Rose's dress for Miss Mystic Falls
****
Stefan and I finally pulled up to school. Elena left without me today and I asked if he could give me a ride. He seemed a little on edge but he told me that was normal and he was fine and back to normal. I still have my doubts though. We got out of the car and I saw Elena walking towards us. "Nice car," She complimented.
He smiled at her presence, "I thought it was a waste to leave it sitting in the garage." She chuckled as they brought their lips together. I faked a gagging sound as I turned the other way.
"Well, that's my cue. I'm gonna talk to Care Bear," I said, waving goodbye to the couple then walking away. "Hey Care," I announced my presence. She turned around to face me as she instantly brightened. I'm glad someone wants me in their presence.
"Hey! Did Bonnie tell you she was coming back today?" She asked. Bonnie had been talking to Caroline and I while she was gone. She left after Grams' funeral and was staying with her dad. We talked at least once a week, but I knew she and Caroline were talking every day, but I didn't mind. Bonnie wasn't talking to Elena at all. She didn't want Elena to choose between her and Stefan. She felt it as Stefan and Damon's fault that Grams died. Which is sort of is, but at the same time it's not. So, Bonnie swore me to secrecy that she and I were talking.
"Yea, she mentioned it to me a couple days ago," I said.
"Great, I am so excited. Also, are you going to be in Miss Mystic Falls?"
"Yes, I don't really want to be, but I'm gonna do it. I don't have anything better to do. Who's gonna be your escort? Matt?" I sighed.
"Yea, what about yours?"
"Tyler. Well, I still gotta ask him, but I'm sure he'll say yes." I wanted Damon to be my escort, but he couldn't. Well, he can, but I'm not gonna ask him. I mean, I would, but he would say no and like I've said, I'm distancing myself from him. I'm also not going to set myself up for rejection.
Damon
I was at the Founder's Hall because Liz wanted to discuss some blood bank thefts. The only thing I didn't know was that John was gonna be here. Stupid ring. "There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night. Some of the supply was compromised," Liz informed. I hope it's not Stefan, but it could also be all the tomb vampires.
"Compromised? You mean stolen," I played dumb.
She nodded, "We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered, but when the night manager was questioned, he had no recollection of changing them."
"Meaning the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft," John interrupted.
"I know what she meant," I said to him.
"We wouldn't have noticed if John had not alerted us to recent discrepancies at other hospital blood banks in the county," She credited John.
"How lucky for us, we have John," I lied, looking at John.
"We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guards vervain to prevent this from happening again," Liz said.
"Sheriff," John said, walking closer to us, "Might I offer a suggestion? Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever's doing this."
"Truthfully, I could use the extra hands," Liz said. "Is that something you'd be willing to do?" Nope.
"Well, of course, I mean, if it'll help," I lied.
"I think we'll make a good team. Don't you, Damon?" John asked me.
"John, whatever I can do to help keep this town safe, even if it means spending time with you," I said, faking a smile.
Rose
I was sitting in history waiting for Mr. Saltzman to start the class. "Ok," he said, closing the door as Stefan took his seat. "This week we're going to set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's Day. Apparently, the community leaders feel that's more important than World War 2, but hey, what do I know?" Alaric was interrupted by someone opening the door.
"Sorry I'm late," Bonnie apologized, walking into the class and shutting the door.
"Looks like we will be at full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie," Alaric greeted as she smiled at him. I tuned him out to wave at Bonnie which she returned. She gave Elena a small smile and Stefan a blank face. Elena and Stefan exchanged confused glances. Well. . .you can't really blame Bonnie. She lost her grandmother to a spell that ended up failing, so I understand her reasoning for ignoring Stefan.
Damon
I heard the bell ring and I soon opened the door to Anna. "I suppose I should be grateful you learned how to use the bell," I said, not letting her in just yet.
"I'm here on behalf of my mother," she said, walking in and closing the door.
"On behalf of or in spite of?" I questioned, walking into the dining room.
"I'm sorry about what the other vampires did to Stefan and Rose. Abducting them, torturing them. It wasn't supposed to go down like that," She apologized, following me.
