The End of the Beginning
~~~~~
"and if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow."
~~~~~
"Mommy!"
Tatum trudged down the stairs with as much attitude as she could muster. After being rudely awakened by her mother, her happy slumber was now replaced by annoyance, which was bound to go away once she was given a cup of coffee.
Coffee solved all her problems.
And her mother shared the same sentiment.
That was why as soon as Tatum stepped into the kitchen, the smell of coffee invaded her senses. She saw Jenna sipping at one cup with a fresh brewed pot behind her.
"You're playing with fire, Aunt J. You woke the gremlin up without bringing coffee as a peace offering."
Tatum narrowed her eyes at her baby cousin, who innocently raised his hands up in mock defense.
"Sorry, sorry," Jeremy muttered before turning his attention back to his bowl of cereal.
Tatum then walked through the kitchen, ruffling his hair as she made her to the coffee machine. She pulled a mug out of the cabinet above it and poured herself one. After she took a long sip of the coffee, she leaned against the countertop, listening to the conversation that was happening between her mom and her cousins.
"Look, Aunt J, I know I'm failing the class, but I am trying to get the grade back up."
Tatum raised her brows, intrigued.
"I'm not trying to be a hardass, but you need to be passing the class to get credit for it. Otherwise, you'll have to retake it next year since it's a requirement to graduate," Jenna replied. "It's either you get a tutor and pass Algebra II or you take it next year or in the summer."
"There are no tutors available."
"Really?" Jenna asked. "Because your teacher gave you some options and contacted me about it and everything. There were three perfectly fine students who offered to tutor you."
"Oh, come on!" Jeremy exclaimed. "None of them are good options. Sure, they have good grades, but they're insufferable. All of them equally as bad."
"Okay, look, I'll make you a deal," Jenna started. "If you can find someone in the next three days to tutor you, you can use them instead of the ones your teacher offered. If not, you have to pick someone off the list you've been given. Deal?"
"Deal."
Jenna nodded before she exited the room with the sound of steps on the stairs following soon after.
As soon as the young boy heard his aunt go up the stairs, he immediately looked towards his older cousin, who was sipping her coffee as she stared at him. However, as soon as Tatum saw the look in her eyes, she quickly began to protest.
"No, no, no, no, no. Whatever idea is running through that tiny pubescent mind needs to stop."
"Please?"
"No."
"C'mon, Tate. Please."
"No."
Tatum made a beeline out of the room.
She was stopped by Jeremy running after her and getting in the way and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're being annoying and I hope you know that."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "But before you say no—"
"Which I already have."
"....right."
Tatum watched as a defeated look fell on her cousin's face. She tried to look away multiple times, but she kept looking back, already knowing she was going to give in.
"Fine. Fine."
Jeremy looked excited.
Tatum pointed an accusing finger at him, "Wipe that look off your face, young man. I just want to hear the names that your teacher has given you as options."
"My bad. " Jeremy pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and began to read off the names, "Julian Harper."
"As in Steven Harper's younger brother?"
"The one and only."
"Steven was such a tool. I mean, he was the most annoying person in the world. He–ugh!" Tatum exclaimed before looking back to her cousin.
"How's the baby brother? Is he the same?"
"Worse."
"Figures."
"So cross him off the list?"
Tatum nodded, "Who's next?"
"Melissa Carnahan."
"And let me guess, her older sister is Eliza Carnahan?"
Jeremy hummed in agreement.
"Eliza got into Harvard and Princeton and Brown, which she thought made her so much better than everyone else. She used to make fun of me for not wanting to go to college. Told me I wasted potential since I graduated top of our class. Well, jokes on her, I make more than her working at a coffee shop than she'll ever make at the job she wants."
"So no Melissa then," Jeremy noted. "Thank God."
"I'm taking it you don't like her?"
"Not even a little."
"And the last option?"
"Collin Griffin."
Tatum scoffed, "The insufferable cousin of Lucas Griffin."
"Mhm."
"And he's now a tutor? How?" Tatum questioned, incredulously. "He's failed Senior year three times. The only reason he passed Junior year was because he cheated off of me. And now he's a tutor in math?"
"He wouldn't be on the list if he wasn't."
"Well..." Tatum grabbed the list from his hands and crumbled it into a ball. "The list is no more. I'll tutor you. It's only Algebra after all."
