The Noble Diaries
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Vampire Diaries in any way, shape, or form. They belong to their respective owners.
Edboy4926: Thanks! Not a bad idea. And If Six did have knowledge of the Forerunners then might think that they had reseeded another species on Earth with humanity, but since this version of Six comes just after the Fall of Reach his knowledge regarding the Forerunners will be non-existent.
Grudgematch: She might do; you'll just have to read and find out.
Statess: It's only a matter of time until people do.
bmanbeast57: It's bound to happen soon.
Jaks: I've played very little of The Last of Us wouldn't be able to do the game or story justice.
Daua002: Then I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Guest: Here you go!
Dr1zzy: You're welcome.
War Sage: There could have been more, but this chapter hopefully makes up for that.
I do have something planned for that.
I thought that it would make a change from him having a secret headquarters/Batcave under his home, plus letting him add Covenant tech down the line to give humanity a fighting chance against both the Covenant and supernatural world.
Yes.
I mean, it's only going to be a matter of time until people put two and two together.
Sixfan29: There will be more interactions this chapter.
That question will be answered in this story when one of the Vampire Diaries characters brings it up.
Don't think it'll matter if he does, he'll just be thrown out of the airlock lol.
And I've only seen bits and pieces of them, not enough to do the story justice.
Saviour16: Never seen Euphoria, so have no idea what the plot or who any of the characters are.
Mark91: Thanks.
Hopefully this chapter will make up for that.
I think that Six could take on younger vampires outside the armour, but would need his armour to take on the Originals. Mark V might be on par or just a little under them strength wise, but Mark VI, VII, Gen-2 and Gen-3 will surpass them at least in strength and durability. Vampires will always be faster than Six, especially Originals.
I'll be a little longer than it took Elena since Six was raised on the principle of science and Dot is an A.I.
It's not a supercarrier. No Spartan, not even the Chief could take over a supercarrier singlehandedly since there are millions of troops inside.
It's going to crossover into various supernatural shows, giving Six something to do other than just following the events of the Vampire Diaries.
Archangel Xireon Chaos God: I'm glad you liked.
Brainstorm Sorcerer: Cheers for the review. And it's not, it's really not. And pretty spot on. Good news! There'll be another scene with Six and Tanner in this chapter, so look forward to that. Maybe not with those in the school, but those that take advantage of the increased strength out in the world...probably. Yeah, Stefan was a little annoyed with the interruption. And there'll be more interactions this chapter.
Paul: I've never actually played Mirrors Edge, scandalous, I know.
TheJSmooth: Oh, I don't know about that. There have been a few Halo stories I've tried which just didn't work at all; but I appreciate the kind words.
Guest: I'm glad you liked it and I'll have to look it up before I completely discredit it.
Nicogen: Is that good or bad lol. And not a bad idea regarding both Elijah and Klaus, we'll see what happens.
NightEternity: Not sure what you mean by circled, I assume that you meant pair and if so I have no idea right now.
franklinroosevelt2000: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it and thanks for your kind words.
Chapter 3.
After a productive night working on several projects, Six was once again back in the Charger and driving through Mystic Falls, heading to high school to begin his second day of education...even if that was not the purpose of him being there. Keeping his eyes on the road, he reached down and grabbed the travel mug and brought it to his scarred lips.
Taking a generous sip, he savoured the taste of the coffee that was more favourable to the instant coffee that came with the MRE's that he had lived off for the last thirteen years, both on Onyx and during his time as a Headhunter due to his missions taking him across the galaxy with him living in his Razor-class prowler for the last eight years, a ship that he found himself missing.
While the Covenant ship was both larger and technologically superior in every aspect, there was a hint of sentimentality behind the Prowler. For eight years he had been a ghost as he hunted down and eliminated the Insurrectionists, and for eight years the Prowler had been his home.
Finally arriving, Six pulled up outside of school and was once again greeted by looks from his fellow students that were loitering on the grass. Placing the mug back in the cup holder, he grabbed his bag that was sitting on the passenger and climbed out of the Charger.
Shutting the door, he grabbed his cellular device from his pocket and pressed the application on the screen sending the Charger home rather than taking up a parking spot that somebody else could use. Ignoring the murmurs as everyone watched the car drive off, Six walked down the path that cut across the grass and headed towards the entrance of the school.
Walking into the school, he made his way down the busy halls and through the crowd that soon parted, some even stumbling back like he was diseased and silently watched him as he past them, an experience that was as familiar to him as his own heartbeat having gotten used to the stigma that came with being a Section-3 Freak; although he did notice that that were wiggling their fingers and smiling at him.
While he understood the latter, the former confused it. Was it a form of sign language? He had no idea, but he supposed that it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
"Hey, Goth boy."
"Goth Boy?" Six repeated in his head. He had heard the term Goth several times since he had arrived and still had no idea what it meant; although whatever it was it didn't sound healthy.
Stopping abruptly, Six turned and looked at the group of people that were standing by the locker. "Explain."
"...W-What?"
"Goth Boy; explain the definition."
The leader of the group, the one that had initiated the conversation looked taken aback by the question as he glanced at the others then back to the supersoldier uneasily. "Um, you?"
"Incorrect. I am a human." Six informed him factually, his eyes piercing into his and awaited an answer.
The group remained silent, especially the leader who visibly looked uncomfortable as the Spartan stared at and only him sending a shiver up his spine. Fortunately, one of them came to his rescue. "Just ignore Tyler, he's being a dick."
"I see." Six murmured to himself. While he didn't comment on it, he did find it odd how this he could be a Richard when his name was Tyler. Making a mental note to ask Dot about it when he returned home, he offered the group a small nod. "Farewell." He said before walking off and returned to his previous objective, that objective being heading to his locker.
Once he was out of earshot, Matt looked at Tyler. "Seriously? Are you trying to piss off the one guy that looks like he could rip you in half with his bare hands?"
Tyler scoffed. "I could take him."
"Then why were you shaking?" Matt shot back, almost tauntingly.
"He's hot; weird, but hot." Vicki said making Matt and Tyler look at her, the latter scowling slightly. "What, he is! Who is he anyway? Pretty sure I've never seen him before."
"Just some freak."
"New student; he started yesterday." Matt told his sister, ignoring Tyler. "We should see if he wants to join the team."
"Hell no!" Tyler objected fiercely. "We don't need that freak on our team."
Matt looked at Tyler incredulously. "Did you not see the size of him? With him on our team we might actually have a chance this season."
After leaving the group and making his way through the school, Six reached the locale of his locker. Opening it, he placed his bag inside that stored the laptop that he had constructed the night before. Regarding it for a moment, he contemplated whether he should retrieve it and take it with him or simply leave it there he actually needed it.
