— — — — — —
"What do you mean? Jack, what are you talking about?" Sarah froze, completely lost at his words.
"I only want two things right now." Jack ignored Sarah and stared coldly at the Salvatore brothers.
"First—Damon, you lift the compulsion on Sarah."
"Second—you get the hell out of Mystic Falls. I don't trust you anymore. I warned you this afternoon, and by night you're already pulling this crap? You've got zero credibility with me."
"And Stefan—don't even try. It's obvious you can't control your brother. Or maybe you're too busy chasing Elena to care what he's doing?" Jack laid down his demands in a cold tone.
"Maybe you should just leave," Stefan muttered, clearly hoping Damon would go.
"No, no, no. I still have business in this town. I'm not going anywhere." Damon lounged back on the sofa like it was nothing.
"The hell you're not." Jack snapped. With a flicker of talisman magic, he kicked Damon clean off the couch and slammed him against the wall, following it up with a brutal flurry of punches.
Stefan didn't step in. He knew Damon had gone too far, and Jack was furious. And since Jack didn't know how to actually kill a vampire, the beating wasn't going to do permanent damage anyway.
"What the hell's going on?" Zach rushed out of his room just in time to catch Jack beating the shit out of Damon, his fists crashing into Damon's skull over and over.
"Damon compelled Jack's housekeeper, then showed up at Elena's house," Stefan muttered, pulling Zach aside.
"I know this doesn't hurt you much. Get up." Jack finally shoved Damon off him like he was nothing more than a stray dog. He didn't care if Damon stayed down or not. Instead, he turned toward Sarah.
"Come here. I'll fix your memories." He grabbed her arm, but when he glanced back, Damon was gone.
"You couldn't even keep an eye on him?" Jack shot at Stefan.
Stefan froze, embarrassed. He hadn't expected Damon to crawl up and dive out the window that fast.
"Forget it. Looks like it's on you." Jack sighed, motioning for Stefan to use his compulsion.
"My ability… it's not—" Stefan hesitated.
"I know. I'll strip Damon's influence first, then you adjust her memory." Jack pressed his horse talisman against Sarah, dissolving Damon's compulsion. The bite marks on her neck healed at the same time.
"Monster!" The instant she felt free, Sarah's terror of Damon flooded back. She screamed, clinging to Jack's hand, trembling all over.
"It's okay. It's over," Jack soothed, patting her hand.
"Don't just stand there," he snapped at Stefan. His tone was sharp—after all, it was Stefan's brother who'd done this.
Stefan swallowed his guilt and stepped forward, locking eyes with Sarah. He rewrote her memory: running into Damon while on her way to meet Elena, Stefan joining them, and the three heading off together. The details were patchy, but it was the best Stefan could do right now.
"I hope your brother really does leave. Next time I see him, things won't end like this." Jack muttered, leading Sarah away.
By the time they reached the door, Jack realized Caroline had taken his car. He groaned, rubbing his temple. No choice but to walk home. Before leaving, he had Stefan put Sarah into a deep sleep.
Jack activated his rabbit talisman, carrying Sarah straight back to their house. His car was parked outside, which meant Caroline was upstairs. The lights were off. After tucking Sarah into bed, Jack checked in on Caroline. She was already asleep, so he quietly retreated to the guest room next door.
The next morning, Caroline was gone by the time he woke up. After breakfast, he headed to school. Another game day—Caroline was busy leading the cheer squad.
He found her mid-routine, clapping in rhythm with the other girls. She didn't even glance at him. Yeah—she was pissed.
So the whole day, from morning till night, Jack trailed after her, apologizing and coaxing. But Caroline wouldn't budge. She knew something had happened last night when Sarah, Damon, and Stefan had all walked off together. She could smell the secrets, and Jack's evasive answers only made her dig in harder.
He stuck close anyway, refusing to give her space. After the game ended, Caroline left on her own, telling him to think carefully about whether he wanted to be honest with her. Her intuition was scary sharp.
On his way home, flashing lights caught his eye—police cars. He followed, only to find out Tanner, his history teacher, was dead.
Bonnie was crying nearby. Jack went to comfort her. She explained what she'd seen in her visions, but Jack didn't really understand. He just told her she should talk to her grandmother—an experienced witch would definitely know more than he did. He barely knew anything about the supernatural world himself.
After parting ways with Bonnie, Jack drove straight to Stefan's house.
"You know Tanner's dead?" His voice was flat as he looked at Stefan.
"Yeah. Damon did it." Stefan didn't dodge.
"When? Were you there?" Jack narrowed his eyes. Damon wouldn't have risked killing Tanner near the game while Jack was around—not unless something pushed him. The only explanation was Damon losing it in front of Stefan.
"I was there. I couldn't stop him." Stefan's voice was thick with guilt.
"Why? Tanner had nothing to do with him. I was in the stadium—if I'd noticed, Damon never would've gotten away. Why didn't you tell me?" Jack's tone sharpened.
"Because… I thought Damon still had humanity left. Tanner came over while we were arguing. Damon killed him just to prove he didn't care anymore. I never thought he'd actually go through with it. If I told you right away, you would've killed him…" Stefan trailed off, throat raw.
"So what, Stefan? Human life means nothing to you two? Just food, is that it? I thought you were different. Clearly I was wrong." Jack grabbed an empty glass from the table and hurled it at Stefan. Stefan didn't move.
"Your brother's finished. Next time he shows his face, I won't let him walk away. You'd better tell me how to kill a vampire—so at least I can make it quick for him." With that, Jack turned and stormed out.
The next day, Jack didn't go to school right away. Instead, he bought a small house on the edge of town—two bedrooms, nothing fancy. Later, he picked up Caroline, even stayed the night at her place. She made him promise to wear a suit for the Founders' Party.
Jack understood why she was upset. He swore that Sarah was only his employee, nothing more. As for walking off with Stefan and Damon the other night—he made up an excuse. But Caroline wasn't convinced. She could sense he was hiding something. And really, how was he supposed to explain? 'Yo~ I'm a transmigrator, your best friend's dating a centuries-old vampire, and yesterday my maid was compelled by another one? By the way, this is a TV show.'
Yeah... he wan't that idiot.
---
The night of the Founders' Party, Jack went with Caroline. But to his disgust, Damon showed up too—with Sarah on his arm.
Caroline left to find her mother, and Jack wasted no time walking straight up to Damon.
"You've got guts showing your face here. What makes you so sure you can keep slipping away from me?" His voice was low and sharp.
"Hey, Jack." Stefan, noticing the tension, walked over too.
"Your brother's been dancing on the edge of my patience for days. What exactly do you have to say for him? And don't expect me to play nice, Stefan—you lost that right yesterday." Jack didn't care if Elena overheard. After Stefan's choices, he wasn't covering for him anymore.
"Jack…" Elena frowned. His words felt harsh. But honestly, they weren't close enough for her to scold him.
"It's fine, Elena. Just a joke. Mind if I borrow your boyfriend for a minute?" Jack glanced at her. Then, his eyes slid to Sarah. Another headache he hadn't forgotten.
.
.
.