Chapter Six: Take On The World (Or at Least New York… Maybe)

 

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Author’s Note

This chapter is probably one of my favorites. I’m really hoping you enjoy this chapter, and next update on Sunday? Definitely Sunday, maybe Saturday if I finish up all my papers for the week!

Tell me what you think, and I hope you enjoy!

-Page Break-

Bella finished putting away the last of her clothes in her suitcase. “Are you even packed?” She questioned over her shoulder at Jeremy. “Or have you been sketching all day?”

Jeremy only hummed in response as he finished up the sketch in question. He stopped as he felt Bella’s arms around him and her head on his shoulder. “Did you say something?”

Bella smiled, “You’re an idiot.” She whispered with a laugh. “You’ve been drawing a lot more lately.”

Jeremy smiled, “College applications. I’m applying for a few art scholarships, and this is needed along with a boring essay.”

Bella smiled she leaned in closer and kissed his neck. “They’re great.”

“Thanks, B.” Jeremy responded, he moved his head so he could properly kiss her. He moved and pulled her into his lap as the kiss grew stronger. Both pulled away as there was a knock on her bedroom door.

Bella smiled at the redness in Jeremy’s cheek, she walked over to the door and opened it for her dad. “Hey, dad.”

“I’ve got to get to work, and I know I won’t see you before you leave.” Charlie said. “You have to be safe.”

Bella nodded and hugged her dad. “I’ll be back shortly dad, as soon as my audition is over I’m coming back.”

Charlie nodded, “I hope you’re going to be safe, New York is a big place to be.”

“I know dad, I’ll be there for a day, I doubt I’ll actually get into any sort of trouble.” Bella said with a smile. “I’ll call often, and leave messages when you’re working. Trust me, I’ll be fine.”

Charlie turned to Jeremy. “You make sure she gets on that plane safely, son.”

Jeremy nodded, “Got it, Chief. I’ll wrap her up in bubble wrap just to be sure.”

Bella smiled and turned back to her dad. “Come on, I’ll walk you out and you can give me a speech about plane safety.”

Jeremy waits as Bella comes back. “So, you’re going to Florida and then New York?”

“Yeah, but I’m only going to Florida for a day, after that I’ll be in New York for four days. Luther and some other corpses will be waiting for me in New York.” Bella responded looking around her room to assure that she had all her things.

“There’s not going to be any of them waiting for you in Florida?” Jeremy questioned. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay by yourself?”

Bella nodded, “Yeah, I’m going to be fine. I’m not the only one able to teleport. There’s another corpse, Rafael he can teleport too so if there’s any problem he’s capable of helping me.” Bella moved and grabbed her cello case strapping it onto her back before grabbing her suitcase. “Come on, I’ll go help you pack.”

“How do you know I didn’t already pack?” Jeremy said grabbing his sketchpad. He took Bella’s suitcase from her hands before ushering her out of the door.

“Because you like to procrastinate.” Bella looked over her shoulder with a smile. “Not to mention that when we were over at your house yesterday, all your clothes were still scattered all over the floor.”

Jeremy smiled and watched as Bella locked up the house. “Okay, you might have a point. This was really all your fault. I had to spend the last week studying for our calculus final.”

“You passed, so it all ended well.” Bella responded with a smile, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah, it did end well.” He responded taking a hold of her hand in his as they walked over to his home.

“Hey lovebirds, you guys ready to go?” Alaric questioned curiously.

Bella smiled, “No, Jer hasn’t packed yet.”

“Better hurry, we have to get going soon if we want to get there on time for your flight Bella.” Alaric said he took her suitcase from Jeremy. “I’ll go put these in the car. You two can go pack, and don’t fool around upstairs!”

“Real smooth, Ric!” Jeremy called back leading Bella back up the stairs.

“Your ears turn red when you’re embarrassed.” Bella said with a smile as she softly ran her fingers down Jeremy’s ears.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, “You’re coming back the day after Christmas, right?”

Bella nodded helping pack his things. “Yeah, I think I’ll probably just spend the rest of break messing around with my gifts.”

“I’m going to have to spend my break trying not to kill my sister and her boyfriends.” Jeremy said with a sigh, he grabbed Bella’s hand and tugged her towards him. He leaned down and kissed her, this kiss was slower, it was something he wanted to remember when he was away. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m going to miss you.”

