The moment we entered the bar, and the deliciously loud music reached my ears, I felt a sense of freedom flood me. With an excitement I didn't bother to hide I grabbed Rose's wrist and began dragging her towards the dance floor that was already crowded despite the relatively early hour. Over my shoulder I called to our two male companions: "You two take care of getting us drinks while I take my girl Rose out for a spin, okay?" The air between the two of them had been rather tense for the entire ride over, but I figured they wouldn't be stupid enough to ruin my night by picking a fight with each other.

Rose... Well, for a moment she looked utterly stunned being dragged to the dance floor, by me, specifically, but she seemed to get with the program pretty fast, and I have to say, the woman could dance. The natural vampire grace – I doubted there was such a thing as a clumsy vampire – and half a millennium of practice probably had something to do with it. Or perhaps she was just one of those people who were born good at it, I suppose it doesn't matter. Because we totally rocked the dance floor.

Despite the distinct lack of conversation, somehow the quarter of an hour we spent moving to the same beat had us connecting a little in a way we hadn't quite been able to connect with Damon between us. I had tried to make her feel welcome, but it had been plainly evident to me that she felt insecure about her place in our lives. Like I might suddenly decide I wanted Damon back or just didn't think he should be with her and then she would be asked to leave.

Until now.

The tension in her shoulders was gone and she was clearly off-guard in my presence for the first time. She looked comfortable, and I felt a sense of success.

When we went over to where Damon and Mason had taken over a small table with a half-circle couch around it, I wondered whether the two of them had just sat there in silence, or if there had actually been some conversation. There was a bottle of bourbon on the table, already missing quite a bit of its contents, and the two of them certainly looked... morose enough that silence certainly seemed like a valid theory.

"You girls looked like you were having fun out there", Damon pointed out. Almost pouting, I was sure of it.

I grabbed one of the two free tumblers and – resisting the urge to throw it back – took a rather large swallow. A night out just wasn't the same without a pleasant little buzz. "Nothing stopping you from joining in."

"And ruin your girl bonding time?" Damon asked, acting offended, "I wouldn't dare."

I emptied my glass and then reached for his hand. "Well we're done for the moment, so come on, you and me."

He grabbed my hand and was out of his seat so fast that it was he who was dragging me up and towards the mass of moving bodies. "I thought you'd never ask! It's been too long, Jo!"

A month. It had been a bit over a month since the last time he and I had danced together, and he was right. It did feel like way too long.

Dancing with him now, though... It was fun, but it wasn't as freeing, as effortless and carefree as it had been. Now I was inevitably reminded that we weren't unattached any longer. He had a girlfriend and I... I had my sights set on someone that I really wanted. There was temptation, not just on my part but on his as well, I could see it in his eyes. What we had had, it hadn't been a romantic relationship, but it had been good.

But what we were aiming for, was better. And so when in the past we could have danced and danced and danced until all world fell away – until clothes fell away – we now headed back to our table after just a few songs.

I was happy to find someone had considerately filled my glass and wasted no time in emptying it again. Then I – rather ferally – grinned at the sole hybrid at the table. "Mason..." I drew out his name, "Dare to give me a try?"

"Only if you promise not to bite", he joked. The fact that he was joking with me had me jealous. Someone had reached the state of buzz I had been longing for, and it wasn't me.

"Well, if you put it like that, it's hard to say no", I mock pouted, reached across the table, grabbed Damon's freshly topped tumbler and downed it. "Now let's see what you got, hm?"

O O O

In the course of the evening I had taken turns dancing with all three of my companions, occasionally taking a break at our table. I had learned a myriad of things of them.

Like for example that despite having had spent the last five-hundred years running for her life, Rose had long learned how to have fun. The fun had even occasionally reached... attention-catching highs since it wasn't like she and Trevor could have even dreamed of settling down anywhere.

And that Damon had actually spent a few years with the main goal of getting trashed at just about every bar and bar-like place he could find, but that eventually the bender had actually gotten a little dull. Who'd have thought?

As for Mason, he had confessed to having had a crush on my mother back when he was a teenager – ewww – and that he had lost a bet a few years ago, one that resulted in him having to get a tattoo, an embarrassing one, though he refused to reveal of what and where.

Granted I had done my fair share of sharing. I had no regrets.

All in all, I thought the night was going exactly according to plan. Damon had stopped glaring daggers at Mason somewhere near the beginning of bourbon bottle number two, and Mason had stopped looking at me like I was an explosive waiting to go off at the slightest misstep.

