Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of it's characters, nor do I own any products that may be mentioned in this story.
Rating/warnings: T, do to language and implications, as well as drinking. Also because it's set in the early 30's, and that whole era comes with a T rating.
Summary: Elena Gilbert and her family have been hit had by th depression, as her family's bank closed down and her father committed suicide out of shame. When her mother dies, and Elena is fired from her factory job, she becomes desperate for a way to feed herself and her younger brother. It's then that she's introduced to Caroline, her next door neighbor who seems to have enough money to get by; Caroline introduces Elena to the world of Taxi dancing, where she can earn money by just having fun and dancing with men. But when Elena meets Damon Salvatore, she realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew...
Pairings:Delena, Caroline/Elijah, Bonnie/Jeremy, Stephan/Rebekah.
Inspiration: TVD, The nineteen thirties, and a book called Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher.
Prologue
In Which Good Girls do Bad Things
The building looked shady, at least to Elena Gilbert. She stood next to Caroline, clutching her worn coat closely to herself. It was hard to believe this place was only four blocks away from her cramped apartment, yet she'd never visited. Perhaps it had to do with Jeremy's warning- Please, don't go further into this side of town without me. Thinking of her brother, Elena felt a pang of guilt- this is for his own good. She reminded herself.
"Come on, Elena,"Caroline chided, "You know how long it took me to convince Mikael to meet with you? He won't give you the job if you're late." Elena nodded and followed Caroline into the building. She hated herself for this- but she had been laid off from her job at the factory, and her parents had been bankers before the stock market crash. That meant that she had nothing- she barley kept a roof over their heads. And now she was stooping to a new low.
She glanced at Caroline, feeling that familiar pang of guilt as they climbed the stairs. Caroline was so nice- she had gone out of her way to introduce herself to Elena after hearing the other girl was out of a job. She'd become Elena's friend, and risked her own paycheck to help Elena out. And how did she get repaid? By having nasty thoughts aimed at her job.
It's not like prostitution, she told Elena, It's just dancing. Illegal dancing, in an illegal club, Elena thought, but brushed it off.
The two girls reached the first landing, where the stairs ended. There were concrete walls to either side of them, plastered with fading posters and torn fliers. In front of them was a heavy, black door with a golden knob that looked as if it hadn't been polished in years. Caroline didn't give her a chance to back out- she rapped on the door three times, paused, and then knocked once more.
It took a while, but there was eventually a shuffling of feat and the door creaked open, relieving a tall, thin man in a sharp suit. He spotted Caroline and grinned, though there was something crooked about it. He then turned his gaze to Elena, curled his lip, and said, in a smooth voice, "Caroline, and...Elena? Was it?" Elena nodded, frowning, "Yes, my father expects you, hurry."
"Thank you, Finn," Caroline said, stepping through the door- Elena Followed. They were now in a small entrance hall- the floor was marble, and a desk was shoved into the corner. They were lead through another door, and this time, Elena was actually impressed.
The room was dim, but Elena could see it's beauty. The floor was brilliant white, and reflected light from the elaborate chandeliers. Around the dance floor, there were a few raised platforms, with tables and plush seats. The walls were mirrored, and Elena could picture them reflecting dancing couples. One side of the room had a bar, and a few feet away from that, the floor was sunken and set up for an orchestra. But they were going to the other and of the room, the side dominated by a huge, twisting stairwell with wide steps and lavish rails.
The traveled up the stairs, and through a pair of white and golden doors, to a much less impressive place.
It was a long, dark hallways. There was a sign nailed to the wall that read dressing rooms, with an arrow pointing left; under it, a sign read offices and pointed them in the other direction.
They went right, past several old doors, until they reached a one at the end of the hall, which had a plaque reading Mr. Mikaelson.
"No one knows his firs name" Caroline had said, "Everyone calls him Mikael, because of his family name, but that's not it."
Finn rapped on the door, and a voice said, commandingly, "Come in."
Finn pushed the door open and gestured for the two girls to enter. Caroline gently nudged Elena- and gulping, she entered.
it was a typical office- filing cabinets, a large desk, bookshelves. In a leather seat, a man with slick hair was signing an elegant name on a dotted line. He looked up when they entered, and smiled- but something was off.
"Caroline, hello," he said kindly, like a father might; he then turned to Elena, "and you must be Ms. Gilbert- am I correct?"
