The Lockwood Mansion was so elegantly decorated with trinkets that screamed wealth. Everyone was dressed in their finest gowns and conversing with their loved ones as they celebrated this day. Champagne glasses were emptied and refilled as often as a laugh rang out through the air. Pairs were dancing on the makeshift dance floor as the band played beautiful music.

     In between those pairs were two people who's smiles never left their faces as they danced close to each other. The male's cheeks splotched with red as he concentrated on not stepping on his best friend's feet. They had been dancing for the past three songs and each of their respected pairs were beginning to grow irritated—not that they seemed to care in that moment.

     The vampire smiled brightly at her green eyed best friend as he had succeeded on not stepping on her through an entire song once more, "see? You're a splendid dancer, Stefan."

     Stefan smiled bashfully and shook his head lightly, "well, I had a great teacher. Thank you again for helping me, Jasmine."

     She shook off his thanks and reminded him that she'd do anything for him. As he was going to lean in and place a kiss on her cheek, a hand shot forward and placed itself on Stefan's shoulder. Jasmine didn't need to look up to know who interrupted them, she already knew it's be Katerina.

     "No touching, Mr. Salvatore. Those are the rules." Katherine shot him a reproachful look before placing her hand on his cheek, which caused Jasmine to take a step back from her close proximity.

     Stefan looked at his date and smiled, "I thought you didn't believe in rules." His hand didn't leave Jasmine's waist, but she knew his attention was officially diverted to the vampire who had him wrapped around her finger.

     Stefan looked up momentarily and caught sight of his brother, who was sulking by the wall and watching his brother and 'love of his life' interact so lovingly. Stefan sighed, but didn't reject Katherine's touch, "my brother is still upset that you chose me to escort you."

     Katherine looked over her shoulder to glance at Damon before removing her hand from Stefan's face and sighing, "well, Damon needs to concede that his younger brother is a better dancer." Katherine turned her head to stare at Jasmine, wondering why the girl hadn't left yet, "would you mind if I took back my escort, Ms. Saunders?"

     A sense of emptiness filled Jasmine as she felt Stefan quickly release his hold on her so that he could engulf Katherine in his touch. Jasmine smiled politely, though sarcastically, and shook her head, "of course not. I should return to Damon anyways." Not wanting to leave Stefan's side, Jasmine turned to flash a genuine smile in his direction, "will I see you afterwards?"

     Katherine placed her hands on the side of Stefan's face, redirecting his gaze to herself, before smirking at Jasmine, "no, he will be escorting me to my room then heading to bed. We have an early walk scheduled in the morning. You understand, of course?"

     Feeling more deflated than she already was, Jasmine moved her gaze to the floor, "of course. Well, I will see you some other time... Mr. Salvatore."

     Jasmine doesn't glance back as she walks back to stand beside Damon, who hands her a glass of champagne as soon as she reaches him. She doesn't bother drinking it as she continues to watch Stefan and Katherine interact. It seems that ever since she arrived, Jasmine just couldn't get a moment alone with Stefan nor Damon anymore—today being one of the rare occasions. No matter how she felt thought, she was not going to back down and allow Katherine to kick her out of the Salvatore's lives.

     "What does she even want from him? I am a much—"

     Tired of Damon's constant ranting about Katherine's obsession over Stefan and trying to convince no one that he was the better brother, Jasmine pushed her glass towards him. She didn't wait for him to catch it as she began walking away.

     "I need a drink."

     The outside air felt refreshing to Jasmine's suddenly scorching skin. She could feel her teeth poking her lip as she walked to a less noticeable side of the house. She tried to control her sudden urge, but the feelings she acquired from inside were pulsating throughout her. She stood amongst the pillars and decided to wait until someone passed by.

     What felt like hours was actually merely seconds as she felt the burning thirst scorch her throat when finally a limping old man stumbled from the party. He seemed to be muttering profanities mainly revolving around the guys who kicked him out for drinking too much and causing a ruckus. Jasmine watched as he leaned against the pillar closest to her and pulled out a rusted flask, trying to capture the last remnants of the alcohol he had snagged.

     Jasmine waited until he passed by her, passed by wandering eyes before she stalked after him. Her breathing accelerated as she sped behind him. Not wanting to deal with pleasantries, she grabbed him by the arm and forcibly turned him around causing him to let out a yell of pain. She grabbed his chin and focused his eyes on hers—compelling him. He stood quiet and rigid as she sunk her teeth into his jugular, devouring every drop of blood infused with alcohol. She held his head in her hand and continued to push him towards herself, not stopping even when she heard his skull beginning to crack and finally break.

     Suddenly, she stopped.

     It seemed as if everything around her, including herself, just... stopped. The leaves stopped in mid breeze, the people inside stopped in mid laughter, everything was frozen—stuck in time. It only lasted a couple seconds before everything started moving backwards as if someone was rewinding a movie. As comical as it sounds, the blood left Jasmine's mouth and went back inside the old man. His skull healed itself to the last crack, as if it didn't happen.

