I know you guys have a lot of questions, but I promise all will be explained in time. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to let me know what you think!

Season 2 Episode 15 The Dinner Party

The next morning, I woke up with a splitting headache. I scrambled up from my bed, and slowly padded to my bedroom door. When I opened it, I came face to face with my mom.

"Honey!" She said, much too loudly. "I didn't know you would be up."

"Headache." I said, then started walking to the bathroom. But she jumped in front of me, stopping me from entering. "What?"

"Um…" She said, nervously. "I'll get it for you."

"There is no reason why I can't get my own aspirin." I said, but then the low sound of the shower going off alerted me that someone was in there. "Wait, is there someone in there?"

"I was going to tell you." She said, eyes looking very guilty. I furrowed my brows, but before I could ask who was using out shower, the door opened.

"Oh my God!" I yelled, shielding my eyes from the half-naked image of my father coming out of my bathroom. I felt like my head was going to explode.

"Good morning to you too Alex." John said. I peeked through my fingers just in time to catch him kiss my mother's temple and then walk into her bedroom. He closed the door behind him and I turned to my mother.

"Let me explain-"

"Explain what?" I asked. "That you're sleeping with my dad? Cause I'm pretty sure that's self-explanatory."

"It was only a couple times!" Mom said. I gagged again. "I'm sorry…"

I looked up at her and saw in her expression that she was indeed sorry. I sighed. What did she have to be sorry for? For moving on with her life? I couldn't be mad at her for that. It wouldn't be fair to her.

"Don't apologize." I replied. "You can do whatever you want."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She said guilty. I cocked a brow. "When he brought you home… we kind of… kissed…"

I felt my jaw drop. My mother and I shared everything, except for the whole vampire thing. Otherwise, there were no secrets between us. And the fact that she kept something like this from me, it hurt a little.

"I was going to tell you." She said again. "But… he took off and I didn't think that you would want to hear it…"

I took her shoulders in my hands, giving them a squeeze. She looked up into my eyes, looking very much like a teenager who had just got in trouble.

"You can tell me anything." I said then I made a face. "Except details… I don't want details."

"Deal." She said, pulling me into a hug. "I love you kid."

"I love you too."

To say that work was the last thing on my mind was an understatement. However, that didn't stop me from going in when Robert called. I wanted to think of something, anything else other than the fact that I was apparently some mystical creature called a guardian, and I was destined to die to save Elena's life. I also wanted the image of John coming out of my shower out of my brain. On top of that, I was somehow connected to the oldest vampire in history and I still had no idea how or why.

I didn't sleep well that night. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was something other worldly and yet I had no answers. Yesterday I was a human, and today I was… a guardian. I still didn't even fully understand the purpose. I was to protect the doppelgänger, but I wasn't a fighter. I had just started training, how could I save Elena from Klaus when I couldn't even protect myself? I was tempted to use the card, call Elijah and force him to answer my questions. But that was the problem. I couldn't force him to do anything.

I noticed that he was kind to me, unlike with anyone else I had seen. I guessed that was because of the connection to Klaus, but Elijah wanted to kill Klaus. So, I didn't understand how he could be so nice to me, save my life along with my friends and still want to kill Klaus. I was just so confused, I wanted to get the answers and be content.

"So wait… Luca said that Elijah still plans to kill Elena?" I asked Bonnie who was currently sitting at a table. She nodded and I felt my stomach drop. "So he's just protecting her until the sacrifice."

"Looks like it." Bonnie said. "See, I knew we couldn't trust him."

"But he's kept to his word." I countered. "He saved me, Jace, and Damon yesterday."

"Speaking of Jace…" Bonnie said, cocking an eyebrow. "How are things with him going?"

"Fine." I shrugged. "We are nowhere near where we were, but I don't know… I think he really wants to help."

She nodded, a smirk forming on her face. I rolled my eyes. I knew that Bonnie secretly liked the idea of me and Jace becoming a thing. But after what had happened I didn't think we could ever be the same. Besides, my love for Damon was strong and Jace couldn't break into that.

"So, how are you and Jeremy?" I asked. Bonnie looked up at me wide eyed. "I'm not stupid Bonnie."

"We're friends…" She countered. I rolled my eyes.