Deciding on the latter, he closed the door and pulled out the padlock from his pocket that he had built, one that was coded to his biometric signature preventing anyone but him from accessing his locker. Slipping it on, he heard the tapping of heels approaching him. "Hello, Caroline."
"How did you know it was me?"
Securing the padlock on the locker, Six answered. "The tapping of your heels is very distinct." Looking down to the left, he stared at her feet that were stored within the purple high heel footwear. While he couldn't call himself an expert on footwear...or anything that didn't involve killing for that matter, he doubted that they were comfortable considering that her toes were pressed together and at an angle.
Additionally, surely after prolonged usage the footwear would cause deformities to her toes...not to mention limited her mobility. Privately, he felt that she should change her shoes to something more practical. If she ever needed to run from something she'd snap her ankle if she tripped or the heel buckled from underneath her.
"Didn't take you for someone with a foot fetish."
Hearing a familiar voice, Six looked up from Caroline's footwear to find the two girls that he had encountered in the hall the day before, and whom he shared several classes with such as History standing with her. "I don't believe that I have a fetishism." He voiced before turning back to the blonde who looked as cheerful as ever; what exactly she was so happy about was unknown, but he supposed that it was none of his business.
"And I would recommend looking for alterative footwear; preferably ones that are more comfortable and less likely for an injury to occur."
"You don't like my high heels?"
"No."
Caroline pouted cutely. "How come?"
"They're impractical."
"Don't you think they look good on me?"
"You're already an attractive female, I fail to see how footwear would attribute that." The Spartan stated factually getting a smile from Caroline.
"You know, Bonnie and Elena mentioned something interesting about you last night?"
"Bonnie and Elena?"
"That's us." The girl that he had bumped into yesterday said through a sheepish grin. "I'm Elena." She introduced herself with a small, albeit awkward wave.
"Jericho." Six officially introduced himself to Elena. "And again, I apologize for my lack of situational awareness." He apologized once more for knocking her over in the hall yesterday.
Elena waved off his apology with a smile. "It's fine."
From where she was standing, Bonnie smirked at Elena. "Oh, she definitely wasn't complaining about being held in your arms." She added earning a heated glare from Elena, which only added more flame to the fire. "In fact, she told us how great it felt being in them."
"I did not!" Elena blurted out making several people in the hallway look at her oddly; though it was Jericho looking at her that had her blushing. Those intense blue eyes of his that pierced her soul with a single glance making her heart race, just like it did the first time she found herself staring into them. "Not that it didn't, but I never said, well I did but, well, I um...
Bonnie was all smiles as she watched as Elena rambled, struggling to think of something to say. It was good to see her flustered rather than depressed 24/7, and rightfully so after losing her parents a few months ago; and to think that all she needed was some smexy goth boy to stop her feeling sorry for herself...one that might have been the mysterious Jericho Reach, the owner of Noble Industries.
While she and Elena knew that his last name was Reach, Caroline had let it slip that his first name was Jericho to her, Elena, and Stefan, the other new hottie at the school, last night at The Grill, and Jericho Reach was the name of the guy that owned Noble Industries, even if it was ran by Dot Amita.
She knew that she was probably grasping at straws, just because they shared a name didn't automatically mean that they were the same person. After all, what would a person that at this point probably had hundreds of thousands in the bank be doing coming to some crappy high school rather than going to some private school, then add in the fact that he was smart enough to design and build fully functioning cybernetics,
It just didn't add up.
Then again, he did own the sexy black Charger that could somehow drive itself to and from school, not to mention that padlock that he had just placed on his locker that looked pretty high-tech, too.
Forgetting about that for the time being, she decided introduced herself. "I'm Bonnie."
"Jericho."
"Is your last name Reach?" Caroline asked him once introductions between himself, Bonnie, and Elena had been made.
"Hm."
"And your first name is Jericho?"
"Hm."
Bonnie smirked a little. "Do you always grunt?"
"Hm."
"Well, you should work on that; wouldn't want people thinking that you're some unintelligent caveman." Caroline quipped cheerfully. "And did you know that Jericho Reach is the name of the guy that owns that company down in Richmond?"
"Noble Industries." Elena added helpfully.
"Is it?"
"It is!" Caroline chirped happily. "And Bonnie and Elena said that you have a car that drives itself."
"Then I'm sure they can fill you in." Six remarked lightly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
Watching as Jericho walked off and headed down the hall, Caroline pouted. "Why won't he ever answer my..." She was silenced when Bonnie pressed her finger against her lips.
"Shush; I'm enjoying the show." Bonnie told her as she blatantly stared at his retreating backside.
Looking at what Bonnie was staring at, Caroline found herself agreeing with her. "It is a good show." She muttered through a smile, nibbling her lip a little.
"Right."
Elena rolled her eyes at the pair of them. "You're both terrible." She said before noticing that the other girls in the hallway were also checking Jericho out, the guys that were with them sending him dirty looks.
"Oh, please." Bonnie rolled her eyes back at Elena. "Like you don't want a piece of that cake." She told her with a smirk. "And unlike you, the rest of us have to take what we can get, we can't all be held in those strong, powerful arms of his." She said making Elena blush slightly at the reminder.
While she didn't comment on it, Caroline felt jealous that Elena was getting the attention from both Stefan and Jericho, the two new hotties at school. She bet that if Elena had asked him those questions he would have answered; what did she have that she didn't?
It was several hours later when Six could be found sitting at the back of the classroom, listening as Mr Tanner lectured the class. While it was only his second lesson, he had quickly picked up that he was an elitist by how he constantly belittled everyone and flaunted his intelligence.
Spotting something from the corner of his eye, he turned his head slightly to see Bonnie staring at him before quickly looking away. Returning his attention to the front of the class, he spotted Elena looking at him before she looked away with a smile.
"The Battle of Willow Creek took place at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" Tanner asked the classroom getting an awkward silence back. "Miss Bennet?"
"Um...a lot? I'm not sure. But, like, a whole lot."
While some of the class laughed, Tanner looked unimpressed. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennet." He said coolly getting a small frown from Bonnie as he looked around the room. "Mr Donovan?"
"A hundred?"
"Wrong again, Mr Donovan." Tanner remarked haughtily, putting emphasis on again earning a few snickers from the classroom before his eyes landed on the new student that hadn't answered a single question. "And what about you, Mr Reach? Would you care to weigh in, or are you planning on remaining silent for the duration of the class?"
