Episode 12: Fifties Decade Dance

"I no longer feared the darkness once I knew the phoenix in me would rise from the ashes."

— William C. Hannan

Mystic Falls, 1863

The rain came down suddenly, catching Damon and I unprepared. We ducked into a nearby barn to get away from the downpour.

"Looks like we're stuck here until the storm passes." Damon said, his arms wrapped around my shoulders.

"We'll it's not so bad," I started looking up fondly at him, "I can think of worse fates than being stuck with you."

"What should we do to pass the time?" He asked, his eyes growing dark. Ignoring the lustful lustful look I took his hands in mine.

"Dance with me," I proposed.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Damon replied even as he moved one of his hands to my waist.

"But you get to go to all those town town balls. Show me how the ladies dance with you." My plea was rewarded by a small smile.

"None of those ladies dance with me."

I scoffed in disbelief. If none of the young women of Mystic Falls danced with him then they're either blind, or, and this thought made my insides flip pleasantly, Damon turned them all down.

"There's not even any music." Damon pointed out.

"We'll make our own." I started humming a tune as Damon and I moved our feet. We danced in a small circle until my humming stopped, as if it was the end of a song.

"You're incredible." Damon kissed me suddenly and I melted into him.

"What's going on here?" A voice called from the stable entrance, the light of a torch was cast on us, and I could barely make out the figure of Noah, one of the town deputies.

"Just trying to stay out of the wet weather," Damon answered. He had separated himself from me as soon as he could. Despite knowing our predicament would be considered inappropriate if caught so close together, I still felt empty without him at my side.

Mystic Falls, 2009

Caroline and I were getting ready for the 50's decade dance at school. My sister was being uncharacteristically unenthusiastic about the dance. She hadn't said a word while doing my hair in some rockabilly style we found online. And now, as I finish curling the back of her hair, she was frowning.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, pulling her hair into the up-do she had wanted.

She sighed, looking at me through her vanity mirror. "I just thought I'd be going with Matt, that's all."

"Well, did he ask you?" I countered, "Did you ask him?"

"No, but we were hanging out and I thought it was going good. But then he gets this job at the Grill without even telling me…"

"He didn't have to tell you, you guys aren't dating," I pointed out. Caroline's eyes snapped to mine in the mirror and I added, "Yet. You aren't dating yet, but I think its on the horizon."

"I wish." Caroline said, slumping in her seat, "Matt's not over Elena, and we all know it."

"Elena isn't going to get back with Matt, like ever. He knows that," I said.

"So what? I just wait for him to move on?"

"Or maybe help him move on?" I suggested, while finishing with her hair.

"So I am the rebound?" Caroline said, moving on to her make-up.

My phone dinged, alerting me to a new message.

"That's not what I'm saying," I said as I opened my messenger. "You shouldn't wait around for him, but maybe he needs a little help to realize he can be happy with someone else."

Vamp attack. Elena's. Now. Damon had texted.

"I have to go," I said suddenly.

Caroline looked up in surprise. "Where? Bonnie's gonna be here in thirty minutes to pick us up."

"Elena needs help getting ready," I lied. "I'll put my dress on there and we'll meet you at the dance?"

"Sure," she reluctantly agreed.

I arrived at Elena's house less than 10 minutes later. Damon was outside and wasted no time bringing me inside at top speed.

"So what happened? Damon's text wasn't exactly informative." I asked looking at Elena. She looked shaken.

"A vampire attacked Elena. Inside her house," Damon answered for her.

"He's been invited in," I deduced. "Did you get a good look?" Elena nodded her head. "Then we'll find him and stop him. And maybe while we're at it, figure out what he wanted." I looked from Stefan to Damon who both agreed.

"You up for that?" Damon asked Elena.

"What do I have to do?" She asked.

"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance." Damon said, "We'll see who shows up."

"That's a bad idea," Stefan warned.

"Until we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it," Damon reasoned. "It's worth a shot."

"I'll do it," Elena agreed. She hardly hesitated, not when her family was on the line.

That didn't ease Stefan's worries, however. He still thought it was too dangerous, so Elena grabbed Stefan's hand and looked him in the eyes, showing her conviction.

"With you and me on the lookout, Elena's gonna be safe," I assured him.

"And if Charlie brings Damon as her date, I'll be even safer." Elena suggested.

I nearly choked, "What?"

