Here comes John, and he brings a whole lot of trouble. I would like to remind you that this John is much like the one we first saw in VD S1, with very few redeeming qualities, that might change, but just so you're not surprised by him. Also, we begin to see more of Itziar, more than just the facade she keeps up almost all the time.
I also think I should point out that we're past the middle point in this fic and, more importantly, this is the last chapter I wrote when I first began this fic, about six years ago or so (you might notice the change, you might not, we'll see). So, that's that for now, lets get on with the story!
Chapter 13. Lies Discovered
Things were still a bit tense for several days even after the truce had been agreed. The group understood that it was probably hard for Itziar to know there were vampires and not hunt them, when she had convinced herself it was her mission in life to kill as many as she could; probably as hard as it was for Alaric to deal with his wife's abandoning him.
On a particular day, Elena was rushing to class, when she bumped into the younger girl, this time she was so out-of-it that they both fell to the floor, though Itziar almost instantly jumped back onto her feet and adopted a fighting pose.
"Hey, calm down…" Elena said, trying to be as soothing as possible as she gathered her things and got up. "I'm not going to fight you, ok? We have a truce. You don't attack us, we won't attack you, ok?"
"Vampires don't keep their word, ever." Itziar hissed in a low voice.
"Well, I'm not a vampire, neither are any of the other girls." Elena pointed out. "And Mia, Caroline and I are all human. Anyway, we have nothing against any of you. What you did to Damon before, you were just moved by pain and grief… it's understandable. I thought you would have understood by now that neither Stefan nor Damon are evil."
"All vampires are evil." Itziar insisted.
"There you go again…" Elena sighed tiredly. "Look, I know I can't make you change your mind about things, but I really wish you would give them a chance. Vampires they may be, but they're not monsters; and they're very much men of their word."
"Does your brother know who you hang out with?" Itziar asked out of the blue.
Elena's eyes narrowed, and this time she was the one unconsciously getting on her guard.
"No." She answered in a serious voice. "And I want it to stay that way. Jeremy has been through enough already because of the supernatural, our dad wanted to protect him from all this, I'm not going to be the one to ruin that." She sighed again and relaxed slightly. "Look, I'm not going to be a hypocrite and tell you to stay away from him. I know Jeremy cares about you, considers you a friend, and he has very few good ones. As long as you don't hurt him, or try to turn him against any of us, you and I won't be having any problem."
"What if he were to find out the truth on his own?" Itziar couldn't help but ask. "What if he were to turn against you on his own?"
"On the first… I honestly think it's something that will happen eventually, I just want to let him be a kid for as long as he possibly can; he's suffered enough already." Elena declared in a motherly tone. "On the second… I honestly don't know what I would do. I just hope he would give me the chance to explain…"
"You really love him, don't you?" Itziar asked.
"He's my little brother." Elena said for all answer.
The expression in the younger girl's face was a mix of wonder, hesitance, and the slightest envy; and it was then that Elena saw it: Itziar was an only child, who for the longest time had been alone, she had never had a stable family, and the concept was probably foreign to her.
"Alaric loves you, you know?" Elena commented suddenly. "Even if you're not his by birth, he cares deeply about you, as his daughter. I'm not telling you to forget your birth mom, because you shouldn't, she did a lot for you; but she did it so you would have a life, so you would be happy. So it's alright for you to do that, to move on, to care for others, to live and enjoy life to the fullest. It's alright…"
"How can you even think all that?" Itziar asked, she was trying to drown her voice in sarcasm, but the hesitance, the fragility was still there.
In that moment Elena saw, not the hardened vampire-slayer, but instead the young, vulnerable orphan girl who believed she had nothing and no one in the world… who had survived so much, for so long, she just didn't seem to know how to actually live.
"It's what I sometimes wish my mother might have wished for me when she chose to abandon me the day after I was born." Elena answered honestly.
"Wha… Your mother?" Itziar seemed at a total loss at that.