"Have you seen the way he looks at you?" I asked. It was one of those love sick puppy dog looks. "You do the same."

"I do not!" She almost shouted. "He's Elena's little brother."

"And he's my cousin." I added. "What's your point?"

"The point is, that… there is just too much history." She said. "It wouldn't work."

I made a face, slipping into the booth across from her. I knew that there were more pressing matters to attend to at that moment, but Bonnie was being ridiculous.

"Seriously?" I asked her. "You want me and Jace to be together and he betrayed us. I'm pretty sure you and Jeremy are no worse than that."

"It's called a ship." She said. "I even made cute little couple names. Want to hear them?"

"Don't change the subject." I warned. "We are talking about Beremy here."

"That's a good one." Bonnie said with a smile. "Don't worry about me and Jeremy ok? I'll figure it out."

I sighed but let it go. What Bonnie and Jeremy did with their love life was none of my business. Although I wanted both of them to be happy, I couldn't interfere. They were going to figure out what they wanted without my help. I wasn't a match maker.

"Speak of the devil." I said, noticing that Jeremy had just arrived. He smiled, walking over to us. I winked at Bonnie before I walked away, waiting on some other tables. I didn't know how long it was before the bell above the door rang again. Jace strolled through, past Bonnie and Jeremy although he gave them a small wave, and walked right up to me.

"Morning sunshine." He said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and grabbed some empty glasses and put them on my tray.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He shrugged, following me as I took the dirty dishes to the back. "You're not supposed to be back here!"

"Calm down." Jace said. "The rules were made to be bent."

I scoffed and put the dirty dishes in the sink. I then grabbed my tray and led him out of the kitchen so either one of us didn't get in trouble.

"I actually wanted to talk to you." He said. I raised my eyebrows. "Do you think you could get me a job?"

"Here?" I asked. He nodded. "Why?"

"Well, I'm in need of some cash." Jace explained. "And if we were coworkers that means that I would get to hang out with you more."

I sighed at his useless flirting. He still smiled though, that bright white grin that could make any girl swoon. I didn't know why Jace was so invested in me, even after he was no longer under Katherine's control. He had no reason to help us, and I wanted so much to believe that he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. I just wished that I could trust him.

"I'll talk to Robert." I told him. "But I make no promises. Robbie is pretty tough."

"Perfect." Jace said with a grin. I rolled my eyes again, smirking at him. He followed me around and I didn't know if that was because he was watching what I was doing or he had nothing better to do.

"So what did Elijah say last night?" Jace asked me, helping me clear a table. I shrugged.

"Nothing of importance." I replied. "I just wish he would tell me. He obviously knows something."

"Maybe he's trying to protect you." Jace offered. I looked up at him confused. "Elena's deal with him aside, he really seemed concerned about you last night."

"Or he was just trying to get in my head." I said. It was his turn to look confused. I sighed, grabbing the tray and taking it to the kitchen. Once I emerged I explained. "What if he is trying to get me to trust him, just to hand me over to Klaus like he is going to do to Elena?"

"This wasn't the same kind of concern." Jace said. "It wasn't just that he wanted to keep you alive… he didn't want to see you in pain."

"Why would he care what happened to me?" I asked. Jace held up his hands.

"I have no idea." He said. "But if you are connected to Klaus, and both Klaus and Elijah are Originals… maybe you are connected to Elijah too."

I hadn't thought about that. He wanted to heal me first, and he had done so before he released Jace or Damon. At first, I didn't read into it. But Elijah had been very kind to me, speaking to me in sweet tones. Maybe there was some kind of connection between me and the Originals. I just didn't know what.

"Here comes your boyfriend." Jace said, voice laced with bitterness. I turned and saw Damon walking through the door, Alaric not too far behind. He walked up to me, a smile on his face.

"Hey pretty girl." He said, placing a kiss to my cheek. "Jack."

"It's Jace." Jace replied with a glare.

"Whatever." Damon said waving him off. Jace huffed, giving me a look before he stalked off. "He doesn't like me."

"Well I wouldn't like you either if I was him." I replied. Damon's eyebrows furrowed. "You're kind of an ass."

"I give him a place to stay, I let him eat all of our food, and I haven't killed him yet…" Damon said. "I think I'm a good foster parent."