"Come on, Charlie," Elena said, "We can all work together to get this guy, but we're gonna need Damon's help."

"Can't he just, I don't know… stalk outside the dance?" By the looks they were giving me, the answer was no. Caroline was not going to like this.

I put my dress on in Elena's room, and almost ran into Damon on the way out. Who hadn't changed at all. He was wearing the same black t-shirt, black jeans and leather jacket he wore all day, with his stylishly messy hair.

"You know if you're going to be my date you could at least try to dress to the theme."

Damon smirked down at me. "I'll have you know this is exactly how I looked in the fifties."

I rolled my eyes. "Your face doesn't count. You could at least cuff your pant legs."

We arrived at the dance fashionably late. Caroline and Bonnie were already there and dancing together to This Magic Moment. Caroline was the first to notice us as we all walked in, Elena with Stefan and me with Damon. Elena and I stood near the punch bowl while the boys cased the dance.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked, looking off into the distance where Damon stood with Stefan.

"He's my date." I said, my voice wavering a bit, all the preparation in the world couldn't steel me for that sentence. Bonnie and Caroline briefly shared a look of shock.

"No, he's not." Caroline said, her tone sharp.

"You know everything Damon's done." Bonnie said, making me feel guilty. He's hurt both my sister and my best friend. I didn't have any words to defend him at the moment so I looked to Elena. This was her idea anyway.

"She only brought him as a favor to me." Elena admitted, "He wanted to come and if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon. It's not like I can kill him."

Bonnie was still staring at Damon, "There's a thought."

Caroline hummed in agreement. "I'll help." The two clinked glasses.

"Don't worry. I'll keep him in line." I promised.

Damon approached just then, standing in front of Bonnie. "Hi, Bonnie. Give me another chance with a dance?" He offered.

Bonnie and Caroline looked at Damon as if he was a giant cockroach.

"I'm out of here." Bonnie said, walking away. Damon tried to block her, but I intercepted. Bonnie moved around us, Damon's eyes following her.

"I'll dance with you." I said, "You're supposed to be my date anyway."

Caroline scoffed from my side, "Seriously?"

"What? I'll keep him entertained and away from you and Bonnie."

"Just, back off, Damon." Caroline glared at him and then followed Bonnie across the dance floor.

I turned to Damon, "So, about that dance?"

He shrugged, looking away from me. "I'm actually not that much of a dancer."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, we both know that's not true."

I grabbed his arm and led us out to the dance floor. Once there Damon became more agreeable to dancing. He twirled me out and then pulled me back into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck while Damon placed his hands on my hips. Dancing with Damon brought back some of Maggie's happier memories of the two. I tried not to let my smile show how much I was enjoying the moment.

Meanwhile, Damon was focusing on more important things instead of the past, like stealthily looking around for anyone suspicious.

"Can't you guys sense each other?" I asked.

Damon laughed. "Doesn't work that way. Just keep a lookout for anyone making a move toward Elena."

I nodded. I didn't see anybody I didn't recognize, but my eyes kept darting toward Caroline. Whenever we made eye contact she'd quickly look away.

"She hates me." I said into Damon's shoulder.

"Who?"

"Caroline," I said as if it was obvious.

"No, she doesn't. Trust me, I'm the expert on sibling hatred."

"Yes, she does. I'm dancing with her abusive ex."

Damon had the decency to almost look guilty.

"You know...what happened with Caroline, it wasn't personal." If he was trying to make me feel better, it wasn't working.

"God. I'm the worst sister ever." I lamented, resting my face into Damon's chest.

We took a break after a couple songs with no sign of the mystery vamp.

"Caroline, please don't hate me." I pleaded, catching Caroline just as she and Bonnie were about to leave the dance. Caroline stopped and turned to me, her arms crossed. Bonnie took one look at the tension between us and walked out to the hallway.

"You know what he did to me. And how he's been harassing Bonnie," Caroline accused.

I flinched. I knew more about both of those things than she did, but I swallowed the guilt down.

"I know. He is not forgiven for that, but doesn't he deserve a chance for redemption?"

"No." She replied quickly and firmly. "How can you even be here with him?"

"It's not like we're a thing!" There was another kind of guilt bubbling up in my stomach. The kind that was associated with lying. I just couldn't tell who I was lying to. "I only agreed to come with him for Elena's sake."

Caroline scoffed. "Oh, please! Don't try to pin this on Elena."

