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Bornkiller9: Thanks, I thought it was cute too. And yes, Damon is having a pretty hard time at the moment, let's be honest, nobody likes being left out. It's a horrible feeling. And yes, Connie is going to serve as Damon's new love interest for the rest of season 3, since he's more or less gotten over Elena and sees her as a friend now. But after that...as you say, we will see.

Chapter 35: Buffers

Sarah never would have said it out loud, but she had to admit, Klaus had picked a good batch of humans for them to feed on.

After leaving Gloria's they'd quickly found an obnoxious hen party out on the town who were already drunk, despite how high the sun was. One compulsion later, and they were back at the warehouse feeding off them. Luckily the numbers worked out so there was one for each other. Klaus and Sarah had claimed the only couch in the place, with their girls in the middle while they drank form their necks. Stefan was sat beside them in an armchair, his girl on his lap as he too drank from her neck. Leiah was stood up against the shelving unit, making out with her girl in between bites – when she thought Sarah wasn't looking. And Rebekah was sat on a crate with her legs crossed because her girl was sprawled out on the floor.

"My girl's dead," declared Rebekah, as everyone stopped drinking. The fact was, they weren't that far behind Rebekah's girl. Stefan's was unconscious from blood loss, Klaus and Sarah's two were drowsy for the same reason. The only one still lively was Leiah's and that was only because of the continual pausing to flirt, tease and make out – which had begun to spoil Sarah's meal. Was she jealous?

"I'm bored," continued Rebekah.

"I told you to slow down," pointed out Klaus. An unsympathetic shrug following as his girl's head bounced on his shoulder, unable to hold it up on her own.

"Well, I haven't had a decent meal in over ninety years, so excuse me for being hungry," Rebekah snapped back.

"You've always been a fast eater, hungry or not," pointed out Sarah, while using her finger to gather up some of her girl's trickling blood. She then lifted the finger, the blood dribbling down it like melted red chocolate before she popped it in her mouth.

"You should have seen her when we were human. We had to take turns holding her down so the rest of us could eat," said Klaus, to which Stefan and Leiah laughed and even Sarah snickered, if unintentionally.

"You're being mean," snapped Rebekah to her brother, before her pout moved across to the two Salvatores. "And why are you both being mean to me? You're supposed to be my friend, and you're in love with me."

"It's been ninety years, Rebekah. Give Stefan a minute," sighed Klaus, shaking his head.

"Why are you taking his side?" demanded Rebekah, her voice reaching a high pitched whine.

"Because, my dear sister, I feel pity for any man who doesn't give you what you want."

"Will you stop making me out to be a brat. I am not a brat!" whined Rebekah.

"Fine, you're not a brat," said Sarah halfheartedly.

"She so is," countered Leiah, smirking as Rebekah glared at her from across the room.

"I am not!" shouted Rebekah.

"All you do is cry and whine when you don't get your–" Before she could finish, Rebekah had ran over and snapped Leiah's girl's neck. The dead girl fell down in between the two sisters, as Rebekah grinned down at Leiah. Sarah looked over, and couldn't help but smile a little, seeing the girl dead.

"Rebekah!" snapped Leiah angrily.

"Ops," replied Rebekah smugly.

"You're such a bitch!"

"I thought I was a brat?"

"You're that too!"

"Well, at least I'm not a cry baby!" Rebekah snapped back.

"Yes, you are!"

"No I'm not, you are!"

"You see what I have to put up with?" groaned Klaus, rolling his head towards Stefan while his sisters continued to argue like children.

Stefan chuckled, then nodded towards his own sister. "You should try living with her."

"Hey!" snapped Sarah.

"Family this, and family that," said Stefan in a mocking impression of Sarah, to which all the Originals laughed. Apparently Rebekah and Leiah had paused their fight to mock her.

"Yeah, but then I have to look at that stupid haircut of yours," Sarah shot back, to which the Originals laughed again. "Not to mention your drinking problem."

Stefan then looked over to Klaus, who was still smiling from what Sarah had said. "Hey, it's not like you've been a picnic, either," he said to Klaus. "One summer with you and I already feel like I want to blow my head off." This time, all the women laughed while Klaus scowled.

The Hybrid then went back to feeding off his girl, and Stefan was about to do the same when he realised his was dead. Shoving her of, Stefan stood up and started heading for the door of the warehouse. "I'll see you later," was all he said, before heading out the door and closing it behind him.

