The Noble Diaries
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or The Vampire Diaries in any way, shape, or form. They belong to their respective owners.
Marlastiano: You're welcome!
Edeath756: I have. I actually wrote some idea on how I would start it on my Brooklyn 99 story, if you're interested.
CrimsonN7: Thanks, and hopefully this was worth the wait, too.
NightEternity: You sort of get that this chapter, but nothing major. And there's a couple of scene this chapter, too.
xXwolfsterXx644: Thanks, man! Hopefully you'll like this one, too!
ABuzzmann: Thanks, and yeah, I know. Thanks for the support.
DeathCrawler: I hope that this chapter was also worth the wait!
D3Diton: Damon will get his, don't worry. And at the minute, Damon poses no threat to any of them, but the second that he crosses the line, Six or Dot will take him out, even if it means destroying any sort of relationship with Stefan.
savitarsurffer: I know Finn hated being a vampire, and Rebekah wanted to be human so that she could be a mother and have a family of her own, but I thought that Kol loved being a vampire, at least he did before meeting Davina. Klaus loves being the strongest being on the planet, as for Elijah, I can't remember if it's ever said how he feels about it. And true about the Strix, but I am planning on incorporating other monsters from other shows, mainly Supernatural and the Witcher, later down the line. And thanks for your kind words, really means a lot.
BeginnersEnd: Seems to be at the minute, though there is still the possibility that Elena starts dating Stefan in this due to the whole doppelganger bond.
Code Viper: It'll happen soon, maybe next chapter for Elena, or change it up a bit and have Bonnie discover Six's secret first.
Grudgematch: I thought about doing it but decided against it in the end.
Morgriff: You're welcome, and I'm glad!
Master of the Underworld: She will do soon, yes. But it probably won't happen until she's got more control over her magic.
Azai Jin: You're welcome. And I'm glad you like the Six x Elena pairing, but as I mentioned to another reviewer, there is still a chance that Stefan and Elena get together due to the doppelganger bond that draws them together, plus a lot of the stuff in the show happening because they are together such as Katherine being jealous that her shadow-self is with him, thus tries to ruin her life.
Edgonher: You never know.
Deviantpervert: I thought about it but chose not to in the end.
War Sage: Yeah, sorry about the long ass hiatus...even if this one was not much better. His PTSD is no joke, but in time, he might be able to get over it like the Six in my Fast and the Noble story did. She doesn't, but then neither will any of the other girls such as Bonnie and Caroline. And yeah, it was not a fun time for Bonnie feeling his emotions, how it feels to be him every day. In this reality, Zach has a much better fate; as will Lexi. After spending years in his armour, he just feels exposed without it, though thankfully, he's not as dependant on his armour as the Forerunners so can go without it.
It's all about style! I can't really blame her, especially since she hadn't got Six's side of the story, only the one that Damon is spinning. Dot loves drama! And either Jonnie or Bonix, I'm more inclined for the second one. Caroline needs some love too, and unlike Stefan, Six has no problem spending time with her instead of Elena. Well Jeremy and Vicki ended up sleeping together in the show due to how Tyler treated her, and nothing would've changed in that regard due to Six being there, so saw no reason to change it up.
Sixfan29: Sorry for the massive hiatus. And I'm glad you like it, though there won't be much interaction between the two this chapter as there was last since its a pivotal moment in the show with Elena discovering that Stefan is a vampire. Yep, poor Damon, life can be so unfair. Elena does. And Dot is having the time of her life, mainly because she now actually has a life. In fairness, Bonnie has every reason to be worried about her best friend, so I can't really fault her for that.
I'm sure that Elena wasn't complaining about going to the party in a Ferrari. I could've done more with Bonnie, to be fair, but once she's been trained by her grandmother a little more, I'll start writing more scenes between the two. And it could affect sire lines, yes.
tim223: I'm glad you liked it, and personally, I thought that they looked stupid, hence why I was constantly rewriting them.
I'llJustStickToReading: Thanks for the heads up; I'll work on improving.
Daua002: I'm glad you like the moments with all the girls. And right now, it seems to be out of Caroline or Elena who will jump him first, though my money is on Caroline.
Nicogen: I never actually thought about that, but since it'll be in Dot who technically isn't alive, any vampire will be able to enter the house without invitation.
Pawn22: Glad you're enjoying the story. And yeah, Dot is something that none of the vampires have ever encountered before.
fridgeraiderz: Cheers! I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Edboy4926: You know, I should have done something like that just so Six could look at Dot, he wouldn't even need to say anything; but there'll be plenty of other parties to have a scene like that play out. And Six might go in his armour, thought rather than for Halloween, it's due to detecting vampires in Mystic Falls. And since I moved the Halloween episode to next chapter, I could have Elena wearing that...or a Wonder Woman costume. And not a bad idea about removing weakness, though Six might to keep a few intact to take any vampire or werewolves down if they go rouge and threaten humanity.
dead344156: Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint.
A Sole Reviewer: You're not wrong. When I first started this story, I wasn't really sure on the direction I was taking it or if I would even keep it up, it was just an idea I got in my head one day, but I do regret a couple of decisions with the story, such as making Six drawing too much attention, but I'm not taking it down and rewriting it, not now. And I agree about the Six and the story "Out of Reach" incredible.
Sniperbro 1998: Well, Dot has become a true A.I now, breaking through the limitations of her Dumb A.I capabilities.
nagiten: Seems to be,
Varigonx: I'm not having Halo being one of Jeremy games, but later down the line there will be an episode where Six is transported to another universe and discovers the Halo games and learns that his life is nothing more than a video game, while Elena, Stefan, etc, etc learn about the Vampire Diaries...if I bring in the Trickster from Supernatural.
Guest: Oh, I expect that it'll happen again, it is Damon. He has a habit of pissing off the wrong people with it only being down to plot armour that Klaus never killed him.
LeodredAQW: Dot just wants her Spartan to be happy, lol. And we'll see how Klaus reacts, though with Six, Dot, and an army of machines on the ship, there is a chance that Klaus might never unlock his power...at least not via the ritual, meaning that Jenna doesn't die. And it really wouldn't. It should be quite interesting when Katherine eventually makes her appearance and learns about Damon being cured. And yes, Bonnie did, which was not a pleasant experience for her.
techdud227: Thank you for all the reviews you've been leaving on my stories. I'm happy that you like them.
lucifer79: She does, but in fairness, Elena makes a lot of bad decisions and doesn't really think things through. I know that can also be said for the others too, but since she's one of the main characters, it's highlighted more.
NavyZero8745: There's more in this chapter too. Though I am curious, what seems unhealthy about Six and Caroline's relationship? And once Bonnie is trained a little by her grandmother, she'll start interacting with Six more.
Brainstorm Sorcerer: Yeah, his PTSD nightmares are no joke; and a Spartan he might be, but Jorge sacrificing himself hit him hard, as did losing the rest of Noble Team. No, Elena doesn't snore, Six was joking with her...though Matt might overhear a conversation between Elena and the girls about her sharing a bed with Six, which has happened twice now. Yeah, Stefan was a terrible date for Caroline, which might just push her into the arms of the stoic Spartan. While we might know Six, Bonnie knows nothing about him and thus has no reason to trust him.
While Six might refuse to admit it, Dot is the closest thing that he has to family, not to mention the last thing he has to keep him connected to Noble Team other than the dog tags around his neck. And poor Dot, having to deal with the slights to her kind. Jerlena, Jeriline, Bonix, I'm sure that Dot will keep throwing out names. And agreed about Logan, he never really seemed to care about Jenna, not really. I see Stefan becoming jealous of Six and Elena spending time together, and Caroline when either Bonnie or Elena spends time alone with Six. And Dot is having the time of her life!
Not really, no. Elena just guesses that Six remembers things a lot more clearly. And no, three hours isn't really enough, but Six has learned to work with limited sleep over the years. I'm sure Dot could make them, but she wouldn't want to violate his trust by spiking his food and drugging him. Bonnie might try with her magic, maybe write a chapter where she tries to bring out his positive emotions and instead backfires with all his negative emotions taking over and becomes, well for a lack of a better word, evil.
After a thousand years, there has got to be hundreds of thousands across the world, a number that will drop significantly when Six starts hunting them down, which will definitely draw the attention of the Originals, particularly Elijah and Klaus since I think Kol, Rebekah, and Finn are currently staked and in their caskets right now in the timeline, same as Mikael.