"Really?"
"Yes, and you better be the perfect student 'cause otherwise I'm dropping your annoying ass."
~~~~~
"Normally when I call a girl back, they look happier to see me."
Tatum rolled her eyes as soon as she heard Damon's voice. "Normally you compel the poor girl's for their affection," She responded in a bored tone. "I, however, cannot be compelled. Besides, it's you who should be blessed with my presence."
It was Damon's turn to roll his eyes.
"I called you for a reason, so if we could just get on with it."
Tatum looked around the Salvatore Boarding House as she walked through the main room towards the kitchen, completely ignoring what Damon had said.
"Hey!" Damon called after her.
Tatum never responded.
The vampire was quick to follow after her.
He quickly placed his glass of bourbon down on the nearest table, walked across the room, and pushed open the door to the kitchen. The sight before him definitely was not a surprise.
Tatum was sitting on the counter next to his coffee machine as a fresh cup was brewing.
"Ever think that all that caffeine is bad for you."
"Nope."
She happily grabbed the mug once it was done brewing and took a sip of the steaming coffee. A content smile forming on her face.
"So what was the call about?"
"Werewolves."
"Ah, yes. The creature you believed to be extinct," Tatum mocked before she took another sip of her coffee.
"Not my brightest moment."
"Are any of them bright?"
Damon glared at her, but she paid no mind to him. "Just tell me what you know about them."
"What makes you think I know anything?"
"You're a werewolf."
"Surprised you remembered."
"Not like I could ever forget." He then grimaced as he remembered the painful after effects of the bite she had given him when they first met.
"I do make quite a first impression, don't I?"
Tatum grinned.
Damon hummed in agreement.
"So what about werewolves do you want to know?"
"Did you know Mason Lockwood was one?"
Tatum nodded.
"And you didn't think to tell anyone?"
"It didn't seem important," She shrugged.
"Not important?!" Damon exclaimed. "He almost made Caroline and Stefan his dinner last night."
"You say that as if you care about them."
"Semantics," Damon brushed off. "Is there a cure to the bite?"
Tatum shook her head.
"Not anything that is concrete. There's only some rumors floating around the supernatural community."
"Ah," Damon's eyes lit up. "But can't your blood just do the trick?"
"My bite, my blood," Tatum replied. "That's what I have always been told. Each person in my bloodline is the cure for their own bite. The venom is different for each wolf in the line. So since I wouldn't be the one to bite someone..."
"You wouldn't be the one to heal them."
"Precisely."
"And what about this rumored cure? Do you know what it is or where one could find it? Or even go about attempting to find it?"
Tatum blew a raspberry in annoyance.
"Look, Damon, it is only a rumor. Most don't even believe it exists.
"But you do," Damon interjected.
" 'Course I do."
"Why?"
He looked genuinely interested, which was surprising.
"Because do you know how cool it would be for one to exist," She set the mug down on the counter beside her. "I mean, for a cure to exist, there would have to be an individual who possesses both the blood of a vampire and werewolf, which basically defies everything that is known. It would be a complete loophole in nature!"
"The only way for the cure to work would be if the two creatures could coexist within the same being without the two types killing each other. It would have to be a werewolf by birth and a vampire later on, but it would have to be a vampire by spell and not by death because otherwise the two creatures would compete and eventually end up killing the person."
An excited smile began appearing on Tatum's face as she spoke.
"And the only vampires created by spell would be the Original Vampires and that would have to mean that one of them would have to have been a werewolf before they turned to possess both sides. They would have to be a hybrid of two creatures."
"And if one of the Originals does possess those characteristics then there is no way in hell you'll ever be able to get the cure. Because they are ten times stronger than you, probably more."
"So you're basically saying there is no cure?"
"I mean...yeah..." Tatum trailed off. "Unless you believe in the impossible."
"Great. Just great," Damon sighed in annoyance.
Any enthusiasm Tatum had quickly disappeared as the vampire began to get annoyed at her.
"Look, I'm just saying that your best bet is to be careful around Mason. Don't provoke him and then he will have no reason to go after you."
Tatum slipped off the counter to wash her mug.
She didn't want to be around Damon anymore.
"And stay out of the woods during full moons."
