[fic] Gravity Hurts (7/9)
Title: Gravity Hurts (7/9)
Author: badboy_fangirl
Characters/Pairings: Jeremy POV; Jeremy + Damon (+ Alaric); Damon/Elena, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Bonnie; Elena, Bonnie, and Sheila are around for this one.
Word Count: ~3200
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (for language)
Spoilers: Everything through S3.
Summary: A bromance for the ages.
Author's notes: This fic is derived from this thread of discussion with shipperjunkie.
Previous Chapters: [1] | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5] | [6]
Jeremy sits on the couch with the television on, trying to act like he's not waiting for Damon to come back in the house. When his new roommate opens the door, he can't help the way his head jerks around, and then he can't stop the smile that splits his face.
Elena proceeds Damon into the house, and she looks a little worse for wear somehow, even though it's only been a half hour since he last saw her. She gives Jeremy a weak smile, but his eyes go past her to Damon, who gives him a sharp nod of his head, and he relaxes. Suddenly, it feels like everything will be just fine.
Elena comes around the couch and throws herself down next to him. She takes the bowl of popcorn from his lap and snuggles in beside him. "What are you watching?" she asks.
"James Bond," he answers.
Damon heads for the kitchen. "Want a drink, Elena?" he asks.
"Yes, please," she says, shoving some popcorn in her mouth.
Jeremy watches her carefully before asking, "So, you're staying here?"
Elena nods. "I'll call Stefan tomorrow." Her eyes dart up to his and she inclines her head. "You were right. Damon's going to help. So. Yeah, I'm staying here. Is that cool?"
"Super cool," Jeremy says.
Damon strolls in, two glasses of whiskey in hand. He gives one to Elena and then sits down on the couch so she's between them. "What're we watching?" he asks, as though this is just like any other day.
"James Bond," Elena states as she takes a sip of her alcohol.
"Wait," Damon says, holding up a hand. "Which James Bond? Because seriously, I've been around for all of them, and if it ain't Sean Connery, it better be Daniel Craig, because the rest are shit."
"It's Daniel Craig," Jeremy says.
"Okay then," Damon asserts. "We can watch it."
Elena laughs a little. "You know, just because you're staying here doesn't mean you get to boss everyone around."
Damon mutters something that sounds distinctly like, "The hell it doesn't," as he throws back the contents of his glass, and Jeremy reaches for the remote. He turns the TV way up in the hopes that a fight won't start, but both seem content to leave the conversation there.
He side-eyes the two of them through the majority of the movie, but after a while he gets caught up in the plot and forgets all the worry he's felt the last... well, forever, it feels like. When the movie's over, Elena's asleep, her head on Damon's shoulder and Damon's staring intently into the bottom of the glass that he's got pressed to his thigh. Jeremy begins, "So, it went-" but Damon shushes him by pressing his own index finger to his lips. Then he points to Elena and to his ear, as though she would be listening when she's obviously asleep. Jeremy rolls his eyes, but then Damon deftly turns and scoops Elena into his arms.
"I'll be back in a minute," Damon says softly.
Jeremy watches him take her up the stairs, and waits patiently for him to come back downstairs. It's early, not even 8pm, but Elena's been through the wringer. She's always been like that, able to endure a lot and then suddenly she just hits the wall and stops, sleeps for 16 hours straight, before going out and dealing with everything again. Jeremy smiles to himself; he supposes it's good that there are still many things he recognizes about his sister. And he likes seeing Damon taking care of her. Rose was right; Elena does make Damon a better person. He just hopes that Damon's influence on Elena is the good vampire stuff, not the bad vampire stuff.
The next day, Alaric shows up with Sheila Bennett. Jeremy had met Bonnie's grandmother once or twice at school carnivals or Founders Events, but he'd never known her. She seems glad that he can see her, because she's a bit distrustful of Alaric. "Let's go see my grandbaby," she says, and so he calls Bonnie to make sure she's home.
"Your Grams' is here with Alaric," he says when Bonnie seems unenthused to see him. "Can we come over?"