I'm certain that Klaus will see Six as a threat to him and his family and tries to kill him, that or hurt the people he cares about. Agreed about Damon, and what's worse, like with everything he does, it's all but forgotten by everyone. And if Damon does manage to get an arm, I like to imagine that Six and Dot could control it with their neural interface and make him start hitting and choking himself.
And I did toy with the idea of having Six dance with Bonnie like he did with Elena and Caroline, but I couldn't have her miss the opportunity to connect with Six on a deeper level. She's the only one that knows how he feels, something that not even Dot knows, and unlike anyone else, she will experience his memories, see the things that he has been through, that experience will ultimately make them closer and maybe have an effect on Bonnie, making her more pragmatic which Six and the others will pick up on.
aljericho2001: I plan on giving Six several UV weapons, such as a sword, guns, and grenades. And no, I'm not planning on making Six a vampire in this story.
Guest: Well, here you go!
Guest: I hope it was worth the wait!
Chapter 9.
Exiting the elevator onto a floor within Olympic Tower, he reunited with the rest of Noble Team after nine days. As he approached, he saw Kat repairing a comm unit, her helmet placed beside her on the ground. Emile was seated, sharpening his kukri against his forearm bracer. Carter stood by a crashed Banshee entwined in wiring, and Jun stood by the window, peering out with a set of binoculars.
"Look at this place. Used to be the crown jewel...not anymore." Jun murmured, staring out at the burning city of New Alexandria that was covered with black smoke and falling ash from the ongoing glassing. "Hey, you made it." He said, turning to look at him.
Giving Jun a nod, he walked over and stood next to Kat. "It's a regular family reunion." Emile droned sardonically. Looking at him, he loosened Jorge's dog tags in his hands to show him. "Keep 'em. He gave them to you. I'll honour him my own way." The skull-faced Spartan stated, gesturing how with his kukri.
"Jorge always said he would never leave Reach." Jun remarked.
Emile chuckled, drawing everyone's attention. "The big guy was sentimental."
"He gave his life thinking that he just saved the planet. We should all be so lucky." Carter voiced solemnly as he walked over and stood next to Jun.
Jun looked at Carter. "Sir, that true about Gauntlet, Red and Echo Teams assigned to civilian evac ops?" He asked. And rather than answering him, Carter turned and flashed Kat an annoyed look.
"Those are senior-level communiques...
Kat shrugged. "I hear what I hear. Point is, why put Spartans on defensive deployments?"
"I need that link to SATCOM, Kat."
"Chasing it, but this console has more shrapnel than transceivers...and you didn't answer my question."
Carter responded. "You want to know if we're losing?"
"I know we're losing...I want to know if we've lost." Kat shot back. Looking at Carter, he watched as he turned his attention back to the burning city outside, his silence confirming what each of them knew deep down. The console suddenly beeped, drawing everyone's attention. "Colonel Holland, hailing us. What's he doing on an open channel?"
"Let's hear it."
Following Carter's instructions, Kat played the communication for them all to hear. "...near the southwest quadrant of the city, over? Sierra Alpha Two-Five-Nine, if you are receiving, I am authorizing override of radio security protocol to link with this channel." Holland's voice cut through the silence of the room.
"How long for a secure link?" Carter asked.
Kat answered. "I can't guarantee secure anymore."
"Could the Covenant trace it?"
"I could."
"Noble Leader, this is a Priority One hail. If you are receiving, acknowledge immediately."
Watching Noble One turn away, considering whether to risk it, Kat held out the communicator. "Keep it brief." She told him.
"Carter here...yes, sir."
While Carter moved off to the side to speak to Holland in private, he looked over to see Jun leaning in one something with his binoculars. "We've got movement. Multiple Covenant vehicles vacating the area...and they're in a hurry."
"Since when do the alien bastards retreat for no reason?" Emile asked getting up, ready for a fight.
Before Jun could say anything, Kat alerted them all. "Radiation Flare! Big! Forty million roentgens!"
"Just lost Holland. What's going on?"
"Atomic excitement scrambled the signal. Ninety million now!"
"Source?" Carter questioned.
"Airborne. Close!"
"How close?"
A colossal beam of plasma illuminated the room as the Covenant glassed the area, the resulting shockwave shattering the window, sending glass across the space as the smoke from outside entered, choking the space, and knocking them to the ground. "That close!" Kat exclaimed.
Pushing himself off the ground, he grabbed Kat's helmet from the ground and pulled her up. Sprinting after the rest of Noble Team, he entered the elevator, followed Kat hit the button after missing it the first time, while Carter, Emile, and Jun too the second elevator.
"First glassing?" Kat asked, placing on her helmet.
The door closing, he answered. "Not since Jericho VII."
"Yeah." Kat murmured, most likely thinking of her own glassed homeworld of New Harmony. "Don't worry, I'm on it."
He returned a grunt. "Why do you think I'm worried?"
"How about you stick to brooding, and I'll handle the thinking," Kat quipped, then addressed the others over the comms. "Our best option is a fallout bunker on sublevel 2, ninety-six meters northeast. We get orders from Holland, sir?"
Carter's voice responded over the comms, "We're being deployed to SWORD Base."
"SWORD?! Covenant own it now!" Jun pointed out incredulously.
"Which is why they want us for a torch-and-burn op. Keep Doctor Halsey's evacuation data from falling into enemy hands." Carter informed Jun.
The elevator door opening, Kat retorted. "If it hasn't already." Following her out, he sprinted beside her as they moved across the floor and raced over to the entrance of the fallout bunker where Carter, Emile, and Jun were standing, already there.
"Maybe, but according to Holland, the Covenant are still hunting for something."
Running over to them, Kat snorted. "Where does he get off calling a demolitions op Priority One..." Her words were cut off when a gunshot rang out and a needler round went straight through her head. Catching her as she slumped forward, he grabbed her M6G magnum and aimed it at the Field Marshall that stood inside the Phantom that was hovering above. Pulling the trigger, he emptied the entire magazine as the rest of Noble Team emerged and fired their weapons, only for the dropship to fly off.
"Come on! Come on! Get in!" Carter ordered over the gunfire and panicking civilians.
Jun added. "We need to go!" He voiced, keeping an eye out for the Phantom with his SRS99-AM sniper rifle.
"Hurry up and close the door!" A civilian implored, their desperate cry coming from within the bunker.
Securing the empty magnum to his hip, he lifted his sister's lifeless body and carried her in his arms. Her head slumping on his shoulders, he walked her over to the bunker and stepped inside to see that it was filled with civilians huddling with their families, desperately clinging to them. The door closing and sealing shut behind him, he gently lowered Kat onto the ground.
Surrounded by the rest of Noble, he carefully grabbed the sides of her helmet and pulled it off to confirm what he already knew. A hole pierced through the centre of her forehead, he stared into his sister's lifeless blue eyes that looked back at him, devoid of that brilliant spark that had been there since they were kids on Onyx. And now, just like most of his brothers and sisters, she was gone too.
His eyes shooting open, Six turned his head slightly and looked down to see the peaceful expression across Elena's gentle features as she slept soundly on his chest. The solitary lock of hair running down her face, he slowly brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his eyelids to soothe his headache and shake off the nightmare that acted as yet another permanent reminder of one of his many failings.
Like Jorge, it had been over four months since he had lost his sister in everything but blood. Kat hadn't had some heroic last stand, she didn't sacrifice herself for the mission; she was there one second, then the next, she wasn't. Before being transferred, it had been years since they had seen each other. He had spent the years since leaving Onyx working for ONI, whereas she had been with Noble Team since 45', both which had saved their lives and preventing them from being killed during Operation: TORPEDO.
And now she was gone, just like most of Beta-Company. He should have been more alert. If he had been, he would have noticed the Phantom and the Field Marshall and prevented her death, or at the very least died in her place. But because he had failed to do so, all that remained were him, Tom, Lucy, Owen, Roland, and Jonah. Where there had once been over three hundred of them, they had been cut down to six. And with the expectation of Tom and Lucy, he had no idea if the others were still alive.
Not that it mattered. Whether this really was the past or some alternate universe that he had been transported too, he would never see them again. It was just him now. The only Spartan in existence.
Brushing his thoughts aside, Six carefully and slowly slipped his hand inside his waistcoat and retrieved his cellular device. Lifting it above Elena so that the light wouldn't wake her, he pressed the side and checked the time. 04:39. A little over three hours, like usual. Gazing down at the sleeping brunette, he was tempted to gently free himself from her presence and leave the room...but opted not too.
