Elijah didn't come home on Tuesday and neither did the rest of my siblings except Rebekah. Michael had stayed with us since Saturday and they acted like they were my parents. It was annoying. When I asked them about Damon being a teacher, they laughed and started making jokes about him teaching a class. Apparently, Elijah hadn't told Rebekah. I didn't want to ask him on the phone because he could just hang up on me and I didn't want to take that risk. So I waited until he was back, which was the following day.
''Two of my vampire brothers are in the same school as me, two! '' I shouted.
''Why on earth would you even take that risk? Why is Damon a teacher at my school? Because I can't think of a single reason, Elijah.''
''Since Stefan isn't capable of looking after you on his own, I thought it would be wise to have an extra pair of eyes. '' I shook my head. I couldn't bring anything against that except that they both weren't capable of looking after either me since they hadn't noticed me going away for an hour. I wasn't going to bring it up though.
''You drive me crazy, you know that?''
''I can say the same about you.''
With that, he left , gone to do whatever I wasn't supposed to know.
Awesome.
I laid down on the couch, catching some sleep until the vibration of my phone made me awake. It was Jenna. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I answered but couldn't help to yawn first.
''Hi, what's up?'' I asked.
''Have you been sleeping? In the middle of the day? While we have a huge test for science tomorrow? ''
''Well, I've already studied it and I was tired. '' I explained, making circles with my finger on the couch.
''Why do you call?'' I asked.
''Matt asked me out again and I wondered , maybe, you wanted to join us, do a double date? I mean, It looked like you got along well with Jake so I figured...are you in?'' she asked.
''I 'd love to but I don't know if I'm allowed. I'll let you know.'' I told her, but I wanted to just say yes, to tell her to pick me up at seven but I already knew I wasn't allowed to go anywhere.
It wasn't until I lay down again that I realized something. Elijah had said Damon was at my school because Stefan wasn't capable of looking out for me on his own, but why would he say that? Nothing he knew off had gone wrong, unless he knew. But if he knew about me and Willow being harassed by those guys, why didn't he tell me? It made my head hurt so I let it go, I could ask about it another time. I took a blanket and fell back asleep, thinking about Jake.
Jake was standing next to me, we held hands.
It felt nice, they were warm and gave me a safe feeling. Why did I have the need to feel safe?
A sudden wave of fear went through me and I held onto his hand more tightly. I looked behind me.
We were in the woods but they went from sunny to dark in an instant.
Jake started to shake my hand off, he didn't want to hold it. I looked at him, confused and hurt. I let go, not wanting to push him. He stepped away, backed up slowly until he was a few feet away.
In the corner of my eye, I could see red eyes staring at him, then switching its gaze to me.
I warned Jake, yelled at him but he didn't seem to care.
I wanted to run over to him but something told I shouldn't. Another pair of eyes on the other side and they seemed to multiply by the second. Soon, one of the wolves came out, showing his teeth but not making any sound. They gathered around Jake whose eyes turned evil red.
I started to take little steps back, not sure what was going on. One thing was for sure, it wasn't good.
As Jake turned into a wolf, I listened to my instinct and ran. I ran as quickly as I could but constantly tripped over the roots.
I looked over my shoulder and saw him an inch behind me.
He ran faster than me.
I wanted to start running harder but a sudden push against my shoulder blades made me fall down on the ground. Sand came in my mouth mixed with blood. My lip was open but it wasn't bad. I turned around to see who my attacker was and even though I could've expected it, I was hurt and disappointed. Jake's sharp teeth came closer to my face and I tried to hold him back but he was stronger.
And that's when I woke up. I gasped from the shock and sat up. The blanket had fallen of the couch and a few cushions were spread over the floor. A sudden noise behind me made me scream and I turned around to see what it was.
''Wow, what are you so afraid of? Your heart is racing like a maniac.'' Damon said. I waved him off, headed upstairs and sat down on the window sill. I looked out the window, my eyes searching for the tree. I smiled. He had been right, it was the fourth tree on the right if you counted from the fence to the house. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and I could hear all the noises of the nature. It calmed me down but not enough.
The test for science, that had been stressing everyone out besides me apparently, was easy. I thought I 'd done it well but when I looked at Caroline and Jenna, they thought different.
''I've been studying for that stupid test for over a week, a whole week! And you know what my grade will be? An F. A big loser F. ''
Caroline immediately agreed and promised to never learn again because it hadn't changed a thing.
