Thanks grapejuice101 and Brookeworm3 for all the advice and your dedication to my story!
Chapter 38
"This spell won't last forever." Sheila warned and Melinda nodded. "It's potency will only go for so long before it cannot go any longer."
"But it will save her? Please tell me it will save my daughter, Sheila."
"Yes…should what you've seen happen…it will save her, but it will cost you. Are you certain this is what you want to do?"
Melinda frowned and nodded. "Yes. Jane didn't ask for this curse to be put upon her. If I can do one thing for her…I will do it."
Shelia took her hands. "This spell will send you into coma, Melinda. A deep one and as long as your vision remains untrue you will remain asleep. The moment, that turns untrue…You will pass over and the spell will be released."
"Anything to protect my baby girl. She's all that's left. For centuries, our ancestors have been pursued and killed. If I cannot prevent the event from happening to her, I can at least save my daughter, save our lineage."
The Bennett witch began chanting lowly, holding Melinda's hands and casted the spell that would change Jane's fate forever.
Alaric let himself into the dance studio. Jane had given him a set of keys so he could move some of his equipment into the back of the studio. The girl had been agitated since the funerals a few days ago and she was moving things around and packing up things. Keeping busy and constantly on the move. It was a little concerning that Damon hadn't tried to stop her from running crazy, but then again, things had been relatively quiet from the boarding house. He hadn't spoken with Damon recently and he got the feeling Jane hadn't either.
He looked into the back room and sighed. The punching bag went spinning and she hit it again forcefully, her posture tense. She was using the workout equipment for her frustration again and she was going to run herself ragged if she continued to push herself so hard.
Jane fought back tears of frustration. She had staked a friend, she had lost her mother, Katherine was in the house with Damon…Things were spiraling out of control. She had gotten a call from someone this morning who wanted to buy the studio from her… Angrily, Jane punched the bag over and over.
"Jane." Alaric's voice came from behind her. The girl paid him no heed and kept punching at the bag angrily. Her punches were wild and untimed.
"Jane, stop it." Alaric took her wrist and she scowled at him, tears burning her eyes. "You keep hitting it like that and your break something. Look at your knuckles." He held both of her hands. "Didn't I tell you that you needed the gloves? Or at least a wrap around them?" Purple and blue bruises covered the knuckles of both hands the middle knuckle of her right hand had a break in the skin. "I'm letting you use this stuff because I thought you wanted to learn how to defend yourself. I don't want you using it if you're doing it to shut out your emotions." He looked at her and frowned. "Jane?" He asked and she hugged him tightly. Alaric sighed and stroked her hair. "It's okay." He murmured. In past few days he and Jane had gotten a little closer.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Tell that to your knuckles." He teased and she smiled faintly. "Look, I understand the need to work out your frustrations. I pushed myself so hard to find Isobel. But it's not worth the pain, Jane." She sighed and nodded.
"Yeah…"
"What got you so upset?"
Jane turned around and went to get her school things from the table in the corner. "I got a call from someone who wants this building."
"Oh." Alaric frowned. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing, yet. I don't know what to do."
"Jane, you've managed to run this studio by yourself and paid the bills and everything. You are more than capable to keep this place. You don't have to sell it."
"I know…"
Alaric sighed. "I'm going to put some more stuff in the back and then I'll take you to school."
Jane nodded and went back to the front of the studio. As she passed the ballet room, she stopped and went inside. She glanced around the empty room desolately, remembering how this was the first room she had practiced dancing in. Before she knew it she was in front of the mirrors, her fingers touching the cool glass gently.
"That's very good." Melinda smiled as her daughter copied her moves in the mirror. The five-year-old smiled at her. "I want to be just like you, mommy."
Melinda knelt behind Jane, looking at her in the mirror. "Well, I want you to be Jane."
"How can I be Jane? I am Jane." She giggled and her mother smiled.
"One day, you'll understand. You are the only you in the entire world, my Janey. So be special, be unique, and never try to be someone you're not."
"Then I want to dance just like you, mommy."
"You will baby girl and you'll be even better."
Jane smiled at her mother before twirling in her pink tutu. "Let's dance more!" Melinda laughed and took her arms to help position her.
"Start here and one…two…three…"
"Jane?"
The girl turned from the mirrors to see Alaric watching her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I was just…thinking." She said quietly and hurried out of the room, with stinging eyes, but she never let the tears fall.
