Chapter Fourteen
"Morning, sorry! I was just grabbing some water" Jessica jumped out of her skin at the unknown voice that spoke as she entered the kitchen.
The unknown woman was in her underwear and Jessica noticed that she was covered in bite marks and fresh blood.
Jessica followed the woman back into the living room and walked into the carnage that was the fallout of Damon finding out the truth about Katherine not being in the tomb.
He was feeling up another woman as he drank blood from her neck.
"Enjoying yourself?" Jessica questioned sarcastically.
Damon froze for a moment and stared at the teen who had her arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
Jessica noticed that he may as well have been staring straight through her and that he wasn't really present.
She gave up trying to get through to him and left him to it.
As she exited the living room, she almost walked into Stefan.
"Sorry Stefan" Jessica said.
"That's alright. How's he doing in there? I can smell the blood from here" Stefan stated.
Jessica grimaced.
"It's like a weird, bloody, orgy, fetish, kind of deal in there" Jessica warned.
Stefan nodded knowingly.
"How do you feel about that?" Stefan asked.
"It is gross but, he isn't actually harming them, and as long as they all leave here alive, then I would consider it a bonus. I'm obviously not condoning his behaviour but there are worse things that he could have done to them considering the circumstances" Jessica replied.
Stefan nodded in agreement.
"I've got to go in there and talk to him about something, I'm just bracing myself for the carnage that's behind those doors" Stefan said.
"Oh, what do you have to talk to him about…if you don't mind me asking?" Jessica asked.
"Not at all! There was a woman that he may have known from a few years ago, I am just picking his brains about it and fishing for information" Stefan replied.
Jessica raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.
"What?" Stefan asked as he noticed her change of stance.
"Questioning him about women of his past, are you crazy?! Do you really think that's a good idea right now?" Jessica asked.
Stefan just shrugged in response.
Jessica rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Well, good luck! I'm heading over to Sheila's, she promised to practice some spells with me if last night didn't tire her out too much" Jessica announced.
Stefan's entire persona changed, and a sense of dread plummeted in Jessica's stomach.
"What?" she asked, tone serious.
"Er…the spell last night was an extremely complicated one. It took a lot out of Sheila, a little too much…" Stefan started to explain.
Jessica didn't like where this was heading and shook her head in disbelief.
"No! Stefan, please tell me that Sheila's alright!" Jessica wailed.
Stefan shook his head.
"Sheila died last night" Stefan told her, voice solemn.
"Oh god!" Jessica cried.
Stefan moved to comfort her as she mourned the loss of an exceptional role model in her life. She thought about how devastated Bonnie must be and would call her later on to send her condolences.
"Can you two please stop making so much noise? You're ruining the mood in here" Damon quipped from the doorway.
He had been interrupted by the sounds of Stefan and Jessica and had got up to investigate, he wasn't in the mood to deal with either of them right now.
"Sorry Damon, I was just telling Jessica that Sheila Bennett died last night, the spell was too much for her" Stefan informed Damon.
Damon just stood there looking indifferent.
Jessica noticed and it made her angry.
"Have you really got nothing to say? The woman who helped you last night and saved both of you from being stuck down there, has died" Jessica fumed at Damon.
Damon just looked at her.
"What do you want me to say? That I'm sad? That I'm going to miss her? That there will forever be a void in my life from her absence? Well, I'm not and there won't! She is what is known, honey, as collateral damage" Damon stated darkly.
The silence was shattered by a loud and resounding 'SLAP'.
Damon's head was forced to the right by the unsuspecting force across his face.
He turned his head back and looked at Jessica in shock.
Jessica ignored the pain in her hand and glared daggers at the monster in front of her.
"You, uncaring, unfeeling, monster! Has it really taken a woman, who obviously gives zero fucks about you, to reduce you back to this? The thing I HATED when I first arrived here?" Jessica asked venomously.
Damon and Stefan both stared at the young girl and became wary of the anger in her voice.
