A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely reviews everyone! They made my day :) and I'm sorry for this chapter and the last being so short, I'll hopefully be lengthening the next few. And the rating for this story will most likely be bumped up, just a warning! Hope you all enjoy :)
"Wake up, wake up," Damon chided, his eyes filled with concern for the brunette lying on the floor in front of him. Stefan's eyes shot daggers at his brother.
"I got it from here," he commanded, shifting Elena's body towards him. Not wanting her to wake up to them fighting again, Damon let it be, rolling his eyes at his extremely paranoid younger brother. Instead, he focused his anger on Alaric, who stood there sheepishly, staring at Elena.
"So I'm not sure if you've heard," Damon began slowly. "But around here we use this thing called, oh, let me think – sensitivity. Well, Stefan uses it. But you will too."
"She had to know," Alaric justified.
"Yeah, well 'Jeremy died'? Not cutting it," he strode closer to Alaric, leaning in close to his face, and growled, "You will guard your words around her, does she look like she can handle this right now? I'd say ask her, but wait, she's not conscious."
"Easy tiger," Stefan rolled his eyes. "Alaric's right, she would have found out sooner or later anyways. Preferably later, but we'll work with it."
"Whatever," Damon shugged it off, disliking the thought of being ganged up on by Stefan and Alaric. "So if you're going to be at all useful, fill us in."
"Well," Alaric began, slightly miffed. "Jeremy was doing perfectly fine. The paramedics pumped his stomach, and he actually seemed to be feeling well, despite his less-than-chipper attitude," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "The nurse made us wait out in the corridor during the hourly check-up, so we stood right outside the room. Less than a minute later we heard his heart-rate moniter go off, and we rushed in to check on him. The nurse is gone, and Jeremy's dead. The first thing I notice is that his neck is at a slightly strange angle. So of course, warning bells are already sounding off in my head. I told Jenna to run and get a doctor, which ended up being the perfect distraction. No use in her finding out about this yet, that would complicate things so much further. Anyways, about five minutes later, he opens his eyes, hungry as hell. Of course the doctors all blamed it on the machine, saying something must have gone wrong, which also worked in our favor. But why would anyone want to kill Jeremy? Sound like the work of anyone either of you know?" he glanced pointedly at Damon and Stefan.
"Katherine," Damon growled. "It's gotta be her. That bitch is going to pay for everything she's done." He glanced over at Stefan, whose fists were clenched at his sides. "First John – who I must say I'm happy to be rid of, Elena's birth father or not – and now Jeremy?"
"Who's next, Elena?" Stefan joked bitterly, before realization dawned on both his and Damon's faces. The history teacher looked back and forth between them.
"Shit, Elena's next." Alaric glanced down at her still form in horror.
"I wouldn't say next. She's definitely doing this to get back at her though," Damon muttered. "Katherine likes to play games; she won't kill her straight off the bat. She'll torture her first. She could just kill all the people Elena cares about: Bonnie, Jenna, Caroline, Matt, Stefan."
"And you," Stefan admitted unhappily. "Alaric too," he nodded his head towards thier companion.
"She's sick. She kills people for pleasure," Damon explained to Alaric. "She loves to make them suffer. It's all just a power trip for her."
"Wow, sounds like someone else I know," Stefan glared at his brother. "A match made in hell."
"He's capable of change, Stefan," he mimicked Elena's voice, earning himself a dirty look from Stefan. "And she's right. I have changed. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't killed anyone in months." Stefan had to grudgingly agree, he had noticed. "Plus you're so much hotter than Stefan, Damon. He's just so broody, and not hot, and.. broody," his voice lowered as he trailed off. "I can't do it, sorry. I just can't. You make me stoop this low, Stefan." Alaric stifled a laugh, and then Stefan's glare was directed at him as well. He put his hands up in surrender.
"Hey, I didn't say it. But one of you does need to get Jeremy," he returned to the problem at hand, glancing between both of them nervously, wringing his hands. "I don't know what to do with him."
"Alright," Damon gave in. "Saint Stefan obviously will not be removed from his lovely lass over there, so where is the kid?"
"In the car," Alaric informed him. Damon and Stefan froze, staring at Alaric with wide eyes.
