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Forced Friendship

"Why are making me go to this?" Damon complained.

It had been a few weeks since Caroline turned. Bonnie had made her a daylight ring and she was adjusting. Matt was there for her, but only as a friend. She didn't like it, but she understood that it was too weird. And, she needed him as a friend rather than lose him from her life completely. With Katherine seemingly content tormenting Stefan, Damon and Jade got to be as peaceful as they could manage to be.

"Because," Jade said, drawing it out as she got brownies out of the oven. "Jenna is my friend, and she's having a barbecue."

"Jenna was your babysitter," Damon said in annoyance and she knew the very specific reason he didn't want to go.

"Well, Vicki's going because Jeremy's her boyfriend," Jade continued. "Alaric's going, you guys are friends." She shrugged. "It'll be fun."

"And this has nothing to do with you trying to make me and Mason be besties?" Damon asked sarcastically. Jenna was having a barbecue and Alaric wanted to invite some of her old high school friends, thinking it would be fun. When only Mason could make it, Alaric regretted his idea because he knew it would make Damon crazy. Mason had been around a lot lately for Jade as a friend, which Damon wasn't happy about but he couldn't really say anything.

"And you not wanting to go has nothing to do with your ridiculous idea that Mason's trying to steal me from you?" Jade quipped back.

"He totally is," Vicki commented, coming into the kitchen now and joining Damon at the table while Jade started moving the brownies to a plate.

"Ok, you two aren't allowed to be friends if you're always going to be siding against me," Jade rolled her eyes at them; they both just smiled innocently at her. "Can we all play nice today?" she asked sarcastically.

"No," both Vicki and Damon answered like it was obvious and Jade rolled her eyes again. It was going to be a long day.

"Hey!" Mason greeted the three of them as they came into the house, pouring two more shots. He, Jenna, and Alaric were all standing around the counter, a bottle of liquor between them. They had just passed Caroline and Elena on the porch, with Elena trying to call Stefan. Damon wasn't saying anything, but Stefan had caught Katherine at the house earlier that day and was now asking her about why she was in town.

"You guys are just in time for shots," he said, holding them out for them to take. Damon politely took his and Vicki reached for Jade's. "Ah, aren't you underage?" Mason half laughed.

"Jade doesn't drink anymore Mason," Vicki said like it was obvious and he was the biggest jerk for offering.

"Oh," Mason said apologetically, setting the shot glass back on the counter. "I'm sorry Jade."

"It's fine," Jade assured him, nudging her sister. So much for playing nice.

"Jeremy's out back Vicki," Jenna told her now.

"Thanks," Vicki smiled at her, going out to find where Jeremy was hanging out.

"She doesn't like me," Mason observed, half laughing.

"She has to warm up to people," Jade shrugged.

It was a long afternoon. Things were tense between Elena and Caroline, though Jade couldn't tell why. Things also seemed icy between Jeremy and Vicki; Jade knew that Jeremy kept pushing her to turn him and she wouldn't do it. Then, there was the most obvious tension in the room, and that was between Mason and Damon. At least, Jade thought it was obvious. Jenna hardly picked up on it and Jade wondered if it was partly because of how much they were all drinking.

"Did you two ever go out?" Alaric was asking Mason about Jenna while they all sat down for dessert; Caroline and Elena left the party while Jeremy and Vicki went upstairs to watch a movie.

"She was too busy dating Logan Fell," Mason teased her.

"Ugh Logan Fell," Jenna half laughed.

"Dating Fells is always a mistake," Jade added on, knowing from going out with Eric before.

"True," Jenna nodded in agreement. "Besides, Mason always had a bunch of girls dying to go out with him anyway."

"Oh yeah?" Damon chimed in now. "I always kinda thought you'd be a lone wolf." Jade kicked her foot sideways to nudge Damon.

"I'm sure you're more of a lady killer than I am," Mason said back and Jade kicked her foot across to get him; they both needed to stop.

"Speaking of girls with a crush on Mason," Jenna joked, looking over at Jade now with a grin.

"Oh come on Jenna," Alaric said in joking, but really he knew it was going to bother Damon.

"It's not going to bug you, right Damon?" Jenna laughed.

"No," Damon shook his head, though he did stretch to put his arm across the back of Jade's chair. "Besides, I knew she liked him in high school."

"High school?" Jenna laughed now. "When I used to babysit her she asked if Mason was coming over." She giggled now, looking at Jade. "You've always had the biggest crush on him."

"I remember," Jade said lightly, though she wished it would stop.

"Have you always liked older guys Jade?" Mason joked to her.

