ANNNDDD we're back! Glad you chose to continue. This is where things get interesting...
...
Damon felt a sudden chill walking into the Gilbert house. Where it came from, he didn't know; but there was a presence; and it was unnerving.
Elena walked past him into the living room, throwing her sweater on the back of the chair and going straight to the TV. When she turned it on, she started flipping through channels with the remote until she settled on one; obnoxious commercials blaring in between programming. As she turned around to head to the fridge, she realized Damon was still standing at the door with an uneasy expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" She knew instantly something was up. Damon's face didn't often display vulnerability.
"I don't know. Something just feels...off. Who's upstairs?"
"As far as I know it's just Jeremy. He's not usually up this early. Why? Should I go check on him?" She said, already heading towards the stairs.
"I think I should go, stay here, if that's Jeremy then he doesn't feel right." He started up. Despite what he said, she started up the stairs after him, two at a time. When they approached his room, Damon turned around, putting his finger to his lips and gesturing to her to be silent. Opening the door a few inches, he peered in. Elena was struggling to see something, anything over his shoulder when Damon let the door swing open all the way. The room was dark. Jeremy was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard. He was wearing a heavy sweater with the hood pulled up. It was then that Elena felt the chill.
"Jeremy, what the hell! Are you trying to send the gas bill through the roof? Shut the window!" As she took a step towards his window, she felt Damon's hand on her arm. Her movement had caused a beam of light from the hallway to fall over Jeremy's face.
He was pale, ghostly pale. There were circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks. There was a slight quiver to his body and he was turned to his right, like he was leaning away from something; a revolted expression on his face. Upon seeing this, Elena forgot about the window, which wasn't open anyways.
"Jer? Jer...you okay?" She walked towards him and sat on his bed. Damon wasn't far behind; he was crouching beside him now.
"Jeremy, hello?" He said. He reached out to grab his shoulder. Just as he touched him Jeremy's eyes suddenly registered recognition. He jumped a little, shocked to see them.
"Uh, hey guys." He looked around, seemingly confused. "Can I help you?"
"Jeremy why is it so freaking cold in here? Do you have a fever?" She reached up towards his forehead only to have him smack her hand away.
"I'm fine, I don't have a fever. And I just had my window open. I closed it like, right before you guys got here."
"Do you mind explaining the hypnotic state you were in just a moment ago?" Damon's eyes were all serious. He was uncomfortable here. There was something unnatural about this.
"It's nothing. I was sleeping... Can I have some privacy please? I'm super tired."
Elena was uneasy. Something wasn't right. She could feel it but she couldn't place it. She stood up, grabbing Damon by the back of his jacket before heading towards to door. Just before she closed the door, she turned around, catching one last glimpse of Jeremy on his bed. He was closing his eyes, his body still leaning to the right. What neither of them saw, was Vicky; sitting to Jeremy's left; whispering in his ear; begging him to join her.
...
After the initial shock of seeing Jeremy; Elena called Bonnie.
"Bonnie, hi." She paused, unsure of how to describe what she saw. "Where are you?"
"I'm just at the Lockwood mansion. Tyler is having a bit of an identity crisis, so Caroline called me over for some werewolf research fun. God, its summer break and you'd think we were at brain camp with all the reading we do."
"Would you be able to come over? Jeremy is..." Damon shook his head. "There's something wrong with Jeremy."
Bonnie didn't respond right away. After Jeremy was shot, he had kept up a constant stream of questions about the afterlife. She answered them as best she could; after all, she had died and been brought back too. She understood his sudden fascination with it. But still, the questions had gotten deeper and more macabre until there was total silence. Jeremy's that is. About a week prior, he had stopped talking to her all together. She had tried texting, calling. She had been to his house a number of times; leaving only when she was sure he was fine. She even tried inviting him to Tyler's that very day. But his silence was louder than any voices she'd ever heard. "Elena, I...I haven't spoken to Jeremy in a week. He's been avoiding me. I'm not too sure he wants to see me."
Damon, overhearing this; reached out for the phone. Elena gave it to him willingly. He knew how to be persuasive.
"Listen witch. Your boyfriend needs you. He's not in the best state right now and I don't think it's a mild case of depression or avoidance. There's something going on with him. The air around him doesn't feel right. It's like..." He tried to come up with words to describe what he had felt in Jeremy's room. Try as he might, it was indescribable. He could still feel it; even now as he and Elena stood on her front porch. "I dunno. I can't describe it. You'll understand when you get here."
Bonnie took in Damon's confused state. She understood almost right away because she knew that feeling all too well. She had felt it, mildly, when she went looking for Jeremy. She could feel his presence and another inside the house. Assuming it was Elena, she had left; hurt by Jeremy's cold shoulder but relieved he wasn't alone. However, there was still something eerie about the house. She had chalked it up to Jenna's absence. But now, listening to the urgency in Damon's voice, she could tell it had gotten worse. "Give me ten minutes." And with that, the line went dead.
Damon gave the phone back to Elena and they stood silent on the porch; neither of them wanting to walk back into the house. Through an open window, they could hear a female voice begin. "...And a story of tragedy this morning as Baltimore police investigate the mass killing of 15 teenagers in a group home just outside of the city limits..."
...
HOORAHH! My first cliff hanger. Thanks for reading guys! I really value your support. As always, feedback is welcomed.
I'm in the middle of writing chapter 3 right now so it won't be up as fast as chapter 2 was but it won't be more than a day or so. I look forward to hearing from you ; )