"Ew, don't say that." I said. "He's my age. That's creepy."

"You shouldn't date guys so much older than you." Damon mused, putting his hands on my waist. I smirked tapping him playfully on the chest.

"You are pretty old." I said with a grin. "Borderline pedophilia… "

Damon growled before he set his lips to mine. I smiled into the kiss, wanting to take it further but I didn't. He pushed him away before things got too heated. I was at work.

"What brings you here this morning?" I asked him curiously. He shrugged. I made a face.

"What?" Damon asked. "I can't come see my smoking hot girlfriend at work?"

"This place is a breeding ground for supernatural meetings." I said. "So who are you meeting here?"

"Alaric." Damon replied. I urged him to continue. "Ok, we are going to talk about Elijah but that's it."

I furrowed my brows. If Damon and Alaric were discussing Elijah, that couldn't be good. Not for Elijah anyway.

"Why are you guys talking about Elijah?" I asked. Damon shrugged once again. "Damon I'm serious."

"Ok fine." Damon said. "Your dad gave me this dagger, one that will kill an original."

I felt my jaw drop and my stomach clench. I started wildly shaking my head.

"You can't kill him." I said. "Damon please don't kill him."

"What? After one meeting you are all buddy-buddy with him?" Damon asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"He's the only one who knows what I truly am and how I am connected to Klaus." I explained. "You can't kill him."

"Ok… ok." Damon said. I shook my head.

"Promise me you won't kill him." I begged. Damon made a face, and I was prepared for him to tell me no, but eventually he sighed.

"Ok, I promise." He said. I swallowed, nodding my head slowly. Damon wouldn't break his promise to me. He couldn't. After I got the information I needed from Elijah they could do as they pleased, but not before. Because if they killed Elijah I would never know my connection to Klaus and I needed to know. I was dying to know. Not only about that, but about me being a guardian.

I found nothing about guardians in any of Isobel's research, not that I was looking at the time. I didn't find any mention in Jonathan Gilbert's journal either. I guessed that no one really knew about them but the Originals and the doppelgänger herself. Katherine said that her guardian, Maria, died before she even got to America. So Stefan and Damon wouldn't know anything about her either.

What I didn't understand was why the guardians looked alike. It was like we were doppelgangers as well, but Katherine hadn't specified that. I guessed that she didn't know much about it herself, that was why I needed was to speak with Elijah and make him give me answers.

"There's Rick." Damon said, pointing to the vampire hunter/teacher who walked into the door. Not far behind him was Andie Star, who smiled at Damon as she entered. I felt my blood boil and stopped myself from showing intense PDA in front of her just to put her in her place.

"Morning." Alaric said. I smiled at him, still watching this Andie character slip into a seat and wait to be waited on. I turned toward her and started making my way toward her table. Damon was my trigger, and when I saw something that was going to move in on my territory I suddenly got a back bone and a sharp tongue. I could feel Damon's eyes on me. He was probably amused.

"Good morning." I said with fake peppiness. "I'm Alex and I'll be your server. What can I get you to start off with?"

"Water will be fine." She said. I nodded and went to get her drink. I brought it back and set it on the table. "I notice that you are close with Damon Salvatore."

"I am." I replied. "Can I get you something else?"

"Are you like a couple?" She asked, ignoring my question all together.

"Yes we are." I replied with a fake smile. She smiled as well, but did a bad job at hiding how fake it was.

"Isn't he much older than you?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes. "Isn't there a law against that?"

I was starting to get really annoyed with this woman. Questioning my relationship with Damon wouldn't get her a date with him.

"I don't see how my relationship with Mr. Salvatore is your concern Miss Star." I said.

She seemed surprised at my answer and shut her mouth then. I smiled politely at her and walked back over to Damon, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Not a word." I told him. He held up his hands in innocence. I rolled my eyes at him as I picked up glasses from another table. I went back to the kitchen, passing by Jace as I did. He gave me an amused smile, to which I made a grumbling sound. I assumed that he had heard all of that conversation. I figured a lot of people saw. I snuck a peak out into the room and saw Andie had moved from her seat. I smiled in satisfaction, thinking she had left.