"Now why don't we all calm down a notch…" Stefan began.
Jessica snarled.
"Don't worry, I'm out of here" Jessica stated as she moved towards the stairs.
Her bag from the night before was still packed in her room, she even remembered to grab her phone which she had found hidden in one of the study desk drawers a few days back.
Stefan and Damon were still stood in the hallway when she came back downstairs with her stuff.
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked.
"I have friends Stefan. I'm going to stay with them. Don't worry, I'll be fine…I always am" Jessica replied.
Stefan was reluctant to let her go but knew that getting her out the house whilst Damon was like this was also a tempting idea.
She looked Damon up and down I disgust.
"I will not live under the same roof as a monster. Let me know when Damon comes home and I will consider coming back" Jessica stated as she made her way out the front door, leaving two stunned vampires behind.
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Jessica made the long walk into town and went to The Grille.
She was waiting approximately ten minutes when someone carefully placed themselves in the seat next to her.
"You got my message then?" Jessica stated, eyes still fixed firmly ahead.
"Yeah, I figured that we needed to talk" Tyler stated awkwardly.
Jessica nodded as her stance remained defensive.
Tyler noticed that Jessica was not going say anything else.
He sighed.
"I'm sorry that stories of our night together have got around school. I'm also sorry for all the shit you have been getting from everyone about it. Me and a buddy had an argument, and he used the information to hurt you, knowing that it would hurt me to see that happen to you" Tyler admitted.
Jessica nodded; she remembered Stefan explaining it all to her.
"Did you tell anyone else? Was I just an easy fuck to 'kiss and tell' about?" Jessica asked.
Tyler's eyes widened at the comment.
"NO! No, I promise I didn't tell anyone" Tyler confirmed.
"So, what happened?" Jessica asked.
"You left your cardigan in my room after our night together. My buddies were waiting for me when I came home from dropping you off that morning. They saw the state of my room and knew I'd had a 'wild night'. One of my friends found your cardigan on the floor, which had your name in it. Fortunately, it only had your first name and there are a lot of Jessica's at school so, they couldn't be sure of which Jessica it was. I spoke to you on your first day at school, and they became suspicious. Then I got into a fight with one of those friends the following week, and then he saw us making out at the dance and put it all together. He started spreading the gossip there and then during the dance" Tyler explained.
Jessica nodded, soaking in the information.
"I swear I tried to stop it and tried to keep you out of it by denying the gossip but, our very public dancefloor make-out, kind of made it impossible" Tyler said.
Whilst Jessica was not happy that it had happened, she was glad that Tyler hadn't spread the gossip and spread her private life to the student body himself. It was her fault for leaving her cardigan in the first place.
She acknowledged Tyler's explanation and thanked him for not spreading her personal life all over the school.
"I really am sorry Jessica. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, name it" Tyler stated.
"Look, I forgive you. It wasn't your fault; I left the cardigan in the first place, and I wasn't reluctant to making out with you on that dancefloor. However, there is a favour I need if you feel like you really need to do something for me…" Jessica trailed off.
"Go on…" Tyler encouraged eagerly.
"I had an argument with Stefan and Damon and could use a place to crash for a couple of days until it all hopefully blows over…" Jessica began.
"Woah! You're telling me that there are three pissed off Salvatore's running loose in Mystic Falls?" Tyler asked, being overdramatic.
Jessica giggled at him but nodded.
"In all seriousness, of course you can crash at mine. However, my mom would freak if she knew I had a girl staying over so, I will have to sneak you in" Tyler agreed.
Jessica nodded, that was fine with her.
"Luckily, my parents are attending some bachelor auction charity fundraiser thingy tonight so they will be out late. I have to attend to show my face in support, but we can sneak away before the evening wraps up and get back to my place before my parents notice" Tyler suggested.
"Sounds good to me. If you're sure that's ok?" Jessica asked again.
Tyler nodded and smiled at her. He was just glad that she was still talking to him.
