Elena started reading the first registry, "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 with shock and confusion.

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." Damon said sidling up behind them with Liana and Anastasia.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan said before Caroline suddenly squealed, "Annie, Lilly, oh my God, you guys look absolutely gorgeous."

"Thanks Care you look really beautiful too, I told you before and I'm telling you again, you honestly do look like a real-life barbie doll." Anastasia complimented as she held Liana in her arms who was already about to fall asleep, they did have a lot of fun after all before this, it had obviously made her tired.

"Aww thanks Annie." Caroline said happily before hugging her and Liana.

"She's right Ana, you look beautiful and you look adorable Liana." Stefan praised as he stroked Liana's hair from her forehead, she looked exhausted.

"Thank you Uncle Steffie." Liana mumbled as she grabbed his hand in her tiny one which he couldn't help but smile at.

"Yeah thank you Steffie, you're looking quite smashing yourself by the way, I have to admit you clean up really nicely." Anastasia praised appreciatively and Damon narrowed his eyes at that, not that she saw but just as Stefan was about to thank her for the compliments, Elena interrupted her.

"Stop flirting with my boyfriend Anastasia." Elena snapped annoyed.

"I wasn't flirting Elena, I was praising, I'm not a high school teenager with hormones, I'm 24 and mature so if I want to compliment one of my best friends about how dashing he looks, I'm going to do so with or without your permission." Anastasia said as if she were talking to a child and Elena just scoffed at her.

"Whatever. By the way Stefan, I don't think It would be boring to know about your family, I'd love to hear more about them." Elena said as she smiled at Stefan, who was a bit upset with her for snapping at Ana like that, Ana had already told him that he was like a brother to her so Elena didn't need to get unnecessarily jealous, he would tell her later though after the party.

"Well, I'm bored. I want to dance. And Damon won't dance with me." Caroline interrupted as she whined annoyed.

"Mm-hmm." Damon nodded in agreement.

"I'd dance with you but I have nowhere to put Liana." Anastasia said and Caroline pouted before she turned to Stefan.

"Could I just borrow your date?" Caroline asked bluntly and Anastasia rolled her eyes at her blunt friend but there was a slight smirk on her lips at Stefan's uncomfortable face and Elena's annoyed one.

"Oh, uh..." Elena trailed off not knowing what to say.

"I don't really dance." Stefan immediately refused.

"Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all." Damon said with a smirk on his face and Anastasia couldn't help but snort at Stefan's irritated look, for two brothers who despised each other, they sure as hell acted exactly like actual brothers, well, without the vampire drama of course.

"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" Caroline asked.

"It's up to Stefan." Elena said hoping he'd say no.

"Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer." Caroline said dragging Stefan to the dance stage.

"Have fun Steffie." Anastasia said as he went by and he shot her a playful glare as he reluctantly followed the girl.

"I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm...acting out, trying to punish Stefan." Damon said turning to Elena after they left.

"For what?" Elena asked curiously.

"It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." Damon said to her and Anastasia inwardly rolled her eyes at the lie.

"I never knew you had a therapist Damon! Though it does make sense, I always knew I was right when I thought you had some psychological problems." Anastasia teased as Damon rolled his eyes before smiling at her.

"Don't be mean Anastasia, honestly, he was just being polite, you don't need to be so horrible to him." Elena snapped at her annoyed.

"I was teasing Elena, relax, I know he doesn't have mental problems, I'm a doctor." Anastasia said exasperated with the girl.

"You don't need to brag about being a doctor all the time." Elena said rolling her eyes.

"Ooh am I going to witness a cat fight?" Damon asked with a smirk on his face but only Anastasia could see the very slight hint of a glare in his eyes as he looked at Elena.

"Zip it Damon. When have I ever bragged Elena? You guys didn't even find out about me being a doctor until that day Miss Donovan went to the hospital, I've never bragged about it in front of you. Honestly, what on earth is your problem?" Anastasia asked now annoyed with her making assumptions.

"You don't have to be so judgemental all the time, you know, I swear ever since you came here it's like the entire world revolves around you." Elena said before she turned away trying to find Stefan in the crowds.

"Darling believe me, it's not me you're describing." Anastasia said looking at her with her brows furrowed, Elena had been acting like a bitch to her ever since that dinner party, it was obvious to anyone with eyes. She just shook her head at that before she said, "You know what, I'm not going to even bother saying anything, clearly that stick is too far up your ass to even consider hearing me out so I'm going to leave."

"There you go again, insulting me, you still haven't apologised for calling me a bitch you know." Elena said her arms crossed as she glared at Anastasia with a raised eyebrow.

"I am not going to apologise for telling the truth." Anastasia said bluntly.

"Now who's being the bitch?" Elena asked pointedly.

"I don't think you want me to answer that honey." Anastasia said mockingly and Elena glared at her but before she said something else a voice came from behind them.

"I would suggest keeping that bitchy little mouth of yours shut, what part of what I said did not go through your thick skulI. I guess my threat wasn't descriptive enough, would you like me to elaborate on my time in the war, they you'll know exactly why it's a very bad idea to make me mad." Ryan snapped as he came from behind them laying an arm around Anastasia's waist protectively as he glared at the girl whilst Damon slightly glared at his arm around her waist, not even understanding himself why he was doing so.

"N-no. I'll just go." Elena said stuttering in slight fear before she walked off all the while cursing Anastasia in her mind, why did she have to come here?

