After taking what seemed like forever to get ready for the Founder's Day party, I was finally finished! I'd put the burgundy red dress on, with the gold strappy sandals Aunt Jenna had found for me. I wore the ruby drop earrings I'd bought for myself, as well as my Mom's locket and a simple ruby drop pendant. My hair was pulled up and gathered in a soft, loose bun at the nape of my neck, with a few loose strands here and there that hadn't wanted to stay put. Elena had wound a thin satin ribbon around the elastic holding the bun in place, and clipped it with a red-rhinestone studded clip that sparkled brightly in the light.
My makeup was simple: tinted foundation, because I was amazingly blemish free considering all the stress lately. Black eyeliner brought to a brief wing, topped with an eye shadow that was a glittery mica-infused color somewhere between deep burgundy and plum red. A pale peach blush, just enough that I wasn't too pale, graced my cheeks and hairline to look natural. My lips were stained with a light berry-colored lipstain and a clear gloss topped it. I'd spritzed my normal raspberry body spray on and was ready to go.
When Aunt Jenna and I arrived we were greeted by the Mayor and Carol Lockwood. "Clara! Don't you look beautiful, sweetheart! How are you doing?" she asked, giving me a quick hug. I'd always liked Mrs. Lockwood, even if she was sometimes rather narcissistic, vain, and fake. She loved her son, and that put her on my good list, and she'd been a true friend to my Mom and Dad, another point in her favor. I returned the hug and smiled at her.
"I'm doing pretty well, thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," I answered.
"Now, sweetie, you know I've told you time and again to call me Carol."
I actually didn't remember, but I just nodded my head. "Yes, ma'am. I'll do my best, but you know my Mom taught me manners," I joked. She smiled and shooed me and Jenna inside. I took off towards the punch bowl, noting that Elena and Stefan were nearby, and that I'd seen Damon around too, along with Caroline speaking to her mother.
The server quickly poured me a small cup of the orange sherbet punch that was typical at these gatherings. I smiled at the familiar flavor, but it didn't bring forth any real memories. I wandered around the room, smiling when I looked up and saw Elena and Stefan entering. They both smiled at me and I walked over to them. "Stefan, you look great!" I said, and hugged him, before glomping Elena. "You look beautiful, sis!"
"Wow, Clara. Your dress is gorgeous!" Elena stated, making me turn in a circle for her. She hugged me again and turned to read some of the placards on the historical artifacts, while I teased Stefan by poking him in the side. He laughed and pulled me into his side for a one-armed hug.
"Are you having fun, Clara?" he asked as we followed after Elena.
"Eh, it's a Founder's Day party. Been going to these things since I was twelve, according to Aunt Jenna. I'm assuming that they're all pretty much the same," I replied. He nodded just as Elena got our attention as she started to read aloud.
"The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration." Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?" She asked, and I bent down to peer at the paper myself.
"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually," Damon said, as if popping out of nowhere..and scaring the hell out of me and making me jump. He smirked at me and I mock-glared at him, making him smile more.
"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan said pointedly at his brother.
"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena said.
"Yeah, it's kind of neat, Stef. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be there at the original one?" I asked, frowning when Damon let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"Well, I'm bored. I want to dance. And Damon won't dance with me," Caroline whined.
"Mm-hmm," Damon agreed, shaking his head.
"Could I just borrow your date?" Caroline begged.
"Oh, uh..." Elena stammered.
"Really, Caroline?" I sighed.
"I don't really dance," Stefan tried to say.
"Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all," Damon said with a smirk.
"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" Caroline asked, giving Elena the puppy eyes.
Elena sighed, "It's up to Stefan."
For a moment I thought Caroline was going to jump for joy. "Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer."
I watched in disbelief as Caroline grabbed Stefan's arm and dragged him out of the room. I rolled my eyes and wandered around the room staring at the different artifacts, not really paying much attention to Elena and Damon's conversation, but I could still hear them talking in the background.
As I finished looking, I turned and walked back towards them, just as I heard Damon speaking. "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here—"
"The Battle of Willow Creek," Elena cut him off.
"Right," Damon said.
"I know, we talked about it in class." Elena said.
"Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside," I interjected, entering the conversation.
Damon smiled at me and continued speaking. "What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood."
My eyes went wide and my hand came up to cover my open mouth. How? How could they murder people who were their friends and neighbors?
"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" Elena asked.
"A woman, I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" Damon replied.
"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just...I hope you two can work it out," Elena said, before walking out of the room, leaving me and Damon alone.
"I hope so, too," Damon said quietly. He turned towards me and seemed as if he finally really saw me. "Clara. Don't you look beautiful this evening," he said with a genuine smile.
I couldn't help the blush that stained my cheeks. "Thanks, Damon. It feels weird to be this dressed up. This is the first formal event I've been to since waking up from the coma. In a way it feels both incredibly new and ridiculously the same, all at the same time. Does that make sense?" I asked.
He nodded and stepped towards me. "Help me go locate my date?" he asked, and held his arm out to me. I nodded and put my arm through his and we made our way back towards the main area.
"What'd we miss?" Damon asked.
"We were just chatting. Drink, Damon?" Stefan asked, holding a champagne flute out to Damon.
"No, thanks, I'll pass," Damon said, shaking his head.
I giggled and looked up at him. "Something tells me you aren't stuck drinking the punch like I am," I said. He wiggled his eyebrows at me and took a glass of bourbon from a passing waiter. I smiled and shook my head. Typical Damon.
Elena turned to Stefan, "Stefan, do you have another dance in you?"
"Absolutely," He replied and took her hand, leading her out to the dance floor. I smiled as I watched them.
"They look so cute together," Caroline said. I smiled at her in agreement.
"Don't talk, please," Damon scoffed. I elbowed him in the side and he groaned for a moment. I gave him a joking glare and he smiled at me.
