A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! The two of us have been pretty busy lately with school and with Nanowrimo (Writing a 50,000 page story in a single month, speaking of you should check out Kitsune's original story "Red Riding Hoodie" which is on the nanowrimo website, its amazing! Once again, we apologize for the delay!

Chapter Twenty

Ghost of Me by Daughtry

Don't look over your shoulder
'Cause that's just the ghost of me you're seein' in your dreams
Wait, there's no rhyme or reason
Sometimes there's no meanin' in the visions when you're sleepin'
Don't wake up and believe them
You're lookin' at the ghost of me

Le Mort Belle was near the French Quarter. It had been around for…a decade or so. The outside of it was a dark red with black strips on it.

Jordyn held in a sigh as she looked up at the building. Her emerald eyes shone with the fear that she hid within her self.

She was anxious.

Why, out of the many nightclubs in New Orleans, did Damon choose this one?

Jordyn took a deep breath and glanced a Damon who seemed annoyed.

A slight smirk crossed her face. Just like it always was, the line to gain entrance into Le Mort Belle was long. Damon, being his usual overconfident cocky self, had tried to compel the bouncer to let them in without waiting in line.

Jordyn had watched this from a distance with amusement knowing what Damon did not.

The bouncer was a vampire.

Needless to say, that didn't work and now they were at the very end of the line with a three hour wait…at least.

"How's your shoulder?" Jordyn inquired, eyes on the shoulder the bouncer had crushed.

"Better." Damon rubbed it as he shot a scowl at the bouncer. "How much time do you think it'd take me to dispose of Muscles over there?"

Jordyn arched an eyebrow. "Considering he looks like a pro wrestler…never."

Damon smirked. "What, don't think I can?"

"No, I know you can't." Jordyn stated, a small grin appearing on her face before it faded as she looked back at the nightclub. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

When she opened her eyes, Damon's face was inches from hers. She blinked, face becoming red. "Ever hear of a little thing called personal space?"

"Nope." Damon smirked before asking seriously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Jordyn said a little too quickly.

"Mmhm." It was obvious Damon didn't believe her. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "And why do I not believe that?"

"Because you're mentally challenged." Jordyn retorted.

"More than likely." He grinned.

Jordyn bit her lower lip and looked from her friend to the club and then back to Damon. "Damon." She said slowly.

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you really want to wait three hours to get in?"

He shrugged. "Not really but Muscles won't let us in unless we wait in line like good little boys and girls."

Jordyn sighed. "If I could…get the bouncer to let us in right now, would you do what I say for the rest of this trip?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Trust me. If I couldn't beat that guy, you can't."

Jordyn gritted her teeth in annoyance. "I'm not planning on being an idiot and picking a fight."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. Answer me. If I can get him to let us in right now will you do what I say for the rest of the trip?"

Damon pondered this before smirking. "Scout's honor."

Jordyn rolled her eyes. "Damon, I know for a fact you were never in the scouts."

"Stalking me huh?" His smirk grew.

"Damon, by the time the Boy Scouts were created, you were over sixty at least."

"So? I could've still joined."

Jordyn arched an eyebrow at the mental image of Damon surrounded by a group of little boys. "Pedophile." She remarked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna get us in or are we staying out in line?"

Jordyn sighed before her face became guarded. "Follow me."

The two went back up towards the front of the long line to where the bouncer stood. The bouncer scowled as they approached. "Haven't had enough?" He questioned Damon, taking a threatening step forward.

Damon smirked. "Any time, any place."

"Enough with the 'who's more macho' contest." Jordyn turned to the bouncer and pointed at the electronic device he held in his hand. "I'm on the other list." She put an emphasis on the word 'other'.

The bouncer raised an eyebrow. "I doubt that. I know everyone on that list. Actually friends with most of them." He narrowed his grey-blue eyes. "Who are you?"

Sighing, she glanced at Damon before looking back to the bouncer. "Jordyn Jacobs."

Damon frowned at the last name. Everyone in Mystic Falls knew her as Jordyn Andrews. An alias? More than likely.

The bouncer's eyes widened and he took another couple of steps closer. His eyes examined her in surprise. "Jordyn? No way." At her scowl, a wide grin crossed his face. "It really is you!" He pulled her into a tight hug.