"So, uh…Damon didn't want to take you school?" Alaric asked, looking over at Jane who was putting her sunglasses on.
"He's busy. So I didn't ask." She replied and shoved her hair up into a ponytail.
"Oh." He stated. "And Elena and Stefan are going together?"
"Well, they just got back from the cabin, I didn't want to bother them." She fidgeted. "I…I didn't bother you did I?"
"No, no, of course not." Alaric reassured her gently. "You know you don't. I was just surprised you asked me too that's all. I figured you would ask your friends. I'm kind of surprised that you're even going to school. I thought maybe you would-"
"Stay out of school for a while?" She finished with a sigh. "I…I'm getting behind and I have a lot of missed homework to do. I can't miss anymore." Alaric tapped the steering wheel lightly. He was concerned that Jane was trying to bottle up her emotions. She had already packed up a lot of her mother's things. All on her own.
"I noticed that you were boxing up some stuff." He said casually, not entirely sure how to bring it up. He wasn't her father, but he wanted to help her in some way, he owed her father that much at least.
Jane nodded. "Yeah."
"You know you don't have to do that alone, don't you? Damon or Elena or well, any of your friends would help you…" He trailed off. "I would too." He added hastily.
"It's just some things I don't need anymore. I don't want to bother anybody with it. I mean it's my mo-It's my stuff so I should deal with it."
Alaric shook his head. "Don't do anything rash, Jane. I know it must hurt to see things that remind you of your mom and your dad too, but you can't just ignore it. If you sell them, you won't have those memories anymore."
"I know."
"Then why? Don't you want your mother's things?"
"I don't want to talk about it." She said stiffly.
"Jane."
"I said no." She snapped. "Just please…Can we talk about something else?"
Alaric sighed. She was clenching and unclenching one fist in her lap and he knew she was bottling up her emotions. "Does Damon even know you're going to school? Have you even spoken to him?"
She sighed. "He has an unwanted house guest to worry about. I couldn't stand to be in the same house any longer."
"Who?"
"Katherine."
Alaric groaned. "Seriously? What the hell is she doing here?"
"I don't know, but it was definitely an incentive for me to stay at home. I don't want to be around her. It's a big house, but she always managed to be in the same room I was in or Damon was in. Whining and complaining."
Alaric frowned. "How long have you been alone?" That wasn't good. No wonder she was so worked up. She probably never even spoke to anyone since the funeral and she probably never let anyone help her either.
"Since Wednesday."
"Jane, you haven't spoken to anyone in five days? Other than me?"
Jane looked out the window. "All anyone wants to talk about is…I just didn't want them to have to stop what they were doing."
"You know…I'm sure Elena would be more than happy to talk to you, Jane."
"I don't want to talk about it, Ric. I don't want to hear it. Please." She said, clenching her fists in her lap. "I just wish that everyone would stop."
"You can't ignore it."
"If I ignore it, I can move on."
"It's been a week since the funeral, Jane. You need help."
She didn't respond for a second. "How are you and Jenna?" She asked, changing the subject and Alaric sighed.
"She and I…" He trailed off with a pained expression.
"You're not together? Oh, I'm sorry." She sounded like her old self and she touched his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just…I wish I didn't have to lie to her you know?"
"I'm sorry."
Alaric smiled at her. "It's okay, Jane. Really." The girl was silent for the rest of the drive.
"What is she doing here?" Elena asked, scowling at the vampire across from her. Katherine had ruined her morning with Stefan.
"When we killed Elijah, it broke the compulsion and freed the bitch from the tomb." Damon replied with a roll of his eyes. "She ran Jane out of the house during her unwelcome stay."
"It's not my fault she's on a wild spiral of emotions." Damon narrowed his eyes at her and Katherine shrugged.
"How's that possible?" Stefan asked.
"He's an Original. They have all sorts of special skills." She told him, smirking slightly with the knowledge that she had fooled them all earlier by pretending to be Elena.
"I don't want her here. Get her out of here." Elena glared at her.
"You need me, Elena. You all do." The vampire smiled at her knowingly.
"Like hell." Stefan scoffed.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "We all want the same thing... Klaus dead. Yet here you all are, running around like chickens with their heads cut off."
"I don't need your help and I don't want it." Elena told her angrily.