Ryan rolled his eyes before he turned towards Anastasia as he said, "God, that girl is irritating."

"Tell me about it." Anastasia laughed with him.

"You look beautiful by the way." Ryan said appreciatively.

"You don't look too bad yourself Ry." Anastasia said teasingly.

"Why thank you. Oh, you must be...Damon, was it?" Ryan asked as he turned to him and he nodded as they both shook hands.

"Ok, so I am going to go and grab a punch, mind if I hold Liana, your arms must be tired." Ryan asked and Anastasia hesitated, there were a lot of people here so she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes on them, it had her a bit conflicted, letting him hold her in the house was different, this was a bit too much for her to be honest. "I can literally hear you thinking and worrying unnecessarily, relax Ana, I won't let her out of my sight, she's sleeping anyway, she'll be in my arms for the entire time."

"I don't know." Anastasia said shifting a little on her feet and Ryan sighed before he cupped her jaw in his hands as Damon now full glared at them, he didn't know why he was feeling like this. it was the same feeling he had before when that mysterious guy who had been in Anastasia's room had kissed her, he felt like he wanted to rip their hands off of her and make sure no man ever goes near her again.

"Do you trust me?" Ryan asked to make sure.

"With my life." Anastasia answered without hesitation.

"Then let me hold her, you go and have fun for a while, that is the point of this party." Ryan said and Anastasia finally caved as she reluctantly handed him her child as he smiled at her before kissing her forehead, he then looked at her for a moment before he walked off to grab a drink.

"What is he to you?" Damon asked the second he left.

"My best friend." Anastasia answered.

"Not from his side." Damon said bluntly with a slight hint of a growl in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia asked confused.

"Don't you see the way he looks at you?" Damon asked trying to suppress the urge to throttle the guy for looking at her like that, no one could do that but him, wait what? Why did he just think that, it's not like she meant anything to him, right? Everything he was feeling was just because she was admittedly really beautiful but there was nothing else to that, there couldn't be, he loved Katherine, there was no other girl for him he reminded himself but then where were these weird feelings coming from? He ignored his thoughts as he looked at her confused face, she still didn't understand apparently.

"Can you just outright say what you mean, I'm really confused." Anastasia said giving up trying to find out what he meant by that and the expression on his face.

"He likes you, and I mean as more than a friend." Damon said annoyed.

"No he doesn't, he's like a brother to me, we've been best friends for a long time Damon, you're probably just seeing things." Anastasia said rolling her eyes at him.

"Believe me he doesn't feel the same way." Damon said seriously.

"Ok can we just not talk about this." Anastasia said in exasperation, there was no way Ry liked her, he had always been like a big brother to her, she refused to think he saw her that way because she knew she couldn't and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.

"Fine, why don't we talk about how hot you look when you're angry." Damon said smirking at her.

"Oh sue me, she was being a total bitch." Anastasia said rolling her eyes at him.

"True." Damon had to agree to that, the girl just liked picking fights with Anastasia for no reason, he had known she was just teasing him before, Elena didn't need to butt in and supposedly help him, it actually only pissed him off.

"By the way, I didn't exactly thank you properly before, for saving me from Tanner so I wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you did." Anastasia said earnestly as she laid a hesitant hand on his arm.

Damon looked at her hand for a moment before he looked back at her and said, "I'm just glad that I heard you before anything else happened."

"Yeah me too." Anastasia said as she retracted her hand from his arm but he grabbed it before she did pulling her closer to him as she gasped in slight shock looking up at his blue eyes that she had never actually took the time to really notice until now, they reminded her of the sky, clear one minute, stormy the next.

"I promise no one will ever lay a hand on you or Lilliana again, not on my watch." Damon promised before he let go of her hand and stroked her cheek slightly, it's like his hand had a mind of its own.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep." Anastasia said softly as she stepped away from his hand a little confused by the affectionate action. He couldn't make a promise like that, who knows what could happen with James out of jail.

"I don't, which is why I'm making this one, but I also promise than on the off chance they do, I'll kill them." Damon said and the promise in his voice was clear to her and her eyes widened in realisation.

"It was you! You killed Tanner." Anastasia said keeping her voice down so no one could hear.

"He nearly raped you, don't tell me you feel bad." Damon said rolling his eyes at her.

"No, of course not, I just didn't think you'd do that, well at least not for me." Anastasia said with her brows furrowed. "I don't know whether to feel a little horrified with myself about not feeling a shred of sympathy, really happy that he's gone, angry at you for doing that or really f £$%! grateful."

"I suggest the 2nd option and the last option." Damon said smirking at her.

"Thanks Damon, you're a great friend and I can't believe I just said that because you killed someone, there is clearly something very wrong with me." Anastasia ranted to herself.

"No, there isn't, you're…perfect." Damon said with a smile on his face that she's never seen before, it was more genuine than any of his smirks or lopsided smiles.

"Hardly." Anastasia snorted at him.

"No, you are, you're different from other girls I've met before and that is saying something considering how long I've been on this earth." Damon said bluntly and she looked at him with her eyes wide and a blush on her cheeks having not expected that.

Damon looked at her appreciatively, the rose coloured hue that lit her face and travelled down her neck had him fantasising about her face looking like that on his bed underneath him and he smirked at that before he said, "You look cute when you blush you know."

"Shut up Damon." Anastasia said flustered and he just laughed at her. They both then began talking about anything that came to mind laughing and talking with each other actually enjoying each other's company.