Rebekah, who'd watched him go, turned back to her brother and asked, "Where's he going?"

"Long story," answered Klaus in between drinks.

Sarah, who was less hungry now, shoved her girl over to Klaus and looked over the back of the couch to Rebekah to provide more of an explanation. "He's gone to write a name on a wall. Remember, that stupid tradition he does after killing someone?"

Rebekah though for a moment, then it clicked. "Oh, yes. In that little room in his apartment." Sarah nodded. Then Rebekah remembered something else. "Isn't that where I caught you two making out for the first time?" she said, waving her finger between Leiah and Sarah.

The couple looked to one another, both remembering that moment in their lives. Leiah smiled a little, and Sarah did feel something, but she refused to smile. The memory was a happy one, but it was tainted because of what she now knew came next.

"Yeah," said Sarah, sounding detached as she turned and got up off the couch. Klaus didn't give the action much notice, still suckling at his girl's neck. But Leiah and Rebekah watched as Sarah walked off a few paces before stopping, her arms now folded and her gaze looking down.

Leiah, stepping over her dead girl, made her way to Sarah, leaving Rebekah to pout and look around in boredom. The little Original approached cautiously, each step slowing the closer she got until she stopped with a good meter between them. "I'm sorry–"

"Don't," said Sarah sharply as she turned. "Don't just say it because you think that's what I want to hear."

"I mean it though," said Leiah, pleading with her blue eyes for Sarah to believe her.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you meant it to when you said you'd never take my freedom away."

"Sarah…" Leiah forced herself to stop. Gathering herself before trying again, and doing her best to remain calm. "Can we please talk about it. I want to tell you what I should have back then. I want to try and make this right."

Sarah wasn't sure she could. This betrayal…it reminded her of Ronnie. How he'd been working for Katherine the entire time they'd been together. True, Leiah hadn't gone that far, but the crime was still the same. She'd lied to her, broken a promise. Made her forget something that was life changing and now her whole life up to this point was a confusing mess of what ifs?

She had to get it off her chest, had to shout and scream at Leiah. Have the breakup they should have had, but had missed out on because of what she'd done.

"If we're going to do this, then I'll need a drink," muttered Sarah, heading for the door.

"Where you going now?" demanded Rebekah sharply, to which Sarah stopped and turned back.

"We're heading out," answered Leiah for her.

"Not without me," declared Rebekah, already making her way over, but Leiah intercepted her.

She looked up with the same blue eyes as her sister, her lips rolling in and out as she remained silent for a moment, making sure Rebekah fully understood what she was about to say. "Please, Rebekah. We need to talk. Alone."

Rebekah sighed, clearly disappointed, but to her credit, didn't push. "Fine."

That was all she said, before turning on her heels and walking off. Sarah did feel bad about it. Part of her wanted to call Rebekah back, to invite her along as a buffer. But the truth was, she and Leiah needed to have this conversation. She was ready for it now, ready to let it all out, what she'd been trying and failing to put a lid on. But the box of her repressed emotions was packed to the brim. She had to let something out, or it'd all come out at the worst point. It was time to end her relationship with Leiah.

By the time they arrived back at the Gilbert house, Scarlett was wishing she'd rejected Jeremy's offer to join him. Considering how quiet and awkward the walk back had been, Scarlett could only imagine how much worse it was going to get if she went inside with him. The only reason she didn't fake tiredness and leave then was because she picked up the scent of someone in the house as Jeremy unlocked the door.

"Bonnie's inside," she said, prompting Jeremy to look up as he half opened the door.

"Oh…okay," Jeremy said with a frown, before pushing the door open the rest of the way and heading inside. "Bonnie?" he called out, as Scarlett followed him in, shutting the door.

"Jeremy?" Bonnie replied form the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me and Scarlett," he clarified, entering the kitchen. He spotted Bonnie at the island with a dozen or so books scattered around her. Some open, some closed, but all very old looking and thick. "What are you doing?" he asked, joining her at the island while Scarlett remained at the archway leading in. She imagined Jeremy was just being polite, but she'd been at this long enough to know what several open books meant.

