Fandom Would You Take My Regrets?---Vampire Diaries {Private}

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy hadn't admitted it to Alaric, but reading about the hunters in the books had gotten him more driven to becoming a hunter. He realized that the stories were completely fictitious, but if these hunters could fight to protect their loved ones, then why couldn't he? As the conversation continued, he couldn't stop the smile coming to his face when Bella admitted how proud he was making her. If he decided to go through with the transition, he knew that it would take some time for him to fall into a rhythm that was good for him. When she pulled a quote directly from Lion King, however, he couldn't stop the slight chuckle from escaping as he nodded. "Good thing to stand by." he agreed, keeping a hold of her hand as she started to talk about her past.

Jeremy thought that it was nice how Bella looked after her family after she died. Up until Kol had stepped into the picture and taken her elsewhere anyway. He knew that the older vampire most likely did it because he was watching out for her, but it was still strange to think about. As the story continued, he couldn't help giving her a curious look when she suggested showing him where she had been. He could only assume that meant that they found venture there, but as she took a hold of his hands and closed her eyes, he felt himself closing his eyes as well, reeling slightly from the shock of finding himself suddenly standing in her memories.

Jeremy was in awe over the different things that Bella had to show him. He couldn't believe she had been to places that were this amazing, and when he heard Bella's voice from the coastline, he felt a slight smile come to his face. Maybe if he was lucky he'd be able to experience going to places like this, but for now, he was happy with the way that she was sharing these memories with him. When it came to him trying to manipulate her subconscious, however, he felt himself let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Manipulate it huh? I don't think I'd know how honestly." Jeremy said, taking another moment to take in her surroundings before he 'attempted' to manipulate his surroundings. He didn't attempt to drastically change the surroundings, but at least he was able to get Kol to temporarily disappear from the memories she was sharing with him. Beyond that, he wasn't able to do much of anything else. "I think that's about the best I'll be able to do. I'm afraid I might screw things up if I try to do anything apart from that." he admitted with a slight chuckle. He was sure that he would be able to do a lot of things vampires could normally do with practice, but considering he was still transitioning, he knew that he could only do the bare minimum. It wasn't disappointing, but still a learning experience all the same.

Denise was grateful to get through the wave of crazed supernaturals the way they did. She wasn't feeling quite burned out or anything, but if they had a repeat of more crazed supernaturals, she knew she'd have to take a bit of a breather. She felt a grin coming to her face when Klaus seemed impressed at her minimal injuries, but as he took a moment to show what injuries he had sustained, she may have let her gaze linger on his abs before a look of concern came to her face at the sight of the bite. As he proceeded to close the space between them completely, she felt herself grinning once again as his fingers traced over her skin. She was more than happy to give into his request, but before that could happen, she wanted to get rid of the onlookers.

"Kris, you and the others can go wait outside. We'll catch up to you when we're ready." Denise said, keeping her gaze on Klaus as most of the onlookers did as they were told. Kris, on the other hand, lingered in the room for a moment, throwing a cautious look in the hybrid's direction before looking towards her.

"You can't be serious about this. You do realize how much trouble-"

"Thanks for the the input dad, but I'm sure that whatever happens between us is none of your concern." Denise said, throwing a dark look in Kris' direction before using her powers to nudge him after the others. "Out, now." she added, narrowing her eyes at him as she watched the demon throw another look in Klaus' direction before he turned on his heel and left. "Now, back to what I was gonna say before I was so rudely interrupted. Go ahead and help yourself." she said, taking a moment to move her hair away from her neck as she kept her gaze fixated on him. She intended for the hybrid to take as much as he needed to help with the bite on his side, but she also trusted him not to overindulge at the same time. The only reason she had gotten rid of the others was because she didn't feel like having them stand around gawking at them. She was sure that the hybrid wouldn't mind, but if he did, then she was sure that the other crossroads demon could easily get everyone back in the room.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

After watching Kol disappear, Bella looked up at Jeremy and laughed. “Don’t worry, you did great. I actually just thought of another possible challenge.” The bikini-clad version of Bella reached out to Jeremy and entangled her fingers with his again. The beach reverted to Cusco’s bustling town square, where Bella was back in the red dress she’d worn there. The night sky was clear with stars as far as the eye could see. Street lanterns with candles inside lit up the cafés, stalls with booze and food, bands playing Latin music, and all the people who were drinking, dancing, laughing and brushing closely past Jeremy and Bella.

“So,” Bella said, “one thing that takes some getting used to is the hunger. Well, that and the vampire face. But mostly the hunger.” Knowing the Salvatores, she figured Jeremy probably knew their hunger wasn’t only intense in and of itself, but that it intensified everything else, too. Annoyed with a book? Whatever. Annoyed and hungry for blood? That book was going through a window. Bella took Jeremy with her to a stall to get drinks. “I just realized that here you can do a trial run before the party with actual people tonight. This is like lucid dreaming — unless you’re trying to control what’s going on, stuff just happens; people do their thing and respond to you.” To demonstrate, Bella wrapped a blonde curl around her finger and smiled at someone; they suggestively raised their eyebrows and grinned back. “But despite how vivid everything is, it’s still all in your head. Whatever happens, no one gets hurt.” By which she also meant that if he bit someone, it wasn’t like he would turn.

“And of course I’m here to help you avoid something happening in the first place. Lesson one: booze helps. It dulls the hunger. That also explains Damon,” Bella said as the guy behind the stall poured their tequila shots. “Lesson two, if you do get hungry, put your heightened emotions to use. Focus on something that makes you feel all the things. Like... someone you really care about. Or love. Or a promise you made that you’d do good. Or, I don’t know, get mesmerized staring at that girl’s amazing butt,” Bella added as she glanced across the town square, staring at it herself for a moment before looking back up at Jeremy with a smile.

