"Party with the Monsters"
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Heading out to the dress shop, Stiles started looking for something for her to wear.
Carol insisted on helping her since her son was escorting her to the pageant and she had always wanted a daughter to doll up for parties.
"Thanks again for the help, Carol." Stiles said.
"Oh, I'm happy to. I loved doing this when I was your age. Sadly, your mother was the one who won. She was so beautiful. She wore this lovely black dress, making her stand out from everyone else." Carol smiled in memory.
Hearing about her mother made Stiles smile as she looked over the dresses, making her way over to the selection of black gowns.
She knew that Caroline chose an emerald green dress while Elena was going to wear a sapphire blue.
The rest of the girls were all wearing colorful gowns and Stiles decided she would choose something that would make her stand out, just like her mother.
Looking the dresses over, Stiles pulled out a gown that was strapless and seemed to cling to her body before it flared out around her feet.
"Oh, that one looks daring." Carol smiled.
"Just have to make sure I can walk in it." Stiles commented.
"Go try it on. I'll see if I can find some shoes to go with it." Carol instructed.
Nodding, Stiles went to the change rooms and went inside a cubicle before undressing and pulling the black dress on.
Using her powers, she made the zipper pull up when it was on and stared at herself in the floor length mirror, turning around to see how she looked.
The dress fit like a second skin and she was able to move easily in it.
She figured that if she wore a strapless bra, then it would look perfect.
Satisfied, Stiles opened the door when she smelled Carol approaching and the woman exclaimed in amazement when she saw the girl.
"Oh, that looks perfect! You'll definitely give the rest of the girls a run for their money." Carol grinned.
"Yeah, as long as I can dance good enough in front of the large crowd." Stiles said as she accepted the silver kitten heels.
Finished with shopping, the two women went off to their own homes.
Stiles would be going to the mansion to practise her dance with Tyler and the rest of the contestants.
During the car ride to the Lockwoods, Elena seemed closed off about something.
"Okay, what's up now?" Stiles asked her.
"Do you think Bonnie's okay?" Elena questioned.
"As okay as anyone would be after burying someone they love. Why do you ask?" Stiles asked.
"I don't know why, but I feel like Bonnie's been trying to avoid me. Almost like, maybe, she blames me for what happened." Elena revealed.
"What? That's stupid. Bonnie wouldn't do that." Stiles denied.
"Then why has she been avoiding me? And whenever Stefan's around, she turns, like, cold." Elena frowned.
"Maybe because she hates vampires and you're dating one, which makes it really awkward for her." Stiles suggested.
Elena sat back in her seat, thinking things over.
Arriving at their destination, the girls walked inside and met up with their escorts to get right onto their lessons.
Stefan seemed to be in a very good mood and was goofing off which made Carol scold him and Elena.
Caroline arrived later on with Bonnie to practise, then Elena ambushed Bonnie to find out why she had been acting so strange around her lately.
Stiles had been right about the reason why Bonnie was avoiding them.
She felt uncomfortable around Stefan and Damon after her grandmother died trying to lift the barrier on the tomb.
(The next day…)
Elena and Stiles were both making their way downstairs with their dresses in their arms.
All of the girls were supposed to meet at the Lockwood estate to get dressed, do their hair and makeup for the event.
Walking to the door, Elena opened it to reveal Alaric.
"Hey." Elena smiled.
"Hi." Alaric greeted.
"I heard you're driving." Elena told him.
"Sorry, Ric, but I'm going in my baby. I want to get out of there as soon as the winner is picked." Stiles grinned.
"Right. Here, let me get that for you." Alaric offered taking Elena's things.
"Thanks." Elena said, and Alaric walked further into the house.
"How-How is Stefan?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Elena frowned.
"You know, he seems on edge." Alaric stated.
"He went through a lot. He was in bad shape for a while, but he's bouncing back." Elena said.
Stiles kept her mouth shut but shared a look with Alaric.
It was obvious that he was able to tell that Stefan was sneaking human blood but didn't want to bring it up with Elena.
John then walked up to them making the group clam up and look at the man.