Suddenly Elena went walking by quickly, an angry look on her face. Stefan met Damon's eyes before he turned and walked away. "Uh oh," I whispered. I looked up at Damon who had a strangely pleased smile on his face. "See you later, Damon," I said, and went after Elena.
I found Elena and Bonnie eating ice cream in the kitchen. "Hey!" I said, and the both looked up at me. "Wow, great dress, Clara," Bonnie said, handing me a spoon.
"Thanks," I replied and scooped up a spoonful of Butter Pecan Hagen Dazs. Super premium grade ice cream, of course, only the best for the Lockwoods. "Mmm!" I hummed in foodgasm pleasure.
They continued whatever conversation they'd been having, Bonnie sounding rather regretful. "This is my fault. I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter," she said to Elena.
"It's not your fault. I just—I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it, and then that's exactly what I did. I got all snotty," Elena said.
"Well, you're right, too, though, Elena. If Stef won't open up to you, even just to tell you about something he likes, that's a lot of stuff to work through. When you're only getting information from outside sources, and he won't approve or deny it, how are you to know what's the truth?" I said, taking another bite of ice cream.
Suddenly Mrs. Lockwood appeared and I quickly hid my spoon and shoved the ice cream into the freezer. "Hi, Mrs. Lockwood!" I said and waved innocently. She smiled at me distractedly before turning to Elena.
"Elena, honey, there you are. I notice the watch still isn't in the collection."
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I, um, I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere," Elena told the older woman, while I gave her a questioning look behind Mrs. Lockwood's back. I know she'd taken the watch from Jeremy earlier, she'd told me so herself, and Jeremy's attitude had proved it. Something must have happened while I was getting ready.
"I see. Well, please let me know if you do find it," Mrs. Lockwood asked.
"OK," Elena answered with a nod.
"Well, I'm going to go find Jeremy and get my brother-sister dance in," I said. They both smiled at me and said they'd talk to me later. Jeremy had told me earlier that it had become a tradition for the two of us to dance at least once during these parties, and we had since our first one when I was twelve and he was ten and a half.
I found him standing by the punch bowl and walked over to him. "Ready to dance, Jer?" I asked. He looked up and smiled, and it lit up his whole face. He grasped my hand and we walked out onto the dance floor just as the band began a new song. I smiled as we danced to an instrumental version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". We hugged when the song finished and headed back to the punch bowl, because we were both parched. After two cups of the sherbet punch, which was now getting to the point where it was cloyingly sweet and room temperature, Jeremy headed off to talk to some friends and I leaned against a far wall away from the dancers, but stood watching them.
I yelped when someone yanked me into a private corner. Realizing who it was, I smacked Damon in the chest as he snickered at me and smirked. "You scared me half to death, Damon! Dammit, man, don't do that!" I gasped, still trying to calm my heart. He smiled and plucked a white rose from a nearby vase. He gallantly bowed to me and held out the rose. "I beg your forgiveness. Might I have a dance, my lady?"
"Damon, what in the world? You...I...sure" I sighed, before rolling my eyes and nodding, taking the hand that he held out. I quickly set the rose on a nearby table, hoping no one would take it. He pulled me quickly into a waltzing position, though much closer to his body than Jeremy had held me. I could literally feel his body heat as he stepped close. I looked up into his eyes as a new song began and Damon led me into the waltz. I blinked in surprise when he started singing the lyrics, low and quietly into my ear as we danced.
"There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.
You became the light on the dark side of me.
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen.
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh,
The more I get of you,
The stranger it feels, yeah.
And now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the gray.
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain,
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the gray,
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
I've been kissed by a rose
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
...And if I should fall along the way
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the gray.
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain.
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the gray.
Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the gray
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the gray."
We both blinked, neither of us having realized just how close we'd gotten to each other, our bodies pressed against each other, our steps completely synchronized, our eyes not leaving the other's. Damon coughed as if reminding himself of where he was. He smiled, raised my hands to his lips and kissed them, bowing over them with a smirk. "Thank you for the dance, Miss Gilbert," he said. He took the rose from the table where I'd laid it and snapped the stem smaller, tucking the rose behind my ear, where it was a bright splash of white against my red hair.
I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Damon. You definitely made it a night to remember," I said, and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek before going off to find Aunt Jenna and go home. We climbed into the car, both of us with smiles on our faces, though neither of us disturbed the quiet ride home to ask why the other was smiling.
Once at home, I carefully pulled the dress off and put it in it's bag to be sent to the dry cleaner's. I took down my hair, scratching my scalp as I let it loose. I plucked the rose from behind my ear and wrapped the satin ribbon from my hair around it. I found a thumbtack on my memories board and pinned the ribbon-wrapped rose on the board, along with a piece of paper that stated the date and "Founder's Day Anniversary party". I removed my shoes, jewelry and used baby wipes to take off my makeup (cheaper than those fancy wipes that are labeled for makeup removal and are the exact same thing).
I pulled one of my favorite giant t shirts from the drawer. It was heather grey, long enough that it went to my knees and about a dozen sizes too big for me. It read: Ask me about my attention deficit disorder. Or pie. Or my cat. A dog. I have a bike. Do you like tv? I saw a rock. Hi." It made me snicker every time I read it. Especially since I always seemed to hear it being said in the voice of Peanut from Jeff Dunham.
Oh lord, it was definitely time for sleep, I was starting to get punch drunk from being awake for so long. I climbed into bed, unsnapped my bra and removed it while wearing my shirt-yes, us girls are talented like that-and tossed it onto the clothes hamper to be washed. I leaned back against my pillows, picked up the book I was currently reading-Call of the Wild by Jack London-and settled in to read. Within minutes, I was deep in slumber.
