"Dais! Hurry up!"

"Mom, why can't you go? I'm sure Mrs. Lockwood will be there?" Daisy shouts back, cringing at her own reflection. It was the dress she'd worn to the Miss Mystic Falls pageant last year if she hadn't gotten sick.

It was a beautiful dress, but Daisy felt a little uncomfortable in flashy clothes. Her mother had insisted she put on that dress. 'Who knows, you might catch the attention of a handsome young man.' she had called. This comment irritated Daisy immensely. Her mother knew very well she had a boyfriend, but she kept insisting that Daisy could do better. Instead of dating a Fell, her mother would have preferred to see her with Tyler Lockwood. She remembers Mrs. Lockwood being quite disappointed when she and Tyler didn't hit it off.

"You know I would love to, but I am very busy with the new foundation. Besides, it will be good for you!" Her mother replies. "Go out make some friends."

"I have friends." Daisy sighs, slipping her uncomfortable shoes on and walking downstairs.

"Now aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Daisy's mother exclaims elatedly as she sees her daughter descending the staircase.

"I'm sure you'll have a good time! I saw some of the new kids in town today, they looked close to your age and very... friendly! Maybe you can befriend them." Daisy's mother coaxes as she sees Daisy's uncomfortable expression.

"Or maybe they're a bunch of elitist jerks like most people in this town." Daisy mutters.

"Excuse-" Daisy's mother is cut off by the bell.

Daisy sighs in relief, she was not in the mood for another lecture on her language use.

"Hi-uh, you look great, Daisy." Matt stammers when Daisy opens the door. He was a bit taken aback by her appearance, normally he only saw Daisy in her work uniform from the Grill or simple everyday clothes at school.

"Hi! Thank you, so do you." Daisy replies while smoothing out the fabric of her dress. "Okay, bye mom!" Daisy calls before slamming the door shut.

"Thank you, for the ride." Daisy says as Matt starts the car.

"Of course, my date lives there, so I'm glad I got to do the whole 'pick the girl up' part anyway." Matt jokes. He didn't ask the question he was eager to ask, why her boyfriend couldn't pick her up.

• • •

Daisy chuckles when Matt opens her door for her. "Thank you again, Matthew. Now, you have a date to find." She teases, giving Matt a grin. She had seen Matt's shy grin when the blonde had invited him to the dance earlier today and she knew he was quite excited as well.

"Are you sure? I mean I don't want to just abandon you?" Matt asks, not knowing if it was ill-mannered for him to leave the girl outside.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. Jason should be here soon. Go have fun!" Daisy encourages, gently pushing Matt towards the entrance. Daisy had seen Rebekah before at school and although the blonde looked nice enough, she wasn't sure what she would do if she saw her date entering with another girl.

Daisy is leaning against one of the walls of the house, waiting for Jason. He does not respond to her messages and calling also turns out to be useless. After ten minutes of waiting in the cold, she decides to go inside anyway.

Daisy rubs her arms for a second, trying to get rid of the goosebumps before straightening her back, and walking towards the front door with a sure step. She just had to survive the next two hours, Daisy believed two hours to be an appropriate time before heading back home, after of course graciously thanking the host. She was sure her mother would give a huge lecture if she learned through the grapevine that her daughter had been rude or unpleasant at such a significant event.

Daisy gasps when she sees the interior of the villa. The hall was decorated with tiny lights, and she saw lavish bouquets lining the walls everywhere. It looked like a castle from a Disney movie. Quite a few people had already gathered in the hall and she recognized several people with whom she goes to school or friends of her mother.

"Hey babe, you look nice." Jason greets, walking up to Daisy and pressing a swift kiss to her lips.

"Oh, you're here." Daisy mumbles, not trying to sound too disappointed. She hadn't seen him enter, which meant he was here the whole time and she had been waiting outside, like an idiot. "Thank you, you look amazing." Daisy compliments, looking at Jason's dark blue suit and matching tie.

Daisy's smile fades a little as she shifts her gaze to the blonde next to Jason. "Hi, Sophie."

"Hey, Dais, Isn't this house amazing? They're like super loaded!" Sophie exclaims, looking awestruck at the fancy decor.