Keeping his arm secured around her, he lowered the brightness and muted the sound with his neural interface and looked for ways to procrastinate until Elena woke up...and if it was anything like last time, he knew it would be sometime until his jailer would.
Cracking her eyes open, Elena stared at the white shirt and black waistcoat that hugged the perfectly sculpted chest that she rested her head on. Slowly lifting her head, she looked up and smiled at Jericho. "Hey." She mumbled groggily, not quite awake yet.
"With an A or E?"
Her smile widened a little. "With an E." Elena told him.
"Hm." Jericho acknowledged with a grunt. "Is my imprisonment over?"
Returning a smile, Elena replied. "Not yet." She whispered softly, not wanting him to go anywhere right now. And unlike the first time they had both woken up together, they didn't have school...and since they were at his, she didn't need to sneak him out before Jenna saw him. "Did you get any sleep?"
"With your snoring?"
Elena responded with a smirk. "Sorry." She voiced playfully. Closing her eyes, she brought up her hand and affectionately rubbed his chest through the soft fabric of his white shirt. "How much sleep did you really get?"
"Keeping tabs on me?"
Feeling Jericho rest his chin gently above her head, Elena answered. "Someone has too." She mumbled quietly, relaxing against him. "How do you make it through each day without passing out?"
"Irritably."
She smirked at his dry retort. "I hadn't noticed." Elena quipped, giving as good as she got. A comfortable silence filling the bedroom, she snuggled deeper into his warm embrace and felt her heart flutter when Jericho softly stroked her back that was uncovered in her party dress. "You should let people see this side of you." She breathed out, not even hiding how incredible his fingertips felt running across her back.
"And which side is that?"
The stroke of his fingers making her body feel like it was on fire, Elena struggled to find her words. "This," She told him, gently rubbing his chest. "Most people at school think that you're cold,"
"Entire school can't be wrong." Jericho remarked, cutting her off.
Opening her eyes, Elena lifted her head and rested it on his shoulder. "They don't know you." She said, gazing up into his piercing blue eyes that stared back.
"Nor do you."
Never taking her eyes from his, Elena countered. "And whose fault is that?" She quizzed, giving him a playful smile. "I've known you for nearly a month and I still barely know anything about you...other than you refuse to admit that you enjoy working on cars."
"Nothing worth repeating." Jericho commented, bypassing the latter of her question.
"I don't mean things from your past," Elena voiced, knowing how painful it was from the little she had heard of it. "I mean things about you. You know, your likes, dislikes..."
Jericho responded. "My preference is irrelevant."
"...why do you always talk like that?"
"Like what?"
Nervously, Elena continued. "Like a..."
"Machine." Jericho stated rather than asked.
Flinching at the tone, Elena nodded hesitantly. "Kinda." She admitted to him.
"Maybe I am."
Working up the nerve, Elena expressed what she, what quite a few people had been thinking for a while now. "Or...you were in the military." And when those piercing blue eyes locked onto hers, she endured. "I'm not stupid, Jericho."
"Hm."
Fighting back a smile at what that grunt was implying, Elena pretended not to hear him. "The burns on your arms, the bullet and knife wounds, the bitemarks..."
"Did we not discuss this in your kitchen?"
Knowing that he was rhetorical," We did." Elena confirmed, recalling their conversation. "You told me that they were from being young and angry. Still doesn't explain how you have multiple bullet wounds."
"Does the term 'Semi-Automatic' mean anything to you?"
The brunette replied. "And how do you get shot with a semi-automatic?"
"By growing up around military bases."
"...because you're in the military?"
Silent at first, Jericho eventually spoke. "Are you asking me if the United States Military conscripts' children, violating OPAC?"
"What's OPAC?"
"Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict."
"And you just knew that at the top of your head?"
Gazing down at her, Jericho replied. "Eidetic memory." He explained to the brunette. "Do you think that I just woke up one morning with these scars?" He questioned rhetorically.
"...No." Elena mumbled out, guessing that he had a point. "Still doesn't explain where you got all those other wounds from" She pointed out, noting that he had once again dodged the question.
Looking at her, Jericho answered. "Unfortunately, we can't all be as emotionally healthy as Elena Gilbert."
"And we can't all be as evasive as Jericho Reach." Elena smirked back.
Not disagreeing, Jericho grunted. "Hm. Aren't we a pair." He voiced dryly, gazing down into her dark brown eyes.
"Hmmm." Elena smiled tenderly, humming in agreement. Lowering her head back onto his chest, she gently closed her eyes and relaxed into Jericho when he rested his chin softly atop her head. Enjoying the sensation of his fingertips lightly stroking her back, she slowly drifted off to sleep again.
Sitting alone in the kitchen, Sheila Bennett turned her head slightly when she heard movement coming from upstairs. Getting up from the table, she walked over to the stove and grabbed the kettle. Pouring the boiling water into the mug, she placed it back onto the stovetop just as footsteps neared. "How did you sleep?"
"Horrible." Bonnie admitted to her grandmother, exhausted from her restless night. "Is this going to be a permanent thing, feeling everyone's emotions?" She asked, rubbing the back of her eyes as she walked over to the table.
Approaching with the hot drink, Shelia placed it down in front of Bonnie. "Until you learn to control your powers." She told her. Originally, she had been planning on waiting a while before instructing Bonnie. But after the state that her granddaughter had been when she had turned up at hers last night, she knew that her powers were manifesting, and quickly.
"How did I know you were going to say that?" Bonnie droned frustratingly. "Controlling fire is one thing, but feeling everyone's emotions is something I could do without." She muttered, though her thoughts lingered on one person in particular. "It was only for a few seconds, but all I felt from Jericho was pain and suffering. There wasn't even the slightest bit of happiness, just pain."
Seeing the tears forming in her granddaughters' eyes, Shelia interjected. "And this Jericho is a friend of yours?" She asked with Bonnie shaking her head.
"Jericho doesn't have friends...at least, not anymore." Bonnie informed her grandmother. "I don't really know much about him, nobody does. The only thing I really know is that he's the owner of Noble Industries, that tech company down in Richmond. He started school when we all came back and mostly just keeps to himself. I'm not even sure if I should be feeling sorry for him considering that it might have been him that attacked Damon..."
Sheila abruptly cut her off. "Damon? As in Damon Salvatore?"
"Yeah, how did you...
"Damon Salvatore is no friend of ours."
Confused, Bonnie voiced it. "How do you know Damon?" She questioned her grandmother. She had only heard his name in passing from Caroline and Elena, never actually meeting him in person.
"Spirits talk, Bonnie." Shelia told her granddaughter, confusing her even more. "And either as a human or vampire, Damon Salvatore is not to be trusted, not under any circumstances."
Her head spinning, Bonnie focused on a certain detail. "Did you just say vampire? Vampires are real?"
"They are." Shelia confirmed with a small nod. "And for hundreds of years they have preyed on mankind."
Suddenly worried for Elena, Bonnie immediately asked. "Does that mean that Stefan is one, too?"
"Yes."
Trying to wrap her head around the existence of vampires, Bonnie started putting the pieces together. "So, if Jericho did fight Damon...would that make him a vampire hunter? It would explain where he got all his scars from. Do people hunt vampires, is that a thing, you know, in modern times?"
"They do," Sheila disclosed. "And regarding this Jericho, if he's the one the spirits have mentioned, he's something... different."
Bonnie arched a brow. "What do you mean..."
"He's not meant to be here."
It was late Monday morning. Sitting inside of Trigonometry, Bonnie twirled her pen between her fingers in boredom as she listened to Mrs. Halpern lecture the entire class. Fighting back a yawn, her eyes drifted over to Jericho who was seated a couple of tables away from her.
Gazing at him, she couldn't stop thinking about what Grams had said about him. "He's not meant to be here." The words kept repeating over and over again in her head like a broken record caught in a loop, and even twenty-four hours later, she had no idea what they meant. Was Jericho not meant in Mystic Falls...or was there some deeper meaning behind the words?
Honestly, she had no idea. This whole witch-thing was new territory for her, and Grams had been pretty cryptic about the whole thing. And if that wasn't bad enough, she had discovered that vampires were also real, and that Stefan was one...which only made her worry about Elena's safety. From the moment they had met he had been interested in her, and she thought that it was because he was attracted to her, but now, she wondered if his real intention was to drain Elena of her blood.
The bell suddenly rang, ripping Bonnie from her thoughts. Gathering her things along with the rest of the class, she glanced over at Jericho and watched him get up from his desk and leave the room. Knowing that it was now or never, she got up from hers and quickly followed him.