"You, Ric, are incredibly, insanely, immensely stupid. He's probably halfway through his third civilian by now," Damon snarled through clenched teeth. Running out the door, he saw Alaric's modest Toyota sitting in the driveway, Jeremy still inside, head down. He let out a sigh of relief, until Jeremy's face popped into view, staring wild-eyed at him through the windshield. It was covered in blood.
When Elena awoke, she wasn't quite sure where she was. The first thing she heard were familiar voices fading in and out, swirling around her. Then the room came into view, a hazy mess of blurred furniture and faces. After what seemed like forever, everything came into focus and she groaned, the attention of the two males focusing on her immediately.
"Elena!" Stefan rushed to her side, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles. She groaned again in response, her hand coming up to meet the back of her head. It felt tender, and her sharp intake of breath alerted the others to her pain.
"Just lie down baby," Stefan cooed quietly. "I'll get you an ice pack for that. Here, I'll move you to the couch, okay?" She managed to give him the slightest semblance of a nod, and he swiftly moved her, laying her down gently on the soft velvet.
Everything was flooding back to her now, and she attempted to sit up again. "Jeremy?" she croaked. Alaric remembered Damon's words, and knelt down beside her, thinking of an explanation that wouldn't anger the vampire further. Getting killed again wasn't exactly his top priority at the moment.
"Don't worry Elena," he told her, his fatherly instinct for the girl taking over. "Jeremy's perfectly fine, he's alive and well." The lie slipped out of his mouth easily, and she seemed to believe it as she slumped backwards against the couch, exhausted by the day's events.
"Just go back to sleep, okay?' Stefan told her gently, rubbing her face with the back of his hand.
"I'm scared, Stefan," her voice seemed quiet, and her eyes were fluttering closed.
"Hey, hey, there's nothing to be scared of. I'm here, Elena," he reassured her.
"Where's Damon?" she murmured sleepily, not noticing the way he stiffened when she asked.
"He's outside," he answered gruffly. "Why?"
"Just thought he'd be here," she yawned loudly. "He always is." Stefan nodded solemnly, understanding. It's true, he hadn't expected his brother to leave either. He was grateful for it, but knew Damon was probably worried.
"He had some.. things to take care of," Stefan reassured her, thinking back to Jeremy. He glanced over at Alaric, who had been trying to capture his attention. The older man thumbed a finger at the door.
"Can you go make sure everything's alright?" he mouthed at Stefan, who reluctantly nodded, hating to be pried away from Elena. He turned back to his girlfriend to tell her he would be back in a minute, but she was already dozing off, whimpering slightly in her sleep.
Jeremy's fangs were out, and the veins around his eyes were bulging. Blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the dashboard. Damon blinked, hesitating for only the slightest of seconds. Then he was in the car, prying Jeremy away from the carcass he had on his lap. He pulled him out of the vehicle and onto the driveway. Elena's younger brother looked terrified, and he began babbling. "I don't know what happened," he shook his head, almost as if coming out of a trance. "She was just there, and I was so hungry Damon. I was so, so hungry, and I couldn't control it. I didn't mean to hurt her, and now she's-" he broke off, tears streaming down his face now. "What's happening to me?" he whispered, his spirit seemingly crushed.
"Listen to me, Jeremy," Damon twisted his face so that the boy was looking at him. "You're going to be fine, it's okay. You're in the beginnings of your transition, and you need to get inside, now." Jeremy nodded, holding on to Damon's every word. "You're going to be very hungry for a while now, okay? You'll stay with us – we'll show you how to control it. Now get inside, tell Stefan what you just told me. But stay away from your sister, you have the potential to kill her right now. Do you understand that?" Jeremy's eyes widened at the thought, and he nodded again, looking lost.
He followed Damon's instructions, and started cautiously towards the house. Just as he was approaching the door, Stefan burst outside. "How's he doing?" he called out, and was about to say more when he realized Jeremy was standing in front of him. "Oh god, oh my god. Jeremy get inside, get Alaric to wash your face before Elena sees you. She would have a fit." Jeremy nodded at this too, and continued inside the house, calling Alaric's name.
"Alaric was right; this is a huge problem. How are we supposed to search for Katherine and teach a newbie how to control his cravings?" Damon said unhappily. He sped over to where Stefan stood.
