Chapter Title: The New Normal

Rating: Rated T but I put M due to the high percentage of smut in the future.

Pairings: Jeremy/OFC

Disclaimer: This story is based on the The Vampire Diaries tv series, with which I do not own. I do not own any characters except fort he original ones of course.

Summary: How Jeremy's first day back in school went...

Warnings: Language

Chapter 1:

"So this is the new normal? Klaus living in the same town as us until we find out whether or not Stefan, Damon and Caroline are from his blood line." Jeremy gilbert asked his sister, Elena, as he cleared the kitchen table they had just finished breakfast at. It had been filled with an eerie silence that the young boy was determined to break. It had been over two weeks since Alaric had chosen not to transition into a original vampire, basically signing his own death certificate. They now had no guardian to watch over and protect them. Jeremy and Elena had to fend for themselves, whether it was from the supernatural forces in their lives or even pesky neighbors.

"I guess so. If he is, then we have to let him live. But if he isn't... we have to kill him. But if we kill him, we could kill Tyler too." Elena said with a sigh. She began to wash the dishes that Jeremy cleared from the table. "But even then, we can't let Tyler die."

"It's not like Stefan and Damon are going to care. They'll still kill Klaus just to get him out of our lives." Jeremy interjected. Ever since Jeremy came back from Denver, he had been caught up on the reckless abandonment the Salvatore brothers had been up to. From turning Bonnie's mom to their failed plan of killing Klaus; it seemed like they were causing a slew of trouble in town.

"I know Jeremy..." Elena stated. "I wish that our lives didn't have to turn out like this but we have to stay strong and hope that it doesn't come down to that." She reached out her hand to grasp her younger brother's. He rubbed the back of his sister's hand. "We need to get going soon. You don't want to be late on your first day back to Mystic Falls High." A weary smile appeared on Elena's face. Jeremy gave her a smalls mile of his own. They finished cleaning up and were on their way to school.

Elena soon pulled into the parking lot of Mystic Falls High School, searching for a spot as Jeremy sat in the passenger seat, scanning the different crowds of saw a few friends, hanging out before classes started. They soon pulled into an empty parking spot and Elena turned the car off.

"I want you to take it easy for today. I know you've been gone for awhile and I don't want you to stress out about things changing." Elena spoke softly. Jeremy grabbed his bag and put into onto his lap.

"I will. Don't worry about me. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Jeremy asked, knowing his sister would probably be a mess throughout the day. She nodded, trying to put on a smile. He unbuckled himself and leaned over to hug her while rubbing her back. "It's gonna be okay." He cooed to her.

Once Elena was ready, they both got out the car and headed towards the front lawn of the school. Elena and Jeremy walked over to where Caroline and Matt were occupying a picnic table. Jeremy faced the crowd while his sister faced her friends. Jeremy surveyed the area, taking in his surroundings. He was soon snapped back into reality when Caroline said his name. He turned around and saw the blonde giving him a glare. Looking up, Jeremy saw a girl with light brown hair and big blue eyes that seemed to be endless. She seemed familiar but he couldn't put a name to her face.

"You know how boys are. Always caught up in their heads but not connected to their brains." Caroline said with a giggle. The blue eyed brunette over the camera she had in her hand. Caroline began to click through the pictures and smiled in delight. "This are really great photos of the cheerleaders. I approve."

"Well then, expect to see them in the yearbook. My job here is done. See you guys around." The blue eyed girl said before grabbing her camera bag and books. She began to walk off when Jeremy noticed a bound book was left on the table. He got up and turned to see where she was but she was out of sight. He sat back down and held the book in his hand.

"Who was that?" Jeremy asked Matt, Caroline and Elena. Matt shrugged his shoulders, focusing on the assignment he was working on.

"I think she might have been in the student council when I was still a member." Elena said as she mindlessly played with her sleeve. Caroline huffed and flipped her hair, giving Jeremy a knowing look.

"Sometimes I wonder if you any of you even live in this town. Her name is Kaitlin Mccullough. She's a sophomore and a photographer for yearbook. Her dad owns the hardware store and her mom owns that health store in town." Caroline said as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Jeremy wasn't surprised that she knew all of this; Caroline was the queen of gossip. And she hadn't even fell behind on knowing everything that was going on with everyone even after she became a vampire. If anything, she had gotten better.

"Well it wasn't like he was preoccupied with his new life in Denver Care." Matt said as he got up from seat. The school bell rang and they all got up, getting ready to head to their first class of the day. Elena and Matt said goodbye and walked away, leaving Caroline and Jeremy to head to respective classes.

As they walked together, Jeremy flipped through the book, discovering it was a found different sketches people and scenes. He found them intriguing. He was a bit of an artist himself. but her work was way better than his.

"So what do you want to know about her?" Caroline asked, making Jeremy realize she was still walking with him. He closed the book and turned to the bubbly blond. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"I don't want to know nothing. Unless its from Kaitlin. I'm not going to stalk her." Jeremy stated as he adjusted his backpack. Caroline kept up with his pace. "Don't you have a class to get to?"

"I'll get there in time. Perks of being a vampire." Caroline said with a smirk. "Since you don't want to get to know her, give me Kaitlin's book and I'll return it to her." The brunette boy stopped in his tracks and turned to the girl.

"No. I found it and I'm going to return it to her." Jeremy said. He was about to continue walking when Caroline pulled him back to stand in front of her.

"Well if you're going to return it to her, you're going to need her schedule and what she is doing after school." Caroline responded before beginning to walk away.