Just as Bella wanted to reach for her glass, another girl, dark-haired and gorgeous, walked up to the same stall to order drinks. The dark-haired girl brushed right past Jeremy and came to a halt next to him, shoulder to shoulder, her bare arm touching his. Even with Jeremy standing in between her and the girl, Bella could hear the blood rushing through the girl’s veins. She’d clearly been dancing, because her heart was going fast; Jeremy had to be hearing it as well. Hell, with the girl's bare skin against his, he probably felt it, too. Bringing her drink to her lips, Bella kept a close eye on her vampire intern, curious to see what he would do.

Most of what remained of their monster army after the slaughter in the lab immediately followed the beautiful demon’s orders; they simply headed out the door after she told them to. In fact, all of them left, except for one. Simultaneously with Denise, Klaus threw the new red-eyed demon a dark look, his eyes briefly turning into their true yellow color right before Denise nudged the guy out of the room with her powers. Before the new demon was officially gone, he actually had the bloody nerve to throw Klaus a look back; Klaus responded by threateningly narrowing his eyes until the guy was out of sight. “Remind me to teach him what happens when you get sassy with a Mikaelson. At least, if that person is not you,” Klaus added with a grin. “For you, I can make an exception.”

Denise told him to go ahead and help himself before she moved her dark locks away from her neck as she kept her gaze trained on him; Klaus returned her gaze and smiled, an actual smile that reached his eyes, now back to their usual blue color. “Thank you, sincerely. I don’t know many people who would do this for me.” He did not just mean the fact that she was now sharing her blood with him for the second time. The demon had had the chance to save her own skin dozens of times by simply leaving them; Mystic Falls was not even her hometown, so why would she care about this particular threat? There was no shortage of hunters that would go to the end of the world to hurt supernatural creatures; Bekah and Bella even read that ridiculous — and ridiculously popular — fictional series about the subject. Either way, whatever it was that made her help them, it made Klaus respect Denise even more. If there was anything he valued above all else, it was loyalty.

Klaus had already closed the space between Denise and himself; all that was left to do was bare his fangs, place his hands on both sides of the demon’s waist and lean in before firmly but gently biting down and piercing the pale skin of her neck. Aside from the glass at the hotel, which had also been Denise, the hybrid literally could not remember the last time someone had given their blood to him willingly; he always either took it or compelled people to go along with it. Knowing that Denise was sharing her blood with him on her own accord, to help him out, was... something else. Something that made him both feel grateful and like he owed her — which he usually did not like, but with Denise, it still felt like he was a respected equal. And, moreover, it was exhillerating to have his lips on the skin of her neck, with his hands tightly holding onto her waist. When Klaus knew he had had enough, he reluctantly pulled away, but not before pressing his lips to Denise’s cheek, dangerously close to the edge of her lips. Subsequently he raised his hand, brushing over her cheek with his thumb to gently remove the small trace of blood he had now left there. “Thank you, love,” Klaus said, smirking. “I presume you heal on your own as well, but should you ever wish to try it the other way around; I’m all yours. Any time, any place.” He let go of her waist — also reluctantly — and once more, took her hand in his. “Ready?” he now asked her, nodding towards the door.

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy was glad to have a little less Kol in the memories that Bella was sharing with him. He smiled as he held onto Bella's hand, walking with her into the town square. He was mesmerized by everything around him, but he tired not to let himself get too distracted as he looked back to the blonde vampire next to him. He knew that hunger was something he'd had to deal with should he decide to become a vampire. At this point he was sure whether he would go through with the transition or not, but she brought up a good point that these memories could be a trial run of sorts. While he wasn't entirely sure how things were going to play out here, at least he had the blonde vampire next to him that would help keep him in check.

Jeremy listened to the few lessons that Bella listed off for him, now being able to have a little insight on why Damon did some of the things he did. He also knew who he would be able to focus on should his hunger try to get the best of him, but he still found his gaze wavering towards the girl the blonde vampire mentioned. He didn't stare for very long, but his cheeks still flushed slightly as he looked back to the blonde vampire, smiling back at her as he let out a slight chuckle.

"I know who is going to help me through this the most." Jeremy said, giving Bella's hand a light squeeze before he continued. "I think I'll have this...under control." he continued, his words faltering somewhat as a girl came and stood right next to him. He felt himself tense up as he felt and heard the blood rushing through her veins. Seeing the hunger that vampires dealt with was one thing, but dealing with it was something else entirely. He hadn't realized that he had taken a hold of his own shot glass at that point, but when he heard the sound of glass breaking, he looked to the broken glass now in his hand before looking to the now startled girl next to him, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. Guess I got a little distracted there." Jeremy said, a slightly nervous laugh escaping as the girl smiled and reassured him it wasn't that big of a deal. She soon finished her drink before going back to the dance floor, and as the guy poured him another shot, he let out a deep sigh before looking back towards Bella. "This is going to be harder than I thought." he added, clearing the broken glass from his hand before he continued. "At least I'm not completely failing this trial run though right?" he asked, a slight smile coming to his face as he downed the shot that was there. He didn't want to take the Damon approach when it came to curbing the hunger he was sure he'd be dealing with, but if he went through with the transition, he knew for the first couple of days he just might.

"We still have some time before the party tonight right? How about we do some dancing while we're here." Jeremy suggested, taking another shot of tequila before he looked to Bella smiling. He realized that he wouldn't hurt anyone here, but the alcohol was certainly helping to distract him from the hunger he was feeling. Not to mention focusing on the blonde vampire with him was helping him as well. Maybe going through the transition wouldn't be so bad, and so long as he had the blonde vampire by his side, he knew that he would have nothing to worry about.

Denise would be more than happy to see what would happen to Kris after the attitude he tried to throw in Klaus' direction. She knew that crossroads demons had a tendency of being sassy, her especially, but Kris took it to an entirely different level sometimes. She couldn't help grinning as the hybrid told her that she was the only exception, and as she watched a genuine smile come to his face once again, the grin on her own face grew slightly. "Your welcome. I know you'd do the same for me." she told him. Throughout all of this, she knew that she could have left plenty of times, but she decided to stay. She stayed because she wanted to help. She may be a crossroads demon, but she wasn't completely heartless. Not only that, but the way that the hybrid had helped her escape the facility was enough to win her over. Much like him, loyalty was an important factor for her as well.