"You were playing house with half of a tomb of really pissed off vampires. What did you think was going to happen?" I shot back.
"My mom is devastated. They tried to overthrow her," Anna defended.
"Why isn't she here telling me this?" I asked.
"She doesn't really do apologies," She answered.
"Well, that's a coincidence, 'cause I don't do forgiveness, so just run along. And if you're going to continue playing house with your little vampire pets, you might want to stop robbing the blood bank dry, because they're onto it," I said, walking around to stand in front of her.
"I haven't been to the local blood bank in at least a week," Anna defended.
"Then it's one of your others," I said.
"The other ones are gone, Damon."
"Well, where'd they go?"
"They weren't cut out for this town. After what happened with your brother and Rose, my mom kicked them out and they took off. It's just us and Harper now," She explained. Damn it, Stefan.
Rose
Caroline and I were talking when she gasped all of a sudden. I turned around to see what her gaze was fixed and saw Bonnie. I guess she hasn't seen her today. "Go," I rolled my eyes as she quickly ran over. I walked my way over there just as Caroline asked how Bonnie was doing.
"Better. Just better. You know, just glad to be back, and try to keep myself busy," Bonnie responded.
"Well, I can help with that. Major wardrobe confab needed ASAP. You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder's Court," Caroline said, holding onto Bonnie's hands with a bright smile on her face.
"Oh," Bonnie said, having a small smile of her own.
"The Founder's Court? Did I miss something?" Elena furrowed her brows. Who's feeling left out now?
"The Founders Court. You know, Miss Mystic Falls," I clarified.
Caroline decided to add on, "They announced it today, and, um, us three are on it."
"Oh, my god, we signed up for that so long ago. I completely forgot," Elena says.
Caroline scoffed lightly while nodding, "Yeah. So, are you dropping out, then?" I know Caroline wanted her drop out because she felt she had no chance against Elena. I think she's wrong. I think Caroline can win; she deserves it.
"I can't," Elena said, because of our mom.
"No?" Caroline furrowed her brows.
"Her mom is the one who wanted her to enter," Bonnie said with Elena nodding in agreement.
****
"Hey," I said in a cheery voice, standing in front of Tyler. Oh god, I'm sounding like Caroline.
"You're in a cheery mood. What do you need?" He said, hands on his hips.
My face dropped, "Now you ruined it." He chuckled in triumph. "But I need you to be my escort for Miss Mystic Falls. So, what do you say?"
"What do I get out of it?"
"Um. . .food?" I looked at him with a hopeful smile.
He rolled his eyes, "Fine, but you don't have to get me anything. I was joking."
"Yes!" I took him by surprise and hugged him, kissing his cheek. He seemed taken back by the kiss, but I don't really care. I was in a good mood and it couldn't be ruined by anyone.
****
"This year's queen will have the special honor of taking center stage at the 150th Founder's Day Gala. Before we crown our winner, we'd like to get to know a bit more about each of you," Carol Lockwood said, sitting next to the two other judges. I was here to well. . .you heard what she said.
"Well, as you know I've been at the boarding school for a couple of years, but I did do some charity work. I volunteered at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, and helped clean the city," I actually wasn't lying, but 'volunteered' sounds more like forced. While I was at the boarding school, they made us complete so many hours of charity work.
I was silent for a while when Carol decided to speak up, "That's all?"
"Yup," I nodded. "Oh, and just know that I may not have much community service here in Mystic Falls, but I do take it seriously and it's an honor." Carol seemed to smile a bit at my answer.
"Very well, have a good day, Rose," She dismissed. Thank god, I'm ready to get out of here.
****
"Honor your partner," Carol said as Tyler and I stepped toward each other. He bowed while I curtsied. We were doing rehearsals for the Miss Mystic Falls dance. "Focus. Right hand around." Tyler and I both put our right hands up and started slowly in a circle. "Flirt with your eyes." I wiggled my eyebrows at Tyler as he chuckled. "Left hand around." We switched hands and started in a circle again. "Both hands."
