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Season 3 Episode 6 Smells Like Teen Spirit (Part 2)

Damon, Elena, and I headed over to the school to have the meeting Elena was talking about. In the room was Alaric, Jace, and Caroline. The meeting was set up for the sole purpose of finding out a way to capture Stefan, then we would be able to turn on his emotions. If we could get him to turn his emotions back on, we would be able to get him back on our side and hopefully find a way to get rid of Klaus for good.

"I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena said, going over her part. "Then when he's distracted-"

"I'll shoot him." Alaric finished. It sounded like a good plan. Incapacitate Stefan and then we could trap him. I didn't like the idea of starving him, but it was the only way to get him to turn his emotions back on.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked. I was also curious as to why Bonnie was not at this meeting. She was usually all gung ho to take down a vampire.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena explained. "Caroline, are you covered?"

"Yes!" The blonde said excitedly. "I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready."

I nodded. This wasn't a bad plan. We could do this. Stefan would be back to his old self in no time!

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon said. We all looked at him confused. "Rebekah?"

Shit. I forgot about her. The blonde menace had been shrouding my mind all day. Why didn't she just leave? She obviously didn't want to be here. She had been trapped in a casket for years. I would leave, especially if this Mikel guy is as scary as he sounded.

"Wherever Stefan goes, the blonde ponytail tends to follow." Damon said. He was right. Rebekah was hooked to Stefan like glue. She would intervene if she saw us going forth with this plan.

"Which is why it's your job to keep her away." Elena said to Damon. My head snapped to the side to give her a strange/crazy look. I was pretty sure I looked like a psychopath.

"Are you crazy?" I asked her. "Rebekah's ancient. She could kill Damon without a second thought."

"Hey now-"

"It would be so easy for her to just stake him with a tooth pick."

"I think I'm a little more durable than-"

"Alex, we don't have another choice." Elena said. I shook my head. "We have to keep her away from Stefan at all costs."

"I understand that." I told her, hands on my hips. "But are we really going to risk Damon's life for just a distraction?"

"I'm not opposed." Jace muttered, making Damon growl. "Looks to me like it's our only option."

"There is always another option." I told him. I wasn't going to just let Damon go into the line of fire just so we could incapacitate Stefan. It was too risky, and I didn't think it was worth it. And the way that both Elena and Jace were so willing to throw him into danger was even worse of a feeling. I understood a little bit where Elena was coming from, she wanted Stefan back. But Jace, his sudden heightened disdain for Damon had me worried.

"I'll do it." Damon said suddenly. I snapped my head to the side. "I can handle it."

I opened my mouth but then closed it. There was no other option. Although she was stronger than Damon, she was much stronger than Jace or I. We couldn't keep her away by force even if we tried. And Damon was fine with is, so what could I do? Although I was worried about Damon, I knew that we didn't have another option at that point.

"Fine." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. "But Jace and I will be close by. Just in case she tries anything."

"Good plan." Alaric said, passing some stakes to Jace. I would be damned if I let anything happen to Damon. I would face off with Rebekah myself if I had to.

"Sorry I'm late." Tyler said as he burst through the door. "What's going on?"

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply." Elena explained. "Enough to keep Stefan down for a while."

"You can't do that to Stefan." Tyler said immediately. All of us stared at him as if he had grown a second head. As far as I was concerned, Tyler had never really taken to Stefan. What changed now?

"Why not?" Caroline asked, stepping forward.

"Trust me Tyler." Elena said. "It's in his best interest."

"It's not in Klaus's." Tyler said. I furrowed my brows. When did Tyler start caring about what Klaus wanted? And why?

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler." Caroline said. "You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?"

Tyler shrugged.

"Uh oh." Damon said behind me. I turned to look at him for answers, but he was staring suspiciously at Tyler.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He didn't answer me.

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline." Tyler explained. "I owe him everything."

"Oh boy." Damon said.

