#jeremyd

“My what?” He gave him a confused look as you placed your ornament.

Jeremy shuffled around in the pile beside him before turning and handing you a small ornament. It took you a moment to see what it was but you gasped as you realized it was your GTA character that you occasionally played in videos. It wasn’t the best made piece ever sent in but it was the first one you had gotten of your character. You hugged the ornament to your chest.

“Can I see yours?” you asked.

Jeremy smiled knowingly, “I don’t have one. None of us do, at least not by that fan. The card is really sweet too.” Jeremy passed over a handmade Christmas card.

You took it carefully, reading over the kind words of a fan who mentioned how much they loved seeing you on camera and would love to see you more. You tucked the card away and made a mental note to write back. You hung your ornament up and stepped back looking at the finished tree.

“All it needs is the star,” Michael smirked, nodding at your handy work. You held out your hand but Michael shook his head, “No. This honor is all Jeremy’s.” He passed the tree topper over.

Jeremy just shrugged and went to reach for a chair. That was until Gavin pulled out his phone and challenged him, “Bet you can’t get it on top without climbing on anything.

“Oh. Ho. You’re on,” Jeremy smirked and instantly tried throwing the star at the top of the tree.

After a few attempts, Jeremy started making a jump for it, though all that he managed to do was knock a good amount of ornaments off and bend the star. He started looking for something he could shoot the star to the top of the tree when you decided enough was enough.

You grabbed Jeremy and lifted him to the tree, him shouting the entire time. You knew he didn’t like being picked up but for the camera, he could deal.

“Oh, shut up and just put the star on. You’re heavy,” you told him. You were so thankful for Lindsay pushing you to go to the gym because that man was a lot of muscle packed into a small body.

The room busted up laughing as Jeremy grumbled, “There it’s on.”

“Oh thank you,” you sighed and took a step back to let Jeremy down but your foot landed on one of the baubles he had knocked down earlier. You slipped and both of you went tumbling to the ground.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” Jeremy asked as he tried to scramble off of you but basically ended up straddled over you.

You smiled and laughed a little, “Actually pretty good.”

Jeremy chuckled and got off of you, “Come on. Let’s get you up.” He held out his hand. You sat up and took his hand but he pulled you up a little too hard and the two of you came chest to chest. His hands coming around your waist to steady you. You started to lean in and so did he until a loud whooping caused the two of you to jump apart and remember you weren’t the only ones in the room.

“Oh smooth, Gavin,” Michael tossed a pillow at him, “They were finally going to kiss!”

From then he and the rest of the crew gave you just enough info to keep your cover and job and in return, you gave them any heads up of anyone else getting to close to any plans or them.

As time went on the other crews picked up on who you were and who you were or at least who you were dating. Hence, when you were walking back to the penthouse alone one of the crews grabbed you and pulled you into an alley. They had tried to shove you into a van and use you as bait but luckily the few moves the guys had taught you and your taser had come in handy.

You didn’t come out of it easily though. You were pretty sure you had a concussion from when they slammed you into a brick wall. You had a black eye already forming. A few cuts and bruises were scattered about.

As you stepped into the elevator that had finally arrived, you once again tugged the shorts up that had been ruined when one of the thugs had to try to take advantage of the situation.

Another shaky breath and that was enough for you to start bawling. You felt dirty and tired and sore. Your back hit the corner of the elevator and you slid down the wall as you curled yourself into a ball.

The elevator doors dinged as they closed but the lift remained stationary since you hadn’t hit any buttons. You sat there sobbing until your phone rang. It made you jump and as you slid your phone out you noticed the missed texts from your boyfriend and the cracked screen that must have happened in the scuffle.

You took a few deep breaths before answering, “Hey, baby.”

Jeremy could instantly sense something was off but he also knew you wouldn’t tell him so he played along, “Heeeyyy. Are you almost home? I was starting to get worried.”

You laughed softly though it came off more sarcastic sounding than you would have liked, “Oh, yeah. You know me. Got caught up at work. I’m like, five, ten minutes tops.”

You hoped he didn’t hear your voice crack. He did.

“Don’t make me wait too long. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen your beautiful face,” you could hear the smile on his face although you couldn’t see the worry etched in around it.

