I wake up with a feeling of dread. I can't quite recall the dream I had, only that it was bad. I'd never gotten a nightmare like that before, could it be because of my new witch status? Was it a prophetic dream? But if I can't remember it, how am I supposed to do anything about it?
I sigh, getting out of bed and trudging over to my closet, contemplating throwing on whatever seems the most comfortable, but then remembering we have a game today. I sigh again, grabbing an outfit with the school colors, putting it on, and leaving for school.
School goes by quickly when you have something to look forward to.
I watch as the dummy with the other team's uniform burns. I swear, with all the fires these kids start, you would think they're pyromaniacs.
I tune out Tanner's speech, choosing instead to keep an eye on Tyler as he leaves the crowd, brushing past Vicki and approaching Jeremy. I stand up and go over to them, letting them get a few hits in to vent their frustrations before I intervene. Otherwise, this will happen all over again. Who am I kidding, they'll probably start shit with one another and start another brawl next time they see each other too.
As soon as Tyler raises his fist to punch Jeremy in the face, as soon as I hear Vicki's, 'Stop, you're hurting him!', I grab Tyler's arms, pulling them behind his back and turning around as he bucks against me, trying to get free. Jeremy starts getting up to try to hit him again, but Vicki stops him, looking him over for any injuries.
"Why the hell are you so strong?" Tyler grunts, trying his hardest to get out of my hold. "Why the hell are you so weak?" I retort, turning his ire towards me.
"I'm not weak!" He shouts, attempting to pull away. I let go of him, and he falls forward, Matt stepping up to catch him.
I turn around to check on Jeremy and see both Vicki and Elena fussing over him. Luckily he isn't too hurt, just a couple bruises, but he still looks angry.
Eventually the excitement dies down, and everyone goes back to get ready for the game.
I loiter around the cheerleaders, eavesdropping on the girls, and keeping an eye out for Damon.
I see Elena break off from the group to go grab something and follow after her. She had quit cheerleading, but was still helping out. I keep my distance, and watch as Damon approaches her, and she startles.
"You scared me, what are you doing here?" She asks.
"I'm hiding from Stefan." He whispers.
"And why is that?" She whispers back.
"I came to watch him play, support my little brother. But he's always a bit grouchy when I'm around, and I don't want to distract him, throw him off his game, so I decided to watch from afar." He explains.
She hums. "What's up with you two, by the way?" She asks.
He waves his hand dismissively. "Oh you don't need to worry about that, just some brotherly quarreling."
"Is it about Katherine?" She asks, still pushing the subject.
"One could say that." He says, tilting his head.
"What was she like?" Elena inquires.
"She was beautiful." He says after a pause." A lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind, but very sexy and seductive." He looks away for a moment.
"So, which one of you dated her first?" Elena asks.
Damon chuckles. "Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan sometime. I'm sure his answer differs from mine."
They start slowly walking back to the field.
"I see you quit cheerleading. That was a good idea." He comments.
She gives him a look of confusion. "What makes you say that?" She asks.
"I was watching Stefan at tryouts, but I couldn't help but notice how miserable you looked at practice." He explains.
"You saw that?" She questions.
I sink further into the shadows, staying out of sight.
"Am I wrong?" Damon asks.
"I used to love it. It was fun. But things are different this year. Everything that mattered doesn't anymore." She says.
"I see, so that's why you quit." He hums.
"Yep." Elena plays with her hair as they walk, her charm bracelet glinting in the sparse light. It catches Damon's eye.
"That's a nice piece of jewelry," he comments. "Where'd you get it?"
A look of confusion flits across her face for a moment before she looks down to her wrist. "Oh, this? Julia gave it to me. She got some jewelry for a bunch of people." She explains.
He hums. "Who all did she get it for?" He asks.
"Let's see..." She thinks about it for a moment. "Bonnie and Caroline have one like mine, but with different charms, Jeremy has a ring, and I saw her give a necklace to Matt, and an anklet to Vicki." She lists.
"Good to know..." He says quietly.
"Why do you ask?" She inquires.
"Oh, I was just wondering." He says.
They reach the field, and Elena splits off to go back to the rest of the girls.
He turns around, and I step into his line of sight. "Hello, Damon. Did you get what you were looking for?" I ask.
"Not quite." He says. "I thought I smelled something horrid around here."
"You really should take a shower if you can smell yourself." I snark.
"The only one who needs a shower around here is you. That cherry blossom scent is sickening." He retorts.
"Excuse you, cherry blossom is a perfectly fine scent." I say.
"Yeah, sure. For a ninth grader." He says.
"I'll have you know I was a ninth grader before Stefan put me in his grade to keep an eye on me." I respond.
"Oh, so you need a babysitter, I see." He smirks.
"Not any more than you do but it doesn't hurt to have backup." I say.
Stefan and Matt leave the field and stop when they see us. Matt nods to me and keeps walking, and Stefan comes up to us.
"What are you doing here, Damon?" He asks, tense.