"Jericho!" She called out as she stepped out into the hallway.
Stopping, Jericho turned to face her. "Bonnie. Can I assist you?" He inquired.
"Um, yeah," Bonnie said as she walked over to him. "I just wanted to apologize for Saturday." She told him, and when he stared down at her blankly, she wasn't sure if he had no idea what she was talking about or that was just his usual expression, either way, she continued. "When I brushed passed you, I've, um...been dealing with some personal problems at home."
Jericho offered a small nod, "I had a feeling."
"..You did?"
Looking down at Bonnie, Jericho answered. "I might not know you, but I've noticed that you've become increasingly withdrawn over the last couple of weeks. You still accompany Caroline and Elena, but you're not quite as involved as you were when we first met."
"You a cop, or something?"
"No, I am not a cop."
Bonnie gave a small smirk. "You sound like a cop. It would explain the scars." She teased lightly, probing a little to find out where they came from.
"Hm. I should've gone with that."
"What?"
"Nothing." Jericho grunted, dismissing the question like he always did. "I couldn't help but notice that you attended the Founder's Party without a date."
Feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, Bonnie tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Er, yeah." She mumbled, caught off guard by the rather blunt question. "There really wasn't anyone to go with." She smiled thinly, lying through her teeth, not wanting to admit that she always went to those things alone due to nobody ever wanting to go with her, hence why she hadn't asked anyone this time.
"Why not?" Jericho queried, putting Bonnie on the spot. "You're an attractive female, I doubt you would have had difficulties finding a date."
Her heart fluttering, Bonnie was unprepared for the flattery. "...You think I'm attractive?" She whispered softly, unable to keep herself from smiling at the rather direct, but not unwelcomed compliment.
"I am merely stating a fact," Jericho informed stoically, just as a group of freshmen ran down the hall, nearly colliding with them. Stepping out of the way, he waited until they had passed before continuing. "I won't keep you. It's lunch, and I am certain that you require nourishment."
Watching Jericho leave, Bonnie was unable to keep the smile off her face at the very Jericho-like compliment. Turning and heading in the opposite direction, she made her way to the cafeteria to meet up with Elena...and probably Stefan who could always be found with her. And up until yesterday, she just thought it was because he liked her, but now, she couldn't help but be worried about his true intentions with her best friend.
He was a vampire. Even now she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around it, and the fact that Jericho was apparently a vampire hunter...although it did explain why the tension had been so thick between them over the last couple of weeks. But if he was, she couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't hunted down and dealt with both Damon and his brother.
Unless he didn't know that Stefan was related to the person that attacked him. And now that she knew what had happened, or at least had a pretty good idea what had happened, she couldn't help but feel guilty for painting him as the bad guy without getting his side of the story...and the fact that she had made Elena start doubting him, even if she hadn't outright said it.
Once cheerleading practice was over, Elena and Bonnie, after heading home to get showered and changed, met at the Grill. Paying for their drinks, Elena grabbed the glasses from the bar and walked across the room and over to the table that Bonnie was sitting at. "Heard from Caroline?"
"Not since practice." Bonnie answered, accepting the glass from Elena. "But she did say that she needed to talk to Jericho."
Taking a quick sip, Elena placed her drink back on the table. "What about?"
"Is that jealousy I hear?"
Elena immediately retorted. "No."
"Uh-Huh." Bonnie droned, voicing her doubt.
With a mild glare, Elena continued. "There's nothing to be jealous about. It's not like we're dating,"
"I never said you were." Bonnie counter with a growing smile. "But speaking about Jericho, you never did mention how your date ended...other than you once again sharing a bed with him."
Her glass clinking as she placed it down on the table, Elena replied. "I didn't think you were interested." She admitted to Bonnie. "From what you were saying on Saturday,"
"I was being a real judgmental Judith," Bonnie quipped, getting a smile from Elena. "And I thought about what you said, and you were right, we don't know anything about Damon. And I can't speak for you, but I barely know anything about Stefan, let alone his brother."
Frowning slightly, Elena voiced her own opinion. "Actually, I've been thinking about what you said and... you have a point." And seeing Bonnie's confusion, she elaborated. "I don't know anything about Jericho, not really. He's so cryptic and evasive about everything,"
"So you think that he did attack Damon?"
Shaking her head, Elena responded. "No, I don't. I know that he was attacked at his home...but if Damon did attack him, I just don't get why he would lie about it."
"Have you asked him?"
With a small smile, the brunette countered. "You have met him, right?" She quipped playfully. "And even if I did, Jericho would just dodge the question or say something sarcastic, probably both. But I did ask him about his wounds."
"And?"
"He just said that the bullet wounds came from semi-automatics."
"...Semi-automatics? Like Guns? Wait, what am I saying, of course they came from guns." Bonnie rambled to herself.
Smiling in amusement, Elena continued. "And apparently he grew up around military bases."
"And you don't believe him."
"No, I do. It's just..." Stopping, Elena leaned in closer. "I know it sounds crazy, but do you think that Jericho could be in the military, or he used to be before moving here?"
Bonnie arched a brow. "Don't you have to be eighteen to join?"
"No idea," Elena admitted candidly, knowing next to nothing about the military. "But growing up around military bases hardly explains where all those burns came from, and the stab wounds. Then there was that bitemark on his shoulder, and he was evasive about that, too."
Offering a shrug, Bonnie commented. "Everyone is intitled to their secrets."
"I know that," Elena sighed, agreeing with her. "But it's not just one thing that he's keeping close to his chest, it's everything. And I mean everything. He won't even talk about the things he like or dislikes,"
Giving her a supportive smile, Bonnie spoke. "I'm sure Jericho has his reasons. And you did mention that he lost his parents, a sibling, and his friends; maybe he is worried about growing close with anyone again."
"That's true," Elena muttered quietly. "I just can't get his injures out of my head. I can maybe accept that he got shot once or twice growing up around military bases, kids explore, but the amount he has, and the stab wounds. Bullets can kinda be explained, but getting stabbed repeatedly? And the bitemarks, it didn't look like anything I had ever seen before."
Working up the nerve, Bonnie uttered. "Maybe it was a..."
"Hey."
The voice making them both jump, Elena turned and smiled when she found Stefan standing at their table. "Hey." She greeted back. "How did practise go?"
"Good."
Doubting that, Elena voiced it. "The team still giving you a hard time?"
"A little," Stefan replied, giving Elena a smile. "But I'm the new guy," He stated, expecting a little hazing from the team...especially since the quarterback was her ex, who made it clear from day one that he didn't like him. "Um, can we talk, you know, in private." He asked, gesturing away from the table.
Wanting to grab Elena's arm and stop her leaving with the vampire, Bonnie was prevented from doing so when Elena agreed. "Sure." She smiled, her voiced filled with confusion. Rising from the table, she walked off with Stefan. "Is everything okay?" She asked once they found a quiet spot.
"Everything's fine." Stefan reassured her. "I was just wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"
With a small smile, Elena answered. "Um, no, not that I know of, why?"
"Well, I was thinking about what you said at the party, about you not knowing me, and I'd like to change that." Stefan explained, flashing her a charming smile that made her cheeks burn. "Can I..."
Cut off by another voice, one that neither of them knew. "I know you." Turning, they both found an elderly man staring at Stefan like he had seen a ghost. "My God," He uttered in disbelief.
"I'm sorry?" Stefan questioned, just as confused as Elena.
Never taking his eyes off Stefan, the man continued. "I know you." He repeated once more. "How can it be?"
"I think you have the wrong person, sir."
Undeterred, the elderly man persisted. "You haven't aged a day." He remarked astounded, making Elena look at Stefan. Glancing at her briefly, he turned back to the man and answered.
"You've definitely mistaken me for someone else." Stefan informed quickly. "If you'll excuse us."
Escorted away by Stefan, Elena waited until they were out of earshot before saying anything. "What was that about?"
"No idea."
Sceptical, Elena expressed it. "None at all?"
"None. Like I said, he must have mistaken me for someone else."
Not buying it, Elena countered. "For a simple mistake, you seemed awfully quick to drag us away."
"Because I'm here to talk to you, not him." Stefan told Elena. But seeing the doubt in her eyes, he sighed. "I'm not sure what you want me to say."
And so she told him. "How about the truth?"
"I am."
She sighed frustratingly. "I'm not stupid, Stefan."
"I know you're not."
"Fine, you won't talk about that, then how about telling me what's going on between you and Jericho."
Stefan responded. "I don't..."