Daisy clears her throat, trying to ignore the annoyed stares from the other guests.

"Come Jakey, you were going to get me a drink, remember?" Sophie tugs at Jason's sleeve.

Daisy frowns at the nickname, she never understood why Sophie was insistent on calling Jason 'Jakey', it didn't make sense in Daisy's eyes, but there were other things about Sophie that didn't make sense to her either.

"You don't mind right?" Sophie calls over her shoulder, already walking away with Jason.

"No, of course not." Daisy mumbles. She would have liked to tell Sophie to keep her paws at home, but that would only end in a big fight with Jason.

Daisy had previously indicated that she did not like him being ordered around by Sophie, but he just said that she should not be jealous and that if he wanted something with Sophie he would date her and since he is dating Daisy, she didn't have anything to worry about.

• • •

"Also not a fan of big parties?" Daisy asks, looking up at the stranger who had joined her in the corner. A few minutes ago he came to her side without speaking a word he just stood next to her, not uncomfortably close, but close enough that she could lay her head on his shoulder, not that she would, of course.

The man was handsome and tall. Daisy briefly wonders if her mother had seen this man in town, he certainly lives up to her mother's description of a 'handsome young man'.

He had been quietly observing the people in the room, just like her. Although he looked bored, his posture seemed tense, when she had glanced his way she had seen his jaw tighten, as if her gaze had somehow bothered him.

"Not really." The man replies in a drawling voice. He turns his face, finally looking at Daisy. "I personally prefer intimate gatherings."

"Me too. Do you know the family?" Daisy asks, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Certainly." He answers and an amused smile broke onto his face.

Daisy studies the man's face, his smile made the man appear a lot younger and more approachable. She internally scolds herself when she catches herself staring into the man's eyes. Blinking she quickly averts her gaze.

"Finn Mikaelson." The man holds his hand out.

Daisy stifles a gasp. Mikaelson, he is one of the new residents. 'Oh god' she thought, 'I just complained about not enjoying the party to one of the hosts' A flush crept up her cheeks, which only worsens when she realizes she had been staring absent-mindedly at the hand.

Instead of shaking her hand, he bows his head and places a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

Daisy blinks in surprise, this was something princes did in her romance books, certainly not something young men in Mystic Falls did.

Daisy felt a tingling sensation run through her hand where he had kissed her, not quite unpleasant but not comfortable either. She tends to pull her hand away, but decides against is seeing as that would certainly make an even worse impression on Finn.

"Daisy Landry, pleasure." Daisy says, smiling warmly up at Finn, she was happy to have found someone to converse with. He looked too old to go to high school, but maybe they could become friends.

Finn stares motionlessly at Daisy. He was pretty sure she was his mate. He had never delved into the concept of soul mates, thinking it didn't exist, but the warm feeling in him told him that there was definitely something going on with this girl.

Finn realizes he was still holding her hand. Embarrassed, he releases her hand gently as if he afraid he would break her.

"Please excuse me." Finn murmurs these words before quickly making his way to the reading room. He now had to know if his suspicion was correct. If so, he couldn't possibly go through with his mother's plans, even though he still hated his own existence. He wanted to know more about Daisy, he wanted to get to know her.

Daisy nods disappointedly. She worries that she had offended him.

Daisy glances briefly at the entrance, where Elena was talking to the Salvatore brothers. Both brothers always seemed to trail behind Elena, Daisy wonders briefly if the three of them are a thing now. She didn't really keep up to date with other people's dating life. Her dating both wouldn't be the weirdest things she's heard of in this town.

Daisy had seen Stefan at school, he had made conversation with her once or twice in the hallway and he seemed nice. Daisy thought Elena deserved a nice guy like Stefan.

She wasn't sure about Damon, he seemed like the kind of guy to kill bunnies for fun and to send girls unsolicited dickpics. She had seen the way his eyes seemed to prey on young women of this town, every time he came to the Grill she had tried to avoid him.

This was partly due to Matt, he had warned her to stay away from the oldest Salvatore, he was a player. He apparently had a thing for Vicki too, Daisy wasn't sure what had happened to her and if it had anything to do with Damon, but she didn't dare ask Matt.