"And that's incredibly stupid of you." She replied. "Do you know where Klaus? When he's coming? What he looks like?" She inquired, tilting her head.
"If you know something say it or get out." Damon said warningly his patience worn thin. The vampire had run Jane out of the house earlier in the week and he was not in the mood to play.
"The only other one that might know what Klaus looks like is Jane and I guarantee she's not about to make a peep anytime soon."
"What do you mean she might know what he looks like?" Damon scowled.
"She's probably dreamt of him." Katherine rolled her eyes. "She's a seer, remember? But she probably wouldn't know who it was she was dreaming about."
"The nightmares." Damon muttered, frowning. "She's been having a lot of them."
"Could be she's seeing her death in a constant replay. That's got to be tough on top of losing her mother." In seconds, Damon had her pressed against the wall.
"Leave her alone, Katherine. I mean it."
Katherine gripped at his hand. "I told you it was futile to keep her safe. She's a walking target." She gasped.
Stefan frowned and grabbed Damon's arm to keep him from choking her further. "Damon, let her go. She's right. We don't know what he looks like." Damon shoved Katherine away from him.
"Get out." Damon snapped at her.
Katherine shrugged. "Fine. Then I'll just go to the Grill and have some lunch... maybe Aunt Jenna's free for a bite." The other three exchanged looks of frustration. Looked like Katherine was staying a while.
"Jane!" She turned to see Matt and managed a smile. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you in today."
She shrugged. "I can't stay out forever." He nodded and then sighed.
"Guess you haven't heard from Tyler?"
"No." Jane murmured. She still couldn't believe he had just left town without a word. "I hope he's okay."
"Me too." Matt nodded and then rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry, Jane."
She nodded. "Thanks, Matt." She looked at the flyer on the wall. "Ooh, a live band. Sounds fun." She managed another smile at him.
"Yeah." He laughed. "If they're good at least."
"Hey, Janey." She turned to see Caroline. "I'm so glad you came."
"Well, I kind of needed too, you know?" The blonde vampire nodded at her before turning to Matt.
"Live band?"
Jane saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. Her mother was standing at the end of the hallway. But it couldn't be her…she had seen her dead body…
"Hey, hey are you okay?" Matt asked, taking her shoulder. Jane shrieked and dropped her books. "Whoa! Easy, Janey. I didn't mean to scare you. You just kind of freaked out."
"Freaking out? Who's freaking out? No, I-I'm fine…Yeah…Okay." Her mother was gone, having either not really been there or she saw a ghost she wasn't sure which.
"Are you sure?" Caroline asked, looking at her intently. "But you looked pretty scared." She was silently asking with her eyes if Jane had seen something supernatural.
"I'm fine…"
"Are you sure you should be at school?"
Jane narrowed her eyes as Matt handed her the dropped school books. "Life doesn't stop when tragedy strikes, Caroline." She said a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Wouldn't they stop asking that?! Her eyes widened and she gasped apologetically at her behavior. "I-I'm sorry. Excuse me. I have to get to class. I'll-I'll see you guys later." Jane went off towards her class and Caroline turned to Matt who was frowning after her.
"That was…very un-Jane-like."
Matt nodded. "Yeah…I don't think she's handling things as well as she seems." He turned to her. "Speaking of which…" Caroline sighed.
Bonnie found Jane at one of the picnic tables. "Can I join you for lunch?"
The girl nodded and moved her things so Bonnie could set her bag down. The witch looked up at Jane once she was done setting up her lunch. Jane was turning an apple over and over in her hand, watching the fruit. She had heard from Caroline about her freak out earlier.
"What happened to your hands?"
"Punching bag."
Bonnie arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Is that all you brought?" She indicated the apple.
"I forgot to pack something this morning. Alaric gave me this." She murmured, finally ceasing to spin the fruit and bit into it.
"That was nice of him." Bonnie commented. Jane nodded. "You want some of my sandwich?"
"No, that's okay."
The witch reached across and touched her arm. "Jane, you know you can talk to me right?"
"Please don't, Bonnie." Jane begged. "I know what you're going to say. Caroline told you."
"You're not doing well, Jane. You look tired and Alaric said-"
"Alaric said? Great. Now everyone's talking about me?" Jane scowled.
"It's not like that. We just feel that-"
"You don't know how I feel. No one does." She snapped. "I'm fine. I'm here at school. What else does everyone want from me?"