Bonnie is much more excited then, but she makes him promise he won't bring Damon with him. Jeremy looks at Alaric with vague alarm, wondering how the hell he's going to get past the vampire downstairs.
"He's busy with Elena, anyway," Ric says.
Jeremy grimaces. "Not really. They just sort of sit around. I thought they'd, I don't know, go out and do vampire-y things, but instead, they're just laying around doing nothing."
Ric smiles. "Trust me, he's busy with Elena."
All the same, when his sister and Damon see him leaving, they start asking a million questions, so he tells them the truth. "But Bonnie doesn't want you to come with me," he says when Damon gets to his feet and reaches for his jacket.
There is this long beat of silence where Damon looks at him, glances at Elena, and then nods his head agreeably. "Okay," he says, shocking Jeremy. He doesn't look to see if Ric's in the room, but he can practically hear him smirking.
"Okay?" Jeremy asks, and he can't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Damon blinks and then shrugs. "Okay," he repeats. "Call me if you get into trouble."
Jeremy grabs the keys to the Camaro. "Is this okay, too?" he asks.
That's when Damon hesitates just a little, but then he waves a hand. "Go ahead. Just know that if you don't bring it home in one piece, I will kill you. No ring this time, unless, you know, you can get it back from Bonnie."
Jeremy laughs while Elena's eyes narrow and Damon pretends not to notice. "Got it. Be back later."
He drives to Bonnie's house hardly sure he knows the guy he just left with his sister. He's nervous, anxious, hopeful. He wants whatever Bonnie wants, and maybe that's all it is with Damon and Elena. Jeremy corrects his own thoughts: of course he wants more from Bonnie (as does Damon with Elena), but if being the link between her and her grandmother (Elena and her ability to function as a vampire) then he's willing to just be that. Maybe it will lead to more; maybe it won't. Either way, he's going to do the best he can for her. He thinks maybe that's what Damon wants, too, even if he'd never really say it.
When Bonnie opens the door and leads him into the living room, she has a small, trembly smile on her face. He touches her cheek with a knuckle. "She's here," he says, and the tears are so instantaneous he wishes he had a tissue to offer her.
Sheila steps forward and grabs at Jeremy's arm, which surprises him. "I haven't been able to feel anyone since Anna," he says, looking at both Alaric and Bonnie.
"I'm using magic for you to be able to feel me," Sheila says. "Now, take Bonnie's hand."
"She wants us to hold hands," he says, reaching out to Bonnie.
The moment Bonnie's palm slides over his, it's like an electric rush goes through his body. Sheila starts talking and before he can repeat her question, Bonnie is already responding. Because they can obviously see each other, both start crying. They babble for several minutes about the right and wrong of the situation, and Jeremy is both immobile because of a dead witch's spell and because experiencing Bonnie's emotion feels like a punch to the stomach.
She pleads with her grandmother, explains how alone she feels, and that if she were to lose her best friends she's not sure that she could go on. "They've been the constants in my life, Grams. You know that. Elena was with me the night you died. Caroline got me through it with her silly cheerfulness. I love them so much; being responsible for their deaths is not something I can do. Please, help me. Help me keep them alive."
"What about the others?" Sheila asks, and it's all Jeremy can do to keep quiet. He wants to defend Damon, words he never could have dreamed rushing into his mind. He knows what they must think, especially because of Abby, but he wants to remind Bonnie that in the end, Damon's done far for more for them than her mother ever has.
Bonnie's cheeks are streaked with tears, and she glances away from her grandmother, her gaze connecting with Jeremy's for a brief moment. Maybe something of what he's feeling shows on his face, or maybe their linked hands gives him away, he doesn't know, but Bonnie says, "We've all had to make hard choices. They had to, too. I can't dole out judgment on them when I've had to do the same things." She takes a deep breath. "Their punishment is their own doing; nothing I could ever do will be more than the hell they've created for themselves. I know that now. Now that Abby's a vampire, I understand better. It's a curse, Grams; you lose far more than you can ever gain. But what they all should have is more time; more time to get it right."