"I've seen you around! You're... Daisy right?" Rebekah walks up to Daisy, followed by Matt. Daisy shot Matt a look, she was pretty sure Matt had urged Rebekah to talk to her.

She frowned slightly, how pathetic she must have looked, alone in a corner at a party. She wished Finn were here to act as a buffer.

"Yes." Daisy replies simply, not sure what else to say to the intimidating blonde. She didn't know much about her, only that Elena and Caroline supposedly disliked her.

"Why are you hanging around here? Don't you enjoy parties?" Rebekah asks, looking approvingly at the dress the girl was wearing.

"Sure, it's just that I don't know a lot of people here my age." Daisy replies, hoping it came out less pathetic than she felt. She knew plenty of people her age here, she just didn't want to make forced small talk with them.

"That's great news, neither do most of my brothers, here let me introduce you to Kol!" Rebekah grabs hold of Daisy's hand, tugging softly to get her to move.

"Oh, no. I think-I'm good...thanks." Daisy swallows, trying to kindly retract her wrist from Rebekah's hold, but Rebekah didn't give in. It was like trying to free herself from an iron chain, no use.

"Don't worry, they won't bite. Unless you want them to." Rebekah jokes, smirking at the timid girl.

Daisy pales slightly, she wasn't sure if there was any truth to that joke. Seeing Matt's grimace she decides she didn't want to know.

Before Daisy realizes, the hold on her wrist has disappeared, as have Rebekah and Matt. Daisy is about to turn to walk back to the corner when she hears someone speak up.

"Kol Mikaelson, an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Kol had blinked in surprise when the girl had been dropped off in front of him. He was sure Rebekah was just providing another snack for him, and he was about to thank her for that when he caught her scent. This was his mate. 'What are the odds, my second night back in the land of the living, and I am already presented with a nice gift from the universe.'

Back in the day when he worked closely with witches, he had come across the term soulmate once or twice, so he knew of its existence, but to find his own, was something he couldn't have imagined. Kol had always feared that he would miss out on his soul mate since Niklaus liked to put him in a box every now and then.

Daisy took up the man before her. He didn't look much older than herself, maybe he would also enroll in her high school.

Like his brother, he is incredibly handsome. She wonders briefly if all the Mikaelsons were gorgeous, surely Rebekah was a beauty, so why not all of them?

Without waiting, her hand was seized again, and Kol repeated Finn's gesture from before. Again, the tingling sensation spread across her skin.

Daisy swallows, not sure if this was normal or if all Mikaelson's had electric lips. Maybe she could ask Matt if he kissed Rebekah.

"Can I know your name? Or should I just call you darling or Angel?" Kol asks, smirking at Daisy's reddened cheeks.

"Of course, I'm-"

"Daisy!" Jason walks up to Daisy out of nowhere. He seems to be a little uneven in his step and Daisy suspects he has discovered the open bar. He puts a heavy arm around Daisy and leans against her.

Daisy grimaces under the sudden weight and tries to refind her footing.

Jason frowns at Kol, who was still holding Daisy's hand.

He holds out his hand with a smile. "Jason Fell, and you are?"

Reluctantly Kol lets go of Daisy's hand. "Kol Mikaelson." He grits out, ignoring the boy's hand.

"Jakey!" Davis calls another one of Jason's friends.

Davis, like Sophie and Daisy, wasn't a part of a founding family, they only got in with the founder's festivities because of Jason. Jason usually disregarded all parties and traditions, but he usually went because Daisy did enjoy them.

Jason puts a sloppy kiss on Daisy's cheek before sprinting towards his friend.

Kol narrows his eyes at Jason, clearly unimpressed with the boy's behavior.

Daisy smiles at Kol to hide her discomfort from the situation. "I'm sorry about that, umm, let me check on them, to make sure they don't break anything." Daisy mumbles before swiftly following Jason.

• • •

"Guys?" Daisy calls as she apprehensively roams the second floor.

She enters a study, seeing Davis, Sophie, and Jason hanging out. The latter two looking a bit too cozy.