"Alaric. Hey buddy, what are you doing here?" John questioned.
"I'm the chauffeur." Alaric informed.
"I thought I was driving." John said.
Jenna then came down the stairs, joining everyone.
"No need, we're going with Ric." Jenna told John.
"Are we ready to go now?" Stiles asked.
"Jeremy can ride with you." Jenna informed John on the way out.
(At the Lockwood estate…)
Stiles had put on her dress and shoes first, then pulled a housecoat over herself to keep it clean while she applied her makeup and fixed her hair.
Jenna was helping Elena curl her hair and Caroline was working on everything by herself, not having anyone to help her since her mother was on duty as usual.
Utilizing everything she had learned from Lydia the time the Banshee had helped her with her makeup for the homecoming dance, that ended in Kate Argent's death, Stiles applied golden eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara and red lipstick.
Her hair she had curled, and Jenna was curling Elena's hair, while also tying some of it up out of her face.
"Thanks for helping me." Elena said.
"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off." Jenna told her.
"You know, I remember when my mom and I were first applying for this. She was so excited." Elena brought up.
"So were you if I recall." Jenna reminded.
"I was. She just made it sound like so much fun. Lots has changed since then." Elena commented.
"I hate to break it to you, but it's a little late for cold feet." Jenna informed.
"I don't have cold feet. I just…I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here." Elena sighed.
Overhearing what Elena had said, Stiles stared into the mirror and her reflection seemed to look more like her mother than it did her.
There were so many events that Claudia had missed, and Stiles wished that she were here so that she could help her.
Claudia was always described to be full of light and energy before she died, and Stiles could really use that at this moment in time.
Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, Stiles stared back into her reflection and saw her instead of her mother.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing. Your hair would have a better chance if she was." Jenna joked.
It brought a smile to Elena's face which was what Jenna was hoping for.
Glancing over at Stiles to see how she was doing, Jenna saw that she was almost finished getting ready.
"Okay, I should go put my dress on. Be careful with hat thing, don't hurt anybody." Elena joked as she stood up.
Caroline's eyes followed after Elena, then glanced over at Stiles before she turned back to her reflection with a sad look.
Finished with getting ready, Stiles decided to help Elena get ready since she would need someone to pull up the zipper for her.
Inside the dressing room, the two girls found a nervous looking Amber inside.
"Are you okay, Amber?" Elena asked her.
"I hate being the center of attention. I get panic attacks." Amber said.
"Hey, so do I. Just think of something that makes you happy. That tends to help me. Besides, you're the best dancer here. You'll do great." Stiles encouraged.
"Do you need some privacy, so you can change?" Elena asked the girl.
"Actually, I'm just-I'm gonna go get some air." Amber said, and she walked out of the room.
Turning to her dress, Elena was about to grab it, but stopped when she saw Damon's reflection in the mirror.
"Hey, you can't be here." Elena frowned.
"What are you doing here?" Stiles questioned.
"We need to talk." Damon said seriously.
"Does it have to be right now?" Elena demanded.
"Normally, I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you, but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal." Damon said.
"What are you talking about?" Stiles asked him.
"Stefan's still drinking human blood." Damon let the bombshell drop.
"What?!" Elena exclaimed.
"I knew it." Stiles huffed.
"Yeah, a month ago, I would have rejoiced, but with the council back on alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle." Damon stated.
"I knew he's been a little edgy, but he said that was normal." Elena said.
"He probably didn't want you to worry or get on his case." Stiles suggested.
Elena seemed to be upset by this and sat down on one of the chairs, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"She's right. He has a fridge full of blood bank contraband in this house. He has no idea what normal is, his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood but he spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning to control it and now it's controlling him instead." Damon explained.
"I can't believe this. I mean, it's Stefan we're talking about here." Elena insisted.
"Stefan on human blood, Elena. He'll do anything, he'll say anything because he's not gonna want to stop. Trust me." Damon said.
"Yeah, we're gonna need to do something about this and soon. Before he loses it and kills someone." Stiles frowned.
"This is all my fault. I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place." Elena berated herself.