Sheila still looks skeptical, so Bonnie adds, "If that weren't the case, this spell wouldn't even be possible. Nature can be generous, once in a while." Her fingers tighten around Jeremy's. "Please, Grams. Please help me."
A wave of relief sweeps Jeremy when Sheila agrees.
"So Bonnie's grandma's going to go beg for forgiveness and get the witch spirits back on Bonnie's side? That's the plan?" Damon asks, a hint of cynicism in his voice.
The three of them, Jeremy, Damon, and Elena, are in the kitchen making dinner as Jeremy recounts the events at Bonnie's (minus the part where he kissed her). Elena is chopping up broccoli and squash to steam, because even though it doesn't matter what she and Damon eat, she is insistent that Jeremy needs a healthy diet. There's a chicken roasting in the oven, along with some potatoes, and it feels very warm and cozy in the Gilbert kitchen.
They haven't done anything like this since before Alaric died, so it's both achingly familiar and strange-feeling all at once. Elena stops chopping the veggies to grab a glass of water and Jeremy slides in behind her, taking over the task. "She seemed to think she could convince them, and I have to agree. Have you ever met Bonnie's grandma? She's scary."
Damon chuckles as he stands across the island counter from Jeremy. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did meet her. You're right. Those Bennett women-they're almost as freaky as the Petrovas."
Elena whips around, flinging water across the room. "Shut up, Damon!" she says in a loud voice.
Jeremy is laughing, and not paying attention, and he slices a big chunk right out of his thumb. "Fuck!" he blurts, jerking his hand out from under the knife. The next moment is like a slow motion scene in a movie, because both Elena and Damon descend on him-one looking to protect, the other to annihilate-and before he knows exactly what's happened, Elena's teeth-fangs-are deep in his hand. Damon pulls her off while she fights like mad to stay connected to him.
It hurts like hell, and scares the shit out of Jeremy, because not once has he felt threatened by his sister. In a single, solitary heartbeat, he is reminded. She is dangerous, and there is reason to fear her.
He looks up to see Damon holding Elena, his arms crossed over her torso so she's restrained, but they're both facing Jeremy. Elena has blood all across her mouth and the horror on her face as Jeremy wraps his hand in a kitchen towel grows larger and larger. "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God," she says over and over, her head rolling back against Damon's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Jer. I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Jeremy says, but even he can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
Damon's lips press to Elena's ear, "Shhhh, you're okay. It's alright, Elena. That wasn't something you could plan on. But it's good, it's good because now we can-"
Elena jerks out of his arms, her elbow slamming into his solar plexus quite heavily. Damon grunts, and bends over slightly. "It's good?" she shrieks, her usually low-key demeanor totally gone. "It's good? What the hell, Damon? How can it be good?"
"Now we know what happens to you when you're unprepared for blood. We can make a plan for that-" His breath is coming choppily and Jeremy watches as Elena only seems to get more agitated by his words. She blurs before the both of them, and the French doors fly open as she runs out of the kitchen, into the gathering darkness.
Damon blows out a breath, jamming his hands through his hair as he leans back against the counter. When he looks up at Jeremy, he says, "It was bound to happen. It's not as bad as she thinks. Okay, Jer? Trust me, it's not bad at all."
"Only because you were here to stop it," Jeremy says, and when Damon's mouth tightens irritably, Jeremy lifts his hand as a reminder. "That's exactly how she'll see it, Damon, so you have to console her based on that. Tell her it will get easier, explain to her how one day she'll be like you and not even feel the need to attack. You have-"
"I'm very well aware of what I need to do," Damon snaps, and Jeremy stiffens.
"Then go do it, dick," he snipes back, feeling injured. He and Damon have been buddies these last few days, totally in sync and on each other's sides about stuff, and it hurts Jeremy's feelings in a way he'd never admit for Damon to revert so quickly to the time when they weren't like that.
There's a long silence, and just before Jeremy's going to ask him if he's going to go find his sister, Damon asks, "Do you need stitches?"
