Cooking Has Never Been This Good

Note from lisa: Okay, hay all anyone who has reading this… this is not MY story. The first two chapters were written by Primavera15 completely solo… so I read it, and after two chapters really wanted to continue. So I left a review, and add it to my story alert. She mailed me, and told me she wasn't ganna finish it. I was real sad. So I offered to help. I'm helping to finish her story. ENJOY

Chapter 1

Note: This is the plot that got the most votes. Thank you to the ones who voted! Sorry if the story name sucks but I couldn't think of anything better!

Jeremy:

I woke up the sound of my mother calling me over for breakfast. I sighed and sat up, stretching a bit, before getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen. My sister, Elena, was already eating her beans with some tortillas along with a glass of water.

"Good morning." I said, smiling. Elena smiled up at me and said her good morning.

"Good morning, honey, did you sleep well?" mother asked, smiling over her shoulder.

"Yes, like a log, actually."

"I'm glad."

Mother served me my plate and I dug in. I noticed mother sit down next to us with her plate. I frowned when I saw she barely had anything on it.

"You should eat more." I protested gently.

"Don't tell me we're out of food again." Elena said.

"Unfortunately but don't worry about me. Now eat your breakfast." Mother said, smiling comfortingly.

"You could have my plate, mother, I'm not so hungry this morning." I said, pushing the plate over to her.

"No, no, no! I cannot have my young man without energy he needs for the day!"

"I'll be fine. Here." I said and I switched plates with her. She looked at me and then down at her plate. I saw tears in her eyes. She covered her face and she sniffled. Elena and I immediately went over to her and hugged her tightly.

"Don't cry, mom. It's going to be okay." Elena said, trying hard not to cry as well.

"I-I love you g-guys so much! I wish I could g-give you more!" She stammered through sobs.

"No, mama, don't say that! We love you and we couldn't ask for a better mother!" I said.

We stayed comforting mother for awhile. When she calmed down, we sent her to rest while we cleaned up the house.

I was washing the dishes when I turned to Elena who was moping the cracked floor.

"Elena." I said.

She turned to me. "Yes?"

"I've been thinking…" I trailed off. She waited for me to continue.

"Mother needs help. I'm not blind, I mean, I know she needs money. Since father went off with another woman when I was born, he hasn't given us a cent."

Elena nodded sadly. "I've been looking for a job since classes were done last week. No luck with that because nobody seems to be hiring right now but please tell me what you wanted to say."

I licked my lips I thought. "I've been thinking of getting a job as well but with what you're telling me, I won't have any more luck than you have and we could really take the opportunity to work while we don't have school in session until September."

Elena set the mop aside and came over to me. I set the dish aside and turned around to see her. She held my hands in her.

"Have faith, little brother. I'm sure destiny has something for us this summer."

I nodded. "Yeah."

She hugged me and I hugged her back. She pulled back after a few seconds and went back to the mop.

"And that's why I'm going to go looking for a job. I am good with stuff like cleaning and cooking."

"I have a feeling you will. You'll see, Jeremy, this summer is going to be different."

That afternoon:

I had showered and did all my necessities before heading out to look for employment. I had placed on my best clothes. Within half an hour, I had asked five houses for work vacancy but the owners said they were full. By two hours, I had every house on my side of town clear that they had no more room for another worker but my faith held strong. I'll help you out, mom. I won't let you down. I won't let this family starve.

Damon:

I was buttoning my shirt in my room when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Nicole, sir. Your father asked for you and your brother to meet him in his office right away." One of the servants said.

"Alright, I'll be right there, thank you, Nicole." I said.

"You're welcome, sir."

When I was finished dressing, I headed for father's office. I was surprised he didn't just call on Stefan and left me out. My younger brother has always been his favorite since the minute he was born.

The door to his office was closed and I knocked.

"It's me." I said.

"Come in, Damon."

I opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Stefan was already in the room. He glanced at me when I came in. I smiled and he smiled back. We turned out attention back to father.

Father paced a bit behind his desk, thinking about something. Then he stopped and turned to face both of us.

"I was told this morning that our great cook, Ethan, died in his sleep last night."

"What a loss." I said.

"Indeed and with this situation, we have troubles."

We nodded, knowing what he was talking about. The mayor was going to make his daughter's birthday at his house two weeks from today. Mayor Remold asked father if he could use our personal chef at this occasion and with this, father would be paid for the chef's use. Of course this made him agree with pleasure.

"Unless we could find an equally or better chef than Ethan, the mayor is going to have to find someone else to cook for him." Father continued.

"And no money for us." I said.

