Beginnings
There was a willow tree in the backyard, its long thin branches hanging almost to the ground. So heavy was its foliage this spring that you could hide behind the leaves and not be seen by anyone from the house, which was exactly why Jeremy had taken refuge beneath its verdant canopy.
Elena was hosting a slumber party and had invited Caroline and Bonnie for the night. Jenna would come and go from the room as it took her fancy, more interested in hearing about gossip from around town from the girls in the know.
Figuring that if he stayed in the house he'd be inevitably roped into some make-over, cosmo quiz, girly hilarity thing Jeremy had escaped when Elena was otherwise occupied greeting quests, sneaking out the back door with his sketch book in hand, moving over the grass as silently as a ninja.
The afternoon light was failing quickly and with each passing minute it became harder and harder for Jeremy to draw without having to readjust his positioning to catch the disappearing light. Finally conceding defeat when the mosquitos became too much Jeremy stepped from beneath the tree and started up to the house.
Music could be heard drifting from the living room, some boy band from the nineties who once set female hearts aflame across the world but were now a thing of the past, obscured by whatever shiny new thing that had come along.
As he walked into the kitchen Jeremy could instantly smell the popcorn, recently cooked and drizzled generously with butter. A perfect and dangerous snack if ever there was any. Risking a glance into the living room he found all four girls huddled together on a mass of pillows, cushions and blankets watching The Notebook. Jeremy resisted the urge to obstinately gag at their choice of movie.
Seeing how his night was otherwise dreadfully boring Jeremy grabbed a drink and some chocolate from the fridge and once upstairs locked himself in his room.
The smell of bacon cooking woke Jeremy from his sleep.
Gingerly opening his eyes still heavy from sleep it took him some time to wake up properly. He'd always been a restless sleeper, never able to just lie in one position for the night. Sometimes it wasn't so bad, maybe he'd only roll over to his side, but other times, like last night saw Jeremy hanging half off the foot of the bed.
When his brain finally registered that the sight before his eyes was in fact not his alarm clock but one of his socks, desperately in need of a wash from the smell of it, he figured he wasn't where he should be. Jeremy, with a mighty effort, rolled himself over and instantly regretted the action as he tumbled unceremoniously and rather loudly onto the floor, a curse escaping his lips as he hit his head. As he picked himself up Jenna opened the door and entered the room, her bright pink dressing gown a sore sight this early in the morning. "Jeremy are you okay?" she asked worried, checking him over. "Yeah I'm okay" he replied sourly, rubbing his head. He was certain there would be a bump there by tonight. "Well, I'm making breakfast for the girls if you want to come down". She retreated from the room but stopped in the doorway, "You might want to hurry too, the bacon probably won't last too long". Jeremy smiled at that, "Thanks Jenna". She closed the door and Jeremy, now fully awake, stripped down and walked into the bathroom to have a shower.
He could go without bacon, there was plenty in the fridge anyways, but what Jeremy could and would not abide by was having no hot water for his shower. The taps gave a squeak as he twisted, water sputtering from the shower head for a second before becoming a steady stream. Steam filled the room quickly, fogging the mirror and making visibility a hard task but Jeremy didn't care, his head was soaking under the water, eyes closed against the pressure. The heat of the shower felt great against his skin, soothing his muscles and washing away the physical and emotional grime of the previous day. This was one of Jeremy's favourite places to relax, to think and ponder the questions of life. He never could conceive a good answer, but that wasn't really the point. Here he could let his mind wander, freed from the thoughts, burdens and responsibilities of reality and the world outside the shower.
When it reached the point where his fingers were getting prune like and he couldn't justify wasting any more water Jeremy turned off the taps and stepped from the shower. Wrapping a towel around his waist he left the bathroom and went into his room, rummaging through drawers and his wardrobe for something to wear.
As he pulled a shirt over his head he heard someone knocking on the door downstairs. "Jeremy could you get that" Elena called out. Jeremy scowled in annoyance but went to do it anyway, better that than face the wrath of his sister later. Navigating the stairs was tricky business when one was trying to put on pants at the same time, hopping frantically and dangerously from one leg to the other. It's a wonder Jeremy hadn't fallen and broken his neck many times before.
Finally arriving at the front door he jerked his jeans around his hips, reached for the door handle, opened the door, all the while struggling to button up his pants, completely forgetting that whoever was on the other side was getting quite a show. "Interesting" a voice said. Jeremy knew that voice, sly, obnoxious to a fault and somehow still insanely arousing. Jerking his head up Jeremy came face to face with Tyler, now ex-jock king, womaniser and all around douche of Mystic Falls high. "What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked brusquely, hand gripping the door handle tight in case he needed to close it quickly.