Jeremy opens the towel to look at his thumb. Aside from the bite marks that surround his knuckles, the cut on his thumb isn't as bad as he first thought it was. "No," he says. "I'll be fine."
"Do you want my blood?" Damon asks. "Faster healing," he sing-songs.
Looking back up, he sees the softness in Damon's expression and realizes this is his version of an apology. Jeremy shakes his head. "No. Go on. Go find Elena. I'm okay."
A pause, then, "You sure?"
"Yes!" Jeremy all but yells. "Get the fuck outta here!"
"Language, young man, language," Damon chides with a smirk as he heads out the door Elena just whisked through.
"Example, old man, example!" he shouts after him.
Through the window, Damon flips him off. That, somehow, makes everything all right again.
He goes upstairs to find a good sized bandage for his thumb, and finds Ric hanging out in his bedroom. "Where'd Elena go?" Jeremy asks when he sees him.
"The woods. Damon will be able to find her easy enough. He can track her scent."
"She's gonna be pretty upset," Jeremy says.
"Yep, but that's okay, because Damon will find some way to make her learn from it."
"I hope so, man," Jeremy says, wrapping his thumb up. He moves so he's standing in the bathroom doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. "How long can you stay like this, Ric?" He gestures around the room. "I mean, I appreciate you looking after us, even from where you are, but you can't just hang around indefinitely, can you?"
"I don't know. I think I'll be here as long as I'm needed. So, when I'm not needed anymore, we'll see, I guess." He says it with a matter-of-factness that takes away the sting of the words.
"Maybe I'll just need you forever, then," Jeremy says with a smile.
"Like, when I tell you you shouldn't have kissed Bonnie today?"
Jeremy feels his face flush. "What? You creeper. I thought you left!" Then he sits down on his bed. "Why shouldn't I have kissed her? She liked it. She kissed me back, even. It was nice. It was the farthest we've ever gone, actually."
"You took advantage of her. She was super emotional after what happened with her Grams."
Jeremy lifts his eyebrows in Ric's direction. "Did her grandma tell you to say this?"
Ric laughs. "No, Pinhead. I'm telling you, from what I witnessed, it was just bad on you to do that."
"Well, I was feeling pretty emotional, myself. I mean, I could feel everything they were feeling when they used me for the conduit. I guess I was carried away. Do you think Bonnie'll try to say it didn't mean anything next time I see her?"
Ric presses his lips into a thin line and gives Jeremy a stern look. "I'm saying, maybe you should let her off the hook. Besides, you never even apologized to her like Damon said you should."
"Aw, man, fuck you!" Jeremy says, laughing. "Everybody's up in my business! I will apologize to her. Not for the making out with her-but the making out with Anna. I know it was dumb, and Bonnie's the best, and I want her back. I'm planning it all out. I've got a big idea. I just, you know, have to deal with my vampire sister at the moment." Ric's still giving him the dad-face when Jeremy says, "I dig her, Ric. Like more than any other girl ever. Bonnie's awesome, and I'm going to show her how I feel, I promise. Stick around long enough to see that, okay?"
Ric smiles despite his struggle not to. "I'll do my best."
"You ever spy on Damon and Elena?" Jeremy asks.
"No!" Ric says explosively. "And I wasn't spying on you, I didn't think you'd do that! With Damon, I never know what the hell might happen, so I get outta there before I'm scarred for eternity."
Jeremy laughs again. "Yeah, well, I don't want to see it, either, but I sure as hell want to know what they're doing together. They're so weird. Like, tension, up to here," he gestures with his hand high above his head, "but they hardly even touch, at least when I'm around. It's sort of exhausting to watch."
Ric snorts. "Imagine being either of them."
"That would suck."
"Yeah."
Suddenly wishing he had some of Sheila Bennett's magic so he could hug his history teacher, Jeremy adds, "You're the best, Ric. Thanks for still being here."
"It's my pleasure, really. You probably better go pull that food out of the oven. You might be eating alone tonight."
"Come hang with me, at least till they get back?"
Jeremy walks down the stairs alone, but Ric's already in the kitchen, waiting for him.