"I am adopted." Elena clarified. "Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, while they were my parents in every way that counts, they didn't give birth to me. Isobel, Alaric's wife, is my birthmother. She had me when she was a teenager and abandoned me the day after I was born with the Gilberts, who had taken her in when finding her alone and pregnant on the streets. I didn't know anything until last fall, and for the longest time I felt like my whole life had been a lie, because my parents weren't the ones I believed them to be. Until I realized I was the one in the wrong. Grayson and Miranda Gilbert… they were my mom and dad; Isobel might have given birth to me, but she was never my mother, not really. And even without my parents, I still have family, with my brother Jeremy, my aunt Jenna; Caroline and Bonnie are like my sisters, Damon has become like my brother, and I love Stefan with all I am, Sheila Bennett is a grandmother to us all, and Mia is a very dear friend… We're all family, blood or otherwise. Alaric and you may not have the same blood, but you're family as well, and maybe some day you'll find others you will be able to see the same way."
With that Elena brushed a hand on Itziar's arm in a comforting gesture and walked past her in the direction of her classroom, walking calmly; the late bell had long since rang, so being a few more minutes late wouldn't make that much of a difference; and in that moment she was just to lost in her own thoughts: her memories, dreams, wishes… It was true she at times wished that her mother had left her because she had to, because it was the best for Elena, that she'd truly loved her but the circumstances worked against her… but how could she honestly believe all that of a woman who had willingly abandoned a man who loved her with all his heart, and making him believe she was murdered?
.-.
Elena was still mentally tired when she arrived to her home that evening; she had even turned down Caroline's offer for a sleepover, and it wasn't because of Stefan, she just wasn't feeling up to parties of any kind. She could have never imagined how much more tiring what was waiting for her at home would be…
She'd just entered the house when, even without being Caroline, Elena could almost feel the tension filling the house, it was that heavy. She found Jenna and Jeremy on one side of the kitchen counter… staring at none other than…
"Uncle John…" Elena blurted out in shock.
The man turned to her the moment his name was called, looked Elena up and down before turning away again in obvious derision.
"I guess I'll be going to my room now." John declared right then. "Jeremy, I really hope we'll be able to talk sometime later. You're sixteen now, soon to be seventeen, and there are things about our family you need to learn now, things your dad never got around to teaching you. I hope you'll give me the chance to try and do it in his place…"
"Please John, not that insanity again!" Jenna practically snapped.
"Insanity?" John's anger was quite obvious.
"Monsters, creatures that roam the night, really?" Jenna snorted. "What else can I call that sort of thing but insanity? And don't get Grayson and Miranda into this. Miranda hated the whole thing, and Grayson never believed a word about it."
"That's quite obvious, to have shared knowledge of our heritage, of our legacy with outsiders." John commented with obvious distaste.
"Outsiders?" Jenna rolled her eyes.
"You're not a Gilbert, not by birth and not by marriage, you have no right to comment about the Gilbert Family traditions, you shouldn't even know about them…" under his breath he then added. "Then again, neither should some others…"
Elena rolled her eyes at that, she had been able to hear, but she wasn't up to another fight with John, especially not with Jeremy and Jenna present.
"Jeremy, I still hope we'll be able to talk." John commented, ignoring the women altogether.
"Ah… sure…" The boy didn't seem quite sure what to say, but in the end simply shrugged and nodded to his uncle.
With that the man left, Jeremy soon doing the same.
"Well, that was something…" Jenna shook her head tiredly. "I really don't know how anyone can expect me to stand him for the next month, maybe even more…"
"Will he really be staying that long?" Elena asked, really not liking it.
"Honestly, I don't know." Jenna answered honestly. "One can never know with John. I blame it all on his taking the 'old traditions' too seriously. I mean, from what Miranda told me, Grayson always thought they were stupidities, ramblings of an insane man; and Grayson turned out pretty ok. Then again, John himself seems to be more than a bit crazy, so that might be the reason for his belief.
