Jasmine walked up the drive way and quickly knocked on the door, gently. She smiled once the door opened, revealing a smiling and confused Matt Donovan. He opened the door wider, "Jasmine, hi. What brings you here?"

     "Thought I'd pass by and say 'hi,' also to apologize for being so distant lately.  I haven't purposefully been ignoring your calls, I promise. I had some things to tend to."

     Matt shook his head, not bothered, "it's no problem, really. Why don't you come in?"

     Jasmine smiled and slowly entered the house, making sure she was able to pass by the barrier. She took in her surroundings as he closed the door behind her, "you have a nice house."

     "Thank yo-"

     Matt was interrupted by a pair of heels walking into the room. A woman emerged from what seemed to be the living room, "Matty? Who is it?" She smiled once she noticed the raven haired stranger standing in her kitchen, "oh, hello. I'm Kelly, Matt's mom."

     Jasmine held out her hand and shook Kelly's hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Donovan. I'm Jasmine, a friend of Matt's."

     "Oh, you're too gorgeous for Matty to keep as just a friend." Kelly put her hand on her hip and stared behind Jasmine, where Matt currently stood with blood rushing towards his cheeks, "why isn't she your girlfriend instead of the blonde?"

     Embarrassing was not the term to describe how Matt felt in that situation, more mortified than anything, "mom, come on, please stop."

     Jasmine let out a laugh causing the Donovans to smile as she took a step back to stand beside Matt, "I'm flattered, Ms. Donovan, but for the time being it seems that I just have to wait a bit longer to get my chance with your son."

     Matt blushed harder, if possible, as Jasmine gently laid her hand on his arm. Kelly laughed as she noticed the blood rushing in her son's cheeks, "please, call me Kelly."

----

     Jasmine seemed to not grow tired of the two humans sitting beside her. This surprised her deeply because even though she was attracted to Matt, she didn't think that she'd actually find his company enjoyable. They talked for hours about anything and everything.

     She enjoyed Kelly's blunt answers and how shy Matt would get sometimes when asked a personal question. Laughing came easy with them and it was nice to just sit back and not worry about anything.

     "So, are you going to go to the bachelor raffle, or whatever they call it, at the Grill?"

     "I'm working tonight, so I kind of have to be there." Remembering about work, Matt had gone upstairs to change into uniform before rejoining the discussion.

     Kelly shrugged her shoulders, "I think I might go, just to scope out the men. Maybe even buy some tickets and get lucky."

     Jasmine laughed as she noticed Matt's horrified expression, "come on, Matt. I'm certain your mother still has game."

     "Plenty of it." Kelly laughed alongside Jasmine.

     Jasmine excused herself when her phone began ringing. Noticing the caller ID, she smiled, "have a good meal?"

     "No, I decided to go home and wallow in peace. Guess what? You are talking to one of Mystic Falls' eligible bachelors."

     "Have they run out of men to stoop to calling you to be raffled? Shame." Jasmine could hear Damon stumbling into his room and sloppily opening drawers.

     "I'll have you know that I bet they wanted me because I'm absolutely irresistible." Damon looked through his drawers and threw some clothes he thought were appropriate onto his bed.

     "Sure, Damon." Jasmine leaned against the wall and looked to the pair still talking on the couch with a smile on her face.

     "Whatever. Come help me get ready because I'm drunk and I have to look good."

     Rolling her eyes, she sighed, "I'll be there soon."

     She hung up the call and began walking back into the room. Kelly and Matt both stopped talking as they looked at her, already waiting to hear what the call was about, "I have to go, my friend needs me."

     "Aw, alright. I guess we can't hog you all day, right, Matty?" Kelly stood up with Matt following suit and began walking Jasmine to the door.

     "I had fun. We should all get together again sometime."

     "Yes! Most definitely! So, I guess I'll see you at the Grill in..." Kelly looked at the clock and widened her eyes, "oh, two hours. Wow, okay. We'll see you there, right?"