Bella smiled. “I can teleport. Say the word, and I’ll appear.”

“You might regret that with how many times I call you.” Jeremy responded with a smile.

“Seems worth it.”

-Page Break-

Alaric watched as the young couple said goodbye to each other. Bella and Jeremy were embracing each other tightly, before Bella had to get on the flight. If Alaric didn’t know any better he would think they were never going to see each other again. But I guess in Bella’s situation that always seemed to be the case, because there was always someone after her and the future wasn’t certain.

Bella pulled back from the hug as her flight was called again. “I have to get going. I’ll see you soon, Jer.”

“Just… Be safe, okay?” Jeremy said quietly he leaned down and kissed her. It was sweet and filled with the love he had for her. “Tell me if anything happens.”

Bella smiled, “I’ll be safe. I have a lot of people looking out for me, besides my first stop is a retirement community in Florida. Don’t kill your sister, or anyone else for that matter, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt if you don’t.” Jeremy responded with a grin.

“Deal.” Bella said she leaned up and kissed him shortly. “Bye, Ric!” Bella called out as she turned around and headed to get on her flight.

Alaric smiled as Jeremy came and sat down beside him, his face sullen. “You’re so in love with her, it’s sickingly sweet.”

Jeremy laughed, “Yeah, I know. Can you do me a favor Ric?”

“Depends on what it is?” Alaric responded curiously. “You’re going to make me stay quiet about Bella’s gifts, aren’t you?”

Jeremy nodded, “I know that if Elena finds out she’ll drag me back to Mystic Falls, and I have a good life going on in Forks. I have a girlfriend, friends, a good GPA, my SAT scores are awesome and I think I can get into a good school. I don’t want her to take that all away from me.”

Alaric nodded, “I get it, and I won’t say anything. I like Bella and I like who you are with her.”

“I’m not that different with her, I’m still the same kid I was when I was in Mystic Falls.” Jeremy responded with a sigh. “You act as if I’ve changed incredibly since I’ve met Bella and went to Forks.”

“You did.” Alaric responded with a smile. “Jeremy, you’re more secure in yourself, you act like a teenager again, not like an adult stuck in a teen’s body. I think Bella brought out that kid in you again, she makes you smile, crack jokes, and actually try when it comes to school.”

Jeremy sighed leaning his head back, “I’ve applied to close to 15 universities already.”

“Any place in specific?” Alaric questioned. “Like somewhere close to New York maybe?”

Jeremy laughed, “It’s a possibility.”

-Page Break-

Jeremy smiled, happy to see his sister again, despite the hunter in him. He set his bag down on the floor and gave his sister a hug. “It’s good to see you, Elena.”

Elena smiled, a little taken aback when Jeremy willingly hugged her. “It’s good to see you, Jeremy.” She stepped back from his embrace and moved to hug Alaric. “It’s good to see you too, Ric.”

Alaric smiled, “Thanks, it’s good to be back home, Elena.”

Elena nodded, “Come on, Damon is waiting outside.” Elena took her brothers hand and led him away.

“So, how is your school life going?” Elena questioned as they were seated in the car. “Are your grades good?”

Jeremy nodded, “3.5 GPA this year, and school is really good. I have a lot of good friends, and I have a girlfriend.”

Elena’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have a girlfriend?”

“She’s a really nice girl, Elena.” Alaric called from the front of the vehicle with Damon.

Jeremy sighed pulling out his phone and showing his sister a photo of her. “Her name is Bella, she’s the chief of police’s daughter and she lives across the street from us.”

Elena looked at the picture of the two of them, and although she couldn’t see Bella’s eyes, she could tell that they were probably as happy as Jeremy’s seem to be. “How’d you meet her?”

“I accidently knocked her down on my way to the school office on my first day.” Jeremy responded with a smile. “For some strange reason, she continued to be my friend despite the fact that I caused her to hurt herself.”

“You know, you should start thinking about applying to colleges. I can get you an application to Whitemore.” Elena offered as she sat back in the seat. “You’d like it there, they have a really nice art program.”

Jeremy nodded, “I already started applying to schools, Bella’s been helping me with my essays.”