Elena had to bite her tongue and focus on not rolling her eyes, if her aunt just knew…
"Hey, I just realized something." Jenna commented right then. "John never greeted you…"
"Don't think about it." Elena tried to dismiss the idea. "He probably was more focused on other things, like his arrival, or being tired…"
"Hmm…" Jenna didn't seem that convinced, but didn't press on it either. "Yet another reason not to like the bastard…"
"Well Jenna, I will be going to my room." Elena announced right then. "It's already evening, and I've still got a ton of homework to do."
.-.
The next day Elena wasn't the most alert in class, and when her friends asked why she had to explain how John had arrived the previous day and that somehow his presence in the house, and his attitude towards Elena herself had triggered nightmares, they were mostly about what had been said and done that night, the night Elena had been made to forget, but it deviated on one point, in her dream John actually got close enough to her to touch her and whisper something harshly into her ear, she had no idea what, couldn't remember when she woke up.
At least the tension at school had diminished; it seemed like Elena's talk with Itziar had truly helped, as the girl stopped looking like she might snap and attack everyone at any moment and Alaric actually looked relaxed as he taught the senior class.
Several more days passed, and finally it was the weekend again, Elena was getting ready for a particular date that night. It was half group outing, half date, since a band that the girls liked was giving a concert in Richmond that night, Damon had gotten them all tickets; afterwards they would be staying at a suite in the most luxurious hotel in town, returning to Mystic Falls the next day, most likely after lunch. At first the girls had been insistent on it all being too much, until Damon had shut them saying that the Salvatores were a founding family, which translated as: they were rich; also, it wasn't like the brothers had been sitting idle for the last century and a half, Damon was particularly proud of his investments, kept saying he'd always had a good eye for that kind of thing. In few words, they had more than enough money to finance their various interests, and if they were going to do something, they might as well do it in style. Matt almost hadn't gone, feeling like the whole thing was a reminder of how poor he was, until his girlfriend practically shook him and told him how idiotic it was to have a grudge on Damon for what he inherited, it's not like any of them chose the family they were born in; and if Damon wanted to use his money to insult them, he wouldn't be paying for everything for the trip…
The brunette had just finished getting ready, her attire consisting of black hip-hugging jeans, a dark-blue blouse that brought out her eyes, calf-high gray boots and a long light-gray jacket, in a backpack she had a set of pajamas, as well as a change of clothes for the next day and her bag of toiletries. She had just finished the last touches for her hair, which was up in a high-ponytail, when there was some knocking on the front door, Stefan was there!
Elena was about to halfway down the stairs when suddenly she could practically sense a sudden tension, at the same time she heard a voice.
"What are you doing here?" A voice asked.
It took a second for Elena's mind to catch up with what was going on, but soon enough she realized the voice belonged to her Uncle John, he was the one who had opened the door.
"You must be Elena's uncle, John Gilbert." Stefan said, much more politely than John deserved. "I am Stefan Salvatore, Elena's boyfriend, I'm here to pick her up. We are going with a few more friends to a concert in Richmond."
"She isn't going anywhere with you." John stated right then.
"Jenna okayed everything." Stefan went on, ignoring him. "My brother Damon is paying for everything as a little gift to his wife, he knows how much Bonnie, Caro and Elena love that band. We're getting back until tomorrow since we thought it would actually be safer, instead of driving back in the middle of the night…"
"I said Elena isn't going anywhere with the likes of you…" John began.
Taking a deep breath, knowing that what was coming wasn't going to be good, Elena finished walking down the stairs and went to stand in between her uncle and boyfriend.
"Actually uncle, I am." Elena interrupted. "Jenna knows the plan and she was very supportive of it. She, not you, is my legal guardian."
"If Jenna knew the kind of… creatures you hang out with she wouldn't think that way." John said in a very cold voice.
"You're really lacking on your manners uncle, don't you know the polite thing would have been to let Stefan in while he waited for me?" Elena unexpectedly commented.
Stefan knew what his girlfriend was aiming for, and couldn't help but think it was dangerous. They had just been able to make a truce with two vampire hunters; they really didn't need yet another one after them.