I walked out of the kitchen and took a few orders, all the while not giving Damon the satisfaction of looking at him. He loved to see me jealous and he loved when I was jealous of girls who threw themselves at him. Granted, I loved when he got jealous too, I guessed that it was just a couple thing, a possessive couple thing.

I never imagined I would be the jealous, possessive type. I thought I would be able to let things go, but no, not when your boyfriend is a hot vampire who just loves to flirt. No, when girls even looked at Damon I felt the need to stake my claim. I wondered if that was just my human nature, that I wanted to mark my property so no one tried to steal it. But with criminal history, I knew that even if you put your name on something, didn't mean that people wouldn't still try to take it as their own.

"Apparently your speech didn't work." Jace said when I went to the register. I looked up at him confused, to which he nodded over to where Damon sat. Alaric was there, which was not unusual. Damon sat across from him, but he wasn't alone in the booth. Andie sat next to him, much to close for my liking. To my dismay, Damon didn't even try to scoot away. I knew that she shouldn't have been a threat, Damon made it clear he wasn't interested in her long ago.

However, her little comment about my age was starting to get to me. What if I was too young? Damon was a lot older than me, even physically. He had to be like 23 or 24 when he was turned. I was only 17, and honestly I could see why that would be a little disturbing. Actually, he was a vampire, the whole thing should be disturbing. What they didn't know is he is actually over 100, and that was even worse. Damon had never given me any reason to feel this way, I just felt my own insecurities take over when I saw Andie cuddled up to him.

"Ok hot head…" Jace said, reaching for my hand. I didn't pull away when he took it. "Calm down or you will set off the smoke alarms."

"Who does she think she is?" I asked, crumpling up the receipt in my hand. As soon as I said it, I saw Damon tense a bit. He didn't look over at me, but he shifted slightly away from Andie. I guessed that he was done trying to make me upset, but Andie wasn't. Her eyes flickered to me and a sinister grin crossed her face. She said something to Damon, a charming smile replacing her true evilness. He smiled back, but it wasn't one out of attraction. No, this was out of politeness. I felt a little better, but Andie scooted over the slightest bit and I started stomping over their way.

"Whoa…" Jace said, yanking me back. "Let's not make a scene."

"Actually, maybe we should." I replied. "That's what she wants."

"Hey, listen, she's just being a bitch cause you have what she wants." Jace said. "Don't let her get to you."

"She's practically sitting in his lap!" I replied. Jace placed his hands on my shoulders. He took a deep breath, instructing me to follow. I swallowed and did as he suggested. I felt a bit better, and he kept me staring at him instead of the table.

"Damon's not going anywhere." Jace admitted to me. I could sense the slightest bit of bitterness in his voice, but I ignored it, opting instead to take his words to heart. Why was I so worried about this woman? Damon was with me, and I trusted him. I shouldn't let some petty news reporter get into my head.

"Thanks Jace." I said. He smiled, that smile that I remembered. I still didn't fully trust him, and I didn't know if I ever would. But this was the Jace who was my friend, and talking like this gave me a sense of those days when there was nothing to worry about. When we were both humans and neither of us were looking over our shoulders constantly.

"There is your boss." Jace said, pointing over my shoulder. "Go get me a job."

I rolled my eyes, but turned and did as he asked. It took some convincing, and a hell of a lot of praise sent Jace's way, but I got Jace a chance. He would be a bus boy, then maybe move up to waiter. Matt would train him, although I didn't see what use that would be. All he had to do was clear the tables once the party had left, wash some dishes. Anyone could do that.

"Hello, Alexandra."

I practically jumped out of my skin at the sound of my name. I turned around quickly, whipping my hair a bit. When I was fully turned around I saw Elijah. He didn't look upset or like he wanted to kill me. I figured that was a good sign. I forced a smile through my fear, one that he returned.

"Hello Elijah." I said. "What brings you here?"

"Jenna actually. Charming woman." He said, looking over his shoulder at the red head. "I've also been invited to a dinner party at the Salvatores tonight."

"Dinner party?" I asked. This was the first I had heard of it. I let my eyes flicker to Damon for a second, his eyes burning into Elijah's back. I knew that he was ready to jump in at any time if Elijah showed any sign of aggression. I let myself relax a bit.

"That Andie woman suggested it." Elijah said. "Funny… I thought Damon was fancy on you."