"Okay, can we cool it on the commentary, please." Caroline said. I watched as Damon took a vervain dart from Alaric's desk. I stopped him.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, my hand on his chest. Again Damon ignored me, walking toward Tyler.

"I'm just going to go." Tyler said, turning and going toward the door. However, he didn't get far because Damon rushed over behind him and stabbed him with the vervain dart. I gasped as Tyler collapsed.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, outraged. She bent down to check out the unconscious Tyler.

"He's been sired." Damon replied, as if the answer was obvious. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What does that mean?" Jace asked.

"He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him." Damon said. That made sense. If Tyler's allegiance was with Klaus, he wouldn't want us to hinder any of Klaus's plans.

"Loyal how?" Elena asked.

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare." Damon replied. "But maybe not so much in hybrids."

"So, how do I fix him?" Caroline asked, obviously concerned. How do you go about fixing your now hybrid boyfriend to stop doing whatever Klaus wanted?

"Get a new boyfriend." Damon replied. I elbowed him in the stomach, not that it did much of anything to him.

"Come on." Elena urged. "Let's get this over with."

I turned to go follow them out, but I was stopped when someone took my arm. I turned around and there stood Alaric, looking as stoic as ever. Damon paused at the door before I nodded to him. He left the room, leaving me alone with my teacher.

"Everything ok?" I asked. He nodded, but the look on his face told me different. "What's wrong?"

"I tried to catch you after class…" Rick said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"Me… and your mom."

"Oh."

Alaric and I hadn't talked, not really since I found out that he and my mom were now an item. I was still uncomfortable around him, especially when he came rolling out of my mom's bedroom at the crack of dawn and trying to slip out of the front door without being heard.

"I know I should have talked to you first." Alaric said, looking down at the ground. "But you were gone, and everything happened so fast-"

"Rick." I said, stopping him mid-sentence. "It's ok. My mom's a grown woman, she can make her own decisions."

"You are so important to her." He said in a low voice, almost a whisper. "And, she only wants what's best for you."

I nodded.

"And your opinion matters to her." Alaric continued.

Mom was always giving up things to make me comfortable, to make me happy. She was willing to break off this whole thing with Rick, if I wasn't comfortable. How could I do that to her? How could I consciously take away one of the best things that ever happened to her, just because he was my history teacher? Albeit, he was also a vampire hunter, but he was my teacher none the less. He made her happy, I could see the spring to her step when she came home now, and she was getting out. I couldn't take that away.

"You're a great guy." I said, making Alaric smile a bit. "And I couldn't ask for a better guy to come into my mom's life."

Alaric broke out into a grin.

"She deserves to be happy." I said.

"I know she does." Alaric replied.

"Are you going to make her happy?" I asked. I was vaguely aware that this looked much like a parent interrogating a teenagers significant other. But I was protective of my mom, and I couldn't let just anyone into her life.

"I will do my best." Alaric replied. I nodded. We fell into awkward silence then, and I shifted my weight on my feet a couple times.

"Then I'm all for it." I said. Alaric smiled wider. "Can I ask one thing though?"

"Anything." He replied. I bit my bottom lip, thinking about how to do this. It was a sensitive subject, especially since the wounds were so fresh. I had to do this delicately.

"I know that it was hard to keep this secret from Jenna." I said, referring to the vampire secret. Alaric's jaw set. "But, I have to ask you to keep this to yourself."

"Alex-"

"If mom is ever going to know anything about this…" I said, taking a breath. "It has to come from me."

Alaric was silent for a long time, just staring at me. I needed him to agree to this, because as much as I hated keeping secrets from her, I wanted to keep her in the dark for as long as I could. Knowing this secret… it changes people. I couldn't handle it if my mom were to change too.

"I won't tell her." Alaric vowed. "I promise."

I let out a breath of relief before I nodded. Alaric gave me a small smile.

"We should probably get going." He suggested. I nodded again and followed him out the door.