Stefan scratched the nape of his neck, and sighed. "I don't know, Damon. But Jeremy has to move in. There's no way we can turn him loose in Mystic Falls. That's practically begging to be found. How much longer can this town blame everything on animal attacks?"
"That's exactly what I told him," Damon nodded. "But since Elena practically lives here already, that could pose some problems. We can keep an eye on everyone now though, I guess. Pop some vervain into Elena's food, and warn Jeremy. It'll reassure him to stay away from her."
"What about Jenna?" he asked. "Katherine's been invited in. We can't just leave her there, she'll be killed faster than you can blink."
"Moving in with Ric. I don't know what kind of bullshit story he made up, but it worked. She's staying at his place for a few days, hopefully we can wrap this up before then," Damon said grimly. "By the way, did Elena wake up yet? She hit her head pretty good when she fell, I hope it isn't a concussion. She's been in enough hospitals."
"Yeah, she's awake now. Well, she was. When I left her she was sleeping again; she's exhausted." Stefan filled him in. "And she's scared Damon. With good reason, obviously, but I don't know what to say to her – how to make it okay. When you're around us, death is pretty much in the contract."
"Mind if I check on her?" Damon asked sarcastically. "Or do my conniving, violent tendencies revoke that right."
Stefan sighed, "Go ahead." He beckoned towards the front door, allowing Damon to walk ahead of him. Anything for Elena.
"I'm diggin' the manners, Stef," Damon smirked. "That's very 1864 of you." Then he sped through the door. Stefan rolled his eyes before following him in. No way was he allowing him alone with his girlfriend for more than two seconds; sure, he knew she would be safe – it was their relationship that had the possibility not to be.
When they reached the living room, they found it empty. No Alaric, no Jeremy – no Elena.
"I'll check upstairs," Damon was gone in a flash.
"I'll check this floor," Stefan murmured to an empty room.
Alaric walked Jeremy up the stairs, the shaking boy gazing around at everything in wonder.
"New senses getting to you?" Alaric asked, jarring the boy out of his thoughts. Jeremy whipped his head towards him, before attempting to calm himself down. He felt like he was on a permanent high. "Huh? Yeah, sorry. Yeah, they really are. Hyper-everything and all. Crazy shit." Alaric nodded his understanding.
"Alright, well what we need to do now is wash all this blood off you, the shower is just in that room over there.." Suddenly, everything Alaric was saying faded into the background. Jeremy caught a glimpse of Elena's horrified face in the upstairs hallway, and the world seemed to slow. She had been crying, he could tell. And now her face was a mixture of astonishment and fear. She was scared of him. Then everything flew by at top speed, and Elena was running as fast as she possibly could; down the stairs, away from her own brother. Jeremy was already at her destination, and she smashed into him, having been focusing her eyesight behind her. She turned to him and gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. She slowly backed up against the wall, with Jeremy close in front of her, trying to tell her things she wasn't willing to hear.
"Elena, I know I'm a vampire, but please, please, don't be afraid of me," he pleaded, attempting to move closer to her. "I would never hurt you! I'm your baby brother, I could never," he began crying now, begging her to believe him. Tears streamed down Elena's face as well, and she turned her face away from him – away from all the pain. He continued, though.
"Please Elena, please," he whispered. She slid down the wall to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself, and began to cry. She cried for the end of her brother's innocence, for the end of her own innocence. She cried for what seemed to be the end of humanity. She cried for her parents, for Bonnie, for everything that had happened to her. She barely registered her brother's sobbing form beside her as well, and soon she was crying into his shoulder, blood from his victim smothered on both of them. Then all too soon he was scrambling away from her, turning around to face the opposite direction. She knew he must be hungry, and she found his dedication to not hurt her touching.
"I'm so sorry, Jer," Elena continued to cry, as she repeated the same phrase over and over, causing her brother's shoulders to shake with sobs once more. "I never wanted this to happen to you. Never in a million years." Then she was hyperventilating, the stress of everything continuing to take its toll on her. She felt herself becoming light-headed, but couldn't bring herself to stop. Jeremy glanced at her wildly, the noise worrying him, but the sight of his fangs and red eyes made her go into an even deeper panic. Her brother was yelling now, calling for Damon, Stefan, Alaric – anyone.
