Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Thirty Two~

Stefan hadn't returned any of my phone calls, so I had to assume he and Damon were still working to catch Logan. I desperately wanted to call and find out what was going on, but I didn't want to distract him. If catching a vampire wasn't hard enough, having your girlfriend call you to see if you'd caught him or not would only make it harder.
   Rolling out of bed, I headed for the bathroom to wash that disgusting morning breath smell out of my mouth. Yawning, I opened the door and saw Jeremy sitting on top of the closed toilet lid, squeezing a long strip of minty toothpaste on his brush. Grabbing mine from the jaw, I held it out and he did mine too.
   We stood side by side, occasionally glancing at one another in the mirror while we brushed our teeth. A few months ago we would have had Elena in the middle of us, pushing us back with her elbows, trying to fill the mirror space while the two of us would have to fight for the other sink.
   "I never asked," Jeremy gurgled, spitting into the sink. "How was your sleepover with Bonnie and Caroline the other night?" He pulled a face. "Or do I no want to know?"
   Laughing, tooth paste dribbled from my mouth. In an attempt to hide the foamy slobber, I held my hair against my chest and spat into the sink, giggling as I wiped my chin with the hand towel. "It was... Fun," I frowned, unable to think of another word. "How about you and Jenna? What did you guys get up to?"
   He shrugged, rinsing his mouth out. "Well, she was gonna buy a cooked chicken from the store but ended up bringing home Alaric Saltzman instead," he rolled his eyes. "Turns out he's a good cook. Definitely a keeper," he grinned.
   "Wait," I laughed, placing my free hand on my hip. "Jenna brought Mr Saltzman home?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Wow. Must be serious then."
   He nodded, giving his teeth another brush. "Yeah, he makes her really happy," he smiled to himself. "He makes her laugh, smile, and her cheeks go bright red whenever she drops something or forgets something. It's actually quite funny to watch."
   "Wait, so you actually looked up from your play station? Wow Jere, I'm impressed," I nudged him and he rinsed his brush. 
   "Yeah," he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, turns out Alaric's a stickler for homework. Who would've thought?" He joked. "Seriously though, they're really good together. I think he might even be the one."
   I frowned. "What makes you so sure?"
   "Because, when she sees Alaric, her face lights up the same way mom's did whenever dad came home from work," he smiled, staring off into space.
   "Wow Jere, you've thought a lot about this, huh?"
   He shrugged. "I don't know, but hey, if Alaric married Jenna maybe I could convince him to give me good grades out of guilt!" He laughed. "Or at the very least he could help me with my homework."
   Leaning on the sink, I watched Jeremy as he dropped his toothbrush into the jar. He was happy. My little brother was happy. The fact that my Aunt was dating my History teacher was weird, but Jeremy really liked Alaric, and it sounded like Jenna did too. Besides class I'd never really talked to him, but the way Jeremy talked about him... He sounded like a really decent guy, one that Jeremy could look up to even. I only hoped it worked out.
   "Hey, Jenna's on the phone to Alaric, but could you tell here that I'm at the library? Alaric gave me a chance to improve my History grade and I'm headed to the library for inspiration. I still haven't found a study topic but I'm sure I'll find something," he beamed.
   "Jeremy? Excited about school?" I placed the back of my hand on his forehead. "Should I be worried?" I teased.
   "Ha ha," he rolled his eyes. "Just let her know when she's done, OK?"
   "OK Jeremy, bye," I waved as he disappeared down the stairs.

Jenna's laugh rang out through the house as I adjusted my scarf around my neck. Since calling Stefan was out of the question, I figured going around to the house and waiting for him there was the next best thing. Jenna still hadn't finished on the phone, and by the looks of things it seemed she'd be a while, so I wrote her a note and pointed to the fridge where it hung before I left. 
   By the time I made it to the Salvatore Boarding House, I was all hot and sweaty. It might've been coming into Winter, but walking to the other side of time wrapped up like a burrito was hot work. As predicted, no one was home, so I invited myself in and took the opportunity to explore without Stefan following and Damon lurking. I'd barely explored the entire first floor when I spotted a hot tub outside. The cover was barely visible beneath the vibrant Fall leaves, but I managed to sweep it clean.
   Lifting the lid, I was greeted by steam which warmed my bare face. Eager to hop in, I flipped the lid over the side and turned the jets on, the bubbles warming the water even more. Excitement shot through my body as I skipped upstairs, two at a time and ran into Stefan's bathroom. I grabbed a towel then dug through his dresser until I found an over sized tee shirt and some draw string boxer shorts. Stripping down to my underwear, I dressed in Stefan's baggy clothing then ran outside, practically leaping into the warmth before the cool scared me back inside.