Not that he was in the habit of making missteps, at least not when dancing like we were. In fact, he too seemed to rule this dancing thing which had me wondering if the natural dancing skills I suspected vampires had happened to be something hybrids had the benefit of having as well.

I was in a state of blissful state of zero thought when it was interrupted by Mason suddenly going stock still, his hands clenching uncomfortably tightly on my hips where they had been resting, his sudden stop bringing me to a halt as well. My eyes darted up to his, and frowning I tried to figure out what was wrong with him. Then my alcohol addled mind registered that he was staring somewhere over my shoulder. His hands dropped, and his eyes darkened and lips curled in an instinctual warning growl – the growl, if there was one, being too low for my ears to discern over the loud music even at this proximity.

I turned and found Elijah, standing not four feet from us, watching us with a carefully unreadable expression. I blinked, stunned, "Elijah."

He inclined his head in greeting, "Joanna", and stepped a couple of steps closer until the distance was better suited for conversation in the current environment. "It would seem I was... misled. I would like to offer my apologies for interrupting your evening."

I waved my hand dismissively, it wasn't like I wasn't happy to see him. But... "'Misled'?"

"Yes", he evenly replied. "I was led to believe you were in need of assistance. That you were being harassed by one of Niklaus' new hybrids." He glanced over my shoulder to where I knew Mason was still standing. His face was perfectly unreadable. "I have found you and I have found a hybrid, but there seems to be a distinct lack of the hostility I expected to find."

"This is Mason Lockwood", I gestured to the hybrid behind me. "I made a deal with Niklaus for Mason's freedom, so while he is a hybrid, he's not likely to cross me. Not when I'm the reason he's spared from becoming one of Niklaus' bootlickers." Then I decided to try and get back to the issue that was still bothering me: "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what exactly brought you here?"

"I received a message", Elijah replied, paused, and then added: "From Damon Salvatore."

This had me grinding my teeth, and I growled: "Damon..." I set course towards our table and easily navigated through the throng of undulating bodies, dimly aware that I was followed by both the Original vampire and the hybrid. My attention was all on my best friend of a vampire.

I punched his arm – hard – the moment I reached him. He had the gall to snicker. "What did you do?" I hissed at him.

He held out a phone – my phone, I quickly realized – and I snatched it, stuffing it in the leg of my boot where its proper place had been for the night. "You should know better than to leave your phone with me like that, bestie. You know how bad I am at resisting temptation."

"That explains how you got his number", I said, "But not what you sent him."

"How did it go again..." He tapped his chin mock thoughtfully. "I think it went something like this: 'Jo is being felt up by a hybrid. She's already resorted to threats. Might want to get down here. We're at DOT DOT DOT.' Or something along those lines."

"God! You're such a dickhead, Damon!" I groaned. "What exactly made you think bothering someone like Elijah with your tricks was a good idea?" I then turned to his female friend, and pointed an accusing finger at her, "And you! Where were you when he was hatching this harebrained scheme?"

She wasn't paying attention to me, though. No, her focus was all on the vampire standing not two feet from my right shoulder. "Elijah", she breathed out, eyes wide with fear.

I brought my hand right in front of her face and snapped my fingers until her eyes slowly, hesitantly slid from him to me. "I told him it was a foolish idea. He refused to heed my warning." She hesitated, "I had not thought he could provoke this hasty of a response."

I heaved a sigh, took a fortifying mouthful from Damon's glass since mine hadn't been filled this time, and then turned to Elijah: "Please forgive my bonehead of a friend, Elijah. He shouldn't have interrupted your evening with his poor humor."

He glanced at the vampire in question and I knew even without looking that Damon wouldn't look even the least bit contrite. Still, when Elijah's eyes returned to meet mine, he said: "Forgiven." There was no doubt in my mind that it was all because it was me who was asking and only for my benefit. "I will be taking my leave then", he said, but before he took even one step, I was in his personal bubble, not quite touching.

"Or you could stay", I quickly suggested, "Since you're already here. Unless you were in the middle of something."

"Merely working through some business correspondence", Elijah replied, his dark eyes boring into mine. There was a strange sort of intensity in them. Like he thought I was contradicting myself and he was trying to figure out what the truth was. When his hand rose to cup my cheek, there was hesitancy in the slow touch, and when I met it by pressing my face to the touch slightly, his eyes softened, highlighting how very stony his face had been until now.