"It's not just me, everyone can see the tension between the two of you...and it started when Jericho came back to school after being attacked, and Damon was taken to hospital."
Sighing, Stefan quickly put everything together. "Caroline," He realized.
"That wasn't a no."
"I already explained to Caroline that,"
"And why is Damon accusing Jericho of..."
Thinking on his feet, Stefan immediately replied. "He's not.
"That's not what..."
"He blames Noble Industries for making cybernetics so expensive, and since Jericho owns the company..." Stefan trailed off, allowing Elena to connect the dots.
Doing so, Elena finished. "He blames him."
"He does." Stefan confirmed with a small nod. "And since we don't have that sort of money just laying around, Damon is a little bitter right now, which I told Caroline when she turned up at my house last week."
Initially silent, Elena eventually found her voice. "That...makes a lot more sense." She admitted sheepishly. And hearing Stefan's side of the story, it sounded way more plausible than Damon accusing Jericho of attacking him. "It still doesn't explain why things have been so tense between the two of you...unless you blame him, too?"
"Well, there's you."
She blinked. "Me? What do I..." She tried to ask, only for Stefan to stop her.
"Do I really have to say it?" Stefan smiled, getting one back from Elena.
Loading an acceptable amount of plaster onto his trowel, Six brought it up and ran it across the wall. Accomplishing another day of education, he prepared to spend the evening, and most likely the better part of Tuesday morning renovating the automobile repair shop in hopes of catching up on the work he missed out on over the weekend.
The auto shop area completed to an acceptable degree; he was currently working on the reception. Like the rest of the building, it required a great deal of maintenance before it could be utilized. The room stripped bare, and the old furniture removed, he directed his focus onto the walls that had been filled with tiny holes from the pins that had been stabbed into them. There were also cracks, along with...
"Knock, knock."
Unfazed by the cheerful voice, Six continued working. "Knock with your hands, saying it is ridiculous." He told Caroline.
"Someone's grumpy."
Running the trowel across the wall, Six responded. "Not at all. But I going to hypothesize that you're here for a reason,"
"I am."
Halting his work, Six turned his head and looked at Caroline as she entered the room and wandered over. "Which is?" He questioned. While he didn't know the exact time, he knew that it had gone 1800 hours, meaning whatever she wanted, it was important.
"Tomorrow I'm running a fundraiser to help raise money for the Timberwolves, both for the football team and the cheerleaders." Caroline told Jericho, gazing up at him.
Looking down at her, Six inquired. "Does the school not fund the athletics department?"
"The school doesn't fund anything," Caroline said matter-of-factly. "We're still using computers from the last century because the school too stingy to upgrade them. And not just the computers, even our uniforms are hand-me-downs, which is why I decided to host the Sexy Suds Car Wash. It's fifteen dollars to wash just the outside of the car, and twenty dollars to clean both inside and out."
"And you desire to clean my car." Six stated, grasping the reason for her visitation.
Caroline interjected. "Cars." She corrected with a smile. "It would really help us out."
"Very well."
The blonde beamed. "You will?"
"I will." Six acknowledged with a small nod. "Under one condition."
Curious, Caroline responded. "Which is?"
"I help you; you help me."
"...Help you?" Caroline repeated slowly. She quickly got her answer when Jericho lifted his arm and held out the trowel. "Oh, no, no, no, I don't do physical labour." She proclaimed stubbornly, crossing her arms.
Undeterred, Six continued. "How much money are you intending to make from your fundraiser?"
"I dunno, five hundred dollars."
Six resumed. "Then whatever you make tomorrow, I'll double it." He told Caroline, surprising her.
"...So if we were to make five hundred tomorrow, you would donate another five hundred dollars?" Caroline asked, just to be certain.
"Hm." Six confirmed with a grunt. "Or you can have twenty dollars and wash the Ferrari."
Biting her lip, Caroline glanced at the trowel, then at the wall, and finally at her cute outfit. "I don't want to ruin my clothes."
"Then go home and get changed,"
The Blonde countered. "I don't want to ruin any of my clothes."
"Then don't get any on you...or just take the twenty dollars tomorrow."
Knowing that she would be stupid to reject the offer to double their money, Caroline took the deepest breath she had ever taken in her life and with great difficulty, accepted the offer. Uncrossing her arms, she grabbed the handle and grabbed the trowel from Jericho. "What do I do?" The blonde asked, this obviously being something that she had never done before.
Feeling her cheeks heat up when Jericho placed his large hand gently atop hers, her heart fluttered when he lightly squeezed it and directing her hand to the wall, showing her what to do. And after a couple of demonstrative strokes, he removed his hand from hers, much to Caroline's disappointment. "Okay, what now?" She asked after running out of plaster.
"Load it back up."
Doing as she was told, Caroline crouched down and loaded the trowel with plaster. "Is that enough?" She quizzed, really out of her element right now. Getting a small nod from Jericho, she climbed back to her feet and lifted her head. "Well, you're gonna have to do that bit since I can't reach it." She told him, gesturing to the top part of the wall that was too high, even for her.
"Okay, get ready."
Lost, Caroline tried to ask. "Ready for..." Her words caught in her mouth the second that Jericho seized her waist, squeezing his hands around them before being lifted effortlessly into the air. Her heart racing in excitement, she became incredibly turned on by the display of strength and how incredible his hands felt on her body, almost like they had been made exclusively for her.
And in that moment, she decided. Elena could have Stefan; she wanted Jericho.
It was later that night. Agreeing to have dinner at hers, Elena leaned against the counter and listened to Stefan, finally getting the chance to learn more about him after nearly a month. While they often spent time hanging out at school, this was the first time that it had been just them...even if Jeremy was upstairs, alone.
"I'm an avid reader. Huge Fitzgerald fan. The Great Gatsby, his masterpiece. But I'm no snob. I love some good Grisham. I think Seinfeld is the best American television show of the past fifty years...but I Love Lucy is all-time. The Loving Cup episode is the best, I think. Huge Scorsese fan. I could watch Taxi Driver over and over again."
Smiling, Elena moved closer. "Here. Let me." She said taking the knife from Stefan and started slicing.
"As far as music goes, it's pretty much across the board; Dylan, Hendrix, Patsy, Willie, little Kanye. You know what? I even like that one Miley song." Stefan remarked making Elena laugh. "Easy." He smiled back, more so than he had done in years.
Elena giggled. "I didn't say anything." She returned playfully. "Hey, this is for the garlic bread, right? Because I'm not eating garlic unless you do, too."
"You kidding? I love garlic." Stefan smiled.
Smiling back, Elena continued to cut through the garlic, only for her hand to slip and cut herself. "Argh!" she hissed, causing Stefan, who walked over to the refrigerator, to turn round.
"You okay?" He asked, concern in his voice.
Holding up her bloody finger, Elena replied. "Um, yeah, I just cut myself." Hurrying over to the sink, she turned the tap on and held her finger underneath the running water. The cut stinging a little, she glanced at the window and felt her heart sink when caught Stefan's reflection to see his eyes darkened and veins appeared around them. As she turned to look at him, Stefan quickly turned away from her. "Your face."
"Yeah, yeah." Stefan returned. Refusing to look at her, he felt his fangs growing. "I think I got something in my eye."
Wrapping her finger in the kitchen towel, Elena walked over and gently grabbed his shoulder. "Stefan." Still refusing to look at her, she tried turning the other shoulder, only for him to look in the other direction. "Hey, look at me." Trying to turn the other shoulder, he looked away again. "Stefan." And after what felt like an eternity, he finally turned and allowing her to see that it had all been in her head. "Sorry, I thought..."
"It's fine." Stefan smiled reassuringly, yet there was something behind voice that sounded a lot like fear. "I'm fine."
With school over, the Sexy Suds Car Wash was in full swing. Everyone in high spirts, laughter echoed across the parking lot as the football team and cheerleaders cleaned the cars that were there.
"No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay-you-later. We are not running a charity here." Caroline told Elena as the two of them sat at the paying booth.
Elena agreed. "No, we're not." She commented, then frowned when Caroline grimaced as she rolled her arms. "What's wrong?"
"My arms are killing me. I should've just accepted the twenty dollars from Jericho." Caroline voiced, seriously regretting her decision to help him out last night...even if she was rewarded by him grabbing her waist repeatedly, which was worth all the soreness in the world. "I am not made for physical labour."
Confused, Elena expressed it. "You've lost me."
"I was helping Jericho last night at his auto shop, and in exchange he said he would double what we earned here today."
Just as surprised as those that overheard them, Elena uttered. "He did?"