We set up in our respective spots. I was to stay away from Damon. Close enough to where I could jump to his aid, but far enough away that we didn't look like a couple. Jace was not far from me either. Damon and I were pretending to be broken up so that he could distract Rebekah. The thought made my skin crawl.

"You ok?" Jace asked, checking the stakes in his wrist band again. I shrugged. I wasn't sure what I would see when Damon was distracting Rebekah, and although I knew that it meant nothing, I still had the sinking feeling of jealousy.

"I just… hate all of this." I said. "The way Stefan's been acting, Tyler being sired, and now this…"

Jace gave me a sympathetic look. It was just starting to get dark, the bonfire was lit, and the beer was flowing. I had a cup, but only to look like I was partying. I had no urge to drink it, even though it would probably make my nerves less rigid.

"So, you two fix things?" Jace asked. I nodded. "That's good."

I turned to him with a confused expression. Although he said that Damon and I fixing our problems was good, the way he said it led me to believe that he didn't think it was good at all. He was glaring at the ground, not even meeting my gaze. I furrowed my brows.

"Are you ok?" I asked him. He shrugged. "Seriously, what's up?"

"Nothing." He replied. I scoffed. "I'm fine."

"Don't you think I know you better than that?" I asked. Again he shrugged. "Hey, look at me."

He hesitated before he did as I asked. He met my gaze, his jade green eyes looking so hard and cold. I had never seen them look like this. It had me a bit concerned.

"You can talk to me you know." I told him. I then gripped his elbow and gave it a squeeze. "About anything."

He scoffed.

"I don't think you want to hear this one." Jace told me. I narrowed my eyes opening my mouth to speak. However, I was cut off when Jace took my cup and downed it. "It's show time."

I followed his gaze over to the keg where I saw Stefan speaking to Rebekah. Elena was not far from them, sending me a nod before she started to move. That was the signal, mission get-Stefan-back was now underway. I turned back to Jace to find that he was already walking away from me. I felt my shoulders slump and my heart sink.

What was wrong with him?

He should have told her. He should have told her right there. He should have told her everything when he had the chance. Now it was gone and he was kicking himself for it. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep this looming secret. How do you tell a girl who is your best friend, who is also dating a vampire who she is completely in love with, that you love her?

It wasn't the easiest of topics to bring up, and yet he had the opening right there. She was prepared to listen, and he shrugged her off. He couldn't keep hiding his feelings anymore. He couldn't keep pretending that her relationship with Damon was fine with him. He couldn't keep pretending that she wasn't the girl of his dreams and that he actually dreams about her every night. He had to tell her.

But how?

How could he tell her that he loved her? He knew that she wouldn't take it well, that she would probably run away and never speak to him again. But there was the slightest of chances that it could work. There were so many things that Jace could provide for Alex that Damon couldn't. Like humanity, a family, a normal life where she lived and died, but she was happy.

Damon couldn't give her any of that, because in the end they would either end up apart or she would turn. Jace cringed at the thought. What would he do if he saw her as a vampire? He wouldn't be happy that was for sure. He fought vampires, he didn't love them. Would his obsession with her stop when she finally decided to turn? Or if she didn't, would she lean on him for support after her break up with Damon? She could learn to love him, he could make her happy.

But was that what he really wanted? Did he want to be a second choice? If she couldn't have Damon, would he be ok with her settling for him? Jace was a good guy, loyal, responsible, and not bad looking. He would be a great boyfriend, a great husband. But Alex couldn't see that… maybe she could but not for her.

But how could he move on, when she was the only one he thought about?

To Bonnie:
I hate this.

New Message
I know, I'm sorry.

To Bonnie:
She's licking marshmallow off his fingers….

New Message
Ew…

Bonnie was currently making me dish on details because she couldn't be in on the action. My texts were a flurry of angry paragraphs about Rebekah flirting with Damon. My Damon. I had been watching from a distance, and although I knew that this wasn't real, it still didn't stop me from glaring at the blonde and wishing that lasers could shoot from my eyes.

