Elena looked alarmed as the vampires around her were already forming a plan on how to kill Noah. She didn't want to be a part of it, but it was inevitable since she was his target.

"What do I have to do?"

Without a glance, Jasmine scoffed as she began typing away on her cell phone, "stay out of our way."

Damon frowned at the raven haired heretic before turning to Elena with a forced smile, "let your boyfriend take you to the dance. We'll see who shows up."

Shaking his head, Stefan ran a hand through his hair, "that's a bad idea."

"Until we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot."

Nudging a concern stricken Stefan, Jasmine softly smiled at him, "he's right, Stefan. She can't stay here."

"I'll do it." The three vampires looked at the doppelganger, who was sporting a confident expression. Stefan looked at her anxiously while Damon simply nodded. She grabbed Stefan's hand and looked up at him, "I'll be with the three of you. I'll be safe."

Stefan nodded and looked at Damon who shrugged his shoulders. Elena began walking out after Damon offered the couple a ride to the dance, as well. Stefan still lingered inside the living room, not liking the poorly formed plan.

Jasmine's face dropped when she noticed how worried he was. She hated to see him like this, even though she did warn him of what would happen if he got involved with her. She knew he was already running the possibilities of what to tell Elena if he did decide to leave her once more.

"Hey, it'll be okay."

He simply shook his head and looked at her, "what if it's not? Jasmine, I won't be able to live with myself if anything happened to her."

She stepped closer to him and embraced him. She gently rubbed his back and he laid his head in the crook of her neck, finding comfort with her being. At that moment, Jasmine knew what she had to do. She was going to end this once and for all. Once, his breathing slowed, she pulled back and held his hands in front of her.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. I give you my word."

With another nod, Stefan walked out the door with Jasmine trailing behind, formulating a plan that would leave Elena and the Salvatores unharmed. Sending a quick text to the doppelganger, Jasmine sat inside the car, a smile plastered on her face.

▪▪▪▪

Entering the gymnasium, it seemed as if all eyes landed on Stefan and Elena, but in reality, they stared right past them and towards Jasmine, who was laughing at whatever snarky comment Damon made about the decorations.

She was always told that her laugh could make any person in the world radiate with happiness. She always denied it, never have liked her laugh. Jasmine, at a very young age, had been taught to not laugh at all as her father absolutely loathed it. Laughter was meant to bring joy or to simply express it. Joy was not something she knew as a child. With a mother who refused to even glance at her and a father who beat her senseless for being different, Jasmine didn't think she was capable of such emotion.

She didn't think joy or laughter or simple happiness was anywhere in her near future. It all changed one day, when she came across five siblings who were smitten with her the moment they laid eyes on her. They taught her how to laugh again and through the years, her laughter was heard more and more.

Even if she did constantly laugh, people still saw it as an accomplishment when they were the reason for her sweet laugh escaping her lips. Whenever she noticed someone's eyes light up when she laughed, a phrase always popped into her head.

"Your laughter could most likely make men stop fighting wars and simply drop to their knees as they beg for peace if they were granted another moment of hearing you laugh."

Jasmine was always being complimented by the siblings, but no matter how many they gave her, her cheeks would always turn rosy.

Back to the dance, Damon stood close to the refreshments as he scanned the room for any sign of trouble. Jasmine sighed as she looked around, as well. She didn't like the fact that the doppelganger was in trouble, well, she didn't like what it was doing to Stefan more specifically.

"Any sign of him?"

Scoffing, Jasmine looked at him with her arms crossed in front of her chest, "if there was, do you really think I'd just stand here?"

Damon looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed, "what's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." Jasmine looked up at him sheepishly, as she smiled.

Damon smirked and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her forehead, "don't worry about it. Maybe he won't even show up tonight."

"With the way he's been taunting Elena? I don't think he'd give her a night to herself." Jasmine noticed Bonnie and Caroline walking over to the punch bowl, "you know, it would probably be easier to find the grimoire if I had a bit of Bennett blood."

Damon looked at her confused until he noticed the girls, too, "I can arrange that. Leave it to me."

Before he could walk over to them, Jasmine grabbed him by the elbow, "she has to give it to me willingly, Damon. I won't force her to give me her blood, so be nice."

Scoffing, he gave her a playful glare, "I can be nice."