"I don't know." Six told him candidly. While he had given Mystic Falls history a quick skim through when he had first settled down there, he had been a little preoccupied with laying the foundations of the company, building the house along with the automatons and huragoks, and working on the other projects, both personal and for the company.
Tanner smiled conceitedly. "Well, perhaps if you spent half as much time training your mind as you clearly do your body then you would know." He voiced condescendingly getting faint laughter, along with a few snorts throughout the classroom. "Elena,"
"Forgive me," Six began slowly, preventing Tanner from finishing what he was going to say to Elena. "I thought that an educators' job was, as the name implies, to educate their students on what they didn't know rather than belittling them every chance they get."
Tanner did his best to ignore the murmuring from the class as he focused directly on Jericho. "Which is what I'm trying to do, Mr Reach."
"Are you?" Six questioned emotionlessly. "From what I see you're being ostentatious with your intellect."
"It is my job."
"Your job is to educate, not flaunt."
The class looked at each other, grinning as Jericho and Tanner continued their debate. "If my comment offended you..."
"I'm an unattractive sight, your comment was foreseen." Six countered smoothly. "I do have issues with how you disparage everyone else."
Once again ignoring the murmuring and the grinning from the students, Tanner replied to Jericho's remark. "Where you would say disparage, I would call it encouraging..."
"From the moment I arrived all you have done is dimmish their spirits, ridicule their intelligence rather than edifying them just so that you can flaunt your own." Six shot back at Tanner who looked to be biting his tongue as everyone else remained silent, struggling to hold back their smiles.
Six continued. "I find your behaviour inappropriate and unprofessional; not to mention in direct violation of the 1993 Socratic Oath." He finished as an awkward and tense silence filled the classroom as everyone looked between Tanner and the Spartan, the former looking like he was about to blow a blood vessel.
"...someone has done their research."
"It pays too."
"And how is that?"
"Know your enemy."
The tension in the classroom became palpable with no one daring to speak as Jericho and Tanner stared at one another. "Quite pessimistic of you."
"Semper Vigilans."
"Excuse me?"
"It's Latin for always vigilant."
Looking at the person that spoke, Tanner stared at the other new student. "Is that right, Mr..."
"Salvatore."
"Salvatore." Tanner repeated. "Any relations to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"
"Distant."
"I see." Tanner murmured before returning his attention to Jericho. "You seem to be a man of many talents, Mr Reach."
Six regarded him for a second. "I aim to please." He voiced dryly earning a few snickers and snorts from the others in the classroom that were struggling not to laugh out loud in case they became on the receiving of Tanner's punishment, such as detention. Fortunately for them, he seemed a little preoccupied with glaring at Jericho without actually glaring at him,
All which had no effect on the Spartan-III Commando who looked as emotionless as ever as he stared back at Tanner, sending a chill down his spine and forcing him to look away in defeat. "...I think we've all been side-tracked long enough, don't you."
The bell sounded off throughout the school, signalling the end of his second day of education. Retrieving the items from his locker, Six left the building and made his way over to where his Charger was sitting, once again surrounded by people that were taking pictures with their photographic devices.
"Jericho!"
Hearing a voice call out to him, Six stopped and turned slightly to see two familiar faces making their way through the crowd and towards him. "Bonnie. Elena." He greeted the pair once they reached him.
"Hey." Elena greeted back through a cheerful smile.
"Can I help you?"
"We were just wondering if you knew about the party tonight at the Falls." Bonnie answered for them both. "It's a back-to-school thing that we do every year; everyone's going."
"I'll have to decline."
"Are you sure?"
"Hm. I would make a poor attendee." Six explained to the brunette who he noticed frowned slightly. "My socialization skills leave much to be desired."
While she found his choice of words odd, Elena persisted. "Then tonight will give you the chance to work on them."
"Think of it as your way of making it up to Elena for bumping into her yesterday." Bonnie added after Elena.
Saying nothing at first, Six begrudgingly acknowledged the wisdom in their words. "Hm. What time?"
"Sometime after nine o'clock?"
"Acknowledged." Six said getting odd looks from the two of them. "We shall rendezvous at 2100 hours." He informed them both. Bidding them goodbye, he turned and walked away leaving Bonnie and Elena behind.
Watching as Jericho walked off and headed over to where his Charger was parked...or maybe it was just sitting there waiting for him, Elena was thrilled that she and Bonnie had managed to convince him to come to the party tonight. While she had gotten to know Stefan a little bit last night when he stopped by her house to drop off her diary that she had dropped at the cemetery when that stupid crow had spooked her, she still knew next to nothing about Jericho.
Other than the fact that quarrels about ripping Tanner a new one, something that had probably been the highlight of her year! It was great to see him finally get a taste of his own medicine for once after constantly talking down to people for years and getting away with it. Then there was the fact that he could speak Latin, as could Stefan since he revealed what he said and all, unless he only knew that one phrase.
Either way, his mysteriousness only furthered her belief that he was that Jericho Reach.
While she didn't really know all that much about the company compared to Bonnie, she had been too busy moping and feeling sorry for herself over the last couple of months, she had learned a little bit more about Noble Industries last night at The Grill when Bonnie, Caroline, and Stefan had started talking about the company in great detail when Caroline had mentioned that his first name was Jericho, and Bonnie had mentioned that his last name was Reach.
It might just have been a coincidence. Just because they shared the same name meant nothing...even if he did have a car that could somehow drive itself around, something that she was still trying wrap her head around. While it hadn't been the top of her mind, she consistently caught herself wondering how it managed to do so, both last night when she had been lying in bed and throughout school.
She really had no idea how it could drive itself around but doubted that it was magic like Bonnie claimed...even if she was joking. Then again, she was meant to be descended from a long line of witches that came from Salem so maybe she wasn't. That being said, if he was the same Jericho Reach that had designed and built actual cybernetics than creating a self-driving car was probably a walk in the park for him.
Hearing the Charger pull away, Elena watched as Jericho drove out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner as he headed...wherever he lived. It wasn't in town, at least not from what Caroline was saying last night.
"Well, that was easy." Bonnie quipped once the Charger disappeared around the corner. "Although I wonder what poor Stefan is going to say when he sees the two of you together?" She tutted playfully as they started walking towards where she parked her Toyota Prius.
Following her, Elena rolled her eyes. "It's not like we're dating; and nothing is going on between me and Jericho. Actually, I know less about him than I do about Stefan, and I know next to nothing about him other than what he told us last night."
"Other than the fact that he has no problem bitch-slapping Tanner around." Bonnie added blissfully. "And he can talk Latin; I told you that he was smexy." She told her as they reached the Prius.