     It didn't stop moving backwards until Jasmine was right back at Damon's side, holding her glass of champagne and staring sourly at a giddy Stefan and Katherine. Once the scene stopped, it started playing forward—replaying the moment.

     "What does she even want from him? I am a much—"

     Jasmine rolled her eyes. She had heard this speech far too many times from both Salvatores and quite frankly, she was moments away from bashing both brothers' heads into one another. She pushed her glass towards him, not caring if he caught it or not and began walking away.

     "I need a drink."

     But before Jasmine could reach the door, a hand caught her upper arm and led her back inside. She turned to face the intruder and sighed when she saw Damon's pleading eyes.

     "I'm sorry. Grumbling about Katherine and Stefan wasn't in the agreement when I asked to escort you." His hand trailed from her arm to her hand—entwining them together, comfortingly. "Would you like to dance with me? I know this is your favorite song, it'd be a shame to pass it up."

     Jasmine breathed out a laugh before nodding, her anger subsiding and turning into comfort as she allowed Damon to lead her back to the dance floor.

     Along the wall stood a red haired vampire with a small smile on her face, "see? Isn't that much better?"

     The memory appeared foggy as she retreated from it and was back into the real world. She let out a laugh as the siphoner in front of her collapsed onto the floor and groaned.

     "Why do I get the feeling that you're starting to enjoy this?" Jasmine held her head as a sharp pain emitted from it, but looked up at a grinning Alethea.

     Alethea shrugged her shoulder and shook her head while grimacing, realizing that Jasmine was in actual pain and not just overwhelmed, "I'm not, trust me. It's just fun seeing all the different era attire. You really have seen it all." She decided to let Jasmine catch her breath and took a seat on the couch.

     Once Jasmine took a seat beside her, Alethea thought it was a good idea to ask what's been nagging at her once the memory had first surfaced, "Speaking of different eras, why did that memory show up? I mean, we've been going in reverse chronological order since we've started, but today, you skipped to 1864, why?"

     Not feeling entirely comfortable talking about this sort of thing to Alethea, she ran a hand through her hair, reluctant to answer, "I suppose after what happened last night, it sort of triggered that memory," she had to elaborate when Alethea continued to look at her confusedly, "it's one of the earliest memories I can remember feeling disappointed and hurt by Stefan Salvatore."

     "Where did you go last night? After you visited Stefan?"

     Jasmine strained her brain to remember passed the collapsing last night, but she was coming up blank. Disappointed, but certainly not surprised. It was starting to become a common occurrence and she was sure that her 'lessons' would never finish if it continued. Before she could give a made up story, her phone rang which caused her to let out a relieved sigh.

     Looking at the caller ID, Jasmine widened her eyes in surprise before answering, "hey, it's been a while. What can I do for you?"

     On the other end of the call, Jasmine could hear the sound of kitchen supplies knocking into each other, "I'm hosting a barbeque—Ric's idea—and was wondering if you'd like to come? Please say yes, Ric invited Damon and I don't really feel comfortable with him here and of course, I've missed you."

     Chuckling, Jasmine rolled her eyes at the last quickly inserted remark, "I've missed you, too, Jenna. What time is this shindig?"

     "In an hour."

     "Oh, um, okay. I'll be there." Jasmine ended the call and slowly began getting prepared.

     She had one hour to recuperate from her recent travel, prepare her instincts to be around a couple humans, get a dessert because it'd be rude to show up empty handed, and mentally prepare to be in the same room as Damon Salvatore—the hopelessly in love guy who kicked her out of his life to accommodate the new girl in his life. Easy as pie.

     Have taking some meditation classes in her lifetime, Jasmine sat on her bed and tried a few exercises. Breathing deeply, clearing her mind, focusing on the small noises around her—but it didn't seem to be working, especially when her bedroom door banged open.

     "So, where are we going?"

     Jasmine opened her eyes and stared at Alethea, "I'm going to a friend's barbeque, what you do on your own time is not my concern."

     Alethea's smile visibly deflates as she watched Jasmine decide to change clothes. She'd be lying if she said that statement didn't hurt her one bit, but what else could you expect from a one sided friendship, "right, we're no friends. Just business partners."

     "Exactly. I think it's better that way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get ready before going out."

     Jasmine gently nudged Alethea out of her room and closed the door. She didn't notice the small expression of defeat that clouded Alethea's face, but if she did, Alethea was certain that Jasmine wouldn't have cared either way.

----

     Jasmine had debated with herself for nearly thirty minutes on what dessert she should take. On one hand, pies were a common lovable dessert that everyone would be satisfied with, but on the other hand, that's the reason she didn't want to get it. It was so common that she was certain at least two people would bring pie; she didn't want to add to it. But if pie was out of the question, what else could she bring? Cupcakes, muffins, and cookies didn't seem to suit her fancy. Tarts were kind of risky because if she got the wrong one then her tart would sit on the counter, lonely and wondering why no one wanted it.

     She decided going into the nearest pastry shop would give her an answer.

     The bell on the door rang as she walked through it. Immediately her nostrils were filled with the scent of sugar and toothache—a scent she welcomed. The worker at the counter greeted her as he finished up storing the pastries into their respective spots.

