Chapter 3

"Well if you weren't such an asshole to me, then I wouldn't have treated you that way." Jessenia shot back, eating her salad slowly and figured she would have to endure Damon her entire lunch hour.

Narrowing his eyes, Damon moved closer and took the salad away from her, forcing her to meet his eyes. "What are you doing in Mystic Falls?" He demanded, completely changing the subject.

Unbeknownst it to Jessenia, the vervain was saving her at the moment from being under the influence of Damon's compulsion. "That's none of your business." She pressed back against the tree as Damon hovered over her, feeling her mouth go dry.

"Oh yes it is and I'm going to find out your secret, Senia." Damon promised in a dark voice, reaching out to run his finger down her cheek and smirked when she smacked it away instantly. "You are very feisty. I like it." His eyes flashed at her.

Jessenia was pretty sure her heart was going to leap out of her chest at any second with how fast it pounded. "I have no secrets." She said in a softer voice, refusing to tell him the reason why she had moved here. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you any of them."

That just fueled his curiosity further and Damon really wished Elena hadn't given her vervain necklace to Alaric to give to Jessenia because, at that moment, he really wanted to compulse her. For the first time, Damon noticed just what shade of eyes she had. They reminded him of emerald stones, maybe a little lighter, very unique. Just by her saying what she did told Damon she was here for a specific reason, one he intended to find out. She wasn't what he was, he would've been able to scent it, not to mention her strength would've been heightened to where that slap would've actually hurt.

"Senia, I'm the safest person you can be around in this town." Damon said seriously, standing up and decided to leave her alone for the time being, smiling. "And the most dangerous." He was gone before she could even open her mouth to respond.

No matter how hard she tried, Jessenia could not get what Damon said out of her head for the rest of the day. Her first day of school ended and Jessenia decided to walk home since it was warm outside. Meredith was still at work until later that night and Jessenia really didn't feel like asking her history teacher for a ride home. She had a few assignments for homework, but nothing major so Jessenia wasn't worried about hurrying home to get it done.

Reaching up, Jessenia let her hair down, her long loose curly light brown hair cascading down her back in waves, resting just above her waist. She began plucking out the bobby pins she used to put it up that morning and ran her fingers through it several times, placing them in her bag. As Jessenia walked, she started looking around and familiarizing herself with the area.

There was a local bookshop just down the street from the school along with a tool and antique shop. Everything was new and different from Maryland, it was such a beautiful little town. There were woods that surrounded the town, which was another thing Jessenia enjoyed and planned on visiting soon.

Her thoughts went back to Damon, his words plaguing her mind. In what universe did he actually think she would believe he was the safest person in this town? The most dangerous, maybe, but definitely not the safest. She felt absolutely no safe vibes from Damon, only danger, and Jessenia decided she was staying far away from him.

"You really shouldn't be walking by yourself."

Jessenia stopped and looked at who was talking to her. It was the blonde from class that made her appearance public, basically forcing her to introduce herself in front of everyone. Jessenia should've been livid with her, but she wasn't, simply eyeing her skeptically.

"What?"

Caroline chuckled and continued rolling the car on the street, not worried about hitting anything because she had keen senses. "I said you shouldn't be walking out here by yourself. Never know what can happen." Elena had asked Caroline to track Jessenia down to make sure that Damon didn't bother her. "How about I give you a ride home?"

"No thanks, I'm fine. It's not that much farther." Jessenia called back with a tentative smile, starting to walk again.

One second Caroline was in her car driving alongside a walking Jessenia and the next second she was standing in front of her with deep dark eyes. "I insist." Her valley girl voice sounded a little strained, though Jessenia managed to keep the urgency out of it. "Come on."

"No thanks, I said I don't need a ride." How the hell did these people move this quickly? Jessenia had to back away because of how close Caroline was, frowning. "I'll be fine, it's just another two blocks or so."

"Look, I didn't want to say anything, but I saw your confrontation with Damon earlier." Caroline admitted, chewing her bottom lip. "And again outside during lunch."

