It was everything she had ever wanted; a school dance to distract the university students from the all kinds of crazy that had been going on recently and for once she wouldn't be the lonely gay girl in the corner, no Danny had asked her to go with her. So many would wonder why Laura wasn't jumping for joy at the mere notion of getting to wear a beautiful dress, go to a beautiful event and dance with a beautiful girl. But therein lay the problem: Laura couldn't dance. No matter how hard she tried and how many online tutorials she watched she just couldn't do it; if she didn't know any better Laura would have thought she had two left feet. So instead of grinning like a school girl, trying to decide on her outfit with her best girl pals, she was curled up on her bed thinking about how much of a fool she was going to look like. The brunette let out a heavy sigh, not realizing Carmilla had walked in through the open door- Perry liked the doors to be open during the day; she said it created better 'better lines of cross-dorm communication'. "What's up, Princess?" The vampire asked causing Laura to jump and grab the pair of scissors she now kept by her bedside. Carmilla held her hands up in surrender "Easy, Cutie, you're gonna do yourself an injury." Laura mumbled an unintelligible apology before curling back up under the covers of her bed. Carmilla's interest peaked and so did her worry, her usual aloof manner dissipated and she sat down carefully next to Laura's small form on her bed. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely concerned this time.

"Nothing." Laura mumbled into her pillow, Carmilla rolled her eyes.

"Clearly, because you totally aren't in the foetal position under your duvet at…" She checked her watch "3pm."

"What do you care anyways?" The younger girl asked and her words hurt the vampire, she could be caring…occasionally.

"I…I've come to grow accustomed to your company, and to rather enjoy it- sometimes." Laura couldn't help the small smile that graced her presently sad features; she sat up, tugging the covers back up to her chin despite the fact she was sitting.

"Well there's this dance…just an event to distract us from the über crazy stuff going on and Danny asked me to go with her."

"Now I know things have changed since I attended dances and such but usually when someone you like asks you to go with them…it's a good thing." Carmilla replied, trying not to let the jealousy shine through her voice at the thought of Laura going out with Danny.

"No that's not the bad part, the part about Danny asking me is great it's the part that comes with that part that's the bad part." Carmilla looked at Laura, very confused.

"Sorry you just said 'part' like a hundred times."

"Carmilla focus! I…I can't dance, like formally or at all…" The small girl trailed off "So when it comes to the dancing I'm gonna look like a fool and embarrass myself and Danny and she's gonna hate me." A tiny smile tugged at the corners of Carmilla's mouth and the vampire found herself…empathising with Laura. She rolled her eyes- it had become second nature when spending time with the human- and let out a small sigh.

"Gee, it's not like your roommate is a centuries old vampire who actually attended balls where they would formally dance and therefore know all the steps…" She said loudly and sarcastically; Laura practically leapt off the bed.

"OhmyGodCarmillawillyouteachmehowtodance?" she let out all in one long breath. 'What have I gotten myself into?' The darker brunette thought to herself before standing up rigidly, cracking her back in the process.

"Yeah, Creampuff, I will." She replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Holy crap, Carmilla, thank you!" Laura exclaimed and threw her arms around the vampire in a hug, both girls were surprised by the contact and broke apart quickly (even though Carmilla's arms had remained hanging uselessly by her sides throughout the brief, yet strangely welcoming contact).

"Not a problem now, we have to get the stance right first." Carmilla moved on swiftly. She didn't like the way Laura was making her feel- her usual aloof, flirtatious demeanour was cracking and she was determined to glue it back together. "Okay so put your arms up like this," The vampire demonstrated and Laura tried to recreate it but failed. "No, like this." Carmilla grabbed Laura by the waist and pulled her close to her, so close that their chests touched. A small smile graced Laura's lips and the darker brunette smirked; her mojo was back. "So at these crappy dances nowadays all you really need to know is how to waltz, which coincidentally is the easiest dance to learn." Laura stared intently into Carmilla's eyes, taking in everything she said and tried not to be distracted by how close their bodies were. "You just need to move in a box formation." Carmilla pulled away from Laura and demonstrated- the small girl could not help the feeling of emptiness that surged through her being as Carmilla let go but she pushed these feelings aside to watch how the vampire moved. "Now you try." Laura did…and failed however Carmilla was not deterred. "Come on its not that hard, Cutie- give I another go." This time Laura still tripped over her own feet- the dark brunette placed her hands on her hips and gave Laura her most disapproving glare. This had the effect the vampire wanted and Laura's face became a mask of determination. She tried again but this time managed the steps- only just but it was progress. "One more time."

