To Change or Not To Change: Time Traveling AU

Chapter 13: The Deep End

Jeremy found himself going to a place that he could forget everything that took place the night before. He had spent the night with a few friends and mostly just played video games, trying to keep the haunting thoughts of his mother's death from his head.

He knew his sister and his father would need him, but he couldn't bring himself to go back home. Aunt Jenna had sent him texts repeatedly. Elena had called twice. And his dad, well, there was nothing from him. Jeremy figured Grayson was either at the bottom of the bottle, sleeping or getting to the bottom of the bottle. His dad was a known drinker in the past.

He sighed as he sat down, pulling out a book that he had decided to read. It was random and barely caught his attention, but he needed something. It was in this library, reading and keeping thoughts of Miranda from his mind (or at least trying), that he noticed a girl.

Jeremy was a teenage guy, he was going to look.

The girl was tiny and likely barely reached his shoulders in height. She had long black hair she had down in waves; pale skin and a nice figure Jeremy admitted. She wasn't facing him so Jeremy didn't bother hiding his staring. Until of course, she turned around and Jeremy was blown away by her beauty.

Her eyes zeroed in on him before she smiled. Jeremy returned it. He got up, forgetting momentarily about his book, as he went over to say hello. "Hey," He said smoothly. "I'm Jeremy. And you are?"

"Anna." She smiled kindly.

It fit her. "Nice to meet you Anna," Jeremy replied. And in that moment, as he began to talk to Anna, he completely forgot about his mother and his screwed up family.

~x~

Elena finished drinking with her friends, feeling slightly tipsy. She missed the time when she could drink like crazy and it not affect her for awhile. She missed being a vampire. She sighed as she stood up, her friends staring at her. "Guys, I need to go home. My dad-"

"Want us to join you?" Caroline asked sweetly. Elena shook her head and her friends took it, nodding. She waved and left heading for the door. What she didn't notice was that Damon got up to follow her.

She headed for the nearby walk in park. She took a seat under the tree- the one she had spoken to Damon under while they waited for the comet. As she relaxed, enjoying the sun, she sensed someone's present. Her eyes opened.

There stood before her was Damon. Elena couldn't form words.

Damon didn't say anything as he sat down on the ground beside her, silently. She could barely tell he was breathing but she could see the rise and fall of his chest. She swallowed her nerves but it seemed like something else was coming up….oh dear, she was going to…

"Look, Damon, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I couldn't!" She word-vomited. "Like seriously, would you have told me if you were from you-know-where?! I'm sorry to shout and to cause you trouble but I-"

"Elena."

She closed her mouth which was hanging open. "Sorry…" She mumbled.

Damon simply shook his head and then she felt her body being pressed to his. She looked up, gapping at him. Damon was willingly touching her after what she did. "I heard about your mother…" He said softly, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

She swallowed air, before she felt tears spill from her eyes. Damon didn't comment about her tears, just held her as she began to cry. She buried her face into his chest and Damon simply took it.

~x~

Around 3pm-ish, Elena started home. She had invited Damon over for dinner- he of course said yes. He figured she didn't want to be alone. So as they walked towards Damon's car, Elena was hit with the thought of the last time she had seen that car.

She had died in that car and so had Damon.

He noticed she tensed up. "What's wrong with my car?" He asked, leading her over even though she was tense. He lowered his voice. "Does it have to do with you-know-what?"

She nodded slowly.

Damon tapped his chin with his thumb. "What happens?"

"…I can't say," Elena whispered. "Sorry…"

"Something bad happens, I suppose," Damon said as he opened the door. "But it doesn't matter, right now, does it?"

She shook her head. "I guess not…"

"So get into the car and let's head to your place. Your dad might be lonely."

Elena nodded and got in.

~x~

When the two entered the house, the first thing that hit them was a smell. Elena looked at Damon with question in her eyes, but she zeroed in on how his nose twitched. He was sort of scenting the room. "Does your dad drink often?" He asked, finally turning to her.

She shook her head. "Not really, he stopped drinking shortly after he met my mom." She swallowed once more feeling sick to her stomach. Grayson had stopped drinking for Miranda and now Miranda was dead. What would stop him now anyway?

"Mhmm," Damon hummed his reply as he led her towards the kitchen. Elena figured he had the place memorised already.

Elena followed him and found the kitchen was empty, save for a tray with cookies on it. She realized that they were Miranda's cookies- the last batch of cookies she had made before she died. She closed her eyes as she looked away. "Is my dad home?" She asked looking up at Damon, figuring he knew.

"He's asleep," Damon explained. "He likely past out from the amount of alcohol he drank."

That didn't sound good. Elena frowned but didn't comment further. She picked up the phone. "Think Chinese would be good for dinner?"

"I can do Chinese," Damon said as he walked towards the living room, looking at the photos.

Elena nodded and called in with her order. Minutes later, Aunt Jenna walked into the kitchen holding her head. It appeared as though Grayson wasn't the only one whom turned to the bottle. Aunt Jenna didn't notice Damon at first. "Ugh, why did I go and drink so much? This has got to be the worst hangover ever!"

Elena watched her aunt move around the kitchen to get some Advil. "You'll get through this," She reassured the older woman. "Especially when you see how much dad drank…"

"Ouch!" Aunt Jenna winced at the thought, "He turned to the bottle huh?"

"His wife did just die," Damon stated. Aunt Jenna whipped around- almost dropping the bottle of Advil in her wake. "I'm Damon. Damon Salvatore." He held out his hand.

"Oh Stefan's brother!" Aunt Jenna said smiling fondly, shaking Damon's hand.

Elena noticed the way Damon's jaw tensed at the connection. Everyone compared him to Stefan.

Elena moved over to Damon's side. "I invited Damon over for dinner. Is that okay?"

Aunt Jenna nodded. "Of course, it looks like it'll most likely just be us three anyway. Jeremy finally messaged me back and said he was going out for dinner with a girl." A wicked grin formed on Aunt Jenna's face.

"Did he say her name?" Elena found herself asking. She knew it whom it likely was- either Vicki or Anna. And in this timeline, Jeremy didn't find interest in Vicki. So that left Anna…

Jenna pouted, "No. He just said 'with someone'. So I messaged Matt because who else does Jeremy hang out with?" That was very true… "And Matt said he hadn't heard any plans for dinner tonight. Matt also said that Jeremy had spent the afternoon hanging out at the Grille with some girl."

So if Matt didn't know who the girl was, it was Anna then. "Mhm, Jeremy deserves to be happy."

"Agreed,"

"Now, what are we having for dinner?" Aunt Jenna asked shifting on her feet. Elena explained what she had ordered. "Oh goody! I've been craving Chinese for awhile!"

~x~

And that's chapter 13. Wow. I know, not a lot of Delena but please remember Damon is mad at Elena. But he knows what it's like to lose a mom so he's there for her if she needs him. Next chapter I'm hoping some more Delena moments possibly. Maybe Grayson will appear next chapter, not sure, but I know he's very sad. Ugh, I really feel bad about killing off Miranda! Oh well.

Please review!

Nerdy~

PS: I updated early. Would love some extra reviews! ;) Maybe we'll even get to 100 for that special one-shot…. 27 to go.