Ouchie.

My head hurt like hell and I had already known what had happened. Although I would never admit it aloud, Damon was right. I wasn't powerful enough to take him on, I used every last ounce of my power that I had left. If I were to become...to become the monster once again, then and only would I ever be powerful enough to take down anyone that ever crossed me.

But I would not let the monster come out again, never.

I gulped as my eyes slowly opened to bright sunlight. I squinted as I sat up on the bed.

"Hey, take it easy," Stefan said as he sat by my side and gently pushing me back down onto the bed.

"Ugh," I groaned lowly. "How long have I been out?"

"A day or so."

I gasped in shock, sitting up quickly. "Oh, no! My dad will freak-"

"Don't worry. I texted him through your phone saying that you were sleeping over at Elena's house," Stefan explained as I put my hands on my head. I noticed that he had a suit on and I knitted my eyebrows in confusion.

"Why are you all dressed up? Did you do it for me," I asked sarcastically.

Stefan chuckled, shaking his head. "No. Uh, it's the founder's party today. Elena and I are going together."

"Oh, I should probably get ready then," I replied, getting up.

"Are you sure? Especially after yesterday?"

I shrugged. "What's left of my power is gone and if I used it again then it would be 'Bye-bye Jade and hello, Wicked Witch of the West'. It's too dangerous."

Stefan nodded in agreement as I knitted my eyebrows in confusion, noticing something on his desk. I walked over and picked up the picture before Stefan could stop me. What the hell?!

I shoved the picture in his face, demanding, "Who is Katherine and why does she look like Elena?"

Stefan let out a heavy sigh. "Oh...alright, listen, Jade-"

"Oh, I'm listening alright, wonderboy, you better hurry up or I'm calling Elena because this shit is...well, it's a little creepy," I tried to explain to him without shuddering in disgust.

Stefan sat on his bed as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Katherine is nothing like Elena-yes, it was her resemblance to her that drew me in the first place...but you know as well as I do that she is nothing like Katherine. Katherine was the complete opposite of Elena, she loved to play games with people, toy with them, she didn't care if someone got hurt when she wanted something...she was selfish, Jade and compelled us to love her-"

"Us?" I questioned curiously.

"Uh, Damon and I," he answered. "We both dated Katherine you could say at the same time, she forced us to keep secrets from each other. There was a time when Damon and I were close, but as we became involved with Katherine, we grew apart."

"I'm sorry, Stefan. Especially for what Katherine did to you and Damon. He loved her, didn't he?" Stefan nodded. "So since she's dead, he blames you for what happened?"

"And he has every right to, Jade. I made Damon what he is today," Stefan told me, a guilty expression on his face.

I shook my head fiercely. "No, our actions and choices are on ourselves. Damon made his own choices and whatever kind of messed up he is, is his own fault. He made his choice and you made yours. You decided to become a better person and he didn't."

Stefan looked down at his hands. "Maybe. I thought there was some humanity left inside of Damon, but after Mr. Tanner's death...there is nothing."

"If my sister couldn't change for me, then he won't change for you. They're both stubborn...I need a drink," I grumbled out and poured myself a glass of scotch. The liquid burned down my throat as I gulped all of it down. "Ugh, this tastes horrible."

I coughed as Stefan replied with a light chuckle, "It's Damon's whiskey. He likes the hard stuff."

"Well, the hard stuff is really disgusting. Yuck!"

"Don't tell Elena, please, Jade-"

"I'm not gonna tell her so don't get your granny panties in a twist," I told him. "Your secret's safe with me."

Stefan had a grim expression on his face as he told me, "Damon's covering his tracks. The town believes that a mountain lion had caused all of those attacks."

"Why?"

"He's staying."

"Wait, you don't mean-"

"That's exactly what I mean. He's staying because he's having too much fun with Elena and I. Luckily, the vervain will keep him out of her head."

"How's Caroline?"

"She has bite marks all over her, he compels her to cover up like at the dinner with them. She had a scarf and knew that she couldn't take it off."

"Is she aware of what Damon is?"

He nodded. "She does, but Damon has compelled her to not say anything or something like that."

"What if I tried to convince her to stay away from him?" I suggested, worriedly.

"It's hard to get Damon to not do something, Jade. She'll tell Damon what you did and Damon's unpredictable right now. He'll probably hurt you and Caroline."