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Jessica made it to the charity fundraiser and could see Elena sat with Jenna. She could also see Caroline selling raffle tickets and Jessica spotted Stefan arriving and heading towards Elena. He looked tense but Jessica decided that she didn't want to be involved at the moment considering everything that had happened recently.
She was even more surprised to see Damon stood at the front of the room with the other bachelors, which included Alaric.
Tyler soon made an appearance and came and sat next to her at the table she had sat down at. The two watched the fundraiser begin and Tyler glanced at Jessica when Damon started baiting Alaric about his wife.
Jessica responded with a shrug, not having a clue what any of that was all about. However, she peered over at Stefan and could see that he was staring at Elena in concern. Elena looked like she was about to throw up and had gone pale before running out of the room.
Jessica frowned, realising that she had missed something there but thought it best to leave it be for now.
The bachelors were quickly raffled off and, when the music started to play and everyone started to socialise once more, Tyler squeezed Jessica's hand and indicated that it was the perfect moment for them to sneak away.
Once outside, there were sirens and people gathered near a stationary truck. Jessica overheard that someone had got run over and noticed Stefan and Elena close by.
Due to how close they were to the truck, Jessica worried that it was one of her friends who had been hurt and quickly rushed over to them.
"Who got hurt?" Jessica quickly asked Stefan.
"It was some guy; he had been compelled and threw himself in front of the vehicle" Stefan informed her.
"Stefan…please tell me that it wasn't…" she broke off before she could finish the sentence.
Stefan picked up on what she was trying to say.
"Damon wasn't the one who compelled the guy, this is someone else" Stefan said.
Jessica sighed, thankful that her demonic father hadn't taken an innocent life today.
Stefan noticed and smiled awkwardly at her.
"Are you still staying with friends?" Stefan asked.
Jessica blushed.
"Yeah, I am…I just need a couple of days space away from everything" she said.
"Can I ask where you're staying?" Stefan asked her.
Jessica hesitated.
Stefan was about to question her hesitation when he noticed Tyler walking over to them. Stefan turned to look back at Jessica in disapproval, his eyebrow raised.
"I'll be safe, see you soon" was Jessica's reply as she and Tyler turned to walk in the direction of Tyler's car.
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Once they had made it back to Tyler's, Tyler went to take a quick shower whilst Jessica instantly relaxed. There was something about being in a room that smelled so strongly of Tyler, it made her feel comforted. The last time Jessica had been in his room, she'd had an unemotional fuck with him. Now that she was starting to unpack all the emotions that had been awoken during their snogging session, she took her time to explore Tyler's bedroom and notice all the smaller details around her. The best place to understand someone's personality was in their bedroom.
Jessica heard the shower turn off and looked towards the bathroom door as Tyler emerged, water still dripping from his body and a towel hanging low on hips.
Jessica resisted the urge to wipe her mouth to check for drooling.
Tyler noticed her expression and smiled at her.
"I mean, you're right, this towel IS Egyptian cotton" Tyler stated.
That sent Jessica into a fit of laughter.
"You're such a goofball!" Jessica chuckled.
"Oh, I see! You weren't drooling over the high quality of the towel then?" Tyler joked as he looked at her knowingly.
Jessica shook her head at him and sighed contentedly.
Tyler loved seeing her relax and was glad that he could offer her a sanctuary to come to when she needed it.
"Do you want to shower?" Tyler asked.
"Only if I get to use the Egyptian cotton towels" Jessica quipped back.
Tyler removed the towel from his waist and handed it to her.
"As the lady wishes" he mock bowed as he handed it to her.
Jessica stared appreciatively at his naked body; he was masculine perfection.
"Hmmmm…" Jessica groaned as she resisted the urge to kiss every inch of him.
She snapped out of it before she went any further and raced into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
She heard Tyler chuckle as she turned the shower on and got undressed.
After she finished in the shower, Jessica returned to Tyler's bedroom. He was half-dressed, wearing his comfy grey slouch pants.