“Do you want to go to the same school as her?” Elena questioned curiously, by the look on her brother’s face she knew he was a goner.

Jeremy smiled, “Are you kidding? I would never get into the school Bella’s applying to, she plans on going to Juilliard. Bella’s a prodigy in the cello, she has an audition in a few days. She’s definitely going to get in, she’s great at what she does.”

Alaric laughed from the front seat, he leaned over to Damon. “It was love at first sight for him, he hasn’t shut up about her since they met.”

“I can hear you.” Jeremy said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re not exactly good at whispering.”

-Page Break-

Jeremy lay in his bed, he was bored out of his mind at this moment. Alaric was with Damon and Elena was with Bonnie, and despite having no bad feelings towards Bonnie he knew hanging out with them would be awkward.

He reached for his phone quickly as it dinged and he got a message. He was more than excited that it was from Bella. He opened the message to see that Bella had sent him a picture. The strange thing was that Bella was supposed to be on a plane to New York.

In the picture, she was sitting in the uncomfortable airport chairs, and the text at the bottom said that she was ready to go to her hotel. He called her immediately, “Hey, why aren’t you on a plane?”

Bella sighed over the phone. “Well, my flight had an emergency landing. I’m actually in Virginia right now, the airport is putting me up in a hotel for the night, and my replacement flight leaves tomorrow in the morning.”

“You’re here? In Virginia?” Jeremy questioned in excitement. “How far away are you?”

“Well, my taxi is about 10 minutes away from my hotel which is less than 15 minutes away from your hometown, or at least I think that’s right.” Bella responded quietly. “I don’t want to bother you, Jer. You’re supposed to be spending time with your sister.”

Jeremy scoffed. “My sister is out doing something that is probably incredibly reckless with her friends. I have nothing to do, and I can’t think of any better way to spend my day then with you. Just send me the address of your hotel, and I’ll be outside waiting for you when you get there.”

“Okay, I’ll see you there, Jer.” Bella said hanging up the phone.

Jeremy was out of his room in the blink of an eye. When he saw the name of the hotel he already knew where to go, and he couldn’t have been more excited to be able to see Bella. He would be able to show her around town, and get to help her relax before her audition.

He was in the car and on the road in the blink of an eye. He drove excitedly to the hotel, and by the time he parked out front Bella was stepping inside. He hurriedly set out after her, when he saw her at the front desk line he couldn’t stop himself as he approached her. The wide smile on his face showing his excitement at being able to see her again.

Bella gasped out in surprise as she felt the pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. She turned her head and sighed in relief as she saw Jeremy standing behind her. “You got here rather quickly.”

Jeremy nodded, “Yeah, I missed you.” He leaned down slightly and kissed her. He pulled back at the cough interrupting her, he stood behind her keeping his arm around her waist as she checked into her hotel room.

Bella took Jeremy’s hand and led him to the elevator. “I’m going to leave my bag in my room, and then you can show me your hometown.”

Jeremy nodded, “Bring your cello, you can practice with me, I’ll draw and you’ll play.”

“I’m not nervous.” Bella responded with a smile as she looked at Jeremy. “As egotistical as it may sound, I feel good about my audition.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Bumble B.” Jeremy said moving back to kiss her as they waited for the elevator to stop at her floor.

Jeremy waited patiently as Bella set her bag down in her hotel room and called Luther and left him a message about her whereabouts. He excitedly took her hand and intertwined their fingers together before he took her cello case in his other hand and led them back to the elevator. “First off, let’s go get something to eat.”

-Page Break-

Bella smiled as Jeremy sat beside her, his feet were kicked up on the coffee table and he was drawing in his sketch pad while she played in the background. Every few minutes when she changed songs, he would complement her and kiss her sweetly before returning to his work. This was by far the best way to spend her winter break.

She took in a deep breath before she started to play again. Her hands moved elegantly against the cello, as she played the song that had been stuck in Jeremy’s head lately, Don’t let me down by The chainsmokers. She continued to play even as she felt his arms going around her waist and his head moving to rest on her shoulder.

“I’m going to have that song stuck in my head all week.” Jeremy announced as soon as Bella had stopped playing. “But you were, as always, wonderful.”

