i. breath of life

 

i was looking for a

breath of a life, for a 

little touch of heavenly 

light.

 

There are times in everyone’s life when they’ve just gotta wake the fuck up, go to the mirror in the most non-robotic way, splash some water on their faces along with a smile and pretend that everything is ok, they’re still got the grasps of the situation in their hands and that nothing is going to go wrong today, just like it hasn’t gone yesterday. And despite it being a lie, they’ve gotta chew it, enjoy it and get accustomed to the foul taste before they digest it, simply because there’s no other way they could keep their heads above the water, just enough for it not to enter into their lungs through their noses and slowly built up a death that would be anything but merciful in their last moments of living.

This is exactly what the well-known gang of Mystic Falls along with a few new additions have been doing for a while now, today being no different. They’re not even sure if they want it to be different from yesterday. They’re used to it now, they know how to handle all of it, the pain, the carnage, the blood and the deaths, but happiness is something that makes you fearful of losing it, makes you decided on the things you once scorned and they are anything but emotionally stable, so it’s out of the question for something like that to be on their wishlist for the next year or so, at least until they figure out how to stop getting from one shit hole to another.

Sitting at the Grill, playing with their fries and cracking the same ol’ jokes that have run their course while trying to mask their bored expressions has become some sort of routine for them. They’re not even surprised anymore when Klaus enters the local with his sister at his arm, looking just as breathtaking as they remember them to be and just as bored as them, making them almost flash a condescending smile at the sight, taking pleasure in knowing they are not spared of the feeling of feeling tremendously out of place. Things between the two sides of the supernatural world have been quite calm, even friendly on certain days when none of them were purposely annoying each other in hopes the reaction they draw out of their victim is gonna star another drama. But nevertheless, they still have then tensed air around them whenever they see each out, out of habit squinting their eyes and looking at each other in question, waiting for the carnage to begin.

Klaus gives them a nod of acknowledgement as he passes by their table, Damon reciprocrating the gesture. Rebekah does nothing as she’s too busy craning her neck to catch a glimpse of her new human who is the object of her affection, quickly pulling herself away from the warmth of her brother as she walks to the end of the pub where Matt is cleaning a table with what could only be describe as a grim look on his face, definitely not pleased with the way his night is going. He would much rather be at a table getting drunk and growing more and more bored with each second than putting on friendly smiles and dealing with those who have the luxury of getting completely smashed. The hybrid merely shrugs at his sister’s behavior, not being bothered at all by her sudden change and lack of compassion towards him, slipping into one of the chairs at the bar and ordering the strongest drink they have on the shelf, drumming his fingers against the cool surface of the countertop as he waits for it, trying to drown the sounds in the background that are much louder than they are supposed to be.

It is definitely what one would call an usual night in Mystic Fall.

Only that, not long after the two Originals have settled and everyone went back to their previous actions, the door of the Grill swings open, reveling a face that has certainly missed in the crowds and that of the way too giddy vampire with the name of Brandon who has somehow dug his way into the residents’ hearts and has become quite the friend, if somebody could say that. To say that they are pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The tall vampire of Viking origins makes his way to the table where the gang of the town that has taken upon themselves to solve the supernatural problems are sitting, almost skipping and tripping over a few extended legs, completely forgetting for a very few seconds that he isn’t human. He’s all smiles and shiteating grins, something they have grown used to during the months they have worked together, trait they have grown to love even if they hated it the first time they met them. He doesn’t even bother to apologise when he pushes Jeremy with his hip on the bench to make place for him, knowing he doesn’t need to. But, something inside of them tells that that this isn’t just a visit for the sake of old bonds and there’s something more to his behavior, something that makes me shake in jubilation more than usually and again, they are unsure about their feelings towards this matter.

“Spill it.” Of course, Damon is the first one to cut the chase, taking a sip of his bourbon and looking at the vampire that just isn’t pouting with an expecting look, waiting for him to spill the beans. Brandon sometimes hates Damon’s hidden capability of being able to read him so easily, although he is quite sure he’s just that fucking easy that everyone who has spent some of their time with him would be able to do so.

“Must you really shit on my parade, asshole?” His reply comes in a flat, slightly annoyed tone that is accompanied by a very expect roll of the eyes as he huffs and takes the glass with the gut-wrenching alcohol he detests, drowning it in one shot, not even grimacing when it burns his throat slightly. After making sure his voice wouldn’t waver because of the alcohol, he takes a deep breath, looking around the room and nodding towards the hybrid, no smile on his face. He has yet to forgive him for trying to stake him a few months ago, pretty sure he won’t let go of the resent he holds towards him very soon.

“Fucking fine. Listen, guys, I kind of need you to do me a favour.” That certainly wasn’t something any of them would’ve expected to come from him. Brandon is well-known for keeping everything private. Despite him having helped them with their problems with the Original family and the rogue hybrids, he never revealed much about himself, thing they found quite worrying at first. Not to mention extremely suspicious. So for someone like him to say something like that, was certainly a surprise. It always piqued their interest and suddenly, all of them leaned forward, listening carefully to what he had to say, thing he found both endearing and annoying.

“A friend of mine is coming to town and she needs to stay somewhere. The house she was supposed to live in hasn’t quite been finished.” A friend. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Brandon is a likeable figure with a kind personality that just rubs on you, an acquired taste, really. But it’s not the fact that he has other friend than them that leaves them completely stunned, it’s the fact that not only is he mentioning them, he is asking of them to take care of them and offer them a roof above their heads, meaning they will meet her, meaning they’re gonna learn something about him, meaning they have absolutely no idea how the fuck to respond to that one.

Sure, they will agree to it eventually considering they have quite the debt to pay him for having helped them when he wasn’t involved in the equation, but they have to find the words to say that and it’s proving itself to be a fucking incredible task.

“Well?” Brandon says impatiently, cracking his knuckles to keep himself from shaking in expectation. For a second he worries they won’t agree to it. The last thing he wants is to disappoint Cerise. He hates it when she has that look on her face that reminds him of a kicked puppy left in the pouring rain after its owners abandoned it. Yeah, it’s that goddamn worse.

“I—well, sure. I suppose.” Elena is the first to regain her composure, nodding her head with each word, still trying to wrap her head around the implications of his words and the consequences of her own response. They don’t know much about Brandon, truth be told and they certainly know jackshit about this friend of his they have suddenly accepted taking care of, so there’s nothing much to think about. But she still does.

“Great! Knew I could count on you,”, he claps his hands, happy with the response he got. “She’s gonna arrive in two days, I think. I won’t be able to stay here and welcome her since I’ve got some business to attend in Germany. Don’t worry about her! She doesn’t need much protection and you won’t have to play the normal card around her. She’s as human as one can be.” He says it as if he hasn’t dropped a bomb, already getting up and heading towards the door with a victorious smirk on his face that makes Elena slightly think she should’ve thought about her answer a little bit more.

She doesn’t have the time to take back her words as the vampire disappears just as sudden as he appeared and they are left in complete silence, trying to make sense of the things that have happened in the span of just a few seconds, failing to realize this is the beginning of the most thrilling and frightening rollercoaster they would get on in their entire life.

Klaus merely smirks, thinking that finally, something exciting is happening in the dormant town that has fallen under the invisible spell of silence and normalcy, taking one more sip from his glass. He fails to realize he’s gonna board the rollercoaster as well.

And just like that, the routine was broken and they’re back on the road they just got off of. They don’t seem to find it a bothering fact, even if they should. They got that angst in their blood and it’s hard to change it.

 

but all the choirs

in my head said

no oh no...