"Like I would ever invite him into this house…" John began.
"Good thing you don't have to then." Elena interrupted him. "Stefan was invited in months ago, and that's not an invitation that will be rescinded, ever."
As bad as an idea as he knew it all was, Stefan wasn't about to let his girlfriend stand alone either, so he proved her point by setting a foot across the door and embracing his girlfriend from behind, proving there was no barrier blocking his entry.
"You have no idea…" John began.
"Oh… I think I do, uncle." Elena actually half smirked at him as he said that. "And now, if you'll excuse us, we have to leave. Wouldn't want to be late to the concert and all. See you tomorrow, Uncle John."
With that she spun around, walked down the porch steps with Stefan.
They had just reached the driveway, the front door hadn't even been closed yet, and right as Stefan moved to take the backpack from Elena's hands she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him fully on the mouth.
A moment later, the front door was slammed close.
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Stefan asked softly as they separated. "Not the kiss exactly, since I think it was great, I mean provoking him like that."
"Probably not." Elena admitted. "But I couldn't help it. He was being awfully rude to you."
"I can survive that." Stefan assured her easily. "I just don't want you to get in trouble because of me Elena… we don't know how dangerous he might turn out to be."
"Oh, I was already in trouble with him, don't you worry." Elena said dismissively. "Without you he would just have done his best to find another excuse. After all, 'I am not really a Gilbert', and as far as he's concerned, that's enough of a crime on my part…"
Stefan sighed sadly. He really, really hoped their little performance wouldn't go back to haunt them later on.
.-.
That evening Jeremy was sprawled on his bed, going through Jonathan Gilbert's journal again out of boredom. He and Itziar were supposed to be hanging out that night in her house, her dad wouldn't be in as he was trying his best to re-conquer Jenna. Except Itziar had collapsed in school that afternoon; Jeremy had wanted to take her to the nurse, but Itziar had practically screamed at him not to, either she was very afraid of nurses, or she was hiding something. Six months before Jeremy probably wouldn't have been that suspicious, but after what had happened, first with Vickie, then with Anna; he knew things were going on around him, his sister and her friends were involved and hadn't seen fit to tell him anything… He didn't want to think of Itziar like Vickie and Anna, girls that had seemed interested in him and in the end were only using him: one for drugs and sex, the other… he actually had no idea.
In the end Jeremy had carried Itziar to her dad, half-shocked at how light and thin she actually was, and the fact that her hands were almost too cold for it to be normal… and her already nearly translucent skin looked even paler for some reason…
He knew the sickness was no lie, not only because of the things he had noticed, but also because Alaric too had canceled on Jenna, telling her his daughter had come down with something and he was going to take care of her; only he had made it sound like she just had the flu, or a stomach bug, or something equally simple and normal, and Jeremy couldn't help the feeling that reality was much different, much more complicated.
"Jeremy?" A voice called unexpectedly.
John, his dad's brother, was standing at the door right then, watching the boy intently, as if waiting to be allowed inside.
"What is it Uncle John?" Jeremy asked, sitting up in the bed, putting the journal aside.
"I was hoping we would be able to have that talk." John explained, still from the door.
"Now?" Jeremy finally shrugged, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. "Sure, fine."
With that, John finally stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, he went to sit on a chair after pulling it close to the bed.
"What were you reading?" He asked, interested.
"An old journal, found it in a box in the attic." Jeremy answered dismissively. "It belonged to some ancestor named Jonathan Gilbert… he wrote some heavy stuff."
"Do you believe any of it?" John asked, strangely interested in everything.
"Not really." Jeremy admitted with a sigh. "I mean, this girl, Anna, showed me a lot of news reports on the 'mysterious deaths' in Mystic Falls, going all the way to the 1860's, 1850's at least; I'll admit it's all pretty strange, even for a small town in the middle of nowhere. But vampires? Werewolves? Witches? I think that's a bit much. You've read the journal?"
