Who: Jeremy Gilbert and Elena Gilbert What: A Long Overdue Talk When: Backdated: Wednesday, December 18th. Evening Where: Gilbert House Rating: Family Friendly Status: Complete
Jeremy was lounging on the couch, a few of the boxes of Christmas decorations that they kept in the attic were out. The modest tree that he and Myrcella had got a few days earlier was mostly decorated. It wasn’t as big as trees that the Gilberts had gotten in the past, but Jeremy didn’t really mind, because at least he had a Christmas tree now and it felt a little more like Christmas. He’d brought Myrcella home a few hours earlier and now he was trying to get the energy to head up to his room before he fell asleep on the couch. He should have gone right up to bed when he got back, but he’d put up a few more ornaments instead then had sat down on the couch and now he was just too comfortable.
Elena had been thinking about this conversation for a very long time and at this point, she still wasn’t sure what to say to her brother concerning her relationship with Damon. She loved him, she was crazy about him and she thought they were good together. It wasn’t like they were one of those toxic relationships you always saw on daytime TV shows with “certified” therapists, and Elena figured if Damon hadn’t been a student teacher at the time she was in US History in high school, it wouldn’t have been an issue.
She didn’t know. Maybe there was a whole pile of problems Elena’s brother had her boyfriend.
She unlocked the front door of the house they had been raised in and slipped inside, pulling her jacket and her purse off and hanging them up on a couple of coat hooks. She’d seen Jeremy’s car out front, so he was obviously home and it didn’t take long to find him in the living room, dozing off on the couch. “Hey there.”
Jeremy hadn't expected Elena to come home that night; he was never actually expecting her these days so when she did come home, it was always a surprise. So at the sound of her voice, Jeremy sat up from where he'd been taking a break from decorating, "Hey." He wasn't going to mention the tree or anything, wanting to wait until she asked about it, "How long are you home for?" He didn't expect that she'd be home long, but then again it was kind of late, so maybe she was staying. Jeremy never knew these days.
Brown eyes wandered to the Christmas tree that was getting thoroughly decorated, showing the Christmas spirit. It wasn’t Jeremy’s usual thing, but obviously his girlfriend was having some sort of effect on him like Elena did with Damon (though she was trying to not go too crazy with the holidays). It didn’t feel like the right moment to bring up that sort of small talk, so Elena shrugged, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “I’m home for the weekend. I have an essay to take care of before Christmas break ends and Damon has lessons to plan. What’s up with you?”
The tree had actually been Jeremy’s idea, because it just hadn’t felt like the Christmas season without one. He’d spent years decorating with his family and this year he needed that normalcy more than ever. He was waiting for Elena to say something about the tree and decorations, but when she didn’t he frowned slightly and shrugged, “Okay. Well, your room is just like you left it. And nothing, Obviously.” From the boxes and half decorated tree, it should have been obvious what he was up to. Getting up, Jeremy walked past Elena and into the kitchen to look for something to snack on or drink. He wasn’t sure. He thought of asking Elena if she wanted something to drink, but he already assumed that she was just going to go study and forget about him.
Elena stayed silent as she watched Jeremy move away, her brown eyes gravitating to the tree again and a smile coming her her lips. Their parents had always been big on Christmas, on having their family so close together and sharing the feelings of the season. It was nice to know that, that tradition was living on this year, even after their deaths and the fact that Elena’s twin sister had run off to God only knew where.
She approached the tree, taking off her jacket and shoes and lifted some ornaments out of the box, beginning to hang them on the branches. It was bittersweet and the memories came flooding back, remembering how her mother would hold her when she was little, allowing her to reach up higher.
Hearing first Elena’s footsteps then the rustle of boxes, Jeremy glanced over his shoulder to see Elena putting up a few ornaments and be bit his bottom lip before turning and walking back into the living room, “Myrcella and I went and got it the other day. It just didn’t feel like Christmas without one..” Of course he wouldn’t have minded going to get a tree with Elena. “Are you going to be around for Christmas Eve?” He didn’t have any plans yet, but deep down he wanted Elena to be there.
She smiled over at her brother, pausing in her work and looking into his eyes. “I think it’s great,” she replied, admiring the tree again and hanging up a few more round ornaments in carefully picked places. She didn’t want to really tell Jeremy that her and Damon had plans--an apparently big surprise from him. Elena knew how much that could make her brother just close himself off from her again. Still, she might as well admit it. “Damon and I are going somewhere at night. I don’t really know what he has up his sleeve.”