Bella smiled, she leaned closer to him and kissed him. Her hand went to his hair and she brought him closer. They pulled away as the sound of a cough at the door disturbed them. Bella couldn’t help but turn her head to the ground as she wanted to laugh at Jeremy’s face.

Bella stood setting her cello against the couch. “Hey, Rik.”

Alaric smiled, “Hey, Bella. I thought you were supposed to be headed to New York by now?”

Bella shrugged, “Well, there was an emergency landing here in Virginia. The airport booked a hotel for me 15 minutes away, and Jeremy came to pick me up.”

Jeremy stood beside Bella. “B, this is my sister Elena, and her best friend Bonnie.” Jeremy looked to Bella with a smile before he turned back to his sister. “This is Bella, my girlfriend, and we were just leaving.”

Bella laughed as Jeremy pulled her away. “Hey, my cello.”

Jeremy sighed, “See, now we can’t do a fast getaway. You’re going to have to endure an interrogation by my sister. And that won’t be a pleasant way to spend the rest of our day.”

Bella rolled her eyes and went to her cello she placed it back in its case before turning towards Elena and Bonnie. “This was certainly an awkward way to meet.” She looked to Alaric who only seemed to be filled with amusement by the situation.

-Page Break-

Bella smiled as Jeremy held her hand as they walked down the street. He had a boyish smile as he spoke about all the things he used to do in this town. Just as he went to lead her into the Mystic Grill, her phone rang, the familiar chime that signaled that Luther was calling her. “Hey, I have to take this, Luther is probably worried.”

Jeremy nodded, “No problem, I’ll grab you a hot chocolate to go. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hello.” Bella said answering the call.

“I’m assuming you’re safe, especially since I can conclude that you’re with the boy.” Luther said through the phone.

Bella laughed, “Yeah, I’m fine. Jeremy is just showing me around the town, my flight leaves early tomorrow morning so I should be there by the afternoon.”

Luther hummed in response. “You could just teleport, there was no need to arrange flights.”

“Yeah, that’s what you say now, but I need this. I should blend in as an ordinary teenager, try not to raise suspicion. Here I thought you of all people would understand, I think you’re losing your spark.” Bella responded with a smile already in her voice.

“I was already aware of the positive reasoning behind you taking a plane, but I was just wondering if you were aware of them.” Luther responded. “Have you begun to develop a new ability? I would have guessed a new one would have presented itself by now.”

Bella sighed, “I don’t feel anything, so I would say no. I think you have a point though, I do have the suspicion that one will just show up in time. I’ll be in New York soon, and I can assure you that when you lecture me about being safe I’ll listen.”

Luther chuckled, “Good, I’ll be waiting. Enjoy the time you have with Jeremy.”

Bella smiled, “Thanks, dad.” Bella said before hanging up the phone.

She went to head inside, but stopped at the familiar call of her name. She turned her head with a wide smile as she saw the familiar figure approach her. “Nik.”

“Lovely little Isabella.” Klaus said approaching, his smile wide as Bella gave him a hug. “It’s a joy to see you, little one. I am curious to know what you’re doing this far away from Phoenix.”

Bella sighed, “Well, Renee left, so I moved in with Charlie in Washington. And I was on my way to New York for my audition, but my plane got landed for emergency reasons. I’m here spending some time with my boyfriend until I can catch a flight to New York tomorrow.”

Klaus’s smirk grew. “Boyfriend? Why, little one, I wasn’t aware you even liked other people. Last time we spoke your master plan was to get into Juilliard and ignore everyone who wasn’t a corpse or myself.”

“He’s persistent.” Bella replied with a shrug. “Besides, he was able to understand my supernatural capabilities without turning to run. By the way, thanks for the ring for Christmas.” Bella said holding up her hand to show the tiny moon ring on her finger. “Simple, just the way I prefer it.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Klaus said he turned his head with curiosity as the door to the Grill opened and Jeremy stepped out. He caught Bella’s scent all over him before he turned to Bella with a curious brow raised in question. “Really, Isabella?”

Bella crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, and I do believe I made a wonderful choice. Afterall, you always said humans are weak, and Jeremy here isn’t exactly human either. I think I won in the matter, besides, my judgement skills have never really failed me.”  She paused. “Renee is excluded from that.”