"Hey, Damon's younger than you," Jenna pointed out with a laugh and Mason just smirked at the vampire.

"Does anyone else need a drink?" Jade asked, getting up from the table now. This conversation was making her crazy. Walking over into the kitchen, she got herself a glass of water, while Vicki and Jeremy had come down to get into the desserts on the table. She hadn't noticed Mason follow her over to the counter. When she turned to look at him, his face looked apologetic.

"I shouldn't have said that stuff," he said softly; Jade noticed Damon shifting in his seat and she figured he was listening.

"I've gotten used to you guys doing that," she shrugged, looking away from the table and towards him.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said now. "About your dad."

"My dad?" Jade raised her eye brows.

"My one friend, he's a detective," Mason explained. "He's leaving his job and starting some private thing, looking into missing person cases."

"My dad's not missing," Jade said in confusion. "He's just...not around."

"He's missing to you," Mason reasoned. "You said it yourself Jade, you want to have a face for him." Jade was quiet. "If you knew where your mom was staying around that time, he might be able to track some people that she knew down, figure out who he was."

"I wouldn't even know where to start," Jade shook her head. "My mom was all over the place, she hitch hiked across the country, taking random jobs."

"You could call her," Mason suggested. "It might help with...learning about what you are."

"No way," Vicki protested now, having heard the conversation and coming over. "You're not calling mom." Jade didn't answer right away. "Jade Nicole Donovan, you're-"

"Ok, Victoria Ann," Jade said with an eye roll, looking at Mason. "She's right, I'm not going to call Kelly." She shook her head. "I don't want her to think she can come back."

"Up to you," Mason nodded. "Just let me know if you change your mind."

"Oooo, do you guys know what would be fun?" Jenna was saying now enthusiastically as it had started to get dark outside; she had been drinking too much. "We should have a bonfire."

"I don't know Jenna," Alaric was saying hesitantly, looking over at Damon.

"No, it'll be fun," Damon insisted, feeling Jade standing behind his chair, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, it would be," Jade nodded in agreement.

"Oh, wait," Jenna complained. "We don't have any marshmallows."

"I can go get them," Jade offered.

"Are you sure?" Jenna asked.

"Um, considering the four of you have almost finished that," Jade laughed, nodding at the bottle on the table. "I'll go, no big deal."

"Want company?" Damon offered, getting up to follow her over towards the door.

"I can handle s'more duty," she teased him, leaning up on her toes to kiss him. She meant for it to be a quick kiss, but he caught her off guard, keeping her close and pulling her into a deep kiss. "Wow," she breathed when he let her go, a smirk settling on her face. "I think I like you jealous."

"Hurry back," he told her now. "I might end up in a fight while you're gone."

"Wow, a werewolf/vampire match up?" she joked. "Save it for when I'm here, I wouldn't wanna miss that," she said sarcastically, making him laugh. "Love you."

"Love you too," he told her, watching her go.

The more time went on, the more Damon was nervous. The store was only ten minutes away, Jade was picking up one thing. She should be back by now, right? It'd been an hour and everyone else around the fire said she probably ran into someone in town and got to talking, or maybe she stopped by the grille to see Matt. Still, something didn't sit right with Damon. His fearful suspicions were confirmed when Matt called him.

"Is my sister with you?" Matt asked in concern. Next to Damon, Vicki was able to hear the conversation clearly.

"No, why?" Damon asked nervously.

"Because I just found her car," Matt answered. "It's parked in the lot between the store and the grille, the driver's door is wide open." He hesitated, looking at the car carefully. "There's blood Damon." Vicki looked over at Damon in panic.

"Yeah, we're on our way," Damon said like he was answering a question, hanging up the phone.

"Where are you guys going?" Jeremy asked as Damon and Vicki got up.

"Uh, Jade's car broke down," Damon shook his head, brushing it off like it was something minor. "We're gonna walk back, get my car from their place, and pick her up. Probably just stay at the house so..."

"Night," Vicki finished for him, grabbing his arm and pulling him along with her as she was terrified that something awful happened to Jade. As they headed outside the front of the Gilbert house, they felt someone following them; it was Mason.

"What's going on?" Mason asked.

"Don't worry about it," Damon told him.

"Did something happen to Jade?" Mason asked. "Look, my hearing isn't as good as yours, but I know that was her brother on the phone and not her."

"He found her car, empty," Vicki explained and Damon looked to her. "The more people that know, the more people that are out looking for her."

"Get to my place," he told them.

"No way, I'm going with you," Vicki protested and he shook his head.

"Matt's there already," Damon told her. "Tell Stefan and make sure Katherine is still with him."