I felt my heart sink a bit. I looked back to Damon whose eyes were now furious at Elijah cold and icy. When he met my gaze he softened. If Andie came up with this, that meant she would be there, and that meant she would be all over Damon. I would be damned if I let that happen.

"Not to be rude…" I began, changing the subject. "But is there something you need?"

Elijah chuckled, and a sign of familiarity went over his face. I wanted him to elaborate, but I didn't think I would get that lucky.

"Simply a hello." He said. "Are you doing alright after yesterday?"

"I'm fine." I replied. "Thank you again."

"Of course." He said. "I hope to see you at this party."

I said nothing but nodded nonetheless. He nodded to me and smiled before he walked back over to his table with Jenna. Once he was seated, I looked up and met eyes with Damon. He gestured to follow him outside. I did as he asked, nodding to Jace to cover for me. We went out to the alley way, where we were less likely to be interrupted. Elijah couldn't hear us out here.

"What is this dinner party about?" I asked, not giving Damon a chance to speak first.

"It's a way for us to get information out of Elijah." He replied. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Is Andie going?" I asked him, knowing full well how jealous I sounded. At that point, it was the furthest thing from my mind.

"She did come up with the idea…" Damon said. I scoffed. "It's nothing ok. She's harmless."

"She is not!" I shouted. "She wants to get her claws in you and take you away from me."

"And how many times do I have to prove to you that that will never happen?" He asked, putting his hands on my shoulders. "You're the only girl for me pretty girl."

I licked my lips before I forced a nod. He chuckled and pulled me into his hard chest. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. His scent, and his presence really, always seemed to calm me down. I knew that Andie wasn't a threat, but I couldn't help but be a little concerned. Damon was very attractive and I knew that very well. I just didn't like how many other girls thought the same thing.

"So, when does this party start?" I asked him. He pulled back, giving me a look.

"You're not going." He said. My eyebrows shot up and I almost laughed.

"Like hell I'm not." I replied. "If Andie's going I'm going."

"I don't want you anywhere near Elijah." Damon said. "Trust me, its better if you stay home."

"Damon-"

"I won't allow it." Damon said. I then found myself laughing out loud. Damon didn't look the least bit amused, but I didn't expect him to. He was serious as a heart attack.

"You are not the boss of me Damon." I said. "I'm coming."

"No you're not." He said, his grip on me tightening. "I will lock you in your room if I have to."

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked him, a bit put out. I was a part of this, Elijah had the answers I wanted. I wasn't going to just sit by and let this chance go to waste.

"This party is strictly business." He said. "Besides… it's all going to be adults anyway."

I felt my face fall at his statement. He didn't seem to realize what he said until he saw my expression. I bit my bottom lip before pushing past him. He caught my arm.

"I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did." I replied, turning to him. "You think I'm a child."

"I do not." Damon said.

"You just called me one." I said. "I'm mature enough to handle this."

"Are you?" Damon asked. "Are you really?"

"She was right…" I said, swallowing my tears. Andie was right, and it was killing me inside. Damon didn't think I was strong enough to handle all of this. Well, if he wanted to have a party with his grown up friends he could do so.

"This is serious stuff Alex." Damon explained. "I can't have you getting caught in the middle."

"Don't worry Damon. I'll stay home." I said bitterly. "I wouldn't want to get in your way."

"Alex!" He called after me, but I was already headed inside the building. I didn't look up or talk to anyone. I went straight into the bathroom and forced myself to stop the tears. I was tougher than this. I wouldn't let this get to me. I would get my answers on my own.

I got off work, Jace trailing behind me. He offered me a ride, and at first I refused. However, Damon instructed him to stay away from the house until he gave the say so, so I figured that Jace could just hang out with me. I could have just marched over to the house, demanded to be included and made Damon let me stay. But that would have been immature, and I was striving to be anything but.

In a way, I knew that Damon was just trying to keep me safe, but again I was a part of this whether I wanted to or not. Elijah held the key to the answers I so desperately wanted. Damon keeping that from me was starting to weigh heavily on my mind.

"Trouble in paradise?" Jace asked. I furrowed my brows. "I saw you leave with Damon. Then you come back all pissy."