"Yeah. Uh huh, keep thinking that, buddy."

They both laughed as they walked over to the two girls who were talking animatedly. They stopped when they noticed the two vampires approaching them. With a finally squeeze to remind him to be nice, Jasmine smiled at them.

"Hey girls, it's been a while."

After exchanging hello's and receiving a glare from Caroline, Jasmine nudged Damon, who gave Bonnie a tight lipped smile, "hey, Bonnie. Want to dance?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I'm out of here." She and Caroline gave him a look of disgust before turning to walk away. Before they could get away, Damon blocked Bonnie and gave her a pleading look.

"Please, give me another chance."

The Bennett witch didn't respond and moved around Damon, walking away from him. Caroline still stood there and glared at him, "back off, Damon."

Caroline stopped in front of Jasmine before leaving and glared at her, "and I suggest you back off of Matt. We're sort of together."

Smirking, Jasmine took a step towards her, "he didn't say that when he had me pushed against the wall last night. Plus, what are you going to do, princess?"

Caroline's eyes widened, finding it hard to breathe as Jasmine stood her ground against her. Damon let out a chuckle as Caroline scurried off after Bonnie, not knowing how to respond to the smug vampire.

"And you were worried about me not being nice."

Their laughter was cut short when they noticed a judgmental looking Elena approaching them with a brooding Stefan trailing behind her, "where did they go?"

Damon gave her faux smile as he shrugged, amused, "I don't know."

Stefan's never ending brooding face was turned towards his brother as he frowned at them, "what did you say to them?"

With a mock gasp, Jasmine held a hand to her heart as if appalled by the accusation, "I do not know what you are implying, Stefan, but we were perfect angels towards them."

Laughing alongside Jasmine, Damon faced Elena with an outstretched hand, "Elena... would you like to dance?"

"I would love to." Saying they were all surprised was a complete understatement when the words left her lips. That was until she turned towards Stefan with a smug smile on her face, "may I have this dance?"

Stefan automatically extended his arm towards her, which she happily took. Elena turned towards Damon once more, flashing him a devilish smile as he rolled his eyes at the couple making their way to the dance floor.

"You know, I could use that dance."

Without another word, Damon grabbed her hand and led her towards the dance floor, as well. Dancing had always been one of Jasmine's favorite past times. Whether it was simple goofing around at a rock concert or a elegant night in a castle while doing the waltz, Jasmine adored it. The different variation and the simple way it can change your mood fascinated her.

"You know, it's not polite to try to steal other people's toys, Damon. I thought you learned your lesson."

Damon rolled his eyes as he spun her around, "I'm not stealing anyone's toy. I have my own waiting for me to get he—it out of an old dusty toy chest."

"As long as you know your limits, Damon." She wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed side to side with him. Even if the music was upbeat, she felt it fit their conversation instead. "I know she looks like Katherine, but she isn't. Please, don't start developing feelings for her just because she looks like the supposed love of your life."

Damon furrowed his eyebrows as he pondered her words, "I won't. You have my word, Jasmine."

Another song passed by before they decided to call it quits and go back to scanning the school body for Noah. They stood side by side when a man approached them.

"Yeah, I don't recognize either of you. How'd you guys get roped into chaperoning?" Although the question was obviously meant for the both of them, the man's eyes were directed to Damon, "Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher."

Alaric Saltzman shook Damon's hand and then hesitated to shake Jasmine's.

"Ah, the, uh, cursed faculty position." Damon looked towards Alaric with a knowing smirk.

Chuckling, Alaric shrugged, "so, I've been told."

Rolling her eyes, Jasmine plastered a smile on her face before turning to face Alaric, "I'm Jasmine Saunders."

"Nice to meet you." He gave her a curt nod before turning his attention back to the Salvatore vampire, "and you?"

"Damon. Salvatore."

He looked at him with a surprised look as the last name was uttered, "Salvatore, as in, uh, Stefan?"

With a bored look, Damon turned back to face the teenagers dancing around, "he's my little brother. I'm his legal guardian, hence the chaperoning."

Smiling, Alaric looks towards Stefan dancing with Elena, "I hear he's very bright, not that I've had a chance to see for myself."

The questions seemed harmless, but Jasmine felt as if this man wasn't just making small talk. She reminded herself to keep a close eye on him, just in case.