     "Wouldn't miss it," Jasmine gave her a hug and planted a kiss on Matt's cheek, "see you guys later."

----

     Speeding over to the Salvatore house, Jasmine normally walked up the steps and towards Damon's room. Damon laid on his bed with his arms stretched out wide beside him. She grabbed the wine bottle that sat on the floor and took a swig of it.

     "You know, getting ready isn't rocket science."

     "Yes, but like I said, I'm drunk and probably need supervision." With another roll of her eyes, she pulled Damon up from his position and pushed him towards the bathroom. He groaned and slid his feet purposely making it difficult for Jasmine to push him any further.

     "Damon, you have to take a shower! You reek."

     Seeing as he did ask her to help get him ready, Damon complied and began walking the rest of the way to the bathroom all while stripping his clothes off. As Jasmine tossed the clothes Damon had picked back into his drawers and began searching for new clothes, Damon came back into her line of vision with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

     "You know, we both have to get ready. So, I think it would be a good idea to shower together. You know, saving the planet and whatnot." His infamous smirk stood proudly on his features.

     Was Damon still hurting over Katherine? Obviously. Was Jasmine just a distraction for him? Yes. Would a relationship ever build? Absolutely not. These questions have been swirling around in her mind ever since that night and her answers never changed. Sure, Damon was an attractive male and was the sexual intercourse profound? She surely liked it. That's all it was for Jasmine, enjoyable sex; she couldn't imagine herself ever being in a relationship with him. Why? That's an answer she didn't know herself.

     "Please, the past events were a reminder that you can't seem to keep your hands off of me when I'm bare. So, I'm certain the fate of the earth would not gain anything if we were to shower together."

     While her reply seemed as if she was denying the offer, her pulling her clothes off cemented her decision in joining him.

     "So... is that a yes on hot shower sex?" Damon's eyes widened, but kept their vibrant confusion as she walked past him with only her undergarments still on.

     "Are you coming or not?"

     Not having to be told twice, Damon smirked and followed her into the bathroom, where the steam on the glass door wasn't just a result from the hot water.

----

     When they emerged from the bathroom and back into his bedroom, they both carried small smiles as they glanced at each other. Damon finished drying his hair and putting on pants while Jasmine barely put on a fresh new pair of undergarments. They stood in front of the other once more. Jasmine noticed the small droplets of water Damon had let escape cascade down his abdomen. Damon's breathing began to get shallow as he took another step towards her, ready to go again.

     Just as Jasmine's hand found its way to Damon's waistband, Elena's voice rang throughout the boarding house. Suddenly, it was as if Jasmine wasn't his main focus anymore as Damon went to go search for the doppelganger.

     Following after him, Jasmine took in notice how attached he was becoming to the photo copy of the supposed love of his life. Elena stood in the middle of Stefan's room when Damon found her.

     "Stefan."

     "Better. Me... and Jasmine." Damon smirked at the gawking human as he began putting on his button up shirt.

     Gulping, Elena averted her eyes and looked at the other vampire, which only caused her to avert her eyes once more when she noticed how barely clothed she was, "you guys look... um..."

     "Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" Damon walked across the room, closing the space between him and Elena. Elena, forcibly uncomfortable, pushed him back a bit to create space between them.

     "Wrecked. You guys look wrecked."

     Stepping into the room as well, Jasmine made her way over to Stefan's mirror, "just appreciating the wine collection they have downstairs."

     Elena rolled her eyes, not seeming to grasp why Jasmine would let Damon spiral downwards like this. She turned her attention back to Damon, who had settled on adjusting his belt, "so, I found out who my birth mother is."

     "Who cares?"

     A hurt expression settled on Elena's features as she looked at Damon, expecting him to defend her against Jasmine, hoping he would actually care. Damon shrugged and sent her a sympathetic smile, "she left you. She sucks."