Then Mason asked: "Wait, this is the guy you were talking about earlier?" And the dark eyes narrowed and the hand left my cheek leaving me feeling cold.

I shot the hybrid a slight glare of annoyance, "The guy?" I blame the alcohol for the fact that it took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "Oh! Right. I told you about him. Wait, I didn't mention him by name?"

"Obviously not", Mason huffed in irritation. "You just said he was one of the Original vampires, Klaus' brother."

"You spoke to him about me?" Elijah asked me with thinly veiled curiosity and surprise.

"I speak about you to anyone who will listen", I told him teasingly while wondering why he seemed so surprised about it.

"Oh put the man out of his misery already!" Damon interrupted in exasperation.

"Excuse me?" I shot him a narrowed eyed look. He had caused quite enough trouble for the night already, as far as I was concerned.

"It's obvious he thinks you fancy Lockwolf!" The vampire informed me.

I blinked in surprise. "What?" Eloquent, I know. "Wait... Huh?" I turned to look at Elijah and noticed him staring at me stonily, and realized that clearly Damon wasn't being as ridiculous as he sounded to me. Slowly, I told the man: "I'm not interested in Mason. He's pretty and all, but the bar is raised pretty damn high these days and he can't quite measure up."

I could see Mason scrunch up his nose and hear him disdainfully mutter: "Pretty..." But paid him little mind.

My words seemed to have the desired effect as I watched Elijah relax almost imperceptibly. I lifted a hand and fingered the front of his suit jacket slightly. From under lowered eyelashes I looked at him coyly, "So... You are staying, right?"

O O O

The next couple of weeks passed in a blur. I didn't have the displeasure of seeing Niklaus even once, but Elijah and Mason were both considerate enough to keep me appraised on the situation. According to them Niklaus had returned to Mystic Falls three times only to leave again no later than the next day. And every time he had returned, he had brought a few new hybrids with him and stories of others he had turned but chosen not to bring with him to Mystic Falls for one reason or another. The new hybrids stayed, and by the looks of it, were planning on making Mystic Falls their home.

Uncle John had been surprisingly agreeable when I had asked him to observe the Council closely. I had been relieved to hear that so far they remained clueless of any supernatural presence in Mystic Falls. They hadn't even been suspicious about the new people coming to town, only overjoyed that Klaus and Elijah seemed to be becoming permanent residents of their town – because of their obvious wealth, of course.

The hybrids hadn't caused a bit of trouble from what I knew, which had me convinced that they were on orders to be on best behavior. They also seemed have orders to treat me with almost reverent respect. In more than one occasion I had noticed them almost bowing before me when I happened to cross their path. Even Jules, who had seemed so ready to sass me, was downright submissive in my presence.

The mansion Niklaus had had built for himself – and some of his hybrids – had been built in record time with liberal use of money, compulsion and hybrid labor to speed up things, no doubt. Magic might have played some part in the process as well since I had seen the warlock Maddox around town.

In any case, despite the presence of Niklaus' supernatural minions, the two weeks had been free of any altercations of violent or even aggressive nature as far I was aware, and I liked to think I was pretty well on top of things. Unfortunately, the peaceful half a month was brought to end on the Saturday that Niklaus returned to Mystic Falls from his wolf-hunting trips for the fourth time.

"Joanna...?" Aunt Jenna called softly from the doorway of my room and I turned my attention from the book I had been reading to her. "There's a furious hybrid at the door for you."

I sighed, "Let me guess… Klaus?"

"I'm afraid so", she said. I rolled off my bed and made to walk out of the room when she stopped me just as I was about to walk past her. "Are you sure you should be meeting him when he's like this? He seemed… less than in control of his faculties."

I huffed. "I doubt he's ever entirely in control of his faculties." When the words didn't seem to reassure her any, I told her: "Look, it's better to nip whatever is pissing him off in the bud instead of letting it fester. He's not one to calm down with time."

"If you insist on speaking with him, you should at least call Elijah over", Jenna insisted.

For a moment I considered refusing, but then she began twisting her hands in a clear sign of worry and distress and I decided my pride wasn't really worth the stress the situation was causing her. "You still have his number, right?" They had exchanged numbers back when Jenna hadn't yet known Elijah was a vampire. When she nodded, I continued: "Then call him. It's not wise to keep Klaus waiting." She nodded, and I continued on my way to the front door.

"Invite me in", the hybrid demanded harshly the moment I walked over.

