A/N: Might I just say, I don't even ship Jeroline. I just kind of had to put Caroline with someone at the ball... yet, the ship is growing on me. I think cute things could occure... but don't get me wrong! I'm still a die hard, loyal Klaroline shipper. Anyway, now that I've gotten that off my chest... enjoy!

"This had better be a good party, or I'm going to be very upset," Rebekah said as she stood, dressed in an authentic 1822 pink ball gown with lace and numerous frills, in the lobby of the city's biggest hotel. Damon stood beside her in the suit he had originally picked, having refused to wear Rebekah's "replacement". Caroline and Jeremy were with them as well, Caroline wearing the yellow and gold dress Katherine had left for her, with Jeremy in a less authentic 19th century suit remake.

"You get upset about everything, Rebekah…" Damon muttered and she shot him a glare. "What's your problem lately?" she snapped. "You've been nothing but rude to me for the past week."

Damon shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Let's just go inside," he said, starting forward with the crowd into the ballroom. Several couples were already dancing, and Jeremy awkwardly put his hands in his pockets, leaning back and forth. "Uh," he said to Caroline, blushing a bit. "Do you want to… dance…?"

She smiled brilliantly and grabbed his hand. "Of course!"

They disappeared into the crowd and Rebekah turned to Damon. "Well? Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

He offered her his hand and they walked out onto the dance floor, beginning to dance better than any of the other guests, seeing as though they had actual experience with the dance being done. Jeremy and Caroline, both who happened to be awful dancers, were doing their best not to trip over each other's feet.

"I'm sorry; I'm awful at this," Jeremy said, blushing. Caroline laughed. "Hey, you're talking to a girl who hasn't left her house more than four times in over a year; I don't have any more experience here than you do."

Jeremy was interested in the girl before him. "So, how long have you been a… you know…?"

Caroline smiled at him. "It happened last October. If Damon hadn't taken me in, I would probably be dead right now."

Jeremy's eyes widened a bit. "Oh… I'm sorry…"

She shook her head, smiling curiously. "Don't be. I'm just happy to be with a guy who isn't scared of me, and doesn't think I'm dead. Well, technically I am dead, but my ex-boyfriend thinks I… died… never mind," she said, biting her lip.

To her surprise, Jeremy burst into laughter. She frowned. "What's so funny?"

He shook his head, his eyes still laughing. "I'm sorry, it's just… you aren't what I expected a vampire to be like."

She glanced coldly at Rebekah, who was dancing with her head held high with Damon. "Yeah, well, not all of us are super bitches like Bekey over there."

"Yeah, what's her deal?"

Caroline shook her head. "I don't know, and I really don't care. This is the first time I've been to a party in over a year, and I intend to enjoy it," she said and smiled at Jeremy. "I don't think that should be too hard so long as I'm with you."

Jeremy blushed as he continued to whirl her around.

Back on the other side of the room, Damon was still dancing with Rebekah, looking very bored. That is, until something caught his eye. He abruptly stopped mid-dance, much to Rebekah's irritation. "What are you doing?" she snapped, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. His eyes were focused on the grand staircase, which Elena had just appeared at the top of with Stefan. He stared in awe as she descended in a gorgeous deep purple dress, with lilac accents. It appeared to be entirely made of silk, and the skirt was tastefully puffed, unlike Rebekah's hundreds of skirts. Her sleeves fell of her shoulders, and her normally pin straight hair was curled and falling down her back and over her shoulders. Damon smiled softly at her, and Rebekah turned in irritation, her eyes widening when she caught sight of Elena and Stefan. "What is she doing here?" she snapped, starting forward. Damon grabbed her arm and shook his head, holding her back. "Don't…" he whispered, not tearing his eyes away from Elena. "Don't ruin this for her."

Rebekah glared at him, and Elena and Stefan walked up to the pair. Stefan smiled politely at Rebekah, who smiled back.

"You must be the Rebekah I've heard so much about," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. She put on a very forced smile. "All good things, I hope," she said. "Of course," Stefan replied.

Elena was smiling at Damon, extremely glad he hadn't let Rebekah talk him out of wearing the suit she loved on him so much. He had just opened his mouth to speak to her when Stefan interrupted him. "There's Jeremy with Caroline," he said, pointing across the ballroom. Elena followed his gaze and smiled when she saw how well Jeremy and Caroline seemed to be getting along. "We should go say hello," she agreed, allowing Stefan to lead her away. Damon gazed after her yearningly, and Rebekah's frown returned. "Dance with me," she said. It was clear it wasn't a question, and Damon emotionlessly complied.

"Hey guys," Elena said when she and Stefan reached Caroline and Jeremy. Jeremy's eyes widened when he saw his sister. "Elena… wow. You look… wow," he said, and Caroline rolled her eyes. "Just tell her she looks beautiful!" she encouraged and Jeremy blushed. "You look beautiful, 'Lena," he said and she smiled at her brother. "Thanks, Jer; you look rather dapper yourself. You two seem to be getting along well," she observed. Caroline grinned. "You're little brother is much cooler than I thought her would be," she said and Jeremy grinned. "Well, you're not so bad yourself," he said.