Denise had kept her gaze on Klaus as he closed the space between them. She let one of her hands rest on the back of his neck, her other hand on his upper arm. When he finally bit into her neck, she felt her own grip tighten on him slightly, her fingers now burying themselves in his hair. She hadn't even stopped to think that the hybrid owed her in any way because of what she was doing for him. She was willing to share her blood with him because she wanted to. That and she believed he would do the same for her if she were ever in a sticky situation. She would be lying though if she said she wasn't enjoying the feeling of his lips on her neck either, and when he was finished, she reluctantly moved her hand from the back of his neck, the one hand staying on his upper arm, a smile coming to her face when he offered to return the favor.

"I'll hold you to that." Denise said, gripping Klaus' hand as she nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be." she said before walking out of the room with him. As they met up with the others, she was confused to see that it was just Kris and the other demons waiting for them. He mentioned sending the witch and the werewolf ahead to clear the path on the way to Mill's office, causing her eye to narrow suspiciously before they started down the hallway. She immediately thought that he was up to something, but she would make sure to keep a close eye on him. On the way there they didn't run into anyone else, but before they could round the next corner leading to boss lady's office, she watched as the demons stopped almost immediately.

"You know, I just remembered something." Kris said as he turned his gaze towards Denise and Klaus. "We aren't going to Mill's office. Of course, when I say we, I mean you two." he said, causing the female demon the glare at him. Before she could move to do anything to him, her eyes widened as she watched the demon use his own powers to send the hybrid flying back before the werewolf from earlier came around the corner, running straight at the hybrid. She went to run straight towards the other crossroads demon, but found something stopping her mere inches from him. She then felt an extreme amount of pain in her head, causing her to groan as she fell to her knees, blood seeping from her nose as she held her head in her hands as she could hear the witch chanting from somewhere.

"It's amazing the work that Mills has done to enhance our powers. She could have helped you too if you were open to the experience, but you have to just as stubborn as the day I met you." Kris said, shaking his head as he nodded for the demons that were still there to grab her. Even with the amount of pain she was in she still tried to fight against them until they had her laying flat on her back, pinning her arms to the floor as the other crossroads demon pulled out a knife from his pocket. "Don't worry, this isn't an angel blade. It won't kill you, but it's really going to hurt." he told her, watching as she struggled against the demons holding her down, the spell that the witch was chanting preventing her from doing anything to protect herself. In one swift movement, he plunged the knife into her stomach, causing her to scream, all while trying to get the other demons to let go of her. At this point she couldn't see what was happening to Klaus, but as she continued to struggle she found herself hoping that he was okay.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

The moment the shot glass shattered, Bella was ready to jump in — but the only things Jeremy did was give the girl next to him a sweet, comforting smile and an eloquent apology. No red eyes, dark veins, fangs or growling an angry “I’m sorry” before rushing off — nothing. Bella quickly lifted his hand to her face to help get out the small shards of glass before his skin would heal. After she was done, she pressed a light kiss on the palm of his hand and looked up at Jeremy, her eyebrows raised. “Not completely failing? What? Are you kidding? Even I could hear her blood rushing through her veins, and you didn’t even vamp out — not even a little bit.” Bella shook her head and sent him a bright smile, dimples and all, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. “I know it’s hard, but that was really impressive, Jer,” she said, her chin on his shoulder. Bella pulled back a little so she could look him in the eye again, the smile still on her lips. “Sure, you broke a glass, but with how strong we are that’s like accidentally ripping an enveloppe when you’re trying to open it.”

Bella grinned at Jeremy’s suggestion to spend some time dancing. “If the self-proclaimed “most uncoordinated vampire in the world, both on and off the dancefloor” wants to dance, I’m definitely not saying no,” she said, quoting Jeremy himself as she let go of him. Bella quickly threw back another shot of tequila as well, took Jeremy's hand and pulled him along with her onto the dancefloor, where she raised their hands and twirled under his arm before simply draping her arms around his neck again. Being this close to him made her all happy and bubbly, but deep down, Bella also noticed the knot in her stomach getting bigger. They did still have some time before the party, but not much, and somewhere during the night Jeremy was going to have to decide what he was going to do. And despite the fact that he was acing it as a baby vamp, he still might not want to be one.

The question was burning on Bella’s lips, but she really didn’t know if she wanted the answer. If Jeremy would tell her that his current plan was to just enjoy his last day, not drink any human blood before his time was up and then let nature do its thing, Bella wasn’t sure if she would be able to enjoy the rest of their time together; she was scared she'd just be counting down the minutes. So she slowly exhaled in an attempt to relax and ignore the knot, looked back up at Jeremy with her lips curled up and continued dancing a little closer to him. “Typical. You’re a natural at this too — I bet it’s those non-stop fancy parties Mystic Falls likes to throw,” Bella commented, her arms still around him with her fingers intertwined at the back of his neck. “Either way I’m looking forward to seeing your compulsion skills in action. Which reminds me — do you also wanna go and compel ourselves new outfits? Or are you just going to try your luck with the big bouncers at the party right away?” she asked with a grin. “Oh, if we’re going shopping, I’m also open to trying Damon’s water stunts at the lakehouse before we go. Or anything else you wanna try.”

Denise told him she’d hold him to that, and Klaus smirked at her in response. “Good,” he said under his breath right before they met up with the others, where the hybrid immediately got the distinct feeling that something was not quite right — aside from the irritatingly smug look on the face of the new crossroads demon. The only ones waiting for them were the aforementioned annoying demon and the other demons in their new army. The witch and the werewolf were supposedly clearing the way, which, considering the vast amount of powers demons appeared to possess, made absolutely no strategic sense. Even if this Kris wasn’t up to something underhanded, that man was not going to be part of their army — or stick around in any other form, Klaus thought, glaring at the back of the man’s head.