     "Welcome to Mystical Sweets."

     "Cute name, very original." Jasmine walked up to the counter and eyed the pastries at front, not bothering to glance at the worker who was currently ogling at her.

     "Jasmine, right?"

     Jasmine stopped and peered up at him through her lashes, "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

     "I guess not," the worker—a teenage boy—let out a small laugh and rubbed the back of his neck, "my name's Theodore, but people call me—"

     "Theo. From chemistry, right. Sorry, it takes me a while to remember." Jasmine smiled warmly at him, knowing he was nothing more than an admirer.

     "No worries, so what can I get for you?"

     Pursing her lips, Jasmine shook her head lightly, still trying to decide before she answered. When she saw their 'specials' board, she smiled once again, "what kind of cheesecakes do you have?"

     Chuckling, Theodore pulled out a whole list of different cheesecakes, "various kinds. Do you have a specific in mind?"

     She grabs the list from his outstretched hand and looks it over, trying to figure out the exact time that humans decided to make so many sorts of cheesecakes that only complicates decision making. She scanned it over carefully exactly fifty times in the span of twenty seconds before sighing.

     "Can't go wrong with good ole original cheesecake, I suppose. One cheesecake, please." She looked at the cheesecakes again and shrugged, "eh, make it two. One for them and one for me."

     He barked out a laugh and opened up the refrigerated case, "coming right up."

     Jasmine looked around the shop, having never gone in before, as he boxed up the cheesecakes. It was clear that Theodore wanted to make conversation before she had to leave, but Jasmine just wanted to get out of there and head to Jenna's.

     "So, what's the occasion?"

     "Barbeque with friends." Theodore continued to stare at her as if waiting for a more elaborate response but sighed when he saw that he wasn't going to receive one. Jasmine cleared her throat and smiled, taking out her wallet from her jacket pocket, "so, how much will it be?"

     Smirking, Theodore put in her order and claimed it was already paid, "for you? It's on the house."

     "That's very kind of you, thank you." She grabbed the two boxes and bolted out the door before he could change his mind.

----

     Jasmine nervously tapped her foot against the floor as she contemplated leaving and giving Jenna an excuse for her absence, but before she could, her finger involuntarily rung the doorbell. She silently cursed herself as she already regretted her decision.

     Rapid footsteps from inside was heard, alongside a happy sounding Jenna, "she's late, I'm surprised."

     Jenna opened the door at the exact moment that Jasmine rolled her eyes. Without thinking, Jenna let out a small squeal and quickly embraced Jasmine—Jasmine quickly moving the boxes to the side.

     Jasmine let out a small laugh and hugged her back just as fiercely with one hand before pulling away. She didn't realize how much she actually missed talking to Jenna until that moment. She smiled even wider when she realized that her instincts decided to let her have the day.

     "Jenna, always a sight for sore eyes."

     Jenna let out a laugh and nudged Jasmine slightly, "oh stop it, you." She grabbed her hand and led her inside, "come on in, we're just getting started. You didn't have to bring anything, you know? I really did just ask for your presence."

     As they settled at the kitchen counter, Jasmine shrugged, "and as honored as I was, I thought a little cheesecake never hurt anybody. Especially when I didn't know who exactly would be providing the food."

     It was the most she had laughed in the past weeks and Jasmine welcomed it with open arms. In this moment, she was happy and spending time with her friend. Nothing could ruin it. Not even the doppelganger, who walked around the corner, freezing when she saw the siphoner.

     Without taking her eyes away from Jenna, Jasmine called out, "hello, Elena. How are you?"

     "You don't have to pretend to like me, Jasmine." Elena spit out as she moved past them.

     Jenna furrowed her eyebrows, never have seen her niece snap at someone, "Elena—"

     Jasmine held up her hand and winced at Elena's glare, "it's alright, Jenna."

     Jenna shook her head before placing her hand on her hip, putting on her 'parent' face and addressing Elena, "no, it's not. What's gotten into you, Elena? You've never acted this way before and quite frankly, I will not tolerate it tonight."

     Elena opened her mouth to retort, to tell her aunt of the nasty person that was Jasmine Saunders but just as she was given her chance, it was quickly taken away in the form of a certain werewolf. Mason Lockwood strutted happily into the kitchen with a bottle of alcohol and a couple of shot glasses.

     "Good news! I found the shot glasses!"

      Elena rolled her eyes, "that would be my cue to leave."

     Jasmine watched with a frown as Elena left the kitchen and went to go search for Caroline. Jenna seemed to be having the same response as her before sighing and smiling at Mason, "you're here for ten minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally."

     Mason lets out a laugh, only stopping—quite abruptly—when he noticed Jasmine washing her hands at the sink. His fists clenched as he recalled their last encounter, the way she felt so carelessly about a human life just to get the upper hand was nauseating to him. Jasmine looked over to him as she dried her hands with the hand towel that Jenna had handed to her and smiled at him.

