˙ ˙ ˙

"I'll be the shelter that won't let the rain come through."

˙ ˙ ˙

THE BRIGHT morning sun peaks through the cracks of the curtains, the sun so bright that I can see the light through my closed eyelids. I inhale a deep breath before I open my eyes, finding that I'm not in my own bedroom, but rather James's. My brows scrunch in confusion, but they soon rest once I remember everything that happened last night. Instead my confusion is replaced with happiness, a smile appearing on my face.

I roll over and see that James is still there, facing me with his eyes closed peacefully. However, my sudden movement causes him to wake. He opens one eye as he stares at my smiling self.

"Why are you smiling? You're never this happy in the morning," James grumbles sleepily, closing his eyes before turning into his pillow.

"I have a lot to be happy about," I shrug, sliding closer to James as he groans groggily into his pillow.

"I just want to stay here all day," he says into his pillow, his words barely sounding like words through the muffled sound.

I laugh and bring my hand to his face, rubbing my thumb idly over his cheekbone, and tracing over his ear. "Trust me, so do I but my brothers are coming back today," I say.

James suddenly groans before turning over, his hair perfectly ruffled in a handsome form of bedhead. "Are you ready to feel their wrath?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask, bringing the sheets up higher to my neck on my bare chest.

"About us? What do you think they'll say?" he asks, shifting in an upright position.

I raise my brow, finding amusement in his reaction. "James, are you scared of my brothers?" I tease.

He scoffs playfully before turning on his back. "No, I'm not scared. I'm just- Stefan's my friend, and I-," he stutters, not knowing how to put his thoughts into words. I understand what he's getting at though. He didn't want things to be awkward between him and Stefan, and that's something I can respect.

"Stefan will understand, and so will Damon. To be honest I think all of them already assumed we were a thing, so this shouldn't come as much of a surprise," I say.

He smiles kindly before reaching his arm over, pulling me close to him. He places a gentle, deep kiss on my lips before breaking away, rubbing his thumb across my cheek. "You are absolutely beautiful," he whispers, making my cheeks blush. 

Thankfully he doesn't notice as he leans in for another kiss, bringing me back to a perfect state of bliss that I feel every time he touches me- or rather every time I'm around him. I couldn't be in a happier place at the moment, and frankly I could stay here with him forever, but the numbers on the clock beside his bed say otherwise.

"Shit," I mutter against his lips, reading that it's noon. My brothers are probably already back.

He breaks apart and reads the time, sighing in frustration before lifting off the sheets to get dressed. I do the same, turning around to put my clothes back on. As James heads to his closet to change into new clothes, I walk to the door so I can change into new clothes in my room.

"Meet you downstairs?" James calls from inside his closet.

"Yup," I say with a chipper tone, popping the 'p'.

I walk down to my room and change into new clothes that consist of a pair of dark jeans and a simple white t-shirt before heading downstairs where James is already cooking breakfast. I smile at the sight before pulling up a stool to watch. I would help, but I honestly don't know how to cook. The last time I tried, I almost burned the house down.

"Where's Theo?" James asks without turning around.

"Upstairs sleeping. I think Joel is still sleeping too," I say, watching as he places several ingredients into a pan filled with eggs. "You are a very good cook, James. Why is that?" I ask, resting my head on my hands.

"Well," he says, turning around with a flipper in his hand. "When you get to me my age, you pick up a thing or two. And, I wanted to be a chef for the longest time. I wanted to open up restaurants of my own, instead of just working in them," he says before turning back around.

"And?" I ask, wondering why he never did.

He shrugs. "I never really found the time. There were... complications," he simply states, but I know exactly what he's talking about.

"Klaus?" I ask.

"Yeah," James says slowly as he passes the egg thing onto a plate before passing it to me. I stare at the weird looking lump of squishy egg, confused.

"What is this?" I ask, raising the fork up to my mouth.

"That, Blair Salvatore is the best omelet you will every have," he says jokingly, but I know all too well that it probably will be the best omelet I will ever have. I smile as I take a forkful of the eggs, nodding in satisfaction as it's surprisingly good.

I pause as I hear Joel turn the shower on upstairs, a huge grin forming on my face. Pursing my lips to not look suspicious, I continue eating the omelet. "Very good, Branson," I comment, making him smile.

Before he has a chance to respond, there's a series of yelling coming from upstairs as Joel turns off his shower, his loud footsteps pouring down the hallways and down the stairs until he meets us in the kitchen. James and I both turn around at the same time at the sound of his presence, both our eyes widening in shock that soon turns to laughter as we take in Joel's state.

He has a towel wrapped around his waist leaving his chest bare, showing off the top half of his body that is completely covered in red dye. The red dye drips from his hair and down his face, staining his hair a little along with his skin. I almost spit out my eggs at the sight, nearly choking on them as I try to hold in the laughter. This has got to be one of my greatest pranks.

"Blair," Joel growls. "Is there something you would like to explain to me?" he asks as the dye continues to drip. He looks like he's just come from a horror movie, like he's just escaped the jaws of death. That's not even the funny part. The funny part is how the dye is going to stain his hair.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot. I filled your shower head with red kool-aid powder a few days ago. I'm surprised you didn't use your shower sooner. You must've been pretty stinky," I laugh.

"Why Blair, why! Stinky was the least of my concerns! Why would you do this to me!" he yells in panic, holding his hands out in front of him as they drip with redness.

"Because Joel, we're in a full on prank war, and it was my turn to bring the fire," I say, finishing my eggs.

Joel glares at me before looking to his brother for help. "I'll help you get her next time, mate," James says, smirking at me.