"I think not", I calmly, but unyieldingly told him.

He glared at me for a moment and then stepped aside in a clear demand for me to step out if he couldn't come in to me.

Refusing to let his obvious rage worry me, I walked out, past him and over to the bench where I had had my first meeting with Elijah, not too long ago. Niklaus though, chose to loom over me threateningly instead of sitting down next to me. There was a short tense silence, which I took as him trying to find the words. When he finally spoke, it was in a low, dangerous growl. "I have treated you with respect and as a valuable ally, and this is how you repay me? By scheming behind my back!? By stealing from me!?"

I blinked, watched him warily for a moment, and then said: "Niklaus, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The coffins! My family!" He shouted.

Those words were all that was required to make me tense in alarm. "Are you telling me you lost the coffins you have kept your family in?" I slowly asked.

"Do not feign ignorance, Joanna!" He snarled, eyes flashing werewolf-yellow. "Where are they!?"

"I didn't take them!" I finally snapped, and then took a couple of calming breaths before adding: "Though I don't deny I would have, had I known where you were keeping them."

He grabbed me by my throat and lifted me up, pressing me against the wall, my feet tangling helplessly as the backs of my ankles hit the edge of the bench as I instinctually struggled when my airways were blocked by the choking hold. "Do you take me for a fool!?"

Then, just as I wondered how exactly he expected me to be able to answer him when I couldn't fucking breathe, I was suddenly released and went crashing down on the bench under me. The landing was, frankly, painful, but I was luckily a little distracted from the discomfort of it by the sweet sweet oxygen finally reaching my lungs again.

"What is going on here?" I heard Elijah's voice ask, and I turned my eyes toward him. He was standing in front me, blocking Niklaus from me. Suddenly, I was more than a little grateful for my Aunt Jenna's forethought.

"You were in on it too, weren't you, brother!" Niklaus spit out the word like it was poison. "What else could I expect from her number one lapdog!"

"The only dog here is you", I muttered somewhat petulantly.

I was ignored in favor of Elijah asking his brother: "What am I being accused of, exactly?"

"Stealing your daggered siblings from Niklaus' loving care", I enlightened him.

My alarm was suddenly mirrored in his brown eyes. "Someone stole them from you? How could you let this happen!?"

"Do not lie to me, Elijah!" Niklaus shouted.

"Think, Niklaus! Do you think I would have hesitated for a minute to undagger them had I been the one to find them!? Do you think they would have simply let your transgression pass without retribution!? The moment they are freed they will be vying for your blood and they won't take their time in getting it!" Elijah angrily argued, and I could see his words reach Niklaus in a way that mine had utterly failed to.

"Who then?" The hybrid asked lowly, "Who would even know to look for them?"

"Well if I had to place my money on someone…" I said, "I would bet on Katerina. I don't know how much she knows, exactly, but I'm pretty sure your siblings at least came up back when we first met and she was right there in the next room, listening in."

His eyes flashed and he took a threatening step toward me only to be stopped by Elijah. It didn't stop him from voicing his anger though: "So this is all your fault! It was all because of you that she escaped!"

"You should have killed her the moment you got her in your grasp, you overconfident moron!" I snapped, "I will not have you blaming me for your own carelessness! You knew how slippery she was and yet you let her live long enough to plot her escape!"

Niklaus opened his mouth to rain more of his vitriol on me but Elijah intervened before he got even a word out: "Alright, that's enough of you both. Regardless of who is to blame, the fact remains that our siblings are in hostile hands and we need to find them before they are out of our reach forever." His eyes darted between his brother and I. "We need to work together, all of us, not be at each other's throats."

"No, brother", Niklaus heatedly argued, "I think she – ", he gestured sharply to me, " – has meddled in our family business quite enough. You and I will find our siblings. She will stay out of it."

I held up my hands in surrender, "Hey, if you don't want my help, I'll be happy to sit this one out." At Elijah's worried look, I added to him: "I doubt there's really much I could do anyway. I'm stumbling in the dark, in this matter, just as you are."

He nodded, "Unfortunate, but I understand. Even the Wise Ones aren't all-knowing."

"Enough chitchat!" Niklaus growled. "We have family to find."

Neither Elijah nor I had any trouble ignoring him for the moment.

Stepping closer to me, Elijah told me: "I will keep you informed." He hesitated for a split second and then pressed a kiss to my brow.

I grabbed his hand as he pulled back, and gave it a quick squeeze. Smiling warmly at him, I said: "Good luck with your search."