Once Bonnie unlocked it, Elena opened the door and climbed in. "Jericho doesn't seem to think so."
"He was probably being modest." Bonnie replied climbing into the car as Elena closed the door. "I mean, you can't look like that and not know that you're sexy." She declared knowingly as she started up the Prius. "And you'd have to be blind not to see everyone checking him out."
"Like you?"
"Can you blame me?" Bonnie playfully asked as she backed out of the parking spot. "He's like the modern-day Hercules, you know, if he was a Goth. And don't sit there all innocently and act like you wouldn't like to see him without his shirt on."
Elena smirked slightly. "I plead the fifth."
"So, yes. Got it." Bonnie grinned as she drove through the parking lot and followed the other cars that were leaving. "I bet he's got the kind of abs that you can grate cheese off; and let's not forget those buns of his steel of his." She finished getting a sigh from Elena who fought back a smile, privately agreeing with her as they left the school and headed to their homes to get ready for tonight.
It was several hours later. The sun had long gone down, and darkness covered Mystic Falls. After informing Dot of the situation who encouraged him to attend the social gathering instead of brooding on the ship or at home, not that he ever did, Six arrived at the Falls thanks to the GPS directing him to the waterfalls locale.
Switching the engine off, he climbed out of the Charger and was greeted by the sound of revelry. Closing the door, he locked the car, he made his way through the woodlands that were filled with youths holding cups, bottles, and metal cans that they were drinking out of. He also detected an unpleasant odour in the air, one that was coming from what looked to be cigarettes only thicker and smelt fouler than Mendez's Sweet William cigars that he loved so much.
Following the path that led deeper into the woodlands, he stopped briefly when two teenagers cut in front of him, giggling and smelling strongly of alcohol as they headed off the path and disappeared into the darkness...at least they would have for anyone else. He still saw them perfectly thanks to his biological night vision that the augmentations granted him and his fellow Spartans.
Looking away and leaving the two of them to their copulation, Six continued following the path and eventually found himself in the heart of the woodlands, or at least where the social gathering was taking place. Scanning the area, he saw that it was occupied with youths, students if Elena had been factual about it being a back-to-school event that they did every year.
That being said, he found it peculiar that they would indulge themselves in revelry on a school night rather than at the weekend or even before the school term. Then again, perhaps this was completely normal, and it was an affair that all humans underwent like a rite of passage and he simply never experienced it due to his work keeping him occupied...and the fact that he received his education on Onyx; and he was from the twenty-sixth century.
On a personal note, he found the woodlands too open for his liking. It was the perfect place for an ambush, one that he would have employed if...
"Careful, you might hurt yourself." A familiar voiced teased, pulling the Spartan from his thoughts to see Elena standing before him with a cheerful, if somewhat amused smile as she looked up at him.
"Hm."
Elena smiled a little more. "You really do grunt a lot." She remarked, referring to what Caroline said this morning.
"Hm."
"Want a drink?" Elena asked him, her smile still present.
Six offered a small nod. "How much?"
"Oh, you don't need to pay."
"I'll pay for my own beverages."
"No." Elena suppressed a laugh. "I mean that nobody pays for them."
"I see." Six acknowledge stoically. "Hardly sounds like a sound business plan." He commented getting an amused look from Elena.
"It probably wouldn't be, if it was a business." Elena told him. "C'mon, let's go get you that drink." She said before turning and walking down the hill with the Spartan following behind her.
After getting the alcoholic beverage, Six found himself walking with Elena away from the heart of the social gathering and through the woodlands, following the path that led towards what he hypothesized to be the Falls, considering that he had picked up the sound of cascading water in the distance.
"So, what brings you to Mystic Falls? Caroline mentioned that you moved here a few months ago." Elena remarked next to him as they walked through the woods together so they could actually have a normal conversation without having to shout over each other over the noise. "She also said that you're quite cryptic with your past, bypassing every question she asked."
"My past is inconsequential." Six countered smoothly. "Only the future matters."
"So profound." Elena teased him as they continued to walk through the woods.
"I aim to please."
Smirking at his sarcastic retort, Elena continued. "And you never answered my question; I'm starting to think that Caroline might have been onto something after all."
"I'm here at my aunt's behest." Six replied, deciding to entertain her question. "She wished for me to spend time with civ, with people."
While she noticed his slipup, Elena decided not to comment on it. "You live with your aunt?"
"Ever since my parents died." Six disclosed, going with the story that Dot had created for the Jericho Reach persona.
Elena's eyes widened at Jericho's revelation and looked up at him. "I'm sorry...was it, was it recent?"
"When I was five."
"I'm sorry." Elena repeated as they reached the centre of the bridge; though losing his parents at such a young age would certainly explain why she hadn't seen Jericho smile once since meeting him. "I, I lost my parents a few months ago when they drove off of a bridge and into a lake and I was seventeen, I can't imagine how horrible it must have been to lose them when you were only five years old."
"Fortunately, I still have my sunny disposition." While it was a delicate subject, Elena smiled at his sarcastic retort. "And I'd say sorry, but I'm sure you're sick of hearing that; especially from those that didn't know your parents."
Elena looked up at Jericho and found herself nodding when he voiced what she had been feeling for months. "Yeah." The brunette whispered, guessing that he would know that feeling. "Does," She quickly shook her head. "Sorry, this really isn't party chitchat."
"You want the truth or something to make you feel better?" Six asked knowing what she wanted to ask.
With some hesitation, Elena answered. "The truth."
"You'll never be over it." Six told her being brutally honest, seeing no reason to sugar-coat it. "But you'll endure; learn to live with it."
While his words weren't comforting, Elena felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders at his directness, appreciating it rather than being coddled by everyone that told her how things would get better and return to normal in time. "And at the risk of sounding nosey, how do you live with yours?"
"Privately." Six replied shortly as he finally brought the cup to his lips.
Unsure if she had overstepped or Jericho was just being sarcastic, Elena fought back a smile when she saw the slight grimace when he drunk the beer. "Not a fan?" She teased, noting that it was the first time that his emotionless visage had cracked, even if it was only a fraction.
"Hm. It's no Alt Burgundy." The Spartan grunted absentmindedly, privately wishing that there was a bottle laying around somewhere right about now. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be brewed for another few centuries...and he didn't think to bring any with him.
"...Alt Burgundy?" Elena repeated slowly, trying to think if she had heard the name anywhere. "What's that?"
"An alcoholic beverage."
"What kind?"
"The kind you drink."
Elena suppressed a smile at his sarcasm, something she noted seemed endless. "So," She began, deciding to change the subject and try to get to know him a little better...even if he was impossible. "How are you liking out middle-of-nowhere little town? Everything that you imagined?"