We started in a circle again as I whispered, "This is so boring."
Tyler smirked, "Well, let's make it fun." He grabbed my hand, spinning me and then dipping me as I laughed.
"Tyler, there is no touching in this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near-touch," I scolded while trying to bite back a smile.
"Exactly, Rose," Mrs. Lockwood nodded in agreement.
"If you ask me, near touch is overrated," Tyler whispered to me as we continued the dance.
****
I was walking out of school when I saw Stefan choking Ric. I quickly ran up to them, but Ric had already pushed him off. "Y'all good?" I asked, looking between the both of them. Ric nodded, but Stefan had a frantic look on his face.
"Yes," He finally answered, "I'm sorry. I was just. . .I was feeling a little sick. I'll be fine." He slowly walked off as Ric and I exchanged glances.
"He's been. . .off lately," I said as Ric nodded. Stefan and human blood do not mix. He told me he was fine. Why would he lie?
****
I was walking down the stairs, holding my dress as I heard a knock on the door. Ric is supposed to be driving us instead of John. I opened the door, "Hey."
"Hi," He greeted back.
"I heard you're driving."
"Yeah I am. Let me get that for you," He grabbed my dress as I let him inside the house. He closed the door behind him as Elena made her way downstairs.
"Thanks."
"Um, how, uh-how is Stefan?" Ric asked Elena, grabbing her dress as well. He looks to me for a brief moment, probably wondering if I told her about his little. . .outburst.
"What do you mean?" Elena furrowed her brows.
"You know, he seems on edge," Alaric said.
"He went through a lot; he was in bad shape for a while. But he's bouncing back now," Elena said.
"Alaric," Uncle John announced his presence. Little shit, if I just- "Hey, buddy. What are you doing here?" Elena rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Well, I'm the chauffeur," Alaric answered.
"Oh, I thought I was driving," Uncle John responded.
"Thought wrong," I said with a fake smile as Aunt Jenna came downstairs.
"We're going with Ric," Jenna said as she made her way down the rest of the stairs.
"Are we ready?" Elena asked, making her way to the front door.
"Jeremy can ride with you," I told John as he nodded at my answer. I was about to walk out the door when I turned back around to flip off Uncle John. He raised his brows at me as I ran out the door, slamming it shut.
****
I walked into the room where my dress was at to see Amber shaking her hands and pacing back and forth. "Are you ok, Amber?" I asked her.
"I hate being the center of attention. I get panic attacks," she says.
"Do you need some privacy so you can change?" I asked, gesturing towards the door.
"Actually, I'm just-I'm just going to go get some air," she said as she walked out and Elena walked in.
"What happened?" she asked, walking towards her dress as I walked towards mine.
"She's nervous," I said, picking up my dress to see Damon in the mirror. I gasped as I turned around and so did Elena.
"Hey. You can't be back here," Elena said.
"We need to talk," Damon said.
"Does it have to be right now?" I asked, gesturing towards my dress, signaling that we need to change.
"Normally I would have a completely different outlook on what I'm about to tell you, but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal," Damon said, walking to block the door and in front of us.
"What are you talking about?" Elena asked.
"Stefan's still drinking human blood," I said. Damon snapped his head towards me in confusion as I just shrugged.
"What?" Elena said in shock.
"Yeah," Damon confirmed, "A month ago, I would have rejoiced. But with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."
"I know he's been a little edgy, but he said that was normal," Elena defended her boyfriend.
"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house," Damon stated.
Elena sighed and sat down on the couch, clearly in shock, "Oh my god."
"He has no idea what normal is. His entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood. But he spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning how to control it. And now it's controlling him instead," Damon said.
Elena shook her head, "I can't believe this. I mean, it's Stefan that we are talking about here."
"Stefan on human blood, Elena," I said, "He'll do anything, he'll say anything, because he's not going to want to stop."
Damon nodded in agreement, "Trust us."
Elena stood up and started pacing back and forth, "This is all my fault. I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place-" Elena was cut off by the door opening. Speak of the devil.