"You shouldn't be here." Daisy urges, looking behind her to make sure none of the residents were approaching the room.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Dais. It is an open house, right?" Sophie retorts, untangling herself from Jason's arms.

"Still, these are private quarters and we should respect that." Daisy comments, trying not to look at Jason, he was wearing a smug kind of grin and Daisy didn't want to know what he was feeling so smug about.

"Such a goody two shoes." Davis mutters bitterly before walking past Daisy.

"Don't worry, we didn't do anything illegal." Jason teases, patting Daisy's shoulder in passing.

"Shit!" Sophie calls as she clumsily bumps into a vase when exiting the room. Without looking back Sophie flees the room, presumably following Jason.

"Damn it." Daisy mutters as she sees the mess at her feet. She lowers herself on her knees, careful not to sit on any of the shards. With care she starts to collect the bigger pieces of glass, maybe she could ask one of the servants for a dustpan. Daisy hisses as she feels the glass cutting her palm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Elijah frowns when he sees the girl sitting on the floor. He smells her blood, a sweet, penetrating scent. Besides that, he also smells something else, something familiar. He doesn't recognize her, but her scent tells him otherwise.

Daisy looks up to see a dark-haired man. He was looking down at her, concern visible on his features.

"Oh, I'm fine, it's only a small cut. I'm just trying to clean this mess up." Daisy smiles reassuringly at the stranger before continuing her task, she quickly brushes away the small trail of blood that was running over her palm, not wanting to stain the antique carpet.

The man crouches down, gently grabbing Daisy's wrist. He carefully inspects the wound, checking to see if there was any glass left in the cut. "It's alright, you can leave it." He murmurs.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to break it." Daisy whispers, realizing this had to be another Mikaelson. Looking up she is slightly startled at the proximity of the stranger's face.

"No need to lie, darling. I know it wasn't you who broke it." Elijah smiles softly at the blushing girl. He had overheard the conversation she had with her friends and thought it to be very kind of her to take the blame for their wrongdoings.

Now that he was so close to the girl, he was almost certain that this must be his soul mate, it could not be otherwise. He had never heard of other supernatural phenomena where you as an individual immediately feel so attracted and familiar with a stranger.

"Oh." Daisy frowns a little at this, not liking that this man caught her lie. "Well, I am sorry that the vase got broken and that the culprits ran off."

"It's alright, no need to worry. We have plenty of vases." Elijah gives the girl another warm smile. "Come, dear. Let's get you cleaned up." Elijah grabs her other hand, gently pulling her up.

Daisy gets back on her feet, wobbling slightly, her legs were feeling a bit unstable after having knelt for quite a period.

The man guides her to a bathroom, gesturing for her to take a seat on the bathroom sink. He proceeds to grab a bright orange box, presumably an emergency kit. Daisy wonders if it would be weird to ask his name now, or if she should wait for a little.

"My name is Elijah Mikaelson." Elijah announces as if hearing her thoughts. He takes a hold of Daisy's hand again, carefully cleaning it with an antiseptic wipe.

Daisy flinches slightly at the sting but undergoes Elijah's care without any complaint. She thought it to be very kind that he bothered to help her at all. The least she could do was sit still and accept his help as graciously as possible. Her mother would have a field day when Daisy would tell her she had met three very handsome young men at the party.

"I'm Daisy." Daisy says, looking up into Elijah's dark brown eyes.

"That's a lovely name." Elijah hums, he rips the paper wrapping of a band-aid with his mouth and one hand, still holding Daisy's injured hand with the other.

"Thank you." Daisy smiles up at Elijah after hopping off the sink. She grabs Elijah's arms to steady herself.

"I am about to welcome the guests and invite them to the dancefloor. Could I have the honor of having the first dance?" Elijah asks, relishing in feeling Daisy grab onto him.

"I would love to." Daisy replies instantly. She thought briefly of Jason, who was probably somewhere wrapping his arms around Sophie again. It was okay, it was only a dance. After all, the intention of this ball was that she would get to know the new residents, and dancing with the handsome Elijah was just part of getting to know him.