"Hm."
The brunette threw him an amused look. "So is that like your go-to response for everything?" She smirked playfully, looking up at Jericho who looked down with a blank expression across his pale and scarred features that seemed to glisten in the moonlight.
"Hm."
"Good to know." Elena quipped, her smirk growing a little. "And you never answered my question." She repeated, mentally noting that Caroline had been onto something about Jericho refusing/bypassing most questions about himself.
Six decided to entertain the question. "I've seen very little of it."
"Oh?"
"Hm."
Ignoring his grunt, Elena continued. "How come?"
"I've been preoccupied."
"And by preoccupied, do you mean spending time in Richmond?" Elena pried a little, looking up at him.
The supersoldier looked down at her. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Which you don't answer." Elena shot back with a smile. "Like just now for example." She added lightly as they reached the centre of the bridge that overlooked the woodlands, the fire from the bonfire bleeding through the gaps of the trees.
Standing next to her, Six brought the drink to his scarred lips once more. "Hm." He grunted, neither confirming nor denying it.
"It's almost like you're trying to hide something."
"Like?"
"Oh, I don't know, how about the fact that you're Jericho Reach." Elena replied with a smile, looking up at the much larger teen that towered over her; something that she found very attractive.
"I have not concealed my name."
"I meant that you're that Jericho Reach; the owner of Noble Industries." Elena continued with a knowing look, even if she was guessing at this point.
Six brought the drink to his lips once more. "Is that right?" He asked around the cup, grimacing at the abhorrent taste.
"Ignoring the name, the fact that you have a car that can somehow drive itself around, the padlock and that cutting-edge laptop you were using in English is a pretty big giveaway." Elena finished, putting everything together. "As do you being tight-lipped about your...well, everything really." She added mischievously, looking up at Jericho.
Footsteps suddenly approached preventing Jericho from answering or Elena from adding anything else. Turning in the direction of the sound, they both saw a familiar face making their way towards them.
"Hey." Elena greeted Stefan with a smile. "I didn't think you were coming."
Stefan offered a small smile back. "Actually, I arrived some time ago but was intercepted by Caroline."
"Ah, understood." Elena said with a knowing and understanding expression; she then looked back at Jericho. "Um, have you two met?"
"Not officially." Stefan replied before offering his hand. "Stefan Salvatore."
Accepting it, Six returned the handshake. "Jericho Reach." He introduced himself. Though while he couldn't put a finger on it, there was something about him that put his entire being on edge. Maybe he was paranoid, and he was paranoid, but he typically trusted his instincts; as Mendez had taught Beta-Company and every other Spartan that came before and after them, trust your gut because it was usually right.
"Jericho Reach; is that not that name of the owner of Noble Industries?"
"First I'm hearing of it." Six voiced getting a smirk from Elena. "And I should leave you both alone; I'm she wants to interrogate you next." He stated earning a dull look from Elena. Bidding them both goodbye, he turned and walked past them, leaving them to their fraternization.
Watching Jericho leave abruptly, Elena pouted a little. "I think he left to get out of answering my question."
"And what question was that?"
"Pretty much what you just asked." Elena told Stefan, still pouting a little that Jericho had left without answering the question. "I think he likes being as mysterious as possible."
"Well, you have the mysterious thing going too." Stefan remarked as he came and stood next to Elena, leaning on the railings. "Twinged in sadness."
Elena gave him an odd look. "What makes you think I'm sad?"
"Well, we did meet in a graveyard." Stefan pointed out smoothly getting a slight smile from Elena.
"Right." Elena nodded through a smile. "Where we learned that you really don't like blood," She said referring to his disappearing act in the graveyard.
Stefan winced slightly. "Sorry about that."
"You really need to learn to stop apologizing." Elena told him softly. "So you don't like blood; it's not the end of the world."
After leaving Elena and Stefan to their fraternization, ultimately getting out of answering both of their questions, Six followed the path that led away from the bridge and back into the woodlands where the social gathering was taking place.
Heading in the direction of the revelry and following the orange glow of the open fire, Six made his way through the woodlands only to stop when he was intercepted by three familiar faces.
"There you are!"
"Hello, Caroline." The Spartan greeted the blonde who stopped in front of him. His eyes drifted down to her feet. "And you're wearing appropriate footwear." He complimented, something that could not be said for Elena who was wearing high-heeled boots. While the females of this era wore such impractical footwear was beyond him; perhaps it was a twenty-first century oddity that alluded him.
Caroline modelled her shoes. "You like them?"
"Hm." Six acknowledged through a grunt. "They look practical."
"...practical?" Caroline repeated, sounding a little disappointed with his response.
"As footwear should be."
While Caroline looked bummed out, Bonnie spoke up. "Didn't I see you walking off with Elena?"
"I don't know, I'm not omniscient."
Bonnie rolled her eyes at his sarcastic retort. "How come she's not with you now?"
"She's fraternizing with Stefan Salvatore."
"...do you mean talking?" Bonnie smirked at Jericho and his odd choice of words, she also noticed Matt looked putout after hearing that.
"Hm."
Smirking a little more at his grunt, Bonnie looked between Jericho and Matt. "Do you two know each other?"
"Not really, but we did meet briefly this morning." Matt informed Bonnie before offering his hand to Jericho. "Matt."
For a second time, Six accepting the hand and introduced himself. "Jericho."
"And sorry about Tyler this morning again, he can't be a real dick sometimes...especially when he's showing off." Matt apologized once more; leaving out the fact that Tyler could be a dick most of the time.
"A phallus, not a nickname for Richard." Six stated, echoing what Dot had told him when he had returned home and contacted her. "Yes, I understand."
Matt fought back a smile, as did Bonnie and Caroline. "Right."
"Have you seen the Falls?"
"Negative."
Not missing her chance to spend some time alone with Jericho, Caroline looped her arm through his. "Then I'll show you." She told him, enjoying the feeling on his large, muscular arm which would probably even better if he wasn't wearing that black hoodie.
"Want me to take that?" Bonnie asked, glancing at the cup that Jericho had been holding since he had arrived.
Six looked down to what she was gesturing too. "It's empty."
"You want another?"
"No." While he was incapable of feeling the effects of alcohol poisoning that didn't mean that he was going to luxuriate himself; that and he didn't appreciate the taste of the alcoholic beverage that Elena had given him.
"How come?"
Six looked down at Bonnie. "I abhor the taste."
"What did you have?"
"Beer."
"Well, there is more than just beer you can have." Bonnie told Jericho, looking up at the much taller teen who looked emotionless as ever.