...chapter eight...
Author: badboy_fangirl
Characters/Pairings: Jeremy POV; Jeremy + Damon (+ Alaric); Damon/Elena, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Bonnie; Elena, Bonnie, and Sheila are around for this one.
Word Count: ~3200
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (for language)
Spoilers: Everything through S3.
Summary: A bromance for the ages.
Author's notes: This fic is derived from this thread of discussion with shipperjunkie.
Previous Chapters: [1] | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5] | [6]
Jeremy sits on the couch with the television on, trying to act like he's not waiting for Damon to come back in the house. When his new roommate opens the door, he can't help the way his head jerks around, and then he can't stop the smile that splits his face.
Elena proceeds Damon into the house, and she looks a little worse for wear somehow, even though it's only been a half hour since he last saw her. She gives Jeremy a weak smile, but his eyes go past her to Damon, who gives him a sharp nod of his head, and he relaxes. Suddenly, it feels like everything will be just fine.
Elena comes around the couch and throws herself down next to him. She takes the bowl of popcorn from his lap and snuggles in beside him. "What are you watching?" she asks.
"James Bond," he answers.
Damon heads for the kitchen. "Want a drink, Elena?" he asks.
"Yes, please," she says, shoving some popcorn in her mouth.
Jeremy watches her carefully before asking, "So, you're staying here?"
Elena nods. "I'll call Stefan tomorrow." Her eyes dart up to his and she inclines her head. "You were right. Damon's going to help. So. Yeah, I'm staying here. Is that cool?"
"Super cool," Jeremy says.
Damon strolls in, two glasses of whiskey in hand. He gives one to Elena and then sits down on the couch so she's between them. "What're we watching?" he asks, as though this is just like any other day.
"James Bond," Elena states as she takes a sip of her alcohol.
"Wait," Damon says, holding up a hand. "Which James Bond? Because seriously, I've been around for all of them, and if it ain't Sean Connery, it better be Daniel Craig, because the rest are shit."
"It's Daniel Craig," Jeremy says.
"Okay then," Damon asserts. "We can watch it."
Elena laughs a little. "You know, just because you're staying here doesn't mean you get to boss everyone around."
Damon mutters something that sounds distinctly like, "The hell it doesn't," as he throws back the contents of his glass, and Jeremy reaches for the remote. He turns the TV way up in the hopes that a fight won't start, but both seem content to leave the conversation there.
He side-eyes the two of them through the majority of the movie, but after a while he gets caught up in the plot and forgets all the worry he's felt the last... well, forever, it feels like. When the movie's over, Elena's asleep, her head on Damon's shoulder and Damon's staring intently into the bottom of the glass that he's got pressed to his thigh. Jeremy begins, "So, it went-" but Damon shushes him by pressing his own index finger to his lips. Then he points to Elena and to his ear, as though she would be listening when she's obviously asleep. Jeremy rolls his eyes, but then Damon deftly turns and scoops Elena into his arms.
"I'll be back in a minute," Damon says softly.
Jeremy watches him take her up the stairs, and waits patiently for him to come back downstairs. It's early, not even 8pm, but Elena's been through the wringer. She's always been like that, able to endure a lot and then suddenly she just hits the wall and stops, sleeps for 16 hours straight, before going out and dealing with everything again. Jeremy smiles to himself; he supposes it's good that there are still many things he recognizes about his sister. And he likes seeing Damon taking care of her. Rose was right; Elena does make Damon a better person. He just hopes that Damon's influence on Elena is the good vampire stuff, not the bad vampire stuff.
The next day, Alaric shows up with Sheila Bennett. Jeremy had met Bonnie's grandmother once or twice at school carnivals or Founders Events, but he'd never known her. She seems glad that he can see her, because she's a bit distrustful of Alaric. "Let's go see my grandbaby," she says, and so he calls Bonnie to make sure she's home.
"Your Grams' is here with Alaric," he says when Bonnie seems unenthused to see him. "Can we come over?"