Jordyn blinked a few seconds in confusion before realization appeared on her face. "Gabe?" A small laugh that contained wonder escaped the witch's lips.

Damon was right by them in an instant, eyes narrowed with a frown on his face. "Why is Muscle For Brains hugging you?"

Gabriel let go of Jordyn and scowled at the vampire. "What'd you call me?"

Jordyn groaned, a smile still on her face as she stepped in between the two. "No fighting, guys." She looked at Gabriel. "Gabe, this idiot here is my friend Damon Salvatore. Damon, meet Gabriel Larieux." Turning to Damon, she explained. "Gabriel is one of the very, very few I trust." It had been partially thanks to him that she had managed to escape from Klaus after…yeah, not something she really wanted to think about.

Damon arched an eyebrow at Gabriel. Jordyn didn't trust anyone without just cause, he knew.

Gabriel briefly nodded at Damon before beckoning for the other bouncer to take his place.

"Come on." He and Jordyn walked towards where the back entrance was with Damon following them, unusually silent.

Gabriel opened the door and held it open for Jordyn, who nodded in thanks before walking in, a now almost haunted expression on her face as she walked straight up a nearby pair of stairs without waiting for the other two to follow.

Before Damon could step through, Gabriel stepped in front of Damon with a scowl on his face. "I've heard about you before. If you ever cause that girl any more pain than she's already gone through, I will make use of your eternity of life to torture you every single second of it." Before Damon could growl a response, Gabriel was already gone.

Jordyn walked through the upper level of the club, her emerald eyes taking in everything as she followed the path she knew by heart.

Her eyes were soft as she remembered all of the other times she had been here. Remembered the unquenchable happiness this place used to bring her.

She slowed to a stop in front of a door that said on a nameplate towards the top of it 'Club Owner'.

It was hard for her to breathe as she slowly put her hand on the knob and turned it, pushing the door open.

"Looks like nothing has changed." The witch remarked quietly, noting the desk in the corner that only took up a small place in the room. The rest of the room had multiple bookcases against the walls, completely filled with books.

The only other things in the room were an old armchair and a mini refrigerator, the last of which she knew to be hidden under the desk.

Emerald eyes rested on the armchair, a blank expression on her face as memories from many…activities that had taken place on that piece of furniture coursed throughout her mind, invoking pain.

New Orleans, Nine Months Ago

"So, what shall we do today?" Lucas arched an eyebrow at the brunette who was currently laying in his arms.

"No clue." Jordyn murmured. She wouldn't have cared if she never had to move from this spot for all eternity. She liked the feeling of his arms wrapped around her.

"I can think of a few things." The vampire whispered into her ear mischievously, causing a laugh to escape the witch's lips.

It still amazed Jordyn how happy this annoying Cajun made her. "What will you do when Gabe decides to come looking for us?" She whispered back with more than a bit of mischief in her tone as well, her green eyes glittering as she turned her head so she could look up at his face.

"Kill him if he interrupts us." Lucas murmured against her neck as he kissed his way down it, causing pleasant shudders to go through Jordyn's body.

"Mmm, I'll help." She replied in agreement, turning so that she could attach her lips to his.

"Je t'aime, mon ange." Lucas whispered against the warm lips of his lover. "Jamais." To a vampire, forever really meant forever.

Jordyn was quiet for a moment before saying quietly with a small smile. "I love you too." She did. She honestly didn't know what she would do if she lost him.

For the first time in years, she felt whole somewhere else besides by Klaus's side.

Present Day

"Of course." Gabriel remarked in answer to Jordyn's statement as he appeared behind her with a solemn look on his handsome face. His grey eyes met Jordyn's green ones. "I figured it…wasn't my right to do so." He gave Jordyn a pointed look.

Jordyn stared at him in disbelief. "Gabe, I'm the one with the least right to do anything with his things! I'm the…" Her voice became quieter, "I'm the reason he's dead."

Damon, who had just came up right before that sentence, looked surprised before the surprise faded into something that almost resembled sympathy.