"Such as?" Six questioned. While he doubted that it would compare to High-house Alt Burgundy 22, he supposed that it was be preferable to the beverage that Elena had supplied him.
Caroline picked that moment to interject. "Forget about the beer." She told him, giving his arm an encouraging tug to get him moving...which didn't really work as she intended since he didn't budge, but she was anything if not persistent. "Come on, let's go see the Falls."
"Hm." Six grunted. While he was indifferent about seeing the natural formation, he saw no reason to be inhospitable and deny the request.
Watching as Jericho was pulled away by Caroline, Matt looked at Bonnie. "Am I the only one that feels sorry for him?"
"Nope." Bonnie replied with a smile...though she was a little jealous that Caroline got to spend some time alone with the smexy goth boy; as did Elena. What did a girl have to do to get a bit of attention around here?
After leaving Bonnie and Matt, Six found himself being guided through the woodlands by Caroline who escorted him in the direction of the waterfall that he hypothesized was the origination of the towns name.
"So, what did you and Elena get up too?"
"The bridge."
Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes, but still smiled as she walked next to him, her arm still looped with his. "That wasn't what I meant."
"No?"
"You were both gone a long time, I was just curious what you got up too was all." Caroline played off smoothly, trying not to let her jealousy and insecurities about Elena show, especially in front of Jericho. It was bad enough that she was always the second choice, the afterthought, but the fact that the two new sexy and mysterious bad boys were there to spend time with Elena, "Talk about anything interesting?" She suddenly asked, changing her train of thought.
"Various topics."
"Such as?"
Six looked down at Caroline. "You want a detailed briefing?"
"...um, what?"
"Detail briefing; or basic overview of the conversation I shared with Elena?" Six clarified for Caroline who looked up at him.
Finally understanding what he was going on about, his odd choice of words throwing her off slightly, Caroline replied. "Just give me the good bits."
"The good bits?"
"Yeah, you know, the gossip."
Contemplating her words for a moment, Six answered Caroline. "We discussed you."
"...Me?"
"Hm."
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Caroline pressed on. "What about?"
"About you repeating what we discussed in the library."
Caroline shrugged off his accusation. "Well, we were talking about you at the Grill last night...and you never answered my question."
"Did I not?"
"No, you didn't." Caroline confirmed as she continued to guide Jericho through the woods with her arm looped through his, enjoying the feeling of his large, muscular arm wrapped around hers. She couldn't help but wonder what the rest of his body would feel like pressed against her, his hands roaming each inch of her body; just one of the reasons she wanted him alone.
"Hm." Six acknowledged with a grunt, oblivious to what she was thinking.
"..." When Caroline received only silence from Jericho, she realized that he wasn't going to answer and changed the subject. "So, do you have a girlfriend?"
Six failed to see gender had to do with anything but answered regardless. "I have no friends."
"Do you like blondes?" Caroline asked in a seductively manner as she looked up at him, paying no attention to the no friend's remark.
Before she could get her answer, Six suddenly stopped when he noticed something laying on the ground in front of them. "Wait here." He told Caroline. Removing her arm from his, he walked past her and cautiously approached the body that was on the ground to see that it was the female that he had been standing with Matt and Tyler this morning; he also saw that she was bleeding heavily from the neck.
"Oh, my god, it's Vicki!" Caroline blurted out as Jericho got down on one knee. Coming up and standing behind him, she watched as he placed two fingers on the other side of her neck to get a pulse and screamed when Vicki's eyes shot open and gasped for breath as she sat up only for her eyes to roll into the back of her head and passed out. Before her head could hit the ground, it was grabbed by Jericho who carefully lowered it onto the ground so she wouldn't hurt herself.
Examining the wound briefly, Six noticed teeth marks in her neck around the external jugular. "Vicki?" He questioned, placing his hand over the wound and applied pressure to try and stop the bleeding.
"Matt's sister." Caroline told him, her voice trembling as she watched Jericho apply pressure to the wound. "...is she dead?" She asked, her eyes fearfully looking around to whatever it was that attacked her.
"Negative; she's still breathing." Six informed her calmly, digging into his pocket with his free hand and pulled his phone out. "I need you to return to the social gathering."
Caroline looked at him sharply, trepidation filling her eyes and tone. "W-What?"
"Matt should be informed; and I cannot leave her." Six replied, gesturing to his hand that was applying pressure to the wound. "And try and be selective; we do not need civilian unrest."
While his words threw her off, Caroline nodded frantically. "Okay." She voiced before turning and rushing back to get Matt.
With one hand still on the bleeding wound, Six brought his phone up and called the Emergency Services. As he waited to connect, he looked down at Vicki. Whatever had happened to her, it certainly was no animal attack. An animal, regardless of species would have mutilated her corpse rather than just biting her neck. Additionally, the wound was too small to be an animal, not to mention that the bite marks were distinctly human with the canine's causing the most damage and the causation of the bleeding.
Then there was also the location of the victim. If Vicki had been attacked, why wouldn't her assailant drag the body away? Perhaps they had been spooked and forced to flee before they could hide the body...or maybe they wanted the body to be found. Then there was the positioning of the bitemarks. She had been attacked from behind, her attacker tilting their head and bite down aggressively with enough force to puncture the skin and draw blood, some perverted form of domination over their victim.
Whomever had attacked the girl were one sick individual, one that needed a bullet through the brain.
"911; please state your emergency."
Hearing the operator, Six was pulled from his thoughts and examination of Vicki. "I require an ambulance; I have a victim, female, between sixteen to seventeen years of age that was found unconscious in the woodlands. She has received deep lacerations to the neck, requiring immediate medical assistance."
"JERICHO, YOU HERE?!" Hearing Matt shout through the forest, Six glanced over his shoulder to see several people running through the woodlands searching for him before they managed to locate him.
"Is the victim conscious?"
Six looked back down at Vicki as Matt and the others rushed over. "Negative." He answered as Matt crouched down next to him. "She did regain consciousness momentarily before passing out again; most likely due to blood loss."
"How much blood has the victim lost and can you tell if she is still breathing?"
"She's breathing but appears to have lost a substantial amount of blood from the laceration near the external jugular." Six explained stoically as Matt looked at him with a fearful expression, then back down at his sister.
"Have you applied pressure to the wound?"
"I have."
"Keep pressure applied until the paramedics arrive."
"ETA?"
"The ambulance is on the way."
"Acknowledged, Si-" The Spartan stopped himself, mentally kicking himself for his slip up earning a few looks from those around him. "I understand." He corrected himself before ending the call with the operator.