Bonnie frowned. "Jane, please. We're just concerned. Caroline said you saw something."
"It wasn't anything." Jane shook her head.
"Alaric told me you've been alone, Jane. Have you spoken to Damon? Does he know you haven't been staying at anyone's house?"
"Why does everyone ask me that!?" Jane groaned. "He and I blood bonded Bonnie! He felt what I felt at my…At the funeral… We need space! I can't stand…He's stifling me!"
"Because he won't let you give up?" Bonnie demanded. "Because he cares? You don't have to be alone. You don't have to do this alone."
"Yes, I do and I am!" The girl stood up from the table angrily. "Just…everybody just needs to stop. I just want things the way they used to be." The girl was forcing back tears and Bonnie could see how upset she was becoming. Jane saw something against the side of the school and panicked. It was Elijah, a mournful look on his face, and a bloodied spot on his shirt.
"Jane, don't be like this. It's hard to let go, but you have to do it." Bonnie began and then she frowned. "Jane?"
"I have to go." The girl said hastily and grabbed up all her things.
"Jane, what's wrong? What is it?" The witch tried to catch her, but the girl was backing away.
"Just-just butt out, Bonnie!" The girl snapped and stalked off towards the back of the school. Bonnie watched her walk towards the school and then pause like she was looking for something that wasn't there.
"It was bad." Alaric sighed. "You know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying about something..."
Elena frowned, perching on the top of a desk across from Alaric. "John's going to end up dead on the kitchen floor if he's not careful."
"Yeah, well, easier said than done. I gave him back his ring." He grumbled and Elena bit her lip "So... Look, Jenna keeps asking me about Isobel. You know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, how much long can she stay in the dark?" Alaric asked.
"You think we should tell her the truth?" Elena asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
He sighed. "I'm saying I can't be with her and not tell her. It's not fair to her, and it's not the kind of relationship I want." Elena nodded in understanding.
"Not to mention it's becoming more dangerous for her not to know." She sighed. "I just thought that we'd at least hold off until after we dealt with Klaus... You know, and even then, how do we tell someone what we know? How does someone hear that?"
Alaric ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, I'm sorry to put this on you. But I feel it's your decision to make. And whatever you decide to do, I'll respect it. I want to be honest with her. But until then, Jenna and I are done."
Elena nodded and started to leave. "Hey, you need to talk to Jane." He told her before Elena could walk out the door. "She's not dealing with this well, Elena. She's bottling it up, trying to ignore all conversation that involves her mother, and it's taking a toll on her."
"How bad?"
"She's been learning self-defense from me, you know, and well…Look at her knuckles from this morning. She could have broken a hand on that punching bag. I'm really worried about her. If she keeps going like she is, she'll be worse when she finally crashes."
"I've been trying to call her. She won't answer my calls or my texts."
"She hates it when someone mentions her mother. She probably thinks that you are going to lecture her."
Elena frowned. "Well Damon didn't mention that this morning."
"She said Katherine was over at the house and so, yeah, he probably doesn't know how bad she is. She doesn't want to bother him, she says." Alaric rolled his eyes. "How in the world does she even function with that kind of thinking?"
"That's just Jane." Elena sighed. "She's been like that ever since I've known her."
Alaric sighed too. "Well, it's not helping her. Whatever she's dealing with won't just go away. She's alone, Elena. And I don't think she was really ready to be."
"Caroline and Bonnie are coming over tonight. I will make sure that Jane is coming. We will talk and have fun and try to cheer her up."
Alaric smiled. "I hope that works, Elena. She really needs it. And sleep. She dozed off in the car on the way to school twice. Once when we were parked in the parking lot. And she freaked out earlier in the hallway."
"What do you mean?"
"Caroline said she was acting weird like she had seen something and then blew up at her and Matt."
Elena sighed. "I'll talk to her."
"I probably shouldn't ask, but why hasn't Damon been keeping an eye on her?"
"Damon told me that she wanted space. That she was staying with someone, which is not true."
"And how doesn't he know that? Or is he pouting because she didn't want him cuddling her anymore?"
"That and because she doesn't want to be around Katherine either and Damon refuses to leave her alone in the house. Not even to go check on his girlfriend. They are both being stubborn."
