— — — — — —
"Heh. I prefer the word... badass"
"I'm Jack, by the way." Jack gave Damon a cold snort, meeting his arrogance with a challenge of his own.
Slowly, almost lazily, Jack unclasped the silver cross hanging from his neck, held it between his index and middle finger, then triggered the Rabbit Talisman. In a blur of motion, he shot forward and slammed his fist — and the cross — straight into Damon's forehead.
The blow sent Damon flying back, crashing hard against the rooftop ledge. Jack hadn't acted out of fear that the brothers would overpower him together — he wasn't worried about losing a fight — but he couldn't guarantee he'd catch both of them if they split up. Better to take one down first.
As for why he wasn't too worried about a vampire's mind-control ability? Well, he was still worried, but after watching Stefan these past few days, he figured it only worked if you looked directly into their eyes.
But there was also a personal reason for him to attack a vampire. Jack remembered all too well the ridiculous way he died before—one of the most absurd deaths he'd ever heard of. After all, what could be safer than your own room?
Now, with the Dog Talisman in hand, he no longer feared death. What he wanted instead was excitement… some thrill in his life.
...
"Sorry, Stefan," Jack said, not sounding sorry at all after "killing" his brother. "But I'm guessing all the recent killings were your brother's handiwork, weren't they?" His tone left little doubt that he had already decided Damon was guilty.
Before Stefan could answer, Damon — who by all rights should've been dead — ripped the cross from his forehead with one hand. Jack didn't hesitate. While Damon was still reeling, he used the Rabbit Talisman's burst of speed to drive a kick into Damon's stomach, then smashed a bottle of holy water over his head.
The liquid streamed down Damon's face — and did absolutely nothing. Jack's brow furrowed. He crouched, grabbed Damon by the hair, and stuffed a handful of garlic straight into his mouth. As a final touch, he drove a silver knife into Damon's side.
Even knowing the cross hadn't worked, seeing Damon's wounds heal so quickly was frustrating. Jack grabbed Damon by the collar and flung him toward Stefan's feet.
(A/N: If you're wondering how Jack can hit Damon this hard, here's the breakdown: the Rabbit Talisman is just speed, yeah, but combined with the Horse Talisman, it lets him throw full-power blows without worrying about injury. Even if his raw strength isn't equal to Damon's, it's way beyond normal human levels.)
"What the hell are you guys? Seriously vampires? Why doesn't any of this work?" Jack's tone was more irritated than afraid.
"Those are just myths," Stefan said, still stunned at how Jack had just manhandled Damon. It wasn't that he didn't want to intervene — Jack had simply been too fast, faster even than some vampires Stefan had known for centuries.
"You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Damon spat out bits of garlic, furious.
"He just tried to kill me and you're not going to help?" Damon barked at Stefan, realizing he couldn't match Jack's speed and hoping for backup.
"Jack," Stefan said calmly, ignoring Damon's outburst. "Since you can't kill us, why don't we sit down and talk?" His body language, however, made it clear he was siding with his brother.
"Talk?" Jack scoffed, stepping protectively in front of Vicki. "You do realize how many people have died because of your brother, right?"
"And sure — maybe I can't kill you. The cross, the holy water, the silver, none of it worked. But Damon still bled when I hit him. If I wasn't worried about traumatizing Vicki, I'd have cut his head off and set it on fire just to see if he stayed dead." Jack wasn't bluffing. He knew taking down both Salvatore brothers tonight would be tricky, and Stefan didn't strike him as evil — at least he hadn't seen him attack anyone yet — but he needed leverage. Otherwise, Vicki's safety would stay entirely in their hands.
"Maybe," Stefan admitted quietly. "I know my brother's done terrible things. I've been trying to avoid him for that very reason. But if you try to kill him, I won't just stand by. And you don't want people knowing what you are, do you? Without Mind Compulsion, you can't keep Vicki quiet. And Caroline and the others are on their way right now." He gestured toward the street below.
"Damn it," Jack muttered under his breath. He'd told Caroline to get help, completely forgetting that Matt would panic and rush straight here.
"Fine. I'll let you both off the hook — this time. But here are my terms: first, you erase Vicki's memories. Second, if you need blood, go to the hospital and get it from the blood bank. If I catch either of you feeding on humans again, I don't care if your victims live or die — you're dead. You won't always be together, and I will find a way to kill a vampire if I have to." Jack stared them down, then pulled Vicki closer to him.
The truth was, Jack didn't care about most people in this world — except for Caroline and the few friends he'd made. But at the end of the day, he was still human. Watching Damon torment Vicki like she was just livestock had pushed him over the edge. And now that he had the talismans backing him up, he wasn't about to back down.
"If you want to stay in this town, keep your brother on a leash. Now — fix her memory." Jack pushed Vicki toward Stefan, his body tense and ready. Just because he was willing to let them go didn't mean he trusted them.
"He hasn't fed on human blood in so long he's too weak to do it. I'll handle it," Damon said, stepping forward.
"It's true," Stefan admitted. "I'm not strong enough right now."
"Then get it done fast — they're almost here." Jack gestured impatiently.
By the time Matt and the others arrived on the rooftop, Damon had already finished the compulsion. The story was simple: Vicki had been high, wandered up to the roof, and Damon had just been helping her down. With Stefan and Jack both backing it up, the excuse sounded perfectly believable.
"Thanks," Matt said to Stefan and Damon, then led his sister away toward the café.
"Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Elena?" Stefan asked Caroline and Bonnie.
"She had something come up and went home early," Bonnie answered.
"I'll give you her number and email," Bonnie added, noticing Stefan's disappointment. "She likes texting — just tell her I said it was okay."
"Alright, girls. It's getting late — let me drive you home," Jack said, still watching the Salvatore brothers warily as they left.
"Thanks," Bonnie replied with a small smile.
"No problem." Jack flashed an OK sign, leading them to his car. Good thing it was a four-seater; otherwise they'd be crammed.
"Night, Bonnie. See you tomorrow," Jack said as he dropped her off.
"So… heading home tonight?" he asked Caroline, glancing at her playfully.
"Not tonight. Let's go to your place," Caroline said with a teasing look.
"Say no more." Jack grinned, slammed the accelerator, and sped back to the house.
They kept it quiet downstairs — just in case Sarah was still awake — but the second they hit the second floor, all restraint went out the window. It was a wild night, and neither of them got a wink of sleep.
They woke up late the next morning, nearly missed class, grabbed a quick bite from the breakfast Sarah had made, and Jack floored it to get Caroline to school on time.
By the time they got to class, Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan were already there. Judging by their behavior, Stefan and Elena had made their relationship official — they were getting bolder by the day, even in class. Their little displays of affection were so distracting that even the teacher had had enough, which led to yet another round of Stefan clashing with authority. As always, Stefan came out on top, leaving the teacher fuming.
.
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