With the call ended, Six placed his cellular device back in his pocket only to be bombarded with questions, but rather than from Matt they all came from a young teenager that was crouched next to Vicki with a concerned look across his youthful features. "What did they say? When is the ambulance getting here? What attacked her? Is she going to be okay?"
"Give it a rest, Gilbert." Tyler snapped irritably as the young teen glared daggers at him.
"And where were you when Vicki was attacked?"
Tyler narrowed his eyes back. "You accusing me of something?"
"Yeah, I am." The teen shot back heatedly. "You were pinning Vicki against a tree earlier...
Matt looked sharply at Matt. "What does he mean by that?"
"Nothing; he's drunk."
Before things could escalate, Six interjected. "Does anyone have any medical supplies?" He asked the large crowd that had gathered around where Vicki was laying on the ground.
"Yeah, because we just keep a first aid kit on us at all times."
"Shut up, Tyler." Matt snapped at him before looking at the others. "Well?" He asked looking at the crowed making them all shake their heads.
"Then we'll have to make our own." Six decided then and there. "Does anyone have a knife or anything sharp on them?"
Pushing through the crowd, Bonnie stepped forward. "It's not sharp, but I have a nail file." She offered getting a nod from Jericho.
"That'll do." Six stated, accepting the nail file from Bonnie before passing it to Matt. "Tyler, grab my sleeve and pull it as tight as you possibly can." He told him, offering his arm out with Tyler doing what he was told. "Matt, stab the file into the seams to make an incision; that should make removing the sleeve easier."
Getting a nod from Matt, Six waited and grimaced slightly when the nail file, after a great deal of persuasion, pushed through the fabric and nipped his arm earning an apologetic look from Matt.
"Sorry."
"It's fine." The supersoldier dismissed. Once the nail file was removed, he stuck his finger into the incision and tugged the fabric, ripping it enough to make a sizable hole to help them out. "Pull." He instructed Tyler who pulled as hard as he could. There was some resistance, but eventually the sleeve was freed from the rest of the hoodie with Tyler falling back and hitting the ground.
"Oh, hello!" Said a voice from the crowed at the muscular arm that was now visible. Being the closest to Jericho, Matt looked uneasily at the pale white arm that was covered with burns unlike anything he had ever seen. It was also covered with scars that had long since healed, bullet wounds, and even bite marks that looked like a gorilla had tried to take a bite out of him.
Unsure who the woman was greeting, Six looked over at Tyler who was getting up. "Rip it again, vertically." He instructed before lifting his hoodie up and grabbing the bottom of his charcoal grey tee and pulled it tight with his free hand earning murmurs from the crowd. "Stab down into the tee."
Ignoring the murmurs and the girls ogling Jericho's abs that were on display which like his arms were covered with burns, scars, and even more bullet wounds that only left him with questions, Matt brought the nail file down and stabbed into the tee, piercing it much easier than the hoodie and watched as Jericho tore a good portion of his shirt, leaving most of his stomach revealed before pulling his hoodie back down, something that earned several means of displeasure.
"Alright, both of you follow my instructions."
Flashing lights filled the parking lot and bled through the cracks of the trees. Standing off at the side, Six watched as Matt climbed into the back of the ambulance with the doors closing before the ambulance pulled away and headed to the hospital to give Vicki proper medical attention.
Once it pulled away, he turned to see the police tapping off the woodlands to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. Animal Control had also been called, the police treating the incident as a wild animal attack; a ridiculous hypothesise. All you had to do was look at the neck to see that the tooth marks were distinctly human...but he supposed that it was standard procedure.
Hearing footsteps approaching pulling him from his thoughts, Six turned his head to see Elena approaching. "Hey." She greeted with an uneasy smile, naturally shaken by what had happened to Vicki.
"Elena."
"Is there any chance that you could drop me and my brother home?" Elena asked looking up at Jericho. "I'd have asked Bonnie but she's going with Caroline to the Grill to get coffee and wait for news."
Looking down at her, Six nodded. "Hm."
"Thanks." Elena smiled.
"What about Stefan?"
Elena frowned a little. "I think he left; he really doesn't like blood." She told Jericho who nodded slightly, but otherwise remained silent. "I'll go and grab Jeremey."
"Hm." Six acknowledged with a grunt and watched as Elena headed off to collect her brother. Waiting for her to return, he reflected on her words. While it might have been happenstance, he found it suspicious that Stefan had left the moment that Vicki had been found...of course he might have just been paranoid and automatically saw the worse in people and Stefan just had a severe case of Hemophobia.
Once again pulled from his thoughts when he heard footsteps, Six turned his head to see Elena approaching with her sibling, the youth that had shown more than just a passing concern for Vicki hinting at an intimate relationship. "Ready?" He asked the pair of them.
"Yep." Elena answered for the pair of them.
Throwing his headed in the direction of his Charger, Six walked over to it with Elena and Jeremy shadowing him. Approaching it, he unlocked it with his phone and walked to the driver's side and opened the door with Elena and Jeremy opening the passenger door, the latter climbing into the back without question.
Climbing into the Charger, Six pulled the door close. Waiting for Elena to do the same, he started the engine causing the Heads-Up Display to power up across the windscreen, along with the dashboard that had been digitized, amazing the two.
"Wow." Elena awed looking around at the interior that had completely modernized, scratch that, it looked futuristic. "This is incredible."
"I aim to please."
Elena smirked up at him and watched as he tapped the screen in the centre of the dashboard causing what looked to be some giant smartphone with apps to appear and tapped one of the apps.
"State your address."
Leaning forward, not really sure where she was meant to be speaking into, Elena did just that. "2104 Maple Street." She said and watched as an arrow appeared on the windscreen, along with distance to her home. "Okay, that's seriously cool."
"Seatbelts."
Realizing that Jericho was talking to them, Elena and Jeremy grabbed their seatbelts and strapped themselves in. The second that they clicked in they were both pulled back into their seat as the Charger pulled away.
Leaving the woods, Elena shifting in the comfortable padded leather seat that she practically sunk into. As Jericho drove her and Jeremy home, she found herself constantly glancing at his pale, muscular arm that looked to be sculped to perfection...at least it would have been if not for the aggressive burns, the vicious scars, the deep bitemarks, and even gunshot wounds.
It went way beyond self-harming, many believing that Jericho was an Emo considering his pale skin and the scars across his face. Yet, the scars across his arms looked too thick to be done with a razor blade, and Jericho didn't strike her as the sort be suicidal...of course, he did lose his parents when he was five years old which must have left him with crippling depression after losing them at such a young age.