Just then, Stefan stepped into the room making everyone stare at him.
"What's going on in here?" He asked wondering why Damon was with the girls.
"I was just filling the girls in on your extra-curricular activities." Damon informed.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan laughed.
"I know about the blood, Stefan." Elena told him.
Stefan went silent and had a hard expression on his face which put Stiles on edge.
"I'm, uh, I'll be downstairs drinking." Damon said as he excused himself.
"I'm staying right here." Stiles stated.
"You don't trust me?" Stefan gave her a look.
"Just remember, I can break your neck with my mind." Stiles flashed her red eyes at him.
"Stiles, it's fine. I'll be there soon. Go wait with the other girls." Elena insisted.
Growling low in her throat, Stiles left the room and Damon went downstairs.
Shedding off her housecoat, Stiles tossed it n a random direction, not caring for it at the moment.
"Hey, are you okay?" Caroline asked when she saw the tense expression on her face.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just can't wait for this to be over with." Stiles crossed her arms.
Elena soon joined them, wearing her dress, but her mind was stuck on Stefan.
Downstairs, Carol started calling the names of the girls to start coming down the stairs to go out and meet with their escorts.
"Has anyone seen Amber?" Carol asked when the girl hadn't arrived.
"Do you see Stefan down there?" Elena asked as she peered down at the crowd.
"Nope, just my boring fill in escort." Caroline huffed.
"What happened to Matt?" Stiles questioned.
"They wouldn't let him out of work. Wait, what happened to Stefan?" Caroline asked when she couldn't see the boy and noticed the upset look in Elena's eyes.
"I don't know, he just disappeared somewhere. I don't know. What am I doing? I never should have gone through with this." Elena ranted.
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked looking confused.
"I need to find Stefan. This isn't me. I'm not this person anymore." Elena said.
Hearing this, Caroline began to shake her head at the brunette.
"No, no, no way, no. You had your chance to drop out and believe me I was all for it because there is no way that I could beat you. Elena, you're doing this because it's important to your mom. Just like Stiles is. Don't throw your chances away because of your stupid boyfriend." Caroline scolded.
Miss Caroline Forbes and her escort Jeffery Lockwood Hamilton." Carol called.
Giving Elena and Stiles one last look, Caroline started to walk down the stairs and smiled down at the crowd.
"She's right and you know it. You shouldn't let your boyfriendruin things in your life." Stiles said.
"What am I supposed to do though? Something needs to be done." Elena sighed.
"Don't worry. I picked up a few tricks while being possessed by the Nogitsune. Tricks I can use on Stefan to get rid of his blood addiction." Stiles informed.
"Elena, you're next." Carol informed.
Moving into position, Elena forced a smile and got ready to make her way down.
Glancing over and meeting eyes with Tyler, Stiles motioned with her eyes and told him to step in and escort Elena.
Confused by what was going on, Tyler did as he was told and Carol was stunned by what was happening.
"Uh, Miss Elena Gilbert escorted by Mr. Tyler Lockwood." Carol announced.
Tyler took Elena's hand and walked with her out to the courtyard.
Noah was filming the event and smiled proudly when his daughter stepped into view of everyone.
Damon took his chance and stepped in front of the other escorts, staring up at Stiles as she began to make her way down the stairs.
"Miss Genim Stilinski Gilbert escorted by Damon Salvatore." Carol announced, not amused by the last-minute changes.
Staring up at her as she took her descent down the stairs, Damon could almost swear he saw her fox aura radiating around her making her look even more beautiful as she sent him a smile.
Placing her hand in Damon's, Stiles shared a look with him before they walked out into the courtyard.
"What is she doing with Damon? And why is Elena with Tyler? What's going on?" Jenna whispered.
"I don't know." Alaric shook his head.
Music played, and the contestants all danced, Stiles and Damon managing to do it perfectly.
Smiling at the sight, Noah zoomed in on them together and filmed it as they danced and noticed that there was a chemistry there between them.
(Later on…)
All of the girls stood up on a stage and waited for the announcement of who would be the winner.