“Oh. Alright.” He should have expected it really. She was only ever around when she needed to study and any other time she was at Damon’s, leaving him alone. Leaving him in the house where their parents had been murdered, “I’ll figure something out then.” His fingers curled into the top of the couch and he dropped his gaze from his sister to his hands then back up, “Myrcella is going back to England, so I’ll….I don’t know.”
Elena felt bad all of a sudden and she hung another ornament and then stopped the movement of her hands, looking at Jeremy. She didn’t want things to be like this, but she was pulled between the two guys in her life that meant the most to her. Elena just wished she knew what to do to fix all of this. “Can we talk? About...whatever you want? I’ll make some cocoa for us with plenty of marshmallows just like mom always did.” If he were honest, this was what Jeremy had been wanting. He’d been wanting Elena to be there and to talk, but now he just didn’t see what there was to talk about so he just shrugged, “What is there to talk about?” As far as he was concerned, if she really wanted to fix things then she wouldn’t be abandoning him on a holiday, which is supposed to be about family.
“Anything,” she replied back, looking like she was ready to cry, her mouth slowly twisting into a frown. “I don’t want things to be like this, Jer. I don’t want what we have left to be torn apart. I know I’ve been crap at everything lately, but I don’t know what to do. I just...want to know how to fix this,” Elena told him, her voice shaky and full of emotion.
Jeremy watched Elena, wanting to just lay it all out for her, but at the moment he just didn’t have the energy for an argument, “It’s not that hard to figure out, Elena. You’re hardly ever here and when you are, you’re just studying. It’s like I’m here alone no matter what. Katherine is gone, God knows where and none of our other family seems to care either. Myrcella and Stiles are the only ones who seem to give a shit about me.”
She looked away from him, going to sit on the couch and drop her head, her hands placed in her lap. She knew that being with Damon was a way to avoid the rest of her life, the parts that hurt her, the parts that made it so obvious their parents were dead and gone. All Elena had managed to do was fail though. Fail her brother and probably fail Katherine as well. “I’m sorry…”
Jeremy stood there, unsure of exactly what he should do. He could just go upstairs and leave Elena there to think about what he’d said, but he found that he couldn’t just leave her there. Sighing, he took a few steps towards the couch, “You’re all I have left, Elena and it feels like you don’t even care.”
“I don’t want it to feel that way,” she replied to him, lifting a hand to wipe at her eyes, a tremble working through her body at the same time. It wasn’t fair, not any of this. Why did life have to be so bad now when things had been so good before. Why did their parents have to die and their sister abandon them? Why couldn’t her brother respect her relationship? Why couldn’t they be a real family? There were so many questions and Elena didn’t have any of the answers. “I want to fix things. I mean it, Jeremy. What can I do?”
Jeremy was silent for a moment before speaking again, “Act like you actually want to be around me. Come here more than just to do homework. Act like my sister. Damon isn’t the only person in your life.” He wasn’t even going to get into the fact that he despised Damon at the moment. It wasn’t a secret.
She nodded her head at him and gave a soft, shy smile as she looked at her brother. She could only say that she was sorry so many times, she had to be better, no matter what. She had to be the one to keep this family together now, even if it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Elena had to try to find some sort of happy medium between her brother, her boyfriend, and her schooling. “I know.”
“Then the ball is in your court,” Jeremy said, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t know what else he could do. He spent enough time at home that Elena shouldn’t have too much of a hard time finding him. He might spend time with Myrcella and Stiles a lot, but if Elena really wanted to spend time with him then it was up to her.
Elena was silent for a very long time. She pulled her long, brown hair over a shoulder and composed herself, dark eyes wandering over to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, all lit up like a beacon. Things could never be the same, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to do better and make up for the past. She had to start somewhere and sometime.
“I bet Miracle on 34th Street is on. Wanna watch it,” she offered, offhandedly.
Jeremy hadn’t expected that suggestion, but he couldn’t decline now that Elena was trying, “You check and I’ll make some popcorn.” It would take a lot more than just one movie, but it was clear that Elena wanted to try, so he would give her this.
She smiled at him and gave a nod her head, reaching out for the remote to check if it was playing on any of the numerous channels on cable. She knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her, but she was going to try her best to get this all figured out. For Jeremy’s sake.