"What's with the hostility? I'm just here to watch my baby bro's first game." He raises his hands defensively.
I snort. "Yeah right. He just called you my babysitter." I say to Stefan.
He gets a small smirk, looking to his brother. "If anything, I'm your babysitter, Damon."
Damon scoffs, clapping his hands slowly. "Isn't that nice. Stefan joins the football team and suddenly his balls drop. You've gotten more confident now that you've got little Miss Magic Fangs here to back you up." He motions to me.
"We're the same height." I comment, but he ignores me.
"You do know she vervained the whole crew, right?" He asks, then turns to me. "You're making it really hard for me to get a snack around here."
"Then starve." I tell him, deadpan.
"Harsh." He puts his hand to his chest as if he were wounded. "Now, Stefan..." He starts, but Stefan interrupts him, putting a hand up and turning to walk away.
"Not tonight, I'm done with you." He says.
"Well..." He starts. "I was going to compel Elena to kiss me, but I guess I could just do it the old fashioned way and seduce her. Or... I might just eat her." He threatens.
Stefan stops in his tracks. "No. You're not going to hurt her, Damon."
"No?" Damon questions.
Stefan steps forward. "Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be."
"Who's pretending?" Damon raises a brow.
"Then kill me." Stefan opens his arms in invitation.
"Well, I'm tempted." Damon says.
"No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am." His arms drop to his sides. "I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me because you love her, and you torture me because you still do." Damon looks away from him. "And that, my brother, that is your humanity."
"Salvatore!" Tanner calls out behind him. "What the hell? We've got a game to play."
"If that's my humanity, then what's this?" Damon speeds forward and tears into Tanner's throat.
I expected it. I knew it was going to happen, I allowed it to happen, and yet.
As Tanner's body falls limp to the pavement, my ears begin to ring. My heart leaps to my throat. My legs become jelly. My stomach drops all the way to the ground, and I collapse with it.
A gasp tears through me, and my throat burns. I feel tears running down my cheeks, searing my skin as they fall.
Just barely, I hear Damon taunting me. "I thought you wouldn't be effected by this, but here you are, crumpled on the dirty concrete. All because of one measly human life lost. How pathetic." He disappears from my blurred sight.
I sit there, breathing heavily for what feels like hours, curled into myself, when I feel arms wrap around me and I snap back to reality.
"The numbers," Bonnie whispers, cradling me in her arms. She sounds frantic. "They're all here."
I bring myself to look around, and I recall my dream. Eight. Fourteen. Twenty-two. The same premonition Bonnie had. They're all there. They warned me. I was warned that this would effect me this way, and I still allowed it to happen. I scoff. Here I am, thinking that I shouldn't have let it happen because of how it effects me, when there was a life lost. A real, human life.
I whimper. How could I have let this happen? And how am I going to let it happen again, and again, and again? There will be so many lives lost, and I know I cannot stop them all, but I can't
allow this to happen again, I just cant.
My breath quickens even more, my vision goes dark, and I pass out.
When I wake up, I'm in my bed back at the Salvatore Boarding House. I sit up and go to the bathroom, looking into the mirror to see a complete and utter mess.
My hair is frizzy, I have tear streaks on my face, my eyes are puffy and my skin is blotchy. The events of tonight come back to me, clear as day, but I don't feel as strongly as I did before. It feels like an old wound, as if it's been scabbed over for a while and I'm simply moving in a way that stretches it.
I run my hand through my hair, catching a few knots. I strip my clothes; they're the same ones I had on earlier, and they're covered in dirt. I step into the shower and begin the soothing process of vigorously scrubbing my entire body until it's completely clean.
I use green apple scented soap this time, not wanting to smell like cherry blossom. Not because of Damon's ninth grader comment. Definitely not.
When I step out of the shower, my skin has turned red. I put on some soft watermelon decorated pajamas, the top being in a tank style, and the bottoms being shorts, and lie down on top of my blanket.
By the time morning comes, I had barely slept a wink, but I felt much better, in terms of my emotional state.
It's as if I know what happened, but it no longer so deeply effects me. I should start praying to Jump-chan, The Best Healer perk has really helped me out. I'm not sure how I would function in the state I was in last night. I probably wouldn't be able to.
If I were to describe it, I would say that before, what happened was raw, and now it was somewhat cooked, like it happened a while ago and not just yesterday. Speaking of which, I'm hungry.
I get up and speed across the room, opening my blood cooler and grabbing a few packs, chugging them one after the other before going to the bathroom and swishing water around in my mouth to clean it, then brushing my teeth, then getting dressed.
Now ready for the day, I leave the house and head to school.
Author's Note:
"You do know she vervained the whole crew, right?" He asks, then turns to me. "You're making it really hard for me to get a snack around here."
"You're the snacc." I tell Damon, squinting my eyes, raising my eyebrows, and biting my lip, my fingers in a finger-gun motion on my chin.
TVD Jumpchain: i.