The more she stared at the wounds, she found herself wondering if perhaps Jericho's aunt was abusing him; but she had a hard time believing that somebody as big as Jericho would just stand there and let anyone abuse him. "That was amazing what you did." Elena said, ridding herself of her previous thoughts knowing how ridiculous it sounded. "I'm surprised that you were so calm; I probably would have been freaking out if it had been me that found Vicki."
"Freaking out would have solved nothing." Six replied factually getting a smirk from Elena. "And your significant other will be fine." He added, peering into the rear-view to look at Jeremy.
Elena had to fight back a smile. "Jeremy and Vicki are not..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened when she saw Jeremy shifting uncomfortably in the back seat via the mirror. "...No. You and Vicki Donavan? Vicki Donavan and you?"
"It's not that hard to believe." Jeremy murmured in the back seat.
"But you don't even know each other, you barely know Matt." Elena voiced incredulously trying to wrap her head around what she was hearing.
"We hooked up over the summer...
A loud groan escaped Elena's lips. "I don't want to hear about my little brother hooking up with my ex's sister!"
It was around twenty minutes later when they finally arrived at Maple Street. Turning and driving down the road, Six pulled up outside of white residential home that had a small, trimmed hedge that circled around the house.
"Thanks for the lift home."
Six offered a small nod. "Hm."
"Do you want come in?"
"No."
Not the least bit surprised by his response, Elena persisted. "At least come in and wash the blood off your hand." She said looking at his left hand that was still covered with Vicki's blood that had dried a while ago.
"...Hm. Very well." The supersoldier begrudgingly relented. Switching the engine off, he undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the Charger. Closing the door, he waited for Elena and Jeremy to get out and shut their door before locking the car.
Waiting for them to walk around the front of the car, Six followed Elena and Jeremy as they walked up the path and the steps and into the house. Ducking under the doorframe, he stepped into the house and noticed that it felt like an actual home, the feeling greatly reminding him of his home in Damask rather than the house that he occasionally dwelled in when he wasn't on the ship.
"You're back early, party over all read-oh, hello." Looking in the direction of the voice, Six found a woman standing in the living room. She looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties, strawberry blonde hair that was pulled up in a tight ponytail, hazel eyes, a pale complexion, and a kind smile.
Six offered a small nod back. "Ma'am."
"The party was cancelled when Jericho," Elena gestured to the supersoldier. " Found Vicki Donavan unconscious in the woods after being attacked by an animal."
"Is she alright?"
Elena nodded. "I think so, but we won't know more until school tomorrow." She replied as Jeremy took off upstairs without a word to either of them. "Sorry about that, he's..."
"Concerned for his significant other."
While Elena smirked, the woman looked confused. "Am I missing something?"
"It's a long story, Aunt Jenna." Elena told her, then looked at Jericho. "Come on, let's get that hand cleaned." She said before leading him through the house and into the kitchen.
Guided over to the sink, Six turned the hot water on and once it was hot enough placed his hand underneath the running water and started scrubbing the blood from his hand, a new experience for him considering that he was typically in his armour whenever blood became involved.
The water inside the sink quickly turned red as he cleaned his hand. As he did, he felt a strange feeling in his chest when soft fingertips trailed across the burns and scars on his arm. It had been years since anyone had touched him, there was Caroline, but she had looped her arm around his sleeve rather than skin contact. Even if he hadn't spent the last eight years sealed in the armour, people refused to touch Spartans, seeing them as freaks, abominations.
"Do they hurt?"
"Hm."
Her fingers trailing across the vicious burns, Elena continued. "How did you get them?"
"Physical trauma."
"...does your aunt beat you?" Elena asked carefully, his sarcastic retort doing little to deter her.
Turning his head, Six looked down at Elena. "At what?"
"No, I mean," Elena hesitated again, not wanting to cross the line...not to mention that the burns, cuts, and bullet wounds might have had nothing to do with his aunt, then there was the bitemarks. "Does your aunt abuse you."
"No."
"Then how did all this happen?" Elena questioned gesturing to the injuries across his muscular arm.
"From being young and angry." Six replied cryptically.
Elena's eyes softened a little. "Even the bullet wounds?"
"Hm."
"And the bitemarks? It almost looks like an ape tried to take a bite out of you."
The Spartan would have snorted in amusement, but that would have been uncharacteristic of him. "Close enough." Cleaning the sink out of every bit of bloody water, he switched the tap off and wiped his hand on his hoodie.
"You could have asked for a tea towel."
"No need." Six voiced since he would be throwing the hoodie away once he returned home. "Thank you for allowing me the use of your faculties."
Getting the impression that Jericho planned to leave, Elena attempted to use a little persuasion. "Can I get you a drink?" She asked, hoping to get to know him a little better without the party or anyone else getting in the way.
"Negative. I have work to do."
Elena smiled a little. "Would that be something for Noble Industries?"
"Have a productive night, Elena." Six replied, neither confirming nor deny it.
Smirking a little at his mysterious nature which only made him more attractive in her eyes, Elena showed him to the front door where he offered the same goodbye to Jenna before ducking underneath the doorframe and left the house. "Night." She told him, getting a small nod back. Watching him walk down the steps, she waited until he got into the Charger and pulled away before closing the door.
Leaning against the door, Elena sighed disappointingly before turning around only to come face to face with her smiling aunt. "So, who's your handsome friend?"
"His names Jericho." Elena informed Jenna, smiling a little as she pushed herself away from the door. "I met his yesterday at school." She revealed, deciding to leave out the fact that he had bumped into her, nearly knocking her own and carried her in his powerful arms.
Jenna smirked playfully. "You seem quite taken with him...not that I can blame you." She added. He was seriously hot...not that she would ever admit that out loud.
"He's interesting." Elena smiled back, not denying it. "Not to mention mysterious, knows Latin, has no problem ripping Tanner a new one, smart...
"Has a great body."
Elena gave Jenna a deadpan look. "Really?"
"Oh please, like you didn't notice." Jenna replied playfully and when Elena didn't answer, she smirked. "And don't tell me that wouldn't like to be held in those big, muscular arms of his." She teased her niece.
"Who says I haven't already?" Elena smirked back.
Jenna suddenly grew interested. "Oooh, tell me more." She encouraged, doing anything she could to help keep her niece thinking about anything other than her parents' deaths like she had been doing for the last couple of months; and if talking about some handsome boy that Elena very clearly liked helped with that, so be it.
And cut! Here is the next chapter of The Noble Diaries and wrap of the first episode/pilot. I hoped that you all enjoyed it. Granted not much happened in the grand scheme of things, but at least there were some more interactions between Six and the other characters.
Not sure what else to say other than let me know what you all thought.