When Jordan hasn't returned after seven minutes, Damon starts to worry. A regular phone call doesn't take that long.

"Hey, where's your girl?" Bree questions with a slightly different tone.

Damon doesn't have time to figure out what is off about Bree, because he has to find Jordan. "She was right back there."

Without saying goodbye, he leaves the bar. His old flame is far less important than Jordan. The near kiss he shared with Jordan feels like ages ago, but he can still feel her warm breath on his lips.

He shakes his head. He shouldn't be thinking about it when Jordan could be missing. His mind, however, doesn't seem to agree. The near kiss plays in his head on repeat, and he hasn't felt such human emotions in a long, long time.

When he can't find Jordan anywhere on the parking lot, he decides to take a look behind the bar.

The scene he stumbles across makes him incredible angry.

Jordan is tied with her wrist to something that looks like some sort of hook. A purple bruise is forming on her arm, and her eyes are filled with fear.

"Damon, no!"

Damon whips around, but he is already too late. Some guy beats him down with a wooden plank, and when Damon is weak enough, the mystery man pins him onto something he doesn't know with the same wooden plank.

Damon curses himself for not releasing that it was a trap.

The mystery man hasn't uttered a single word, but his eyes tell whatever needs to be said. They are clouded with a blinding rage. Beside Jordan's loud protests and pleads, he pours gasoline over Damon.

"What the hell! Who are you?" Damon asks outraged and ready to beat this guy to a pulp.

The guy laughs humourless, "That's perfect! You have no idea."

Jordan's mind races at a millions miles per hour. The best—and the only—idea she comes up with is to keep the mystery man occupied. "What did he do?"

The man turns away from Damon, towards Jordan. His voice is laced with so much venom, Jordan winces in fear. Her hands are trembling terrible. "He killed my girlfriend."

In the blink of an eye, the man is in front of Damon, a stake pointing at his heart. "What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" Tears are brimming in his eyes, and he has pushed the stake further into Damon's chest. Blood drips from his chest onto the pavement.

"Nothing."

It only makes him angrier.

Something in Jordan's brain clicks, and she realizes who he is talking about. The vampire who Jordan befriended. The vampire Damon murdered in cold blood. The vampire best friend of Stefan. Lexi.

"Your girlfriend, it was Lexi." Jordan states rather than asks.

"Yes."

A deep, unsteady sigh leaves Jordan's lips. "She told me about you, she told me she loved you. I know you know that, and I know that whatever I might say won't make it better nor will it forgive Damon for his actions."

Damon throws her a look that says: are you trying to help me, or kill me?

Jordan ignores him.

"I wanted to hurt Damon like he hurt me when he murdered Lexi, but I found that I couldn't. Not because I am weak, but because vengeance will not solve anything. It isn't fair and square, and it will most certainly not bring Lexi back. Be the better person. Do what Damon couldn't, and let someone live rather than take the easy way: vengeance."

The man narrows his eyes, and for a split, scary second, he advances towards Damon. Jordan sucks in a breath and she can hear herself mutter a prayer.

Instead of straight up murdering Damon, the man takes Jordan advice, and he turns around. Gratitude fills Jordan, but the man stays silent and speeds off.

"Are you okay?" Jordan's voice cracks and Damon's heart clenches. In that moment he realizes that he didn't care about his own safety, but only for that of Jordan.

"Of course, can't get rid of me that easy, sweetheart."

A small smile tugs at Jordan's lips, but she tries to hide it. "Don't joke about it," she says, but she doesn't really mean it because she is far more glad that everything turned out alright in the end.

What happens next is over just as quickly, and if Jordan hadn't paid close attention she would've missed it for sure, but Damon smiled. An actual, genuine smile.

♛

Damon approaches Bree from behind, "We were just leaving, I came to say goodbye."

Bree answers without emotion, "Good to see you again, Damon."

"No kiss?" Damon taunts.

Bree turns around, fear oozing off of her in waves. "I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything o drink."

Damon rolls his eyes uninterested, "And you're telling me this why?"

Even though Bree fears Damon, her hatred is stronger than that, "Lexi was my friend. How could you?!"

Bree turns the other way, trying to escape the intense look Damon is giving her. Damon, however, predicted this, and he is in front of her in less than a second. "The tomb can be opened," she squeaks in fear for her life.

Damon narrows his eyes, "You're lying," he spats.

Bree backs away until her back hits the counter, "Emily's grimoire, her spellbook. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in the book. You can open that tomb," her voice quivers as she rushes the words out of her mouth.

"Where is this book?" Damon demands, but his heart isn't in his request. Ever since Jordan walked into his life, Katherine has been fading to the background. At first, he didn't want to admit it, but now he's starting to realize it. Not that he would ever admit it that out loud, and certainly not towards his brother-dear.

Bree stutters, but she can't seem to form any complete sentences.

Damon rolls his eyes, tired of wasting his time with this woman, "You have no idea."

Bree shakes her head, wanting to buy herself more time, "No. I'm telling you the truth."

Damon's lips turn into a taunting smile, "And I believe you dear Bree, which is why I'm almost sorry."

He thrusts his hand into her chest and he grabs ahold of her heart. He rips her heart out mercilessly, "That was for Jordan."

