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: A random, little idea that would not go away. Blatantly ignoring Vicki, I know (maybe she was off following Matt around or something).
Your Name Like a Breath I'll Never Take
The first time Jeremy dies, he is full of terror and sharp pain and confusion. Anxiety overtakes him as he hits the floor - and all is dark.
'Shh, Jeremy. It's going to be okay.'
Her voice is soft and distant; like an old recording echoing off the walls.
Jeremy cannot see in the blackness. He cannot feel or smell; he feels disconnected from his body, stripped of all his senses. He cannot even feel himself.
But a sensation like cool fingers on his face registers. There is a face, pale and perfect in the darkness, and her eyes are dark and wet. She smiles at him; bittersweet but comforting.
'Everything will be right again soon, and you'll wake up,' she promises. Though her mouth moves, Jeremy hears her voice like a thought inside his head.
He knows her. Jeremy isn't quite certain how, but he knows her.
'Don't forget me, Jeremy,' her voice whispers; her mouth does not move this time.
Jeremy is half-convinced she can read his mind; he wants to ask her if she can. Or who she is. Or where they are, what's happening, why there's now a pain where he thinks his neck is.
The darkness is growing dim and gray; light is bleeding through.
Her hair is raven black, and her wistful smile is fading. The tears welling in her eyes are falling, and he feels her hands cup his face; Jeremy is overwhelmed with the urge to cling to her and bring her back with him.
'Everything's going to be okay,' she tells him again.
Jeremy blinks and tries to reach for her. The pain is intense, like bones snapping back into place. He can feel his body again, and his fingers twitch, trying to move toward her. He knows her, he knows her! Her name is on his lips, and he blinks, takes a breath -
- and comes to life gasping. The brightness is blinding, there are arms around him. Oxygen fills his lungs, and he can feel his entire body again. Movement is no longer difficult.
For a moment, she's standing a few feet away, crying, and he wants to call her name.
But then she's gone, and it's his sister's name he's sputtering like a question while Elena cradles him to her. The memory is of Anna is fading fast like a dream you want to remember.
Later, he will not even recall the moment in-between death and resurrection as anything more than a moment of terror and sharp pain and confusion.