Chapter two

When I woke up the next morning with a sense of peace about me, it felt unnatural. Especially when I opened my eyes and found myself in a very unfamiliar room. The walls were a light green and beige, not the white that was my prison cell.

Now I hesitantly got up, thinking hard- these vampires had took me in, saved me from that... place.

I felt a prickle on the back of my neck now, as if someone was watching me, but when I turned, no one was there. Silently, I sat back down and took a deep breath, my throat was burning once more.

Then there was a knock on the door and I froze, fear shooting through me. But then-

"Jasmine?"

It was that girl, Elena.

I walked over to the door and opened it a crack. She smiled a little and I opened the door to let her in, sitting down on the bed.

Elena now held up a bottle of dark red liquid and said. "Stefan thought you might want this."

Now I took it and smiled a little. "Thank you." I told her, and she sat down next to me. Wow. She was brave.

"Look, you should... stay away. I don't wanna hurt you." I told her, getting up and backing away towards the window, but my shoulder brushed the closed curtains and I hissed in agony as the dislodged sunlight burned me.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked in concern as I sat down on the spot and started on "breakfast"

I nodded and just sighed. "Where exactly am I?"

Elena was quiet, then-

"You're in Mystic Falls."

"Huh? That place in Virginia right?"

"That's the one"

Now I had tears in my eyes and she came over to me and sat opposite, putting her arms around my shoulders, making my stomach go queasy- it had been years since I'd had a hug of any kind. I put my head on her shoulder now and said quietly. "I'm scared Elena."

She let me go and met my eyes with her own soft ones, hands in hers. "You're safe here ok?" she smiled.

"And you shouldn't be in here."

Elena looked around now and scowled at the door- Damon was stood there with his arms folded and a glare aimed at me. I frowned, fear of a kind creeping through me. He may have been a vampire too, but he scared me with that predators glare.

"Damon, just get out." Elena scowled now, and Damon walked in and sat on the bed, putting his hands together and cocked his head at me. "Well, I'm more intrigued by this "Vampire Lab" and perhaps Jazzy can tell us more."

I froze now, then glared. "Damon right? Well Damon... I aint' telling you squat. Because I don't like you."

Damon raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Come on! I'm instantly likable, me."

"No you're not."

He chuckled now and just said. "So you're a failed experiment then?"

"Enough."

Elena glared now and got up, hissing at Damon. "Look- can't you see she's scared? How heartless can you get!"

"Oh I can up it a notch. She doesn't have a ring."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me-" he smirked, getting up, but Elena grabbed his arm and glared, making him groan and walk out.

"What's his problem?" I asked now, frowning.

Elena sighed. "Damon just... being Damon. Don't worry, he won't hurt you. Empty threats."

I nodded absentmindedly, then asked. "Can I go out tonight?"

"Well, that depends on if you can control yourself."

Now Stefan, the nice one came in, sitting down in Damons spot and I nodded. "I don't know how long I've been a vampire, but... I've had to cope. I'm good with controlling."

He nodded and sighed. "Is it true? They were doing experiments on you?"

I nodded and looked down. "I was returning home from work and someone grabbed me. Next thing I know I'm strapped to a table with blood and god knows what else being forced into me. Then they just... killed me and I came back so hungry." the tears were back as I hastily added. "I- I was seventeen at the time. It was 2002."

Stefans eyes grew wide, then he said quietly. "Jasmine... it's 2011."

The shock reeled through me now and I gasped. "Ni-nine years-? But-? How can it be that long ago-?"

The vampire shook his head, almost as horrified as I was. "I'm twenty five?" I chuckled now, then wondered why I still looked about twenty- twenty one. But as if on que, he told me. "When you change, you stop aging. Looks like they kept you human for a few years before..." he didn't finish to my relief. I didn't want to dwell on past horrors.

-MERCY-

Later on when Stefan and Elena went school, I was left alone in the house, not literally able to go anywhere for burning in the sun.

"So it's just you and me huh?"

Now I groaned and turned to face Damon sat on the sofa, smirk on his face and Scotch in his hand. "Look. What's your problem?" I hissed and he got up, setting his glass down, walking over to me. He stopped a few inches away and just said. "So Jazzy. Lab Rat huh? Nine years Steffy told me."

I glared and he rolled his eyes. "We got off to a bad start didn't we? Damon Salvatore." he grinned, and sat back down, pouring two new glasses out and offered me one. "Here. I don't bite..." the smirk widened. "Not yet anyway."

Now I stared for a moment, then took the glass with a nod of thanks, sitting down next to him on the sofa. He crossed his ankles now and just said. "So little miss lab rat, what's your plans now you've escaped the mental house?"

My glare returned, and I just took a sip, saying. "I don't know. This is all... so weird to me."

"You should see the size of the TVs now then."

"Huh?"

"Duh, everything's more modern. Well, compared to 1864 this is alien."

I understood now with wide eyes. "1864-? Just how old are you-?"

"Old enough to be your great great granddaddy and still be smoking hot."

I scoffed now, then chuckled. "Well, that's old. Old man."

He raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Are you trying to insult me Jazzy?"

"It's Jasmine."

"Exactly what I said. Jazzy."

I gave up and sighed. "Have anymore blood? I'm starve..." he nodded and made me jump when he very nearly vanished, returning hardly a moment later.

"How-? How the hell did you do that-?" I gaped, eyes growing ever wider as I took the blood from him. Now Damon frowned. "You've never tried out what you can do as a vampire?"

"Well I have fangs... that's about all I know."