You lifted a hand and winced as you poked at your black eye. You’d have to stop by Andy to get stitched up than Lindsay to borrow some makeup since you shared your bathroom with Jeremy.

You felt the pit in your stomach form before you even started the lie, “You know what I think I see some traffic. Maybe make it twenty but I can’t wait to curl up with you and sleep for like a year.”

“Rough day?” Jeremy asked softly.

You sucked in another deep breath and whispered so you wouldn’t cry again, “You don’t even know.

“I’ll have the whiskey waiting for when you get home and the bed warmed up. I’ll let you go so you can get home safely,” Jeremy told you. “I love you.”

Your eyes started to water again, “I love you, too.”

Jeremy went straight into action. He wasn’t sure what was wrong but he wanted to be prepared for anything. He started ordering food from your favorite place if it was as simple as a long day but he also started heading towards Andy’s room in case you needed medical treatment.

You finally stood back up after what felt like forever and hit the up button. Jeremy instantly perked up as he heard the chime of the elevator. You were hoping he’d be busy in your room and you could sneak into Andy’s room so you froze, heart jumping into your throat as the doors opened and your boyfriend stood there with a big smile and welcoming arms.

You felt the tears well up again as Jeremy’s smile fell. He came rushing over to you as he called for Andy.

You collapsed into his arms. He picked you up whispering reassuring words. As he carried you off to the room the crew had set up for medical care. Andy went straight to work through the second it came to your ripped shorts you could see Jeremy’s blood boil. He remained calm for you but as Andy began to stitch up one of your larger cuts Jeremy told you he’d be right back.

He saw the look on your face and he smiled softly and kissed your forehead, “I just have to pick up the food I ordered. I ordered your favorite.”

You would have normally been suspicious but you were too out of it and tired to think anything of it, that was until you heard more voices and the sound of the elevator. You tried to move off the table but Andy gently held you down. You gave him a look and he mumbled a few apologies and something about cleaning up your wounds.

It took awhile to finish and Jeremy should have been back at this point. It almost made you laugh when a delivery guy showed up. You took the food though you weren’t very hungry.

You took it back to your room and nibbled at it. You turned on the news to see any reports of the crew. There was nothing that stood out to you though. No gang wars, no reports of fights breaking out but then again that was small time news in Los Santos.

After a while, you could barely keep your eyes open and you passed out.

You woke up as you felt weight shifting onto the bed. You jumped as you felt arms wrap around you.

“Shh. Shh. Shh. It’s me. You’re okay,” Jeremy hushed you and pulled you closer.

He was damp and smelled cleaned like he had just showered. As you looked up at him you could see a cut across his nose and you knew if you looked at his knuckles they’d be bruised.

“I- Uh, yes but no I’m not telling you,” he made a face and busied himself looking at scarves.

“Is this about that time I blabbed about the girl Matt liked,” you crossed your arms.

Jeremy’s face up like you gave him an idea, “Yes! That’s it. Just, I’ll tell you after Christmas.”

You huffed but you didn’t argue. It was fair, you weren’t great at keeping secrets. You did, however, snatch the scarf from his hand and put it back on the rack. When Jeremy shot you a look you explained, “Listen, if this girl is special to you then a scarf is not going to cut it. But to help you pick the right gift, what is she like?”

Jeremy’s whole face lit up and it was honestly one of the cutest things you’ve ever seen. He began to babble, “Well, she’s sweet but sort of sassy. She’s independent and won’t take shit from anyone. She’s even put me in my place a few times. She’s perfect and-”

You laughed, trying to cut him off. You were a little jealous of Jeremy’s heart eyes for this girl but you could tell this was really important to him, “Jeremy!”

“Huh?” he looked over at you as if suddenly remembering you were there.

“I meant more along the lines of what does she like so we can narrow down her gift,” you explained.

“Oh, uh,” his cheeks started to become rosy as he tried to find an answer. Finally, he settled on, “I don’t know. She’s a lot like you, likes the same stuff as you. What would you like?”

You rolled your eyes and started to wander the department store thoughtfully, “I mean you can always get her a video game or something custom with like her name on it but if a guy liked me I would want something kind of not expected but still sweet.”