Just before they turned the next corner, the demons in front of him stopped, forcing Klaus to halt as well. He was about to protest when Kris spoke up; his words made Klaus’ eyes narrow in anger right before he was sent flying back into the wall. Right after smacking into it, Klaus saw the werewolf from before in his peripheral vision as the animal came running straight at him. The hybrid’s eyes turned yellow as he tore off the nearest doorhandle and used it to smack down the werewolf’s head before violently snapping its neck, causing the beast to turn back into his human shape. Klaus immediately left him for dead — all he could think of was what could be happening to Denise right now while he was dealing with this bloody wolf. Looking through a sea of demons, he could see a whole group of them holding her down. Enraged, Klaus tore into the creatures from hell that were standing in between him and Denise; he used his anger and vampiric speed to rip out hearts and then tear off heads before any of the demons even had the chance to work their demonic magic or summon hellhounds.

After getting through the hallway full of demons, covered in blood and with a pile of bodies and body parts behind him, Klaus suddenly found himself staring down Kris just as the demon plunged the knife into Denise while a witch to his right was ominously chanting. Klaus slammed the witch into a wall without second thought; she broke her neck on impact, and to his relief, Klaus saw that the demons trying to hold Denise down were immediately struggling a lot harder to do so.

The hybrid wanted nothing more than to rush to Denise’s side, but he knew there was one more thing to do. Klaus made eye contact with Kris and smirked maliciously when he saw the utter confusion and surprise on the demon’s face: he had clearly underestimated the hybrid. The demon had stumbled back a little, the knife still in his right hand. In less than a second, Klaus was standing in front of him, crushing the wrist on Kris’ right arm with one hand, catching the knife when Kris inevitably dropped it with his other hand. Right away, Klaus jammed the knife deep into the demon’s heart and twisted it, causing the demon to scream in agony. “Don’t ever touch her again,” Klaus whispered before twisting the knife deep into Kris’ heart one more time and then twisting the demon’s neck. After Kris sank to the floor, Klaus took the knife and jammed it in so hard that the weapon was both anchored in Kris’ heart and in the floor beneath him.

The next moment, Klaus was at Denise’s side, looking her up and down. “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to take her hands. “Or would this be a good moment for me to repay you?”

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy allowed a slight smile onto his face when Bella kissed the palm of his hand. He didn't think he was doing totally awful on his trial run, but the blonde vampire was quick to commend him. Maybe allowing himself to transition wouldn't be as bad as he imagined. He knew he still had time to think about it, but as he wrapped his arms around the blonde vampire, he found himself wanting to go through with the transition more and more. Breaking a glass wasn't the worst thing that could have happened on this trial run of his, and as long as he had the blonde vampire to help him, he knew that he'd be alright. When the conversation was changed to dancing, however, he couldn't help letting out a slight chuckle as she quoted his words to him before they made their way onto the dance floor.

"Okay, maybe I'm not completely uncoordinated, but I thought with adjusting to the new vampire powers I might be." Jeremy explained, grinning as Bella twirled under his arm before he allowed his hands to rest on her waist. If the blonde vampire were to ask him if he wanted to transition, his answer would be yes. He knew that there were people and things he would eventually have to leave behind, but the possibilities would be endless for him. Not to mention he had thought about how those enhanced vampire powers would help him be able to protect people like he was already doing. Granted he knew there were other things he could do too, but if he were to step back and take a look at the bigger picture, he knew that this was a life that he could get used to. Before he could get too lost in his own thoughts, however, he couldn't help letting out a slight chuckle at the blonde vampire's comment as he nodded.


"It might have helped. I didn't do a whole lot of dancing at all of those parties, but I did at a few of them." Jeremy told Bella, keeping his gaze on her as she started to suggest a couple different things that they could do. He wasn't sure how skilled he would be at any of it, but considering this was his day to experience life as a vampire, he was open to all of it. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I wanna try some of Damon's water stunts at the lake house too." he admitted with a slight chuckle. "Then after we're done doing that I can try my hand at compelling us some new outfits. Test out the compulsion before I try it on the bouncers." he added with a grin. Today had been a bit of a rocky start with the ghosts from their pasts coming to haunt them, but now that they were gone, he was determined to have a good time. He knew he couldn't experience everything in one day, but doing tricks off the lake house into the water before getting some new clothes and going to a rooftop party would be good enough for him.

"So, what else do you think we should do while we're here? I know this is supposed to be my trial run before we go to the party, but I want us to have some fun too." Jeremy said, picking Bella up and spinning around a couple of times before he set her back down on her feet again. He couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun! Granted the events that led them here weren't as much fun, but he wouldn't go back and change what happened. Maybe he would considering changing how he crossed paths with the blonde vampire, but that was about it. Either way, as he continued to dance with the blonde vampire, he was determined to have a good time.

Denise was very pissed that Kris would suddenly turn on Klaus and her like this. He had been a pain in the ass throughout his training and after he became a crossroads demon, but she didn't think he'd go so far as to do something like this. She watched the crossroads demon twist the knife in her stomach, causing her to groan before both of them heard the witches chanting stop. It was almost like a switch as her eyes turned dark red, causing the other crossroads demon to pull back with his knife as she dealt with the demons trying to hold her down. Her hellhounds ripped into them within seconds, and as she took a moment to recover from what happened, she watched the hybrid kill the crossroads demon, causing her to let out a sigh of relief as he was now by her side.

Denise managed a small grin on her face as she took a hold of Klaus' hand, wincing as she was helped off the ground, shaking her head. "I'm not okay. Whatever that witch did messed me up, so I probably will need you to repay me before we track down boss lady Mills." she said, using the back of one of her hands to wipe off whatever blood was still on her face before looking at the carnage that was now all over the hallway. "So much for this being a trial run for the upcoming army. I knew I should have left him in the cell and gone for one those djinn instead." she grumbled before pursing her lips together. She realized things could have been a lot worse, but she couldn't help being pissed that this happened in the first place.