"It was literally her idea! I didn't even know I was going to the dance with him until an hour ago." Caroline still looked miffed with me, and she was going to continue to be, because I didn't want to hate Damon. I knew there were redeeming qualities in him somewhere. I couldn't give up on him yet. "Look, you can continue to hate him as much as you want because that's what he deserves. But I'm giving him a chance to prove to me that he can be better. Because I think he deserves that too."

"Why?" Caroline asked incredulously.

"Because everyone does."

"Really? The moral high ground approach? For the guy that used me and abused me and made me feel worthless."

"You don't know everything, Care." I said before I could think about what I was saying, "You haven't seen the parts of Damon I have."

"Oh, I've seen plenty of his parts." I knew my sister was referring to the more carnal aspects of her relationship with Damon, the reminder made me feel sick. And when mixed with my own secrets concerning the vampire? It created word vomit.

"We kissed." I admitted. She was already angry with me, might as well give her another reason.

Caroline, who had started walking away suddenly turned back around.

"What." It was said so quietly I could barely hear her over the music of the dance, but there was no mistaking the fury in my sister's eyes. And here I thought I was the only Forbes who could control fire. "When? How? Why?"

There was no easy answer to any of those questions.

"I can't get into that right now," I said, knowing it was unsatisfying and possibly the worst thing to say until I said, "It just happened."

"Yeah, well, I hope the things that happened to me don't just happen to you, because I don't know if I'll be around to hear about it." She turned her back on me, I grabbed her wrist before she walked away.

"Caroline please, it's not like that. Can we talk about it at home?"

"Fine." She said before slipping out of my grip and walking away.

Everything was so not fine.

When I went back to Damon I saw him speaking with the new history teacher, Alaric 'Ric' Saltzman.

"Hey, Mr Saltzman. I see you've met my date." I said, placing my hand on Damon's arm. His muscles were tense, a predator ready to pounce at any moment. And Alaric Saltzman was his prey.

"Your date?" Mr Saltzman's eyebrows raised in surprise. He looked between us both, taking note of the age difference, "How did you two meet?"

"Through my brother Stefan." Damon answered, it wasn't exactly a lie.

"Heh. I'm sorry. I'm nosy. I...I don't mean to pry. Look, it was nice meeting you."

"You, too." Damon replied, his signature smirk in place.

"Enjoy the rest of the dance." Mr Saltzman patted Damon on the arm and walked away.

"Is it just me or was that weird?" I asked, still watching my teacher as he moved through the crowd.

"It was weird." Damon said, his narrowed eyes watching Mr Saltzman too.

"What was he talking to you about?"

"He just had a lot of questions." Damon answered, his eyes still trained on the teacher, "Perhaps too many questions."

"Damon, do not kill my history teacher again."

Maybe I was being too forgiving to Damon.

"So why haven't you had a boyfriend yet?" Damon asked when we were back on the dance floor. "You don't seem like the type of girl that waits around for the guy to ask."

My eyes narrowed at him suspiciously, "How do you know I haven't had a boyfriend?"

"You're not the only one who remembers things. That night after the Falls party at the coffee place, you and Caroline mentioned it."

"You were there? That's kinda creepy." I hadn't noticed Damon at the cafe, was he stalking me when he first came to town? I suppose it didn't matter now. "I don't know. I never met a guy I was interested in enough to date. I've kissed a few guys, but just at parties."

"Did you play spin the bottle?" Damon asked with mirth.

I laughed. "I may have partaken on occasion"

"Who'd you kiss?"

I winced at the memory, "Ugh, Tyler Lockwood. Which is never happening again."

"Not a good kisser?" Damon guessed.

I nodded. "Too much tongue."

In the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. My gaze snapped to the left, seeing him right before he slipped through the exit.

"Damon, the vampire. I saw him."

Damon glanced around. "Where? How do you know?"

"I recognized him from 1864. He just left. Where's Elena?"

Damon looked around again. "Not here. Let's go."

We walked down the empty school hallway, looking for any sign of Elena or the vampire. We heard a crash from the cafeteria and ran towards it, reaching the cafeteria seconds after Stefan.

The room was a mess, tables were flung out of the way and there were splatters of blood on the floor. There was a broken mop tossed to the side. It looked like Elena had fought back.

Stefan had grabbed Noah and pushed him away from Elena, but Noah stood back up.

Damon picked up the broken mop handle.

"Hey, dickhead." Damon called, Noah turned to look at us. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."