"That particular one, I honestly don't know." John answered, taking it and looking through it. "But I've read the other ones."
"There are others?" Jeremy didn't know that.
"Yes." His uncle nodded. "Jonathan Gilbert recorded everything important that happened at least through half of his life, the later half. I actually wasn't aware that a journal had ended up here somehow. All the others are elsewhere; your father must have taken it for some reason I'm not aware of shortly before the accident."
Jeremy shrugged, while things had gotten better, in particular compared to how he'd been the first few months after the accident, he still didn't like talking about it, or even remembering it, maybe one day it wouldn't hurt as much, he just didn't know.
"In any case, I still think he was pretty crazy." Jeremy insisted.
"What if I told you he wasn't?" John's question was as sudden as it was unexpected. "What if I told you he wasn't insane, not in the slightest; and that all he wrote was the absolute truth, or at least, the truth as he knew it?"
"I would begin to think you are the one a bit crazy." Jeremy deadpanned.
"But I'm not, and neither was our ancestor." John informed him. "Jeremy… listen to me very carefully. Vampires, werewolves, witches, they are all real; they exist and they walk among us. And it is our duty, as Gilberts, to annihilate them. That's our legacy…"
.-.
In another house, Itziar was laying on her bed, her inner-elbow punctured by a needle which was connected to a blood-bag. Meanwhile, her adopted father was sitting on a nearby chair, he'd just finished recording her vitals.
"You're almost back to normal." He announced.
"Good." Itziar nodded. "I hate being weak…"
"What I find strange is that you let it go this far." Alaric announced. "Usually you're demanding a transfusion the moment you begin to lose your strength, and yet this time… this time you let your abilities be lower than even those of fit humans."
"I was… distracted…" Itziar admitted grouchily.
"With Jeremy Gilbert." Alaric teased.
For all answer, Itziar flinched.
"You know, there's nothing wrong with liking someone." Alaric pointed out softly.
"I'm sure Miss Gilbert wouldn't like it." Itziar said as an excuse.
"From what you told me before, she said she wasn't going to be a hypocrite." Alaric reminded her. "She's dating a vampire, why would she have any problem with you dating her brother?"
"Now you're taking it too far…" Itziar said warningly. "I'm not interested in dating Jeremy, I don't even like him!"
"Yet you call him by his first name." Alaric declared. "Something I've heard you do for no one else… not even me…"
Itziar opened her mouth, a cutting remark already on her lips, but the moment her reddened eyes fell on Alaric's blue ones, it was like something inside her was suddenly afraid, not of him, but for him, she didn't want to lose him…
Elena's words of a few days before came to mind, and suddenly Itziar began almost visibly fidgeting, another thing she'd never done before.
"Do you love me?" She blurted out at Alaric.
"What…?" The man was certainly not expecting that.
"Do you love me?" Itziar repeated, extremely hesitant. "Honestly? Or is all this… all just part of a façade, a cover story…"
"Honestly?" Alaric repeated the question.
Itziar nodded, and then unconsciously closed her eyes as she braced herself, she didn't believe a good answer would be coming…
The bed dipped slightly right beside her, and suddenly she found herself in Alaric's arms, with him being mindful of her arm still connected to the blood-bag.
"With all that I am." Alaric answered softly as he caressed her hair. "I truly couldn't love you more if you were of my own blood."
"Really?" Itziar asked in a very low voice, not daring to open her eyes.
"Yes." Alaric nodded. "I always wanted kids, Isobel didn't. Then she was gone and I… I just lost myself for a while." He sighed. "I know we made up all this story, to give you a background, so you could have a life, but I honestly see you as my daughter Itziar… my amazing, beautiful daughter, of whom I'm more proud than words can say…"
With that, and not caring about the fact that there was still a bit of blood left in the bag, Itziar practically ripped the needle off her wrist and threw herself against Alaric's chest, embracing him fully, tightly… she began to cry.
