— — — — — —
"Not bad at all. You knew I'm a meat lover and went all out with this spread." Jack's eyes lit up at the sight of the table overflowing with food.
"As long as you enjoy it." Sarah smiled, clearly pleased by her employer's praise.
"Oh, right — I might bring someone over tonight. Could you make an extra portion for dinner?" Jack was already imagining bringing Caroline over, introducing her to the place, and handing her a key so she could drop by whenever she wanted.
"A pretty girl?" Sarah asked, her expression teasing.
"Yep. A classmate from school. We just made it official yesterday," Jack admitted openly.
"In that case, leave it to me," Sarah said with an approving nod, making it clear dinner would be no problem.
Jack polished off lunch in record time — no chance for a nap today. He grabbed his phone, messaged Caroline to lock in their meeting spot, and then headed out to pick her up.
The afternoon passed in a whirl of dates and sweet moments. When it started getting late, Jack brought Caroline back to his house.
"Sarah, I'm back! This is Caroline, my girlfriend." Jack held Caroline's hand as they stepped inside. Sarah was waiting on the living room sofa, and the dinner table was already set with steaming dishes.
"Caroline, this is Sarah. She's my live-in housekeeper. She takes care of everything around here." Jack explained in detail, worried Caroline might misunderstand.
"Sarah?! How's it going?" Caroline's face lit up as she ran over to grab Sarah's hand.
"So it's you, Caroline! I was wondering which poor girl he'd managed to trick into dating him." Sarah laughed warmly, clearly familiar with Caroline.
After some cheerful small talk, the three of them sat down to dinner. The meal was lively and full of laughter. When night fell and it became clear Caroline wasn't staying over, Jack drove her home.
"Have you known Sarah for a long time?" Jack finally asked the question he'd been holding back all dinner as they drove through the quiet town.
"Yeah. Though it's been years since I last saw her. Funny thing — this house used to be her family's place. It's been renovated since, so I didn't even recognize it at first," Caroline explained thoughtfully.
"Her family and mine — well, Elena's too — go way back. They were among the founding families of Mystic Falls. But Sarah's grandfather and parents… they gambled everything away. All their properties were sold off. When this house went up for sale, Sarah was already living in the dorms. I'm not even sure if she just graduated recently or what." Caroline's voice softened with nostalgia. Sarah had been like an older sister to her years ago, so hearing about her family's fall still stung.
"That explains a lot. I remember thinking during the interview that she didn't look like a typical housekeeper — probably fresh out of college." Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.
The town was quiet at this hour, and it didn't take long to reach Caroline's house. After agreeing to meet the next night to watch the comet — and handing her a spare house key — Jack drove home.
As far as he was concerned, whatever Sarah's past was didn't matter. Right now, she was simply the live-in housekeeper he had hired — no need to overthink it.
By the time Jack got home, Sarah had already retired to her room. He didn't disturb her, went upstairs to wash up, sent Caroline a goodnight message, and quickly fell asleep.
The next evening came faster than expected. Caroline texted to say she'd head straight to the comet-viewing spot rather than have Jack pick her up. When he arrived, he found her holding two candles, waiting for him.
"Thanks, babe." Jack took the unlit candle from her and used hers to light it. He had no idea what this whole candle ritual was about, but since everyone else was doing it, he followed along.
Caroline threw her arms around his, practically bouncing with excitement. If not for the candles, she probably would have jumped right into his arms.
"Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Jack." Caroline proudly dragged him over to where Bonnie, Elena, Matt, and Tyler were gathered.
"Yo~" Jack greeted them with an easy smile.
"Has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy came rushing over before anyone could say much.
"Weren't you with her?" Tyler asked sharply, clearly irritated.
"I can't find her," Jeremy said, frustrated.
"Maybe she went off with someone else," Matt guessed.
"Looks like someone's taken over the local dealer's job," Tyler said with a sneer.
"Dealer?" Elena frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Ask him." Tyler tilted his head toward Jeremy.
"Can we not talk about this right now?" Jeremy said, looking uncomfortable.
"You selling drugs?" Elena kept asking.
"She's never going to love you," Tyler snapped, pouring fuel on the fire.
"....."
"We've hooked up — a lot. Like, a lot," Jeremy shot back, emphasizing each word.
"Yeah, sure," Tyler replied with a mocking snort.
"You slept with Vicki Donovan? Wait, no — Vicki slept with you?" Caroline gasped in shock, clearly enjoying the drama. Jack gave her a subtle nudge under the table when he noticed Elena's expression darken.
"No way," Tyler muttered, suddenly looking less confident.
"And it was always consensual," Jeremy added quickly.
"What is he talking about, Tyler?" Matt's face hardened — he'd always assumed his sister Vicki was with Tyler, but now Jeremy's words added a whole new complication.
"Forget it. Don't listen to this loser," Tyler said dismissively, though his tone wavered.
"Dammit. Both of you shut up and help me find my sister." Matt couldn't take it anymore. He turned on his heel to search for Vicki.
Everyone scattered to look for her. Jack and Caroline followed Matt toward the square.
When Jack noticed Matt stop to talk with Stefan and then storm off, he tugged Caroline's hand, signaling her to follow Stefan instead.
They had just turned into a side street when they saw a man on the rooftop, gripping Vicki dangerously close to the edge like he was about to throw her off.
Caroline gasped and turned to look for Stefan — but he'd already vanished. Jack caught a glimpse of him sprinting up the fire escape with vampire speed.
"Go tell Matt and the others. I'm going up." Jack gave Caroline quick instructions, then bolted across the street. He used the Rabbit Talisman's speed to reach the rooftop in seconds.
"What attacked you that night?" The mysterious man loomed over Vicki, his tone harsh.
"I—I don't know. Some kind of animal," Vicki stammered.
"Think harder. What attacked you?" he pressed.
"A vampire," Vicki whispered, panic dawning on her face.
"Who did it?"
"You," Vicki said, her memory finally snapping into place.
"No... it was Stefan Salvatore," the man said with cold precision, lifting Vicki and forcing her to meet his gaze. "Stefan did this to you. He's a vampire — a terrifying killer."
"Seriously? None of you notice there's someone else standing right here?" Jack had seen enough. Watching Vicki get mentally dominated made his blood boil.
"Stefan, aren't you going to introduce me to this vampire?" Jack stepped fully into view. Over the past few days, he'd been getting more comfortable with his talismans, and now that he knew vampires were real, he always carried weapons — a silver dagger, a cross, holy water, even garlic — just in case.
With protective talismans on him and a safe escape ready, Jack felt untouchable. If he couldn't win, he could run — and if neither worked, he still had weapons. No way he was losing this fight.
"I'm Damon Salvatore," the man said coolly, letting go of Vicki. "Stefan's big brother. And you are? You know we're vampires and still came up here? Alone?"
"That's... what is that word? Hm.... oh, dumbass."
.
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