Chapter Two

Jeremy was not having a very good day.

The night before he'd dreamed once more of the day he'd died and left behind his Damon. He had awakened with a tightness in his chest and the coppery taste of blood on his lips. It had frightened him, leaving terrified and heart broken.

In addition to his horrible night his morning had been equally as terrible. He'd been late to school, and had missed his first class entirely earning a disapproving glare from his sister. Then on his way to his third class he'd been cornered by Tyler and his stupid jock headed friends, beaten up and shoved around which had resulted in him being late to that class as well.

Now here it was the last class of the day and he could only hope nothing happened to ruin it. It was his favorite class and the only one he had that allowed him to be around the other outcasts of his school without scrutiny.

Theatre arts.

The dream to be an actress during his life as Satine had not disappeared in this life and if he were to be perfectly honest it had been his dream long before he'd discovered their connection. He had always possessed an appreciation for fine arts. Music, dancing, singing, drawing, painting it all drew him in because of the freedom it allowed one to express. Funnily enough, no one but those in his theatre class actually seemed to notice this aspect of his personality, too focused on his drug addiction to actually get to know him beyond being that Gilbert kid.

"Are you alright, Jeremy?"

"I'm fine." He responded immediately, and his teacher, , nodded knowingly.

"Of course you are, Dear. Now pay attention."

With a nod of his own he did as he was bid, ducking his head to hide his smile. was his favorite teacher, all gentle looks and kind, firm words. She never judged him, despite his addiction, and she never singled him out if he didn't deserve it unlike a lot of her fellow teachers.

The woman smiled at him then at the rest of the class.

"Alright, as you all know, our fall showcase is only three weeks away so we all need to have our pieces submitted and ready to be performed. The theme is the Children of the Revolution whose core values were freedom, beauty, truth, and love. They began one of the most important artistic movements in France during the early 1900s. You all are to choose a song that encompasses one of these values to perform at the showcase next month."

Jeremy's heart jolted, yet at the same time it sang joyously. He'd lived the revolution, had sang and spoken to its leaders. He'd loved the most successful artist of it and inspired him. This was something he could excel in and yet just hearing those words, being told to sing about them felt so wrong because he wasn't there to listen to him do it. He wasn't there to hear him finally accept love as one of the essentials in life.

A sigh escaped his lips and he shoved the feeling of wrongness away to focus on the now. His love would find him when the time was right, of this he was absolutely sure. Their bond hummed in the back of his mind and he smiled softly.

Yes, even though Damon was unaware of his reincarnation he knew that soon they would meet. He just had no idea of how soon.

It started as a seemingly normal day for him.

He had awakened to the feeling of Caroline's naked body pressed against his own and had had to fight the sense of wrongness that had flooded him at the sensation. After he'd woken the girl and had compelled her not to keep the fang marks on her throat hidden he'd watched as she dressed then he had driven her to school and gone to speak with a few of his contacts out of town.

Then he'd returned just before school let out and picked the girl up, listening as she complained about her friend Elena's new boyfriend and how he hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to her. He rolled his eyes at her pettiness and handed her the sports bag she'd asked him to bring her.

"Are you going to come watch me at practice?" She asked hopefully and he shrugged knowing it was likely only because she wanted to show up her friend.

"Sure. Not like I have much else to do."

She squealed happily then set about changing into her sports clothes with little thought to the fact that they were still in his car. Once she was done, he drove them back to the school.

As she climbed out of the car and moved to kiss him a warm enticing scent hit him, so heartbreaking in its familiarity that his breath hitched.

It was a scent so imprinted on his brain that he could separate it no matter where he was and isolate it, despite having not come into contact with it in almost a century.

The scent of chamomile and lily's underlined with a unique smoky scent.

Satine.

His eyes searched the parking lot frantically and he ignored Caroline's worried inquiries. It took only a moment for him to locate the origin of the scent and when he did he felt his undead heart jolt painfully. There, sitting in the bleachers with a pair of headphones in his ears, was a young man that could have passed for his late lover's twin. He was gorgeous with his creamy pale skin and long curly hair that fell in red tinged waves to his shoulders. His eyes were the same hazel green hers had been and his facial structure was an exact match.

Caroline followed his gaze and gave a disgusted snort.

"That's Elena's stupid drug addicted brother, Jeremy. He'll sleep with anyone for a hit."

Damon tore his gaze from the beauty to look down at the petty girl in his arms.

"How would you know?" He growled offended on the behalf of the beauty bearing his dead beloved's face.

Jealousy reared its ugly head and the blonde's face twisted into a petulant expression.

"Because, he's one of those freaks and that's what he does!"

Damon fought the instinct to snarl at her words and the girl glared at him, pulling him into a possessive kiss that did absolutely nothing to take his attention from the youngest Gilbert sibling. Seeing this, Caroline cast one last glared in the boy's direction before heading towards the field.

Once she was gone, Damon found himself drifting in the direction of the bleachers and soon he was standing directly in front of the beauty. Up close his scent was even more captivating, tickling his throat like the finest ambrosia. It was exactly like his Satine's with one minuscule difference, the lightly musky scent marking the boy as a male.

He gently removed an earbud from the teen's ear to draw his attention.

Beautiful hazel green eyes moved up from where they had been focused on the half done sketch in the owner's lap, widening as they met his own cerulean blue hues.

Longing, pain, recognition, and love filled them and he knew without a doubt that this boy was, in fact, his dead lover somehow. His undead heart began to beat once more and he stared down at the other.

"You're alive." He breathed.

Jeremy's full lips tilted into a broken smile and tears welled in his eyes.

"You're here."

He responded and the vampire took a seat beside him, gently cupping one of those smooth porcelain cheeks.

"How is this possible?" The vampire asked, the mask he'd hidden behind for so long falling just slightly.

"Not here, my heart. It is not yet the time for us."

Damon flinched and pain flashed behind his eyes.

"Why?! Why isn't it?" He cried pleading for the other to give him a reason why they shouldn't be together once more.

"Later tonight, darling. I promise you it shall all be explained but for now we cannot, Damon. Please."

Falling back behind his mask the vampire nodded, cerulean eyes dark with love and longing.

"Okay." He muttered taking a seat beside the other.

Jeremy glanced at him, hazel green eyes full of too many emotions to name. Then he turned back to his sketchbook.

"Okay." He replied.

TBC

A/N: Yes I'm aware that their first meeting is extremely emotional but looking at it from their perspectives I think it's justified. Jeremy's heart has belonged to a man he's only met in dreams since he can remember and Damon is being reunited with the love of his life whom he had believed he'd never see again so I believe they're allowed to be emotional. Anyways as always tell me what you think. :-)

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