"The girl hasn't cried since the funeral. She's going to have a massive breakdown. If she hasn't already."
Elena frowned. "She hasn't at all?"
"No. I mean she's teared up a bit but, no, not really." Alaric replied and shook his head. "She's in denial, Elena. She wants to ignore that it even happened and it's going to catch up to her." Elena glanced at her phone when Bonnie texted her.
She looked up at Alaric. "Bonnie just said that Jane freaked out just a few minutes ago." Alaric grimaced.
Jonas and Luka were in their apartment worrying about telling Stefan about Elijah's plan to kill Klaus, they were setting up the place for a powerful spell.
"But what if they can find the burial ground?" Luka asked as he and his father walked towards their apartment. They had just come from discussing plans with Stefan about killing Klaus. Jonas was not happy with the plan at all. He had made a deal with Elijah and he planned to keep that deal and not make a new one.
"They won't." Jonas corrected his son. "We tried, Luka, for weeks."
"We don't have a back-up plan, though, dad, and we need to be doing everything we can to save Greta."
Jonas nodded in understanding. "We will save her but Elijah is the answer. Not Stefan and his brother. Those people, they're out enemies. They need to be dealt with." He informed him.
Luka's eyes widened. "What, you're going to kill them?" Brief concern for Bonnie flickered in his eyes. She may have betrayed his trust, but he didn't want to see her dead.
"No. I'm going to let Elijah do it." Jonas corrected with a smirk and Luka arched an eyebrow. He watched his father pick up the picture of Jane that he had stolen from her house. "We'll get the Evans girl and Elena after we've freed him. They are the only way that Elijah can secure Greta's release."
Jane tried not to seem bothered by the sideways glances her friends were giving her, but they becoming more and more frequent since she had sat down on the countertop. She didn't want to be gawked at, watched, as if she were about to take off running for the hills. Even though she had flipped out every time she had seen her mother or Elijah standing in a corner of the room she was in.
That's one of the reasons that she didn't want to stay with Damon. He'd coddled and cuddled her the first few nights, but then it became stifling. She wasn't sure why she felt irritated by him, and knew it wasn't fair to be like that, but she didn't want it anymore. Didn't want to feel like she had the night her mom had… She clenched her fists and made herself pay attention when Caroline came back into the Gilbert's kitchen. Be strong, her mother had always told her. Be strong.
"Chinese food or pizza?" The vampire asked, glancing at each of them. Jane was silently thankful that her gaze hadn't lingered like Elena's and Bonnie's had.
"Like you have to ask." Elena smirked in response and Jane forced a smile when the other girl looked in her direction.
Caroline nodded with a smirk of her own and grabbed her iPad out of her purse. "I will get it." She pressed the home button and sighed when a picture of her and Matt lit up the screen.
"You and Matt still on the outs?" Jane asked her gently and Caroline nodded. "I'm sorry, Care."
Bonnie took the iPad from the vampire. "I'll do it."
"Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?" Elena asked as Bonnie began searching for pizza on Caroline's iPad. She set a bowl of pretzels on the counter next to Jane.
"I don't know what to believe." Bonnie replied. "I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."
"Join the club." Elena muttered.
Jane bit her lip. "He's lost his way of getting his sister back." She told them. "Elijah…He was supposed to help them."
"By turning you in." Bonnie countered. "We can get Luka's sister back ourselves." Jane sighed, but didn't argue. Elena watched her look away with a guilty expression.
"Well, what are we going to do about this movie situation?" Caroline asked, changing the subject when everyone became silent. "What about The Notebook?"
Elena laughed. "Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?"
"That is so not the point."
Jane smiled a bit at her friends, but didn't say anything. She just wasn't really in the mood for a sleepover, but she would grin and bear it if it meant that they would leave her alone afterwards. That might have sounded awful, but Jane just didn't want to be around anyone for a while.
Jenna came in and Elena smiled at her. "Hey." She greeted.
Jenna looked at the four teenagers in the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"Girls' night." Elena told her, hopping up onto the stool next to the island.
"Oh." She nodded.
Jane tilted her head. "How are you doing?" She asked and Jenna looked at her.
"You heard about my fight with Ric." She muttered.
Jane nodded. "He feels terrible."
"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?" Jenna asked, sounding a bit suspicious.
"No." Elena shook her head and the other girls did too. "No, this is about us girls' hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk, or…" Jenna nodded with a small smirk on her face.