"Yep." Caroline said, popping the P. "And just between us, his hands felt incredible on my waist every time he picked me up. " She admitted shamelessly, and when she saw Elena's expression, she shrugged. "I don't see why you're getting jealous; I mean, you did have dinner with Stefan last night."
The brunette retorted. "I'm not jealous." She said a little too quickly, so much that even she doubted her words. "And it was just two friends hav..."
"Friends, right?" Caroline drawled sarcastically. "You had dinner with Stefan because you want to be friends with him." She ridiculed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can't imagine how Jericho is gonna feel when he finds out. I mean, you go a date with him on Saturday, then a few days later you're having dinner with another guy,"
Her words stinging, Elena defended herself. "It wasn't a date," She whispered, her words barely a whisper as she looked at Caroline.
"Was it just the two of you?"
"No, Jeremy was in the house."
The blonde never let up. "Did he eat with you?"
"..."
"Exactly. Face it, Elena, it was a date." Caroline declared with a knowing look. "Sounds like you're stringing them both along..."
Feeling a flash of anger, Elena shot back. "No, I'm not." She insisted strongly. "I'm just trying to get to know them. There's no law that says that I can't be friends with two guys,"
"Yeah, but you don't want to be their friends." Caroline countered with a pointed look. "Personally, I think you should stop messing them around and just pick Stefan. I mean, you both obviously like each other. You had dinner with him last night, even inviting him to your place; and I saw how happy you looked when you were dancing on Saturday."
And it all finally became clear. "Is that what this is all about, because I danced with Stefan at the Founder's Party?" Elena asked rhetorically. "I never asked him to dance, I even told him that he should have been dancing with you."
"Hardly, in fact, I should be thanking you." Caroline fired back. "The best part about Saturday was when I got to dance with Jericho. Not because we danced, but because he didn't make me feel like he was doing me a favour by being there with me like I did with Stefan for the entire day. I actually felt wanted, but most of all, I didn't feel like I came in second place to you." She told Elena, venting everything she had kept bottled up inside.
Opening her mouth to say something, Elena stopped when she spotted Stefan moving through the crowd and over to them. Approaching the booth, he offered them both a smile. "Hi."
"Hey," Elena smiled back.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Stefan asked, smiling at the two.
Caroline answered. "Nope. Elena was just saying how much she enjoyed your date last night."
"I wouldn't really call it a date," Stefan pointed out. "But I enjoyed myself last night." He finished, directing the last part to Elena.
Returning his smile with one of her own, Elena agreed. "Me too." She whispered softly, trying her hardest not to be bothered by Caroline's words, specifically the part about her stringing Jericho and Stefan along. That wasn't what she was doing, at least not intentionally. And while she was attracted to them both, last night had just been her trying to get to know Stefan a little better...and as of right now, she knew far more about him than she did about Jericho.
She also couldn't stop thinking about what Caroline said, about how Jericho would feel when he learned that she had dinner with Stefan last night. It wasn't romantic, and it wasn't like her and Jericho were dating...even if they had shared a bed twice. It was just dinner, and yet...
"Where do you want me?" Stefan asked, pulling Elena from her thoughts.
Getting up from the booth, Caroline answered. "Grab a bucket and start cleaning. And it's called the Sexy Suds Car Wash; so how about showing a little skin?" She told the pair of them before getting up and walking away.
"Did we just get scolded?"
Nodding, Elena smiled. "I think so." Rising from her seat, she grabbed the bottom of her jacket and pulled it over her head with her hair getting tangled as she removed it. Tossing it to the side, she made a face. "So not sexy."
"I think you look perfect."
Her heart fluttering at the compliment, Elena gave him a smile.
Rather than heading straight to the automobile repair shop, Six returned to his place of residence and used the transporter to the ship. Standing on the bridge, he reviewed the holographic screens that were projected in the centre of the room. While a majority displayed surveillance footage from across the world that depicted hundreds of vampire attacks that happened daily,
Others displayed articles about animal attacks, a recurring theme that government officials used to cover up the attacks. There were also countless missing persons reports, post-mortems conducted by medical examiners detailing how the bodies were drained of blood; and those were the lucky few. Most were typically found mutilated, their bodies ripped apart with such brutality that they could barely be recognised as human.
And the more he examined the evidence before him, there was no denying it; humanity was being attacked.
When they had first arrived and discovered that they had somehow been transported back to the early twenty-first century, he had been forced to set aside his old life. Not because he wanted too, being a Spartan was the only thing he knew, but rather because he had no choice. Even before they had decided to create Noble Industries, they knew that their very presence there could have far-reaching consequences for the future; it was why he had put aside his armour rather than hunting down and eliminating the numerous terrorist organizations across the world, of which there were many.
But now? He knew that he could no longer remain inactive; not while humanity was being attacked. And while he knew that he was breaking every protocol in the book, he really didn't have a choice.
"Glides." Gazing across the bridge, Six observed the Huragok in question raise its heads above the console it was operating and return the stare, blinking its solid black eyes curiously. "I..." Pausing, he had to force the next few words out. "Can you fix my armour for me?"
And quicker than he had ever seen him move, Six watched as Glides typed away on the console, its tenacles-like arms becoming blurs before another holographic screen materialized in front of the Spartan. "Really?" The message read.
"Yes, really." Six nodded, unyielding.
With a happy chirp, Glides turned from the console and flew across the room, shortly followed by Likely to Drift, the two original Huragok's that had been aboard the ship when they had commandeered it, and left the room, eager to work on the new technology...even if he knew that it he was back in his time, he would've been court-martialled for allowing them to do so; but if he was back in his time, he would've had the Mjolnir technicians fix the damages done during the battle for Reach.
"That will be twenty dollars," Elena said to the customer, opening the cashbox that already had a decent amount of money inside. Looking up, she was briefly taken aback when she saw the old man from yesterday. "It's you." She voiced, shaking from her stupor. "We met yesterday, at the Grill. You recognized my friend?"
His eyes shifting in remembrance, the old man nodded. "Well, I thought it was somebody I knew."
"Stefan Salvatore?"
With an embarrassed smile, he shook his head. "No, it can't be. It was just my mind playing tricks on me."
"Where did you think that you had seen him before?"
"When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore boarding house. Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was here until the attack."
Confused, Elena commented. "The attack?"
"His uncle got killed; mauled by an animal in the woods."
Growing even more confused, Elena frowned. "Zach?" She inquired, Stefan mentioning his uncle a couple of times now.
"No, Joseph."
"And was the attack recent?"
The old man shook his head. "No, it happened years ago; long before you were born." He told Elena who stared blankly; and just as she was about to say something, another voice spoke up.
"Grandpa, you gotta go. Mom wants you home. Okay?" Tiki told him, preventing him from saying anything else. And with a small nod, he walked off without a word. Once he was gone, she turned to Elena. "He wasn't bugging you, was he? He's a little Alzy-heimer."
Elena rose from her seat. "No, he was sweet." She uttered, before quickly chasing after the man. "Hey, sir, I'm sorry. But are you sure that the man you saw yesterday with me, that you knew, his name was Stefan Salvatore?"
"Yes. I remember his ring, and his brother."
"...Damon Salvatore?"
"Yeah. Stefan and Damon Salvatore."
Feeling a chill run down her spine, Elena probed a little further. "You said that it happened long before I was born; when exactly was it?"
"It was early June, 1953." The elderly man thought out loud, then nodded, certain that was it. "Yeah. June, 1953."
Plunging his sponge into the bucket, Stefan pulled it out and continued cleaning the Golf Mk4 with another member of the Timberwolves. Squeezing the soapy water, slavering up the silver paintwork, his mind wandered.
It had been a couple of days since the Founder's Party and he hadn't been able to get his mind off it. He should've been over the moon, Jericho wasn't there meaning that he could finally get to know Elena better, which he had done last night, and yet...he couldn't stop thinking about Dot. He had been trying to wrap his head around what she was, and he was still just as clueless as the moment he met her on Saturday. All he knew was that she wasn't human.
In a hundred and forty-five years since being turned, he had seen many things...but her, she was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. He thought about talking to her, but given that Damon had attacked Jericho, and he most likely would've told her about it, he doubted that she would have a high opinion of him. That being said, he couldn't get over the fact that she had no scent; but most of all, how she had no heartbeat.
Vampires were undead, and they still had a heartbeat...whereas Dot, it was like she wasn't even there. There was no heartbeat, no natural scent; the only thing he got off her was her perfume. And if it wasn't for that, he would've never known she was there.