To Bonnie:
He is a great actor.

New Message:
Is he acting?

To Bonnie:
I would assume so, considering the hot make up sex we had before this party

New Message:
TMI!

I chuckled at the screen before putting the phone in my back pocket. However, my smile was short lived because I was now watching Rebekah laugh at something Damon said and he was smiling back at her. That was my smile.

"Well, this is awkward."

I felt my blood boil at the sound of his voice and bristled when I felt him stand beside me. I didn't even have to look at him to know that he was smirking at me.

"What do you want Stefan?" I barked, my arms crossed over my chest as I continued to glare at my boyfriend flirting with another woman. A pretty, blonde, vampire woman.

"I was just curious as to why my brother is flirting with Rebekah." Stefan replied innocently. "Uh oh, did you two break up?"

"That's none of your business." I told him, giving him a small glare before I turned it back to the two near the fire. "Shouldn't you be on Elena duty right now?"

Stefan chuckled. The thought of giving up my position of being Elena's guardian for even a few hours had me on edge. But, we had to lure Stefan away from here and I couldn't be around for Elena to do so.

"She's fine." Stefan said, pointing to where Elena was drunkenly swaying. "Although, I'm pretty sure you have been keeping tabs on her."

"I always do." I said, giving him a look. "A guardian's job is never done."

"It is when she has someone stronger and faster to look after her." Stefan said. His words stung. I knew it was true, but I was not afraid of Stefan. I would die before I ever gave up protecting Elena and the people of Mystic Falls.

"I've been thinking about that actually." I said, turning to Stefan to see him fully. "Why don't we work together?"

Stefan cocked an eyebrow.

"Work together?" He repeated. I nodded. "And why would I do that?"

"Because, if you think about it, Elena will be extra safe." I said. "I mean, two people watching over her is better than one right?"

"I see your point." Stefan told me. "But I don't think I really need your services, Alexandra."

I bristled at the use of my full name.

"Listen." I said, catching his attention. "You're not getting rid of me, and I know that Klaus would have told you to keep an eye on me too."

Stefan tensed. I had to smile. Stefan could have killed me if he wanted to, or he could have at least tried. However, Klaus made it clear that neither I nor Elena were to be harmed. While he was keeping Elena alive for more selfish reasons, I knew that deep down Klaus saw me as his sister. He was not going to let anything harm me, at least not for a while. Stefan couldn't hurt me because he wasn't allowed. It gave me a small sense of power over him.

"When Klaus gets back we can go back to trying to kill one another." I told Stefan. "But until then, we both have the same goal. To keep Elena alive."

Stefan stared at me for a long time before he sighed. I smiled triumphantly before setting my gaze to Elena. She nodded to me before she started to walk away, a sway to her step because of the alcohol.

"Looks like here is your chance to prove that you are capable of this job." I said, pointing to where Elena was walking away. "Keep an eye on her. She's kind of clumsy."

"I think I can handle her." Stefan replied with a roll to his eyes. He started to follow after her.

"Stefan." I called. He turned around, looking very irritated at me. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I know the real you is deep down in there." I said. "I hope to see him some time."

Stefan rolled his eyes again before he turned around and followed after Elena. I swallowed before turning back to Damon and Rebekah. My glare intensified when I set my eyes on them again.

Damon hated doing this. Flirting with Rebekah, or anyone for that matter, it didn't do anything for him anymore. Not since he met Alex. He was trying to be convincing, putting on his Salvatore charm that always worked so well. It seemed that Rebekah was falling for it, and she was flirting back. But Damon could feel Alex's intense glare every time he did something, and he knew that it would take a lot for him to get back into her good graces.

"Your girlfriend is staring again." Rebekah said, looking up at Alex. Damon followed her gaze and then Alex acted as if she was looking at something else. She was very good at playing the obsessive ex-girlfriend.

"I told you, not my girlfriend." Damon replied. Rebekah scoffed. "We broke up."

