Jordan's breathing is laboured and it feels like her head is spinning in circles. She's running as fast as she can, being in heels and all. The reason of the blondes girl glorious idea to run in heels—and most likely twist her ankle in the process—is because of Elena's phone call. Before Jordan even had the time to process what Elena was saying, her screams had echoed through the phone before the line was cut off. Jordan hopes for the best, but assumes the worst. The worst case scenarios are slipping through her head, the one even crazier and more far-fetched than the other, but all so possible to be true.

Fortunately, Mystic Falls isn't all that big, and it doesn't take Jordan very long to arrive at her front door. She pushes with her shoulder against the door, hoping she can muster enough force to slam it open, and—at the time—not caring if she twists it. Jordan, however, doesn't sprain her shoulder while bouncing against the door, nor does she have to worry about buying a new one, because the door creaks open on its own. Having the door creaked open doesn't satisfy Jordan in anyway, because non of her relatives would ever leave the door open, especially not Elena.

"Elena! Elena answer me!" The panic begins to seep into Jordans skin, all the way to her bones. "Elena, please." Her last words barely audible.

"In here," a voice echoes from the living room.

Jordan practically runs towards the living room where Elena, Stefan and Damon are all hunched together. A heavy weight lifts itself off of her shoulders and a choked sob escapes her throat. "What happened? You said someone was in our house?" Jordan sits next to Elena on the couch and gives her a bone crushing hug.

"Someone attacked dear Elena over here," Damon says when no one else answers Jordan. "We are certain it is a vampire, but we don't know who it is nor how he got inside."

Jordans eyes widen, "There are more vampires in Mystic Falls?"

Damon grunts, obviously not happy that more of his species have decided to torment the little town, "Seems like it."

"He was invited in, last night when we ordered pizza. He posed as the pizza delivery guy." Elena timidly speaks up.

Jordan raises her eyebrows, "Smart, I'll give him that."

Elena throws her sister a look. The vampire might be their new problem, but Elena is more worried about Jordan and her reaction to being adopted. She had never seen her sister that...empty.

"We probably don't know what he wanted, the question is, however, was he alone?" Jordan turns to Stefan and Damon. "Do vampires, you know, travel in packs?"

Damon rolls his eyes, "We are no wolves you know."

Irritated, Jordan shakes her head, "Yeah I get that, but shouldn't we consider the possibility that he isn't alone, that he has other vampire friends who can rip us humans apart at any given moment?"

Elena shudders at Jordans words. She doesn't want trouble with other vampires, she just wants to live peacefully with her family and friends, but because of her, that is never going to happen. Elena sighs. She just had to be the one to get everyone she loves dragged into her mess.

Damon lifts himself off of the armchair while nodding his head, "You're right, obviously. Most vampires 'travel in packs'," he repeats Jordans words to mock her, "because it is easier to hunt. You're less vulnerable and more powerful that way."

Elena looks scared. Jordans muscles stiffen, and her expression darkens. She bites the insides of her cheeks anxiously while her eyes lose focus on any point. She drifts away in her thoughts, worried about the vampires and how to handle them. A human, like her, against a vampire? She'll be dead within twenty seconds. That is, however, not the thing that worries her, but the fact that if they can kill her they can kill her family too.

"In other words," Damon continues, pulling Jordan out of her train of thoughts, "we have to kill him. Tonight."

♛

While Elena is carpooling with Stefan, Jordan decides to go with Damon. The look of uneasiness that flashes across Elena's face doesn't go unnoticed. Damon sees how she looks at Stefan in despair, obviously not happy with the idea of her sister and him getting along. Damon doesn't care what they think, especially not what Stefan thinks. He has been the to one taking Damon's source of happiness away since 1864 and ruining his life in the process, he wasn't about to let him have the possibility to do it again. Definitely not.

"Can you stop humming? It is making me nervous."

Damon raises his eyebrows, he wasn't even aware that he was humming. Not that he stops now that he knows that it irritates Jordan. In response to her request he just hums louder and more obnoxious.

Jordan's lips leave an exaggerated grunt, which makes Damon know that she isn't completely serious.

It isn't the humming that makes Jordan nervous, it is the not-so-relaxed decade dance she is about to arrive at. She inwardly laughs at how her life has done a complete 180 and only seems to be spiralling down. Before, decade dances where considered silly, filled with old songs, and the only thing they had to worry about where boys and the vodka-filled punch. Now, all that has faded to the background and she feels like everything has changed, when in reality only her world has flipped around. Everyone around her still busy themselves with petty problems, her problems are the ones that have increased drastically.

"We're here," Damon says softly.

Jordan nods her head to no one in particular. She opens the car door and is about to leave when Damon says something that surprises her, "Be careful, vampires can be ruthless."

"I will."

She leaves Damon behind, and is now in search of her friends. She feels a tiny bit guilty for leaving Damon with Stefan and Elena, but Jordan's other friends are important as well. Because if she is in danger, her friends are most likely as well.

She spots Caroline and Bonnie fairly quickly. Bonnie is trying to cheer a brooding Caroline up. Jordan snatches a drink off the table before making her way over.

"Hey, chin up, you look beautiful."

Caroline and Bonnie's head snap up towards Jordan, "Yes, and that is the only good thing about this party."

Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"Come on guys, you used to love these parties!"

"Yes, used to," Caroline dramatically exclaims.

Now it is Jordan's turn to roll her eyes. Damon, Stefan and Elena enter the school, Stefan and Elena looking quite anxious. Jordan waves her sister over.

Elena comes over and with a hesitant smile on her face she greets Caroline and Bonnie. Bonnie smiles back, but Caroline just blurts out the first words popping into her head, "What's Damon doing here?"

All four girls' head turn around to look at a smirking Damon.

Jordan's eyebrows scrunch up at Caroline's tone, "Why? You don't like him?"

Elena's eyes widen. Jordan doesn't even know the stuff he has done to their mutual friends.

"Not necessarily," Caroline says, but her face makes it clear that she absolutely despises him. Jordan, however, holds her tongue, not wanting to pester her about it at a party.

Caroline, however, doesn't hold her tongue, "So is this like a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers."

"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to tolerate Damon. Besides, he and Jordan are somewhat friends." When Elena mentions the words 'friends, Damon and Jordan', Bonnie and Caroline snap their heads towards her in shock.

"And it is not like I can kill him," Elena continues.

"There's a thought," Bonnie says and she clinks her glass with Caroline.

A hurt look flashes across Jordan's face, but she covers it up before anyone can notice it, "I'm gonna head over to the toilets, I'll be back soon."

Elena bites back a 'stay save' as she watches her sister leave.

♛

It is unusually quiet in the girls' bathroom. The only thing that can be heard is the water running out of the tap and Jordan's slow, but unsteady breathing. Her own eyes bore holes into her head as she looks into the mirror.

She has never seen herself as the girl who craves for their friends approval of...of...platonic and romantic relationships. But the words of disgust of Caroline, Bonnie and even Elena, pinches her like the thorn of a rose does. Hard enough to draw blood, but not hard enough to leave any scars. She doesn't know what the relationship between her and Damon is, but she wonders what he has done to make her friends hate him so much. She knows he can sometimes be quite the asshole, but when you cross the invisible barrier he has around him, he actually cares deeply. Damon is like a puzzle of a thousand pieces. Hard to solve, but still able to be solved, and beautiful once you've finished it.

Jordan sighs. She decides to head back to the party. Elena is probably wondering where she is.

Her hand freezes, holding onto the door handle tightly. She can hear a discussion bubbling up outside of the girls' bathroom. Now, Jordan usually isn't the one to eavesdrop, but with vampires on the loose, you can't be too careful.

She can't comprehend everything that they are saying, but she has deciphered that the argument is between a boy and a girl. Slow and steady, she shuffles with her feet even closer towards the door. The argument has seem to have ended, but the last words Jordan hears are enough to make her palms sweaty and knees buckle. She looks like Katherine.

Jordan isn't stupid. She only knows one Katherine, and she only knows one person that looks like her. Elena. She is 99% sure that this is the pizza delivery guy from last night, and now they are 100% sure he doesn't work alone.

The decision of following him has been made quickly, but she first has to wait. Jordan has seen enough movies to know that rushing into dangerous situations have never ended well. Waiting seems like an eternity to her, but have been 5 minutes at the most.

Like a leopard lurking at its prey, Jordan leaves the bathroom. The school corridor is silent. Eerie silent. It feels like an invisible mist is circling around her, wrapping her up like a cloud of darkness, fear and coldness. Right now, she doesn't have the luxury to feel any other emotion than determination, bravery and control.

She has now idea which direction the vampire went. Left, right. Right, left. She guesses left, because she would certainly go right.

Her new-found positive energy surges through her blood. She straights her back and lifts her chin up. If she is going to want to intimidate the vampire even a bit, she has to show that she isn't afraid. That she is stronger than he is.

A little voice in the back of her head laughs at her stupidity.

She ignores it and walks straight towards the chemistry class. Her doubt increases with every step she takes. Did the vampire really go this way? Shouldn't I have warned the other first? What if he kills me?

So lost in her thoughts, she doesn't realise that she isn't following the vampire anymore, but the vampire is following her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here."

Out of shock, Jordan jumps into the air. She knows that he is standing right behind her, but she still turns around very, very slowly. Anticipating the moment she has to look the vampire—who is out for her family's blood—straight into his predator eyes.

Her plan of keeping her posture imitating and strong vanishes like a leaf in a powerful wind. With her eyes cast down, she faces the vampire.

"Hello, my name is Noah, and what a pleasure to meet you. Jordan isn't it? Jordan Gilbert." Noah's smirk is blinding. Not in the funny, attractive way like Damon, but with a sinister touch to it. He he is a vampire who can kill Jordan in record time, and he knows it, and he enjoys the suppressed fear oozing off of her.

Noah takes a step in Jordan's direction. And another step. And another step. Until he can see the goosebumps forming on her arms and all the way to her delicious neck. "Didn't your mother teach you to look into someone eyes when having a conversation? Or did she die before she had the change to do so?"

In the deepest core of her existence, Jordan can feel something tingling.

"Cat got your tongue?"

Jordan looks up, no longer afraid, but with flames reflecting in her eyes. A fire has lit itself inside of her. Every action, every move, is like fuel to that fire. Only fuel. Only fire. There is no way she can put it out. No ocean nor sea can extinguish the flames.