Southern Nights {The Originals Shorts + Preferences}

3. All The Best People

Word Count: 10,000, deal with it.

Warnings: Blood, language, dark concepts, mentions of past abuse, and something a little steamier than I usually do so you guys have fun with that.

Series: Rational Thinking part three

Summary: The goal? Stop Silas from rising. The plan? Steal the map to his tomb. See it sounds easy enough when you say it like that, but it's less easy when the map is, in fact, a tattoo on a living breathing person who just so happens to be your best friend. Kol wanted to kill Jeremy outright, but you would never let that happen. Instead, you'll do just about anything to sway Jeremy to your side. The ends justify the means... or so you hope. || Kol x Prodigy!reader ||

A/N: Sorry this took forever. Hope you guys enjoy! Also... Please vote? I'm begging at this point...

STORY BEGINS BELOW

"I'm peeling the skin off my face
'Cause I really hate being safe
The normals, they make me afraid
The crazies, they make me feel sane
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong
Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed
So what if I'm crazy?
The best people are."

Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez

"Y/N/N?" Jeremy's faint whisper seemed good enough to take as your queue.

You pushed open the freezer door, striding in to stand beside Kol. Damon's expression was carefully controlled but you could see a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Good. You smirked in satisfaction and shifted your gaze to Jeremy.

"Yeah, sorry about the dramatic entrance, but that corner back there was really dark... just couldn't help myself."

"Y/N/N?" Your friend repeated. "Y-You're alive?"

Jeremy's eyes were as round as saucers, his face a picture of surprise, suspicion, and relief all rolled into one. He lowered the crossbow in his hands, staring at you like he'd seen a ghost. In a way, you supposed he had. As far as Jeremy knew, you had been dead for six months. Nothing that had happened in Denver or Kansas was his fault, but you knew he'd blamed himself. That was just how Jeremy worked.

He was an all-or-nothing sort of person, just as Kol had said. In his eyes, either nothing was his fault or everything was. You could see it in him clear as day; first his parents (there was nothing he could have done), then Vicki (she'd never really had a chance), then Anna (you'd really liked her, the two of you were a lot alike), then his aunt (Jenna had deserved a whole lot better), then Alaric (you'd never liked the day-drunk history teacher but he'd taken care of Jeremy so that earned him some leniency), then you (you were alright but as soon as he realized you'd turned he wouldn't see it that way), then Elena. There's only so much one person could take and you knew this hunter thing was his attempt to be better, to do better, to stop losing people.

He couldn't see himself as worth the sacrifices others were making so he was sacrificing himself without even realizing it. You had made your choice in Denver to protect him. You had faced an original - a dangerous one thousand-year-old vampire - alone to protect him. You had made that choice!

And now what? He was just going to throw that all away?

No. No, you weren't gonna let him. Not this time. Not ever. And most certainly not for Elena.