Thanks for the lovely Reviews. Glad to see someone is still reading and liking this.
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In the meantime Damon and Alaric had finally made it to the Lockwood mansion as well. It looked like they were the last guests to arrive. The place was already packed. Ric tried to ignore the stares and whispers as he followed his boyfriend out into the garden. They watched in amusement how Caroline flitted from one place to the next, making adjustments and barking orders. "She helped Mrs. Lockwood with the organisation." a voice behind them spoke up. "Matt, good to see you." Ric greeted the blond barkeeper.
He was glad that Matt had obviously gotten over his shock and was treating them normally again. "Just watching her makes me all the more nervous." Matt commented, still watching Caroline. "Why are you nervous? In the running for Miss Mystic as well?" Damon needled, but Matt simply shook his head. "I`m April`s escort." he explained. "Which means I`ll have to dance with her in front of all these people."
"I`m sure you`ll do great." Ric tried to cheer him up. "Weren`t you supposed to be Caroline`s escort when she was competing? Since Caroline leaves nothing to chance I`m sure you`ve practiced this dance often enough." The barkeeper agreed with a laugh, just as the blonde vampire in question showed up to herd him inside. "I need to talk to you. About Bonnie." she whispered, after Matt had left. "But not today. I`ve got my hands full with the pageant and then I also have to make time for Klaus." Damon and Ric looked at her quizzically. "Why do you have to make time for Klaus?" the dark-haired vampire asked. "He`s kinda my date. Long story. I`ll tell you tomorrow, okay?"
Not giving them a chance to reply she headed off again to order some waiters around. "I don`t care what you say. That girl is nuts." Damon commented. Ric on the other hand was a little worried. If Caroline wanted to talk about Bonnie it couldn`t be good. But his boyfriend didn`t give him a chance to dwell on it. "Hey, it`s starting." he suddenly noticed, grabbing Ric`s hand and dragging him towards the stage to watch.
On stage Carol Lockwood was just welcoming the guests, before introducing Caroline as the reigning Miss Mystic Falls. Seconds later the blonde walked onstage to introduce this year`s contestants and Ric was starting to wonder if she was using vampire speed. If she did, at least no-one seemed to have noticed. He and Damon watched the contestants, who were led to the dance floor by their respective escorts. Of course Damon had to provide a running commentary and unfortunately he wasn`t doing it as quietly as Ric would have liked. The four old ladies to their right were giving him dark looks, but he didn`t appear to notice.
Anna was the second to last. She was wearing a long, burgundy dress, which highlighted her soft curves and had her hair done up beautifully. "Now that´s a dress!" Damon commented, clearly pleased with his choice. Ric had to admit that the colour highlighted Anna`s pale skin and dark hair perfectly. The four old ladies on the other hand found it too sexy and complained loudly about the slit. "Boring old hags." Damon spat loud enough for them to hear. Once again they were glaring daggers at him.
Ric didn`t say anything. Instead he watched April Young entering the dance-floor with Matt. "Uptight, boring… I bet Elena picked that." Damon commented upon seeing April`s simple blue dress. This time the old ladies weren`t the only ones who glared at the vampire. Elena, who was standing a few feet away, looked like she wanted to throttle him as well. "I think you`re right about that." Ric agreed.
Just like he had expected Matt did rather well on the dance-floor. But Anna and Jeremy looked good as well. "Looks like Stefan`s tutoring helped." Alaric whispered and applauded along with the rest of the audience once the dance had ended. "Come on, let`s get a drink. I`m in no mood to listen to those girls yapping about their achievements for society." Damon mocked. Alaric followed him to the bar, not even trying to hide his grin, while the four old ladies scoffed that some people just had no manners and should better stay away from cultural events such as this one.
The two vampires got Bourbon from the bar and took a stroll through the lavishly decorated garden. Alaric was glad that everyone seemed interested in the pageant and they weren`t being stared at for a change. Unfortunately they weren`t the only ones who took no interest in the contestant`s interviews.
