In New Orleans [AU]

11. The Prodigal Brother

I pulled up at my old driveway and just sat there inside my red Mustang thinking about what to do. The logical thing would be to enter the Salvatore Boarding House and confront Stefan about his phone call. It was impossible for Damon to be alive and I needed to know why he lied to me.

My hands reached for the door handle and I climbed out of the car. My town was surrounded by some sort of barrier that prevented me to go to the Grill so I knew the Travelers had control. I stood in front of my old house and sighed. Stefan opened the door and smiled. "I knew you'd come."

I slapped my brother and furrowed my eyebrows. "How could you use Damon to lure me back?" I shoved him inside the house and hovered over him. "You knew I never wanted to return to Mystic Falls."

"That's way harsh!" I heard Damon's voice and turned to the stairs. "Hello, sister!" He smirked and I had no idea how to react. My dead brother was not dead.

My face went blank as I watched my brother walk towards me. "How is this possible?"

He pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered. "I missed you so much, Mia. But I have a bone to pick with you." He pulled away and gave me a stern look. "Stefan told me you lost your humanity and I'm pissed. You were always the sane one and now you lost control!"

"I didn't lose control." I softly spoke. "Before flipping the switch, I told Stefan that I would never kill anyone and I kept my promise." I glanced between my two brothers. "I'm actually better now."

Damon shook his head. "You need to flip switch again! I'm alive now so there's no need for you to keep living with no humanity."

I smirked at Damon. "I actually thought that seeing you again would actually bring out the human side of me, but I don't think you're my trigger."

"Okay. I returned and Elena doesn't remember loving me and my sweet and kind sister doesn't even have her humanity." Damon looked mad. "I'm sick of that! Elena is gonna remember me and you..." He pointed at me. "You better get your humanity back." He walked away and I chuckled at his dramatic exit.

***

Stefan opened the door to my old bedroom and I stepped inside of it. The room looked exactly the same but I didn't have the warm and fuzzy feeling my brother was expecting. "This isn't a phase, you know?" I turned to Stefan.

He sighed and looked around the room. "I realized that the moment you didn't cry when you saw Damon." He smiled slightly. "I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the old you but I know you haven't killed anyone and you've actually been helping Klaus."

"I almost killed someone." I admitted to my brother. "After your call, I got pissed and went to a bar to party and ended up almost killing a girl. If it wasn't for Klaus, I would have killed her."

Stefan's mouth curved upwards. "You felt anger. That's an emotion, Mia! Something must have triggered your humanity."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Klaus!" I shouted. "He triggered something in me and I tried to avoid him but apparently it didn't work."

My brother chuckled. "Never in a million years would I think Klaus would be capable of doing something for another person." He looked into my brown eyes. "He loves you. Just like Jeremy does." He sighed. "Jeremy has been miserable ever since you left. You owe him an explanation."

I shot Stefan a look. "I don't owe him anything! He knows exactly why I left and he should move on. I'm not the same girl he fell in love with."

"Just talk to him!" Stefan kissed my forehead and left. Damn, I wasn't ready to face Jeremy yet! To be honest, I didn't think I would see him again.

***

I decided to go to the bar on Whitmore campus and have some fun, maybe even feed. But when I arrived, I saw Jeremy with some random girl and I smirked. I approached him and grinned. "Looks like Little Gilbert is having fun!"

Jeremy looked at me and smirked. "Oh, look, the bitch is back!"

I placed my hand on my chest, pretending to be hurt. "Ouch, Jeremy! You got so mean it's almost sexy." I sighed. "My brother seems to think I owe you an explanation."

My former boyfriend grabbed my wrist and pulled me outside. When we hit the alley, he looked at me with a stern expression. "Damn right you owe me and explanation! You left without saying goodbye and the only thing I got was a freaking letter saying that you wanted to lose your humanity because the grief was unbearable."

I was somewhat amused by his little outburst. "Jeremy, I didn't want you to see me without my emotions. You would hate me and I couldn't deal with that."

"So you left and did the exact same thing Elena did when I died." He chuckled sarcastically. "You hated her so much for that and thought she was weak, but you did the same. You're a hypocrite!"

I sighed. "Listen, Jeremy, I was dying inside after I found out Damon wasn't coming back. He was a part of me, my best friend and the only person who truly loved me unconditionally. Losing him was like losing myself and if I hadn't flipped the switch, I would have killed myself." I admitted.

Jeremy was silent for a while. "I would have been here for you. Do you really think I would let you hit rock bottom?" He looked sad and disappointed. "I love you, Mia. Even after everything, I still love you."

I smiled and caressed his arm. "But I don't love you, Jeremy Gilbert. I don't love anyone and I sure as hell don't want to feel anything."

"The old Mia would probably kick your ass right now." He grabbed my forearm. "Damon is alive now, so why are you still a stone cold bitch?"

I looked into his furious but still kind brown eyes. "I don't know." I pulled away from his grip and walked away. Jeremy was right, though. Why didn't I change back? Damon was supposed to be my trigger...