"Yes, Mr. Mikaelson," she felt like a student again, before she had dropped out of high school to support herself and Jeremy. Before Jenna ran off with a 'writer' to live in Berlin.
"Have a seat- ah, Finn, you are excused."
Finn nodded and left, as each girl sank into a hard, wooden chair. Mikael spent a moment observing Elena- evaluating her.
"Can you dance?" he asked.
"Yes- I used to take classes, until-" she cut herself off, her face heating. This man doesn't want to hear your life story!
"Until?" he prompted. Elena blushed even deeper.
"My parents were bankers, so about three years ago, when the stock market crashed, we couldn't afford anything."
"And do your parents know you're looking to work at this kind of a place?" Mikael seemed genuinely concerned- he had his own kids.
"They're dead, sir." she tried not to cry as she said it- her father had shot himself a few months after the depression hit, and her mother was ill for a long time before she passed.
"So who do you live with?"
"I'm eighteen, I take care of me and my brother."
Mikael nodded, then turned to Caroline.
"You're willing to vouch for her?" he asked.
Caroline shot Elena a nervous glance, but nodded.
"You realize that just because I was pals with your old man doesn't mean I won't fire you if she messes up?"
"Yes, I know." Elena felt gratitude and warmth flooding her- she immediately felt worse for any negative thoughts she'd had about her new friend.
Mikael sighed and leaned back. He appraised both girls, as if assessing how much each was worth.
"All right then. Elena- you need a gown by tomorrow evening, you start at eight sharp, so be here at seven. Caroline, explain how things work to her."
x
"So, how does this job go?" Elena asked Caroline; they were in Caroline's apartment- in the same building as Elena's, but two floors up- Jeremy wouldn't hear them.
"Guys pay whatever they've got- and get a ticket for every dime they spend. Then, they give us, the dancers, a ticket, and we dance with them for just one song. Remember that- some guys will try to weasel more out of you, but they've gotta keep the tickets coming. Anyways, at the end of the night we get forty cents for every ticket we turn in. But if we have less than ten tickets for three nights in a row, we get fired."
"Sounds simple enough," Elena murmured.
"It is- just remember to get a ticket for every dance. And don't discriminate against a guy for his skin color or nothing like that- if you get a ticket, you dance."
"So what about the gown?" Elena asked- she'd bee forced to sell all of her mothers nice dresses.
"I'll lend you one of mine until you save enough to buy one," Caroline said. She was a nice girl- her house was cramped, but she had pretty things- gift from dance hall patrons. She had been working at Mikael's for two years- since she was fifteen.
Apparently, the Forbes and Mikaelson families had been close before Caroline's family had lost the entire value of their stocks. Mikael had refused to lend the Forbes money- but offered Caroline a job. She accepted, her parents disowned her, and she had to borrow money to buy her shabby place; but she'd been working off her debt and showed no signs of regretting anything.
"Oh, and Elena," Caroline said, "If a guy offers to buy you something- let him." she grinned, "Don't worry about consequences; if a guy gets crazy, Mikael and his sons- Finn and three others, take care of 'em."
"Okay." Elena said, feeling suddenly awkward and wanting to change the subject, "So, Mikael is a family man?"
"Yeah, I guess." Caroline shrugged- her expression became slightly nostalgic- "His wife, Esther, is pretty nice. They have four sons- Finn, Elijah-" he voice softened somewhat at that, "Klaus, who is nothing but trouble, and Kol. They also have a daughter names Rebekah, but she doesn't like us dancers much."
"Why not?"
"She's a little possessive abut her family, you know? Especially Klaus and Kol- the worst two. She's got abandonment issues or something."
"Why are Klaus and Kol the worst?" Elena asked, nervously; this job seemed more complicated than it had first appeared.
"Kol is unstable. He likes to date dancers and does weird things- the usually quit days after, never to be seen again. And Klaus..." Caroline shuddered, seeming almost scared, "Just stay away from him, okay?"
Elena wondered what was worse than supposedly murdering girlfriend, but dropped the issue.
She didn't want more trouble than she'd already gotten into.
So, what did you think?
Don't worry- we have plenty of Delena goodness next chapter.
The Originals are going to be a big part of this story, so I hope you like them.
As a side note, I love Klaus/Caroline, but the plot demands what the plot demands.
PLEASE review- it means so much to me.
Also, i'm looking for a beta, otherwise i can't make any promises on spelling.