Bree's eyes are glazed and her expression is horrid. A sound of protest is stuck in her throat as her body falls to the ground like an overused rag doll.

The only thing that is close enough for Damon to wipe his bloody hand on is Bree's shirt. He shrugs his shoulders as he rips a piece off of the hem of her shirt. Once his hands are clean, and the murderous look has faded from his eyes, he grabs his jacket and leaves. Damon doesn't spare Bree's lifeless body one, single glance.

♛

A 1969 Chevy Camaro stops in front of the boarding house at exactly ten o'clock in the evening. The sun is slowly setting, and it gives the boarding house a warm glow. Inside are Stefan and Elena, anticipating the arrival of Jordan and Damon. They, however, take their time.

Jordan is still curled up on her seat with her face in the direction of Damon. Damon never understood what people meant when people looked younger in their sleep, now he knows. Jordan's features show peacefulness, but all Damon can think about is how hot she looks with his leather jacket draped over her shoulders and in front of her chest. The car is silent except for Jordan's steady breathing and heartbeat.

Damon doesn't want to wake the sleeping blonde, but he also knows that if they don't show up in the next five minutes, his brother is going to wonder what is taking them so long. Damon reclaims his jacket, and he pushes Jordan's shoulder.

Her head slips from her shoulder, and it collided with something hard. Jordan groans as Damon laughs, "Jerk," she mutters.

He regards her insult, "Come on, Sleeping Beauty, we have arrived."

"Thanks for the roadtrip, peasant."

Jordan quickly opens her door and she rushes out, towards the entrance. She can hear Damon curse from behind her, and she laughs. She pushes the door open with both palms of her hands. She isn't bothered to ring the doorbell or even knock, because she knows that the Salvatore brothers never lock their door anyway.

The atmosphere changes drastically when she steps inside the residence. Clouds of depression are floating through the air, and when she stumbles across Elena and Stefan she understands why. Stefan has his serious face on, and Elena matches perfectly with her anxious one.

Jordan's smile falls a bit, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

A presence takes place behind Jordan like a shadow, and she can see Stefan's eyes narrow to splits. The two brothers seem to have a silent conversation, and Jordan can literally taste the bitterness and awkwardness.

"Guys," she says, snapping Damon and Stefan out of their silent argument, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'd like to know to," Elena speaks up, making Jordan's brows scrunch in confusion. "Stefan mentioned that he still had something important to share, but because it centered both Jordan and I, he didn't want to tell me yet. Now, you're here, so Stefan can tell us."

Stefan keeps his mouth shut, and it's obvious he doesn't want Damon included in this conversation.

Damon smirks, and in that moment Jordan realizes how much he resembles a black panther. Beautiful, sly, mysterious, deadly.

"Oh, I don't know, why don't we let Jordan and Elena decide if they want me around or not, it is, after all, about them."

Before either Elena or Stefan can say something, Jordan shrugs her shoulders and tells him that it doesn't really matter.

Damon smiles triumphantly, and Stefan flashes his eyes dangerously.

Stefan turns his back to his brother, "Jordan, Elena, you might want to sit down. This may come as a shock."

The words that follow is something that Jordan could have never foreseen, and when they hit her, they hit her like an iron fist.

"You both are adopted."

A cry escapes Elena's lips and her eyes are watering. A quiet what is uttered, and Elena tries to find comfort in her 'sister'. Jordan, however, has transformed into a statue. Her eyes are wide and her posture tense.

How could they.

Elena gasps. Jordan's eyes are stone cold, and all emotion has disappeared from her voice. "For sixteen years, Elena. They lied to us for sixteen years."

Elena wraps her arms around Jordan—who she, without a doubt, still considers a sister. "I know, I know. And I don't know why they didn't tell us, because we deserve the truth, but we can't let it affect us. Even though we might not be related by blood, you are still my big sister, and Jeremy is still our little brother. We can't let their lies poison our precious memories."

Jordan chokes back a sob, "You're right, I just can't help but feel angry."

Elena strokes Jordan's hair affectionately, "That's okay."

With Jordan still in her arms, Elena turns towards the two brothers. Both Salvatores are surprised, to say the least. The unemotional coldness of Jordan, shocked them, and at the same time sparked their curiosity.

"How do you know all this?" Elena is still pretty shaken up, but for now she has to be the stronger sibling, because although the news affects her deeply, it hurts Jordan on whole different levels.

"Your birth certificates from the city records. It says Elena Gilbert and Jordan Gilbert, Mystic Falls General. But there is no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant, which is why I don't know if you both are related to Katherine, or if only you are related to her."

The look in Stefan's eyes isn't one of pity, but one of helplessness. He wants nothing more than to help them further, but to go looking for Katherine would be dangerous and unwise. Elena doesn't mind that Stefan wasn't able to collect more information, because she is more than grateful for all that he did.

Jordan stands up abruptly, "I need to go see them. Can you tell Jenna where I am?"

Elena nods.

Jordan gives both brothers a thank you, but it doesn't meet her eyes. Nothing meets her eyes, and the only thing it holds are her piercing green orbs. It worries Damon, and it worries Stefan.