You began to eye the jewelry case. “That one! That’s the gift I’d want,” you pointed to a sparkly snowflake necklace.

Jeremy scratched his head, “Really?”

You nodded. I’ve always wanted someone special to get me something gorgeous like that. I personally love snowflakes because they are so sparkly and not overly in your face like a lot of other Christmas things are.”

“Alright. I’m sold,” Jeremy called over someone to get the necklace out.

You squeezed Jeremy’s arm as you waited for the gift to be wrapped, “I hope you get the girl.”

“Me too,” he sighed.

Christmas morning there was a knock at your parents’ door.

“I got it!” You called. You threw on a jacket and answered door surprised as you saw a nervous looking Jeremy standing there. “Hey.”

“Merry Christmas,” he held out a small wrapped box.

“I thought we already exchanged gifts,” you laughed, taking the box.

“We did but I forgot one,” he explained, his eyes focused on the gift in your hand.

“Of course you did. How did things go with your girl?” you asked casually as you started to unwrap the gift, not really paying attention as you watched Jeremy.

“Don’t know yet,” he shrugged.

“You don’t know yet? Are you stalling?” you laughed but he shook his head, eyes still locked on your hands. You looked down to see a familiar box. Your heart pounded as you popped it open and there sat the snowflake you had picked out. “Jeremy, I-”

You froze unsure what to say. Jeremy shrank into himself as he thought your reaction meant his confession was going bad but quite the opposite. He started to stammer out apologies. You stopped him with the only way you could think of. You reached out and pulled him in close so you could kiss him.

He relaxed instantly into the kiss. His hands going around you as the two of you kissed for a moment.

When you pulled away he asked, “So you like your gift?”

You just laughed and shrugged as you walked into the dark living room. you clicked on your flashlight for more light besides the one your camera was giving.

You turned the camera towards yourself, “So Jeremy and I are currently inside the old Turner house which is supposedly haunted. Quite a few murders happened here over the years including the murder of Benjamin Turner, himself, and his wife Josephine Turner.”

You went on going over the lore of the house. You spent most of the night talking to the spirits in the house, taking readings, and a whole lot of poking fun at Jeremy for being so jumpy over everything.

“Okay, last room,” you paused at the door.

“Oh, thank god,” Jeremy sighed, shoulders relaxing.

“The basement,” you gave a wicked smile to the camera Jeremy was now carrying before pushing the door open and shining your flashlight on some stairs.

Jeremy’s head fell, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

You just laughed and stared your way down backward, carefully, “So apparently this is where the Turners were killed. They were hit in the back of the head upstairs but then dragged down to the basement. Some people even say it was for Satanic rituals.”

“Who the fuck is saying that? Why?” Jeremy was exasperated but he followed you down and helped you set up.

“One last one then we’re done,” you reminded and pressed a kiss to Jeremy’s lips. He accepted and as you could pull away you could see he was pretty tired. “Thanks for doing this by the way.”

“Anything for you but please find some else you want to go busting ghosts,” Jeremy begged.

“Deal,” you flashed him one more grin as you stood in what you deemed to be the best spot for the shot. Jeremy started the camera again and you began, “Josephine if you’re there give us a sign.”

Jeremy looked up from the screen to you after a moment of silence, “What was that? I don’t think the mic picked that up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” you furrowed your brow but went on.

“Benjamin if you’re here with us tonight please give us a sign,” you called. Your flashlight flickered and shut off. “Shut up,” you laughed and tried clicking it on and off a few times.

“Maybe the batteries died,” Jeremy’s voice was shaky as he made the suggestion, “Doubtful since I changed them out before we left. Here switch me flashlights.”

Jeremy looked down at the one in his own hand and sighed before handing it over, taking the dead one.

“Benjamin if that was you could you please turn out the lights again,” you shouted. Nothing. After a minute, “Benjamin if you mean us harm can you please give us a signal?”

The flashlight you were holding went out and the camera light went out. You were able to click the light back on this time though and Jeremy was pale white as he was staring at the screen of the camera. His voice was barely above a whisper as he looked up at you, “Run.”

“Why?” you turned and saw nothing but suddenly you felt something grab your arm. You let out a scream and shouted, “Run!”