"Where's the girl you went out with?"
"She went to the ladies room if you must know. I don't appreciate you checking up on me brother, I told you I'm not biting anyone in this hotel already."
"Then why did you take her outside?"
"Ask her yourself, since you won't believe me." Stefan heard the clack, clack of heels and saw Jess hesitate when she saw him and Damon.
"Are you alright Jess?"
"I'm fine… why?" Then she noticed Damon glaring at his brother. "Ok, I have a confession to make. The Renaissance period is my least favourite period in history and I am seriously dreading this module because I can't get my head around it. Damon has very kindly agreed to help me on a couple of bits."
Stefan wasn't expecting that at all, he looked at his brother who grinned at him.
"Do you want to know why her bag was so heavy earlier? She has," he looked at Jess who gave him a don't you dare, I'm so disappointed in you stare. "One very large textbook with her and a notepad and pens in case we said something interesting that she can check up on and use."
Jess looked embarrassed and guilty, Stefan looked from one to another and then shook his head.
"And you're helping her why?"
"Because I feel like it." Stefan and Damon stared at each other and Jess just stood there.
"Sorry, but can I get past please?"
Stefan realised he was blocking the door and stepped back, "I just want to make it clear that I'm not happy you asked my brother to help you with your university course, but I'm not going to stop you."
"She didn't ask. I volunteered." Stefan stared at his brother. "It'll be fun," he winked at Jess.
"That's what you said about this," said Stefan
"Things aren't always what they seem. You should know that." He winked at Jess and walked off leaving Stefan glaring after him and Jess beating a hasty retreat back into the ballroom.
She walked back in and Holly and Mel rushed up to her- "what happened?" but she shook her head. "Not here, not now. I'll tell you later ok?"
Elena came over with a determined look on her face, "do you know where the ladies are?" she asked loudly, while flashing I want a word look.
"I'll show you" Jess sighed, taking the hint and Elena walked out and the minute they got outside Elena started.
"What happened with Damon?"
"I've already told Stefan, I'm doing a degree in history and the Renaissance period is really my least favourite period of history but we're studying it at the moment and Damon has offered to help me. He said three other girls are doing history and their favourite period is the Renaissance, but they're only knowledgeable on the subject because they want to impress him."
"That figures, but then again I did that to Stefan once," she smiled at the memory. Then realising who she was talking to said "Just be careful, the other girls might get jealous and we're not here to play favourites."
"I will, I promise." For the second and final time Jess went back into the ballroom, but this time she felt really fed up with the looks so she went up to Holly and Mel and told them she was leaving, she had her room key and she'd see them later.
She saw Elena on the way back who asked why she wasn't in the ballroom, "I'm just feeling a bit tired so I'm going to bed."
"I'm sorry if I upset you, if we've upset you."
"It's not you, I've had too much to drink anyway, so I'm just gonna go chill out for a bit, or go for a walk or something."
Elena went back into the ballroom and Stefan came over to her, " I think I've upset Jess. I wanted to know what happened between her and Damon, I saw the way you looked at him when he came in."
Stefan sighed, "it'll be fine. She'll bounce back after her study session tonight I'm sure."
"So you really think it's a study session?"
"Yes," he grinned at his wife "but we could have our own study session if we leave now." Elena laughed and they went to Bonnie, Matt, Alaric and Meredith to say goodnight.
A little while later Jess approached Damons' room with trepidation, he opened the door with a knowing smile, "I won't bite you know. There's no need to be so nervous."
They sat down and Jess told Damon about the content of the module "I see what you mean."
For the next hour Jess wrote while Damon explained, he helped draw a timeline and a family tree of the Medicis and talked her through some of the high Renaissance art.
The interesting part was when they got onto the Borgias, Damon talked her through Rodrigo, Cesare and Lucrezia and how Rodrigo had a "bride of christ" installed next to the Vatican for conjugal visits. "I'm getting bored cooped up here, it's very stuffy. Let's go to a library."
"It's gone eleven, they shut hours ago."
"Not when you're with me. Have you ever heard of the London library?"
"Is that where we're going?!" He grinned. "Oh, my, god!"
"No exclusive membership required. Shall we?"
Stefan chose that moment to come out of the lift, on his way back from hunting. He paused when he saw Jess and Damon and looked at them in askance.
"We're going on a date," Damon informed him, Stefan looked as though he was about to hit the roof when Jess grinned at him with sparkly eyes. "I can never resist a man who takes me to the library on our first date."
"At this time of night?" Stefan disapproved and didn't find her joke funny.
"Libraries should be open to the public, not have expensive membership fees slapped on them so only the Borgias can afford them."
Stefan looked confused "What sort of library would do that?"
"All the good ones."Jess replied grimly before Damon coughed from the lift.
"If you don't trust me, brother, you can always come with us." Jess looked as startled as Stefan, but there seemed to be a slight change to his face, was Damon up to something?
"Of course I trust you, I'm just surprised that you couldn't wait a couple of days and go in the daylight."
"Because it's the London Library. It's still like it was in 1862, it's still got all the original stuff, hundreds of books and bookstacks like something out of Ghostbusters. That means we get access to the books they don't want us to get access to and the Times room as well and it also means I don't have to pay £50 a month for the privilege."
"We need to go Jess, we don't have all night to wait for my brother."
Jess stepped in the lift and the doors began to close, suddenly Stefan was standing in front of her. "We can go in my car, that way everyone can fit in."
He sighed and it was the sigh of someone who has knowingly let themselves be dragged into something that they know is going to end up as a disaster, but they'd do it anyway.
