Jeremy crossed his arms and plopped onto the couch.
"Jeremy," Elena scolded, "you're being silly." He scoffed, not bothering to look at her.
"I'm being stupid? Are you crazy? This is Tyler Lockwood. The guy who's tried on numerous occasions to rearrange my face!" The house was silent, both Caroline and Bonnie already having left for school, Damon eagerly trailing at Bonnie's heels as Caroline wrinkled her nose.
"Well," she paused, pursing her lips in thought, "now he'll be in love with you." Jeremy fought the urge to gag.
"Yeah, and you think once he works that through his thick skull he won't be angry about it?" Jeremy shoved hair out of his face before continuing. "And even if it doesn't make him angry I don't even want to think about what he's going to try and do." He broke off and shuddered violently. "It's Tyler," he protested again.
"I'm not exactly thrilled with this either you know," Elena said, placing her hand on her hip.
"Yeah okay," Jeremy let out, "like Mr. Old Fashioned with Perfect Hair is such a fucking problem."
"Jeremy," Elena scolded with that tone. "Enough. Get up, you're going to school and we are leaving now."
"Yeah as soon as you set the house on fire," he informed her, propping his feet on the coffee table.
"I have a better idea." Jeremy glanced over as she fished her phone out of her purse.
"What are you doing?" he questioned, panic edging into his voice.
"I'm calling Tyler," Elena informed him calmly, flipping her hair and putting the phone to her ear. Jeremy leaped of the couch as Elena spun towards the door, out of reach.
"Elena stop!" he called out desperately, chasing her. At the car she turned and smiled triumphantly, sliding the phone back into her purse.
"Got ya. Now get in the car Jer." He set his hands on his hips as she continued, "Door's locked and I have the keys. Move it."
"I don't have my…" he drifted off as his eyes fell on his book bag in the backseat. "I hate you," he muttered morosely.
"I know. Get in." Sighing in defeat, he got in the car. "Everything will be fine," Elena said, touching his arm. Jeremy snorted before crossing his arms. Things had never been fine with Tyler Lockwood.
Halfway through the day Jeremy had to admit. Everything was fine. Or at least…he hadn't seen Tyler today. He was surprised. Stefan, Vicki, and even Damon had all sought out their new loves. Tyler hadn't made a move. Not that he was complaining. It just seemed strange, not to mention, too good to last. Maybe it's because it's me. Maybe something is wrong with me. He tried to shake the thought away. Of course it was because it was him. This was Tyler. It wasn't like he was going to accept this with a smile on his face. But it was slowly driving Jeremy insane. He was worried that something was going to happen. He couldn't quite pin down what he thought was going to happen. He was more afraid of Tyler's love than his fist. But maybe Tyler was incapable of love. Maybe nothing would happen at all. Maybe that wasn't too much to hope for. Hope had begun its viral spread as Jeremy made his way to lunch. He sat under a tree and pulled out his sketchbook, only to be interrupted by Vicki.
"Jeremy," she whined, "you have to help me. You just have to." He sighed and snapped the book closed before looking over at her. He'd opened his mouth to respond and froze, heart palpitating uncomfortably as he spotted Tyler on the edge of his vision. Panic washed over him immediately. He was headed this way. Jeremy stumbled to his feet.
"I'll think about helping you, but only if you go distract Tyler for me." He wanted to smack himself. He was actually sending Vicki to Tyler. When had life gotten so messed up? Vicki smiled eagerly, nodding in agreement.
"Whatever you say Jer." A pang of pain followed his panic and remorse. Why was Vicki never trying to get his attention? He didn't want to focus on that answer. Instead he bolted for the library, praying that Tyler wouldn't try to follow.
You're being stupid. Running from Tyler. Jesus. But it wasn't like he had another option. Stick around and watch Tyler try to make nice? He shuddered quickly. Not happening. He settled in a corner of a book stack and tried to take stock of the situation. He'd seen Tyler but nothing had happened, because he'd thrown Vicki under the Tyler bus. He didn't even feel bad about it. Didn't he like Vicki? He thought he had. But she was in love with Caroline right now. That's why he'd done it. He nodded to himself quickly. Of course. If everything was normal he never would have used Vicki like that. He wasn't Tyler. And he was only avoiding Tyler because of all this. It wasn't his fault if he was acting strangely while all this crazy shit was going on. And it didn't mean anything that he'd used Vicki. It also didn't mean anything that he wasn't worried about the fact that Vicki felt nothing for him. It's all part of this spell. He nodded again. Everything would be okay once Bonnie fixed it. Everything would go back to normal. He could fight Tyler again and focus on making Vicki realize she felt something for him. He just had to last until Bonnie made this right. Which would be soon. It had to be. Maybe even by tomorrow. He sighed and rested his head on the stack. Everything would go back to normal. He'd be fine. The calm that he'd somehow managed to find remained with him through the rest of the day. Somehow Jeremy was sure that this would all work out for the best. It wasn't like this was going to change his life. It was just…a small error. A faint blip on the radar. In a few years he'd struggle to remember it. Soon he'd be able to laugh about it, because everything would be fine. The final bell rang, dismissing the students and Jeremy made his way to his locker. He jerked to a stop in the middle of the hallway when he saw who was leaning against it. Tyler Lockwood's gaze tore right through him.
A/N: FINALLY! I actually get to work on this. While juggling everything else. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to update. Tell me what you think!