Who: Katherine & Jeremy What: Katherine dreams of when she forcefed Jeremy to Silas, and goes to see her baby brother When: This morning, probs Where: Jeremy's Place Rating/Warnings: Mentions of death, vampirism, all the shitty things Katherine does, etc. Status: Complete!
Katherine usually let a text fly out of courtesy before she popped out of nowhere, but this time she didnât - didnât have the time, really, with how fast she sped over to Jeremyâs. It wasnât surprising to see herself do awful, terrible fucking things in these goddamn dreams but this one, oh this one took the cake. Every time she saw herself do something shitty to Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Elena, all the people she knew and had some kind of relationship here but found disposal there was a knife in the gut but she carried on. No point in crucifying herself here, right?
Wrong.
Because sheâd been at that point in the race for the cure, and she did awful, terrible fucking things to awaken Silas and get her latest bargaining chip - Katherine fed her brother to him, killing him, and that was that.
Jeremy Gilbert was dead.
It was justified as a âcasualty of warâ in her twisted little mind, but here she felt a level of self-loathing she couldnât fathom. Katherine didnât even get all that dressed to show up at his doorstep, her hair disheveled and sheâd pulled on jeans and one of her very few t-shirts with flip-flops.
âOpen the door now, Jere, before I bust it open!â she shouted, banging on the door with a fistful of car keys.
Jeremy had just come in from his walk on the beach, with Dragon, when he heard the banging at the door, accompanied by Katherineâs voice and frowning, walked through the house to the front door while Dragon went to lie down.
He couldnât imagine what his sister was banging on the door like that, but he certainly heard the urgency in her voice, so upon reaching the door, he unlocked it quickly and pulled it open, âKat, whatâs wrong?â Considering her appearance, it was obvious that something had happened, since Katherine almost never went out not put together.
Obviously Katherine knew he was alive, but to see him in the flesh, the sound of his beating heart a thumpthump in her ears that her senses had no problem picking up. She looked visibly distressed, too, a lovely mix of fury and an urgent sadness, tears angrily welled up in her eyes.
But she eased a little bit when he opened the door.
And then flung her arms around him a second later, tight, but conscience enough to not accidentally crush his ribs with that vampiric strength. âIâm sorry,â she choked. âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry, and you knew - you knew what I did to you and how can you not hate me?â
On the bright side? She hated herself enough for the both of them.
As Katherine threw herself at him, Jeremyâs arms came up and wrapped around her as well, because it was obvious, even before she started talking, that she needed comforting. He also appreciated the fact that, while she was upset, she appeared to keep her strength in mind as she hugged him, because while he possessed heightened strength as a result of being a Hunter, that didnât make him invincible.
When she started talking, he finally realized exactly what she must have been so upset about. His death. His death by her hands. He knew that she was pretty far along in her dreams, so he doubted she was referring to either of the times she had used him before that, so his death with Silas was the only possible thing, âShit. KatâŚâ He brought one hand up to rub her back as they stood there in the doorway, âIt wasnât you. Not the real you.â
âIt was me,â was her protest, thick with emotion, and she wasnât embarrassed by it because she felt it all, tenfold. All the guilt and the regret, and how she hated herself for barely feeling an ounce of it on the other side. Katherine held him tighter, face buried into his neck. âA part of me, and I donât give a shit about logic or the differences - youâre my brother and I just saw myself kill you.â
Was it surprising? Really, was it? She had left those she loved behind, manipulated them on strings and charmed them into her trap so of course she wasnât above casualties - she didnât care about âLittle Gilbertâ there.
They werenât brother and sister there. They werenât raised around one another, they werenât family or friends. They were nothing. Jeremy was merely a means to getting what she wanted. âDid it - ? Did it carry over? Did you die here??â
Jeremy could certainly understand the havoc the dreams could have on oneâs mental state; after all, he was pretty close to having a complete breakdown as a result of the dreams. Sure, there had been other factors on top of the dreams, like Damonâs head games and his inability to properly mourn the loss of their parents, but the dreams had definitely played a big role in it.
