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[VD] Ch 4: The Party
🕑 Added 2025-09-21 15:39:47 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Since everyone still had school the next day, they called it a night after agreeing to meet at the party tomorrow. Jack drove back to his house, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto his bed.
He focused on the twelve talismans in his mind. Nothing had changed since the morning — the Horse, Dog, and Rabbit still glowed faintly, while the other nine remained dark and locked.
Jack sighed and stretched out helplessly. "I've never even watched The Vampire Diaries show," he thought. "Aren't vampires supposed to be scared of sunlight, crosses, holy water, and wooden stakes?"
But Stefan had walked around in broad daylight with no problem. Clearly, vampires in this world played by different rules. Which meant all his assumptions — about weaknesses, about safety — were questionable.
"And what's with those nine sealed talismans?" he wondered. "If I can't unlock them, I'm stuck with just three. That's not gonna cut it if things get dangerous."
"Sigh~"
He decided not to overthink it for now. Tomorrow he'd buy a cross necklace or bracelet just in case. Oh — and he really needed to find a housekeeper. The house was way too big for him to clean on his own. Preferably someone who could cook, too.
...
The next morning, he picked up a simple cross necklace and bracelet from a shop and wore them right away. He'd planned to stop by a housekeeping agency too, but was running late and headed straight for school.
In history class, Mr. Tanner was doing his usual thing, grilling students one by one. Jack, new as he was, didn't care — he just laid his head on his desk and watched the show.
Eventually Tanner called on Elena, which prompted Stefan to jump in, answer the question, and then smugly correct Tanner's mistake — earning himself a nice little moment to show off in front of Elena.
Jack watched with quiet amusement. "Yep, this guy has been around forever — probably was alive back when that history lesson actually happened."
After class, Jack headed to the housekeeping agency and went through several options before settling on a live-in housekeeper. The package included cleaning and cooking — exactly what he needed.
He had three requirements:
Hardworking. The house had two floors, eight bedrooms, and a big lawn outside. If she wasn't fast and diligent, she'd never keep up.
Can cook well. Otherwise he'd just end up replacing her — food was too important.
Not too old. Older workers could be stubborn and hard to deal with, and he didn't want that hassle… okay, fine—he wanted someone easy on the eyes. If the maid wasn't at least a little attractive, he'd refuse and make the agency keep searching. No way was he getting stuck with some old hag or a guy in the house.
And even though a live-in housekeeper was pricier, money wasn't an issue. He even offered extra pay to find someone who'd be a good match.
The company lined up a candidate and said she'd arrive later that day. They gave Jack her contact info so she could call when she got there.
After paying, Jack made a supermarket run and stocked his fridge with everything — meat, seafood, snacks, drinks, the works. When he was satisfied, he flopped on the couch and waited.
...
Around 12:30, the housekeeper arrived and called to confirm she was at the door. Jack went to greet her.
She was a young woman, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three, and honestly didn't look like a housekeeper at all. She was a beauty,
"Hi, I'm Jack." He gestured for her to sit down on the couch opposite him.
"Hello, sir. I'm Sarah," she said with a polite smile.
"So, Sarah," Jack leaned back and asked the most important question on his mind, "how's your cooking? Can you cook?"
"Yeah," Sarah smiled. "I can do plenty of dishes — burgers, hot dogs, steak, pasta—" She rushed her words a little, clearly worried about making a bad impression. The pay was great, and if she didn't fit his requirements, she might lose the job.
"Alright, fair enough. I haven't had lunch yet anyway — why don't you whip something up so I can see for myself? The kitchen's fully stocked. See if you can make do."
"Of course! I'll start right away," Sarah said, jumping to her feet and heading toward the kitchen.
"Thanks. Oh — make enough for four or five people. My appetite's pretty big. And if you pass the test and end up living here, we can eat together," Jack called after her.
"Got it, boss," she said without turning around.
Jack stayed put, scrolling through articles on his phone — everything he could find about vampires.
From what he could tell, vampires weren't publicly known at all. So he switched tactics, digging into news about deaths and disappearances instead. There weren't many recent cases — just a handful of animal attacks a few years back.
"Could be vampires… could just be wolves. Hard to say," he muttered, seeing how censored the reports were.
Soon, Sarah finished cooking and brought out lunch. Luckily, most of what Jack had bought were meats and seafood — exactly his favorites — so he ate heartily.
Afterwards, they finalized her employment. Jack told Sarah to pick a room on the first floor, handed her a house key, and gave her some cash for groceries and household expenses. Then he went to take a nap.
...
By the time he woke up, it was getting late. He skipped dinner, grabbed his keys, and drove to the party.
When he arrived, groups of students were hanging out, chatting, hugging, kissing — and Jack couldn't help but feel a little out of place.
'Man, this should totally be illegal at sixteen or seventeen, the law is bugged,' he thought, a bit awkwardly.
"Yay! You made it." Caroline's cheerful voice cut through his thoughts as she walked up to him.
"Yeah. I'm not late, am I?" Jack asked.
"Nope — even Stefan isn't here yet. Come on, let's grab a drink." Caroline linked her arm with his and pulled him toward the bar.
He saw Matt, Elena, and Bonnie nearby and gave them a quick nod before following Caroline to the counter.
"Here, drink with me," Caroline said, handing him a beer.
"Thanks. So… did you remember my feast?" Jack asked with a grin, clinking bottles with her and taking a sip. He hadn't had dinner, so he was already half-thinking about snacks.
"Of course! But it's still early, so I just brought some snacks for now," Caroline said, sliding a few bags across the table toward him.
"Appreciate it," Jack said, tearing one open. Not enough to really fill him up, but better than nothing. He munched away, washing it down with beer.
"Have you been to the waterfall yet? It's gorgeous at night. If you want, I can show you," Caroline offered, watching him eat.
"Sure, why not?" Jack said with a small smile. Caroline was a pretty blonde, she'd remembered to bring him food, and she was being this forward — it would've been rude to turn her down.
Caroline led him to the waterfall. He'd assumed the bonfire was where most people would be hanging out, but apparently the falls were just as popular. Couples were scattered around in the shadows, whispering — some already making out.
"Yeah, the view's definitely nice," Jack said, though the situation was a little awkward. He tilted his head up, pretending to admire the night sky. To be fair, with the stars overhead and the waterfall roaring nearby, it really was a beautiful scene.
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