"Your brother's not stupid. As long as he doesn't know that I am weakened after using my powers on him yesterday then he'll back off."

"Maybe you're right or you might be wrong, but Jade, if he can't hurt you then he'll hurt someone else."

"Damn it," I muttered, scowling. "I really hate it when you're right. I better go home and get ready."

Stefan gave her a small smile as he continued to get ready for the founder's party. "See you at the party, Jade."

"Bye, wonderboy," I called out to him as I walked out of his room. "Still angry at you for not helping me with my homework!"

Stefan laughed in background. "Do it yourself!"

God, I felt really nervous right now.

I ran my hands down the front of my dress. I walked towards the mansion, my black curls tied in an elegant bun.

"Cover up," my dad seethed as he tried to hide what I was wearing with his body. A man with blonde hair ran his eyes up and down my body. He winked at me and I immediately blushed turning my head away as my dad whacked the man in the arm, pointing at him. "Hey, Romeo! Keep your grubby little man hands to yourself!"

"Dad!"

"Come on, kid," he muttered angrily as we walked up the steps.

"I'm not even dressed that badly."

I was serious though. I decided to wear a soft pink dress with a jewel neckline, the dress stopped just above my knees. I wore nude strappy heels with freshly painted maroon colored painted toes.

"Abraham," Mrs. Lockwood greeted happily as we came inside. She kissed my dad's cheek. "You look smashing and your daughter is just as lovely."

"Thank you, Carol, for inviting us. This town is practically home to us especially with everyone being so polite."

"I'm gonna go find Elena and Stefan," I told him as I started to walk away.

"Remember," he whispered loudly. "Pepper spray."

I rolled my eyes and went around the room. After looking for them for twenty minutes, I frowned and decided to get a drink. A daffodil appeared in front of me.

"Don't you just look delicious tonight," Damon purred as he walked beside me. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl."

I took the daffodil and stuffed it into my purse causing Damon to laugh."I'm really not in the mood right now, Damon. So act like a tree and leave."

"Funny," he mused. "I could just eat you up."

"Careful, or I might just put a hex on you," I replied as we walked upstairs. "Where's Caroline?"

Damon scoffed. "How should I know?"

"You're her abuser," I told him sarcastically. "You always know where she is."

"Abuser?"

"Yes, did I stutter?" I snapped sharply at him. "Stop whatever you're doing to Caroline. Leave her alone for God's sake."

"You can always take her place-"

I pushed him quickly into an empty room, snarling, "You touch me and you'll deeply regret ever doing so, Damon. Stay away from Elena and Caroline-in fact, stay away from everyone!"

Damon grabbed my arm and suddenly kissed me, his blunt teeth pushing against my own hard. The kiss was passionate, raw, and consuming all in the touch of our lips together. I almost fell for it too. He seemed to have clouded my mind even as I pushed him away. I blinked, breathing heavily, my mind still clouded. Fuzzy actually.

I ran away from Damon as fast as I could, almost tripping down the stairs. Seriously?! Where was my dad to stop boys from kissing me when I needed him most?! Damn that old man, he would probably just encourage Damon to keep kissing me...buddies of the year they practically are.

I went outside to get a breath of fresh air. I noticed my dad actually being social with all of the adults especially Jenna, Elena's aunt. Oh my God! He's blushing and smiling at the same time! Old man's got a crush, eh? This is gonna be exciting…

I quickly grabbed another drink, feeling slightly tipsy. I saw Bonnie sitting alone at a table, blowing out a candle with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, Bon," I greeted. "Are you okay?"

Bonnie stared deeply into the snuffed out candle for a moment before nodding. "Yeah."

"Where's your date?"

"Don't have one."

"Neither do I," I said as I sat down next to her. "You wanna be my date, Miss Bennett?"

Bonnie smiled widely, the worry disappearing from her face. "I would love to, Miss Wilson."

We both laughed as my phone buzzed in my purse. I took it out, smiling at the text that I got.

Matt: You, me, Breakfast Club?

I chuckled and texted back: Come to the Founder's Party and be Bonnie and mine's date? We need some fun around here.

"Who's that?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Matt," I answered.

"Oh," Bonnie drawled with a knowing smile on her face. "So...you and Matt, huh?

I blushed. "We're not together, but he kissed me."

"Why aren't you going for it then?"