"Okay." She replied and ran through the steps one more time, almost perfectly.

"Excellent, now learning to dance with a partner." Carmilla was suddenly in front of her and pulling her into her arms again, this time she positioned Laura's arms and hands for her "I'll lead okay?" She asked, with more sincerity than Laura thought possible from the vampire- the girl could only nod as Carmilla stood up fully and resumed the waltz pose. "Just count in your head; 1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3…1, 2…" Laura was lost the rhythm of a silent song as she danced around the small dorm room in Carmilla's arms. They seemed to dance forever but it was all over too soon for the younger girl. "See you can dance."

"I had a good teacher." Laura smiled up at the taller girl, who- if it was only possible- would be blushing.

"Yeah well whatever Creampuff." The vampire broke the embrace and threw herself back on her bed, taking up the book she had left there earlier that day.

"You should come." The words were out of Laura's mouth before she could stop them and her flustered expression only brought a larger smirk to Carmilla's face.

"I'm good thanks- the music these days is terrible and besides, oh whatever would I wear?" The older girl replied, voice dripping with sarcasm "Go have fun with your Amazon." Carmilla's eyes hadn't even left the page of her book and Laura's brows furrowed in slight confusion and annoyance but she shrugged it off and instead hurried out of the room to find Perry. She needed help picking a dress.

"Wow." Danny breathed as Laura made her way over to her. Danny's smile grew ever wider as she took in the full appearance of her date; Perry had helped Laura pick out a teal blue dress that just reached past her knees in slight ruffles- the bodice was simple and sleeveless with a small sash around the waist tied in a delicate bow. Laura could not believe how beautiful Danny looked in the sleek dark green gown she wore, it was simple and although reaching the floor had a slit up the side which just showed off one her long legs.

"You look-"

"You're-" Both girls began at the same time and broke off in giggles "You go first." Laura insisted and Danny smiled gratefully in response.

"You look beautiful."

"So do you." Both girls smiled and "And I'm not as short as usual tonight." The brunette grinned and showed off her heels, Danny had (luckily) worn flats, now Laura was almost up to Danny's shoulder.

"Come on, there's some people I want you to meet." Danny took Laura's hand into her own and the smaller girl had to remind herself to breathe. The tall ginger lead Laura over to a group of very pretty, quite intimidating girls gathered in a circle by the snack table. "Laura, these are my Summer Society Sisters." Danny introduced

"Hi." Laura gave a small wave as the girls turned to look at her, they gave her a quick glance and then turned back to Danny.

"So did you hear that the Zetas…" and that was it, Laura was out of the conversation. The small girl looked up at the tall girl's in slight fear and tried to catch Danny's eye but the ginger was too caught up in the conversation.

"I'm err…I'm gonna go get some punch…" Laura's words fell on deaf ears but she tried to make herself heard anyway. She turned round and made her way over to the white covered table and grabbed the ladle and poured herself some of the unusually tasting punch. The brunette found her way to a chair and looked around, now on her own she could fully appreciate the decorating and organising the older students had done. The buildings were littered with strung up lights that made the quad glow warmly, the trees contained similar lights only these had a light blue glow- there were also balloons, streamers and flowers all around the improvised dance floor that was made up of the large area flat surface used for the annual homecoming goat sacrifice. It was all very…normal; which was highly unusual for Silas.

One hour later and Laura was still sat on her own and Danny was still chatting with her Summer Society Sisters. The small girl let out a sigh and downed the rest of her fourth drink- this wasn't exactly how she'd planned her evening. "Hey Laur!" A familiar voice called from not too far away, the girl turned to see LaFontaine dragging Perry over by the hand. They were wearing a smart tux with bowtie and Perry in a pretty, cream floral dress. LaFontaine's grin dropped when they made it to her, they cocker their head to the side and asked "Hey, weren't you coming with Danny?" The name almost made her flinch.