"The girl that looks like Elena?" Mason asked and Damon nodded. "You think she did this?"

"I think she's spent too much time messing with my brother and Elena," Damon said back. "She's probably due to get me and Jade."

Jade woke up the next morning, not sure where she was, her head throbbing. Sitting up slowly, she held her head, the pain on the side where she had hit it against the window of her car. She had been completely blindsided leaving the store, getting pulled into a car by two strangers, the people taking off. Distantly, she could hear their voices in another room. Getting off of the couch, she followed the sound of the voices. There was now a third voice, another male among the male and female that were already in the house. She pushed the door open that separated her from the room they were in.

"Close the door," the one man ordered, standing between the other two, dressed in a suit. She jumped back, the door shutting on it's own. There was a crash, then the girl screamed. "Don't," he warned her. Through a crack in the door, Jade could see the one guy laying on the ground, dead. She covered her mouth to keep from gasping, backing away from the door slowly. In a flash, the door opened again and the man who had ordered her to shut it was standing in front of her; she figured he must be a vampire.

"Don't be afraid," he told her, his demeanor seeming gentler than before.

"Uh huh," Jade said sarcastically, backing away; she tripped over herself and fell back against the couch, staying there.

"You're Jade," he observed, sitting next to her, though at a safe distance so that she would still feel comfortable; she backed up further against the arm of the couch.

"How do you know my name?" she asked in confusion.

"I'm Elijah," he introduced himself.

"Ok, Elijah," Jade said now. "Wanna tell me why you had me kidnapped?"

"I didn't," Elijah told her, seeming apologetic. "I only learned about you a few weeks ago. They must have found out and thought that by getting you to me first I would forgive them for troubles in the past."

"Learned about me?" Jade asked, not understanding.

"From your mother," Elijah nodded.

He had run into Kelly several weeks ago and she had freaked out about how he looked exactly the same as he did when she saw him decades ago in Chicago. He compelled her to calm down and to forget that she saw him and she left immediately, even leaving her things. Looking for a place to return her purse to, he had found pictures of three kids inside. By the age of the picture and the size of the blonde girl, he knew how old she must be and what that must make her.

"You know my mom?" Jade raised her eye brow. "Wait, are you my-"

"Uncle," he cut her off with a soft smile and Jade's face scrunched up in confusion.

"No, because my dad's a werewolf," Jade shook her head. "You can't be turned into a vampire if you're a werewolf, so if you're-"

"Your father is my half brother," Elijah stopped her. "He was born with a werewolf father. Our mother, when she created vampires through magic, his werewolf side became dormant. But, just because he's not a changing wolf, doesn't mean he doesn't have werewolf qualities." He motioned to her. "Including the ability to have children." Jade held up a hand to stop him.

"Your mom created vampires?" she asked now with skepticism.

"She was a witch," he nodded. "And, my siblings and I, we're the first vampires. The originals."

"Oh, awesome," Jade said sarcastically, getting up to pace nervously as Elijah continued to sit. "Why are you here now and not my dad?"

"I was hoping to keep you from him," Elijah said hesitantly. "My younger brother Niklaus, he's...not the best influence."

"Great, so my real dad's a dick," Jade commented; that sounded like Kelly to her, always going for the wrong guy. "I could have just gone to my step-dad for that," she muttered under her breath, pacing the floor, still finding this hard to believe. "Wait, you said his name was Niklaus?" Elijah nodded. "Like...Nik for short?" That was what she heard to let her know that he wasn't lying to her.

"He typically prefers Klaus," Elijah said. "But, yes, Nik for short."

"Jade Nicole," she emphasized, taking a seat again, twisting her hands. "She picked it because my dad's name was Nik." She shook her head. "That's all she knew about him."

"I'm sure that it-"

"Why should I believe you?" Jade stopped him. "What, I'm the daughter of this original vampire...werewolf...guy, who's brother is a vampire. And my grandmother is this...ancient, vampire making witch. All on top of the fact that my sister's a vampire and I'm dating-"

"I have no gain in lying to you Jade," Elijah assured her. "And, I wouldn't lie to you." Jade took her spinning head in her hands. "With everything that's happened, is this really that hard to believe?" She didn't answer. "Jade?"

"I need a minute," Jade said, getting up now. "Some air..."

As she was saying this, she went for the door, stopping on the porch outside to catch her breath. She felt like she might have a panic attack. As she was resting against the railing, wondering what her next move should be, she felt someone grabbing her, pulling her back as they kept their hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. When they pulled her to the side of the house though, she saw who it was and she relaxed.

It was Damon.

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