"Uh. . .What's going on in here?" Stefan asked, putting his hands in his pockets and walking into the room.
"Just filling Elena in on your extracurricular activities," I said, Damon and I looking at him.
Stefan scoffed, "What are you talking about?"
"I know about the blood, Stefan," Elena spoke up.
"I'm gonna-I'll be downstairs, drinking," Damon said as he left the room.
"And I'll be in the next room changing," I said, grabbing my dress and going to the next room.
****
"Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore," Mayor Lockwood announced.
"Has anyone seen Amber?" Mrs. Lockwood asked as she walked out of the changing room. Elena looked at her slightly but didn't answer, neither did Caroline or I.
"Do you see Stefan down there?" Elena asked us. I walked over to the banister and looked down but didn't see him.
"Nope. Just my boring fill-in escort," Caroline said with a sigh.
"What happened to Matt?" I asked her.
She sighed once more, "They wouldn't let him out of work. Hey, what happened to Stefan?"
"I don't know. He just disappeared somewhere. I don't know. What am I doing? I never should have gone through with this," Elena panicked.
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.
"I need to find Stefan. This isn't me. I'm not this person anymore," Elena was about to walk away when I stopped her.
"Uh, no, no, no, no way, no. You had your chance to drop out," I said.
Caroline continued, "And believe me, I was all for it. Because there is no way that I can beat you. Elena, you're doing this because it was important to your mom."
"Miss Caroline Forbes, and her escort Jeffery Lockwood Hamilton," Mayor Lockwood announced. Caroline silently squealed and then made her way down the stairs.
"Take Ty," I whispered to Elena. I could already tell what she was thinking due to the furrow of her brows. "It's ok. I'll fake a fall or something. Now go," I nodded my head towards the stairs as she smiled at me and made her way.
"Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by Stefan Salvatore," Mayor Lockwood announced her name. Thankfully, Tyler was smart enough to fill in for Stef. Tyler can be quite the airhead sometimes. "Miss Rosalie Gilbert, escorted by Tyler Lockwood." I walked down the stairs and decided to plan out my fall. I'll fall, get back up, fake a cry, and run out in embarrassment. Sounds like a brilliant plan to me. I was about to fake it when Damon rushed to the bottom of the stairs. Just my luck. My lack of an escort was the only way out of this dumb thing. I took his hand and we started walking.
"Where's your dumb brother?" I whispered to him.
"I don't know," He answered as I sighed. "You were eyeing the edge of the stairs like you were gonna fake a fall."
I plastered a fake smile for the crowd, "Because I was. And it was my only way out of this stupid thing until you stepped in."
"Well, I'll remember next time to let you fall and ruin that pretty face of yours," he said. Pretty?
"Asshole," I muttered under my breath. We walked on the dance floor and stood across from each other. We took a step towards each other and I curtsied while he bowed. "What are we gonna do?" I whispered to him.
"Right now, we just have to get through this," he said as we took a step back, away from each other. I put my right hand up as we spun in a circle and stared at each other. I put up my left hand as we spun around once more, maintaining eye contact. He had a faint smirk on his face and I just wanted to wipe it right off. I put both my hands up and spun in a circle. We stopped the same place we started and took steps towards each other. One of his hands on my waist and one holding my own while my other hand was on his shoulder.
"Hopefully I don't step on you, I don't know this part," I said right as I stepped on him. He groaned a little as I stifled a laugh. "Oops," I said innocently.
"Pretty necklace, where'd you get it?" he asked me with a smirk.
"Some smirking asshole gave it to me," I said with a smile on my face. The dance finally came to an end as we stepped away from each other. I hate how I can't hate him.
****
We were now inside the Lockwood's, waiting for the mayor to announce who the next Miss Mystic Falls would be. "Where's Amber?" I whispered to Elena and Caroline.
"I don't know," Elena shrugged.
"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community," Mayor Lockwood said as the crowd started clapping once more. "So, without further adieu, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!" The mayor pointed at Caroline as she was in a state of shock. Everyone started applauding and cheering.