I tried to look as sad as I could too, hoping they wouldn't notice I felt pretty confident about an A. They didn't buy it though.
''Don't even think of pretending, we all know you will have an A as usually. I really don't get how a person can be that smart. It even seems like you don't even study. '' I raised an eyebrow at Caroline. I hated the whole jealousy thing. Besides, she knew my story, she knew I was hundreds of years old and had had plenty time to study. After a few seconds, her face changed and she seemed to get what she hadn't realized before. Jenna though, sighed and complained some more.
After lunch break, I told them about the nightmare but I left a couple of things out like the werewolf part. Jenna needn't to know.
''Dreams are usually your unconscious, talking to you. Maybe you were afraid once, when he was around and now you just relate Jake to fear. '' Caroline suggested.
I tried to think back, perfectly able to picture every single moment we had spent together which were too few. But none of those pictures showed any sing of fear.
''Where's Bonnie? Wasn't she supposed to meet us here? She's already ten minutes late. '' Jenna interrupted my thoughts, looking at her watch. I had totally forgotten our meeting about the party at Tyler's, it was this week, Friday the thirteenth. I wasn't superstitious but I didn't feel good about it either.
Stefan drove me home and while we were in the car, I turned the music down.
''Did you tell Elijah about what happened with Willow and me? '' I asked him. It had been keeping me buzzy about how he'd known and the only thing I could think of was because of Stefan but I couldn't find a reason to tell Elijah so I figured I'd just ask.
''Yeah, I did.'' He started to drive faster right before a sharp turn which made us almost slip where after he slowed down again. I had grabbed the handlebars on the ceiling, not letting them go anytime soon.
''Why?'' I asked and hoped he would drive carefully.
''I figured, if he thinks I'm not capable of looking out for you, he won't ever let me do it again. That way, I never need to babysit your little ass again. '' He smiled and drove the car to the front of our house where he stopped. ''Sometimes, I 'm even amazed by how smart I am. '' With that, he went inside and I sighed, unbuckling my belt. I didn't know what to feel, betrayed or glad that Stefan wasn't ever going to babysit again.
Before I walked inside, I lingered in front of the door. I stuck my hand out, as to feel the shield but I grabbed air. I wanted to pull my head back outside, wanted to enjoy the nature a little bit longer but it wouldn't come outside. It was like it was stuck in cement. Rebekah placed her hand on mine and pushed it back outside. I smiled, thankful.
''Want to walk around the house?'' She asked. I nodded and felt glad I wasn't the only one needing some fresh air. As soon as we were on the path that wasn't exactly a path anymore with all the weeds growing on it, Rebekah started talking.
''I heard what Stefan told you in the car. '' I frowned. ''What about it?''
''He was lying, you know.''
''About what? He didn't tell Elijah? Then who did?'' She smiled and shook her head.
''Easy, you,'' my sister plucked a leaf from one of my favorite trees, it was as old as I was and had survived all these years.
''He didn't lie about what he did but about why he did it. ''
''Why would he lie about that?'' Rebekah looked at me like I was a naïve child. I looked away and focused my attention on a little rock I was kicking forth.
''Stefan and his pride, it will never change. After what happened to you and that girl-,''
''Willow.'' I told her.
''Willow, he felt bad. He felt like he'd failed. ''
''Well, he actually did fail , I mean,'' I stopped after the mad look I got.
''What I'm trying to say is, he doesn't trust himself anymore to look out for you, he's afraid something like this will happen again and he would never want you to get hurt. '' I snorted.
''Yeah, right. And secretly, he's also not a vampire but a fairy.''
''Baby.'' She said where after she rushed through my hear which left a lot of knots for me to untangle. Awesome. After lunch, I started my homework, the assignments we got didn't make themselves, too bad. I was so concentrated that when I felt my phone buzz, I didn't react until a minute later. I took it out and read the messenger. I got a weird feeling in my stomach. I didn't know whether it was from the dream or something else.
It said:
Home? I'm outside ;)
I walked to the window and pulled the curtains to the side. Looking from the left to the right, even in the trees, saw no one in our garden and no car or bike. I frowned and walked back to the table.
''What's wrong?'' Klaus came down and sat down on the couch.
''Nothing.'' I say, too quickly. He looked at me. As soon as I see him disappear I grab for my phone but I was too slow.
''Give it back!'' I said, watching helplessly how Klaus broke into my privacy.