Bonnie is much more excited then, but she makes him promise he won't bring Damon with him. Jeremy looks at Alaric with vague alarm, wondering how the hell he's going to get past the vampire downstairs.
"He's busy with Elena, anyway," Ric says.
Jeremy grimaces. "Not really. They just sort of sit around. I thought they'd, I don't know, go out and do vampire-y things, but instead, they're just laying around doing nothing."
Ric smiles. "Trust me, he's busy with Elena."
All the same, when his sister and Damon see him leaving, they start asking a million questions, so he tells them the truth. "But Bonnie doesn't want you to come with me," he says when Damon gets to his feet and reaches for his jacket.
There is this long beat of silence where Damon looks at him, glances at Elena, and then nods his head agreeably. "Okay," he says, shocking Jeremy. He doesn't look to see if Ric's in the room, but he can practically hear him smirking.
"Okay?" Jeremy asks, and he can't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Damon blinks and then shrugs. "Okay," he repeats. "Call me if you get into trouble."
Jeremy grabs the keys to the Camaro. "Is this okay, too?" he asks.
That's when Damon hesitates just a little, but then he waves a hand. "Go ahead. Just know that if you don't bring it home in one piece, I will kill you. No ring this time, unless, you know, you can get it back from Bonnie."
Jeremy laughs while Elena's eyes narrow and Damon pretends not to notice. "Got it. Be back later."
He drives to Bonnie's house hardly sure he knows the guy he just left with his sister. He's nervous, anxious, hopeful. He wants whatever Bonnie wants, and maybe that's all it is with Damon and Elena. Jeremy corrects his own thoughts: of course he wants more from Bonnie (as does Damon with Elena), but if being the link between her and her grandmother (Elena and her ability to function as a vampire) then he's willing to just be that. Maybe it will lead to more; maybe it won't. Either way, he's going to do the best he can for her. He thinks maybe that's what Damon wants, too, even if he'd never really say it.
When Bonnie opens the door and leads him into the living room, she has a small, trembly smile on her face. He touches her cheek with a knuckle. "She's here," he says, and the tears are so instantaneous he wishes he had a tissue to offer her.
Sheila steps forward and grabs at Jeremy's arm, which surprises him. "I haven't been able to feel anyone since Anna," he says, looking at both Alaric and Bonnie.
"I'm using magic for you to be able to feel me," Sheila says. "Now, take Bonnie's hand."
"She wants us to hold hands," he says, reaching out to Bonnie.
The moment Bonnie's palm slides over his, it's like an electric rush goes through his body. Sheila starts talking and before he can repeat her question, Bonnie is already responding. Because they can obviously see each other, both start crying. They babble for several minutes about the right and wrong of the situation, and Jeremy is both immobile because of a dead witch's spell and because experiencing Bonnie's emotion feels like a punch to the stomach.
She pleads with her grandmother, explains how alone she feels, and that if she were to lose her best friends she's not sure that she could go on. "They've been the constants in my life, Grams. You know that. Elena was with me the night you died. Caroline got me through it with her silly cheerfulness. I love them so much; being responsible for their deaths is not something I can do. Please, help me. Help me keep them alive."
"What about the others?" Sheila asks, and it's all Jeremy can do to keep quiet. He wants to defend Damon, words he never could have dreamed rushing into his mind. He knows what they must think, especially because of Abby, but he wants to remind Bonnie that in the end, Damon's done far for more for them than her mother ever has.
Bonnie's cheeks are streaked with tears, and she glances away from her grandmother, her gaze connecting with Jeremy's for a brief moment. Maybe something of what he's feeling shows on his face, or maybe their linked hands gives him away, he doesn't know, but Bonnie says, "We've all had to make hard choices. They had to, too. I can't dole out judgment on them when I've had to do the same things." She takes a deep breath. "Their punishment is their own doing; nothing I could ever do will be more than the hell they've created for themselves. I know that now. Now that Abby's a vampire, I understand better. It's a curse, Grams; you lose far more than you can ever gain. But what they all should have is more time; more time to get it right."