"Oh, you picked the wrong side buddy," I laugh as I stand to clean up my mess. I dump everything into the sink before grabbing my phone and heading to the front door. "Anyone want to come with me to see my brothers? They're no doubt at Elena's," I yell.

"Sure, I'll come," James says, walking to the front door with me. Joel stands there with an exasperated look on his face, his mouth open wide in shock and anger.

"I would come, if it weren't for the fact that I look like bloody fucking Mary," he yells leaving James and I laughing before we close the door.

∆ ∆ ∆

"Stefan?" I call as James and I enter the Gilbert house. Surprisingly it's empty, and a complete disaster. I'm about to turn and leave when suddenly Stefan comes running down the stairs.

"Stefan," I breathe out in relief, embracing him in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're back. How'd it go?" I ask before releasing him. James and Stefan only nod at each other, the damp mood clearly visible on Stefan as sadness practically radiates off him. "What's wrong? Where's Damon?" I ask.

Stefan stands back with his hands in his pockets, pursing his lips as he tries to figure out what to say. I take in a deep breath of annoyance, instantly regretting the amount of oxygen I just took in as there's a foul smell linked to it. "What's that disgusting smell?" I ask, scrunching my nose up.

James stiffens from beside me, and I know he's smelt it too. Something's happened. I can tell just from the look on my twin's face. "Who died?" I ask, putting the pieces together.

"There were complications during the whole thing. People got lost, Shane got hurt, and- and Jeremy, he-," Stefan hesitates. "Jeremy died," he finally says.

"What?" I ask, not sure if I heard him correctly.

"Jeremy he- it was Katherine, Blair. She forced Jeremy down on Silas to wake him, thus resulting in the waking of Silas and the theft of the cure," he explains.

I let out a forced laugh. "You're telling me that Katherine Pierce stole the cure and killed Jeremy?" I ask in disbelief. "Why would the bitch want that? Vampirism is the one thing she would never give up!" I ask, still not understanding how this all managed to happen.

"I don't know, Blair. But it's gone, and she has it which means she can use it on anyone she wants since she probably won't use it on herself," Stefan says.

"Not to mention we now have the world's first immortal being walking around," James says.

"Well then," I scoff. "Did you guys accomplish anything on this trip?" 

∆ ∆ ∆

By nightfall all of us have gathered in the living room of Elena's house, waiting for Elena to come down stairs. She's been staring at Jeremy's dead body all afternoon, and Stefan insisted that everyone stay incase she got out of hand. There was no telling what she was going to do, and to be honest I felt bad for her. Nobody deserved to feel the pain she was going through, so the least I could do was be there, even if I didn't say anything. Sometimes presence means more than useless words.

Damon suddenly walks down the stairs with a dead Jeremy in his arms. He places the body on the couch before Elena comes marching down the stairs, frantically trashing the cupboards looking for something.

"Elena? Are you looking for something?" Caroline questions.

Elena doesn't answer. Instead she continues searching drawers in the kitchen until she pulls out a bottle of vodka from the fridge. "Got it," she states before splashing the liquid all over the counter.

"Oh my god. What are you doing?" I gasp in panic, jumping from my seat.

"We need a cover story right? I've got one; we burn the house with his body still in it," she says with a shaky tone as she continues to spray everything with the flammable liquid.

"Elena stop! We'll think of something else!" Stefan yells, backing away from the pure vodka along with Caroline and I. James places a steady hand on my forearm, keeping me in safe distance during all the chaos. Elena is freaking out, and there isn't a thing any of us can do about it.

"No Stefan! This is what has to happen! I don't want to live here anymore! I don't want to live in these confined walls that only hold memories of all the people that have died!" she yells, tears spilling out from her reddened eyes.

"Elena, I can't let you do this," Stefan says quietly.

I walk up to Stefan and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is what she needs to do, Stefan. Let her do it," I say, understanding her pain. If there's anyone who understands what Elena's going through, it's me. I know what it feels like to be walking around a place filled with nothing but horrible memories. I spent 145 years in a tomb, trapped in a repeated loop of darkness. I was trapped in the same place some of my friends were murdered.

"Not going to need these bottle of alcohol anymore. Alaric isn't around to drink it," Elena says. "Unless you guys are willing to let Silas bring back every supernatural creature on the other side. Because I'm not," she shouts, marching into the living room to splash Jeremy with the vodka.

"Elena stop you're scaring me!" Caroline yells, speaking for all of us.

"There's no where else to put the body, Caroline!" Elena shouts, grabbing a match from the fireplace and lighting it. She cries as it burns up, dropping it in pain once the fire reaches her hand, the match falling to the floor. Thankfully Damon speeds to catch it, diminishing the flames with his hand.

Elena falls to the floor, crying with everything she's got. Tears flow from her eyes like a waterfall as she breaks down, giving into the grief of her brother's passing. Even with my dislike to Elena, I feel for her, and it hurts me to see anyone this way.

"Damon," Stefan whispers in defeat. "Help her," he says, referring to the sire bond.

Damon doesn't hesitate to walk to Elena, bending down to her level and cradling her in his arms. "It hurts! Please make it stop!" she cries, no longer in control of herself. Damon pulls the hair from her ear and whispers into it. "I can help you Elena," he says, pulling away from her. "All you have to do, is turn it off." 

"What? No," Stefan argues.

"Damon," I warn, but he waves us off.

"Just turn it off. That's what I want you to do," Damon says softly.

Elena calms down for a few seconds, long enough to think about what Damon said. It's an idealistic idea really of why the switch is so useful for vampires. It's an easy choice; suffer the grief and pain, or turn it all off. Elena, much like I did chose to turn it all away.

She chooses to turn it off.

_______________________

Please vote, share and comment!

[completed & edited: 09/08/2021]