Mismatched // Elijah Mikaelson

IX

"Siren sing us a love song,
something old that'll put us at ease.
All these bones and all their temblin'.
All these bones and what they keep."

Zarri punched the punching bag over and over again, she kicked and punched it until her hands started bleeding.

'You need to do happy things. Stuck in anger is not good for you.'

Zari glared at Anatoly and grabbed the bandages he handed her, wrapping it around her hands. 'You don't get to judge.'

'Very true. Now, are you going to check up on your children?'

Zari lifted her fist in the air, 'They're not my children.'

Anatoly grinned, 'Sort of.'

She flipped him off as she walked away, grabbing her coat and yelling: 'I am going to check up on the two teenagers I don't give a damn about!'

A few minutes later she arrived at the Gilbert house, parking her motorbike in front and she knocked on the door.

'Hey, Zari...' Elena muttered, her eyes were tired and not focused, 'You don't... you don't have to be here. We know you don't want to.'

And Zari could see the disappointment in her eyes. 'I lashed out yesterday,' she admitted, 'you didn't deserve that.'

'No, it's understandable. You've got your own life and you don't even know us.'

A sigh escaped Zari's lips, 'Just let me inside, okay?'

Elena stepped aside, letting her through. And Zari followed inside, the Gilbert home was quite lovely and she smiled at Jeremy, 'We haven't officially met yet, I'm Za'Rijah.'

Jeremy nodded, 'You knew Ric?'

Zari stared at her hands, 'Yes, I did. He took me in when I was a little lost.'

'And now you are going to look after us? Live with us?' He asked her sharply.

Elena pinched him in the side, 'Jeremy.'

Zari took a deep breath as she felt the walls coming at her, 'I'm not good at looking after people. I suck at it to be honest. But I'm willing to try, if you're all okay with that... I mean you're practically adults, so you don't really need me.'

Elena engulfed her into a hug, making Zari stiffen and question wether to hug her back. Tears rolled down Elena's cheeks, 'Thank you. We do need you, someone to look after us.'

'Let's hope you don't die,' Jeremy muttered under his breath.

Zari heard and snorted, 'Please, don't worry about that. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's surviving.'

Jeremy walked over and joined the hug, making Eena smile and Zari only more uncomfortable. Zari pulled away after a few seconds, 'So, did you guys eat lunch yet?'

'No,' Jeremy replied.

Zari walked over to the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking all kind of things out. Elena stared at her in amazement, 'You know how to cook?'

Jeremy grinned, 'Just because you burn everything you touch, doesn't mean it happens to everyone.'

Elena glared at her little brother and Zari grinned, Elena noticed, 'It's not funny!'

'Sibling's bickering, it's always funny to outsiders.'

Jeremy and Elena sat on the high bar stools around the kitchen counter and  Jeremy asked, 'Do you have any siblings?'

'Two sisters, older than me. One of them left home quite early, so I never really got to know her. But the other one is one of my closest friends. Bickering, however, was not really tolerated in our household.'

'You couldn't argue?'

Zari glanced at Elena and shook her head as she cracked the eggs above the cooking pan, 'My father said it was a waste of time, time was precious and better used for learning.'

'That's very... strict...'

'How did you meet Ric?' Jeremy asked abruptly.

Zari shot him a sad smile, 'I was kicked out of the house at fourteen, five years I spent mostly on my own. I was surviving. Alaric saw me traveling on my own, he just knew something was off. I was doing pretty well, don't get me wrong, I had some friends who supported me financially and everything. I was just there, in a bar, drinking the strongest alcohol they had. He saw me and knew I was too young to drink, instead of exposing me and getting me arrested, he took me in.'

'You just followed a stranger to their house?' Elena asked, shuddering at the thought of what could've happened to her.

Zari flipped the omelette, 'I lived for five years on my own, remember? I was streetwise and very skilled in the martial arts.'

'Stefan told me that you punched Damon.'

Zari smirked at Elena, 'I kicked him in the balls too.'

'And you survived that?' Jeremy asked surprised.

Zari nodded as she handed them a plate each with omelette, 'Apparently, he noticed that I knew what I was doing and decided to back off. Might've helped that Alaric was present.'

'Oh my god, this is so good,' Elena groaned as she ate.

'Thank you.'

'Are you going to move in?' Jeremy asked, kindly this time.

'I don't know,' Zari muttered as she thought of Anatoly, 'I have a house guest.'

'Boyfriend?'

Zari shuddered at the thought and shook her head, 'Oh no, Elena, no. Absolutely not. More like a very good friend.'

'Is there anyone though?' Elena asked.

'No, love is not really my thing, if you know what I mean.'