     In the reflection, she noticed not only the little moment the two shared, but how Elena's eyes would wander to Damon, well to Damon's chest, "did you know that this idiot is one of the bachelors they're going to be raffling off tonight?"

     Elena's eyes narrowed a bit at the news, "I wonder why. I mean, it's obvious why they would pick him, but no woman would live up to Damon's standards."

     "And who exactly would fit his standards?" Jasmine walked over to Damon when she noticed him failing to button up his shirt. Swatting his hands away, she replaced his fingers with her own as she kept her gaze on Elena.

     "Someone strong, incredibly beautiful, and isn't afraid to tell him no." Elena's gaze was fixated on the way Jasmine would slowly trail her hand up Damon's torso before buttoning the next button. Jealousy radiated off of her and Jasmine smirked, finally confirming the doppelganger's feelings towards the eldest Salvatore brother.

     "Someone like you?" Damon and Elena stared at each other, as if getting lost in their own little worlds as Jasmine's anger began to boil. Not only did Damon promise not to fall into the doppelganger's trap, but how could Elena feel anything towards Damon especially after the countless times she's preached about Stefan being the only one for her and how Damon is the bad guy.

     Before Jasmine could say anything else, Stefan's figure appeared in the doorway. Elena noticed his reflection and immediately turned to face him, a giant smile plastered on her face, "Stefan! There you are!"

     Jasmine rolled her eyes at her fake enthusiasm as Damon cleared his throat, "I need a bigger jacket. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a bit."

     And just like that, Elena's scowl surfaced and directed itself towards Damon, who was now dragging an annoyed Jasmine with him out of the room.

     Twenty minutes later, Damon walked downstairs with a bigger jacket and a fully clothed Jasmine. Stefan stood in the middle of the living room glancing at his phone until he noticed them.

     "Where'd our girlfriend go?"

     Stefan rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "she's on her way to the grill. I, uh, wanted to talk to you." He pulled out a picture of a woman and handed it to Damon, who looked at it with his usual smugness, "this is the woman, Isobel, from North Carolina. Remember her now?"

     "Who wants to know?"

     Stefan's expression wavered but he quickly masked it as he furrowed his eyebrows, "I do."

     Damon shook his head as he looked at his brother, "who else wants to know?"

     Growing exasperated, Stefan grabbed the picture and turned it towards him, "Damon... did you kill her?"

     Damon stared at him for a few seconds with his eyes narrowed until finally, he shrugged, "sorry, don't know her." He walked past Stefan and grabbed his keys, looking back, he raised an eyebrow, "you coming? The Real Housewives of Mystic Falls await."

     Jasmine shook her head, "I'm picking someone up, so I'll just see you there."

     Shrugging, Damon opened the door and left. Just as Stefan was going to grab his coat and follow after him, Jasmine placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He turned around to look at her as she outstretched her hand towards him, wanting to see the picture. Confused, Stefan placed the picture in her hand as her thumb caressed the small photo.

     "This... this is Isobel? Elena's mother, right?"

     Stefan furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her, "how did...?"

     "It's called eavesdropping, Stefan. I'm sure you're familiar with it." She smiled at him when he rolled his eyes.

     Stefan blew out a puff of air as he laid a hand behind his neck, still a bit nervous to be around her after what he had said, "did you know her?"

     Chuckling, Jasmine handed the photo back to him, "oh yeah. Isobel Flemming was a human who desperately wanted to be what she studied, so she went looking for it, which led her to your brother. Damon killed her, well, according to Alaric, who I'm certain is the one who gave you that picture."

     "You knew Alaric's wife was Isobel?"

     Jasmine nodded as she grabbed her coat, "it was easy to connect the dots when you began interrogating Damon, but that's beside the point. Elena shouldn't be looking into her birth mother."

     Stefan's expression turned from confusion to disbelief as he looked at her, "why not? She has a right to know if her mother is dead."