Sighing, Jessenia scrubbed a hand down her face, suddenly giving her full attention to the blonde. "Yeah…I don't know what his problem is. He asked me what I was doing in Mystic Falls, like I should have a specific reason for being here. Then he said he would find out all of my secrets, which I don't have any." That was a lie, but Jessenia didn't know blondie well enough to tell her anything at the moment.

"That's Damon for you, the paranoid freak." Caroline flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, laughing. "Look, Elena asked me to track you down because she didn't want Damon bothering you. You're a new face in town and he's curious about you, that's all. He wants to make sure you're not up to no good, which I know you're not just looking at you." Extending her hand, Caroline smiled wider with more friendly eyes. "How about we start off with an introduction and I'll walk you home?" She decided to try compromising, not blaming Jessenia for being a little cynical. "I'll go first. Hi, my name is Caroline Forbes. What's yours?"

Taking her hand, Jessenia shook it a few times. "Jessenia Winters, most call me Jesse or Jess though."

"It's nice to meet you." Caroline said, intrigued by the name. "That's a unique name, what does it mean?"

"Some sources I've read say it means flower, but I've also read it means jasmine flower."

"That's what you smell like."

Both girls whipped around at the sound of that voice, Caroline instantly jumping in front of Jessenia, eyes narrowed. "What do you want, Damon?" Caroline didn't move an inch when Damon went from being around twenty feet away to right in front of her, shoulders squared. "Nobody invited you into this conversation."

"I never need an invite, blondie." Damon snorted, arrogance pouring from him. "Not that it's any of YOUR business, but I need to have a word with Senia."

Caroline raised a brow and folded her arms in front of her chest, remembering what Elena told her. "There's nothing she has to say to you." What the hell was Damon's game and why couldn't he just leave the poor girl alone?

"She can't speak for herself now?" Damon retorted smoothly, fighting not to smirk.

"Don't make me kick your ass again, Damon. Leave now." Caroline ordered, no longer afraid of the vampire that tortured her when they first met.

He fed on her for months, used her as his little toy to do his dirty work, though Caroline did admit that the sex was amazing. The things he made her do was despicable, but Elena quickly put a stop to it once she figured out what was happening. Damon had used compulsion on her, forcing her to do whatever he wanted. Under that influence, any human who didn't have vervain on them didn't have a prayer because it could be applied during a simple conversation.

Caroline ended up being hospitalized after getting into a serious car accident that nearly claimed her life. Stefan gave her his blood to heal her so she wouldn't die, which she would be forever grateful to him for saving her. However, Stefan had an enemy come back into town by the name of Katherine -his ex-girlfriend and the woman who changed him- and, to send a message to Stefan, she suffocated Caroline with a pillow with the vampire blood still inside of her system, changing her unwillingly.

Once Caroline woke up, all the compulsion that Damon used on her vanished and she remembered every single thing he did to her. All the blood he stole, all the wretched things to her friends, the only good thing being remembered was the sex. So when Caroline came face to face with Damon again, which was in the school hallway during one of the ceremonies the town was famous for having, she beat the hell out of him, exacting some much needed revenge for everything he'd done to her.

"You could try, but I won't be caught off guard like I was last time, Caroline." Damon promised darkly, giving her a once over, almost outright laughing. "If I have to do this forcefully, I will."

"What the hell do you want from me?" Jessenia finally opened her mouth to say something before a fight broke out between Caroline and Damon, looking incredulous. "There is no need for violence, especially between the two of you." How Caroline had kicked Damon's ass was something Jessenia would definitely have to find out at a later date.

"Glad you decided to cooperate." Damon smiled charmingly, though it didn't reach his icy eyes. "I want to talk to her alone, blondie." He stated, waving her off as if she was an annoying fly that wouldn't go away. "So take a hike before you get hurt."

Caroline went to say something and actually took a step toward Damon when Jessenia stopped her, grabbing her arm. "Please don't, I really don't want you getting hurt because of me." She pleaded, watching as Caroline turned to look down at her. "I'll be fine. He just wants to talk."