"Just some research," answered Bonnie. "Sorry, if I'm intruding on your date. Jenna said I could work here and I guess I lost track of time. I can leave if you–"

"No, don't be silly, it's fine, right Scarlett?"

Even though she'd been dreading it just a moment ago – being alone with Jeremy for any longer – Scarlett still felt a little hurt at how he jumped at the opportunity of a third wheel. They might have both been guilty of wanting to end the date, but Scarlett wasn't trying to drag in someone to act as a buffer between them.

"Yeah. Date was over anyway," said Scarlett, trying to keep her voice neutral. She wasn't sure she succeeded, judging by the look Bonnie gave her. One that said the witch knew she was stepping into something she didn't want to be in the middle of.

"No, I'll just go home and–"

"No, stay," Jeremy insisted quickly.

If Scarlett wasn't already convinced he didn't want to spend anymore time alone with her, she would have been now. Heck, Bonnie probably knew it too after that. And no doubt she'd tell Elena and Caroline, one of which – mostly like the nosey blonde – would then want to talk to her about it. Which was just something else she didn't want to deal with. She was actually getting to the point were she wanted another supernatural disaster to happen, just to distract everyone from her and Jeremy's problems. Ones which were becoming more and more obvious.

"We can help you with your research," Jeremy continued, to which Scarlett rolled her eyes. The last time she, Jeremy and Bonnie had done research they'd been hiding out under the house possessed with hundreds of dead witch spirits. They hadn't been able to leave so Scarlett had forced herself to do research in order to pass the time. But even then she needed constant, "breaks," to exercise and keep active and generally stave of the boredom that came with research. Here, she wasn't imprisoned, and would rather do anything else other than research.

"I mean…it would be helpful," admitted Bonnie sheepishly, looking to Scarlett in particular. The werewolf had to shut her eyes so that Bonnie wouldn't see her rolling them, and she screamed internally in frustration. She couldn't very well say no now. Not after Bonnie had basically asked for help.

Pushing off the wall, Scarlett dragged herself over to the island covered in ancient textbooks on magic, or whatever. Her arms folded, she made her annoyance clear with a sigh, before she then said, "All right, what are we looking for?"

"Anything that mentions precious metals or a symbol which resembles a necklace," explained Bonnie, as she reached over to hand Scarlett one of the closed book.

"Precious metals?" Scarlett asked with a frown.

"Gold, silver, platinum and palladium," answered Bonnie, grabbing another of her unopened books and passing it to Jeremy. Only when Jeremy took his book, he felt the weight of it and leaned forward suddenly before steadying himself.

"Thanks," said Scarlett unenthusiastically, as she put the book down on the island and opened it up.

"Why are we looking for this?" asked Jeremy as he too opened his book and started to read.

"It's for Elena. You know that necklace Stefan gave her?" She paused, reaching beneath one of the books before producing the very necklace she was talking about, the one Elena often wore. "It's got its own magic."

"What does that mean?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," said Bonnie as she put the necklace back down.

They worked in silence for a while. The only constant sounds of note were the turning of pages, and the occasional sighing from one of the three of them – most usually Scarlett.

The werewolf came and went from the room, just as she'd done the last time they'd done research together. After a few minutes of scanning pages, she needed to stretch her legs and walk around, check her phone and see what else was happening in the world. Anything was better than being stuck inside researching. She even stepped out onto the porch a couple of times, taking in the evening air before returning to the dull monotony that was reading books.

But while she came and went, Bonnie and Jeremy remained focused on the books before them. They were a lot better at sitting down and reading than Scarlett. She couldn't understand how they did it, but they were reading and taking in every word before them with deep interest. She could see it in their eyes as they slowly moved to the right then flicked back to the left to start again. Sometimes they even turned back a few pages to reread something!

Eventually though, Jeremy did declare he was taking a break to go to the bathroom. Bonnie hummed an acknowledgement, lost in what she was reading at the moment before he got up and left. Scarlett watched him leave, because even if they were on shaky ground, Jeremy was still a better sight than old dried ink from hundreds of years ago. But, once she heard him close the bathroom door, she turned to Bonnie.

"Bonnie?" Scarlett whispered.

"Hmm?" the witch said, looking up.

"I need to ask you something."

"Why, have you found something about the necklace?"

"No, it's about Jeremy."

"Jeremy?" repeated Bonnie with a frown.