He was just left with more questions, and not just about Dot, but Jericho, too. It had been over a week since they had spoken properly, and he still had no idea how his blood cured vampirism.
And after last night when he had nearly lost control and revealed his true self to Elena, he thought about asking, pleading for Jericho to cure him...but he held off. While he wanted to be freed from this affliction, he feared what would happen if he did. Not to him, but if he was no longer a vampire then how was he supposed to protect Damon from Jericho?
Damon had done a lot of messed up things, as had he, but no matter what he did, he was still his brother; and the thought of living without him was...
"Damn,"
Hearing the voice of his teammate, Stefan was pulled from his thoughts. Glancing over to where he was looking, he saw Dot climbing out of her Aston Martin DB9 and watched as she closed the door before walking across the parking lot.
"Man, Jericho is one lucky guy."
Tearing his eyes from Dot, Stefan shot him a look. "You do know that it's his aunt." He pointed out, even if he wasn't entirely sure if she was or not.
"I know you've got the hots for Elena, but there is no way you wouldn't tap that if given the chance. I mean, just look at that dress hugging her ass." He stated, getting an incredulous look from Stefan. "The things I would do to her,"
"You've never been in a relationship, have you?" Stefan asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.
The Timberwolf snorted. "I'm too much man to be held down by a single woman."
"So...no?"
"Careful, Rookie. You don't want to piss off one of the few guys that not giving you a hard time on the team."
Outside the school, Jenna watched from a distance as Logan covered the carwash for WPKW9 News. It had been a couple of days since they had properly reunited at the Founder's Party after not seeing each other in years; she had seen him at Grayson and Miranda's funeral, but considering that she had just lost her sister, she was not in the mood to catchup with her cheating ex.
"If you glare any harder his head will explode."
Jenna smirked, "Here's hoping." She quipped playfully. Turning her head, she looked at Dot as she sat down on the bench opposite her. "I didn't think you were coming."
"I was held up at work; and I did have to drive all the way back from Richmond." Dot pointed out, explain her tardiness. "Have I missed anything good?"
Fighting back a smile, Jenna answered. "And by anything good, you mean..."
"Drama; what else?"
"We seriously need to get you a boyfriend."
Dot looked mildly interested. "A boyfriend?" She hummed, speaking more to herself than answering Jenna. "Do I even have a sexuality?"
"What?"
Rather than answering, Dot kept her eyes on Logan. "I assume there's a reason you're sitting out here, directly in the line of sight of a certain ex?" She inquired teasingly.
"All the other seats were taken." Jena proclaimed. Looking around, she saw all the empty seats around. "At least there weren't when I arrived here." She quickly explained, only to narrow her eyes when Dot smiled. "They were."
The CEO raised her hands in surrender. "I believe you."
"Hey, Dot."
Turning to the voice, Dot found a certain brunette standing there. "Elena." She greeted back, offering her a friendly smile. "How's the fundraiser coming along?"
"Pretty good," Elena remarked with a smile. "I don't think any of us were expecting such a big turn out." She admitted, surprised at the number of cars that had turned up. While she hadn't counted the money yet, she had easily made a few hundred dollars. Glancing over where Logan Fell was reporting, she couldn't stop thinking about what Kiki's grandfather had said about Stefan and turned her attention to Jenna. "Are you two on speaking terms yet?"
Looking where she was, Jenna retorted. "Oh, I've got plenty of choice words I can say to him. Why?"
Elena answered Jenna. "I have this report that overdue, and I was kinda hoping that he would be enough in your good graces to ask for a favour."
"What's the report about?"
Turning to Dot, Elena swiftly thought on her feet. "About how things have changed in Mystic Falls over the last sixty years." She told her, lying through her teeth. "I was hoping to look through the archives and see some old videos to help me get a better insight."
"You could try the Public Library." Dot suggested.
The brunette nodded slowly. "The library...right." Glancing over at where Stefan was cleaning one of the cars, she turned back to Dot and Jenna. "If anyone asks, tell them you don't know where I've gone. I don't want Caroline to know that I left." She told them both, although it was mostly directed at Jenna before she quickly left the school and headed in the direction of the Public Library.
After leaving school and making sure that she wasn't followed, Elena made her way to the Public Library. Once inside, she was escorted to computer that was even older than the ones they had at school.
Gripping the handles and lowering herself down onto the seat, she powered up the computer. Waiting for it to load up, Elena glanced over her shoulder, then back to the screen. She didn't even know why she was there. Kiki's grandfather had just gotten confused was all. There was no way that Stefan had been around in 1953, he was around the same age as her.
And yet, she couldn't stop thinking about all the little things. Such as how a Damon and Stefan Salvatore had attended the very first Founder's Party, their names written on the ledger that she had seen with Jericho on Saturday. The ways his eyes changed; and it wasn't just last night, she remembered them doing the same thing during their talk with him quickly disappearing afterwards. Then there was when Caroline and Jericho had discovered Vicki's body drained of blood in the woods...and Stefan was nowhere to be seen.
Then finally there was the ring. Since meeting him, Stefan had never removed it, not even while cleaning the cars today; and Kiki's grandfather claimed that the Stefan Salvatore that he had met in 1953 also wore a ring...and had a brother called Damon, just like Stefan did.
Her head spinning, Elena brought up her hand and massaged the back of her eyes. Pulling her fingers away, she moved closer to the computer once it loaded up. Dragging the mouse, she clicked on the icon and started searching the archives.
Typing in Joseph Salvatore, she found something, a single article. Upon clicking, an old black and white video began to play, featuring a reporter clad in what appeared to be a tweed suit and bowtie. Recognizing the Salvatore Boarding House in the background, she pressed play and watched the scene play out.
"This is Franklin Fell reporting to you from the Salvatore boarding house..."
The sun was starting to go down when Dot finally returned home. After spending a couple of hours with Jenna, even going back to hers for a little, she turned into the gate and followed the path up to the house. Driving into the garage to see both the Charger and Ferrari there, she parked and cut the engine to her Aston.
Climbing out, the A.I. closed both the Aston and the garage door behind her before heading into the house. Slipping of her shoes, she wandered down the hallway and into the front room. The large room shrouded in darkness, she spotted a light coming from the kitchen. Guessing that's where her partner was, she crossed the open space and stepped into the kitchen to find Six sitting at the island, his eyes fixed onto his laptop.
"Since you're here, I take it that you haven't been to the auto shop today?"
Never taking his eyes from his laptop, Six replied. "No."
"I thought you said you were behind schedule?"
"I am."
Walking behind him, Dot stopped when she saw what he was looking at on his laptop. "Have you made up your mind yet?" She questioned, referring to his decision regarding the vampire threat.
"Glides and Drifts are currently working on repairing the armour." Six all but answered.
Dot looked at him. "So, what does that mean for Jericho Reach?"
"Since you made him a household name, I have very little choice but to keep playing him."
Walking past him, Dot retorted. "Yes, because you owning a car that drives itself around really keeps to the whole low-profile thing you have going for you."
"Hm."
Taking her victory, the A.I grabbed a mug and prepared to make her partner a coffee. "And what does it mean for school? Unless you're planning on doing school, working on the auto shop, and your newfound vigilante work simultaneously?" Dot queried, not doubting his ability, but rather... "On three hours of sleep each time?"
"Schooling is irrelevant."
"Dropping out of school? Quite the rebel."
The Spartans head shot up. "What was that?" He questioned, shooting Dot a look.
"Hmmm? Oh, sorry, poor choice of words."
Night descended over Mystic Falls. Hearing a knock on the door, Stefan stopped writing in his journal and got up from where he was writing. Walking through the parlor, he made his way through the manor.
The carwash had gone well, aside from the fire that had broken towards the end when Bonnie had lost control of her magic, confirming that she was a witch. And even if the Bennett name wasn't a dead giveaway, she hadn't exactly hidden that it was her that was responsible. Elena had also gone missing, well not gone missing, but she had left half-way through without telling anyone. Whatever the reason, he hoped that everything was okay.
Reaching the front door, Stefan opened it only to be surprised, but happy to see Elena standing there. The happiness quickly faded when he saw the look in her deep brown eyes that he had fallen in love with once already. "El..."
"What are you?"
And with those three words, Stefan felt his entire world crumble around him. "You know."
"No, I don't."
Stefan disagreed. "Yes, you do, or you wouldn't be here in the middle of the night, banging my door."
"I-It's not possible. They're just stories."
The tremble in her voice hurt him deeper than any stake ever could. As did when Elena moved back when he took a step forward. "Everything you know...and every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?"