     "Stefan. I didn't know Isobel when she was human."

     Silence covered them as Stefan took in the information. His theory had been right. He knew there was a chance that Elena's mother could be like him but he didn't want to be right, "so, she's a vampire."

     "Yup and remember, apart from you, I don't socialize with tame vampires." She grabbed her keys and made her way to the door, but turned to face him once more, with a slight mocking undertone she said, "I know it's hard for you, but trust me... you don't want her anywhere near your sensitive and annoying girlfriend."

     Stefan remained in his spot with his eyes cast downwards as he heard the door shut.

----

     Jasmine arrived to the Mystic Grill with Kelly Donovan in tow. Jasmine had decided to be polite and offer the woman a ride on her way there. They both noticed Caroline, Matt, and Elena laughing at the front and walked towards them.

     "Hi, Mrs. Donovan. Jasmine." Caroline gave her boyfriend's mother a wide smile, hoping to get on her good graces.

     Kelly looked past her, which made Jasmine chuckle, and settled her gaze on Elena, "Elena, honey."

     "Hi, Kelly." The two embraced each other with genuine smiles as Caroline struggled to keep her smile on her face, "how are you doing?"

     Kelly sighed and pulled back to look at her, a fake sad expression now on her features, "oh, same old. Matty tells me you broke his heart."

     Matt groaned and held a hand to his forehead, "mom!"

     "Kidding. Calm down. He found someone else," Kelly's judgmental glance towards Caroline didn't go unnoticed, "but between us, I think Jasmine here might be a better fit."

     The atmosphere felt heavy with awkwardness to the three teenagers as the vampire struggled to keep her laugh in. Kelly sighed then turned to face Caroline, a fake smile plastered, "here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy."

     Jasmine had to give Caroline some credit as the blonde took her money with a smile unwavering on her lips and handed her a couple of tickets. Kelly placed the tickets in her bag as she turned to face Jasmine, "I hope I don't get bachelor 3. I dated him in high school, not impressive... in any way."

     Matt shook his head in embarrassment as Jasmine let a small laugh escape, "what a shame."

     Kelly laughed then turned her attention to the three teenagers, fake enthusiasm radiating off of her, "very exciting!" With that, Kelly walked away from the four and straight to the bar.

     Jasmine stepped up to take Kelly's place as she pulled out a very small wad of cash and handed it over to Caroline, "here you go, Caroline."

     Caroline scowled as she looked at the money, a sarcastic smile replaced her fake one, "you have to be over 18 to buy a ticket, Jasmine."

     "Oh, it's not for me, Carebear." Caroline rolled her eyes, but took the money and gave Jasmine a handful of tickets.

     "Here you go."

     Jasmine's eyes lit up as she noticed Matt's lingering gaze on the tickets in her hand, still believing they were for her. She began walking past them, but stopped when she was standing side by side to Matt, "it's a shame you aren't up there, blue eyes. I would've bought the whole lot."

----

     Jasmine gave the tickets to a very grateful Jenna and continued to catch up with her on the events that occurred in the few weeks they were apart. Several minutes later, she rose from her seat and made her way to a mischievous looking Damon at the bar.

     "I know that look. What are you thinking so fondly of?"

     Damon smirked as he looked at her, "remember when Stefan was so keen on me remembering that Isobel chick that I killed?"

     Pretending she had to think about it for a while, Jasmine rolled her eyes, "obviously, it happened an hour ago, dumbass."

     Pretending to be offended, Damon placed a hand over his chest, "no need for name calling, Jasmine. Anyways, turns out Alaric Saltzman had a wife who disappeared in North Carolina who was also names... ding, ding, ding... Isobel."

     "Old news, but okay. What are you going to do?"

     Damon stood staring at her, "hold on a second... you knew? And didn't bother to pull me into the loop?"

     Jasmine shrugged as she grabbed the glass of bourbon that was intended for Damon and gulped it down, "you didn't ask."