"Doesn't seem like she's over you just yet." Rebekah said, taking a marshmallow off her stick and popping it into her mouth. "You know, Alissa was the same. She always got all the boys attention."

Damon furrowed his brows. Rebekah had compared Alex to Alissa quite a few times. He had heard Klaus do it too. It seemed that Alex and Alissa, and any other guardian before her, seemed to be the exact copy of the last. The same looks, traits, mannerisms, it was like a carbon copy of a person.

"And yet she always picked the losers." Rebekah said. Damon narrowed his eyes. "Have you noticed he has been looking at her all night?"

Damon gritted his teeth. He always noticed when Jace stared at Alex. He did it quite too often for Damon's liking. Now, he was giving her this longing puppy dog look and she hadn't even noticed. She was too busy glaring holes into the side of Rebekah's head.

"Are you afraid?" Rebekah asked him, shocking Damon for a second.

"Of what?" He asked. Rebekah smirked.

"That one day she will wise up and pick the human?" Rebekah continued. Damon felt his stomach lurch, but tried not to show it. He had thought about it, plenty of times. Jace could give Alex something that Damon never could. Would she pick a normal life over an eternity with Damon? Would she even turn? Those were questions he had never asked her, but they turned in his mind quite often. He didn't know what he would do if she just left him. He wouldn't stop her, but he didn't think he would ever recover from that.

"Alex is not my concern right now." Damon said, picking up a smore. "I can't believe you have never had one of these."

"Well, I've been in a casket for ninety years." Rebekah said. Damon chuckled, holding out the smore so she could take a bite.

"That's no excuse." He said, watching as she bit into it. He could feel Alex practically tearing him apart with her mind. If only she knew that the whole time he was doing this, he could only think about her.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Rebekah asked suddenly. "You hate me. You should be mean."

"Well, I could be mean if that's what you're into." Damon said. It was then that something changed in Rebekah's demeanor. She straightened, standing up to her feet.

"You're distracting me." Rebekah said with narrow eyes. "Why?"

"Just trying to be a good housemate." Damon said lamely, standing up so that he could tower over her. Rebekah stared at him for a long moment before she sighed.

"There's never a fair fight between us, Damon." Rebekah said. "Remember that."

Then she stabbed a large wooden stick into Damon's abdomen. He groaned out in pain, plopping down onto the long where he was previously sitting. He yanked the thing out, throwing it to the ground, and when he looked up she was gone.

"Damon!" I called, rushing over to him. I had to push past some people, and they gave me dirty looks, but I didn't care. I reached him quickly, checking out his new wound. There was a large, bloody hole in his shirt, and I could see the wound healing within seconds. I took a deep breath.

"She's dead." Damon muttered standing up straight. I put a hand on his chest, stopping him from moving.

"We've already discussed that she's stronger than you." I told him. He huffed. "Let's cool it for tonight."

"Everything ok?" Jace said coming over. However, his voice and expression showed that he wasn't the least bit concerned about Damon's wellbeing. Actually, he still looked upset like he had been earlier.

"It's fine." Damon said, shrugging it off as if it was nothing. "Come on let's go find Elena."

Damon took my hand and was about to lead me in the direction that Elena was supposed to lead Stefan to. However, my other arm was caught and Damon stopped dead in his tracks. He and I slowly turned around, seeing that we were stopped by Jace. His hand was curled around my arm in a tight grip, and he didn't seem like he was going to let go anytime soon.

"You're going to want to let go of her." Damon said in a low voice. Jace stood firm, still holding onto my arm. I jerked lightly on it but he tightened his hold. "I said let go."

"Do you think it's a good idea to be taking her out there?" Jace asked, his own voice low and threatening. "Rebekah's out there and who knows if they even got Stefan."

"Everything's fine." Damon said, jerking me closer to him. "I've got it under control."

