hypersomnolent ;

_{THERE’S SOMETHING POETIC ABOUT THE WAY SHE CRACKS,  shards of glass between ribs as she leaps to defend him – defend dean.  it’s poetic, but it’s also twenty years too late, damage done the overnight in a house fire, he, too young to remember.  but dean remembers.}

_{maybe that’s the real reason they’re night and day, ember and ash.}

_{maybe that’s why he understands dean better now.  after jess.}

_{elena, he doesn’t want you to understand too.  there’s no love in this life – no good memories – no happy endings.  only dust.  only pain.  only death.}

_{only sweat upon brow, nightmares waking to three o’clock moonlight, a penny for your thoughts because they’re infinitely better than the nightmares living in woken reality.  he doesn’t want this life.  which is why he doesn’t understand her drive to become part of it.}

_{dean?  the self-proclaimed queen – the most adaptable piece on the board.
he?  the bishop.  stuck on a path he longs to deviate.
but elena?  the jury’s still out.}

_{does she feel like a pawn?}

    _{‘ we’ve been doing this for a long time, elena. you weren’t even born when dean started. ‘     a sad admission of truth; a child without a childhood.     ‘ and you and i both know that i have no control over what he chooses to do. ‘}

_{frustration ebbs into clean slate, his shoulders slumped in defeat.  it’s always been like this – the family business.  idly, he wonders when the family business became gotta protect sammy.  probably during their formative years, branded like a seal to brain.}

_{funny: dean’s adopted the exact same mentality with elena.
– maybe it’s something to do with the warm, kind eyes.}

     _{‘ we could be looking at this all wrong. what if we don’t need to draw it out? what if we could force it out? ‘}

_{eagerness drops the melancholy tone, hands pushing messy hair from face as he hunts down his laptop and flips it open.  slumping into one of the dining chairs by room entry, he hums.} 

     _{‘ i mean, she can’t just be drawn to you and girls who fit your description. spirits have all kinds of triggers that force manifestation. ‘}

_{maybe there really is another way.}

SHE   STEPPED   INTO   THE   DARKNESS   _{by   her   own   free   will ,   allowed   shadows   to   take   ahold   of   her  .   for  others ,  the   dream   of   normalcy   came   easy  ,  picturesque   white   picket   fences   surround   the   laughter   that   echoes   through   suburban  streets .   yet  ,   elena   had   become   something   else   all   together.    weary   bones   caged   in   flesh  ,   demons   haunting   sleepless   nights   in  a   house   filled   with   the   stench   of   death .  (   “ i   don’t   have   anybody  “  )   she   remained   nothing   short   of a   girl   fated   for   nightmares  ,   plagued   by   unknown   faces   and   whispered   words  of  terror .}  

_{alone .   alaric   had   gone  ,  jenna   was   dead  ,   and   her   parents  ,  well  it   was   their   death   that   had   seemingly   sealed   her   fate  .}   

_{tinge   of   something   that   mirrors   sorrow  ,fills   her   lungs  ,  words   choke   the   hoarse   lungs   in   which   she   forces   vocals   to   arise   from  a    moment   later .}  “  I   KNOW  .  “  _{brunette   tresses   cloak   sad   eyes   .   the   definition   of    broken  ,   not   yet}   TRIUMPHANT_{.   “   i   know   that  .   but  ,   i   also   know   that   there’s   something   here .  there   always   has   been … ‘  voice  ,   feigning   a   trembling  lip  ,  cracks   as   elena   manages  .   something .   vampires  ,  demons  ,   it   had   never   been    a   mere   coincidence  .  she   was   destined    for   it ,   for   the   supernatural   to   engulf   her   whole ,  to  spit   her   out   in   pieces.  next   words  ,  cautious   and   peculiar  ,  come   as   a   mere   whisper .    “  just   let   me   help  ,    please  .  “}

_it’s   HOPE   _{that    flows   through   her   core  ,  settles   within   her   stomach   as   brows  narrow   towards   sam  .  feverish   in    his   attempts   to   solve  ,  to   grasp   knowledge   that   will   put   them   once   again   in   the   light .   (   how   does   she   tell   him   there’s   no   chance  ——  she   fears   he   already   knows  )   for  ,   light   has   never   shone   on   those   whose   lives   had   been   touched   by   death  .  they   were   branded  .   devil   himself   having   his   callous  fingers   wrapped   around   their   once   unscathed   necks .}  

“  FORCE   IT   .  . .  _{“    as   if   her   thoughts   at   the   heels   of   his   words  .  simplistic   in  delivery   and  yet   she   knew   the}   complications .  lips   press   tightly   together  ,  with   lithe   digits   running   through   chocolate   locks   if   only   to   watch   a  man  at   work  .   “ that’s  … “   she   needn’t   waste   time  ,  steady   strides   carry   her   from   stance   towards   the   threshold   beside   sam  .   slender   bodice   leans  ,  propping   herself   against   doorway   as    eyes   settle   above   his   shoulders  .  “ it   could   be   anything .  this   spirit ,  what   if   it   isn’t   a   person   but   what   they’ve   done .   what   they’re   doing .  ‘