     "Jasmine, why would-you know what? Forget it. I'm gonna have some fun with this." Damon walked away from her and took his place on stage right next to Alaric, who kept glancing at him.

     With a sigh, Jasmine looked at them, "this should be interesting." She then walked back and took a seat next to Jenna once more.

----

     Mrs. Lockwood had just introduced bachelors number one and two when Jasmine decided to pay attention, "and what do you do, bachelor number three?"

     "Yeah, I'm a plumber." Jasmine's eyes rose as she glanced at Kelly, who was still at the bar. Kelly raised her eyebrows and nodded as she continued to drink. Jasmine let out a small laugh as Jenna looked at her oddly.

     "Don't worry about it."

     Jenna nodded and turned her attention back to the stage. Carol Lockwood took a step backwards and focused her attention on the next man, "number four, Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?"

     Alaric cleared his throat as he leaned towards the microphone, "I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High."

     "Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper." The crowd of women began clapping and cheering, "What do you teach?"

     It was obvious from Alaric's body stance that he was uncomfortable being up there with all the attention on him, "history."

     "History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about MysticFalls. Something crazy." Alaric looked over at Damon, who placed his hand up to his own ear, sarcastically anticipating Alaric's response.

     "Uh, well..."

     Carol pulled the microphone away and cleared her throat, noticing his discomfort, "he's probably saving the best stories for his date."

     Jasmine scoffed and cupped her hands over her mouth, "boo!" She began laughing when Jenna playfully hit her arm, a smile on her own lips.

     "Be nice!"

     Carol moved down the line and stood beside a smirking Damon, "and last but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

     Shrugging, Damon leaned into the microphone and smiled at the crowd, "well, I'm tough to fit on a card."

     The sea of hormonal women let out giggles, which only made Damon's smile widen. Carol laughed and focused her attention on him, "do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?"

     Jasmine sat up straighter in her seat as she looked at Damon's features, "oh boy."

     Damon's smirk returned as he nodded, "oh yeah. LA, New   York. A couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think... I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?" Alaric looked at him and his jaw clenched as Damon kept smirking, "yeah, 'cause I know your wife did."

     Jasmine leaned back in her seat and chuckled, "this should be good." She glanced over at Elena, whose expression had fallen as she was coming to the realization that Damon was the one who killed her birth mother.

     "I had a drink with her once. She was-she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? 'Cause she was-delicious. Mmm!"

     Elena's mouth fell open and her eyes filled with tears as she continued to look at Damon. Jenna looked over at her and place a hand on her shoulder, "hey, are you okay?"

     Nodding quickly, Elena cleared her throat and began getting up, "I just need some air."

     Jenna looked at her niece in concern, but didn't move to stop her. She looked at Jasmine and frowned at her when she saw her drinking her glass of alcohol. Jasmine gave her an innocent shrug, "you weren't drinking it."

-----

     Pulling the third ticket from the bowl, Carol smiled and looked at the crowd, "and bachelor number three goes to 37458."

     From the depths of the crowd, Kelly Donovan pushed her way to the front as she held her ticket up in the air, "that's me."

     Carol gave the wasted woman a mocking smile as she handed her the ticket, "ah, Kelly Donovan. Lovely. You and the plumber should have so much fun."

     Kelly simply rolled her eyes and walked over to Caroline to claim her prize. Carol regained her composure and placed her hand back in the bowl, "okay, now bachelor number four goes to..." she fished out a ticket and held it up, "37649."

     Around Jasmine, many of the women in the crowd made disappointed sounds. She looked over to her friend expecting her to be disappointed, too, but was surprised when Jenna raised her hand, "that's me."

     Knowing of her obvious crush on the history teacher, Carol offered her a warm smile, "congratulations."

     Jasmine patted Jenna in the back, a wide smile on her face, "way to go, Jenna! Now, remember... it's totally okay if you want to give him a little taste." She laughed loudly when Jenna's cheeks became crimson.