"Congratulations," I said to her as she turned to me with a huge smile on her face. I am happy she won; she deserves it.
"I actually won!" She hugged me and did the same to Elena. Caroline smiled as they put the ribbon sash on her.
I was looking out into the crowd when I saw Damon trying to get my attention. I furrowed my brows at him and nodded my head in a 'what happened?' gesture. "Got news on Stefan," He mouthed as I nodded. I looked over at Elena and relayed the message to her. She nodded as well as we both got down from the small stage. We were walking in the hallway when Damon grabbed our arms and pulled us into a secluded area.
"What is it, did you find him?" Elena asked frantically.
"There were signs of struggle in the upstairs bathroom. There was blood. And that Amber girl is missing," Damon said.
"Oh my god. He wouldn't hurt her. He won't," Elena shook her head.
"Let's just find him, ok?" I said as they both looked at me and nodded.
"Let's get your coats, c'mon," Damon said, grabbing our arms and leading us to grab our coats. I was about to grab my coat when Damon stopped me, "Siphon me." He held out his arm.
I looked at him in confusion, "What? No."
"Look if we can't get Stefan, you're the only one that can knock him out without getting too close," he said. I nodded.
"This might hurt, obviously," I said with a roll of my eyes.
"Just get on with it," he said as I grabbed his arm and started siphoning. I could feel his body tense and his face scrunched up. I let go of him after a few seconds and the magic flowing through me felt good. It's addicting, this siphoning thing. Once you take some, you just want more. It's like a drug. He sighed in relief as I quickly put on my coat and rushed outside. When we made it outside, we heard screaming and rushed towards the woods to see Stefan feeding on Amber.
"Stefan!" Elena yelled, coming to a stop as did I and Damon.
"Stefan. Come on. Get control of it. Come on. It's ok. Come on. Breathe through it, man," Damon said as he slowly inched closer and closer to Stefan only to be pushed to the side.
"Stefan, stop it!" Elena yelled at him. I was about to put him to sleep when he started groaning in pain. I turned around and saw Bonnie looking straight at him. She stopped the migraine as Stefan looked ashamed at what he had done.
"It's ok. Stefan," Damon said with his hands up in surrender. I put one of my hands up to put him to sleep but Damon quickly pushed it down as Stefan ran away. "Leave him, he'll go back to the house."
****
Sheriff Forbes and the ambulance finally came and helped Amber. We were all still standing there when the Sheriff came up to us, "She doesn't remember what happened."
"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did. She lost a lot of blood," Damon lied.
"You didn't see anything?" Sheriff asked.
I shook my head, "No. We just found her and then called Damon."
"She gonna be ok?" Bonnie asked.
The Sheriff nodded, "Looks like it, yeah. Why don't you girls go back to the party. Damon and I can take it from here."
"Yeah," Damon nodded and agreed.
"Ok," Elena said. We slowly turned around and started walking away.
****
We were at the boarding house. Elena suggested she bait Stefan and then stab him with vervain. We were now in normal clothes and Damon and I were waiting downstairs for Elena to succeed with the plan. I was now pacing back and forth because I heard a couple of big crashes and Damon wouldn't let me go upstairs and check. Something about 'screwing up the plan' or whatever but I tried convincing him to just let me knock him out or something but he refused. "Sit down," Damon snapped at me.
"If she dies, it's on you," I said, pointing at him.
He rolled his eyes at my dramatics. He stood up and walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders, stopping my pacing, "She'll be fine. He won't hurt her." I grabbed onto his shoulders and started siphoning him as he started groaning and pulled away quickly. "You already took some earlier, you magic sucking weasel."
My mouth dropped at the name as I gasped. "Take it back!"
"No," He refused, stepping closer to me.
"Yes," I said, taking a step closer. We were right in each other's faces. I could do something, but this arguing is much more fun.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Ye-" I was cut off by a thud on the ground. I raced up the stairs but Damon pulled my ankle causing me to slip, thankfully not falling all the way down. I quickly got back up as I used my magic to make him fall as well. I laughed as I made up the stairs. "You sure you want to do this?" I asked Elena.