"What are you?"
"...I'm a vampire."
Fearful tears in her eyes, Elena mustered the courage. "A-Are you the one that attacked Vicki?"
"No."
"I-I don't believe you."
"If you just let me explain,"
As Stefan took a step forward, Elena backed away. "I shouldn't have come here."
"Please, if you would..."
Elena shook her head rapidly. "No. " Backing away from the vampire as he tried to stop her, she quickly turned and rushed over to where she parked her SUV, wanting to get out of there as fast as she could, only for Stefan to be standing there. "W-What? H-How did you..."
"Please don't be afraid,"
Her hands trembling, Elena brought them up. "Just let me go."
"Nothing changed, it's still me. I'm still the same person from last night," Stefan stressed out, desperately trying to convince Elena. "I would never hurt you," He swore to her, only for his words to fall on deaf ears as she pushed past him and rushed over to her SUV. Watching her jump inside and start it up, he did nothing as Elena backed up and raced away from his home.
There was a pity tutting. "Trouble in paradise?" Turning to the voice, Stefan turned to see Damon standing in the doorway. "Such a shame too, I was so looking forward to seeing Kathrine 2.0."
"Not now, Damon."
Damon merely smiled. "Hey, don't blame me." He said, raising his arm in surrender. "Of course, if you did as I suggested and cured yourself, little Elena would have never discovered your dirty little secret. And even if she did, you could've passed it off by proving how human you were."
"..."
"The silent treatment? Really? I expected better from you Stefan." Damon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Well, if I were you, I'd probably chase after her, wouldn't want her telling the town what you really are. I mean, with all those people that were killed over the last few months, the town might start pointing fingers; and we wouldn't want that now, would we?"
Watching Damon turned, smirking as he headed back inside, Stefan hated the fact that he was right. And knowing that he was, he raced after Elena to try and explain everything.
It was the following morning. Arriving at school, Six turned into the parking lot and found an empty spot. Cutting the engine to his Charger, he removed his seatbelt and grabbed his bag that rested on the passenger seat. Climbing out, he locked the car and walked away, deciding to leave it there...because he wanted too, not because of what Dot had said last night in the kitchen.
Making his way across the parking lot, he headed towards the entrance to the school. Walking down the path, he was greeted by the other students that stopped what they doing to speak to him.
"Hey, Jericho."
"Sup, man."
"Good morning, Jericho."
Looking at the third, Six grunted. "What's good about it?" He asked. Getting no answer, he continued his way down the path and headed into the school. The hallways already overcrowded; he navigated through the crowd moved through the building. Arriving at his locker, he pressed his thumb across the biometric scanner, unlocking his padlock. Removing it, he pulled it off and opened the locker just as he heard the tapping of heels approaching. "Caroline."
"Do you have the ears of a dog, or something?"
Placing his belongings into the locker, Six closed the door and looked down at Caroline. "Negative. I have the ears of a human." He informed her...even if they were enhanced to a degree.
"Right," Caroline waved off, used to his odd remarks by now. "Anyway, I thought that I'd let you know that we made a total of $600 yesterday. We cleaned fifteen cars for twenty, and another twenty for fifteen dollars each."
"More than you predicted then."
Caroline nodded. "Yeah. I mean, a little more wouldn't have hurt." She admitted.
"When would you like the money?"
Gazing up at him, Caroline arched a brow. "You're seriously going to double it?"
"Hm."
"$600?"
Staring down directly into her eyes, Six responded. "I gave you my word, Caroline. You helped me, so it is only fair I return the favour. I will find you sometime after school, will the Grill be acceptable?"
"Sure," Caroline whispered with a soft smile. Gazing up into his piercing blue eyes, her heart raced when Jericho stared back deeply into hers, making her feel like she was the only person in the world, like she was the only person in his world; just like he did when they danced together on Saturday.
It was after school. Agreeing to speak to Stefan after discovering that he was actually a vampire, Elena picked the Grill. Sitting outside in plain view of the entire town, she looked across the table at him. "You said that you would explain everything; that's why I asked you to meet me here." She told him. "When you Google 'Vampire', you get a world of fiction. What's the truth?"
"I can tell you whatever you want to know." Stefan replied quietly.
And so Elena asked. "I know you eat garlic."
"Yes."
"And, somehow, sunlight's not an issue for you." Elena voiced, just as a waitress came over with their drinks. "Thank you." She expressed quietly, getting a polite smile from the woman.
Pulling his drink closer, Stefan answered the question. "We have rings that protect us." He explained, gesturing to the one on his finger.
"Crucifixes?"
"Decorative."
"Holy Water?"
"Drinkable."
"Mirrors?"
"Myth."
Elena continued. "You said that you don't kill to survive; but every story I've read about vampires always depict them drinking human blood."
"I don't drink human blood," Stefan informed Elena, replying to the question. "I survive off animal blood; it's the only thing that keeps me alive."
"Then what about Vicki?"
Stefan responded. "I didn't attack her,"
"Then who did?"
"Another vampire."
With a nervous breath, Elena inquired. "You mean there's more."
"Not anymore."
"They left?"
Hesitating for a second, Stefan eventually spoke. "No, he was cured."
"You mean Damon." Elena stated, and when Stefan nodded slightly, she continued. "So there's a cure for being a vampire?"
Stopping for a second time, Stefan reluctantly nodded. "There is now...even if I'm not sure how."
"What do you mean?"
"For centuries, being a vampire has been a permanent thing. Once you were turned, regardless of if it was willing or not, you really only had two choices; consume blood, human or animal, or refuse too and essentially become a living corpse, unable to move, but still very much alive."
The brunette interjected. "But not anymore?"
"Apparently not." Stefan confirmed quietly. "But Damon," Pausing again, he knew that Elena wasn't stupid and would quickly put everything together...and it would only be a matter of time until Jericho found out, and once he did, "When he drained a potential victim of blood, he was somehow cured."
"And who was the person that Damon attacked?" Elena asked, and when Stefan said nothing, her eyes widened in realization. "Jericho."
"Yes."
She narrowed her eyes. "So, everything that you said to me the other day was a lie? Damon was accusing Jericho. Which means that it was him that tried to kill Jericho, not the other way around."
"I don't know, maybe," Stefan half-lied, never really knowing what Damon was going to do when he was a vampire. "But he most likely was just going feed on him."
"Oh, so make it okay then?" Elena asked rhetorically, a hint of anger in her voice.
The vampire quickly commented. "No. None of this is okay, Elena. But you don't understand,"
"Oh, I understand. I understand that your brother tried to kill Jericho, then tries and makes himself out as the victim to Caroline, making Bonnie think that he's some kind of nutcase when it was Damon that attacked him,"
Stefan interrupted. "I'm not defending Damon, Elena. I know what he did was wrong, but you need to understand, no human should be able to take on a vampire physically, not even a freshly turned one...and yet Jericho did. Damon was an experienced vampire, not to mention far stronger than me due to him consuming human blood, and somehow Jericho could not only take him on, but beat him, even tear his arm off during their fight. No human should be able to do that."
"Jericho was fighting for his life, apparently." Elena pointed out, defending him. "And are you saying that Jericho isn't human, either?"
Shaking his head, Stefan answered. "No, Jericho is definitely human. But if I had to guess, I would say that he was some kind of military experiment." He voiced his opinion, and when Elena looked at him, he went on. "Affirmative, negative, acknowledged, it's all military jargon. Then there's the way he carries himself, how he scans the room, everything about him screams soldier,"
"What are you trying to say? That Jericho is some kind of...super soldier?"
"...Yes."
And cut! Here's the next chapter of The Noble Diaries. I hoped you all enjoyed it. Now I know that I said there would be a couple of time skips this chapter, but I felt that Elena discovering that Stefan moment that I had to include it rather than just writing that she learned that he was a vampire in a single sentence. Which was why I included the scene of her having dinner with Stefan so that she could see his reflection in the window.
Next chapter, it'll be a mix of filler and the Halloween episode, The filler being Caroline's birthday with takes place on October 10th, and after that comes Halloween...and since Damon is no longer a vampire, it should go down much smoother than it did in the show, unless other vampires start turning up such as Anna who should be there already since in the show she turns Logan Fell into a vampire. There's also Ben.
And as you saw in this chapter, Six is currently having his armour fixed by Glides and Drifts, meaning that he'll be hunting down Vampires pretty soon, as well as whatever other supernatural creatures threaten humanity.
Not much else to say other than let me know what you all think!
