Tangled Fate

Brave New World

February 27, 2010

The morning after Jeremy's death, and his subsequent resurrection, the sun crept over the horizon, casting long, mocking shadows across the kitchen. Louise climbed gingerly from Elena's bed, her muscles aching as if she had been the one thrown against a stone wall. She moved with agonising care, desperate not to wake her sister, and slipped down the stairs into the silent house.

While the coffee pot hissed and bubbled, Louise sat at the wooden table, her hands trembling. No matter how hard she squeezed her eyes shut, she couldn't unsee it: the sickening crack of Jeremy's neck, the way his body had slumped like a discarded doll. All because of Damon.

What he had done was unforgivable. She repeated the word like a mantra, trying to let it harden into a shield. Damon knew Jeremy was her anchor, her last living link to her parents besides Elena. He had looked her in the eye and then tried to snuff out her world. If it hadn't been for that ring, she would be sitting in a house of mourning today. She thought she had seen a soul behind his snarky masks, but maybe she had just seen what she wanted to see.

She shook her head, forcing the dark thoughts back. She needed to breathe. She needed to be Louise Gilbert, the girl who worried about math tests and lip gloss, not the girl who cleaned blood off her floor.

"I've decided to live as a human today." Louise announced the moment Elena shuffled into the kitchen.

Elena, still in her pyjamas and looking world-weary, paused with her hand on the kettle. She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "A human? Did you get a promotion I didn't know about?"

"I'm serious." Louise said, her voice firm. "I've been too caught up in the fangs and the moonlight. So, today? I'm going to school. I'm going to help Bonnie make this carnival something Caroline would actually approve of. I'm going to ride the Ferris wheel until I'm dizzy, win a stuffed animal I'll throw away in a week, and eat enough cotton candy to trigger a sugar coma."

Elena studied her sister, her gaze softening. "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad plan. I think I might join you. Being normal, boring teenagers can't be that hard, right?"

"Right." Louise laughed, though it sounded a bit thin.

Elena leaned against the counter, her mug held between both hands. "It's a good distraction. Especially after...you know. Damon. I know I was pushing you to tell him how you feel before things went south. I know it hurts, Lou. If you want to talk about what he was thinking, or if you think he's even capable of—"

"No." Louise's voice cut through the air like a blade, sharp and final.

Elena blinked, startled by the sudden coldness. "I just meant—"

"I don't want to talk about him, Elena. I don't want to hear his name. Not today." Louise stood up, her knuckles white as she gripped her mug. "Damon Salvatore doesn't exist today. He's just a ghost in a house I'm not visiting. If we're going to be 'normal,' then he isn't part of the conversation. Ever again, if I have my way."

Elena opened her mouth to argue, to perhaps point out that ignoring a hurricane didn't make it stop blowing, but she saw the raw, jagged edges of her sister's expression and thought better of it. She simply nodded.

"Okay." Elena promised softly. "No Damon. Just the carnival."

"Thank you." Louise breathed, the tension leaving her shoulders just enough for her to take a sip of her coffee. "Now, go get dressed. We have a lot of sugar to consume."

━ ➶ 𓆉｡˚ ✧ ༉‧₊˚. ━

"Vivienne and Katherine looked exactly like the two of you. It was freakish."