     "Oh my god, Jasmine." Jenna walked up to the stage and received her ticket from Carol, then proceeded to walk to Caroline.

     Carol waited for the noise to die down a bit before talking again, "and finally, bachelor number 5, Damon Salvatore." She swirled her hand in the bowl a few times before making her hand into a fist and pulling it out, "37552."

     Groans were emitted from disappointed women once more as they began dispersing. Carol's smile never wavered, "would you look at that? 37552. What are the chances? Me." She looked around the grill, not spotting the man, "where'd he go?"

     Carol walked off the stage to begin looking for him while Jasmine looked around her with a look of disbelief, "is no one else going to call out the fact that she just cheated? I'm not the only one who saw that, right? RIGGED!"

----

     Jasmine had come to the conclusion that her friends had abandoned her as she wandered the grill by herself. Cursing to herself, she made her way to her car and drove to the Salvatore Boarding house.

     Her eyebrows furrowed when she hears someone being thrown across the room inside. She cautiously walked into the house and made her way to where to thought she heard the noise. Her eyes widened when she noticed a distressed yet determined Alaric standing in the middle of the living room with a stake in his hand.

     "Whoa, what the hell is going on here?"

     They ignored her as they kept their gazes fixated on each other, "where's Isobel? What have you done to my wife?"

     "You want me to tell you I killed her? Would that make you happy? Because I think you know what happened." Damon took small steps around him, taunting him.

     "I saw you feeding on her." Alaric's gaze and body moved with Damon's as he kept a tight hold on the piece of wood in his hand.

     "Yeah, I did, and I wasn't lying. She was delicious."

     Alaric rushed forward to attack Damon, anger evident in his eyes and facial expression. Jasmine sped towards him before he got close to Damon and punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain and fall to the floor.

     Damon snickered as he looked at him, "come on, what do you think happened? Not an inkling? Never considered the possibility?"

     Alaric looked at him and Jasmine sighed, her disinterest getting the better of her, "get on with it, Damon."

     "I turned her."

     Alaric screwed his eyes shut and his lips formed a thin line as the words were uttered. He didn't want to believe his wife was one of them. One of the creatures she obsessively studied and he hated with a passion, "why?"

     "She came to me. All pathetic, looking for vampires. There was something about her, something I liked. There was something special." Damon smiled down at him as he noticed his pained expression.

     "You turned her because you liked her?"

     Scoffing, Damon knelt down beside him, but still kept behind Jasmine, "no, I slept with her because I liked her. I turned her because she begged me to. Yeah, but you knew that, too, didn't you? Guess she wasn't happy at home, wasn't happy with life in general... wasn't happy with you."

     Alaric rushed towards him again and was able to get past Jasmine, but Jasmine was quick to grab a fire iron and impale him through the chest with it. She pulled it out slowly, knowing she punctured a lung, and Alaric yelled out in agony.

     "I told you, Mr. Saltzman, what would happen if you tried to hurt them." Jasmine stepped aside as Alaric fell to the floor.

     "Ah, this is a shame. We're kindred spirits, abandoned by the women we love. Unrequited love sucks." Alaric began wheezing and Damon smirked as he tapped his chest, "yikes, sounds like she got a lung, which means I get to sit here and watch you die."

     Alaric began desperately gasping for air and placed his hands over his wound. Damon grabbed a drink and pulled Jasmine down beside him as he sat on the couch. They sat there glancing between the fire and the dying history teacher until Alaric took his final breath.

     Stefan soon came home and walked in to see Alaric on the floor. He rushed towards his body and kneeled down next to him, checking for a pulse, "what happened? What did you do?"

     "Wasn't me, but don't blame her, he came in here and attacked me. She was just defending my honor." Damon chuckled and set his drink down as he stood up.

      "Damon."