"Because I'm a winner when it comes to successful relationships." Caroline spoke up.
Jenna looked up. "You, too?"
"You have no idea." The vampire sighed.
"Ooookay, then." Jenna smiled and went over to dig through the fridge. "It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me."
"To play devil's advocate, maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you." Caroline told her. "Maybe he's just trying to protect you."
Jenna turned to her, shaking her head. "Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does."
"Sometimes it's harder than that." The vampire whispered.
"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't." Jenna countered and each girl slightly flinched. They were all hiding things from Jenna. It was silent for a moment and then Bonnie tilted her head.
"Jane's what's in your pocket?" The witch leaned over the counter and plucked a folded paper from the back pocket of her jeans. "Is it a love letter from Damon?" She teased and the other girls "oohed" including Jenna. Jane shook her head.
"No. He's not like that." She said softly, almost wistfully, and then quickly changed her tone before someone asked what was wrong. "I mean if he did write something it would be a list of things for me to pick up for him." She forced a laugh and she was relieved when the others bought it, giggling too.
Bonnie unfolded the paper and Caroline looked over. "Oh, I know what that is." She spoke up and took it from her. "There is a band at the Grill. That's what we need. Dancing." She looked around hopefully at each girl.
"I'm in." Bonnie said first.
Jenna nodded. "In."
"In." Elena agreed and they all looked at Jane. The girl was worrying her lower lip.
"Um…I can't."
"Come on it'll be fun." Caroline begged. "We're just going to hang out and party."
"I have too many things to do." Jane protested and hopped off the counter. "You guys have fun, okay? I to have to go pack up things and I-I just…"
Jenna put a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, you don't have to come with us, but I think you might need too. And I know your mom would want you to have fun." Jane nodded, hanging her head. Jenna hugged her. "Oh, honey, it's okay." She could feel the girl trembling. "Just come for a little while, okay?"
Jane took a steadying breath. "O-okay, I'm in." She consented, though she was slightly unsure that she wanted to go at all. Actually she was positive that she didn't. The other girls grinned and cheered and in the corner her mother smiled at her.
"This is awesome!" Jane turned to her mother as the band started up. Melinda smiled at her.
"You don't mind that I got us these seats? I wanted to get closer ones…" They were high up and on the right side of the stage.
Jane shook her braided hair. "These are good seats, mom. Thanks."
"Now what band are we seeing again? Backyard Men?"
Jane laughed. "No! Backstreet Boys!"
"Oh, yeah of course." Melinda smiled at her and Jane smiled back.
"I love you, mom."
"I love you too, baby girl."
Elena tapped Jane's arm. "It's crowded in there so hang on." The girl nodded and gripped Caroline's sleeve as they started into the Grill. The band was playing a upbeat tune that wasn't bad at all and Bonnie nodded.
"So far so good." The other girls agreed. They made it to a spot in the back and Jenna noticed Alaric coming in.
"I need a drink." She muttered and moved towards the bar. Jane watched her go, before turning to the girls.
Matt came through the crowd, asking customers about refills. "Hey, Matt." Caroline greeted, but he ignored her and kept going.
"Things just got real awkward." Bonnie muttered and Caroline sighed.
"Hey, Bonnie? Care?" The witch and the vampire turned to Jane. "I'm sorry about today at school. I didn't mean to yell at you guys." She really felt guilty. She knew her mother wouldn't like her to act like that to her friends.
"We know. It's okay." Bonnie forgave her and pulled her into a hug. "We're here for you, Jane."
"You just have to let us be." Elena added joining the hug with Caroline.
Bonnie turned to Caroline.
"He said the ball's in your court." She was referring to Matt.
"Yeah, but I can't do anything about it." The vampire sighed.
"Why not? All you do is talk about how much you care about him."
Caroline sighed in frustration. "Yeah, but I am still keeping so many secrets."
Elena looked from Alaric to Jenna and then back at Caroline. "Alaric's in the same boat with Jenna and maybe that's our mistake. We're trying to protect the people that we love by keeping them out of it, but in the end, we're hurting them anyway." Caroline considered her words a moment before handing her jacket to Jane.
"Where are you going?" Jane asked and Bonnie turned to her.
"Where is she going?" She asked and the girl shrugged.