"I'm sure," she said. It took us a few minutes to get him down and lock him in the cellar. It gave me the creeps.
"There's no guarantee this is going to work," Damon said, coming out of the cellar and closing it.
Elena shook her head, "It has to."
Damon and I were about to leave when Elena didn't move an inch. "You comin'?" I asked.
She shook her head, "I'm gonna stay here." I nodded as I sat down across from her and Damon sat next to me.
****
I woke up and looked across from me to see Elena asleep. I don't even remember falling asleep. I looked next to me and saw Damon asleep too, or at least I think so. Wait, was I sleeping on his shoulder? Oh god, I was, how embarrassing. I also didn't realize I was staring at Damon until his eyes snapped open and his head turned towards me, scaring me at the sudden movement. "Were you asleep?" I asked.
"No, but I felt your beady little eyes on me," he said, looking away from me.
My mouth dropped in shock, "You're so mean to me." I shook my head and crossed my arms.
He shrugged, "Cry about it." I scoffed then turned to push him. Sadly, he didn't even move an inch because of his stupid vampire strength. "Weak," He muttered.
"Let's make a deal. Whoever wins the thumb war is the strongest," I said.
He turned his head to look at me, "I'm not going to play some stupid game."
"Backing down from a challenge? How weak," I teased.
"Fine," He turned towards me.
"Ok, so you do this little-" I started but he cut me off.
"I know how to play," He rolled his eyes as I laughed.
"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war," I chanted as our thumbs moved back and forth and then straight up, waiting for each other to make the first move. I tried taking his thumb down but he soon got out of my trap. I put my thumb down and then back up quickly, teasing him. I had it down when he pushed his thumb on top of mine. I tried to get out of his hold but turns out his thumb is strong too. He counted in his head to three and a smirk rose on face.
"Stop, let me win," I complained as he rolled his eyes. We went through the same thing again and he let me win, it was too easy, like too easy. "No, at least try," I said. He rolled his eyes as we went again. This time, I won and it wasn't too easy, it was just right. "Haha, I beat you, first try," I joked with a smile.
He rolled his eyes, "You're such a child."
I rolled my eyes, standing up and deciding to go lay down on Damon's comfy bed. "You staying down here? Or. . ."
He sighed then stood up, "I guess. Just to make sure you don't do anything sketchy." I rolled my eyes at him once more and continued up the stairs and into his room. "Woah, who said you could sleep in here?" His brows furrowed.
I shrugged, "I did." I took off my shoes and socks and turned around to see Damon still there. "You gonna turn around? Or. . .Matter of fact, I am going to steal one of your shirts." I walked over to his closet and took a random tee shirt. Damon had his back towards me so I quickly changed. "Done," I announced so he could turn around. His shirt ended at my thighs. Perfect. I ran to his bed and jumped, feeling the cold sheets once I landed. He rolled his eyes at me and went to the other side. I decided to mess with him and go right in the middle in a starfish position. I just remembered I wanted to keep my distance from him, oh well. He looked at me with a deadly glare. I looked right at him and I couldn't help but bust out laughing. He rolled his eyes once more.
He was going to move me aside when I asked him, "Do you not not roll your eyes?" I tilted my head a little to get a better view of him. He put an arm under my knees and behind my back and tossed me to the other side.
"Go to sleep," he said as I sighed dramatically. I decided to leave him alone and I crawled under the covers.
"Night," I mumbled.
"Night," he said back. I turned to lay on my side, my back facing him. I was falling asleep when I felt him pull me close to him. He's still here? He is warm though, for a dead person. I felt my eyes closing again and soon darkness took over.
A/N
Another chapter folks. I hope you enjoyed and please vote and comment, your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I try to make little moments between Damon and Rose because well you know, it is a fanfic. I'm also thinking of adding another character to the story but that will be in the second book but still. And right now I just got the biggest lightbulb. This is definitely one of my longest chapters. And again I'm sorry for such the bad posting schedule. I thought I could get back on it this summer but for most of June I was out of town, but thank you for being patient. Again, comment and vote.