Klaus had obviously decided on a little walk as well and was now heading towards them with an all too friendly smile. "Now, look what we`ve got here. I already heard about your mysterious resurrection. Rather impressive, I have to admit." he told Alaric. "Well, yeah, but don`t worry. I would still love to kill you, but since there`s a high possibility that it would kill Damon as well I`m going to hold back." the teacher assured with a false smile.
Klaus laughed. "Yes indeed. You wouldn`t risk the life of your lover, now would you? Not that it would matter. You´re no match for me." he stated arrogantly. Ric didn`t mention that Klaus had in fact been very scared of his evil alter ego. Provoking the original would lead nowhere. Since they couldn`t kill him they`d just have to find a way to live with him. He also noticed that Klaus was rather well behaved for his standards. He probably didn`t want to upset Caroline.
"Shouldn`t you be watching the contestant´s interviews?" Damon asked in an attempt to get rid of the original. "I could ask you the same thing." Klaus shot back. "We`re only here because it`s expected of council members. And because of the free drinks." the dark-haired vampire admitted with a shrug. It was really no secret after all. "I`m only here because of the lovely Miss Forbes." Klaus explained, his eyes darting to the pretty blonde who was still doing interviews. "How did you manage that?" Damon wanted to know. It was no secret that Klaus fancied the blonde vampire. But it was also no secret that she usually brushed him off. If she wasn`t supposed to be distracting him, of course.
"I only offered her my support after Tyler´s… betrayal." the original claimed. When the other two just looked at him questioningly he pointed to a table a little off to the side, where Tyler was sitting next to a sluttily dressed brunette. "I guess you haven`t met his little wolf-friend, yet. Not surprising, really. She´s not exactly the type to show off, is she? I really have to say, I`m disappointed in Tyler. Caroline deserves better."
Ric didn`t reply. He couldn`t imagine Tyler cheating on Caroline. A few days ago everything had been okay between them and he was sure Caroline would have mentioned something. "She´s a werewolf?" he questioned when it became clear that Klaus was waiting for a reaction and that Damon had obviously decided to ignore the original. "Indeed. I must say, I`m surprised Caroline didn`t tell you. You`re not really up to date about what`s going on here, are you?" the original mocked.
"And I`m surprised you have the time to meddle in the love-life of a few teenagers, considering that you just lost a hunter, who´s probably already planning a revenge attack on you." Damon spoke up again. That finally wiped the smug grin off Klaus' face. "What do you know about the hunter?" he growled. "Oh, quite a few things actually. That he`s on the lose again. Who sent him here. And that we shouldn`t kill him, if we value our sanity."
"So you heard of the hunters curse." It wasn`t exactly a question, but the dark-haired vampire nodded anyway. "What`s so special about the guy to merit your interest? He can hardly kill you, can he?" Damon wanted to know. "You shouldn`t stick your nose into other people`s business. Both of you. And if you`ll excuse me now… Caroline is waiting." the original muttered, before stalking off, although Caroline was still busy on stage. "Not exactly informative." Damon commented. Ric only shrugged. He hadn`t expected anything different. But he wanted to know what was going on between Tyler and Caroline.
Damon didn`t really seem interested in that and Ric felt it wouldn`t be a good idea to ask Tyler, so he decided to wait. Caroline wanted to talk to them anyway. So they got another round of drinks, had a short talk with Liz, who told them that she had heard nothing about the hunter so far and then strolled around some more. For a few minutes they watched Anna`s interview, but quickly lost interest and instead went in search of a quiet corner, where they could wait for the end of the pageant.
They were just about to head inside, when Damon suddenly stopped and looked back into the garden. Ric followed his line of sight and spied Professor Shane talking to Tyler`s wolf-friend. The older vampire frowned, noticed Tyler standing a few feet away and went over to him. "Hey Lassie, how do those two know each other?" Tyler gave him an exasperated look. "They don`t. He started chatting her up. Paranoid much?"