Stefan and father both looked at me at the same time. Father frowned at me.

"This isn't for the money!" he said firmly.

No of course not. How stupid of me."My apologies for my words, father."

He shook his head in disappointment. "Anyway, I brought you two here for a favor in going out and spreading the word about hiring a new chef. I'll test him out and we'll see how good he is when it comes to food."

"Of course, father. Right away." Stefan said.

Father excused us to leave. Once a good distance away from the door, I turned towards Stefan.

"Think we'll find someone?"

"As good as Ethan? Probably not. Doesn't mean we should lose faith."

We went to town and began spreading the word and asking the people there if they knew any good chefs that needed employment.

"No, my lord, I'm sorry."

"Chefs? No, I don't know any good ones."

A woman that looked like a hooker said, "Baby I don't know anything about cooking but I can do a lot of whole other things."

I smiled at her politely. "No, thank you. Have a good day."

I walked quickly away and met up with my brother after an hour or so.

"Nothing?" he asked.

I shook my head. Stefan sighed. Suddenly destiny began to take its course.

"Excuse me, young fellows?"

We turned to look at a woman about her late fifties.

"Yes, maim?" we asked at the same time.

"I heard you two were looking for a good chef."

"Yes, we were…" I trailed off, not wanting to reject her if she asked for the job.

"I know of someone perfect for you then…unless you have an age preference?"

We hesitated.

"How old is this person?" Stefan asked.

"15. He's male."

I took out my small notebook and pencil and began to write down the information.

"His name?" I asked.

"Jeremy Gilbert."

I paused. "Gilbert?"

"Yes, my lord."

I looked at her. "As in John Gilbert?"

"Not for awhile. He abandoned his family when Jeremy, the youngest, was born."

"How many children did he leave behind?" Stefan asked.

"Jeremy and her older sister, Elena. Their mother takes care of them now."

I nodded. "What's the address?"

"I can actually take you to them. I was going to their house to visit their mother, Isobel."

"Thank you, Mrs…" I trailed off.

"Eve. At your service and no need to thank me."

We followed her up the hill and over to the more humble side of the Mystic Falls. Every person was looking at my brother and I with curiosity and wonder.

While our walk to the Gilbert residence, Eve told us some things about Jeremy.

"He's such a nice boy. Always polite to everyone, hard worker, and a giving person. Always placing other as his first priority instead of first placing himself."

"Where did he learn how to cook?" Stefan asked.

"In school and during the times he's in the house when his mother can't do the cooking. He loves to do it, he told me once."

Few minutes later, we arrived at a medium sized house. The paint was falling off every wall. You could tell this family was left with nothing when their father left. John was a hard working man and from I heard a rich one too. Though I also heard he was a womanizer and a drunk.

We went up to the door and Eve knocked on the door. We stayed behind her to show respect. The door opened and a girl about 18 years old stuck her head out from the side of the door. She had long brown hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. She looked a little too skinny. I glanced at my brother from the corner of my eye and smirked when I saw his dazed gaze of her face. She smiled when she saw Eve.

"Good morning, Eve! How are you?"

They kissed on the cheek. "Wonderful! No more back pain!"

"So glad to hear!"

Her eyes then landed on us. Eve turned to us.

"Elena these two gentlemen are the Salvatore brothers. I brought them here because they were looking for a chef and I recommended your brother, Jeremy."

Her eyes widened and she quickly bowed."An honor, my lords."

"Oh no, please, you don't have to bow down to us. Not like we're royalty or anything!" Stefan said, embarrassed.

Elena stood up and blushed, not being able to look at Stefan in the eye for more than a second. She told us to come in too and we went inside the house.

"Jeremy isn't home at the moment but if you would like to wait, there's no problem. I'm sure he won't be out long." Elena informed.

"Thank you." I told Elena. We should wait and check him out first before sending him to father.

After a moment of insisting from Elena, Stefan and I sat down on the small couch while Eve and she sat down on chairs from the kitchen.

We all stayed in silence for a moment and I saw the two women were waiting for us to say something. I glanced over at Stefan and saw he was looking at Elena in a trance. I looked at Elena and she had the same look on her face for Stefan. I cleared my throat and broke the silence.

"Do you think your brother would accept our proposal?" I asked Elena.

She looked at me and smiled. "He would, my lord. He actually went out to look for a job, believe it or not."

I nodded. "For a cooking job?"

She shrugged "Anything, I guess…Oh! I'm sorry I almost forgot! Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." I said.

"A glass of water, please."

She blushed and nodded, turning to Eve now. "Anything for you?"