The four of them glanced at the stage across the ballroom when an elderly woman with curly grey hair stood at a microphone. "Hello everyone, and welcome," she said and a hush fell over the crowd. "It is my pleasure to announce that we have raised $1,400 for the Children's Hospital," she said and several people clapped politely. "Also, I'm very proud to announce that it is time for the King's and Queen's waltz. For those of you who are new to our event, this means that you must go find someone to dance with who is not your escort. Enjoy your night!"

A slow, romantic song began to play throughout the ballroom and the lights were lowered.

"May I have this dance?" Stefan asked Caroline and she giggled, taking his hand.

"I'm going to go ask Rebekah if she wants to dance," Jeremy said, walking over to the very irritated looking girl who now stood alone across the ballroom. Elena had a strong impulse to tell Jeremy to be careful, but kept her mouth shut.

Awkwardly, Elena glanced around at the now dancing couples surrounding her. Elena blushed when numerous people gave her peculiar looks.

"May I have this dance, Miss Gilbert?"

Elena turned around to find Damon standing behind her with a silk glove covered hand extended toward her. She smiled and took his hand. "Of course you may," she said and he led her into the center of the dance floor, placing a hand on her waist. Elena placed one on his shoulder and took his hand.

"Ah, ah, ah," Damon chided at her bent elbow. "That isn't how they danced in the 19th century," he explained, straightening their arms before he began to whirl her around with almost shocking grace. Elena smiled brilliantly at him. "You are good at this," she giggled and he grinned. "I told you so…"

His smile softened as he looked at her. "You look stunning," he said sincerely and she blushed a bit. "Thank you," she said, and her eye lids fluttered in that adorable way that Damon loved. "You look very handsome," she observed. "I'm glad you decided to wear your suit, after all."

"I didn't plan on not wearing it, no matter what Rebekah thinks," he said and Elena frowned a bit. "Why?" she asked, and he smiled softly. "Because this is the one that you liked," he said and she smiled. As the tempo in the song increased, Damon began doing more complicated steps, guiding her along the floor incredibly well. Numerous people had stopped dancing to watch the pair, awestricken by how well they danced together.

"Do you trust me?" Damon suddenly asked her and she nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"Just tell me if you trust me," he said.

"I trust you," she assured him, and gasped a bit in surprise when he suddenly lifted her off of her feet, twirling her in the air a few times before sweeping her back into his arms. She beamed at him and he grinned. He twirled her around a few more times when someone suddenly tapped him on his shoulder.

He turned and frowned when he found Rebekah standing behind him. "Jeremy had to use the washroom," she said. "You'll dance with me, won't you?"

Damon frowned, tossing Elena a glance. "I can't just leave Elena…"

"It's alright," Stefan was suddenly there, too. "She'll dance with me."

Damon shot Elena one last glance before he hesitantly let her go, giving her hand a squeeze before doing so. Rebekah linked her arm through his, leading him away, and his fingers brush one last time with Elena's before he was pulled into the crowd and couldn't see her anymore.

"We need to go," Stefan suddenly said, pulling her toward the stairs.

Elena frowned. "Why?" she asked. "It's early…"

"I told you that we would come, but we really need to go; it's a long drive back to Fell's Church."

Elena scanned the crowd for Damon, dismayed when she couldn't find him. "Damon…" she whispered and Stefan sighed. "Elena, I know that you care about him, but we really don't have time to go say goodbye to everyone. Besides, it will only make it harder for you to leave, won't it?"

Elena looked at the floor, but allowed Stefan to lead her away and up the staircase. "Wait here," he told her as they stood on the balcony overlooking the ballroom. "I need to go find Jeremy."

Elena nodded, catching sight of Damon dancing with Rebekah. She wished more than anything to still be in his arms, with him twirling her gracefully around the room. For a moment, before Rebekah interrupted, she had thought that perhaps he was going to kiss her. But that was foolish… it was foolish to think it, and foolish to want it.

But… she did.

"I'm really going to miss you, you know," Caroline said, suddenly appearing at Elena's side. Elena smiled at her. "I'm going to miss you, too, Caroline. You're the closest thing I've ever really had to a best friend."

Caroline wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "You'll visit us, won't you? Me and Damon?"

Elena glanced out at the dancers again, catching Damon's eye. He smiled at her and she smiled back. "Absolutely," she whispered.

"Before you go, I want to give you something," Caroline said and Elena turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" she asked.

From inside her small clutch purse, Caroline pulled a thin velvet black box. "It's just a little something Damon and I got for you to remember us by," she said, opening the box to reveal a gorgeous emerald pendant. Elena gasped in a stunned breath. "Caroline, it's beautiful… you really didn't have to…"

"Oh, we know; we wanted to. Damon more than me. He really wants you to remember him, Elena," Caroline said and Elena bit her lip.

"Here," Caroline said, taking the necklace out of its box. "Let me," she said and Elena smiled softly, turning to let her put it on. She watched Damon dance with Rebekah, wondering what kinds of jewels he bought his actual girlfriend. Elena frowned when the gem touched her breastbone, suddenly feeling a bit faint. "Oh… I don't feel… so good…" she said, putting a hand to her head and clutching the railing of the balcony. As soon as Caroline fastened the chain around Elena's neck, she dropped to the floor in a mound of purple silk and brown curls, unconscious. Caroline, trancelike, didn't even move.

"Good work, Caroline."

Katherine suddenly appeared from the shadows, grinning like a minx. "I'll take it from here."