After a few moments, Jeremy decided to try and move them a little further into the house so that they werenât having this conversation semi in public. His arms still around Katherine, he managed to get out of the immediate doorway and close the door with one hand, the other still around his sister, before he finally answered. âNo. No, I didnât die here.â Luckily, unlike other injuries heâd sustained in the dreams, he hadnât woken up with his throat torn out after that particular dream. âThat one didnât carry over.â
Katherine kept her shit together when she dreamt of losing her daughter (what a terrible bite in the ass that was), when she dreamt of losing her family, the centuries of running and all the things she had to do to live. It wasnât an experience she had here but seeing it, and feeling everything it came with - considering she was one of the few vampires that didnât flip the switch, thanks - made her skin impenetrable like steel.
But then there was this. How she callously saw herself be the catalyst of Jeremyâs death and while she knew it was wrong, and nasty and cruel she pummeled through it and brushed it off like it was another name to strike from her list.
âGood,â was her cracked response, and she was so uncharacteristically sniffly too. Katherine rarely cried over much these days but fuck was she thankful makeup wasnât a priority for today. That runny, grungy mascara look wasnât for her. âGood. I wonât let something like that happen here, you know that, right?â She pulled back and squeezed his arms. âIâm not going to be a piece-of-shit of a big sister, I promise. Someone hurts you and Iâm picking my teeth with their spine, Jeremy.â
Jeremy couldnât help but smile at Katherineâs words, âIâll make sure to let you know if anything gets that bad.â He doubted it, but then again, this was Orange County where even crazier stuff happened than in Mystic Falls.
âThere is something else you should know though,â Considering how upset she was at dreaming about killing him, he knew that he had to tell her that it didnât last long. Taking her hand, he led Katherine over to the couch and sat down, âIâm hoping itâll make you feel better.â He couldnât see how it could possibly make her feel worse after all.
That threat was a promise, but she knew Jere knew that too - Katherine Pierce was capable of a lot of things, and she lost family in its entirety before. She wasnât losing Jeremy. Hell, she wasnât even about to lose her twin either (though sheâd be much less vocal about that part).
âCanât be anything worse,â she chuckled hoarsely, carefully dabbing the edges of her eyes. Okay, waterworks were done. Puffy eyes werenât meant for pretty ladies. âAh, anyway, whatâs up? Are you about to tell me you proposed to the girlfriend or something?â
Jeremy shook his head, âNo, weâre not there yet.â While it was something Jeremy had thought about, they werenât ready for that just yet. âSo, normally I donât like telling people things that happen in the dreams unless asked, which was one reason I didnât tell you about this. However, you should know that I donât stay dead for long.â Of course this time it had cost Bonnie her life; not that she had stayed dead long either. Not until The Other Side had collapsed that is.
Honestly, she didnât know how she would have taken it if heâd told her what happened before she saw it - drawing that line of respect, it was tricky. But his news pepped her up, and she blinked away the last bit of clinging tears from her lashes and raised a brow.
âLet me guess,â Katherine started with a contemplative hum, nibbling her lip for a second. âBonBon did something witchy for you, didnât she.â That was her guess. If something almost impossible needed to happen, everyone turned to the token witch - Bonnie Bennett. âDoes that help Elena not be a colossal cunt?â
Oh, yeah, she knew her sister followed Damonâs footsteps and flipped the infamous switch like a dumbass. All it was going to lead to was more regret - all the more reason for her to get coddled by everyone around her.
âYes and no.â Jeremy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it slightly, âBonnie dropped the veil between our world and The Other Side so that she could try and find a way of stopping Silas. That brought some of us back temporarily, but she did something before putting the Veil back up, which brought me back permanently.â He swallowed past the lump that was forming in his throat. Even after all this time and knowing that Bonnie came back from that one made Jeremy a little emotional. They may not have ever dated in the waking world, but that didnât erase the feelings that bled over from the dreams completely, âI didnât realize it until after, but the whole thing was too much for her.â He couldnât bring himself to actually say that sheâd died; especially since in his most recent dreams, as far as he knew, she was gone again.