Shrugging, Damon put on the concerned legal guardian face, "well, his attendance record's a little spotty. Family drama."

"No parents?"

Damon looked at him and shook his head, before smiling at Jasmine, "it's just the three of us now."

Jasmine smiled brightly at the fact that Damon included her. Alaric, then turned his attention to her, "wait, all three of you?"

"Yeah, Jasmine here helps out a lot. Mainly, keeping us in check, but as a support system, too."

"Why don't you attend the high school?"

Shrugging, Jasmine smiled up at him, "you won't be able to teach me anything I don't already know."

Alaric chuckled as he glanced at her, noting to himself that she was vampire as well, "nice to know. Anyways, did you guys live here your whole lives?"

Damon nodded his head, "Stefan and I, on and off. Travel a bit. Jasmine is actually from a couple states over."

"Really? Where?" The two vampires raised their eyebrows at him, Damon wondering why he was so desperately trying to get to know them. With an awkward chuckle, Alaric shook his head, embarrassed, "heh, I'm sorry. I'm nosy. I... I don't mean to pry. Look, it was nice meeting you both."

With a nod, Damon slightly narrowed his eyes at him, "you, too."

"Enjoy the rest of the dance." Alaric patted Damon's shoulder and shot Jasmine a smile before walking away from them.

"What do you think?"

They watched him walk away with their heads tilted to the side a bit. "We definitely need to keep an eye on him, Damon. Which... wouldn't be such a bad thing, right? He sure is a sight for sore eyes, huh?"

Playfully pushing her, Damon laughed. "Oh, Jasmine."

▪▪▪▪

Jasmine was dancing around in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by the students. She smiled and laughed as she twirled around and let her hair flow around her. A certain ringtone made her abruptly stop for a second before deciding to continue dancing so she could blend in.

She looked towards Elena, who had answered her phone with a confused expression.

"Hello, Elena." She noticed the doppelganger stop in fear, but she refused to go to her aide if she didn't want to be seen. "Here's what you're going to do. There's an exit door behind you. You have five seconds."

Elena looked around her frantically before she met Jasmine's eyes, her face hardening, "no."

"Or your brother dies."

Jasmine turned her attention to the punch bowl where Jeremy had been serving punch all night. She noticed a man with a black shirt standing near him, a phone clasped in his hand.

"I can snap his neck so fast I bet there's not even a witness. Now, start walking."

Elena met Jasmine's eyes, which were staring intently into hers. She began walking backwards towards the door Noah had described, "don't you dare touch him."

"Keep walking. Through the door."

Elena quickly walked towards the door and began to run. Jasmine vamp sped towards the nearest doors and grabbed her. She clasped her hand over Elena's mouth as she let out a small shriek.

"You remember what I texted you? Good, now go." With a frantic nod, Elena began running down another hallway.

She knew the Salvatores wouldn't have approved of her plan, which is why she texted Elena. She knew Elena would agree as long as Stefan was out of harms way. Elena would be bait, luring Noah into meeting her in a private space. Jasmine would follow Elena and once she was there, Elena would run to the opposite side of the school, causing the Salvatore brothers to follow. Jasmine, already placing a sound barrier spell on the hallway, would be the one to confront the terrorizing vampire.

At that moment, she knew there was no going back. She had to do this... to protect Elena—to protect Stefan. She wouldn't let any harm come their way, not if she could prevent it. So, she was going to do what she swore she would never do again, just to make sure Noah never bothered them again. All her repressed feelings from the past couple weeks will be unleashed tonight.

She leaned against the student lockers while she waited for Noah to appear. Once he did, he had no time to even think of escaping as she sped to chain the doors closed. He whipped around to see her a couple feet away from him. He tensed when he instantly recognized who it was, knowing her reputation.

He looked at her with his fists clenched at his sides, "where's Elena?"

Jasmine clasped her hands in front of her as she sent him a smirk, "oh, I'm sorry were you not expecting me?"

He stood frozen in fear, but refused to show it. Although, she could feel it. She could feel his fear radiate off of him, which sent her body into a frenzy she struggled to contain. She hadn't felt this powerful in years, in decades.

He took a step back when she took a step forward, eyes ablaze, "why are you doing this to Elena?"