Sheila still looks skeptical, so Bonnie adds, "If that weren't the case, this spell wouldn't even be possible. Nature can be generous, once in a while." Her fingers tighten around Jeremy's. "Please, Grams. Please help me."
A wave of relief sweeps Jeremy when Sheila agrees.
"So Bonnie's grandma's going to go beg for forgiveness and get the witch spirits back on Bonnie's side? That's the plan?" Damon asks, a hint of cynicism in his voice.
The three of them, Jeremy, Damon, and Elena, are in the kitchen making dinner as Jeremy recounts the events at Bonnie's (minus the part where he kissed her). Elena is chopping up broccoli and squash to steam, because even though it doesn't matter what she and Damon eat, she is insistent that Jeremy needs a healthy diet. There's a chicken roasting in the oven, along with some potatoes, and it feels very warm and cozy in the Gilbert kitchen.
They haven't done anything like this since before Alaric died, so it's both achingly familiar and strange-feeling all at once. Elena stops chopping the veggies to grab a glass of water and Jeremy slides in behind her, taking over the task. "She seemed to think she could convince them, and I have to agree. Have you ever met Bonnie's grandma? She's scary."
Damon chuckles as he stands across the island counter from Jeremy. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did meet her. You're right. Those Bennett women-they're almost as freaky as the Petrovas."
Elena whips around, flinging water across the room. "Shut up, Damon!" she says in a loud voice.
Jeremy is laughing, and not paying attention, and he slices a big chunk right out of his thumb. "Fuck!" he blurts, jerking his hand out from under the knife. The next moment is like a slow motion scene in a movie, because both Elena and Damon descend on him-one looking to protect, the other to annihilate-and before he knows exactly what's happened, Elena's teeth-fangs-are deep in his hand. Damon pulls her off while she fights like mad to stay connected to him.
It hurts like hell, and scares the shit out of Jeremy, because not once has he felt threatened by his sister. In a single, solitary heartbeat, he is reminded. She is dangerous, and there is reason to fear her.
He looks up to see Damon holding Elena, his arms crossed over her torso so she's restrained, but they're both facing Jeremy. Elena has blood all across her mouth and the horror on her face as Jeremy wraps his hand in a kitchen towel grows larger and larger. "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God," she says over and over, her head rolling back against Damon's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Jer. I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Jeremy says, but even he can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
Damon's lips press to Elena's ear, "Shhhh, you're okay. It's alright, Elena. That wasn't something you could plan on. But it's good, it's good because now we can-"
Elena jerks out of his arms, her elbow slamming into his solar plexus quite heavily. Damon grunts, and bends over slightly. "It's good?" she shrieks, her usually low-key demeanor totally gone. "It's good? What the hell, Damon? How can it be good?"
"Now we know what happens to you when you're unprepared for blood. We can make a plan for that-" His breath is coming choppily and Jeremy watches as Elena only seems to get more agitated by his words. She blurs before the both of them, and the French doors fly open as she runs out of the kitchen, into the gathering darkness.
Damon blows out a breath, jamming his hands through his hair as he leans back against the counter. When he looks up at Jeremy, he says, "It was bound to happen. It's not as bad as she thinks. Okay, Jer? Trust me, it's not bad at all."
"Only because you were here to stop it," Jeremy says, and when Damon's mouth tightens irritably, Jeremy lifts his hand as a reminder. "That's exactly how she'll see it, Damon, so you have to console her based on that. Tell her it will get easier, explain to her how one day she'll be like you and not even feel the need to attack. You have-"
"I'm very well aware of what I need to do," Damon snaps, and Jeremy stiffens.
"Then go do it, dick," he snipes back, feeling injured. He and Damon have been buddies these last few days, totally in sync and on each other's sides about stuff, and it hurts Jeremy's feelings in a way he'd never admit for Damon to revert so quickly to the time when they weren't like that.
There's a long silence, and just before Jeremy's going to ask him if he's going to go find his sister, Damon asks, "Do you need stitches?"