At Katherineâs next question, Jeremy couldnât help but laugh, âAre you referring to the part where she burned our house down with my corpse inside? Or any of the things she did when she flipped her humanity switch?â
Katherine knew her brother. Detecting that hint of emotion heâd been trying to conceal wasnât difficult, and she supposed there were worst people to be interested in than Bonnie Bennett - she was at least consistent in her convictions. And she had an idea what âthe whole thing was too much for herâ meant.
There had to be consequences to that. Bringing someone back to life wasnât a small feat, and she liked the witch a little more knowing what sheâd done for him.
She took his hand into hers and squeezed. âThatâs good, then, because I would have hated knowing your story there ended because of me,â she mumbled. âAnd I mean any of it, but the dramatics donât surprise me - the whole thing doesnât suit her.â
Jeremy squeezed her hand back, âNo matter what, Iâm here. Weâre both here and nothing is going to happen to us.â While crazy stuff had a tendency to happen in Orange County, none of it was focused solely on them so they were much safer. âOf course, since there had already been a memorial for me after Elena burned down the house, when I went back to school I had to say that I was trying to get attention and accidentally burned down the house and faked my death.â Of course Elena couldnât have compelled everyone in town to forget heâd died, but still, only in a place like Mystic Falls would anyone believe something like that and Jeremy not get into any legal trouble.
There was nothing more she wanted to believe. But sheâd been murdered here, literally murdered, and sheâd seen things bleed over on more personal levels for people. Katherine could handle anything the dreams dished her with - except losing Jeremy? No, not something she could fathom. At least it was reassuring that it hadnât bled over for him here.
âWeak story,â snorted the vampiress. âBut if people believe it then I guess do what works.â It was tempting to ask if someone got retribution for him. If maybe he went after her for killing him, or if Elena did, or if they all did. She expected it.
And also couldnât blame them. The more she dreamt the more she knew she couldnât be redeemed, not with five hundred years worth of death and lies and manipulation woven by her hands. âI know youâre ahead of me, and -â A deep breath was sucked in. âI know I probably donât stop being just...fucking awful to you, and to Elena. But donât tell me what happens, okay? Iâm sure whatever hand I get dealt with is something I have coming to me.â
âPeople believe a lot of bullshit stories in Mystic Falls,â Jeremy nodded, âI wonât. Like I said, I donât like spoiling things unless I think they really need to be known.â Unlike Damon who just came right out and said things regardless of if the person wanted to know or not. âI just thought you should know that I come back from that. Thatâs actually the last time Iâve died so far. Hopefully itâll stay that way too since the ring doesnât work on me anymore.â It was the main reason he hadnât come back the usual way when Katherine had fed him to Silas. As a Hunter he was technically a supernatural and the Gilbert rings didnât work on supernaturals.
That last part was good to know. Katherine could (sort of) rest easy. âGood,â she said, exhaling a sigh that seemed to visibly let all that knotted tension out - she relaxed a little more, shoulders lowered, posture not so stiff. Her other hand reached to rub her bleary eyes and push hair from her face. âThanks for letting me barge in like this, Jerebear. Seeing you is really...just what I needed after that.â
There was nothing she could do about their relationship there; Katherine Pierce was enemies with about everyone aside from Elijah but sheâd do better here with the people she cared about. With Jeremy, Stefan, Elijah. Hell.
Maybe sheâd even do better with Elena. âDo you care if I just sit around with you for awhile? Iâve got no plans. We can sit around on the couch and watch something fucking awful.â
Jeremy was glad that he could have put his sisterâs mind at ease. Smiling, he nodded, âOf course you can stay. Youâre welcome here any time.â He had missed his sister while she had been gone for the last couple of years, so having her around now was their makeup time and Jeremy wasnât going to waste that time.