"Water would be nice for me too, dear, thank you."

"Alright, I'll be right back." She said and walked to the kitchen.

"Now I remember!" Eve said suddenly.

"Remember what, maim?" I asked, confused.

"I heard that the mayor asked your father for the use of our chief. This morning I heard the rumor going around that your chief died. Is that true?"

"Unfortunately, yes maim. Though I don't think he went through pain. He died in his sleep."

"Well thank heavens for that! I want to die the same way when the good lord calls my name!"

I smiled at her. This woman was interesting. She had the attitude of a little girl.

Then Elena came back into the living room and gave Stefan his drink. I saw their fingers brush the other's and they blushed.

"Oh for goodness sake! Just kiss already! You two obviously like each other!" Eve shouted. I couldn't help but laugh. She said what I was thinking aloud.

Elena bowed down her head, her face like a tomatoes and went to give Eve her glass before sitting down. I managed to stop my laughing. I looked over at my brother and saw he was looking down at the floor, drumming his fingers on his knees. His cheeks told me he was embarrassed about the truthful outburst from Eve.

That's when the door opened. I glanced over when the door opened and saw him step into the house. My eyes widened. Oh wow.He was gorgeous. He was a little shorter than me with big dark brown eyes and a lean figure under his clothes. His skin was shining with a thin layer of sweat. His hair was sticking to his forehead. That's when I realized he was staring at me too. I quickly cleared my throat and stood up. Stefan stood up as well. Eve stood up but Elena told her that wasn't necessary and gently pushed her back down on the chair.

"Jeremy, these are…well you remember Eve but the two gentlemen are…umm…" Elena trailed off, not remembering the names from rumors.

Jeremy:

Damon Salvatore was here. He's as sexy up close and he is from a distance. I couldn't stop staring at him until Damon cleared his throat and stood up along with his brother.

Elena did a not so good job of introducing me but then I already knew who they are. I just didn't have an idea about why someone as rich and social as the Salvatores could be doing in our house.

"Jeremy, these are…well you remember Eve but the two gentlemen are…umm…"

"Damon and Stefan Salvatore, it's an honor. Jeremy Gilbert." I said and went up to them to shake their hands.

"Honor as well." Damon said. I swore I felt his fingers linger on my hand for a second longer. I almost shivered.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Jeremy." Stefan said.

"Please sit." I said and went up to Eve to greet her.

"You keep getting cuter and cuter every day, Jeremy."

I smiled at her. "Thank you, Eve."

I then went to go get a chair from the kitchen. I sat down in the middle of everyone.

"Well I'll leave you all alone to do business talk. Is your mother around, Elena?" Eve asked.

"Yes but she's sleeping but I could go wake her up if-"

"No, no don't wake her, child. I'll come back later. It was a pleasure seeing you all."

We all said our good byes and I accompanied her to the door. I watched her walk a good distance away before going back into the house.

I took my seat again and looked at our company.

"They came looking for you." Elena blurted out. The two brothers looked at her and she blushed in embarrassment. "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me."

I was amused when Stefan wanted to protest but it seems that business was more important than a girl crush.

"It's true. We did come to look for you. Well Eve brought us here. She told us about you." Damon began.

"Why did you want to see me for?"

"Our chief, Ethan, died last night. The mayor of our town had asked our father to use Ethan at his party to celebrate his daughter's 13th birthday." Damon informed.

"I'm sorry." I said, surprised at the news.

"Our father asked us to go find a replacement for Ethan. We went to the market to ask around one for." Stefan said.

"Eve found us instead." His brother teased.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The Salvatore brothers wanted me to work as their chief.

"So you want me to work for you and the mayor?"

"Depends. How good are you?" Damon asked.

"Depends on what you want me to cook."

"Everything, I guess."

"I maybe don't know how to cook everything but give me a book and I'm good to go. I'm a fast learner. I'm sure I'm also going to have helpers, right?"

They nodded.

"Then it's no problem." I confirmed.

They both gave me a blank stare. I didn't think that was a good sign.

"Would you mind if my brother and I talked it over outside?" Damon asked.

I shook my head. "Of course not, my lord."

I watched as they opened the door and went outside, closing the door behind them.

Damon:

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I think we should let father take a look at him but I think he's good for the job. He's confident in his words so they must be true."

I nodded. "You read my mind."

Jeremy:

My heart was pounding in my chest when the door opened. I glanced at them and Damon was the first to smile.

"Our father would like to see you first."

Note from primavera15: Soooooo what cha think? :D By the way, I think I made a mistake on a situation. If you find it, tell me please because I can't find it but I need to be sure!