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❛ 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙀 ❜ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════
Rory did not like the taste of animal blood. In fact, she thought it was one of the most disgusting things she's ever tasted in her years of living. She forced herself to swallow the mouthful of rabbit blood, shivering in disgust as she tossed aside the carcass. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, wondering how Stefan had ever put himself through this diet—how he managed to coax himself from going to town on humans to... whatever pathetic excuse of a meal animal blood was. Not only that, but she found out that drinking animal blood severely weakened her vampire powers. She was slower, she didn't heal like she used to, and her compulsion was weak. She was regretting ever agreeing to Elena's terms of getting her off the fresh stuff, but she wanted to make her sister happy. And, Elena was right when she mentioned that not killing humans shouldn't be her standards.
What happens when one day Jeremy trips and bleeds over their kitchen counter? She's going to feed on him and miraculously not kill him too? Having a ripper in the house with two humans (maybe three, because apparently Alaric was living with them now. Honestly, it's just a huge question mark) wasn't wise and Rory knew it. Elena just wanted what was best for her.
"Hey," Rory greeted as she entered the Mystic Grill. Damon and Alaric were both sat side-by-side at the bar. Alaric looked to be grading papers (wow, someone actually doing their job as an educator?) and Damon was nursing a glass of bourbon. The two of them lifted their heads, each sparing a smile towards the older Gilbert twin. "What's up?"
"What's up is that Alaric is letting me drink alone in the eve of Klaus-ageddon," Damon shot Alaric a bitter side-eye. The human between them simply rolled his eyes, continuing to shift through the papers. "You're doing homework?"
"This may come off as a shock, but I am not here to hang out with you. I'm here to see Jeremy, who is an hour late for his shift," responded Alaric.
Rory's ears perked up as she heard Jeremy's name. She hadn't heard from her little brother in a while—in person, at least. The two of them would text back and forth regularly—sans the summer that Rory spent away with Klaus and Stefan—and hearing Alaric mention him with such worry made emotion coil in her stomach.
"What's wrong with Jeremy?" Rory frowned.
Alaric slapped a piece of paper in front of Rory. On it was an essay with his name, titled American History. A large "F" stared back at Rory in jarring red. "That's his mid-term paper. Copied it straight from the Internet, didn't even try to hide it,"
"Oh, somebody's getting grounded," Damon unhelpfully teased as Rory picked up his paper with her lips parted in shock.
Rory flipped through the pages, a disappointed look on her face. She was being so selfish with her own problems, she hadn't even realised that Jeremy might've been going through his own as well. With Rory's ripper issues and Klaus, her little brother had been pushed into the back of her mind. How was Jeremy taking all of this? Was Jeremy okay? Was Jeremy lashing out and purposely flunking his classes because of her?