He inclined his head in thanks, and then left in a blur that my eyes could barely detect. Niklaus sneered at me, and then followed suit, leaving me standing alone on the porch.

I sighed wearily.

We still hadn't found and neutralized the threat that Mikael presented and now not only the daggered Rebekah, Kol and Finn were missing, but most importantly the body of the Original Witch, Esther, as well. This didn't bode well. This didn't bode well at all.

For a moment, I wondered whether I should have told Elijah about Esther, how it had been Niklaus who had killed her and then proceeded to drag her body around for the next millennium, how – despite lacking proof and detail – I knew the long dead witch would be looking for a way back to life to kill not only Niklaus, but all her other children as well. And with the witch's necklace recently gone missing as well… It was no coincidence, I was sure.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, that was the most I could do, I knew.

O O O

Two days later, on Monday, I was reading at the Grill when I received a message from sister dearest. 'I need you home, NOW.' it said.

I frowned at my phone. This could be either something very bad. Or it could be Elena being her overly dramatic self, which was my bet. Still, there was no way I could take that chance, and so I hurried home. I was two steps in when Elena appeared from the living room.

"Jo! Klaus sent one of his hybrids to get close to Jeremy!" She yelled as she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me in to the living room where our brother sat on the couch with a girl approximately his age. She had short, wild brown hair and clear blue eyes rimmed with a thick layer of mascara and eyeliner. Black clothes covered a lithe body. All in all, she looked very much like any other teenager to me. Pretty, but not one of the girls who put their appearance above everything else, I could see why she would catch Jeremy's eye. And she had caught my brother's eye. It was obvious just by the way they were sitting that they were more than friends. The way they sat just a little too close together, despite there being plenty space on the couch for polite distance, and the way they were angled towards each other just slightly. It was subtle, as they were obviously trying to appease Elena by not being too 'together'. After my split-second appraisal of them, I turned my attention back to my sister as she continued: "I found her feeding on him in his room! He says they're dating!"

I blinked, wondering for a moment how exactly she expected me to react to this, and then decided her opinion of the situation wasn't really what mattered and turned to Jeremy, who looked a little… pissed. "Jer?"

"The only thing Klaus has sent her is school, where I met her", he insisted. "Klaus hasn't mentioned me to her even once."

Turning to the hybrid, I neutrally asked: "Is that true?"

She nodded, and with almost painful hesitance she answered: "Yes, ma'am. The only order pertaining to Jeremy was the general order we all have received not to harm any member of the Gilbert family."

My eyebrows rose up. "Does Klaus know you're… dating my brother?"

She paused, and then shook her head.

"And I suppose it hasn't occurred to you that if I should take offense at you… feeding on and fucking my brother, Klaus would most certainly consider his order to you as 'defied'?" I asked, face void of expression and voice smooth and light.

This had Jeremy shooting up to his feet. "I told her you wouldn't let her get punished for something like this even if you found out! You're not going to get her into trouble for this!" Despite feeling warmed by the trust my brother had had in me, I didn't even spare him a glance, or allow the emotion show. No, my eyes were all on the young hybrid.

She looked terrified. There was no faking that kind of fear. Her hand instinctively shot up and wrapped around Jeremy's larger one, seeking comfort and protection from him, and I knew this girl genuinely liked my brother. And that was all I needed to know. To be honest, I hadn't really thought Klaus had sent her in the first place, but the safety of my family wasn't something I liked to gamble with.

Finally, I turned to meet the burning eyes of my brother, and smiled, "Relax, Jeremy. As long as she's causing you no harm, I have no objection to you two seeing each other."

While his pose shifted from 'ready to defend' into relief, Mount Elena erupted: "What!? Jo, she is causing him harm! I told you, she was feeding on him!"

I frowned at her, sighed, and then just to humor her, gestured for Jeremy to step closer to me. Confused, he still obliged me and in three large steps – the kid was tall, okay? – he was within arm's reach. "Show me the bite marks", I told him. He scowled, I could see him consider refusing before lifting his hand to pull the zipper of his hoodie down some and pulling at the collar a little, revealing the side of his neck. There, right where neck met shoulder, was a square bandage. Without asking for permission, I ripped it off and eyed the twin holes that were revealed. It was a fresh mark, barely clotted, and it was very neat. In fact, for a new vampire – hybrid, same difference – the girl had excellent self-control. I doubted very many blood-suckers could drink from the vein causing this little damage. From the location of the bite I could also surmise that she had consciously chosen to bite away from the larger veins to limit Jeremy's blood loss as much as possible.