Staring at Jordyn, who was faced away from him, Damon's eyes softened slightly before he suddenly straightened and cleared his throat to let the two know that he was there.

To Gabriel, Damon sent a glare which the other returned. Damon instinctively didn't like Gabriel. He didn't know why, but something about the guy just…pissed him off.

Especially the way the other vampire's arm was wrapped around Jordyn's shoulders.

Looking at Jordyn, Damon let the glare go and crossed his arms. His face softened slightly when he noticed the unshed tears in Jordyn's eyes. "Everything all right?" He asked quietly, shooting the brown haired vampire a dark look.

Jordyn nodded, quickly wiping away the tears that wanted to come out, She hated showing weakness in front of anyone. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I don't trust Muscles over here." Damon nodded towards Gabriel.

Gabriel scowled. "Listen here punk-"

"Enough." Jordyn growled, causing the two to look at her in surprise. "Gabe," She looked at the grey eyed vampire, "Damon was just…concerned or something. He didn't mean to offend you and-"

"Yes I did." Damon interrupted.

Jordyn shot him a look and continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "-and he's very sorry." Damon arched an eyebrow at that last part.

"Now, no more fighting each other, understand? Or I'll make Prometheus's punishment look like a tropical paradise."

"Who's Prometheus?" Damon asked amused.

"Dumbass." Gabriel muttered.

"Greek mythology." Jordyn stated. "Prometheus gave humans fire. Zeus got pissed. Prometheus gets chained to a rock where a vulture or something tears his liver out everyday for the rest of eternity."

"Sounds like fun." Damon remarked dryly.

Aiden groaned. He had lost track of Valyk…again. Or was it Varian? The possession of Valyk's body kept changing over and over again.

Aiden preferred it when Valyk was in control. Out of the two, Valyk was more level headed and calm.

Varian on the other hand…

Aiden shook his head. "Why me?" He complained.

His cell phone buzzed. Picking it up, he noticed the Elijah had sent him a text message. Curious as to what brother dearest wanted now, he opened the message only to feel as if his blood was running cold as he read the words.

Jordyn is coming to Boston.

-Elijah

"Damn it!" Aiden grumbled. He was so gonna be in deep shit. He knew if Klaus got a hold of Jordyn, bad things would happen to her.

And since Aiden was, for the moment, 'assisting' Klaus in getting Cassie…

He had two choices. He glared at the phone in his hand as he deleted the message.

What do I do now? He sat on the hotel bed, dark jade green eyes looking lost. Why me? He thought once again as he buried his face into his hands.

He had two choices.

Live, and turn Jordyn over to Klaus.

Die, and protect his princess from certain death.

Decisions, decisions.

Self-preservation was the only way he had managed to survive for so long after Cassandra's… A growl escaped his mouth as he punched the wall, leaving a dent from where his fist had connected with it.

"Why me?"

Valyk stared at the setting sun from his seat on the park bench. It was as beautiful as he remembered.

Being only half vampire, the sun had no effect on him. His demon side, however, was naturally weakened during the daylight hours.

"Your unusually quiet today brother." He remarked in his mind to Varian, who snorted.

"Why would you think that?"

Valyk didn't respond. His golden eyes watched quietly as a little boy tripped and fell. Almost in an instant, the boy's mother was by her son's side, comforting him.

A familiar longing panged inside of Valyk.

"Varian…is killing…is killing Cassandra really…" He sighed.

"What the hell are you talking about! That bitch deserves to die! Well, die again. Whatever!"

"You really think so?" Valyk asked out loud, mirthless humor in his tone.

"Of course! Besides, after she dies maybe we can…"

"Get your body back?"

"Exactly."

Gabriel had left to go back to his job as bouncer/guard.

Jordyn was currently sitting at the bar, sipping out of a small glass. A scowl crossed her face as she eyed all of the females in skimpy outfits hanging on to Damon.

She gritted her teeth and look away as she felt her eyes become silver.

She was annoyed, anger flittering though her.

Why did she hate seeing Damon surrounded by women? Why should she care? The two of them were just friends, after all.

Just friends… Jordyn sullenly took another sip out of her glass.

What was this feeling she felt? She froze, suddenly recognizing it.

Jealousy.