"Like you had Rebekah under control?" Jace asked. I turned to him with bewildered eyes. Where had this come from? What was the sudden need to protect me, when there wasn't even any danger that we knew of?

"Don't start with me kid." Damon ordered. I could feel his anger rising.

"Jace seriously, it's ok." I told him, trying to play peace maker. "Damon-"

"Is so great right?" Jace asked. I winced at his tone. "Damon can do no wrong. Damon can never mess up!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him. Where had this attitude come from? What had made him so upset that he was now taking his anger out on Damon? Why was he suddenly so worried about what Damon and I did?

I could sense the competition brewing between them and I was starting to feel a little more like property then a person. It was like two kids fighting over a toy, or fighting for the big prize. It made me feel a little less human.

"Rebekah's out for blood ok?" Jace explained, tugging me forward. "And Stefan's out of his mind. I don't want you out there."

"Well, you don't make decisions for her." Damon said, anger seeping into his voice. Jace and Damon were glaring at one another so hard that I wondered if they would both drop dead. I tried to get in the middle, to stop them from fighting, but they continued to ignore me.

"You're right." Jace said through his teeth. "She can make her own decisions."

With that being said, both of them looked down at me. I first met Jace's gaze, intense and concerned. I understood where he was coming from. It was dangerous out there, and I should have been going to hide or something. I could hold my own, but Rebekah was much stronger, and I didn't think Klaus would stop her from killing me if she really wanted to. If I were in his shoes, I would probably say the same thing.

But then I looked at Damon, his eyes determined and angry. I knew that Damon would protect me and that I shouldn't worry. Nothing could happen to me when Damon was by my side. And I had to find Elena. It was my job to do so, and the idea of just sitting by and letting God knows what happen to her… it didn't really appeal to me.

I turned back to Jace slowly, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Jace I-"

"Do whatever you want." Jace spat, dropping my arm. I winced. "But don't come crying to me if something happens."

He turned then, marching away and into the crowds of people.

"Jace!" I called out to him, but he was gone. I wanted to go after him, to talk to him about what was going on. I was worried about this sudden change in attitude, and why was he so angry with me? What did he mean when he said all those things about Damon? What was wrong?

He was being crazy. Jace had officially lost his cool. And now, now he was freaking out beyond belief because in a way, she had just made her choice. Jace knew she could defend herself, she was a strong girl. But when she turned to Damon he knew. He knew that she was going to follow him no matter what Jace said.

Was he concerned? Yes. But was this really all about Alex's safety? Not really.

All night he had watched her, shirking his duties because he didn't really want to watch Damon flirt with another girl. No, Jace watched Alex all night and found himself even more enamored with her. He cringed when she would get that sad, forlorn face every time Damon did something flirty to Rebekah. He would smile every time she would look down at her phone and grin at a text. He felt his hand grip around his stake when Stefan talked to her.

He was in love.

He was in love with a woman he could never have.

How pathetic was that? That he would be pining after someone who had already made up their mind about who they wanted to be with. He knew it was a lost cause, and that there was a slim chance that she would ever choose him over Damon.

But there was still a chance.

A slim one, but still a chance. What did he have to lose? His friendship with her would be lost if he told her, but if he could convince her that he was the better choice and that deep down he knew she loved him, maybe it wouldn't be for nothing.

Damon was controlling, and he made decisions for her instead of consulting her. Jace knew that she was strong, powerful, and that she didn't constantly need to be protected because she could protect herself. Jace was supportive and the two already got along great. Why would it be so bad to tell her? Then she would finally know and he wouldn't have to keep this looming over his head forever.

But what if she rejected him.

Their friendship was the most important thing to Jace. She was what he held most near and dear to his heart, could he risk it? Yes. He had to. Otherwise, it would die with him and he couldn't let that happen. He had to tell her.

And soon.

When we found them, things had not gone according to plan.