"The weird professor shows up here, after most of the council got burnt to a crisp. We find out that he didn`t only chat regularly with the pastor, who most likely sparked the explosion, but also that he set a mysterious hunter on us. So, yes maybe I`m paranoid." Damon grumbled. The hybrid looked thoughtful. "What is your… friend doing here?" Ric chimed in. "Hayley? She´s just visiting me." Tyler mumbled. The teacher looked at him with raised eyebrows. "She helped me in the past and… it`s complicated, okay? Just stay out of it." the hybrid barked and ran off.
Ric and Damon shared a quick look and the dark-haired vampire shrugged. "I don`t even want to know." That whole teenager drama stuff wasn`t their business. They really had other things to worry about. So after one last look at the crazy professor they went inside and snuck into Mrs. Lockwood´s office. Damon raided her hidden mini-bar and they flopped down on the couch.
Unfortunately it didn`t take long for Carol to find them and scold them about being in her office. "The winner will be announced any time now. So go outside, make Smalltalk. And don`t ever sneak into my office again." she ordered. Grumbling the two vampires complied and went back outside to watch the crowning of the new Miss Mystic Falls.
Alaric really hoped Anna would win, but he wasn`t really surprised when she didn`t. She smiled anyway when she joined them along with Jeremy. "April Young. Come on. She only won because of all the pity votes she got for her dad blowing himself up." Damon snarked. Ric noticed that they had ended up standing right next to the four old ladies again, who were already glaring at his boyfriend once more. Anna on the other hand only shrugged. "That`s okay. I didn`t really want to win. Mama would be happy that I participated. And the dancing was fun."
"The judges are idiots. You were by far the prettiest girl up there." Jeremy assured his girlfriend, which caused Damon to roll his eyes and make gagging noises. The two teens decided to ignore him and walked away holding hands. Ric shook his head over his boyfriend´s behaviour. Sometimes Damon acted like a twelve year old.
The official part of the evening was over, but the party would be going on well into the night. Inside the buffet had been opened, waiters were rushing around, serving champagne and outside in the garden a band was playing next to the dance-floor. Damon and Ric wandered around and made Smalltalk like Carol had ordered. Some people assured Alaric how glad they were that the rumours of his death had turned out to be false. The school`s principal complimented Damon on his idea to let Anna participate in the pageant, since it included her in Mystic Falls society. In typical Damon fashion the dark-haired vampire accepted the compliment without mentioning that it had been Anna`s idea and not his.
There were still some people whispering behind their backs, but slowly the excitement about their relationship seemed to die down. They only noticed a few guys from the football team, who had a bet going on whether or not they would kiss in public again tonight. Damon suggested compelling them. "We could make them run naked across the stage. Or drop their pants in front of Carol Lockwood. Everyone would think they`re just drunk." Ric found the idea very tempting, but still stopped Damon from putting his plan into action. Damon declared him a total bore.
Aside from a few minor incidents the evening turned out really nice. Once it got dark thousands of fairy lights bathed the garden in an unearthly glow. Damon and Alaric retired into the shadow of a tree, from where they could watch the proceedings. Anna had pulled Jeremy onto the dance-floor again, Elena was dancing with Matt and even Klaus had managed to get Caroline to dance with him. Much to the dismay of Tyler, who was watching them angrily from the side, completely ignoring his friend Hayley.
"Dance with me." Ric looked at Damon in surprise. "What?" he asked. "Dance with me." the dark-haired vampire repeated. "No thanks." Ric declined with a smirk, returning his attention to the dancing couples. He thought his boyfriend was only joking. "Why not?" The teacher looked back at Damon, surprised to find him pouting. "Are you serious?" Damon nodded. "Of course I`m serious." And he really looked like he meant it. "I can`t dance, Damon. And there are so many people here."
"Back at that party at Whitmore College you danced with me." the dark-haired vampire reminded him. "That was different. For one, I was completely high on fresh blood and it wasn`t a waltz. And there were no onlookers." In the darkness of that house no-one had paid attention to them. Here they would be totally in the spotlight. But Damon obviously didn`t want to see that. "So? Let them stare. Doesn`t matter. Or are you ashamed of me?" Ric sighed. "No, of course not." he assured his boyfriend. "Then why don`t you want to dance with me? We kissed in the Grill. Everyone knows we`re together."