Damon chuckled now and pulled me to my feet, saying. "Girl, you can do alot more than that. You can run like the wind Bullseye, chuck Stefan out the window. Compel-"

"What's compelling?"

Damon smirked now, then asked. "Would you like a pizza?" Now I raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same. He grinned and pulled out his mobile, dialing a number then asked me. "What kind?"

"Just ham."

I was mystified by this compelling thing, but soon understood when the pizza guy came to the door and I watched from the side in the shadows as Damon asked the guy to gove them to him for free.

"Viola." he smirked, tossing me the pizza and opening his own, grabbing a slice and biting into it, going. "Mmnmm this is gorgeous. Tastes like this little French chick I had back in the 80s."

I looked at my own slice of pizza and dropped it back onto the cardboard, feeling sick. He chuckled and added. "Or was it Italian?"

"Oh shut up."

He laughed now, then stuffed the rest of the pizza in his mouth and got up.

"Where are you going?" I asked him as he made his way to the front door. And his reply was just-

"Out. I'm not staying in with a lab rat all day."

"Oh thank you (!) please bring me a Twix back."

"Do it yourself. Oh yeah, you can't."

The door closed and I sighed in defeat- this Damon was bottling up so much anger and hate, sadness and hell, fear... it took one to know one.

There was more to Damon that met the eye.

-MERCY-

When Elena and Stefan returned, I had just finished up making them something to eat.

"Here you are." I smiled, setting some chicken korma down on the table before them, making Stefan go. "You didn't have to do this."

"So? You lot did rescue me. I'm very thankful."

Elena smiled and bit into it, going. "Wow this is really, really nice."

I laughed. "It was one of my favorite meals to make." Stefan chuckled now, then said. "If you're sucking up trying to get us to let you out tonight, it's working."

Now I smiled and said. "Yes! My evil plan worked (!)"

Elena laughed and said. "Well, I'm meeting up with my friends tonight if you'd like to come."

Now I felt fear again, and Elena hastily added. "Don't worry, they're fine... if you can put up with constant teenage babbling."

I smiled a little. "That sounds fun."

Later on when darkness fell, Elena lent me her black jeans and a nice little red top this time and she gave me a pair of pretty black heels and we set off out.

I think she had fun doing my hair anyway. Never had it so curly before.

When we got to the Grill, I met her friends. First there was Bonnie, and after a weird feeling, she admitted she was a witch. A witch-? What next? Werewolves (!) she was nice and polite. Then there was Caroline. Bubbly, over-the-top vampire Caroline. They were both so nice, but I was still nervous.

Caroline smiled now, then asked. "Do you want to dance?" I was taken aback now, then grinned. "Sure, go on!" She pulled me to my feet and I only just noticed how good my hearing was. The music was just so damn loud, but I could control how loud I wanted it. Nifty!

"So how are you liking Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked me a minuet later, that grin still on her face. I chuckled and looked around. "It's... overwhelming."

She laughed and said. "Not all of us bite. Well, you know-"

"Can I cut in?"

Caroline frowned now, then we both turned to face Damon, who had an eyebrow raised. "Umm, sure." Caroline said, more suspicious than anything else. She moved off and Damon took and hand in mine and put his other on my waist, making my eyes flash and him to say. "Oh stop your snarling. I do you a favour and you wanna bite my head off!"

I raised my eyebrow and smirked. "A favor eh?" he nodded, then pulled something out his pocket and said. "You wanted this?" I was surprised to see him pull a Twix out his pocket. I took it and snorted. "You've left me speechless."

"Don't push it. I already had to do something else for you."

"And what's that?"

"Well, St Stefan thought it would be good if you got to finish your last year at high school."

"But I'm-"

"You look about that age. Don't wuss out. It was a damn hard job and he freaking owes me big for the crap I had to go through to get you in."

I looked surprised, then took the Twix from him and said. "Thank you." he rolled his eyes and just said. "This is getting uncomfortable. I'm off."

He left now and I just chuckled- maybe he wasn't all bad.

I went back over to the others now and Stefan asked. "Is he bothering you again?" I chuckled and shook my head. "Thanks for thinking about high school. It would be much better."

He looked confused. "High school? What are you on about?"

"Damon told me you asked him to get me into the place-?"

"Umm... I said nothing."

I was taken aback now by that- he'd lied. But, had he done it himself?

Yes there was more to Damon than met the eye alright.

-MERCY-

Damon returned, lying back on his bed with a sigh. Why he'd ever gotten that lab rat in school eluded him. But maybe it was because he understood her. She recognized his deep seated emotions before he'd really said anything.

Maybe it was because they were both tortured souls... and needed each other to stop feeling that pain so strongly anymore. Well, he needed and wanted her, but at the same time, adverse to it. It went against his nature caring about someone like snap.

-MERCY-

When I returned back to the boarding house after one of the best nights of my life and two new friends, I found Damon sat alone on the sofa.

I stood in the doorway, watching him stare into his drink, then he said. "Are you coming or going?" I hastily walked forwards and stood before him. "Thank you." I just said, and he finally looked up with a frown on his face, then a laugh. "What for?"

Now I sighed and said. "For getting me into school. You didn't have to lie."

He laughed now, then set his glass down and got up, saying. "Sooner you Graduate, sooner you can leave. And I'm all for that."

I laughed as he walked off- my God was he a proud headed dick.

He was doing a piss poor job at making me try and hate him.

Tada, next chapter(: thanks sooo much for the massive amount of interest! I really wasn't expecting it! Next chapter should be up later on today:D reviews very much loved as always! x