Tyler, ever the king of casual, leaned against the door frame "Caroline called and said she needed a ride" he answered aloofly, looking not at Jeremy, not at anything really, just gazing pensively. In that moment he looked almost normal and Jeremy couldn't help but stare. For years he was Tyler's glorified punching bag, glorified only for the reason that he did manage to get some punches in from time to time. Nary would a week pass without the two of them getting in a fight for what nowadays seemed pointless reasons. At first they fought over Vicki, each trying to outdo the other and win her affections. After Vicki's death though Jeremy and Tyler seemed to lose their hotheadedness. They fought less, argued less, generally their relationship as it was, died with her. I suppose you could say they were on amicable terms with one another, not friends but not worst enemies.
"Oh hey Tyler". Jeremy was snapped from his thoughts as Caroline, ever cheerful came sauntering from the kitchen with Elena and Bonnie in tow. "You got here a lot faster than I thought, I'm not even presentable". Jeremy could tell that Caroline was fishing for compliments because she looked flawless as always, blonde hair with just the right amount or curl and shine, blue eyes sparkling with an inner light and lips the perfect shade of pink. Tyler spoke up "Flawless as always". Jeremy looked at Tyler then, almost gasping in surprise. It was like he read his mind. To make matters worse, Jeremy found Tyler's eyes on him, rather than on the girl he was supposedly complimenting.
Finding the situation more awkward then he'd like Jeremy made an lame excuse to leave the foyer, determinedly not looking at Tyler, and went into the kitchen in the hopes that there was still some bacon left and that Tyler and Caroline would leave sooner rather than later.
Opening and leaning into the fridge Jeremy searched for the milk, or maybe the orange juice, he hadn't quite made up his mind. He could hear someone approaching, the wooden floorboards of the hallway creaking ever so slightly under their footsteps. "Hey Elena where's the juice?" Jeremy asked, straightening up and coming face to face, yet again, with Tyler Lockwood. He swore, rather loudly, in shock, his hand flying to his chest as his heart thumped erratically, a panicked look in his eyes. "Whoa mate, chill" Tyler said, a genuine look of concern on his face for the younger boy. Jeremy took several deep breathes and leant on the counter for support, silently willing his heart to slow down. It didn't help though; just being close to Tyler was playing havoc with his body. Nerves on edge, heart racing, hands sweaty and a giddy head. Jeremy had it bad for the bad boy.
There was silence in the kitchen, both boys on opposite sides of the room. When he finally gathered up the nerve to look at Tyler he wished he hadn't. His eyes, a slight sparkle hidden in the brown depths, lips a soft pink that made all the girls swoon. His dark hair that always looked effortlessly styled, yet seemed soft as silk. The jaw looked as if it was sculpted by angels, coupled with his high cheek bones and perfectly formed to give Tyler an almost feline appeal yet handsomely contradicted by his wolfish smile.
"Sorry about scaring you" he said. It was the first time Jeremy had heard genuine sincerity coming from Tyler and it felt…nice. For so long there had been nothing but rage and disdain between them and it was all he'd come to expect from Tyler Lockwood. Now though, things were different in an almost impossibly good way that Jeremy half expected some second rate reality show presenter to suddenly appear and announce he was on candid camera before everyone had a good old laugh at his expense.
"You didn't scare me" Jeremy retorted, "It was just a shock to see something so ugly behind my fridge door". It was a childish thing to do, insulting Tyler when he was trying to apologise, but Jeremy was uncomfortable and feeling far from a position of power. These new found feelings for Tyler scared him more than he'd dare admit and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't deny the unmistakable attraction. It wasn't aided by the fact that Tyler seemed to be flirting with him, but whether that was just his subconscious desires messing with his head or not Jeremy couldn't quite figure out yet.
"Jeez I was just being nice Gilbert, no need to go all Regina George on me". He looked somewhat pissed off and offended at Jeremy's words, but the younger boy wasn't concerned about that. Right now he was trying hard not to laugh at Tyler, a struggle he inevitably lost. "What's so funny?" Tyler demanded, his face marred by anger as Jeremy stood giggling at some obviously hilarious that Tyler seemed to have missed. "Didn't…know…you liked…Mean…Girls" Jeremy eventually stuttered out, losing it again as soon as he'd said it.
"Jerk" Tyler muttered, moving around the island in the kitchen and stepping closer to Jeremy. His laughter stopped almost immediately, dying in his throat as Tyler approached. Humour had turned to fear as he thought Tyler would start a fight, right here in his house just because of an immature insult. "Tyler, look I'm sorry man. There's no need to beat me up for a stupid joke". His fear grew as Tyler said nothing, still advancing. "I'm sorry" He said louder this time, hoping Tyler would get over it.