     Jenna noticed their small exchange, questioning the hostility in Mason, but brushed it aside to introduce them, "oh, right. Mason, this is Jasmine Saunders. She's a good friend of mine. Jasmine, this is Mason Lockwood. He's an old school friend."

     Jasmine stood by Jenna and held out her hand towards Mason, "we've actually met, but it's good to see you again, Mason."

     Mason clenched his jaw, but nonetheless for Jenna's sake, shook her hand quickly and let it go just as fast, "good you, too." He shook his head and playfully glared at a laughing Jenna, "I meant, it's good to see you, too."

     Jenna patted his shoulder reassuringly before grabbing a handful of spice bottles, "don't worry, Mason. You're not the first person to stutter in front of Jasmine." She shot Jasmine a wink before exiting the house.

     Jasmine and Mason continued to smile until Jenna was out of sight. At that point, Mason turned to look at Jasmine abruptly, anger filling his bones, "listen, I haven't found it yet."

     Not expecting the hostility from Mason, Jasmine tilted her head to the side as she grew confused, "what are you talking about?"

     "The moonstone? I haven't found it yet, so if you're here because of that—"

     Mason's face scrunched up in disbelief when Jasmine let out a light hearted laugh. He waited patiently—not really—until her giggles were suppressed and she was able to clear his mind of confusion, "I'm not here because of that. Jenna invited me since we happen to be friends. So, don't worry and take your time with finding the moonstone... I'm currently in no rush."

     The Lockwood werewolf was growing majorly confused from her personality switch and seemed the only response he could offer was a glare directed at her wide smile, "what's your plan? Tell me to take my time but go behind my back to rummage through my house, which you have access to?"

     Shrugging, Jasmine crossed her arms across her chest, "well, if you don't think you're capable of finding it, then I suppose the logical solution would be taking matters into my own hands. I might have a better chance at finding it than you."

     "If you go into my house and harm one small hair on Tyler's body—"

     "I don't have any intentions of hurting Tyler. He should be kept out of this, don't you think?" Jasmine couldn't fathom why his first thought was to think that Jasmine would hurt someone who had no business in this life.

     Before Mason could blatantly call out his frustrations, Jenna and Alaric both reappeared in the kitchen. Jasmine noticed her history teacher and smiled warmly at him as well, "hello, Mr. Saltzman."

     And just like everyone's, besides Jenna's, first reaction to her being in the Gilbert Residence, Alaric stood on edge and narrowed his eyes at Jasmine, "what are you doing here?"

     They were all startled by the loud sound of Jenna slamming the refrigerator door shut and looking at him with her hands firmly planted on her hips, "I invited her." The woman was throwing away what's left of her patience as she struggled to find a reason on why everyone was acting so rudely towards her friend.

     Alaric looked at her sheepishly before clearing his throat, "oh, I didn't know that you guys were still friends."

     "We decided to catch up." Jasmine replied as she linked her arm with Jenna's in an attempt to soothe the woman's frustration. It wasn't Jenna's fault that she didn't know that she invited the currently most disliked person in the small group of people she knew.

     Thinking it was better to move the conversation, Alaric glanced over at Mason and let out a breath of relief when he found something to comment on, "oh, the expensive stuff! I like you already."

     Still trying to wrap his mind around Jasmine's sudden kindness—well, her form of kindness—and only managed to mutter out, "just happy to be invited."

     Anger soothed, Jenna smiled warmly and gestured towards Alaric, "thank Ric, it was his idea."

     Alaric laughed nervously as Mason stared at him, "yeah, you know, I thought it'd be nice to meet some of Jenna's high school friends. Dig up a little dirt."

     Hostility wavered, Mason laughed and began pouring alcohol into the shot glasses, "oh, I've got dirt."

     "I have no secrets! Only dirty shame." Jenna handed out the round of shots but lingered a bit when she faced Jasmine. She was conflicted on giving her alcohol considering from her point of view, she was only a teenager and no where near legal drinking age.

     Seeing her friend's hesitation, Jasmine rolled her eyes, "Jenna, I've been drinking for a while now. No point in stopping me now."

     Seeing as she wasn't her guardian, Jenna laughed and handed her the shot. They all lifted their glasses in the air as Alaric toasted to "dirty shame." All at once they planned to down the drinks and were about to continue their previous discussions when Jenna caught sight of a blue eyed vampire looking at her apologetically while holding a peach cobbler.

     "Hey."

     "Damon."

     Not having heard him come in, Jasmine stilled in her tracks and turned to look at him cautiously. She stared at him but his attention was on his friend's girlfriend. Jenna had her jaw clenched as Alaric noticed him.

     "We were just doing shots. Let me give you a shot glass, buddy." Alaric opened the bottle of alcohol again but stopped when Jenna grumbled.

     Everyone stared as Jenna downed her shot quickly and shoved it in Damon's hand, "here, use mine." She rolled her eyes then proceeded to grab Jasmine's hand and drag her outside towards the grill.