"I love you too…" She whispered in sobs against his shirt. "Dad…"
Alaric's hold on her tightened even more at that. Never had he heard such words coming from Itziar's mouth, not her declaration, not her calling him dad, even with the cover-story, she had masterfully avoided calling him that at any time… and yet things had changed, and it made him feel so amazing… he wasn't completely sure why, but he had a feeling he had the Gilberts and Salvatores to thank for the change in Itziar, all of them…
.-.
John had finally left Jeremy's room after a while, having left the teen to thinks things over and decide if he would believe, and most importantly, if he would allow the older Gilbert to train him in the old ways of their family.
By that point Jeremy still believed his uncle was more than a bit crazy, and yet, at the same time, an instinct inside of him kept screaming that it all made perfect sense, in a very bizarre way; and mainly, it would explain the situations with Vickie and Anna, and also what Elena and the others were keeping from him. Elena…
Remembering his sister, Jeremy made up his mind, after locking up his room, he went through the bathroom into Elena's empty one. He knew the brunette wouldn't be getting back that night, and he knew a lot of things about her she didn't realize, like where she kept her journal stashed whenever she wasn't writing in it…
What surprised him was the fact that the journal he found was filled up already, and it was the previous' year; which probably meant she had the new one on her. Still, the odd happenings had begun on September of the previous year, so he should be able to find out about it.
With that thought it mind, he locked Elena's door, sat on the bed, and opened the journal. He was going straight to September, until something else distracted him, the last entrance in May, about a week after the accident at Wickery Bridge…
Dear Diary
So much has happened in the last several days, and I still don't understand most of it. I knew I shouldn't have blown family night, shouldn't have gone to that party. But I thought "We have family night every week, this party is unique!" Shows what I know, not only was the party like any other, I wasn't even enjoying myself. When mom and dad picked me up, I was so terribly ashamed, and yet they weren't angry, not really, I think they were more disappointed. Dad kept asking me why I had done it, and I couldn't find and answer to give him and then… we were crossing Wickery Bridge and… I have no idea what happened, one moment I was listening to my mom repeat how she and dad only wanted me to be safe, while I kept my head down so as not to see dad's hard expression in his face through rearview mirror… the next I could feel nothing except the coldness of the water filling the inside of the car. It looked like Mom had hit her head on the side window and lost consciousness, while my dad punched and kicked at the door, trying to force it open to no avail; I felt so dizzy and my head hurt, I probably hit it too… last thing I remember is hearing dad say everything would be alright…
It wasn't! It wasn't alright! They're dead! My mom and dad are dead! And it's all my fault. If I hadn't gone to that thrice-damned party. And it wasn't even worth it! No… nothing will ever be worth my parents' lives! They're gone, they're gone and it's all my fault… Oh God, what about Jeremy? How can I take care of my brother when I can't even take care of myself?!
I don't even know how the hell I'm alive! The people at the hospital call it a miracle, I call it useless. What good is it for me to have survived? It would be better if it had been my mom or my dad, or even both of them, at least they would know what to do, how to move on, and they would be able to take care of my brother, what can I do? Nothing.
Still, the fact that I survived bothers me, not only because I don't think I should have, but because dad was the one actually trying to get out, the car doors were blocked, and the windows refused to break. How could I possibly have gotten out like that? I don't understand. If someone saved me, if it was my guardian angel, couldn't mom and dad have been saved? Even if it was in my place? Oh God…
The page had traces of tears, and in some points it looked like the ink was actually splotched because of them. Jeremy could hardly believe it, he had known his sister was hurt about their parents' death, but he hadn't realized how much she blamed herself for everything, or how unworthy she believed herself to be.
Still, at least for the time being, he decided there were other more important things. So he passed several pages, until he eventually reached the entries marked: September.
