An Elemental Difference - FIRE - Book 2 (Stefan Salvatore)

Chapter 3 - Shirley Temple

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL

"You're serious?" Jeremy laughed, with his arm around Anna's shoulders. "You've never had popcorn?"

Night had fallen on Mystic Falls, and the carnival was in full swing.

"Are you kidding?" Anna snorted as Jeremy walked them over to the popcorn booth. "It went against everything my mother allowed. I was turned before I could become a rebellious daughter, then blood was on the menu."

"But you eat," Jeremy frowned. He held up two fingers to the man making the popcorn machine before he turned back to his girlfriend. "I've seen Stefan eat... why not just try it?"

"Hmm?" Anna playfully weighed up with her hands. "Free yummy blood or paying for an unhealthy piece of corn?"

Jeremy was given the two tubes of popcorn and paid for the treats. He herded them to a quiet corner. As he handed Anna one of them, he smiled, "Unhealthy, but delicious, warm corn." He nodded for her to try some, "Go on."

Anna rolled her eyes and took a piece of the warm and soft piece of corn before placing it in her mouth. Jeremy watched her with a growing smile as he saw her try and hold back her admittance that it was likable. Soon his puppy dog grin was too much for her to bear, and she threw back her head in defeat, "Fine! It's delicious!"

Jeremy punched the air before he took a handful of popcorn and threw it in his mouth, "Win for the human."

"Jeremy, it's so good to see you alive."

Jeremy stilled as he turned to meet the grinning vampire, "Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?"

"A hundred and fifty years too old," Damon joked as they stole some of Jeremy's popcorn and ate it. "Can't miss Pixie's big day. I'm still waiting for something to go wrong so I can see her freak out."

Anna scowled at him as she took Jeremy's hand, "Well, we'll be going anywhere but here."

She began pulling Jeremy away when the teen turned on Damon, "You're pretty funny cracking jokes when I could, I don't know...? Blow the whole lid off this whole thing by telling someone what you really are."

Anna's eyes widened at the threat, but Damon was unmoved, "You'd be betraying your girlfriend at the same time."

Jeremy held up the hand his Gilbert ring sat on, "It doesn't have to be here, Damon."

Damon took a step towards the teen as he ate another piece of his popcorn, "Now I'm going to forget you just threatened me, and I'm going to walk away because someone wise told me to walk away from arguments rather than killing everyone..."

Faster than Anna liked, Damon turned Jeremy around and held him from behind with a relaxed arm under his chin. When Anna went to save Jeremy, Damon held up Jeremy's ring to her, and it had her pausing in fear. Damon smirked at the dread he could smell coming from them, "This is what we're not gonna do..." He squeezed on Jeremy's neck, "We're not gonna walk around like we are invincible when it's this easy for me to end you." He pushed Jeremy towards Anna, and threw the ring up in his hand, and caught it. "If you want to tell people what I really am, go ahead and try..." Damon sped towards the teen and held the ring in front of his glaring face, "I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you'll really have something to choke on."

Flicking the ring at Jeremy's face, Damon casually walked away from the couple and chuckled to himself, "Hmm. Aella was right. Threatening is so much better than killing... I can smell the fear much longer after I've threatened rather than killed."

MYSTIC FALLS HOSPITAL

"I'm sorry!" Caroline sobbed out. "I'm so sorry. I was just so hungry."