"Do me a favor. Remind me to teach you how to summon hellhounds the next time we have some time to relax." Denise told Klaus before checking the stab wound to see if it was healing. Much to her frustration, it wasn't healing as quickly as it should. She knew that the sooner they got rid of boss lady Mills and burned this facility down, the better. Before they tried to fight against her, however, she knew that she would need to get herself taken care of first.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

“Water stunts, then compulsion try-outs. Sounds good,” Bella said, grinning back at Jeremy before adding in a couple more twirls under his arm. Just as she was thinking about what else they could fit into the day, he picked her up and spun her around like a regular on freaking Dancing with the Stars; Bella laughed and held on tight, her hands slipping down to Jeremy’s shoulders as he set her back down. “Okay,” she said, still laughing, “if this is how you dance at those town festivals, you have to take me to the next one.” Bella noticed her slip-up, but let it go — they were having too good of a time. “And maybe I also wanna go because I saw pictures of you in a suit at the lakehouse.” Bella wiggled her eyebrows and smirked, then gasped as her eyes widened. “I know where else to take you while we’re here.”

Bella led Jeremy through the crowd, past the catheral, through alleys with several alpaca’s and up tall sets of cobblestone stairs. After passing a few more alpaca’s, Bella opened the door to a large maisonette and walked in. “This is probably long gone in the real world, but I remember it so vividly. It was the first place I got on my own after turning.” Bella picked up a bottle of bourbon from the dining table and gestured at the expensive looking artwork on the exposed brick walls. “All the paintings are Klaus’s. He was my downstairs roomie sometimes. Bekah too. I lived up here,” she added as she led Jeremy up a winding staircase, leading to a huge bedroom. Bella passed the wall-sized bookcase and the giant four-poster bed; she headed straight for for the balcony doors, throwing them open to let in the night air and the booming music from the town square.

The large balcony — with a ridiculously big loungeset, considering how many people lived here — overlooked the mountains on the left and the brightly lit town square on the right. With the loud music, this had always felt like a private dance floor. Bella placed the bourbon on the table before looking back at Jeremy, lips curled up. “Couldn’t leave without showing one of the biggest pros — vampire real estate. And for the full vampire experience, let’s see. What did we used to do for fun out here?” Bella pondered out loud as she leaned against the railing, now staring up at the stars. “More dancing, gossiping about someone’s next plan for world domination, hella drunken games of Truth or Dare, reading, drinking blood...” Bella grinned as her gaze found Jeremy again. “Any of those sound particularly fun to you right now?” She held out her arms, her grin widening. “I'll go along with whatever, as long as you spin me around one more time.”

Klaus carefully helped Denise off of the blood-stained floor, making absolutely certain that he was not causing her any more harm. Bella had said it was one of the things both most reassuring and most terrifying about him: no matter how many heads he’d ripped off or hearts he’d ripped out that day, he never failed to make sure those he cared about were properly attended to. Reassuring because those loyal to him could always count on him — terrifying because the switch between head-ripping Klaus and dutiful Klaus could be quite sudden. “All right, love. In that case, let’s find a safe place for a quick pitstop,” Klaus suggested after Denise confirmed that she could use his help right about now. He lifted his tee, using one of the non-bloodstained parts to remove the rest of the blood from Denise’s face.

“Perfect,” Klaus said after a moment, grinning down at Denise before taking her hand, taking her along with him down a grim looking hallway — but at least a lot less bloody and filled with dead meatsuits. He found himself caring surprisingly little about the failed trial run for their new army; maybe he was uncharacteristically calm because he had already been through this with the epic failure that had been his hybrid army, or maybe because he got out all his anger tearing off head after head. But truth be told, Klaus was mostly just relieved that Denise — and himself — had managed to get out unscathed. Or, well, at least they survived.

“Don’t worry about it, love. If that pain in the ass managed to get to all those demons, a witch and a werewolf, he would have gotten to the djinn too. After you teach me how to summon hellhounds — for which I will quite literally be eternally grateful — and we go to actual hell instead of this pathetic dump to find ourselves some recruits, I’m certain we will find ourselves a perfectly suitable army,” Klaus said before he opened up the door to what probably had been a lunchroom. Considering the carnage and the completely smashed up kitchen, he highly suspected Kol had been through here. Klaus raised his eyebrows. ”Just like I’m certain this is going to be the ambiance just about everywhere. Pity, but oh well.” He turned to Denise and smirked. “I don’t think we will be finding any glasses left intact. No matter. If you drink from a hybrid, you should drink like a hybrid,” Klaus commented as he closed the distance between them. He took Denise’s hand and used one of her long nails to make an incision on his neck. "There you go. Have at it, love."

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy had noticed Bella's slip up, but he didn't say anything about it either. Instead, his face became slightly flushed as he rubbed the back of his neck when she mentioned some of the pictures she saw at the lake house. "It's a date. I'll definitely make sure to take you to the next town festival." he told her, pausing when she started to lead him elsewhere. At first he wasn't sure where they were going, but when the maisonette came into view, his eyes widened before they made their way inside. He wasn't surprised to hear that she had lived with Klaus and Rebecca here and there, and once they made their way upstairs, he couldn't help being in awe over his surroundings, trying not to get too distracted as he turned his gaze towards the blonde vampire.

Jeremy wasn't that much of a materialistic person. He didn't think he'd need that big of a place if he decided to go through with the transition. After checking out the old place that Bella used to live, however, maybe it wouldn't hurt that much to live in place this big. He put those thoughts on the back burner though as he considered what he and the blonde vampire could do next, a grin coming to his face as he made his way over to her.