     Jenna without hesitation began ranting about Damon and wondering why Alaric thought it was such a good idea to invite the "arrogant bastard." All Jasmine wanted to do was be a good friend, so she tried to keep up with Jenna's spouts of angry remarks, but she just couldn't shake off the feeling that accompanied seeing everyone's reactions towards her being there. Sure, she had angered them, but she thought maybe the one time where she doesn't feel like tearing into someone's jugular would be spent with friends and not hostile frenemies.

     Jasmine could agree that what she did was out of line, but all she did was kidnap the doppelganger—hell, she even made sure she was well fed and even healed her when she got her foot stuck in a damn bear trap, so shouldn't that account for something. But knowing Elena, she wouldn't talk about that, she would simply tell the Salvatores that she's happy to be back with them because she was terrified of the siphoner. But of course why shouldn't the Salvatores forgive her? After everything they've been through, could they really cast her out so easily?

     "I just don't understand why Ric thought it'd be a good idea to invite him? I look at him and all I see is him messing with Elena's head." Jenna scowled as she 'supervised' Jasmine grilling.

     Jasmine let out a short laugh, "you do know that his feelings aren't exactly one sided? I mean, I truly do believe that Elena feels deeply for Stefan but that doesn't mean that whatever they have will last forever. It's rare that your first love is also your last."

     "I just hope she knows what she's doing."

     "Me, too. The Salvatores are like my family... I don't want to see them hurt."

     There was a small length of silence before Jenna cleared her throat, "that whole first love thing—you looked somber about it. Like maybe speaking from experience?"

     Jasmine tensed mid flip on a burger, but slowly let a smile show, "his name was Kol. He was the love of my lifetime."

     "Was? What happened to him?"

     How curious the mind could be. Jasmine shook her head slightly before sighing. If there was anyone to open up to, it'd be to someone she could trust, "some intense family drama. I haven't seen him in what feels like over a century." Another pause before Jasmine continued, softly whispering, "I'm not sure if he's even alive anymore."

     "Do you mind me asking to elaborate?"

     "Like I said—family drama."

     Jenna got up from her chair and stood beside her as if the next part of the conversation was delicate and only meant to be heard by them, "you really loved him."

     "With every single atom in my body." She sent a smile towards Jenna before resuming her task, "I still do, no matter how many times I've convinced myself that I've moved on."

     Jenna knew what it was like to be strung on a old flame, so with the most upbeat voice she could muster, she suggested what anyone who knew of Kol had, "well, I think you should move on if it's been a long time since you've been together. You're young, there's plenty of epic loves out there."

     Rolling her eyes, Jasmine decided to humor her, "I don't think so. The last person I decided to help me move on didn't exactly end so well. I've tried—many times, but I suppose I'm cursed." As she plated the meat, she thought it over. How every time she tried to move on, it always ended up in shambles, "it's like no matter what I do... I'm still drawn to him. That somehow my mind knows he's okay and is still thinking of me—wherever he is."

     She didn't realize the truth in her words in that moment in time.

     Jenna grabbed the plate from her arms and waved her hand around as if trying to dissolve the talk, "nope! No more talk of lost loves because from experience, it's not healthy to be strung up on a guy that you're not certain of in any shape or form. So, we are gonna go on a bunch of double dates until we find you someone, alright?"

     Following after Jenna as she made her way back into the house, Jasmine groaned, "that's really not necessary."

     "Yes, it is. Now, thank goodness you finished grilling because I am starving."

-----

     Jenna immediately put the boys to work as she demanded they set the table if they wanted to eat. They complied of course much to Jenna's amusement. After the plates were set and the utensils were in the right place, Jenna told them to sit down and dig in. For the next couple of minutes, pleasantries were exchanged as they maneuvered the food to each person. Laughing as Jenna scolded someone for taking all of the leftovers.

     Jasmine smiled as she discreetly looked around. This—this is what her days were supposed to be like. All while Jasmine was happily observing everyone, Damon was keeping an eye on her as her mood put him on edge, thinking the whole nice act was just a ploy.

     "So, Jasmine, what brings you around?"

     Jasmine could see Jenna visibly tense from beside her and as she was going to respond, Jenna cut her off, sending daggers towards Damon, "why is everyone questioning why she's here? She's my friend and I invited her, so can everyone stop second guessing it and leave her alone?"

     Jasmine reached over and squeezed Jenna's hand in comfort. Damon chuckled and lifted his hands in mock surrender, "I apologize. How are you, Jasmine? It's been a while."

     Clearing her throat and slightly shrinking from everyone's stare on her, Jasmine smiled timidly at Damon, "I've been good, thank you. How have you and Stefan been?"

     "We've been better."

     Caroline was the first to break the awkward tension as she encouraged everyone to continue talking. As Alaric, Jenna, and Mason were discussing Jenna's school days, Damon took the opportunity to talk to Jasmine without prying ears.

     "What are you up to?"

     Knowing this was coming, Jasmine sighed, "what are you talking about?"

     "Oh cut the act, no one but Jenna is falling for it." Damon spat out as he cut up his meat, "what are you doing here?"