Damon smirked at the women hanging on him. He snuck a look at the bar where Jordyn was sitting and his blue eyes suddenly hardened, watching as some blonde guy walked over to her and started talking to her, obviously flirting.

Anger coursed through him though why he didn't know.

Shaking his head, he put a charming smile back on as he turned back to the crowd of women around him. After all, it wasn't any of his business who Jordyn talked to.

His decision did a complete 180 when he saw out of the corner of his eye the guy lean forward and kiss Jordyn on the mouth.

"Excuse me ladies." Damon remarked, going straight towards the bar.

"What's a hot woman like you doing over here?"

Jordyn looked up from her glass with a raised eyebrow at the blonde man who stood next to her. He looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties.

Creep, Jordyn thought. "What do you want?"

The man shrugged, a seemingly innocent smile on his face. "I thought you looked lonely. I'm Mark." He held his hand out for her to shake.

Jordyn eyed it amused, noticing that a white circular mark was on his ring finger. Married, she thought with disgust.

Rolling her eyes, she shook it. "Now can you go?"

He ignored her. "What's your name?"

Jordyn let out an annoyed breath. "Classified info." She looked over at Damon and saw him glancing over at her annoyed.

"Come one. Please?"

"Look, I have a boyfriend." She lied. "So leave me the hell alone."

The next thing she knew, Mark was kissing her.

Before she could even react, the man was pulled away from her.

Jordyn blinked, seeing Damon there with a scowl on his face as he held onto the man by the back of the neck. "What do you think you're doing?" Damon let the guy go.

Mark stuttered, "Y-You're her b-boyfriend? S-Sorry about that." He fled the vicinity as fast as humanly possible which amused Jordyn for some odd reason.

Jordyn grimaced. "You wouldn't happen to have any mouthwash on hand would you?"

Damon arched an eyebrow, the scowl still on his face.

"Calm down, D." Jordyn put a hand on his arm. Staring at him, she realized something. "You were jealous."

"Was not." Damon retorted stubbornly.

Jordyn arched an eyebrow. "Okay then. I'll just go find some guy to make out with then."

Damon glared at her and she laughed at his expression.

"See? Told you s-"

Jordyn was cut off as his lips connected to hers. It wasn't as if this was the first time they had kissed, third actually, but this one was…different.

Jordyn relaxed into it, her left hand resting lightly on the side of his face.

The kiss was fierce yet…in some strange way, it was gentle.

Damon had his arms wrapped around her waist. He hated to admit it, but Jordyn was right. Seeing that scumbag kiss her had made him jealous.

Damon pulled back slowly, eyes looking down at her as her wide silvery-green eyes looked up at him.

Jordyn couldn't speak. All she could do was stare. She hated clichés but…her entire body felt alive.

She liked Damon.

She liked Damon.

A teasing smile appeared on his face, pale blue eyes looking at her intently. "Jordyn speechless. That's a first."

"I…that…we…." Jordyn shook her head before looking at Damon. "What was that?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "A kiss. You know, when two lips pucker up and-"

"I'm serious." Jordyn stated, an unusual vulnerability surrounding her. "Why did you kiss me?"

Damon frowned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "I…don't know."

"What are we to each other?" Jordyn was more than a little confused. Her emotions were already in utter turmoil because of the memories of Lucas that had been surfacing throughout her head. And then Damon kissed her.

She could still remember the warmth of his mouth on hers.

"I really don't know." Damon said slowly, a frown now on his face. Not even he fully understood what was going on with them.

For some reason, that irked Jordyn. "You know what? I'll see you later." She turned away and went towards the exit, leaving Damon still standing in the same spot with his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes remained down to the side.

His face becoming guarded, he grabbed Jordyn's glass and downed the contents in one gulp.

Jordyn sighed as she stepped out of the club, the cool night breeze hitting her. Stupid, she thought as her eyes went back to the building. Why did she even storm out? For what reason?

Because.

She was confused. Everything was changing. Her life was changing.

For the longest time, the only person she could rely on had been Klaus. He had been like a brother to her. Then, Lucas had wormed his way into her heart…and his death had caused a hole to appear in her heart.