"Is that so? Well, I can't say no to that." Jeremy said with a slight chuckle as he placed his hands on Bella's waist before picking her up and spinning her around like he did before. Once he was done, he set her back onto her feet, closing the distance between them as he pressed a light kiss to her lips. He kissed her for a moment or two before he finally pulled back, a grin coming back to his face as he kept his hands on her waist. "I wouldn't mind a little more dancing. Unless your up for a little Truth or Dare." he suggested, his grin growing slightly. He would be happy with either option, but he wanted to see what the blonde vampire wanted to end up doing before they left her memories and continued with his vampire experience.

Denise was grateful for Klaus' help. She wasn't sure what the witch had done to her earlier, but at least the hybrid had been there to help her out. Now all they needed was to get to a safe place so that she could recover somewhat. She let the slightest of smiles come to her face when the hybrid helped clear up her face, and when the two of them started making their way down one of the hallways, she took in the gruesome sight around them. She had expected to see dead bodies, but she hadn't expected to see this many dead bodies. She didn't think she had encountered this much carnage since she had taken care of the guards who tried to stop them from escaping the other night, but rather than focus on their surroundings, she looked back to the hybrid as they discussed the failed trial run.

Denise felt better knowing that Klaus wasn't too upset about what happened with their potential army. She knew that they would have better luck with recruits once they made their way to hell, but for now, she knew that they had bigger things to worry about. Particularly stopping boss lady Mills. She didn't think that they'd find a glass either with the state the lunchroom was in, but when he suggested she drink like a hybrid, she couldn't help raising her eyebrows curiously. That was until he used one of her nails to make an incision on his neck, causing a genuine smile to come to her face. "Thank you. I really appreciate this." she told him, one of her hands resting on the back of his neck, her fingers burying themselves into his hair as her other hand rested on his shoulder as she closed the space between them, her mouth closing around the incision as she started drinking.

Denise had thought that having her first drink of blood had been interesting. It didn't compare at all to drinking Klaus' blood. Not to mention having her lips pressed to his neck was very exciting. She may have even unintentionally tightened her grip on his shoulder as well. That was until she felt like she had enough. She had loosened her grip on him as she pulled away from him, but not before she pressed her lips to his. She then pulled away, her finger tracing along his lips to clear the blood that was there as she grinned. "Now that was really good." she said, the grin staying on her face as she took a step back. "I'm ready to go track down boss lady Mills when you are." she said, taking a moment to clear the blood off her finger before offering one of her hands to him. She doubted she would have to make another pit stop anytime soon, but she was very grateful that the hybrid had helped her out the way he did.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

When Jeremy leaned in and kissed her, his hands still on her waist, Bella’s hands automatically slipped into his hair, pulling him even closer. After he broke away and gave his suggestions, Bella grinned back at him. “Well, considering the fact that we have a party to go to and a future date at the next town festival, how about Truth or Dare?” After letting her hands slip down to his shoulders and pressing one last kiss to his lips, Bella hopped up and sat down on the marble balcony railing. Now at eye level with Jeremy without having to look up, she locked his gaze. “Of course, since you’re my intern, I get to go first. Vampire tradition, I’m sure you understand. So let’s see — what do I want you to do or say?” Bella pondered out loud, the dimples in her cheeks making an appearance as the mischievous grin lit up her face.

“If you choose dare,” Bella said after a moment of silence, “I dare you to leave my memories, go back to the real world — and test out your fangs. Bite me.” Bella’s gaze followed her fingers, trailing up his neck, before looking back into Jeremy’s eyes, curious to see if he’d go for it. Since she wasn’t human, drinking her blood wouldn’t complete the transition and turn him into a vampire, but she could imagine that actually using his fangs would still be a big step. And despite the undead years she had on him, he could still do some pretty significant damage if he lost it, which he probably knew after spending all that time with the Salvatores. Being back in the real world, at the lake house, would make those consequences very real, too. But Bella wasn’t nervous — after how he’d dealt with everything so far, she was sure Jeremy could handle it. And maybe that would help him see he’d be able to handle it as a full-fledged vampire, too.

“To go back to the real world, just close your eyes and focus on where we really are. Open your eyes, and bam. We’re back on the deck by the lake. Then you just brush away my hair,” Bella tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder to bare her neck, “bite me, and drink until you can feel my pulse slowing down. Of course, if you’re not up for that,” Bella raised her eyebrows at Jeremy, “we still always have truth.” She bit her lip for a moment, but then her light blue eyes lit up again. “Truth: what do you think would be the absolute best thing about being a vampire? Oh, and brownie points if you both do the Dare and answer the Truth.”

“You’re welcome, love,” Klaus answered a little hoarsely, looking down at Denise as a genuine smile appeared on her beautiful face; at the same time, he felt Denise’s fingers burying themselves into his hair as one of her hands was placed on his neck, with the other on his shoulder. Klaus couldn’t help but bite his lip when the demon started drinking from him. Having her quite so close to him was a whole experience on its own, let alone with her lips directly on his skin as he shared his blood. Klaus usually only shared when he had personally planned on it — like after treating a fellow immortal to a werewolf bite. Then again, the black-haired crossroads demon had him doing all kinds of things he was not used to doing. Like trusting someone he had only known for a short amount of time. Or risking his own bloody life to save someone outside of his family, like earlier with the demons.

Denise breaking away from him broke Klaus’ train of thought, and although her lips on his caught him by surprise, Klaus immediately returned the kiss. Another rarity — intimacy. When the hybrid was with someone, it was usually a random person he didn’t really know; anything not to get too close to others. Klaus felt a twinge of disappointment when Denise pulled away, although the grin quickly returned to his face when the demon commented on how good it was. “Well, right back at you. And I’m not quite ready yet; just one more thing,” Klaus added. He took Denise’s hand and pulled her close again, his hands slipping around her waist as he leaned in and kissed her, deeply, while his grip on her waist grew more intense.