"How am I supposed to find that out?" Jeremy called after her. She turned around, walking backwards.

"Leave it all to me. I will text you the deets." Caroline yelled, getting a few glares from teachers. Jeremy shook his head and walked into his class.

Class was finally done for the day and Kaitlin was making her way to the art room. But before she could even make it to the door, she was being pulled away by her best friend Chloe Peterson.

"Did you hear who's back?" Chloe said as she wrapped her arm around Kaitlin's arm, linking them together. "Jeremy Gilbert also known as the hunky and misunderstood brother of Elena."

Kaitlin rolled her eyes at her best friend's behavior. Chloe was a sucker for popularity and being in the in crowd. She was a social butterfly while Kaitlin tagged along for the ride. While Chloe was a cheerleader, Kaitlin settled for anything out of the spotlight.

"I saw Jeremy this morning." Kaitlin said. Chloe gasped and turned around to face her. "Calm down. I was showing Queen Care the pictures of the cheerleaders and he happened to be sitting with her, Matt and his sister, Elena."

"I can't believe you didn't text me about your meeting with the three most popular seniors at our school. I am very hurt that you didn't include me." Chloe pouted. Kaitlin just groaned with annoyance.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. We've lived in this town since we've been born and have known everyone. They're just people we see everyday." Kaitlin stated. Chloe sighed and began to follow Kaitlin as she walked back to the art classroom

"Hun, you need to learn the high school hierarchy system." Chloe said, flipping her curly chocolate locks over her shoulder. "I wonder if Jeremy is single. I mean I heard he and Bonnie have been over for like ever now. Plus, he was in Denver for a while so that is enough time for him to have a rebound girlfriend."

The two girls entered the classroom and Kaitlin was shocked to see who was sitting at the table she usually occupied. Chloe practically squealed, gathering most of the attention of everyone in the room, including Jeremy. Kaitlin calmly walked over to the table the teenage boy was occupying while Chloe followed.

"Hey Jeremy." Chloe flipped her hair, making her presence known. Kaitlin slipped into her seat silently and began to look through her book bag, searching for her sketchbook.

"Hey." Jeremy said, trying to ignore Chloe's persistence. He knew her type ad he wasn't interested. He looked to Kaitlin, who was searching through her bag. He knew she was looking for her sketchbook, which he had. He pulled it out of the stacks of books he had and slid it over to her. Kaitlin's eyes found her book and she then looked up at, blue meeting brown orbs.

"Hi." Kaitlin said shyly. Jeremy flashed her a smile. All the while, Chloe was watching their exchange, feeling a bit awkward.

"Kaitlin, I gotta go. Cheerleading practice." Chloe said embarrassed. She rushed out of the room before Kaitlin could say goodbye.

"I'm sorry about... Chloe. She can be a bit of a drama queen." Kaitlin nervously spoke. Jeremy just nodded.

"It's okay. Nothing like a bit of high school drama to lighten up the mood of your day." Jeremy said with a laugh. "I hope you didn't find it weird that I had your sketchbook. You left it at the table this morning and it would suck if it got in the wrong hands."

"Well lucky you kept it safe for me. You didn't look through it, did you?" Kaitlin asked as she flipped through her book, making sure it was unharmed.

"To be honest, I did. You're a really good artist. Better than I am actually." Jeremy admitted, feeling a bit intimidated by her work and the intense stare her blue eyes were giving him. Kaitlin blushed as she looked down at her book.

"Well thank you for being honest." Kaitlin stated. "So, how did you know I was going to be here after school?" She was curious on how he knew where she was and where she would usually sit.

Jeremy's smile faded a bit when Kaitlin asked him how he knew she was going to be in the art room after school. He hoped he wouldn't get busted for seeking her out but it wasn't his fault Caroline texted him everything there was to know about her. But he did take the bait the bubbly blond practically dangled in front of him.

"I... Caroline told me. She's a bit of a private investigator." Jeremy replied. Kaitlin giggled at him presenting this fact.

"By private investigator, you mean gossip. I know how Caroline is. She's a sweet girl but a little bit weird." Kaitlin admitted. Jeremy looked at her confused. The only weird thing about Caroline was the fact she was a vampire but he had gotten use to it. But had other people noticed?

"Weird? How so?" He asked, trying not to seem curious as he began to sketch on some paper from his notebook. Kaitlin eyed him for a second, wondering why he asked her.

"Well..." Kaitlin trailed off as she leaned closer to Jeremy to whisper. "When she's around me sometimes, she tries to hold her breath and it's weird. It's like she thinks I smell gross or something. And then she stares off into space while she looks at me."

Jeremy knew the reason why Caroline was acting like that. It was normal for her to have the bloodlust that came along with being a vampire. It must've been worst when she was alone with a human being.

"But then again, life in Mystic Falls is a bit weird to begin with." Kaitlin muttered as she went back to drawing in her book.

"You have no idea." Jeremy whispered to himself, hoping that she didn't catch what he said. "And just to state a fact, you don't smell gross. You smell good." He said with a genuine smile. Kaitlin turned to look at him and smiled brightly at him. Jeremy didn't know why but he liked seeing her smile. Especially at him. And he hoped it stayed that way.

Author's note: So I'm planning on rewriting Black Sheep but before I do that, I want to write out this story and complete it! This one obviously is more planned than Black Sheep. This was inspired by the Florence and The Machine song "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" . It will definitely play a part in this story so youtube it. PLEASE REVIEW AND FAVORITE. I am halfway done with the second chapter and already have plans for the third!