"Hurry!" he yelled, staring at Elena in fear. "I don't know what's happening, please hurry!" Then the brothers were there, kneeling beside Elena, attempting to soothe her.
"Just breathe, Elena," Stefan commanded as gently as he possibly could. Elena only shook her head, panic clear in her eyes. Everything was going away, she could see the beginnings of blackness, and her fear was slipping away as well. Then Damon's eyes were in front of her, and she couldn't breathe. There was so much in them, but at the moment it was mostly concern.
"Elena, shhhh baby," he whispered, looking directly into her eyes the entire time. "I need you to try and take deeper breaths, okay? You've been through a lot today, I know, but you need to try and calm down. Just breathe," he took deep breaths himself, attempting to set an example for the broken girl in front of him. She closed her eyes and let out a whine, but complied slightly. Her breathing slowed down the tiniest bit, and Damon encouraged her. "Good girl, keep breathing. That's it babe." Slowly her breathing returned to normal, and she finally had the strength to open her eyes again. She slumped over, trying to return all the lost air to her lungs, but her face didn't miss Stefan's, pain etched across his features. She wanted to comfort him, but didn't have it in her to. Damon also seemed to realize, and coughed slightly, backing away from her. He had to admit, his brother's self-control was improving. Normally Stefan would be all over him by this point, trying to stake him and what-not. Death threats were old news these days.
Elena felt better once she allowed more air to enter her lungs, and she reached for Stefan, wanting him to scoop her up in his arms. The slightest smile slid across his face, and he obliged, love practically oozing from his pores. He sat her on one of the plush chairs occupying the room, and began walking over to Jeremy, who stood on the other side of the room, still shocked.
"Jer, there's a freezer full of blood bags in a storage room down that hallway," Stefan murmured in Jeremy's ear. Damon nodded at him subtly, then walked over as well.
"Eat, then take a shower. God knows you need one," he scrunched his nose up in distaste. "You're not helping Elena any, so we really need you to get washed up." Jeremy nodded, face stony. He walked in the direction they had pointed out to him, face already vamping out at the thought of a meal. Stefan motioned for Alaric to follow him, and the man nodded, already on his way. Now was definitely not the time to leave Jeremy alone – he was too vulnerable.
Once they were out of sight, and what Damon and Stefan hoped was earshot, they began grilling Elena with questions.
"What happened?" Stefan asked, taking her hands in his. Elena blushed, embarrassed at her reaction moments before.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I woke up, and there was no one here." Stefan looked at the floor guiltily. "It's fine, don't worry," she smiled, reassuring him, sensing that he felt he had let her down. "So I decided to go look for the both of you. I was upstairs looking in rooms, when suddenly I caught a glimpse of Jeremy, and he was covered in blood." The thought made her shiver, but she continued. "Then I'm not sure why, but I was just so scared of him. I booked it down the stairs, but he was already there – I forgot about the whole super-speed thing you guys have going on."
"Did he hurt you?" Damon asked her, eyes probing her body for marks.
"No, no. Don't worry, he didn't even touch me," Elena explained. "But I was just overwhelmed, I guess."
"Apparently," Damon drawled. Stefan gave him a look, and he sighed. "Sorry, too soon?" Elena smiled wanly at him. "Anyways, I'm starving, I'll be back in a few minutes. Play safe," he winked, though the thought made him queasy. He began walking away, when suddenly he was on the floor, gasping for air and clutching at his head. He let out a strangled scream, rolling around in pain. Elena and Stefan's attention focused on him in shock, confused as to what was going on. Then they were running over to him, assessing the situation. "Damon? Damon!" Elena asked, moving around his body, searching for any signs of injury. He only continued, writhing around on the wooden flooring. "What's happening to him, Stefan?" Stefan only opened and closed his mouth in response. "What's happening to him, Stefan?" she asked again, more urgently this time, her voice tinged with hysteria.
"I don't know!" Stefan told her helplessly. "I don't know what's going on! Damon? Damon can you hear me?" he asked loudly.
"It hurts," Damon breathed out painfully. He continued to struggle, eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"Hello everyone," a voice greeted from the doorway.
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