"He's still in love with Elena and he's trying to prove to me that he won't run for the hills because of my dad-"

"Matt is the nicest guy I've ever known," Bonnie quickly explained to me. "He would never hurt you and if so then it's by unintentionally. If he says he likes you then he likes you."

I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling. "Thanks, Bonnie. You know that you're an awesome friend, right?"

Bonnie shrugged with a wide smile on her face. "I know...you're all in love with me."

We burst out laughing as people looked at us like we were crazy.

"Cake?" Bonnie suggested and we hooked our arms together as we stood up and walked into the mansion. I looked down at my phone, frowning.

Matt: I don't know, parties like that don't really like outsiders you could say…

"Hey, what happened to smiley Jay a minute ago?" Bonnie asked.

"Matt says that he's not coming because of snotty people," I explained to her with a hint of sadness in my voice.

"Okay, now it's definitely time for some cake," Bonnie told me.

Bonnie and I grabbed a plate of cake then sat on a sofa, stuffing our faces. Elena came over to us, sighing heavily with a troubled expression on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"Stefan," she answered.

"Cake," Bonnie told her firmly, giving her a fork.

Elena smiled at us and sat down with us as she ate off of the both of our plates. "He won't tell me what happened with his ex, Katherine. He has secrets that he's not even willing to share with me. How does he expect me to trust him when all he does is cause doubt in him? I mean I have to know things about him from Damon, that's the only way that I can know. He never wants to talk about his family."

"Katherine was a bad time for him, Elena," I tried explaining to her. "I mean like scarring for him. You've guys been barely dating and you can't just expect someone to open up all that quickly to you, Elena. I get it though, you're worried about the secrets that he's keeping. Well, don't worry about them."

"And why shouldn't she?" Bonnie asked with an amused expression.

"He'll tell you. He's actually a boring person honestly, trust me."

"Do you know about Katherine?" Elena asked suspiciously.

"Not that much, but like I said, I'm not rushing him to tell me. When he's ready, he will tell me," I replied then smiled at her. "Be patient."

I doubt Stefan will ever tell her about what he really is, but I know that Elena may understand where he's coming from when he tells her about Katherine...will she accept him and still see him as the boy she met by the restrooms? I really hope so, they're good for eachother.

"This is my fault," Bonnie said to Elena. "I planted doubt. I'm a doubt-planter."

"It's not your fault." Elena assured her.

"I feel terrible."

"I said I wouldn't get in the middle of it and that's exactly what I did." Elena sighed. "I got all snotty."

Elena, honey, there you are." Mrs. Lockwood greeted as she sat down in the chair across from us. "I notice the watch still isn't in the collection."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I couldn't find it. I guess, it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere," Elena explained.

"I see. Please let me know if you do find it."

"Okay."

After Mrs. Lockwood walked away from us, I raised an eyebrow at Elena. "So what really happened to the watch?"

Elena sighed and smiled at me. "The watch is passed down to the first born son and before my dad had died, he was going to give it to Jer...I decided to give it to him. It's more important to let him have it than in some display for people to stare at. Too precious actually."

I saw Damon go upstairs with Caroline quickly following him and I quickly told Elena, "Hey, I'll be right back, okay?"

I went up the stairs as silent as possible, seeing Caroline guarding the door until she turned her back, telling him, " Uh You're not supposed to touch."

"What?!" I heard Damon yell, sounds of things being thrown were heard. "Where the hell is it?"

"Is what, Damon?" Caroline asked meekly.

"A very important crystal."

"Well, how did you know that it was there?"

"Because I put it there," he growled at her.

"When?"

"A long time ago."

"Well, maybe you misplaced it," Caroline suggested lowly.

"I think I would remember where I put it in the first place, Caroline," he seethed at her, once I heard her squeak, I stepped inside of the room.

"Something wrong, Damon?" I asked, smiling. "You weren't the only one who knew about that crystal, Damon."

Damon looked shocked for a moment then his face morphed into anger. "Where is it? Tell me where it is or I'll kill everyone you've ever cared about!"

"No, I don't think I will. You kill everyone then I'll kill myself and then you'll never find out where it is," I explained to him. "Now you behave like a good little vampire, loverboy and maybe I might give it back to you."

I turned around and started to walk away, but not before warning Damon, "Emily says 'Hi'. Have a nice night, loverboy."

I walked out of the room and froze as I walked down the stairs. "Matt."

