Kismet | Damon Salvatore

Chapter 2

Meredith called her the following morning.

"Wow," laughed Meredith when her sister told her what'd happened the previous day. "Sounds like things have gotten worse since I left. Are you sure Jeremy Gilbert is alive again?"

"Yep," said Maribel. "I asked around, turns out he claimed to have faked his death. Then I found out he got expelled because he got in a fight with someone, so going back to normal didn't last. Poor kid is suffering a lot... he got shoved into situations he didn't ask for all because some vampires had the hots for his sister."

"That is unfortunate. I remember another younger sibling who wanted desperately to stay out of things."

"And I'm right to want that," Maribel noted. "It's gonna be hard enough trying to earn my PhD in the next two years. Interruptions caused by supernaturals won't make it easier."

"How's that going, by the way?"

"I've had one day of classes. Suffice to say, it's going fine."

"And what about... Wes?"

"What about him, Mer?"

"Well, Mar, are you two going to start being an actual thing or not? You said things were getting more serious."

"As in, he comes by my place, I go to his, but the arrangement is the same. Fuck when we want to, help each other with research when one party asks for it, and beyond that, nothing. It's too complicated right now."

"You two really care for each other, you just don't want to admit it because you put your careers first, and it clashes."

Maribel shrugged. "You know him, Mer, he's selfish, he'd never love me more than he loves his research. I feel the same about mine."

"Thing is, Mar, you can multitask a lot better than he can. You divide your love without being disrespectful. You always know how to make time for people, he doesn't. You know what Mom would say if she knew what was going on with you two. If Wes isn't the guy you intend to marry, you shouldn't be with him at all. And her other famous saying, men just want you for one thing."

"What if I want men for one thing, too?" asked Maribel. "I don't think Wes is the guy I want to marry or the one I'm meant to marry. I just have fun with him, most of the time. I learn from him, he learns from me. But, admittedly, that spark is really only there with sex. We know each other's bodies well and we enjoy it but outside of that, we're just friends. We don't have chemistry beyond that when we're normally talking. Which is fine by me. I need to focus on what I'm studying. I just need some relief every now and then."

"Aw, Maribel, you're not going to be happy like that. Either be with Wes and be fully in it or dump him and find someone who excites you more, who will put in the effort to love you fully no matter what your career is."

Maribel sighed. "Be honest, Meredith, are you really going to be happy with your pediatrician hubby? Or are you always going to miss the excitement you had with Alaric?"

"I love my husband. Danny is normal, he's detached from the supernatural and even then he's charismatic and sweet... that's what I want. I have always wanted my job to be the most exciting part of my life. Everything else, I want it to be normal and calm. You, on the other hand, have always sought more adventure. You like the unknown. It's why I went into medicine and you went into research. You like solving the hardest puzzles completely alone. I take the easy ones, where I have an abundance of people to help me. You like the greatest challenges, you enjoy the thrill of discovering a new outcome in your trials. I like things that are predictable and I get a thrill over getting the same result each time I treat a wound. I want consistency and stability, you want your life to go all sorts of ways. You welcome change, I don't. You need someone who can turn your world around."