     Growing irritated, Jasmine rolled her eyes, "believe it or not, Damon, but some people actually visit their friends without a hidden motive. Can't say the same for you, though." Jasmine lifted her glass and took a big sip of her drink before placing it back in its spot.

     "I don't know what you're talking about."

     "Oh, is that so? Because Stefan told me about your new obsession with the Lockwoods. Honestly, Damon, leave them be."

     Damon turned sharply to look at her, "what do you know about them?"

     Jasmine placed her utensils down and settled her hands on her lap, folded, "exactly what I told Stefan. So, what is your plan, huh? Gonna test it out for yourself to prove that Mason is a werewolf?" She shook her head in disbelief, supposedly her word wasn't good enough, "by doing what? Oh, I don't know, maybe exposing him to silver?" She laughed quietly as she gestured to the utensils, not noticing Damon's fierce gaze on them now, "are you honestly trying to get yourself killed?"

     Damon didn't pay attention to her as he focused on the one sarcastic remark she made, "so silver does work on them!" He had his idiotic plan formulated in his mind before she could avert it.

     "That not what I—"

     "He's a threat to us, Jasmine."

     Jasmine scoffed as he gestured to her and himself. Her hostility returning, "oh, so suddenly I'm a part of 'us'? Mason Lockwood is not a threat to us, not if he isn't provoked. So, please, find a partial brain cell in that brain of yours and do... not... provoke him."

     Damon slouched in his seat, grumbling about how she didn't understand the ferocity of the situation. His sudden defeat made Jasmine think she finally got through to him so she smiled and resumed her casual position. But when Damon has his mind set on something, nothing was going to stop him.

     "Let's not have a row, alright? It's been a while since we've hung out and frankly, I miss you both."

     Sarcastically smiling at her, Damon retorted, "are you done being a lunatic?"

     "If by lunatic, you mean, has my urge to give into my instincts subsided? Then, no." And before she could state that she was getting better at it, that today she didn't have the urge—he turned his attention away from her with a scowl.

     "Then I don't miss you."

     "Damon, please. I-I need you both. You're my best friends and have always been there for me and it hurts that you've stopped doing that." Jasmine refused to meet his confused and agitated look as she decided to preoccupy her attention to swirling her fork into her portion of mashed potatoes.

     "Yeah, well things change."

     "Like what?"

     The one thing that was heard was the conversations between the other guests before Damon sighed, "I know... I know that I promised you. I promised that I wouldn't develop feelings for Elena, but it happened. And you threatened that—I don't know if I can forgive you."

     "Damon—"

     "I've never felt this way before, Jasmine, and I don't want it ruined anymore than it already is."

     Damon cleared his throat and joined in the others' conversations, leaving Jasmine to wallow in the fact that she had lost him.

-----

     Keeping up with appearances, Damon and Jasmine silently agreed to pretend to get along. So here they all were: crowded in the living room to play a couple rounds of Pictionary. So far, Mason was winning but that was because whenever it was Damon's turn, the vampire decided to choose something wolf related. Like now.

     "Dress! Ballerina!"

     "Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!"

     Damon stared amusedly at Jenna and Caroline who looked so determined to figure out his drawing, "no, no."

     "A dog! Hound dog!"

     "A reason to strangle you."

     "Morbid, but no."

     A sigh was heard and everyone knew they were about to lose when Mason opened his mouth, "Dances with Wolves."

     Shooting the girls a disappointing glare, Damon faked a grimace, "Mason wins... again."

     Jenna was stuttering out denies and waved her hands around in frustration, "how is that a wolf? You're a worst drawer than Ric!"

     Alaric nudged his intoxicated girlfriend and playfully glared at her, "hey!"

     Elena stood from her seat and retreated to the kitchen to get the desserts ready. Damon was quick to follow after causing Jasmine to roll her eyes.

     "How are you winning all of these?" Jenna asked Mason while she crossed her arms, slightly petty from losing.

     Mason blew a raspberry at her and cockily grinned, "because unlike you, I am a Pictionary champion."

     Jasmine leaned into Jenna and laughed, "that and you just happen to know everything that had to do with wolves considering that was Damon's main topic."

     Jenna slouched into Jasmine and laughed alongside her, "yeah, that's a bit weird. Do you have a weird obsession with wolves?"

     Leaning his elbows against his knees, Mason shrugged, "nah, I just like studying them."

     "Well, I'm going to go help Elena set up dessert, so—" she pushed Jasmine off of her and went into the kitchen. Caroline didn't find anything to keep her lingering there so she went upstairs to use the bathroom. Alaric decided to go outside and get some fresh air.

     "I'm really sorry about him. I don't know why he's doing that."

     Mason scoffed and leaned back into his seat, "sure you don't."

     Jasmine clenched her fists, feeling the anger become thrilled at entering her system, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before replying in a monotone voice, "believe what you want. I'm gonna go help Jenna."

     Leaving one stare down, Jasmine didn't think she'd enter one back so quickly. But she was proven wrong when she heard Jenna spit out, "no, you don't. You've never dated you; I have dated many yous."

     "I'm a work in progress."