"I was not pissy." I replied, sounding very pissy actually. Jace seemed to chuckle and his good mood was starting to really annoy me.

"You know we could always crash." Jace said. "I mean, I live there and you have every right to be present."

"That's what Damon is planning." I said irritably. "He expects me to defy him, and this time… I'm not going to do it."

"This sounds like a very fucked up relationship." He said. I whipped my head around, the curse not sounding right with his sweet accent. He didn't say anything to me, but he did smile.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked him. Instead of turning on to my street, he continued going straight. "Where are we going?"

"Do you wanna piss him off really bad?" He asked me, a mischievous grin on his face. I almost said no, but I stopped myself. I wasn't thinking clearly, and the idea of making Damon upset just as he made me sounded really great at that moment.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked sheepishly. He licked his lips before he smirked.

"You have your stake with you?" He asked. I nodded. "What do you say to a training session?"

The idea appealed to me greatly. I hadn't trained since I went with John, and frankly I thought I was forgetting everything. I had a lot more to learn, and from what Jace said he knew what he was doing.

"I say sounds great." I replied. "But what does this have to do with Damon?"

"You said he hated the idea of you fighting vampire right?" He asked. I nodded. "And he hates me. So, when he finds out about this it will burn his ass."

I felt the smile curl onto my lips before it registered in my mind. Although I knew Damon would not be happy, I also knew that this would be good for me. The more I trained, the better prepared I would be when Klaus showed up. Whatever this connection was, he wasn't just after Elena. I had to be prepared, whether Damon liked it or not.

"Let's do this." I said, earning a loud woo-hoo from Jace.

Damon had excused himself from the party. Alaric, John and him had been on Elijah about everything, getting whatever little information they could from him. He was good at hiding his emotions, and his clever words gave them little to go on. Damon entered into the parlor, the silver dagger and ash from the oak tree prepared for him to use.

He knew that he made a promise to Alex, that he wouldn't kill Elijah, but he had to break this one to fulfill another. He promised that he would protect her, not let anything happen to her. He couldn't take the chance with keeping Elijah alive and in the town. He knew she would be upset, frankly she already was, but he was banking on the fact that he was trying to protect her and the people she cared about safe. Elijah couldn't be trusted, regardless of how he was connected to Alex.

"So, let me guess." Damon said, pouring alcohol in glasses. "In addition to the moonstone, the doppelgänger, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, you need to find this witch burial ground."

Elijah grinned from his place. He had said something about it at dinner, a witch burial ground. Whatever he needed it for, Damon wasn't sure, but he wanted to know.

"Because I feel as though we've grown so close, Damon, I'll tell you yes." Elijah mused. "Do you know where it is?"

"Maybe." Damon replied. "Tell me why it's so important."

Elijah takes the glass that Damon hands him with an amused smirk.

"We're not that close." Elijah replied. Damon held back a huff. "Where is your human tonight?"

Damon bristled at the way Elijah referred to Alex as a human. As if she was just that, a human that Damon used as his little slave. Although he had originally taken that approach, he found so much more in this girl that he thought he would kill.

"She stayed home tonight." Damon answered. "I thought you would know that, considering you have all the answers."

"I have answers to the questions that Alex asks." Elijah said.

"Then why don't you give her the answers." Damon asked. "She's losing her mind."

"I will answer her when the time is right." Elijah said. "Alex is much more important than any of you know."

Damon furrowed his brows. Alex was a guardian, they knew that. Whatever that entailed was a little foggy. They didn't know how or why she was connected to Klaus or if it was good or bad. Damon voted on bad, not trusting Elijah or his buddy Klaus in the slightest.

Elijah turned around, looking at Damon's large collection of books. He gripped the dagger behind his back, moving to stab it into Elijah's back. He was about to do it when Alaric burst through the door.

"Gentlemen, we forgot about dessert." Alaric proclaimed. Andie led Elijah out of the room, and Damon forced himself not to tear off Alaric's head. The history teacher came into the room and wrote his explination down for Damon to read.

The dagger will kill you if you use it

Damon held down a grunt of anger before he and Alaric went back into the dining room. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"You're not bad Gilbert." Jace commented as the two of us got some water. I didn't know how long we had been practicing, an hour or two? Maybe more. I could feel the sweat dripping down my neck and the fabric of my shirt clung to me. Jace didn't look much better, drenched in the salty liquid and panting hard.

