— — — — — —
Bonnie kept repeating herself, and with such a serious expression the other girls started to take her seriously.
"Did you tell your grandmother yet?" Elena asked, remembering that Bonnie's witch lineage came through her.
"She'll just say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you?" Bonnie sighed, frustrated.
"I don't want to be a witch either," Elena muttered while dumping vegetables into a bowl.
"I actually think being a witch sounds kind of cool," Caroline offered, but it was clear Bonnie and Elena didn't agree.
"Yeah, I think witches are pretty great too. Sorry—I wasn't eavesdropping. Just wanted to see if you needed help. And the front door was open. Oh, and Stefan's already here, sitting on the couch." Jack leaned against the kitchen doorway, grinning.
"It's fine, I'm almost done," Elena said quickly, moving faster.
"Look how nervous you are, cute," Bonnie teased.
"I need the big spoon. Where is it?" Elena muttered, rifling through drawers.
"Left-hand drawer," Bonnie answered without looking.
"No way," Caroline said, leaning in as Elena pulled open the drawer—sure enough, the spoon was sitting right there.
"Come on, she has been in this kitchen a million times. Not that weird," Elena brushed it off.
"Guess so," Bonnie admitted, though uneasily.
"Let's bring the food out." Elena picked up a dish and headed for the dining room.
Caroline followed with another. Jack stepped in, grabbed two at once, and carried them out. With his appetite, he needed his own supersized serving, so he went back for it after.
"Birthday candles," Bonnie murmured, almost without thinking, and tugged open a random drawer.
"I believe in witches," Jack said as he came back in, overhearing her. "A lot of things can't be explained by common sense. Best to treat the supernatural with respect. And I've seen things myself." He glanced at the candle in Bonnie's hand and realized she was probably just awakening to her powers.
"Maybe you should talk to your grandma," he added, then picked up a bending fork. With a flick, he demonstrated the Horse Talisman magic—same as he'd done earlier with Damon. Then he scooped up his heaping plate of food and walked out to the table.
"Jack, wait—" Bonnie started, staring at the fork, but by the time she looked up he was already gone.
She followed him into the dining room, but when Jack caught her eye, he shook his head slightly, glancing at the others at the table. Bonnie hesitated, then sat down quietly, picking at her food with her thoughts far away.
Elena kept trying to steer the conversation toward easing things between Bonnie and Stefan, but Bonnie wasn't in the mood. She just nodded absently until Elena finally blurted out the truth.
"Bonnie's family has witch blood," Elena said brightly. "It's so cool," she added when she noticed Stefan's surprised look.
"I don't think it's cool," Bonnie muttered.
"Still, it must be fascinating. I don't know much about witches, but I do know some history—about the Kettle Druid settlers who came here in the 19th century," Stefan said, encouraging her.
"My family traces back to Salem," Bonnie said, shooting a quick glance at Jack, who was too busy flirting with Caroline to notice. Then she turned back to Stefan.
"Salem witches?" Stefan asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah." Bonnie forced a small smile.
"I think that's incredible," Stefan said, looking at Elena, who smiled back.
"Really? Why?" Bonnie asked, surprised.
"Salem witches were brave. Individualists. They broke tradition, fought for what they believed in," Stefan said with genuine admiration.
"Yes… that's true. I heard that story." Bonnie couldn't help but brighten at the praise, and Elena's face lit up when she saw them finally connecting.
The doorbell rang. Elena got up—and froze when she saw Sarah standing there with Damon.
"Elena, long time no see," Sarah greeted warmly.
"Sarah! It's been forever!" Elena exclaimed, hugging her tightly.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan's voice was cold as his eyes fixed on Damon.
"I'm waiting for Elena to invite me in," Damon said smoothly.
"I don't care about that. What I care about is why Sarah is with you. Answer me, Damon." Jack stood, placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder. He could feel the traces of compulsion in her, but hesitated to break it with the Horse Talisman here—unsure if that might backfire.
"We were just talking. Got along well. She wanted to visit some old friends, and I happened to know you'd all be here. So I brought her," Damon replied with smug calm, confident in front of the crowd.
"So, Elena—mind inviting me in?" Damon's eyes glittered.
"Of course, you can—" Elena began, but Stefan cut her off.
"No. No, absolutely not. He can't stay. Right, Damon?" Stefan said firmly, almost threatening.
"Let him in," Sarah urged when tension flared.
"We're almost done eating," Stefan argued flatly.
"It's fine. Come in," Elena said at last.
"Lovely place, Elena," Damon smirked as he crossed the threshold, tossing Stefan a look of pure provocation.
Watching all this, Jack pieced it together: vampires couldn't enter a home without invitation. Stefan had been trying to protect Elena by blocking Damon, and Damon had only insisted because he wanted to shove it in his brother's face.
Jack didn't bother with the politics. Damon had compelled Sarah—that alone made him a problem. But killing him wasn't so simple. Vampires were notoriously hard to put down.
Even if Jack tried, Stefan might side with his brother, and if they both turned on him, there was no guarantee he could stop them. If Damon slipped away, Jack would be stuck shadowing Caroline day and night, and even then, what about Sarah, Bonnie, Elena? He couldn't watch them all. It was a mess.
"Babe, are you okay?" Caroline whispered later, noticing how distant Jack had become.
"I'm fine. Just tired," he said with a smile, unwilling to explain.
The evening wound down, but the issue couldn't be ignored. Sarah was under compulsion, and Damon was the cause. There had to be an answer tonight. So, Jack sent Caroline off with his car to drop Bonnie home, while he stayed back with Sarah, Stefan, and Damon. Together, the four of them went to Stefan's house.
"Damon, you just can't help yourself, can you?" Jack snapped, his fist slamming into Damon's jaw the moment they got inside. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks—that's you. Always looking for trouble."
"Jack, calm down," Stefan rushed to pull him back.
"Calm down? Damon compelled Sarah tonight. How long before he decides to try it on your precious Elena? He was already inside her house!" Jack shot back, furious.
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