He looked up at Jessica from the bed as she entered the room, and now it was his turn to stare.
Jessica blushed.
"Sorry, forgot my pj's" she explained as she rummaged through her bag to look for her oversized t-shirt that she liked wearing to bed.
Once she found it, she turned her back to Tyler and put her t-shirt over her head whilst managing to keep her towel wrapped around her body.
"It's not like I haven't seen it all before" Tyler stated, watching her try to dress herself with difficulty.
"That was different" she replied.
"How?" Tyler asked.
Jessica finished putting on the t-shirt and put the towel in the laundry hamper. She turned to join Tyler on his bed.
"Because we were 'in the mood' and stripping and nudity is part of that. Right now, we are relaxed, and I don't like to tease" Jessica tried to explain.
"Says the girl who definitely did not put underwear on just now" Tyler stated.
Jessica grinned but said nothing as she wrapped herself up in Tyler's bedsheets.
Tyler put his TV on and put on a random movie to play in the background.
"So…about the dance…" Tyler started once they had settled.
Jessica stared back at him.
"What about it?" Jessica frowned.
"Well, I'm just going to put it out there, that kiss was nothing like I have ever felt before…there was a connection, right?" Tyler stated.
"Thank god you said that! I thought it was just me being all girly and giddy. You felt it to? The connection amongst the intensity of it?" Jessica asked.
Tyler nodded.
"I thought I was reading too much into it as well. I didn't think you were interested in me to be honest" Tyler stated.
Jessica frowned at him again.
"How come?" she asked.
"Well, we had sex, we hardly knew each other, and then you didn't reply to me after that – granted, you'd had your cell taken from you – but I just got the feeling you weren't interested in me at all" Tyler confessed.
"You thought I wasn't interested in you, even though we'd had sex?" Jessica asked confused.
Tyler sighed and nodded; he knew he was about to discuss a topic no guy liked to discuss.
"Jessica, I know you faked it that night. You kept spacing out, like you wanted to disappear elsewhere. Like you didn't want to be with me in that moment" Tyler said gently not wishing to upset her.
Jessica looked shocked and thought about the best way to respond.
"Ok, yes, I faked it and yes, I was somewhere else in my head that night. You were right when you said we hardly know each other. There are things that happened to me back in England which means that I find having relationships, or a close connection with someone, very difficult. I think it's kind of a defence mechanism. However, since I've been in Mystic Falls, I am around people a lot more. At the moment, I have more friends than I have ever had before and being under Stefan and Damon's care, is the most I have been looked after EVER" Jessica admitted.
Tyler's eyes widened.
"I think that the more that I am exposed to different people and potentially good friends, the more I relax and become comfortable with myself. That kiss we shared the night of the dance, was the most wanted I have felt in my entire life, and I was sure as hell going to enjoy it whilst it lasted" Jessica continued.
"And do you want it to last?" Tyler asked, hoping that there would be repeat kisses in the near future.
Jessica grinned.
"I like the way you make me feel. I'll be honest, I do not have the self-esteem or confidence to be in a relationship at the moment however, I would like to feel like that again. Can we take this slowly, so that I can get used to these new feelings? I just don't know whether this connection is because we have a strong friendship, or if it is more, and I would like to try and find out without either of us getting hurt in the process." Jessica said.
Tyler nodded and grinned at her, he appreciated her complete honesty and open communication.
"I like the sound of that" he whispered to her as the two lay down in Tyler's bed.
Jessica laid down as well.
"In the name of being a gentleman, I promise not to lay an inappropriate finger on you whilst you are in the sanctuary of my bed. However, I do warn you, I am a bit of a snuggle monster in my sleep so, you may find me cuddling up to you during the night…which I will apologise for now" Tyler said.
Jessica smiled, as she let her eyes close lazily.
"I think I can cope with that" she said as she yawned.
Tyler turned his TV off and the two of them cuddled up together and fell into a comfortable sleep.