"Yeah. About when he…when he came back to life." Bonnie straightened up, giving Scarlett her full attention. "Is it possible…that something could have gone wrong? That he could have come back different?"

"Why do you ask?"

"He's been acting weird. Talking to himself more. Staring off into space. He's laughing at things then not telling me what's funny, and he jumps sometimes even when he should know I'm in the room with him."

Bonnie's frown deepened in concern. "Elena told me the same thing."

"Could you, I don't know…do a spell or something to check on him?" asked Scarlett.

"Not really," said Bonnie awkwardly. "What I did, it went against the balance of nature and everything the the witch spirits told me. It's not something that's been done before, or if it has, it hasn't happened a lot. Any spell I might use to check on him might not work properly because he came back to life when he shouldn't have. If I check for magic I'm bound to find something because magic is the only reason he's alive."

"But if it's against nature, or whatever, then something could be wrong with him?"

"I guess…"

Hearing the door open from the bathroom, Scarlett hissed, "He's coming," before looking back down at her book. Bonnie continued to stare off, thinking, but it looked natural as Jeremy entered.

"You found something?" he asked Bonnie, seeing the intense look on her face.

"No," said Bonnie, she shook her head and looked back down at the book in front of her. "I thought I might…but no."

"Oh, well," sighed Jeremy as he took his spot next to Scarlett at the island and continued his reading. At least until Bonnie spoke up.

"Jeremy?"

"Uh-huh?"

"You've…not been experiencing anything strange, have you? Since I brought you back to life?"

Jeremy looked up sharply, eyes wide. Bonnie stared at him, waiting for an answer, but Scarlett knew she'd noted his reaction to the question. His gaze then shot over to the werewolf at his side, who was looking at him in concern. "Did you talk to her?" he asked, irritation in his voice.

"Actually it was Elena," said Bonnie, as Jeremy turned back. "But, yeah, Scarlett was asking too."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Jeremy–"

"I said I'm fine! Why won't any of you believe me when I say it!" shouted Jeremy slamming his hands on the island.

"Jeremy, calm down," said Bonnie in a level voice. It was a good thing she'd said, because Scarlett could only imagine if she had that it would have sent Jeremy over the edge. But the way in which Bonnie said it, seemed to make him see how he was acting. Maybe she put a spell on her words or whatever, but Jeremy unclenched his fist and started to take deep breathes.

"Jeremy, you need to understand, what I did to you wasn't natural. Don't get me wrong, I always would have tried it, but it's not meant to be done. There's no record of it being done before, meaning there could be side effects, something could be messing with your–"

"I'm completely fine," insisted Jeremy, looking between Bonnie and Scarlett. "There's nothing wrong with me, honest. I'm not hearing voices, I've not got an evil personality, I have no desire to maim or kill anyone. I'm the exact same person as before," he said as he grabbed the necklace off the table. "Now, can we please just focus on…" He trailed off, staring at a space next to Scarlett, as if someone else had entered the room. But when Scarlett and Bonnie looked there was no one there.

They didn't get a chance to look back to Jeremy, as suddenly the entire island caught a light like it was a barbecue.

"Get back!" shouted Bonnie as they all jumped back. Scarlett made sure to grab Jeremy and pull him back further, but the flames threw themselves outwards like a whip, catching both Scarlett and Jeremy by the arms. Jeremy screamed, and Scarlett hissed as they stumbled and fell back.

The fire loomed over them, reaching up and tickling the ceiling with the tips of its flames. But their was something inside the fire trying to reach out. Using the flames like tentacles as they swung out towards Scarlett and Jeremy who ducked to avoid their reach.

Then came the booming voice of Bonnie as she shouted something Scarlett didn't understand. The thing inside the fire vanished, the flames folding in on themselves until there was nothing left on the island but the remains of some toasty books. However, despite the heat, the books were relatively unscathed as was the island surface and the rest of the kitchen. The only evidence that there had been any fire at all was the burn marks on Scarlett and Jeremy's arms.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Bonnie, looking over the island to where the two sixteen year olds were sat on their asses.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Scarlett, still catching her breath.

"I don't know?"

"It had something to do with the necklace," said Jeremy, holding it up as they all stared. "It was like the fire was trying to get it off me."

Or maybe, thought Scarlett with a shiver. The fire was after you, Jeremy.