It was all there. How she had met Stefan Salvatore, her almost immediate crush on him, the party where Vickie was first attack by a wild animal, the night of the Comet, the arrival to town of Damon Salvatore, how Stefan had joined the football team, how she'd quit the cheerleaders, all the odd things that seemed to be happening, and then when the man who had claimed to have known Stefan sixty years before… after that:
Dear Diary,
I'm not a believer. People are born, they grow old, and then they die. That's the world we live in. There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. There's nothing that defies rational thought. People are supposed to be who they say they are. And not lie or hide their true selves.
It's not possible. I'm not a believer, I can't be. But how can I deny what's right in front of me? Someone who never grows old… Never gets hurt… Someone who changes in ways that can't be explained… Girls bitten… Bodies drained of blood…
I have to find out the truth… I have to…
The next entry was longer, it detailed things she'd talked with Stefan, regarding the truth about vampires, and how Stefan had come to be one. It ended up with Elena's tearful declaration that, while she could accept Stefan being a vampire, she didn't think she could be with him, she loved him so much, and yet she still couldn't be with him.
There were several angst filled entrances after that one, most repeating over and over again how much she loved Stefan, how much she wanted to be with him but wasn't sure she could. And then, one in particular, from Halloween Night, called his attention.
Dear Diary,
Today just has to have been the worst day ever. I knew Vickie wasn't going to make it as a vampire, regardless of how good Stefan's intentions might have been, and even Damon's, to a point. But she was a druggie, one who just wouldn't quit…and I imagine blood became her new drug of choice. I did what I could to keep her away from Jer, but my brother just didn't understand, didn't realize that all I wanted to do was protect him… and then Vickie attacked us, she actually bit me, would have killed me if Stefan hadn't staked her. I was in so much pain, and then I saw Jeremy and it only made things worse… wasn't it enough for him to lose our parents? Now he's lost Vickie too. And I know she wasn't right for him, still, it's not fair that he has to suffer this much.
I can't believe I did this… I asked Damon to erase Jeremy's memories, I asked him to take away the pain. I just… I can't handle seeing him like that, so depressed, so empty, it seems to be even worse than when mom and dad died. I really didn't think he would get over it, which is why I asked Stefan to help; he said he couldn't do it, his 'diet' doesn't allow him to use such powers, but Damon could. He compelled Jeremy, making him forget what happened tonight, also made him believe that Vickie left town, and that it's for the best. I don't know how Jeremy will react if he ever finds out about what I did, he might hate me, but I just had to do it, for him. He's so young… so innocent… doesn't deserve to suffer as much as he has. Maybe this way he'll be able to move on, maybe if… when he learns the truth he'll realize I did it for him.
I actually thought about asking Damon to erase my own memories, very briefly, but I considered it. Then I realized I couldn't do it, Regardless of how painful some things might be, of how complicated… I still love Stefan, I love him so much… and I don't want to lose that feeling; it's like, I would feel empty if I did. So I'll remember, I'll carry on with these memories, my own, and Jeremy's… I just hope things will be better now…
After reading that Jeremy wasn't just angry, he was absolutely furious. So much he threw Elena's journal against a nearby wall before kicking her bed as hard as he could. He absolutely hated his sister in that moment. How dare she take his memories from him, his feelings?! How dare she?!
Still quite furious Jeremy rushed back to his own room, from where he slipped out the window; then, without caring about anything at all, he just began running. He didn't have a destination in mind, he was in fact trying to simply not think.
Eventually he had to stop, as his legs began to hurt, muscles burning after he'd forced them so strongly for who-knows how long. He screamed as loud as he could, letting all his frustrations out in a pained cry that echoed around the rocks framing the nearby falls.
Jeremy was about to let himself fall to the ground, physically and mentally exhausted after the long night's ordeal, when suddenly he became aware of someone else standing close, he spun around, noticing the figure as it stood beside an oak tree, the moon shining over hair, making it look like spun silver, and the skin as white as the moon itself; she was dressed totally in black, making her look like some kind of apparition, Jeremy knew immediately who she was.
"Itziar?" He asked, puzzled. "What are you doing here?"
And I still believe in the good
And I still believe in the light
And I wanna feel the sun
I wanna free you tonight