Consumed » Kai Parker

Forty Nine

She looks at me and when I glance at her, I stop in my tracks, noticing her disapproving expression. "What?"

"That is not a party face. You wanna blow our cover?"

I scoff. "No. What the hell is a party face?"

She plasters on a fake, overly enthusiastic grin instantaneously, grabbing my hand. "This. Now, dance with me."

"Uh, Bon–"

Giving me no time to argue, Bonnie twirls me around, snaking her fingers around my flailing free hand in the process. I nearly bump into surrounding strangers during the impromptu dance, but I soon realize her intentions when a couple of spins and sways later, I'm bumping into a sequined back with fluffed blonde curls.

I stare with wide eyes as Caroline whirls around, pausing her conversation with the girls and her eyes automatically zero in on me maliciously. "Hey, watch it."

"Sorry, I was just dancing with my friend, B–Bella." I catch Liv's horrified look, and Elena's eyes briefly shutting in consternation, before continuing. "This is our first ball. We're kind of, like, really excited."

She appraises the two of us silently for a moment and Bonnie takes this as an opportunity to take over. "Yeah. I've met so many interesting people here. It's so different from back home, in Cali. Do you live in the area?"

Caroline chuckles. "No. I just needed a change of pace, since everyone at home is so blah."

"Where are you from?" I ask, cocking my head with feigned intrigue.

She narrows her eyes at me. "Do you always interrogate people you bump into at parties? It's weird."

Swallowing thickly, I try again with a nervous titter. "You caught me. I really just wanted to ask about your dress. It's amazing."

Smirking, she tosses her curls over one shoulder, resting a hand on her waist. "I know. Yours isn't half bad, either. Where'd you get it?"

Internally sighing with relief at the offer Caroline extends for further conversation, and eventually, a chance to corner my friend, I answer, "Oh, just one of the shops around here. The girls and I," I gesture to Bonnie, then Liv and Elena, "got them in a hurry after hearing about this party. We're here on a little week-long hiatus from college."

"We actually just found out that Caroline here," Elena says with forced enthusiasm, wrapping an arm around the vampire's waist and tugging her too close, judging by the way her eyes narrow irritably, "is the hostess. Isn't that insane? She put all of this together."

Even with her emotional side dormant, Caroline's pride in planning every detail of an event to precision and perfection is evidently still capable of being triggered with the compliment. She not-so-subtly shoves Elena to the side, causing my sister to stumble a bit and a flash of annoyance to cross her features, and smiles at us, though the key Caroline Forbes sunshine-like glee is missing from the gesture.

"Well, I love a good party. Just what everybody needs here and there to spice up their otherwise dull and drab lives. Some of these poor, misguided souls might never attend a party of this caliber ever again." She examines her nails, snorting. "Kinda pathetic, when you think about it. But I'm glad to be of service in showing the locals of New Orleans a real night they won't forget. And..." she squints at us analytically. "The tourists, too. Where did you guys say you were from?"