There stood Matt at the bottom of the steps, smiling in his black suit and light blue tie. "Jay...you look amazing."

"Thank you and you look hot," I replied as I came down the stairs. "You came."

"Well, you did say that you needed some fun so here I am," Matt chuckled and held out his arm. "My lady."

"Good sir," I replied softly and looped our arms together as we made our way to the dance floor. I put my head on his shoulder as he held me close to him. We danced the night away, laughing hysterically.

"Oh my God, I can't believe your dad did that to you," Matt laughed. "You were only six. It's not like you were gonna have sex that young. Was he that terrified of guys trying to get with his little girl or something?

I nodded. "Yup, he's always been that crazy. Literally every guy that I've ever met has run out of our house, tripping over things as my dad chased them with some potion or mixed chemicals that can cause serious skin damage."

Matt twirled me around and then wrapped his arm around my waist. "Well, don't worry. I'll be ready for him when he comes after me."

"I'm surprised he hasn't right now. He can usually sniff out guys whenever one is near me."

"I guess I'll just have to mask my scent with some of Vicki's perfume or something," Matt joked.

"You better if you value your life," I mused then glanced around. "Where is my dad?"

My phone buzzed and I pulled away from him, looking down at my phone. "Hold on, it's Stefan."

I answered, "Hey, what's up?"

"Damon's locked up in the cellar of the boarding house, I spiked Caroline's drink then he went to bite her, he went down with her."

I moved away from Matt, whispering, "Oh my God, is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Elena found her. Damon is weakened so Zach and I are gonna take care of him."

"I'll help you guys."

"Why?"

"Damon wouldn't have touched Caroline if I hadn't pissed him off earlier," I admitted softly.

"Why? What happened?"

"I'll come over and explain to you. See you later."

I hung up and looked sadly at Matt. "Listen, I've got to go right now."

"It's okay."

"I'm really sorry-"

"How about you make it up to me? How about the Grill on Sunday…"

I nodded then kissed his cheek. "Okay. My dad will come too just to warn you. He'll be sitting in a booth, trying to blend in like he's some secret agent."

Matt laughed. "I'll be ready for him."

"Bye, wonderboy."

I walked away from Matt and saw a text from my dad saying that he was staying a little late since he was still talking to Jenna and told me to drive his car home. I got inside of the car and drove to the boarding house. I walked up the pathway, the silence was peaceful and calming for once now that Damon was locked up.

I felt good suddenly as I stepped inside of the house, calling out to them, "You know you guys should really lock the door! I mean some psycho could just waltz right in...excluding me of course."

Stefan and Zach walked into the living room. "So what happened?"

"Damon was looking for this," I said as I reached into my purse and pulled out the amber crystal, both Zach and Stefan came closer, inspecting it. "I took it awhile ago."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but Emily Bennett wanted me to find it and destroy it," I explained to them.

"Why didn't you?" Zach asked me curiously.

"I don't know. Something inside of my gut told me not to-I don't know honestly," I told them.

"What does it do exactly?" Zach inquired as he took it in his hand.

"We're not going to find out," Stefan said as he took it back and gave it back to me. "Whatever it is, it's powerful enough for Damon to use and probably hurt people. Emily wanted you to destroy for a good reason, she always wanted to protect people as every Bennett does so destroy it, Jay."

"But, Uncle Stefan, we can use this to find out what Damon is really up to," Zach tried to explain to Stefan.

"I trust Emily and if she told you to destroy it then destroy it,:' Stefan advised me. "What if Damon has it? All Hell would break loose and we all can't let that happen."

"Thank you for staying so late." Mayor Lockwood told them as he came into the room, closing the door.

"Did you get the Gilbert watch?" Sheriff Forbes asked.

"She claims it's packed away in her parents' things." Carol explained.

"I can get it." Logan Fell told them

"Good, we're gonna need it." Sheriff Forbes reminded them.

"Are you sure?"

"Five bodies all drained of blood," Sheriff Forbes responded. "At first with the car accident, I wasn't sure, but I got a professional opinion."

Abraham Wilson smirked at all of them. "And thank you for calling me, Liz. I've studied these creatures for all of my life."

"So you're certain?" Mayor Lockwood asked.

"I'm certain. I've killing these creatures."

"They've come back."

"Don't worry, I'm a professional." You could say that I'm the best hunter out there. My wife loved this town and I want to protect the people and that means my daughter."

TBC…

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