After that, she was alone. She hated Klaus. Hated herself. She had nothing.

Just when she had been about to let the darkness consume her, Elijah had given her a way out. A way to escape.

Meeting Kiara…the half demon had given her a friend, someone to trust.

And then there was Damon…

Jordyn let loose an annoyed breath. Why did life have to be so fucking difficult? She was completely confused. Her emotions were haywire. She missed Lucas. She had loved him after all…so then why did being around Damon Salvatore otherwise known as King Pain in the Ass cause the hole left by Lucas to…well, not disappear exactly but…cause it's pain to lessen?

"Damn it." The witch whispered annoyed. This was the last thing she needed. Especially with Klaus willing to do anything to get his precious little weapon back.

"Why is my life so screwed up?" She wondered out loud.

"Because in the end, the only person you truly care about is yourself." A voice to her left remarked.

Jordyn spun around, her eyes narrowing to slits. "You. I thought you were dead."

"In a manner of speaking." The man flashed her a fanged smirk. "What would Lucas say about you kissing someone else? Then again, you always were an ice cold bitch."

"What do you want?" She hissed.

The man tilted his head, fury enveloping his face. "Your death."

Jordyn snorted. "Any more bad movie clichés? No? Good." She held out her arm and a stake slid into her hand from out of her sleeve. Her eyes narrowed. "Because I'm really not in the mood to be messed with right now Dimitri."

Meanwhile…

"So what are we going to do today?" Kiara asked Tyler curiously as she walked outside, following him.

Tyler smirked at her before tossing her his keys, which she barely managed to catch. "Today, I'm teaching you how to drive."

Kiara's whole face immediately brightened up even more. "A car? Really?" She had mentioned to him before about wanting to learn how to drive that way Jordyn wouldn't have to do all of the driving for them.

"What else?" Tyler chuckled as he shook his head before looking at her. "So, do you want to?"

"In the words of Jordyn…duh!" Kiara laughed, a big smile lighting up her whole face.

Tyler smiled back. "Alright then. Let's go."

Kiara slid into the driver's seat, literally bouncing in excitement. She couldn't believe she was actually going to be driving. Tyler got in and shut the passenger door.

"Okay, first you have to put the key into the ignition."

"Got it!" Kiara stated happily. There was silence for a minute as Tyler waited for her to do it, however she did nothing. After a moment, Kiara looked at Tyler. "What's an ignition?"

Tyler blinked before arching an eyebrow at the girl as he looked at her to see if she was being serious. She was. He sighed and shook his head, wondering just where Kiara had grown up that she didn't even know something simple like that. He already knew the thing about her and Jordyn being sisters was a lie, which made him wonder what went on in her past.

After showing her how to put the key in and turn the car on, Tyler said, "Alright, now put the car into drive and press your foot on the gas pedal." He pointed to the two things as he stated them that way she would know what was what.

"Okay!" Kiara said happily. She looked at the stick thingy that Tyler had pointed to. It had a bunch of different letters on it, including a 'D' and a 'R'. Which one puts it into drive? She wondered before going with 'R', deciding that the 'R' meant right away as in to drive off right then and there.

Pressing her foot down on the gas pedal hard, she frowned as suddenly they zipped backwards. She lifted her foot off of it confused and, in the next instant, a loud crash could be heard.

When all of the dust in the air cleared, Kiara blinked. Tyler looked horrified as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

The two got out of the car and, as Kiara looked at the house, she tilted her head. "I don't think Jordyn will notice."

Tyler looked from Kiara, who truly seemed to believe what she had said, to the gaping hole that was now a part of the house. "In what universe?" Tyler remarked, sarcasm rich in his voice.

Kiara looked at him confused. "This one…right?"

Tyler didn't speak and the two simply stared at the huge hole along with the wall plaster that lay all around.

They crashed the car...into the side of the house! O.o I wonder how Jordyn will react to a huge gaping hole in the house?

Please review! Oh and check out the banner MissAdamSavani made for the story! The link is on my profile :D

Also, the name of the nightclub is French for The Beautiful Dead, hence the name of the title (ironic, considering the owner's a vampire lol) Sometimes, its good to have friends who took French instead of Spanish in high school