"Yeah I did." She replied with a note of bitterness to her voice, she pointed to the tall girl who was still talking with her friends. "I've said a total of 16 words to her tonight- she's been with the Summer Society girls all night." She sighed and Perry placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Well that's just ridiculous, if she wanted to come here with you she should be making an effort to spend time with you."

"Yeah well tell her that." Laura rested her cheek in her palm and slouched onto the table. "I really wanted to dance with her…" The brunette breathed out and LaFontaine sat down next to her before bumping her shoulder with their own.

"Hey if she can't see how much you wanted to be with her tonight then she's not worth your time." They grinned their signature smile as the music picked up to a more upbeat song "Come on Miss Hollis; you can dance with me." They held out their arm for her to take, Laura obliged, a grin already spreading across her features.

"I'd be honoured."

Around and hour and a half later LaFontaine and Laura joined Perry back at the table (she had left to take a rest a while before) who was currently having a brief conversation with Josephine, another Floor Don who excused herself not long later. As soon as she was gone, Perry took LaFontaine's hand into her own, loosely intertwining their fingers on the table top. Laura smiled at them before a round of raucous laughter caused her to turn her head- Danny was still talking to the other Summer Society girls, she had barely even noticed Laura wasn't there. The smile dropped from her face and she replaced her face on her upturned hand. "I can't believe she didn't spend any time with me…" She sighed heavily. A smile appeared on LaFontaine's face.

"She might not have, but it certainly looks like someone wants to." They jerked their chin in the direction of the balloon arch that marked the entrance to the dance. Laura turned, not at all prepared for what she saw. Illuminated in the fairy lights, surrounded by a warm aura from their glow was Carmilla. The vampire donned a black dress in ballroom style with a tight fitting bodice with minimal detailing. Laura stood up instantly, without really understanding why. Carmilla heard the scraping of the chair and turned to the origin of the sound. Their eyes locked and it was like they were back in their room all over again, twirling around the room in each other's embrace. Laura watched as the older girl made her way towards her, as she grew closer the brunette noticed the necklace Carmilla wore- it looked old…really old but as soon as she was close enough Laura returned her gaze to Carmilla's face, she had worn her usual pale makeup and dark eyeliner but instead she had worn deep red lipstick that seemed to make her lips look even fuller than usual.

"Hey cupcake." Carmilla spoke for the first time

"Hey." Laura was practically speechless but then, as usual, she had to go and blurt out what she was thinking "I thought you said you had nothing to wear." The vampire smirked

"Yeah well I managed to steal this back from Mother dearest- she stole it from me before…" Laura knew she meant before the coffin, before the darkness and the blood.

"You look beautiful." Laura stopped the girl from going into her dark place, her smirk returned.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Cutie." The music playing around them slowed and Carmilla picked up on it, she held out her hand for Laura to take "May I have this dance?" The lighter brunette swore her heart stopped.

"I-I'd love to." She took the offered hand and Carmilla led her onto the dance floor, they took up the same positions they had back when they were in the dorm room and began to dance, it was slow, simple and beautiful. Laura couldn't help the smile that made it onto her face as they moved across the dance floor- most of the students had gone by now so it was only them and a few other couples left on the quad.

"I take it back." Carmilla said suddenly, Laura looked up into her dark eyes.

"What?"

"You don't look too bad, you look gorgeous." She replied and the younger girl looked down, a blush creeping across her cheeks, ears and neck. "Hey," Carmilla took Laura's chin by her thumb and forefinger "Don't look away." Despite this Laura's eyes flicked to where Danny was standing with her Sisters however now the ginger was fully aware of where her date was and who she was with. She returned her gaze to Carmilla and their eyes locked on once again. They found themselves leaning forward and out of the corner of her eye Laura saw Danny turning away but she didn't care because as her lips met Carmilla's she knew she was with the right girl.

Laura feels out of place then Carmilla shows up looking beautiful and they dance together.