When the hybrid finally pulled away for air, he grinned at the demon in his arms, ninety-nine percent sure that he managed to catch her by surprise as well. “Now I’m ready to go track down boss lady Mills.” Klaus let go of Denise’s waist and took her hand in his again before making his way over to the door, carefully listening for any noise before heading back out into the hallway. There was nothing; just the slightly disconcerting smell of a lot of blood. Klaus walked the familiar route to Mills’ office down the hallway, his hand firmly holding onto Denise’s. When he realized they were almost there — her office was just around the corner from where they were — Klaus leaned back against the wall, pulling Denise close again, although unfortunately this time just to make sure she was out of sight.

“As I see it, we have two options. One, use the element of surprise, kick down her door and make her pay right here, right now, maybe with some hellhounds by our side,” Klaus whispered. “Two, we call for reinforcements; considering the carnage in that kitchen, Kol must be around here somewhere as well, and Bekah’s with him. Aside from us, they are the strongest people I know — but it could give her enough time to make a move of her own.”

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy was all for playing Truth or Dare. Granted he wasn't sure what Bella might end up asking him to do, but he wasn't nervous about it. He did, however, give her a bit of a double take when she dared him to bite her. He had managed to have enough self control up to this point, but would it be different if he was drinking her blood? He wasn't entirely sure, but if anything would put him to the test of whether or not he was ready for the rooftop party that night, this would be it. He realized he could have opted out for going for Truth by itself, but as his gaze met hers, he knew what he should end up doing.

"Brownie points huh? Well, I think I'll go Truth and Dare then. Although I'll answer the question first before getting to the dare." Jeremy said, a grin coming to his face before he continued. "I think one of the best things about becoming a vampire would be the abilities that come with the transition. The compulsion is a plus I guess, but I'm mostly talking about the increased speed and strength. I know that I could protect the people I care about before all of this happened, but I think going through the transition will help me protect them from things I couldn't normally protect them from." he answered, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. He realized how his answer must have sounded, but it was the truth. His family, his friends, and now Bella meant the world to him. He would do anything to keep them safe, so if going through with the transition helped him out with that, then he would do it for them. Before he could get too side tracked with his answer, however, he knew that it was time to take on the blonde vampire's dare.

"Alright, well here goes nothing. I'll see you back on the pier then." Jeremy said, the grin coming back to his face before he pressed another light kiss on Bella's lips before resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he did so. He found himself focusing on the pier that he and the blonde vampire were sitting on before, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he was back. He glanced back to the lake house for a moment to double check that the ghosts from their pasts hadn't somehow made their way outside, and when he knew the coast was clear, he let his gaze settle on the blonde vampire completely.

'Come on. You can do this.' Jeremy thought to himself as he gently brushed Bella's hair away from her neck. Would this really be a good idea? Would he be able to stop himself when he felt her heartbeat start to slow? He knew that drinking her blood wouldn't cause him to transition, but he couldn't help being nervous all the same. He realized he didn't have to go through with the Dare, but as he let his hands settle on the blonde vampire's waist, he knew that it was something he should do to prove that he could go through with the transition. With that in mind, he closed the space between himself and the blonde vampire as he firmly but gently bit into her neck and started drinking.

Jeremy thought that drinking from Bella at the hotel had been intense, but what he was experiencing now was vastly different. Not only could he hear the blood leaving the blonde vampire, but he felt himself craving her blood. Not to mention he liked the feel of his lips against her neck, but despite the heightened sensations he was feeling, he willed himself to pull away from the blonde vampire when he heard her pulse start to slow, taking a couple of deep breaks as he reigned himself in. He didn't think he had done so bad as far as the dare was concerned, but he still found himself hoping that he would show that same kind of control at the rooftop party.

Denise had watched Klaus curiously when he told her he wasn't quite ready. She was't sure what he was about to do, but when he pulled her closer and kissed her, she didn't hesitate to return the kiss as she buried her fingers in his hair. He had definitely caught her by surprise, but it was the good kind of surprise. When he pulled away for air, she had a grin on her face as well, her hands coming back to her sides as he took a hold of hers before they went down the halls once again. She wasn't concerned about whatever else they may run into, but as they were about to round the next corner to get to Mill's office, she looked to the hybrid as he presented a couple of options to her. Both options sounded perfect, but if they wanted to stop Mills for good, she knew which option she would rather go for.

"I think it's best if we catch her by surprise. I have no doubts that your brother and sister would be able to hold their own, but I'd rather stop her now before she has a chance to do anything else." Denise whispered, silently summoning a couple of hell hounds before motioning them towards her. She whispered to them before nodding around the corner, watching as thy didn't hesitate to make their way to the office, each of them snarling and barking as they did. She listened as they knocked down the door, but before she could pull Klaus around the corner with her, she watched with wide eyes as her hell hounds came running back around the corner, crying and whimpering as they disappeared down the hallway.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Denise said under her breath, about to tell Klaus that they track down Kol and Rebekah when she watched a huge hell hound suddenly round the corner, snarling as his sights rested on them. She became tense as her grip on Klaus' hand tightened, but it wasn't the hell hound that put her on edge. It was the man that rounded the corner shortly after the hell hound did, smile on his face as he looked directly at her.

"Hello, darling. Little dramatic to send the hounds to Mills office first, don't you think?" Crowley asked, raising his eyebrows before looking to Klaus, his smile growing a little more. "Niklaus Mikaelson. Exactly the man I was hoping to see. I'm sad to tell you two that your princess is in another castle, but since we're here, I have a proposal." he said, waving for his hell hound to back off before he continued. "Mills has been causing more than a bit of grief for me. I'm not one for getting my hands dirty, so I'm willing to give you demons, hounds, whatever you need to get rid of her. All for a price of course." he added, grinning as he patted his hell hound's head. "What do you say?" he asked, barely glancing over at Denise as he kept his gaze on the hybrid. He could tell that the demon next to the hybrid wasn't happy with his proposal, and while he normally didn't attack demons that were as highly ranked as her, he would if she tried to interfere with the deal he was making.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

Klaus nodded at Denise’s suggestion to catch the head of the facility by surprise; he had been leaning towards that option himself as well. No matter how strong Kol and Rebekah were, his two youngest siblings were not particularly subtle and they would most definitely not be able to use the element of surprise. Moreover, the waiting time could easily work against them as well. The demon wordlessly conjured her loyal hellhounds — Klaus simply could not help it, an impressed grin tugged at his lips despite the dire situation — and the beasts headed into the office ahead of the two of them after effortlessly knocking down the enforced door. Mere seconds later the hybrid could hear the hounds howling as they came running back.