It was explained to Damon and I, and I was floored by the turn of events. Vicki, the dead vampire that I used to work with, had started making herself known. As a ghost. Jeremy was able to speak with her, because he had died and was brought back, apparently he could now speak to them. In an attempt to see Vicki, Matt killed himself and was brought back by Bonnie.

Vicki had made a deal with a witch. Kill Elena so Klaus couldn't make more hybrids. Vicki had set the car on fire, and Elena, Alaric, and Stefan barely made it out with their lives.

"Are you ok?" I asked Elena, looking her over frantically. She waved me off, but I still made sure that she had no injuries.

Now, Stefan was up and angrier than ever. It would be a while before we could even attempt to do something like this again. Stefan would now be on his guard.

"Well, tonight was a bust." Damon said, plopping down on his bed. I sighed, doing the same. He took my hand, giving it a small squeeze. We laid there in silence for a long while, nothing but the sound of our heartbeats. I then turned to him, his face still as a statue.

"I hated seeing you with Rebekah." I said, almost in a whisper. Damon smirked before he turned to look me in the eye.

"She's not nearly as pretty as you." Damon said, leaning forward and kissing my forehead. "Pretty girl."

"I know it was fake…" I said, trailing off. "But, it still sucked."

"I know." He replied. But Rebekah was not the only thing on my mind.

"I hated that fight with Jace." I said. Damon tensed. "I don't know what got into him."

"He's worried about you." Damon replied evenly. I knew that Jace was concerned with my safety. He always had been, just like I was concerned for his. But there was something else in his words that made me think that there was something else going on.

"I can't handle it if he loves me." I told Damon. He looked down at me confused. "He's my best friend… I can't-"

"Hey, shh, it's ok." Damon said, pulling me into his side. It was then that I realized I had been crying. If Damon was right, if Jace did care for me more than a friend, I didn't think I could handle that. He had been there for me, as a friend, and I loved him, as a friend. And if he loved me as more then he would mess everything up. Our friendship would be lost, and I didn't know what I would do around him.

"You should go home." Damon told me, kissing the top of my head. "Rebekah will be home soon and I don't want her around you."

"Yeah." I replied, standing up. I walked over to the door, but stopped when I felt him beside me. I turned to him slowly. He wiped one small tear off my cheek and then took my face in his hands. He leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips, pulling back seconds later.

I forced a smile then, opening the door and moving outside of it. I headed down the stairs and turned to the front door, but stopped when I saw someone standing in the parlor. I turned to stare at him.

"Good plan." Stefan said, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Too bad it didn't work."

"Yeah." I replied. "Too bad."

"You know I'm only here to protect her." Stefan said. I knew the her he was referring to was Elena.

"I know." I replied. "What I said before wasn't a lie Stefan."

He furrowed his brows.

"You and I can protect Elena." I said. "That's all I want."

Stefan didn't speak. He just nodded once and then disappeared into another room. I sighed, turning toward the door once again and heading home.

A knock to Alaric's door alerted him that he had a visitor. He looked down at his watch, he wasn't expecting company, and Lauren was working late that night. He walked up to the door, peeping through the peep hole before he opened the door.

"Hey Jace." Alaric said. "Everything ok?"

"Just peachy." He spat. "Here."

In Jace's outstretched hand was the Gilbert ring, the one Isobel gave to him. Alaric eyed it for a second before looking back to Jace.

"Jace…" Alaric said. "Alex gave that to you. It wouldn't be right to take it."

"I don't want it." Jace replied a little more forcefully. "I've been… moody ever since Damon killed me at that party. And I don't know… I don't like testing fate."

He pushed the ring out further and Alaric sighed before he took it. He slipped it on his finger, it feeling right at home there.

"If you ever want it back-"

"I won't." Jace replied. He turned to leave then.

"Hey." Alaric said, catching his student's attention. "You ok?"

Jace considered for a second before he shrugged.

"Not really." He replied. "But I can't do anything about it."

"Want to talk?" Alaric asked. Jace stood there for a second before he sighed. Alaric stepped aside so Jace could enter the apartment.