They looked back at the stage as Caroline got up onto the stage. "Hey, everybody. Let's hear it for the band!" She said into the microphone and got cheers. "Weren't they awesome?" She waited for the applaud to fade. "So there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy. Um, you know, just 'cause I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about." She rambled nervously. "Ah, like now, I'm feeling loopy and I don't really know how to express myself..." She paused for a moment. "I can sing! Yeah, yeah. You know what, I'm going to sing."
"Sing?" Elena asked skeptically, looking at the others.
"I think she can do it." Jane said confidently. She was feeling a little better being surrounded by music and dancing people. Her life was filled with dancing.
"C'mon, off stage." The lead singer stated to Caroline and the vampire turned to him. Jane knew that she was compelling him, but for once didn't care. Her friend wanted to sing. The guy whispered back and Caroline nodded before saying something else. The lead singer went back and the band started to play, Eternal Flame by The Bangles.
Caroline took a steadying breath. "Close your eyes, give me your hand, darlin', do you feel my heart beatin', do you understand, do you feel the same? Or am I only dreamin', is this burnin', an eternal flame, I believe, it's meant to be darlin', I watch you when you are sleepin', you belong with me, do you feel that same, or am I only dreamin', is this burnin' an eternal flame, say my name, sunshine through the rain, of a life, so lonely, come and easy the pain, I don't want to lose this feeling, whoa-oah." Caroline sang and she stopped when Matt hopped on stage and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Everyone cheered them on and Jane even smiled a bit.
Stefan zoomed into the basement to find Damon using the flame thrower on the air around Elijah. Katherine lay against the wall, holding her bloody stomach.
"What's going on?" Stefan yelled at his brother over the roar of the flames.
Damon ground his teeth. "Some kind of crazy witch attack! Get over there and do something about it." He hissed. "Go!" Stefan took off to get to the Martin's place.
He found the apartment and slammed the door open with a metal rod. From the outside of the room, he could see Luka lying dead and badly burned in the floor.
"You killed him." Jonas hissed rounding the corner. Before Stefan could react, the warlock lifted his hand and Stefan felt pain ripple through his head. Gasping in pain, he was forced to his knees. "He's dead and I have no one. And now you're about to find out exactly what that feels like, you're going to lose everyone." He stepped over Stefan and ran ot of the apartment. As Stefan tried to get his bearings back, he noticed in the room that there were pictures of Jane and Elena.
"No…"
He scrambled to his feet and took his phone out. "Damon, Jonas is going after Elena and Jane."
"I wouldn't." Elena smirked, stopping Jane and Bonnie from heading to the bathroom. "Caroline and Matt are..."
"In the bathroom?" Bonnie laughed and Jane shook her head.
"If they're happy, I'm happy." Elena shrugged with a laugh.
"Um, hey, speaking of happy, would it freak you out if I started dating your brother?" Bonnie asked her and Jane turned around.
"You know I'm kind of thirsty." She left the friends to talk and headed for the less crowded side of the Grill to get a Coke.
"Dr. Martin. You okay?" Bonnie asked, coming over to him. She had seen him come in a few minutes ago.
"Where is she?"
"I don't understand." The witch frowned at her.
"There you are." Jonas narrowed his eyes and Grace fell to the floor in absolute pain.
"Stop!" Bonnie called.
"My son is dead!" Jonas said to her angrily.
Bonnie's eyes widened. "Whatever it is you think you need to do, there's a better way."
"They killed Elijah and they killed Luka and my only shot at getting my daughter back is if I have Elena and Jane..." Jonas murmured, looking down at the witch.
"No, no, Dr. Martin." Bonnie shook her head.
He lifted his hand and lights busted from the other side of the room, plunging one half of the Grill into darkness. Screams filled the air and people ran crazily.
"Where is Elena." He demanded.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her." Bonnie lied, shaking her head. Jonas narrowed his eyes and busted more lights, before glaring at her.
"Hey." Caroline stated when Stefan and Elena burst into the bathroom.
"We have a problem." Elena told her and she frowned.
She looked from Stefan to Elena. "What's going on?"
"Jonas is here and he's after Elena and Jane..." Stefan sighed.
Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh my God! So where is Jane?"
Elena shook her head. "We don't know."
"We have a plan." Stefan told her. "But I need to get Elena out of here first. So he'll see and follow her. hopefully leaving, Jane alone."