Jeremy opens the towel to look at his thumb. Aside from the bite marks that surround his knuckles, the cut on his thumb isn't as bad as he first thought it was. "No," he says. "I'll be fine."
"Do you want my blood?" Damon asks. "Faster healing," he sing-songs.
Looking back up, he sees the softness in Damon's expression and realizes this is his version of an apology. Jeremy shakes his head. "No. Go on. Go find Elena. I'm okay."
A pause, then, "You sure?"
"Yes!" Jeremy all but yells. "Get the fuck outta here!"
"Language, young man, language," Damon chides with a smirk as he heads out the door Elena just whisked through.
"Example, old man, example!" he shouts after him.
Through the window, Damon flips him off. That, somehow, makes everything all right again.
He goes upstairs to find a good sized bandage for his thumb, and finds Ric hanging out in his bedroom. "Where'd Elena go?" Jeremy asks when he sees him.
"The woods. Damon will be able to find her easy enough. He can track her scent."
"She's gonna be pretty upset," Jeremy says.
"Yep, but that's okay, because Damon will find some way to make her learn from it."
"I hope so, man," Jeremy says, wrapping his thumb up. He moves so he's standing in the bathroom doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. "How long can you stay like this, Ric?" He gestures around the room. "I mean, I appreciate you looking after us, even from where you are, but you can't just hang around indefinitely, can you?"
"I don't know. I think I'll be here as long as I'm needed. So, when I'm not needed anymore, we'll see, I guess." He says it with a matter-of-factness that takes away the sting of the words.
"Maybe I'll just need you forever, then," Jeremy says with a smile.
"Like, when I tell you you shouldn't have kissed Bonnie today?"
Jeremy feels his face flush. "What? You creeper. I thought you left!" Then he sits down on his bed. "Why shouldn't I have kissed her? She liked it. She kissed me back, even. It was nice. It was the farthest we've ever gone, actually."
"You took advantage of her. She was super emotional after what happened with her Grams."
Jeremy lifts his eyebrows in Ric's direction. "Did her grandma tell you to say this?"
Ric laughs. "No, Pinhead. I'm telling you, from what I witnessed, it was just bad on you to do that."
"Well, I was feeling pretty emotional, myself. I mean, I could feel everything they were feeling when they used me for the conduit. I guess I was carried away. Do you think Bonnie'll try to say it didn't mean anything next time I see her?"
Ric presses his lips into a thin line and gives Jeremy a stern look. "I'm saying, maybe you should let her off the hook. Besides, you never even apologized to her like Damon said you should."
"Aw, man, fuck you!" Jeremy says, laughing. "Everybody's up in my business! I will apologize to her. Not for the making out with her-but the making out with Anna. I know it was dumb, and Bonnie's the best, and I want her back. I'm planning it all out. I've got a big idea. I just, you know, have to deal with my vampire sister at the moment." Ric's still giving him the dad-face when Jeremy says, "I dig her, Ric. Like more than any other girl ever. Bonnie's awesome, and I'm going to show her how I feel, I promise. Stick around long enough to see that, okay?"
Ric smiles despite his struggle not to. "I'll do my best."
"You ever spy on Damon and Elena?" Jeremy asks.
"No!" Ric says explosively. "And I wasn't spying on you, I didn't think you'd do that! With Damon, I never know what the hell might happen, so I get outta there before I'm scarred for eternity."
Jeremy laughs again. "Yeah, well, I don't want to see it, either, but I sure as hell want to know what they're doing together. They're so weird. Like, tension, up to here," he gestures with his hand high above his head, "but they hardly even touch, at least when I'm around. It's sort of exhausting to watch."
Ric snorts. "Imagine being either of them."
"That would suck."
"Yeah."
Suddenly wishing he had some of Sheila Bennett's magic so he could hug his history teacher, Jeremy adds, "You're the best, Ric. Thanks for still being here."
"It's my pleasure, really. You probably better go pull that food out of the oven. You might be eating alone tonight."
"Come hang with me, at least till they get back?"
Jeremy walks down the stairs alone, but Ric's already in the kitchen, waiting for him.
...chapter eight...