Finally Alaric realized that he had obviously hurt Damon´s feelings. And the older vampire was right. Everyone knew about them. Hadn`t he told Elena just a few days ago, that he didn`t want to keep his relationship secret? "Okay, fine. But I`m leading. And don`t complain when I step on your toes." he relented. Damon grinned and dragged him onto the dance-floor. Ric could hear the whispers all around, but tried to ignore them, while he took Damon´s hand and put his other hand on Damon`s hip.
"You lied. You do know how to dance." Damon mumbled after a while. "Mostly in theory." Alaric had learned how to dance for his wedding, but hardly ever used that knowledge. Isobel had never showed much interest. And he always felt a little off on the dance-floor. He always had the feeling everyone was staring at him. Tonight all the more. But at least it made Damon happy, which was enough compensation for him. Damon´s eyes were practically glowing and a soft smile was playing about his lips.
Alaric tore his eyes away from his boyfriend and glanced to the side, where he spied the four old ladies, who had been muttering about Damon all day. Once again they didn`t even try to conceal their disdain. Damon followed his line of sight and snorted. "Stupid old hags." he muttered darkly. They were really starting to annoy Alaric and he felt a stab of defiance. It really was nobody`s business who he decided to spend his life with. Without thinking about it too much he pulled Damon even closer and kissed him.
It was only a short, innocent kiss. Their lips parted all too soon and Ric`s eyes drifted back to the four old ladies. He gave them a challenging look and grinned when they quickly turned away. Damon chuckled. "I fear I`m a bad influence on you." The teacher chuckled as well. "Definitely." he agreed. Suddenly the whispers weren`t affecting him anymore. They could scoff all they wanted. What did those old hags know about him? And who cared about their opinion? The only thing that mattered was the happy smile on his boyfriend`s face.
"I love you." Damon`s eyes widened at hearing those three words and his smile got even bigger. The older vampire felt his heart skip a beat. This time it was a lot easier to respond in kind. "I love you too." Ric grinned and they let the music take them away. Damon was a little sad when the song ended, but allowed Ric to lead him off the dance-floor. There would be many more chances like this. In Mystic Falls there was usually a party every other week.
"I need a drink." the teacher decided, leaving his boyfriend standing next to the dance-floor. Damon called after him to bring him one as well and then winked at the four old ladies, who were staring yet again. They quickly turned away and he grinned. But he sobered quickly when he spied Stefan walking towards him. "I want to apologize." Stefan said, completely surprising the older Salvatore. "What?"
"I`m sorry that I was so suspicious and didn`t believe you, that you`re really serious about this thing with Alaric." the younger one explained. "I watched the two of you. Today and also in the last few days and… I can`t remember the last time I`ve seen you this happy." Damon felt at a loss for words. All the more so when Stefan pulled him into a hug, which he returned awkwardly. "I`m happy for you, Damon." Stefan assured. Damon pulled away a little uncomfortable and muttered a rather sheepish "Thanks.".
For a moment the two brothers stood staring at each other, until Damon decided to swallow his pride and apologize as well. "I`m sorry about the whole Elena-thing." Stefan beamed, gave him another hug and then went onto the dance-floor, to pull Elena from Matt`s arms. The barkeeper looked glad about it and quickly hurried off. Damon grinned when he heard Elena asking his brother if he was drunk. Yes, Stefan usually wasn`t a big fan of dancing either.
The older Salvatore jumped in shock when a strong arm wrapped around him from behind. He accepted the glass of Bourbon and leaned against Alaric with a sigh. "Stefan apologized." he told the teacher. "Yeah, I heard. I didn`t want to interrupt you." Damon watched his brother twirling Elena around and couldn`t help but smile. Maybe they could finally put the past behind them and just be brothers again. If he was completely honest with himself he had missed his baby brother. "Want to head home?" he asked. "My place or yours?" was Alaric´s immediate reply.