Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries nor its characters. They belong to L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, The CW Network, and whoever else.

Note/Warning: Written directly after season two ended, but only after I had actually watched 2x01 and had basic knowledge of what all went down afterwards. I'm kind of disappointed that Jeremy didn't actually have a journey after all since that's what Anna died for, just another girlfriend to get to after pointless friendship developement between him and Tyler that ultimately went nowhere. (Except to his next girlfriend.) I also hate that Tyler never finds out what really went down that night and why his father died. Oh, well. So here's an AU of the Jeremy and Tyler scene from 2x01 where Mason didn't interrupt, and Jeremy decided, what the hell.

Cause Shattered Lives Can Lead to Partners in Crime

Jeremy doesn't want to be here. Surprisingly, it's nothing against Tyler Lockwood or his deceased father - even if the guy really was a dick. He hates the idea of a gathering that's nothing more than a party focusing on free food and a dead person. He gets funerals; funerals are a memorial, are a dedication, an honoring. They're important. Wakes are an alltogether different animal, and he'd rather not focus on death anymore than he has to.

His mind wanders from his own father - and his mother, too - and he's flooded with images of Anna shaking in pain while he can do nothing except hold her and try to figure out what the hell is wrong. Jeremy swallows the lump in his throat and focuses on his father instead; that loss he's got a little more control over.

Anna won't get a wake. Or a funeral. She's a pile of ashes.

Then again, so is Tyler's dad.

Jeremy really doesn't want to be here. But the flask Tyler's offering looks tempting, and Jeremy needs something to aid him in his mission to numb away the pain so that he doesn't continue to suffocate. He reaches over and takes it - and for a minute he remembers the last time they sat and talked over a death. He wonders if he'd take the blunt this time, but doesn't linger on that thought. Instead he brings the flask to his lips and takes a large swallow because he needs the burn of alcohol to distract him. He can still feel Anna inside him, but she's fading fast.

It's breaking his heart all over again.

"Whoa, easy, Gilbert," Tyler snorts and holds his hand out for the flask. "Wouldn't have shared it if I thought you'd drink the whole, damn thing."

Jeremy has the decency to look sheepish when he gives the flask back. But he doesn't really feel sorry or embarrassed. The bitter sting hits his tongue, and he feels the warmth rush through him. It's pleasant and distracting. He wants to take another swig, but that might ruin this fragile peace between them. Right now he's too tired to fight, and when he does finally get into a fight, it's not going to be with Tyler.

"Sorry. I got a little carried away," he offers up lamely.

Tyler shrugs. "Know the feeling," he mutters under his breath before taking a gulp of his own. "Least it's not Caroline's funeral," he adds softly - almost too soft for Jeremy to hear. His expression becomes guilty for roughly two seconds, then he's got the flask to his mouth again.

Jeremy pauses because he doesn't actually know what happened to Caroline. He knows there was an accident, Tyler and Matt were in it, and Caroline was pretty touch and go last night but is better. He kind of hates being given the bare facts, so he decides to see if Tyler will tell him what's going on without treating him like a child. "Yeah, I heard about that. What happened?"

"I wish I knew, Gilbert," Tyler states and meets his gaze. He looks about as confused and wishing his wasn't as Jeremy's felt way too many times. "I was driving, because my dad wanted us home for some reason. So I was going to drop Caroline and Matt off, but then I heard this, this noise." Tyler absently rubs at his ear. "They didn't hear it, but it was so loud. This high-pitched screeching that felt like it was literally tearing through my brain."

Jeremy sits there on the edge of the desk listening, gripping the wood as tightly as he can, because he keeps hearing Anna screaming and crying in his arms, begging for it to stop, crying that it hurts - and nothing makes sense anymore, not even the little pieces that used to.

"The pain caused me to lose control of the car, we crashed, and Caroline got internal bleeding." His head fell and he kept it bowed for a minute. "While I walk away without a scratch, only to find out my dad's dead in some freak fire."

"It wasn't a freak," Jeremy bitterly spits out before he can stop himself. He feels stupid and idiotic for a second. And then he doesn't even care anymore, because he's about to cry or throw up or both, and this whole fucking mess is so ridiculous, and, and - and why should he and Tyler be left out when their entire families already know the truth? Or at least more than they both do.

Tyler's head snaps up at that, and he fixes Jeremy with a hard glare. "What?"

Jeremy stares back. "Anna's dead. She died in the fire."

Tyler looks thoughtful - like he's trying to place the name to a face, and then his eyes widen with recognition. "She and her mother were at the Grill the night Vicki was found - that girl you were-"

"Yeah. She died in the fire, too."

"Jeremy, what the hell happened last night?"

That's a loaded question. Jeremy doesn't even know the whole story, he's got plenty of gaps left to fill, too. But he's thinking. He's tempted. He wants to say everything just so he can say it all out loud to someone who won't tell him everything will be okay or man up or think of your sister or how could you be that stupid. He wants to tell someone who will freak out and be angry and do all the things Jeremy's not sure he can go through with on his own.

This could all blow up in their faces. This could put Stefan and Damon in danger, this could hurt Elena, this could...this could go a lot of different places. Jeremy doesn't give a fuck, because his parents are dead and Vicki is dead and Anna is...and now the same thing is going to start happening to Tyler, and it's not fucking fair.

"I don't know everything, but I'll tell you what I do."