Tatum began to walk out of the kitchen when Damon's voice stopped her from doing so.
"What about silver?"
The ginger turned towards him, "That's just a sad little folktale. It doesn't actually work in real life. See you at the barbecue."
"Unfortunately," She muttered under breath before she counted her way out of Damon's house so she could make it back in time to help her mom.
Unbeknownst to her, Damon still stood within the kitchen, plotting about the ways he was going to take out Mason Lockwood. And regardless of what Tatum said, silver was his best option yet.
~~~~~
Tatum hurried around the house, making sure everything was ready for her mom's barbecue. Per usual, Tatum has been the one to end up cooking, seeing as Jenna couldn't cook to save her life. Meanwhile, Jenna had cleaned up and set the table.
Both Sommers women were then left hurrying around trying to fix everything that they forgot.
Neither one of them were very organized.
They never had been.
"Plates?"
"Yes!"
"Forks?"
"Yes!"
"Knives?"
"Yes!"
"Napkins?"
Jenna scanned the table before she realized she had forgotten another item. However, before she could even leave the table area, Tatum had quickly rushed over and placed a basket of napkins on the table.
"Now it's a yes," Tatum proclaimed.
Jenna nodded, glad to have her daughter with her.
"So do we have everything?"
"Food. Plates. Silverware. Napkins.....glasses. We don't have any glasses on the table for drinks," Tatum realized.
And just like that, both women hurried back to the kitchen to get drink glasses from the cabinet. Then they were back at the table, surveying their work once more.
"I think we finally have it."
Tatum hummed, "Actually, I have one more addition."
She went back to the kitchen and returned with two mugs of freshly brewed black coffee. She handed one to her mom, who had a wide smile on her face.
"You're an angel," Jenna exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh! You guys are literally the same person!"
Both Jenna and Tatum turned to look towards the door to see Caroline standing there with a bright smile on her face.
"I mean, I know you guys are since Tate's literally your child, but it just—wow," Caroline stated once she saw the mom and daughter take a sip from their mug at the same time.
"How are you doing, Caroline?"
"Good. Good," Caroline bobbed her head as she spoke. "All things considered. I'm always hungry now, which is getting a little annoying, but other than that," She shrugged.
"Ah. The cravings," Jenna mused. "Reminds me of my highschool days."
The strawberry blonde disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bag of potato chips and a sharing size pack of M&Ms. She then handed them to Caroline.
"Eating distracts."
"How do you know all this?"
Caroline looked confused , but still appreciated the gesture as she took the food from her best friend's mom.
"My high school days. I smoked a lot of pot."
Tatum turned to her mom with wide eyes.
"With me?" She squeaked out, posting a finger at herself.
Jenna rolled her eyes, "Before you. I was sixteen and pregnant, not sixteen and stupid."
"Oh, thank god!" Tatum exclaimed, placing a hand over her fast beating heart. "I was worried for my well-being for a moment there."
Jenna proceeded to grab Tatum's mug from her hands, eliciting a whine from her daughter.
"But—" She stared at her cup longingly.
"Ah, ah, ah," Jenna pulled the mug away. "Don't make comments on my parenting."
"You're holding my coffee hostage."
"I am."
"That's like taking away my loved one."
Caroline watched the two banter with her eyes bouncing back and forth between the two.
"You can't take away my coffee—my loved one, mama," Tatum protested. "It's a violation of my rights. Cruel and unusual punishment is what it is."
Jenna raised her brows.
Tatum sighed in defeat.
"You're the best mother a girl could ask for," She conceded.
"I was going to give it back to you anyways, but thank you so much for saying that, kiddo. It was really touching."
Jenna handed Tatum the mug back right as Elena came downstairs.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Lena," Tatum's accent heavily slipped out with the pronunciation of her cousin's name.
"Now that you're all here, can someone please remind me why Damon has been invited?" Jenna asked, her eyes landing on her daughter.
"That was not my doing."
Jenna looked to Caroline.
"Definitely not me."
Then Elena.
The teenage girl grimaced, "Because Alaric is a pity taker. Come on, Aunt Jenna. Be nice."
"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off all of you and treat you guys with respect."
Jenna then added, "So probably not any time soon."
"Not like he doesn't deserve how he's treated," Caroline commented.
Both Tatum and Elena shrugged in agreement.