''What? Something I'm not allowed to read?'' I got up and walked to where he was standing, reaching for my cell while he held it up high. Klaus placed his other hand in the middle of my face, covering my mouth which made me breath through my nose. ''cjmn'' came out of my mouth instead of 'c'mon' but his hand made it hard to talk.
''Jake? Who is Jake? '' He took his hand away and when I blinked my eyes, he was standing at the balcony, scrolling through my messages.
''Nothing much interesting any more but I can't promise I'll keep your little boy a secret, though.''
He winked and threw my cell back, hard.
''Why don't go to him? He's just standing outside, apparently. Oh wait, you can't.''
I didn't know what to tell him, which excuse to make up so I stayed quiet, like I usually did. Until I knew what to say that would keep him shut.
''If you tell Elijah or anyone about this, I'll tell Elijah you and Stefan left me alone when Caroline was here. '' After that being said, I immediately erased the message and send him back that I wasn't able to come out. Literally not able to leave the house because of the 'curtain'. I also mentioned Klaus being in the house.
''You were wrong too, you can't use that against me. '' I looked annoyed back at him and sighed.
''You naïve vampire. Who said you didn't threaten me to shut up and say nothing? Who said I wanted to be alone? Who said I didn't want to call Elijah but wasn't allowed? '' I shrugged, letting him figure it out on his own. Five minutes later, my phone buzzed again.
I figured a way to see each other. You in?
I smiled but it soon disappeared from my face. I looked at Klaus's door. He was the second person who knew of Jake at the moment , I needed to be careful.
What's the plan?
My palms were sweaty and I was nervous as hell. Not only was I breaking Elijah's rules, I was also meeting the guy I barely knew but felt so weird about.
''You sure they won't see or miss me?'' I asked Willow, for the third time.
''Yeah, yeah. I've got it all covered. '' She winked and her perfect straight her fell in front of her eyes. She easily stuck it behind her ear.
''You sure you don't have history today and warned your friends? '' She raised an eyebrow and for a moment, I started panicking.
''Why do I need to warn them?'' I asked, it was none of their business what I did, was it? But if they were doing something like this, I wished to know too.
''Because; '' she said like it wasn't that hard to figure out ''they can mess it all up. What if they go ask your brother where you are?'' I hadn't thought about that.
''Maybe, I should-,'' but I couldn't finish because I saw Jake and every doubt disappeared. I felt so glad to see him again , I couldn't think of anything else anymore.
''He sure is damn cute. '' Willow asked, who had followed my gaze. I blushed and thanked her before I quickly ran to the secret way me and Willow had taken to leave school a couple of days ago.
He didn't come by car, he was riding a motorcycle. I raised an eyebrow. ''Aren't you a little young to ride it?'' But as I said it, I realized I didn't know how old he exactly was. I had assumed he was around my age, seeing he was a friend of Matt. He smiled and gave me a helmet.
''You expect me to climb on that monster with you?''
''You afraid?'' Damn it. I didn't like to be seen as someone weak. I took the helmet and put it on, pushed myself behind him full of confidence, at least, I hoped It looked like that. I doubted for a second where to hold on to. I'd never been on a motor before, in movies, they also grabbed the one driving but it felt somehow to intimate and I didn't know whether he wanted me to hold him.
I saw his shoulders move up and down and realized he was laughing at me.
Great.
I must look like a fool to him. Jake grabbed my arms and placed them around his waist. I couldn't keep from trembling, I had never been so close to a guy before who I actually liked. The helmet made it hard though to see anything. My view was smaller. He stuck his thumb up to ask if I was ready and I nodded weakly. I squeezed my eyes shut until I knew for certain we were driving. I felt the wind pulling my hair back , rushing through my clothes. I opened them a little but not much and immediately shut them again. We were actually riding between cars, who came so close that if I stretched my leg, they would hit it. I didn't dare to look again until the noise of the engine stopped and the wind was gone. I didn't want to let go of Jake yet but it would be weird to hold on so much to my dismay, I let go. He put his helmet away and offered me a hand to help me get off but I pretended I didn't see it and jumped off alone. I pulled at the heavy thing on my head but it wouldn't come off. Jake smiled and gestured to let him handle it. I crossed my arms at my chest.
''You need to unlace it first. '' Stupid. I felt like an idiot. I hadn't paid any attention to my surroundings and wondered where we were. It looked like a forest, far away. I had never been to a lot of places in Mystic falls so I shouldn't be surprised I'd never seen this place before.