     Said vampire rolled his eyes and looked at his younger brother, "all I did was tell him the truth. His wife didn't want him anymore. It's not my fault he couldn't handle it."

     Stefan stood up and ran a hand through his hair, "like you've been handling Katherine?"

     Damon's expression hardened, "I'm handling it fine. You know what? Isobel came to me. She found me. And if she's related to Elena, that means she's related to Katherine. Maybe Katherine sent her to me."

     With an eyebrow raised, Jasmine crossed her arms and looked at him, "okay, now you're reaching. Not everything is a connection to her, Damon."

     "Can't be a coincidence Isobel sought me out. Uh-uh, can't." He downed the rest of his drink before pointing to Alaric's body, "I'm assuming you'll take care of this, Stefan." Damon grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her up from the couch.

     Jasmine looked back to see Stefan run his hand through his hair, exhausted, and pulled her hand away from Damon's grasp, "not tonight."

     Damon looked at her before nodding and heading upstairs. Stefan sighed as he sat down beside Alaric's body, wondering what he was going to tell Elena. His head snapped upwards as he felt a soft hand place itself on his shoulder.

     Jasmine sat down beside him, not too close, but enough to provide comfort, "he was on a vengeance mission, Stef. You didn't see the look in his eyes tonight. He was going to kill Damon. You know better than anybody else that I would not let that happen."

     Nodding, Stefan looked at her, his eyes pleading, "you're always there to protect us. I get it." He hesitantly grabbed her hand and placed it between both of his. He kept his gaze on their hands, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said to you this morning. My frustration shouldn't have ever been taken out on you. I was out of line and I hope you can forgive me for hurting your feelings."

     Jasmine pulled her hand from his grasp and he quickly looked up at her, afraid to see her rejection, but was surprised when he saw her smiling at him. She placed her hand against his cheek, which he gladly leaned into, "they were hurt just a bit, but don't worry, I'll survive."

     Stefan gave her a wide smile before sighing, "did you mean what you said? About not knowing if I was still the same guy I was back when I was human?"

     Before Jasmine could answer, Stefan was distracted as he watched Alaric's fingers move. He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned over him. Suddenly, Alaric gasps and began panting heavily.

     Jasmine's eyes widened as she stood up, "well, shit."

     "What happened? What's going on?" Alaric looked around him, confused.

     "You were just... did Damon turn you?" Stefan looked up at Jasmine, who shrugged.

     "No. I-I went for him and then Jasmine, uh-- she stabbed me." He raised his hands to where the wound should have been before looking up at the vampire standing in front of him, letting out a small gasp.

     Still not wrapping his head around on how Alaric could be alive, Stefan shook his head, "no, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system. Somebody slipped it to you."

     "No, it's, uh, something else." Alaric flexed his fingers in front of him, dazed on the experience.

     "Then how?"

     Alaric looked at his hand and kept his stare on this giant ring on his hand, "Isobel. This ring protected me."

     Stefan helped the history teacher to his feet, a look of disbelief on his face, "that's impossible."

     "I know."

     Jasmine, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up with wonder in her voice, "do you think it has a limited amount of lives in it? Like if I were to snap his neck continuously, how many snaps can I get in before he either is completely dead or just downright insane?"

     Alaric and Stefan's eyes widened as she inched towards the teacher. Stefan stepped in between the two, "I don't know, but I'm sure Alaric would appreciate it if you didn't test your theory out."

     Smiling wickedly, Jasmine crossed her arms, "oh, you won't have to worry about that. As long as you remember what I told you then we should be good."

     Jasmine walked up the stairs and into her own room, smiling when she overheard Alaric and Stefan.

     "She's, um, very-" Alaric scratched the back of his neck as he watched her retreating figure.

     "Overprotective?" Stefan smiled when he noticed his slightly frightened expression.

     "I was going to say intimidating, but that works, too." Laughing, Stefan patted him on the back and began escorting him out of the house.

     "It's one of the things we love most about her."