"I've had practice." I told him. "So Katherine taught you this stuff?"

He nodded.

"It's much harder to learn from a vampire." Jace said. "But the first-hand experience works wonders."

"Wasn't she scared you might turn on her?" I asked, sitting on the tailgate of his truck. He followed suit, pushing the stake gun out of the way.

"I guess she figured I never would, with her compulsion and all." He replied with a shrug. "It sucks…"

"What does?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed. He had turned very serious all of a sudden. I wasn't used to serious Jace. I was used to the happy go lucky southern boy who always had a joke. This Jace was different, foreign to me.

"The mind games they play." Jace said. "It's like you aren't even safe in your own mind you know?"

I nodded, remembering that Damon had compelled me before. I didn't remember anything, although I probably could have. I could have asked Damon to make me remember, or even Stefan. But I didn't want to remember. That Damon was long gone, and frankly I didn't want to remember him like that. He wasn't perfect, and he made poor decisions, but I didn't want to remember the guy who had fed on me and played with my mind. That wasn't my Damon.

"You want to call it a day?" He asked. I nodded, swallowing the mouthful of water in my mouth. We got into the truck and he started driving. We didn't say much, but nothing really needed to be said. I was becoming more and more comfortable with Jace each day. I still had a bit of a wall up, just to be sure. I knew that he was capable of betrayal, but for some reason I just didn't think that was the case this time. Jace wasn't a bad person, he was just led the wrong way. I couldn't blame him for getting sucked into Katherine's mind games, we all had at some point. He was fixing it now, and I was glad to have him back.

"You going back to the boarding house?" I asked when he stopped outside of my house. He shrugged.

"I figured I would just ride around you know?" He replied. "Damon doesn't want me there anyway."

"He's not as bad as he seems." I commented. He scoffed. "He's actually sweet."

"A vampire, sweet?" Jace asked with a chuckle. "I don't think so."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Jace said, putting his truck in drive. He was about to drive away when I stopped him.

"I have to know…" I said. "What's your last name?"

A bright smile formed on his lips. Up until that point I never really asked, but now that we were on the same team, I figured it was pertinent information.

"It's Cooper." He answered. "Jason Cooper."

"I like that." I replied. He chucked and then waved to me. I waved back and watched him drive down the street. Once he was gone, I sighed and went inside the house. I showered, the warm water doing wonders for my sore muscles. I knew tomorrow I would regret this training session, but then again it did me good. The more comfortable I felt with a stake, the less afraid I felt. Honestly, I felt a little like a bad ass when I was training. It was like something out of a movie or something.

After I was clean and dressed, I started straightening up around the house. Mom would be off of work in a few hours, and I knew she would appreciate coming home to a clean house. It was about 7 when I deemed the house presentable and headed back into my room. I figured I would draw or something, take advantage of the time alone. I hadn't been really alone in a long time, and the me time was good.

I was no longer upset at Damon, or fight meaningless and petty. I didn't want to dwell on it, because if I did that would get us nowhere. Damon respected me, and cared for me. He had no desire to hurt me or make me upset. I needed to let it go and just forget that it ever happened. Not to my surprise, but Damon was already in my bedroom.

"I figured you would show up at some point." I told him. He was standing, instead of laying on my bed like I was used to. I shrugged it off, figuring it was nothing.

"I'm sorry." Damon said upfront. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked. "For the fight? Damon it's not that-"

"No…" Damon said, trailing off. I was then that I noticed his stance. He was tense, looking shamefully down at the floor instead of in my eyes. I licked my lips before swallowing.

"What did you do?" I asked him. He met my gaze, his icy blue eyes searching my own. I knew that whatever it was I probably wouldn't like it. I assumed he knew that too, considering his expression.

"Elijah is dead." Damon said finally. "I'm sorry."

I felt my stomach sink and my face burn. However, I wasn't blushing, no this was from anger. I felt like I was on fire as I processed his words. I should have known he wouldn't listen to me. I should have expected it of him at this point. I felt like I wanted to punch something or scream. I clutched my hands into fists and Damon was staring at me intently.

Elijah was dead, and so were my chances of ever finding out who I was.