     Jenna rolled her eyes and then accepted the cake knife Elena handed her. Damon eyed it intensely with a small smirk while Jasmine felt a bit of irony to the situation.

     "Huh, you're bringing out the silver."

     Jenna smiled at her and shrugged, "I never use them, so why not start?"

     Damon flicked the box of the silver set, "these are fancy."

     "Thanks. My mother's silver set." Grabbing one of the four desserts, Jenna walked back into the dining room. Elena eyed Damon, who glanced at Jasmine before grabbing a knife from the set and placing it inside his jacket.

     Jasmine pushed off the counter and grabbed one of the cheesecakes and followed after Jenna. Elena sent one last disapproving look to Damon before grabbing the other cheesecake and following her aunt, then following after Caroline to talk outside.

     Once everyone was back in their seats, Damon returned from the kitchen with the last pie in his hand. He grabbed the cake knife that Jenna had set on the table (Jasmine was already at the point where she didn't care if he made the stupid decision so she grabbed one of the cheesecakes and pulled it towards her, ready to devour it whole) and he gestured towards Mason.

     "Mason, why don't you start us off?"

     "Sure." He acts as if he reaches for the knife before grabbing a slice of pie with his bare hands and then sitting down contently. He looks at everyone staring at him before chuckling, "I apologize, I'm an animal."

     Jasmine raised her eyebrows before scrunching her nose in distaste, "thank god I'm not eating pie because that was gross."

     Alaric cleared his throat and returned his attention to Mason, who was eating the pie with a plastic fork, "so Mason, you and Jenna never dated?"

     Mason shook his head as he laughed, "she was always lost in Logan Fell land."

     Remembering the arrogant weather man, Jasmine let out a laugh, wondering how she could even tolerate the douche. Jenna playfully hit her as she laughed as well, "my first mistake. Mason was a catch; he had girls lining up."

     Damon settled his chin on the tips of his fingers as he looked at Mason with feigned interest, "really? I always pegged you for a lone wolf."

     "I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were." Jasmine choked on her drink. "How about a toast? To new friends."

     They all clinked their glasses and began to eat the too many desserts.

-----

     Many werewolf and vampire puns later, they all began clearing the table and started getting ready to end the night. While the guys began conversing in the kitchen, Jenna grabbed Jasmine's arm and pulled her into the hallway. She wiggled her eyebrows once they were alone which only confused Jasmine even more.

     "So?"

     "So, what?" Jasmine replied loudly.

     Swatting at her arm and looking around the corner to make sure no one was approaching them, Jenna let out a small laugh, "what do you think of Mason? Cute, right?"

     Playing her supposed age, Jasmine scrunched her face in mild disgust, "isn't he like your age?"

     "Yes, so I know he isn't that old. Plus, come on, I know you're like nineteen or almost nineteen."

     She thought she had been playing the role of a seventeen year old, but maybe she wasn't that great at it. But nonetheless, decided to play along, "wait, how'd you find that out?"

     Jenna's teasing expression turned sheepish as she nervously laughed, "Ric might have told me when he was going over the new student file. It shows that you are actually two years older than the rest of your peers."

     "Either way, he's still like what? Six years older than me?"

     "Six years isn't that much of a difference compared to what you told me about your friend's parents' age difference." Jenna raised her eyebrows at her and then softened her gaze, "come on, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you since you got here."

     Knowing the real reason he was keeping an eye on her, Jasmine let out a stressed laugh, "I'm not entirely sure it's anything remotely close to admiration."

     Jenna rolled her eyes as she heard her friend come up with a never ending amount of excuses to not move on, "well, humor me. If it doesn't work out after one get together, then I won't bother you about him anymore."

     "Jenna, I don't really—" She stopped when Jenna grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly.

     "Just one, I promise!"

     Jenna was very persistent, but Jasmine was set in her ways. She sighed heavily, feigning defeat but really knowing she was never going to go through with it, "fine, just one, but know that I'm only doing this for you, not for myself."

     Jenna's squeal of happiness was interrupted when Mason rounded the corner with a smile and the other two males following after him.

     "So, who's up for some drinks at the Grill? My treat."

     Cursing the deities of every religion, Jasmine remained silent and tried not to bait into Jenna's hard nudging. A hard push that made the siphoner stumble caused her to grit her teeth and forcefully smile at Mason, "sure, why not?"

     Jenna beamed and patted Mason's shoulder, "just don't let her drink too much. She's still not allowed to drink."

     "Say that to my fake I.D., mom."

     Jenna and Alaric walked them to the door, ready to say goodbye before Mason turned back, "no more takers for drinks at the Grill? It's like I'm with a bunch of adults here!" He let out a laugh as Jenna scowled.

     "I prefer the term 'role model'."

     Mason rolled his eyes and then looked down at Jasmine, who was still silently fuming, "are you gonna need a ride? We can go in my truck?"

     Surprised, Jasmine exhaled a breath and nodded, "yeah, thank you."

     He smiled lightly and then turned to finally say goodbye, "well, thanks for having me, it was awesome." He hugged Jenna and then shook Alaric's hand, "Alaric, catch that game next week?"