I liked her already, I decided, and slapped the bandage back on the bite mark, receiving wicked amusement from Jeremy's wince at the sharp little pain my rough handling caused.

"That's the absolutely least amount of damage a vampire can cause when feeding", I told my sister, and then turned to the hybrid: "If Jeremy offers, you may feed from him again. As long as you keep in mind that should he, for example, end up anemic, I will be holding you responsible for overindulging."

"But Jo – !" Elena began to protest, but I sharply cut her off.

"No." I shot her a glare of warning. "Jeremy isn't a child. He's allowed to date whoever the fuck he wants. The only thing we, as his sisters, can do is respect his decision while making sure his girl doesn't intend him harm, and that's all. This girl might be one of Klaus' hybrids, but I see no indication of her being here out of anything but her desire for Jeremy's company."

"When this blows up in our faces, it'll be on you", Elena hissed and then stomped out of the room.

I stared after her, for a moment, and then turned to my brother, who sank back into the couch now that he was no longer feeling like he needed to defend himself and his girl.

"Thank you", he said, words heavy with gratitude and relief.

I smiled, "Anytime, little brother." I threw myself on the nearest armchair, and with my elbow on one knee, I leant my face on my upturned palm. With an expression of honest curiosity, I said: "So let's start with your lady-friend's name…"

Her name was Lauren, she was fifteen and she had been a werewolf since she triggered the gene about half a year ago. I didn't ask about the circumstances, and I could see she was thankful. She played the violin and was both impressed and jealous of Jeremy's skills at drawing, especially since she could barely draw a passable stick figure. She had come to live in Mystic Falls as Niklaus' ward since she was in the foster system and her having to disappear for the night of the full moon had been causing some serious issues with her foster parents. Her current main goal was to graduate high school, as it should be.

She liked Jeremy and he liked her. I thought she could be a great influence on him, and he on her. Silently, I wished them the best of luck in their budding relationship.

"You have invited her to the Masquerade Ball, haven't you?" I asked my brother, and enjoyed watching him blush in embarrassment. He had forgotten all about the annual event. It was on the March 24th of every year, so he should have remembered. Attendance wasn't exactly mandatory, but it was the sort of thing all the members of the Founding families got an invitation to attend and he definitely should have already invited his girlfriend to.

When his eyes turned to Lauren in question, she said: "I don't have anything to wear to that sort of thing."

"Easily fixed", I replied. "I would be happy to take you shopping for a dress and accessories."

She shook her head, "I don't have that kind of money."

"Klaus didn't give you an allowance?" I asked, eyebrow raised in surprise. The Mikaelsons were loaded. Niklaus should have given his ward a generous allowance the moment he took her into his care.

"No", Lauren said, shrugging.

"Huh…" I was frankly, a little speechless. "Then I suppose there's really no choice but for me to pay for all of it until I have the chance to inform your guardian of his grievous oversight."

"I couldn't possibly ask you to – "

I cut her off, "You're not asking, I'm offering. Worry not, I'll be billing Klaus for every penny."

"But he's Klaus," the girl near whispered, with some horror in her voice.

"And he is failing to fulfill his duty to you", I calmly pointed out, and rose. "Now come along. We have dress-shopping to be doing. The ball is on Wednesday so no time to dawdle." Luckily, since I wasn't planning on attending the ball myself, I would have more than enough time to spare for helping the girl get ready for what seemed to be her first ball barring school events.

O O O

I could admit to myself that part of the reason why I had so eagerly taken Lauren under my wing was because finding out that Jeremy had succeeded in going out with her without me knowing had highlighted the fact that I hadn't been paying him nearly enough attention. I had been peripherally aware that he had quit using drugs and had been drinking less, doing better in school and had been drawing again, but I hadn't really made the effort to go and talk with him about what was going on in his life.

I had been busy with everything else, I could give myself that much, but I should have still done better. He was my little brother, and I hadn't been as good of a sister to him as I could – and should – have been.

When I saw Jeremy in the morning after the Masquerade Ball, and he was practically glowing with happiness, I felt my guilt lessen a bit.

And when he told me with perfect sincerity: "Thank you, Jo." I replied: "It was the least I could do." and I meant it, swearing to myself that I wouldn't let myself ignore him like that again no matter how hectic life became.