Klaus laughed, “Of course, little one. Greet your father for me, I should be on my way.” Klaus turned to walk away. “Oh, before I forget. Congratulations.”

Bella furrowed her brows in confusion. “For what?”

“Your audition, I’m sure you’ll be great.” Klaus responded before disappearing.

Jeremy turned to Bella. “Please tell me that wasn’t the Nik you said was just like an uncle to you.”

Bella nodded, “Okay.” She responded grabbing her drink and taking his hand in hers. “I won’t tell you then.”

-Page Break-

Bella approached her father and embraced him in a hug. “Hey, dad.”

“It is lovely to see you, Maeva.” Luther responded with a smile as he looked at his daughter. “Come, we should get you to the house. I’m sure the others are excited to see you.”

“And how many people are waiting for me exactly?” Bella questioned curiously.

“8.” Luther responded. “Vanessa is back from Spain, Rafael, Elizabeth, Mary-Beth, James, Ethan, and Victor.”

Bella nodded her head. “I haven’t met Victor.”

“He’s a nice young man, a doctor and very handy with any weapon. He’s gifted with the ability of omnilinguism.” Luther responded as he placed Bella’s bag and cello case in the back of his car.

“He can speak different languages? That’s all?” Bella responded buckling into her seat.

Luther smiled, “It’s more than that, Maeva. Without any effort, Victor can understand any language in front of him, he can read it, translate it, speak it, and write it perfectly. It could take you and I years to truly master one language, it takes Victor mere seconds. Not to mention that he is a remarkable code cracker because of this gift.”

Bella smiled, “So he can read hieroglyphs?”

“He’s translated several of them, but he can’t turn in his work as it would be suspicious.” Luther responded with a grin. “You should see him when he watches The Minions movie, he’ll translate their talk for you.”

“I thought it was just gibberish.” Bella responded with a laugh.

“Not to Victor.” Luther responded with a smile.

Bella tapped her fingers against her knee as her father drove. She listened to him talk about the Volturi and their suspicious behavior, but she didn’t want to pay attention. She didn’t want to think about her current mortality.

“Are you nervous, my dear?” Luther questioned quietly.

Bella smiled, “No. I’m confident I will perform well in my audition, I know that my talent in the cello is remarkable.”

“Congratulations for staying humble.” Luther responded with a smile.

Bella laughed lightly. “I don’t want to be nervous over something that I know will go well. I rather be nervous about other things, for example my impending death by the Volturi coven.”

“They will not get near you.” Luther vowed. “You will live until the end of your transition, Maeva, that I promise you.”

“You shouldn’t promise things you have no control over.” Bella replied quietly. “I know how quickly the future can change, so I rather stay honest about my chance of survival. Though you have kept me alive so far, so you just might be able to keep your promise.”

“I’m a man of my word, Maeva.” Luther responded with a smile. “I’ll worry about keeping you alive, you should worry about continuing to live your life to the best of your abilities.”

-Page Break-

Bella walked between Vanessa and James, both were tasked with watching over her while she went to her audition. Her father was already waiting for her at the school, but to insure her safety both corpses had volunteered to walk with her to the school.

“Have you begun to get nervous, young one.” James questioned his blonde hair slicked back and a pair of sunglasses keeping his blue eyes hidden from the world.

“Why would I?” Bella questioned in return with a smirk. “You shouldn’t underestimate my playing ability, you’ll find that I’m quite remarkable.”

James chuckled, “I have no doubt in that. I would’ve loved to learn such an instrument when I was young.”

“When I developed my elemental shifting, it was a pain in the ass, but at the very least I knew ahead of time how to control it. I can imagine that it would be difficult for you to have the same gift and not know how to control it.” Bella responded with an apologetic smile. “I can always teach you.”

“Thank you, young one, but I think musical genius is better left to you and not me.” James responded. “You’re going to be fine, you know.”

“None of us will let anything happen to you Isabella.” Vanessa responded with a warm smile. “We protect our own.”

Bella smiled, “I know that. My worry is for my father, for my friends, for Jeremy. I could be putting them at risk. It’s not always about me, you know, it can be about others as well.”

Bella paused as they reached the school. “This is it. Let’s get this done with.”

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