     Alaric actually wanted to go get some drinks but one hard pinch from his girlfriend made him rethink his choice. So, with the promise of another hang out, Alaric eagerly nodded, "yeah, I look forward to it."

     Damon appeared suddenly and clapped Alaric on his back, "you know, I should probably head out, too."

     Not wanting to stick around him any longer, Mason guided Jasmine outside and pretended to ignore Jenna's outburst of "have fun and don't go too fast" knowing the double meaning. He jogged ahead of Jasmine to open the car door for her. Still not over the shock from him offering her a ride, Jasmine stood still before thanking him and entering his truck.

     Mason smirked and closed the door. He didn't know what was up with Jasmine. Her mood swings were giving him whiplash, but he figured he should bask in the moments where she was kind. He started the engine and backed out of the Gilbert's driveway.

     "So, do you normally have mood swings?"

     She turned her head to look at him; he was staring straight ahead with a smirk plastered on his lips, "what do you mean?"

     "Just a couple days ago you threatened to kill my nephew and today you're acting as if it didn't happen. I'd like to know who I'm exactly getting orders from—a friend or an enemy?" His tone and expression hardened towards the end.

     "I honestly don't have any harsh feelings towards you or your nephew. I don't know what caused me to say that, but I truly am sorry." Jasmine placed her elbow on the opened window door and then placed her head on her closed fist. "With your girlfriend being back in town, I guess it just struck some old feud. I apologize for putting you in the middle of that."

     "I don't get you."

     "Welcome to the club." Putting her hand back down and facing him, she sighed, "I really do need that moonstone."

     "What do you need it for?"

     "Something important. Something I feel obligated to stop."

     Mason sighed at her vague answer and shrugged, "you're not the only one who wants it."

     "You don't know the full story to that stone. I'm sure you've heard a version of it, but I can tell you now that what you think you know about it is actually wrong."

     Mason parked the truck beside the Grill and turned his attention to her, "so, tell me the true story."

     "I think that's something Kathy must tell you."

     If Mason knew the real story behind the moonstone then there was a chance that he would refuse to continue to look for it. Better it be lost than in the wrong hands. He got out of the truck and headed to open Jasmine's door but stopped when he noticed a figure walking towards them.

     Looking in the side view mirror, Jasmine took a deep breath and got out of the truck to stand beside their guest, "Damon."

     "Damon? What? More dog jokes?" Mason cracked a smile at him, oblivious to the knife behind the vampire's back.

     "Nah, those got old." He then used his speed to lunge at Mason with the silver knife in his hand. He intended to stab Mason's chest and then rummage through his belongings to find more solid proof that he was a werewolf. But he didn't account for Mason having acquired a sudden protector.

     Jasmine quickly stepped in front of Mason and took the blow for him. The knife imbedded into her palm as she had raised her hand to block Damon's advances. Mason pulled her back into him with a glare towards Damon. Damon too a couple steps back and furrowed his eyebrows when Mason grabbed the silver knife with his bare hands to pull it out gently from Jasmine's hand, completely unaffected at all. Mason grabbed the end of his shirt and wiped off the excess blood from her palm before turning to face Damon with a smug smirk.

     "You know, I think it was werewolves who started this whole silver myth. It was probably for moments like this."

     Damon grimaced and nodded, "duly noted."

     Looking towards the Grill and then towards Jasmine, Mason sighed as he averted his attention back to Damon, "I was really looking forward to last call. Now you made an enemy." He placed a hand on Jasmine's lower back and began guiding her back to the truck, "come on, Jasmine, I'll take you home."

     Jasmine threw a glare at Damon over her shoulder before allowing Mason to open the door for her. They both drove off while Damon stood in the middle of the sidewalk with the thought of screwing up clouding his mind.

-----

     Once again parking his car, Mason bid Jasmine goodbye as she thanked him for the ride. Before she got too far from the truck, Mason called out to her. With an eyebrow raised, Jasmine looked at him, "yes?"

     Leaning across the seat, Mason asked, "are you going to be volunteering at the clean up of the new park tomorrow?"

     "Most likely not, why?"

     Mason shook his head, a flash of relief showing on his face before shrugging, "just wondering. Have a good night."

     "You, too." She walked up the porch steps and took out the house key. When the key was in its slot, Jasmine stopped again at the call of her name. She didn't answer but she did turn around to see a widely smiling Mason.

     "For the record, I forgive you." With everything he wanted to say out in the open, he drove off.

     Jasmine watched his truck drive down the street until it disappeared around the corner. There was something nagging in the back of her mind when he asked about the town's plan tomorrow. She decided that maybe helping out the community wasn't such a bad idea.

     As she was thinking, she didn't notice the sudden pick up of the wind which now worsened once she did notice it. Her hair flailed around her face, obstructing her vision. Through the crevices of her hair strands, she noticed a man down the street, watching her. Quickly pulling her hair into place, she looked again at where she saw him but noticed that he wasn't there anymore. With a shiver running down her spine, Jasmine quickly unlocked the door and rushed inside to the comfort of her home.