"Well, what can I do?" Caroline asked seriously.
"No one's getting out of here until I have them both." Jonas told Bonnie strongly.
The young witch shook her head. "Don't do this. Please don't do this." She begged, but it didn't do any good. Jonas channeled his energy, bottles on the bar began to smash and soak everything. With another wave of his hand, the bar was set alight. Bonnie attempted to stop him, but Jonas pressed his fingers against her forehead. Bonnie collapsed behind the bar, unconscious. Satisfied that the girl was out for the moment, he went in search of Elena and Jane.
Matt ran over to Bonnie. "Bonnie! Hey, Bonnie!" He called "Bonnie, we have to get you out of here." He helped her up and she leaned on him groggily. He didn't see Jane nearby.
She was kneeling on the ground, frightened by the wild untamed flames. She gasped as a figure appeared. "Daddy?" She mouthed and held her hand out towards him. "Daddy."
"Dr. Martin!" Elena called when he finally found her. "I'm so sorry about Luka. I never wanted that to happen, but... at least let us help you get your daughter back."
"Only Elijah can do that." Jonas shook his head.
"You don't need Elijah." Elena told him but he made the flames go higher and set another part of the bar alight with fire. Stefan wrapped a protective arm around Elena and saw Jane kneeling nearby, watching the flames with fear in her eyes. He watched her mouth the word "daddy", her hand outstretched, and glanced at the flames before looking at her once more. She was seeing her father there in the fire.
Jonas moved towards them and Stefan focused back on him. Suddenly Caroline pounced on him, knocking the warlock over. Stefan patted Elena and zoomed over to Jane, lifting her around the middle.
"Come on." He murmured and Jane blinked, coming back to herself and letting Stefan haul her out of the Grill.
"Damon." Jane attached herself to him when he came in the door. He wound his arms around her and he cupped the back of her head soothingly.
"You okay?"
She nodded and Damon kissed the top of her head. He could tell she was lying and that she was exhausted.
Elena turned to them. "How did you convince her to do this?"
"We didn't. It was actually her idea." Damon muttered.
"Wow. That's... not good."
"No. No, that's not good at all." He shook his head as Katherine and Stefan came back down the stairs.
"Everything's taken care of." Stefan told them and Katherine sighed dramatically.
"I'm guessing you're going to want this back." She rolled her eyes and unclasped Elena's necklace, dangling it in her fingers. "But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean."
Elena snatched it from her and turned to Stefan."You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home."
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Is that all you have to say to me?"
"This doesn't change the way I feel about you."
"We don't like you two much either, if we're going to be open." She retorted. "And frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead but if we're going to try and take on Klaus, we kinda need you to be alive. So I'm not a threat to you, Elena. Either of you." She looked at Jane too. "If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that."
"You lied." Damon said, folding his arms across his chest. "You've been alone."
"I needed it."
"Did you? Because you look like hell, Jane. You've got dark circles under your eyes, you've lost weight, you're hallucinating…"
"I…"
"Don't deny it." He pointed a finger at her. "Stefan saw you muttering about your dead father."
Jane turned from him, eyes burning. Damon touched her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay."
"Don't." She shrugged away from him. "Don't say that. None of this is okay."
"We all go a little stir-crazy-"
Jane whirled to face him. "I don't want to hear your jokes, Damon."
"Fine you want me to be serious?" He scowled. "Look at your hands, Jane. What the hell have you been doing?"
"Punching a punching bag." She responded, hiding her hands from view in the sleeves of the too big sweater she had borrowed from Stefan. Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."
"Don't fight with me tonight." He told her. "Come to bed and sleep. We can argue in the morning."
Jane shook her head. "No, I should go." Damon stopped her from leaving.
"Stay. Please."
Sighing, she nodded and let Damon pull her to the bed. "I'm not trying to hold you down, Jane. I just want to give you want you need." She didn't respond and he sighed. "Go to sleep." Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep, listening to his heartbeat.
Jane knelt beside Elijah and bit her lip. Was she really about to do this? Was she really about to free him? Judging by the charred state of his body and clothing it seemed that Damon had had his fun today. Hopefully, no one would notice his absence. Damon would notice hers soon enough. She was supposed to be sleeping in the guest bedroom next to his.
Taking a deep breath and gripping the dagger, she jerked it out of Elijah and waited.
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