"Where is Amber?" Caroline asked looking around.
"I don't know." Elena shook her head.
Stiles began to worry that Stefan had gotten his hands on Amber and was feeding on her at this very moment.
"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Carol said.
The crowd clapped, and Carol smiled.
"So, without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!" Carol announced.
Caroline had a shocked look on her face when she heard she had won, but Stiles and Elena was smiling at her.
Stiles was the first one to pull her into a hug.
"You did it, Sunshine!" Stiles cheered.
"Congratulations!" Elena hugged her next.
"I actually won!" Caroline laughed happily.
Stepping over to Carol, Caroline is given her crown and sash while everyone applauded.
After things settled down and the girl got down from the stage, Damon located the cousins with a serious expression on his face.
"What's going on now?" Stiles asked not liking the look on his face.
"What is it, did you find him?" Elena asked.
"There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs bathroom. There was blood and that Amber girl is missing." Damon informed.
Bonnie was standing nearby listening in on the conversation.
Unknown to them, there was a second person listening in on them.
"Oh my god! He wouldn't hurt her. He won't!" Elena insisted.
"You know nothing about your own boyfriend. We need to find them now." Stiles stated.
They took off with Bonnie following along with the other eavesdropper.
Screaming was heard when they walked out into the night and found Stefan sinking his fangs into Amber's neck.
"Stefan!" Elena yelled.
Releasing Amber in shock, Stefan looked up with blood covering his face and he was horrified that Elena had seen him like this.
"Stefan, come on, get control. It's okay, come on. Breath through it, man." Damon tried to talk him down.
Damon then rushed him, but Stefan caught him and threw his brother into a wall.
Elena gasped at the sight and Stiles held an arm out to protect her.
"Stefan, stop it!" Elena begged as Damon stood up.
Stefan then started groaning in pain and everyone turned to look at Bonnie who was using her magic on him.
Seeing a flash of golden hair, Stiles became horrified to see someone else there.
"Caroline!" Stiles gasped.
Shocked, everyone turned to find Caroline hiding behind a car and she was staring at them with wide eyes.
With everyone distracted, Stefan took off and Caroline, filled with fear as memories of Damon feeding on her came back, turned and ran off.
"Caroline, wait!" Bonnie called.
"Oh god!" Elena whined.
"I'll get her. We're gonna have to let her in on the secret now. No choice." Stiles said and ran after the girl.
Panting hard, Caroline ran to the safety of the crowd and spotted her mother.
"MOM!" She yelled.
Stunned by the fear in her voice, Liz looked over and was worried by the look on her daughter's face.
"Caroline, what's wrong?" Liz asked as Caroline threw herself into her arms.
"I found Amber. She was bleeding all over the place. And-And he was just standing over her. He had blood on his face, Mom!" Caroline cried.
Shocked that her daughter had witnessed a vampire attacking someone, Liz hugged her daughter and tried to get her to calm down.
Stiles soon ran over to join them, cursing her shoes as she almost tripped.
"Caroline." Stiles panted.
Stiffening, Caroline looked over at Stiles with accusing eyes and Liz looked around at her deputies.
"Go handle the situation. I'm taking my daughter home." Liz ordered.
"I can handle that, sheriff." Stiles insisted.
"No! I want to stay with my mom." Caroline shook her head.
"Care, I know what you saw. I understand how you feel. I went through it, too. I can explain everything to you if you just let me." Stiles told her.
Although Liz didn't want her daughter to be involved with this life, she knew she didn't have a choice now.
"Caroline, it's going to be fine. I'll take care of things here, then I'll see you at home. I promise, I will talk to you about it all. But right now, you need to let Stiles get you home. You'll be safe there. And whatever you do, if you see that man again, never let him inside our house. Understand?" Liz asked.
Nodding, Caroline let Stiles walk her to the jeep and they climbed inside.
"What was that I saw back there?" Caroline demanded.
"You're never going to believe it, but here it is." Stiles sighed.
With that, Stiles started telling Caroline all about the werewolves, vampires, witches, Kitsunes and other supernatural creatures.
To be continued…