"You have a point."
"Of course I do," Caroline grinned.
There was then a knock at the door.
"Come in!"
Mason and Alaric both walked through the door. One after the other.
"Adults. Make a run for it," Tatum whispered to her best friend.
"You're an adult."
Tatum narrowed her eyes at Caroline, "Shush."
The ginger then grabbed Elena's hand, who grabbed Caroline's free hand. She then lead the two outside to the porch as the fled from the adult conversations.
~~~~~
Later on in the afternoon, everyone was seated around the table that Tatum and Jenna had worked so hard to set up.
The group had somehow managed to make it through the dinner portion of the food. There was nothing but civil conversations and fond memories being brought up.
However, once dessert rolled around, Damon decided to be an asshole—per usual.
"Mason, why don't you start us off?" Damon questioned, gesturing to the peach pie that had a silver serving knife.
Tatum and Jenna glanced at each other before they both rolled their eyes.
Could he be any more obvious?
"Sure," Mason replied with a smile.
The wolf then went to get a slice of pie. He reached for the serving knife before he turned the pie pan instead and grabbed one of the cut slices with his hand, making sure not to touch anything else.
"I apologize, I'm an animal."
Everyone else then proceeded to get themselves a slice as well. Damon raised a brow when he saw Tatum touch the silver without anything happening.
Had she been telling the truth?
But Mason had not touched the knife.
Damon didn't get any more time to think about it before Alaric had started up another conversation.
"So Mason, you and Jenna never dated?"
"Oh, god no!" Both Mason and Jenna exclaimed.
"She was already with Aaron when I met her. High school sweethearts, you know?" Mason elaborated.
Alaric looked a little jealous at the mention of Jenna's past husband. He knew how much Jenna had been in love with the man.
"I mean, I met her when she was in that rebellious teen phase. The three of us—Aaron, Jenna, and I—spent a lot of time under the bleachers smoking weed. There were also a lot of parties and a lot of drinking."
Caroline was entranced by the story. She loved hearing about Jenna's teenage years. They sounded a lot more exciting than the stories her own mom had told her.
"You all were friends?"
This time Damon asked the question.
"Practically best friends with the two of them," Mason said. "It was a shame to get separated after high school when we went our own ways."
"Besides there was no way I'd have even tried to date her. Because not too long after, she had this one to take care of."
He had gestured to Tatum, who had just shoved a rather large bite of pie in her mouth when all the attention turned towards her.
With her cheeks puffed out and the fork still hanging from her mouth, Tatum gave them all a two thumbs up and tried to smile.
"Oh, dear sweet child," Jenna sighed and shook her head fondly at her kid.
Tatum quickly swallowed her food, trying not to choke on it in the process. She then removed the fork from her mouth.
"Sorry, mama."
~~~~~
"No more takers for drinks at the Grill?" Tatum heard Mason ask from where she was washing dishes in the kitchen. "It's like I'm with a bunch of adults here!"
"I prefer the term role model."
Tatum snorted at what her mom said.
"Okay. Well, thanks for having me, it was awesome. Alaric, catch the game next week?"
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."
"You know, I should probably head out too," Damon announced as soon as Mason had left.
Tatum could tell by his tone and timing that he was planning something. Regardless of her warnings, she knew Damon was about to do something stupid.
"Jenna, you were a wonderful hostess."
"And you are a terrible artist."
"Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?" Damon questioned in an almost flirtatious voice.
Tatum scrunched her face up as she turned the water off and began drying the dishes.
"Nope. You're also a terrible person and a terrible friend to my daughter. I have no clue why she puts up with you," Jenna replied in a blunt tone.
She then opened the door to the house.
"Have a nice night," Jenna said in a cheery tone with a large smile on her face.
Damon turned around to say something else.
The door then slammed shut in his face.
And the night was over.
Tatum and Jenna retired to the couch to watch Disney movies, eating popcorn and junk food—regardless of the fact that they had just had an entire meal beforehand.
The two were blissfully unaware that on the other side of town, Damon had just stabbed Mason with the silver knife he had taken and unknowingly welcomed a war between species in Mystic Falls.
Werewolf vs. Vampire.
The end of the way Tatum held herself together and the beginning of her fall into chaos.
~~~~~
a/n: wow
how are we doing?