Noah smiled and rushed towards Elena. Damon threw the makeshift stake at Stefan, who grabbed it and staked the other vampire in the stomach, causing Noah to fall to his knees.

Stefan and Damon towered over Noah as they tried to interrogate him. Noah wasn't really cooperating though, and everytime he gave a shit answer Stefan would dig the stake in a little deeper.

"This isn't going anywhere." I said crouching down next to Noah. I placed my hand on his arm, he cried out in surprise. When I lifted my palm it left a burn mark in the shape of my hand. "That was just a teaser, so unless you really want to be burned I'd start answering our do you want with Elena?"

"She looks like Katherine." This bit of information shocked everyone, well, except me.

"Of course he knew Kat," I said. "As a deputy sheriff he was the perfect target for her to have wrapped around her fingers."

Damon leaned down next to the pinned vampire. "Tell me how to get in the tomb," he demanded. I rolled my eyes, it always came back to that.

When Noah said "No", I burned him again.

Noah screamed in agony, yelling out, "Grimoire! The grimoire!"

"Where is it?" Damon asked.

I put my hand, still a burning red, up where the other vampire could see it. A warning. I didn't need to touch him before Noah spoke.

"Check the journal." He said quickly, "Johnathan's journal. Johnathan Gilbert's."

Damon stood up, grimacing.

I wasn't too pleased either, that was just another step we needed to take.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asked. Noah shook his head like he wasn't going to answer. I placed my hand on his arm, burning the spot. This was the information we really needed.

"Who else is there?" Damon repeated over the screams. I let up on the burning to let the vampire speak.

"No." Noah shook his head, "No. You're gonna have to kill me."

"Good enough for me." I lifted my hand, flames igniting from the fingertips until my whole hand was encased in fire. I was intending to light Noah on fire like I had with Logan...and Vicki. Before I could, Stefan staked him in the heart. The fire in my hand died down with Noah's death, I was relieved that I didn't have to be the one to kill him.

It was probably better that way anyway, less screaming involved.

"What do we…" Elena said, clearly in shock. She pulled herself together enough to ask, "How are you gonna find the others now?"

"He had to die, he was invited in." I told her. Elena nods, trying to find comfort in my reasoning. Stefan wrapped an arm around her.

The sound of a door opening could be heard from the hallway. Damon stepped outside to check on who it was.

I started to stand the furniture in the cafeteria back up, not sure what else to do with myself. Once Elena seemed ok, Stefan went about taking care of the desiccated vampire body. And then Damon returned to help straighten the cafeteria. By the time we were done you almost couldn't tell there was a vampire fight in there.

The dance had dwindled down and Elena went home with her brother and Aunt Jenna. Damon and Stefan were leaning against either side of the cafeteria doorway. I stood in the middle, my feet keeping me slightly more on Damon's side.

"There's no way that idiot was working alone." Damon said.

"You were." Stefan said, glancing at me as he said so. "So the Grimoire… That was Emily's, right? That's what you need to reverse the spell."

"And we need to find it fast." I said, looking pointedly at Stefan, "Before Noah's buddies do."

Damon clapped, rubbing his hands together. "Let the games begin."

"My offer still stands." Stefan said.

I looked between the brothers, "What offer?"

"To help. If I'm there when the tomb opens, Damon gets Katherine and goes, and then the other 26 vampires die."

It wasn't so different from my offer, I wondered why Damon hadn't accepted it.

"Why should I trust you?" Damon asked. Right, they had major trust issues. I guess Damon was worried Stefan was going to betray him, maybe lock him in the tomb like he tried to lock Damon in the Salvatore basement.

"Because I'm your brother," Stefan answered.

"No, that's not gonna cut it."

"Because I want you gone," Stefan said instead.

Damon thought on it for a moment, then finding Stefan's reason acceptable, nodded. "Ok."

Stefan nodded in agreement and then vamp sped out of the school. Probably to check on Elena.

"So," I said, filling the silence left behind from Stefan's departure, "you haven't told your brother why you really want to get inside the tomb."

Damon turned away from me. "To save her, to kill her. It doesn't really matter, does it? As long as I get my hands on Katherine."

"And you're ok with killing the rest of the vampires too?" I asked, watching him carefully. We'd already discussed it when I offered my help, but I felt it needed to be asked again.

"If that's the price of revenge," He said, offering me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. There was no sparkle this time, just steel.