Noah sent her a smirk, "because it's fun. I thought you would understand, given who you are."

Jasmine rolled her eyes and slowly began walking towards him, "what do you want with Elena?"

"She looks like Katherine."

She narrowed her eyes at the mention of the doppelganger bitch. Even inside a tomb, rotting away, she managed to still wreak havoc. This time though, she wasn't going to let her get away with it.

Jasmine sped towards him and knocked him onto his back. Before he could get up, she placed her heel on his neck, pushing down slightly enough to pierce his skin. He let out a gasp as he struggled to breathe. He clawed at her leg, trying to push her off.

Jasmine simply smiled at him, "so, if you knew Katherine, well, more like obsessed with Katherine, then you know there's another way into the tomb. Want to tell me what it is?"

Still struggling, he let out a raspy gasp, "the grimoire."

She rolled her eyes as she dug her heel further into his neck, "I knew that, dummy. Where is it?"

Jasmine lifted her foot a bit, allowing him to breathe, so he could answer, "I'm not tell—" With a sigh, she returned her heel back to it's previous position, deep in his neck, "check the journal! The journal. Jonathon's journal. Jonathon Gilbert's!"

"See, that wasn't so hard. Now, tell me, is there someone working with you? I kind of told Damon and Stefan that there was and I don't want to be a liar."

Noah frantically shook his head, his eyes filled with fear and determination, "no, you're gonna have to kill me."

In a blink of an eye, she replaced her heel with her hand, refusing to let him off the ground. A smile plastered on her lips as she crouched face to face with him, "well, before you do die, let me tell you something first, yeah? Katherine never loved you. She never loved any of you. You were all her toys... pawns in a game she loved to play. You aren't anything special, especially not to her. All that bitch cares about is herself."

Jasmine felt a rush when she noticed his heart broken expression and smiled, "she would've thrown you to the side the moment she thought you were no use for her anymore."

"But she didn't," Noah croaked out.

"That's because she was thrown into a tomb to die before she had the chance."

She continued to grab him by the throat as she slammed his body against the lockers, "see, the Salvatores were actually going to be the ones to confront you, but you're not scared of them, are you?"

Jasmine could already imagine the Salvatores being in this position, "Damon would have tortured you a bit, probably impaling you with a stake. Stefan would've interrogated you. That's how I'm thinking it would've gone down, but throwing in the fact that you have been terrorizing his girlfriend, I wouldn't put it past Stefan if he was the one to deliver your final blow.

"Ending your life with a quick stab in the heart and you... slowly desiccating. I'm sure it would've been quick and possibly painless. But you see, if Stefan killed you, it would've affected him, even if he killed a vampire as lowly as you. He would've done it anyways, though, to protect Elena.

"But it would leave a... stain on who he was and he would never let it go. That's what I'm here for. To do everything possible to make sure your death doesn't weigh down on him. I bear it, so they don't have to."

Jasmine smiled menacingly at him as she whispered into his ear, "so, instead of them... you get me and trust me... I won't make your death quick and painless."

Everything happened in a blur. She wanted him to feel every single thing she did to him. And he did. He felt it when she broke as many bones as she could. Screams echoed around the room. His pleas for mercy were unheard as she continued to break him apart. She went from bone breaking to tearing limbs.

One by one, each limb was torn apart from his— still alive—body. The menacing smile never left her face as the adrenaline continued to pump through her veins. Blood splattered all over her and body parts lay around her.

With one final chuckle, she grabbed his head and dug her hand inside his chest, clasping onto his heart, and pulled them off his body at the same time, finally killing him. Her breathing was ragged as she stared down at his mangled body and let a small smile adorn her lips.

She didn't need to look up when she heard a collective of gasps near her. She knew horror was etched onto the Salvatores' and Elena's faces once they saw what she did. Jasmine slowly lifted her head up, revealing her once blue-green irises filled with darkness, almost pitch black.

All they could do was stare at her. Her body was covered in blood and Noah's heart remained in her hand. She gave them a smile as she walked closer to them.

A dark chuckle escaped her lips as she dropped the heart at their feet, "problem solved."

No one ever took her laughter for granted, so they definitely yearned to hear her soft melodic laugh instead of the dark and menacing chuckle that indicated the rise of her inner darkness coming out to wreck havoc.