What in the bloody hell? Klaus’ eyes flared yellow as Denise cursed under her breath, and he smoothly positioned himself between Denise and whatever was going to come out that door next. First, an absolutely enormous hellhound, baring its impressive fangs; instinctively, so did Klaus, especially once he could feel Denise tensing up. However, Klaus soon realized her gaze was focused on something else than the hellhound — someone else, in fact. A man entered the hallway. His visual appearance was not particularly intimidating, but he somehow exuded power; from the way he stood there in his expensive suit and even more expensive coat, to how he sent Klaus a carefree smile as he casually petted the giant growling beast beside him. And of course, the English accent. Klaus’ eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head as he imagined Bekah and Bella’s response to that accent.

“I see my reputation once again precedes me, but unfortunately, yours has not — my sincere apologies and no offense, but who in the hell are you?” Klaus enquired after he let the man finish speaking. Anyone who knew him, or anyone with ears, really, would know that he was most certainly not apologetic in the slightest. He was, however, curious, although he remained cautious as well; Klaus still stood in between Denise and the man. “And perhaps more importantly, what kind of deal are you talking about? What do you get out of it — what are we giving up?”

The man spread his arms as a grin spread on his face. “No offense taken, dear. After all, we don’t exactly run in the same circles. The name’s Crowley, King of Hell. And, well, let’s just say you’ll owe me one. Not a soul or anything,” Crowley added with raised hands, “just... when I need your help with a couple of relentless hunters, you’ll help a King out.”

Klaus cocked his head and grinned back while he pulled out his phone; as soon as this was settled, he was going to give Bella an update, as it looked like they were going to be on the move soon. “I’ve learned that demons can be tricky, so let’s get a little more specific than that, shall we? We allow you to come to us for help when dealing with hunters — once, not for all eternity — and we make sure Mills is no longer a problem. In return, you deliver us an army of loyal demons, you get us Mills’ location, with as much information about it as you can, and you make sure the aforementioned army is waiting for us there to take the bitch down once and for all. Sound like a plan? Oh,” the hybrid added as he held up his index finger, “two more things. One, Denise comes out unscathed or the deal’s off. I’ve seen how finicky demons can be — you better make sure ours know where their loyalty lies. And two: we get to keep the demon army.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

After Jeremy gently brushed away her hair, his mind seemed to be going a mile a minute. Bella was about to say that he didn’t have to do it, when Jeremy placed his hands on her waist, leaned in and sank his new fangs deep into her neck. Bella exhaled sharply, her hands on his shoulders with her nails digging into his shirt. This was so terribly good. As he pulled away, perfectly on time for safety reasons but far too soon for her personal reasons, Bella stared at him in silence for a moment, her gaze traveling from the dark veins around Jeremy’s eyes to his fangs, before he reigned himself in and his face returned to its regular handsome state. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that earlier. That was hot.” There was a nagging voice in the back of her head, but her gaze had lingered on his lips, and Bella pulled Jeremy down by his shirt so she could kiss him.

Her impulsivity was winning out for a few sweet moments, but hat was over too soon as well. The nagging voice got louder and Bella looked up into Jeremy’s deep brown eyes after she broke away and pulled back her hands. “I have to say this, because I promised I’d be honest. The fact that to you, protecting the people you care about is the best thing about being a vampire, is... well, exactly what I should’ve expected.” Her lips curled up and the smile reached her eyes. “But I hope there are things about it that make you want to turn for you, too.” Mostly, Bella didn’t want him to fall into the same trap she did; become a high-strung vampire vigilante who never let their guard down because who knows what might lurk around the corner. Kol had shielded her against that side of herself, and if Jeremy would let her, she’d be happy to do the same for him. And after everything he’d been through, he deserved his own happiness — not just act as a sexy bodyguard.

“This hasn’t changed my mind about what I think you should do, but maybe it’s something to think about. Either way, double brownie points for excelling yet again.” Bella shook her head as she smiled at him, about to launch into detail about exactly what she’d messed up during her own transition period, when suddenly her phone buzzed. An icy cold chill ran down Bella’s spine as her brain automatically jumped to bad news from one of their friends, but the moment she saw the screen, she raised her eyebrows. “Okay, so, two things. One, all is well at the facility, right now they’re about to track down Mills with the help of the — the King of Hell?” Her raised eyebrows slowly turned into a frown, but then Bella shrugged. Just another day in the life when you're friends with Klaus. “And they’re warning us that she might’ve been able to let some of her creatures out too, possibly sending them after us.” Her mind flashed back to the ghosts that weren’t really ghosts, but despite the disconcerting news, she looked back up at Jeremy with another smile; she also remembered how well he handled that. “As long as we stick together, we’ll be okay. And two — if you want to compel us some fancy new outfits, we gotta skip the water adventures and head over to Richmond before the shops close,” Bella said, holding up her phone to show Jeremy the time; she got to her feet and held out her other hand to help him up as well.

“Water stunts later?” Although Bella knew it wasn’t exactly a guarantee, hearing him say he’d take her to the next town festival had made the knot in her stomach a little less painful, and she wanted to hear more future plans. “Maybe someplace where the water’s not freezing? And feel free to come up with a Truth or Dare for me on the way,” Bella added with a grin as she got ready to vamp speed their way back to Richmond, “unless of course you’re nervous they won’t be as good as mine.”