none,
A kiss with a fist is better than none.
"Okay, I think I've got this," Tyler nodded slowly, focusing on both the road and Jeremy. "Katherine is a girl who looks like your sister, but they aren't related, but Katherine is dangerous, and she wants to kill your sister for no reason."
"Wrong on two parts," Jeremy couldn't help but smiling. "Katherine is somehow related to Elena. And I'm sure she has some reason for wanting to kill her, we just don't know what it is."
"Well damn," Tyler said. "I only know about the 'vamp stuff' that Caroline's told me, like eating bunnies and hiding from the sun. I had no idea about all of this… killing stuff."
"Yeah, well, you're learning now," Jeremy conceded. "Take the next right; the tombs are a little ways off the path."
Tyler turned the car off and they both got out. It was nearing nightfall, and the woods seemed much quieter than usual. Jeremy hadn't been here in a while, but he knew where the tomb was because he'd been inside it before, trying to reason with Katherine. He suddenly realized the danger of what might happen and turned to Tyler.
"You know, you can go now. You've helped me enough today, and you have officially restored our friendship or whatever you wanted to do," Jeremy laughed hollowly. "I don't know what's going to happen down there."
"No," Tyler said fiercely, looking right into Jeremy's eyes. "I'm with you."
You hit me once, I hit you back.
You gave a kick, I gave a slap.
You smashed a plate over my head,
And I set fire to our bed.
The boys silently descended the steps to the tomb. Well, as silently as they could with Tyler constantly tripping over his own feet and swearing repeatedly. Jeremy would've told him to quiet down, but it would've been no use. So, they continued, stumbling and swearing and not-so-silent.
When they reached the tomb, they realized that they'd beat Damon and Stefan. They glanced around the dreary vault and scooted closer to the opening, not daring to go inside.
"Elena?" Jeremy called out. "Elena, it's Jeremy."
When there was no answer, Jeremy squared his shoulders and nodded at Tyler.
"You keep watch out here, I'm going in," he said hurriedly. Before he could step inside, Tyler grabbed his shoulder and jerked him back.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked angrily. "There's no way you're going in there. You said this chick is dangerous. I'm not letting you go find her."
Jeremy was just about to object when he heard clapping from within the tomb. It sounded nearby, and soon enough, he caught sight of Katherine. She was wearing a tattered black dress that reached her knees, and her thin frame looked even more waifish than usual. Her curls were tangled, and her eyes were black. She smirked at the boys and brought her hands together, mocking them.
"How very brave," she sneered, "The two of you, fighting over who gets to be the hero and save Elena Gilbert."
"It's not like that," Tyler began hotly, but Jeremy stepped in front of him.
"Where is my sister?" He demanded. Katherine smiled threateningly and moved back into the shadows.
"Why, she's right here," she said musically, emerging again with Elena. Elena looked terrible. Her eyes were as dark as Katherine's, and her usually neat hair was sticking out in all directions. She was wearing an emerald green dress that was torn at the knee. Standing beside each other, the two girls looked nearly identical. Their fingers were intertwined, and their heads cocked ominously towards each other. Jeremy had never seen them so similar before, and that frightened him. He realized exactly what made them look indistinguishable and stumbled backwards, falling into Tyler; Elena's eyes weren't just dark, but they were black. Black as night, black as death, black as blood on snow.
Katherine had turned her into a vampire, Jeremy realized with a shock as Stefan and Damon came charging down the steps to the tomb. Speechless, Jeremy looked at Tyler, who was oblivious to the transformation in Elena. Stefan noticed right away and cried out in utter shock. Damon slammed his fists into the rock wall, causing a chunk of granite to break apart and fall to the ground with a deep thud.
"Get out of here," Stefan turned to Jeremy and Tyler, tears in his eyes. Jeremy knew how much Stefan had wanted a normal life for Elena, and he could almost see his heart breaking. Tyler grabbed Jeremy's arm and dragged him away, struggling to pull his attention from his sister; the last image Jeremy had of the tomb was of Katherine holding Elena close and kissing her on the forehead as if she was a doll.
Tyler got Jeremy to the car and jumped into the driver's seat.
"I don't understand," he said, sitting there blankly. "Why were the Salvatore brothers freaking out like that?"
"Didn't you see it?" Jeremy said, his voice quiet. He turned to face Tyler. "Katherine changed Elena. She's a vampire now."
Tyler stayed still in the silence. He finally met Jeremy's eye, and he hated what he saw there.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Jeremy shook his head and closed his eyes. When he finally opened them, they were aged and tired.
"I can't imagine that this will end badly," Jeremy stated, thinking out loud. "Now, she can be with Stefan for forever, and she won't have to worry about being hunted."
"Yeah, but it still sort of sucks," Tyler said. "Since it's what everyone has been trying to keep from happening for so long."
"And after all this time," Jeremy smiled a small, sad smile, "Elena brought it on herself."
"It must have been what she wanted," Tyler smiled back at him, taking his eyes off the road to look at Jeremy for a brief moment.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jeremy said softly. He leaned back in his seat and a wave of fresh emotion washed over him. For the first time in months, he felt relieved. The most feared thing had happened, and the world didn't end. Elena had gotten what she'd wanted, Stefan could forget all of his guilt, and Damon had forever to try and win Elena back. All felt well, and, as Tyler pulled into the Gilbert driveway, Jeremy sat up.
"Thank you for staying with me today," Jeremy told him. "I couldn't have done it without your help."
"Hey," Tyler grinned, "What are friends for?" Jeremy laughed loudly and got out of the car. Tyler walked over and placed the keys in his hand.
"Will you walk home?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah, I don't live far from here," Tyler said. Jeremy nodded.
The brief silence that followed was undeniably awkward, but not unpleasant. They both felt the need for a bro-hug, but they felt that the timing in the new relationship was a little early. They settled on a brotastic fist bump instead.
As Tyler was walking back down their front yard, he turned back and called,
"Screw Matt Donovan!"
Jeremy turned back and laughed. He thought about it for a moment and realized just how screwed he would've been if it weren't for Matt Donovan.
He raised his fist at the sky and shouted in the dark.
"Screw Matt Donovan!"
You hit me once, I hit you back.
You gave a kick, I gave a slap.
You smashed a plate over my head,
And I set fire to our bed.