"It's crunch time," Tyler said, trying to sound like the quarterback that everyone assured Jessa that he was at one point in time.
"Do people honestly use this type of language?" She asked Damon, trying desperately not to roll her eyes.
Damon smothered a laugh, even he knew that Tyler was wound a little too tight. It was the night of the dance, and he was correct in the summation that it was the final hours. This was pretty much it. The trap was laid. Either it would work, or it wouldn't. He looked at Jessa, and knew that she was their best chance at it working. She was amazing and powerful. Now if only he could be sure that Elena and his idiotic brother wouldn't screw everything up.
"OK, Kibbles-n-Bits, tone it down a bit. Yes, we're in the home stretch," Damon said, smirking at Jessa. "Let's go over the plan again. Since we know for sure that they're heading back tonight, and that they're going to need a werewolf to make another hybrid- that's where you come in." He points at Tyler. "You're going to make sure you sell 'unwilling'. I don't know if you took drama, and I don't care. Make it look like it. Remember, Jessa has to take the wolf from you so Klaus knows she can. And she's going to use touch to do it." Tyler and Jessa share a grin and nod. "Next, Elena, I know you're going to want to bum rush my darling brother, but trust me when I say, DON'T. They need you for the hybrid transformation. They're going to get you. Even if it's not Stefan, it may be Elijah of Rebecca, but someone will get you. Just let it happen. We DON'T have time to play damsel in distress rescue. Trust me. You'll be rescued. Understood?" Everyone nodded, even if Elena didn't look happy. "Now lastly, this is something that Ric and I have been working on, and we've come up with an ace in the hole, we've found where the staked extra Original siblings are held. They have a guard, and Jessa can undo their supernatural status without touch, which she'll do after Tyler and before Klaus. This way, Klaus is a last ditch effort."
Everyone gasped. Klaus was a given. No one imagined that Klaus would be allowed to live. It wasn't a possibility.
"Wait, if Klaus lives, he could make more hybrids." Tyler said, worried.
"Not without Elena's blood." Jessa reminded everyone. "And I can undo that portion of the curse."
"You can undo that?" Elena asked, eyes wide. "I thought you could only undo that actual supernatural aspect of the being?"
"So did I, but then I realized that Klaus' mother must have added that part. When the witch realized in Chicago that your blood was why the hybrids didn't survive, hence why they had to come back, I realized that we had to do something else to stop them. I think I can unlock that. I have to be here in this room to do it, with you and Klaus. I don't have to touch you and Klaus, but I have to focus. It shouldn't take but a moment. It's hard to describe with words, but curses like this are like a mind lock." Jessa said. "As for his hybrid status and the danger, if he chooses to live life as harmless to Mystic Falls, he can live. If not, then the consequences will be severe."
Jessa felt Elena's mind turn toward ideas that were uncomfortable to her, but she didn't have time to deal with them at the moment. Current events were problematic enough.
"What about Elijah and Rebecca? They aren't exactly cuddly teddy bears." Caroline asked.
Ric answered. "We're not death dealers, Caroline. The same deal Jessa mentioned for Klaus, I imagine stands for them." He looked at Jessa for confirmation and received a nod.
"The point is, we want to get Stefan back and minimize the damage." Damon said, for once being the rational one. "This is a school dance. Keep the teenagers at the dance. Keep the Originals in the part of the school locked down on this side of the school. Ric is a chaperone. Jessa and I will be here as well. You guys will find a way to go looking for supplies."
"Simple." Elena said, voice shaking.
HOURS LATER AS THE DANCE IS ABOUT TO START~~~~ 70s DECADES DANCE
"The 70s?!" Jessa asked, crinkling her nose, looking down at what she managed to scrounge up. "I look like I'm cos playing an extra from 'That 70s Show'."
Damon started laughing, he was lounging across their bed in his room. He, of course, was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a leather jacket, and boots. Literally the man was dressed for any damn decade. He jumped to his feet and sauntered to where she stood in front of his full length mirror. Standing behind her, he pulled her back to his chest and dropped his chin to the top of her head.
"You could cosplay as Elmo and you'd be gorgeous." He said with a completely straight face. "However, you don't look like a cos-player. You look like Jessa. And you're beautiful."
"Elmo?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "Thank you, by the way." She took a deep breath. "Ready to chaperone a bunch of randy teenagers?"
Damon kissed the top of her head and yanked her hips back against him, showing just who was randy. "What do you think?"
AT THE SCHOOL
"Ric," Damon greeted his best friend, nodding over the punch bowl. "Everyone ready for a fun and magical night?"
Ric nearly choked on whatever passed for punch at Mystic Falls High. "Absolutely, Damon. Hey, Jessa. You look great!"
Jessa nodded. She took stock of the room. It was filling quickly with students and the willing and unwilling chaperones. Like herself and the two men she stood with, everyone had made an effort to look the part of the decade chosen for this year's dance. She took note when she saw Caroline and Matt come in. Then Elena, Bonnie, and Jeremy followed ten minutes later. Tyler was a few minutes behind. The gangs all here, she told Damon who she knew confirmed with Ric.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," she said, "I need to find the ladies room."
Jessa walked down the hallway she'd already scouted days earlier, then again that morning. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She then sat in a stall and let her mind reach out. Damon had already gave her the intel about where the stake siblings were being kept and she wanted to reach out and verify if she could feel their guard. Sure enough, she could in fact feel the person guarding them. Faint, but there they were. One point taken and checked.
She took another moment to check the next stage, where was Stefan. While they hadn't been close as children she felt that because he was Damon's brother, their signature would be similar. Surely she'd be able to touch that. Deeply breathing, she felt for him. There, a block away from the school and closing the distance at a rate that a car was moving. She sent a message to Damon.
Done with those tasks, she stepped out and was confronted by a young blond woman. She knew precisely who she was because she'd seen her in Chicago. Although luckily the woman had not seen Jessa there. Smiling lightly, Jessa made her way to the sinks, thankful she'd remembered the ruse to flush after leaving the stall. She washed her hands and walked out of the ladies room, sending a message urgently to Damon.
REBECCA WAS ALREADY HERE.