Instincts kicking in Jeremy attempted to run but only managed a single step when he felt Tyler's hand around his arm. Struggling against his grip was useless; Jeremy knew that the moment contact had been made. He could literally feel the strength Tyler possessed, could see the way Tyler's bicep flexed, tan skin over corded muscle, the intricate veins risen, tracing a path down the length of his arm. Jeremy wanted to run his fingers over them, follow them from hand to arm, from arm to chest, to follow them and map Tyler's entire body, commit to memory the masterpiece that was stood before him.
Not a word was spoken between them. Jeremy refused to look to Tyler's face for fear of what he would find there. For what seemed like hours they stood silently and patiently, Tyler's hand on Jeremy, Jeremy neither running away nor coming closer instead hovering somewhere in between.
Jeremy was painfully aware of his breathing and his heart dancing wildly in his ribcage, though it seems like he wasn't the only one affected. He could see Tyler's chest rising and falling faster than normal, could hear the quick inhalations and exhalations. "It can't be possible!" Jeremy thought "Does Tyler like me too?"
Now more than ever Jeremy wanted to know, though he didn't want to scare Tyler off, this may be his one and only chance to be with Tyler the way he'd always imagined. "Tyler" he said, instantly regretting it when it came out sounding weak and cracked. He felt Tyler's grip tighten for a second, the sound of Jeremy's voice shocking him back to reality before it loosened again. "Well he didn't run so that's something at least" Jeremy thought, reassuring himself. He waited patiently for Tyler to say something, anything, but when the older boy stayed silent Jeremy breathed deep and asked "What are we doing Tyler?"
Jeremy finally gave in and looked up into the eyes of the guy who had hurt him so many times in the past. He saw confusion in his brown eyes, but also other things. Hesitation and determination were waging a battle of wills inside of Tyler, his entire body tense. Jeremy stepped closer and when Tyler didn't react he stepped closer again. This time Tyler reacted. His eyes darted to Jeremy's own and both boys stared at the other, reflecting brown against brown, light paying amongst the dark.
Unspoken words passed between.
Tyler, his battle won, pulled Jeremy to him and sought the thing he'd been seeking for so long.
It was like nothing either boy had ever felt before. The kiss was beyond intense, from the second their lips touched a rush of emotions flooded their bodies, sparks were flying and the boys felt more alive than ever before.
Jeremy was lost in a heaving sea of passion and frenzy, hormones sending his emotions skyrocketing but the feeling of perfect bliss never left. It was like fate the way their two bodies danced, fitting together like two halves becoming whole again. He could feel Tyler's hand snaking seductively along his back climbing ever higher before burying itself in his hair, the other on his hips holding him close to Tyler's body.
When Tyler swiped his tongue along Jeremy's lower lip the sound the younger boy made was far from human, it was desperate, primal and excruciatingly sexy. Without waiting for permission Tyler's tongue darted inside Jeremy's mouth, fighting for dominance and exploring the conquered space. Jeremy fisted his hands into Tyler's shirt at the mind numbing sensations Tyler was causing with his expert hands and tongue.
As much as Jeremy was enthralled in what was the most intense make out session of his life, he was annoyingly aware that his breathing was becoming increasingly laboured. As Jeremy regrettably pulled away from the kiss he heard Tyler groan in exasperation from the loss of intimate contact.
In the heat of the moment the rest of the world seemed to disappear leaving only Jeremy and Tyler, arms wrapped around each other as they danced the lovers dance, but now that they connection was broken came perhaps the most difficult part of all, acceptance.
They could both see in each other's eyes the hunger and lust burning bright like beacons to lead them home, however the dark shadows of disdain, persecution and fear were foreboding, creeping along and seeking to suffocate the flames of hope that each boy desperately and unknowingly clung to. Jeremy was trying to speak but his voice would not come out. It seemed Tyler was equally tongue tied, though less obvious about it than the fish-like expression Jeremy had adopted. Tyler, with his hands still holding onto the younger, though curiously taller boy, took the lead as all Lockwood's are bound to do, "Uh…" "Great work Tyler" he thought condescendingly "You go and practically assault Jeremy and then the first thing out of your stupid mouth is 'Uh'…"
When Jeremy's eyes found his Tyler could feel the blush creeping along his neck and burning his cheeks a bright red, but still he kept his gaze on Jeremy, on those big brown eyes of his, his soft pink lips currently curled in a happy grin. "I think I like you" Tyler said, the words coming easily to him. Jeremy blanked for a moment and Tyler thought he'd said too much and frightened him. Panic gripped his heart and he was about to take it back, try to make everything better again when he heard a chuckle come from the youngest Gilbert. To say Tyler felt relieved would have been a massive understatement. "I think I like you too" Jeremy replied with a smile, his voice soft but strong.