Jessenia had taken the small black can of mace out of her bag and had it in her hand as soon as she left the school. It was small enough to where her entire hand could hide it, so Jessenia wasn't that worried. If Damon so much as laid one finger on her, she would spray him right in the eyes and blind him. Her cousin definitely was right, she required safety in this small town, especially from someone like Damon.

"I'm not going to hurt her." Damon assured Caroline, seeing the hesitation in her eyes and sighed. "I promise."

"Your promises don't mean jack to me, Damon." Caroline didn't think it was a very good idea to let Jessenia walk alone with him because she knew what Damon was capable of. "Jesse, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." Jessenia sounded more confident than she felt, her insides quaking and squeezed Caroline's arm gently. "Go on, we'll talk more later."

Sighing resignedly, Caroline finally nodded and slowly backed away from Jessenia. "Don't hurt her, Damon. If you do, I will kick your ass." Before Damon could fire something back, Caroline was back in her car and driving away faster than the speed of light.

"How does she do that?" Jessenia wondered aloud, blinking and jumped when Damon tapped her shoulder, bringing her attention back to him. "Alright she's gone, what do you want from me?"

"My, my cutting straight to the chase, eh? No foreplay first?" Damon teased lewdly, smirking when Jessenia rolled her eyes and couldn't help being more intrigued by her. "Walk with me?" It wasn't an option as Damon laced her arm through his, both of them starting to walk down the sidewalk slowly.

Jessenia had no choice except to go with him, knowing he wouldn't stop until she talked to him, but still had the mace in her hand in case he tried any funny business. "Well? Are you going to tell me what you want or should I just cut this 'walk' short now?" She demanded, trying not to sound annoyed even though she was.

"Can't two friends walk down the sidewalk together?" Damon asked innocently, raising a brow when she tried pulling away from him and kept a vise grip on her arm. "Now come on, I didn't say anything to make you run away from me."

This man was very arrogant and full of himself, Jessenia really just wanted to nail him right between the legs, but had a feeling if she even tried it, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. "Let go of me." She whispered in a demand, gasping when they abruptly stopped and Damon yanked her behind a tree out of sight, pushing her against it. "Damon…"

"Shut up." He ordered in a low voice, standing so close to her that their noses were practically touching, jade mixing with aquamarine. "Just shut that pretty mouth of yours before I end up doing it for you and listen. There are…certain people around this town that are a lot more dangerous than me and, if you're here to screw with one of them, you're going to need protection. So the reason I'm asking you this is because there's only a few Fell family members left that are alive, I know all of them and Meredith is the only decent one. You being a cousin of the Fell Family has me intrigued and also on edge…" Damon ran his finger down her cheek, his eyes searing her soul. "And when I'm edge, Senia, bad things happen."

"I'm just here for my senior year in high school, nothing more." Jessenia hoped he bought her lie because right now she was terrified and squeezed the bottle of mace, her stomach tightening. "Now let me go." This conversation was over.

"Why don't I believe you?" His voice had gone quiet and soft, which wasn't a good sign as he studied her for a few seconds. "You know I can tell when someone is lying to me, right?" Damn her vervain necklace, this would've been so much easier to compel her so he wouldn't have to pry information out of her the hard way. "You're lying to me."

Jessenia closed her eyes, trying not to let the fear consume her. "No I'm not…"

Damon growled, sick of the games and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her eyes to fly open. "Yes you are and if you don't-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Jessenia had just sprayed him with the mace and shoved him away from her hard enough to make him stumble back several feet. Not wasting a second to get away, Jessenia took off down the sidewalk as fast as she could, tears stinging her eyes, scared to death by now. Pounding pavement was going to start being something Jessenia did on a regular basis. She just had this sinking feeling and didn't stop running until she was home, safe and sound, locking the door behind her, pressing her back to it.

"Thank you Meredith, thank you…" She whispered to the mace bottle, pressing it to her chest and finally forced herself to move from the door, heading upstairs to her room to start her homework.