"Elena!" Damon called up to her bedroom from the first floor in agitation. "Are you almost ready? We're going to be late."

"I'm almost ready… I'm having trouble with my zipper…"

There was a big party at the Lockwood's that night; a bit of a BBQ ball, if you can put those two words together without causing a war…

Alaric had to go early, because Meredith Fell had asked if he wanted to help her set up; it also happened to be a hospital fundraiser. Not to mention, Alaric was quickly becoming smitten with the little doctor…

But, that's beside the point; seeing as though Alaric was AWOL, Damon had… very graciously offered to take Elena, instead.

"Do you need help?" he called up to her.

He heard her sigh; it was more out of embarrassment than anything else. "Would you mind?"

She jumped when he appeared behind her in the full length mirror. "Not at all."

"Stop doing that! Can't you just walk like a normal person?"

"Well, we're in a hurry." He said, brushing her hair over her shoulder and pulling the zipper to her black dress up. It was a thin, flowy material that reached the floor. "Not to mention, the last time I checked… I wasn't an ordinary person."

She sighed. "Thank you."

He grinned. "You're welcome."

They both looked at their reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful." Damon told her. "But, you're missing one thing…"

She frowned in confusion and her eyes widened when he reached over her head, placing a necklace at her throat and fastening the clasp. It was a gold circular locket, with a small diamond in its center.

"Damon…" she whispered in shock, admiring the jewel.

He grinned, his hands lingering on her bare shoulders. "You're welcome."

"You didn't have to do this… why did you do this?"

He shrugged. "It's not just a regular gift, Elena. There's vervain inside of it. Just because you aren't seeing eye to eye with my brother, doesn't mean I want you to run around unprotected."

She turned around to face him. "Thank you." She said sincerely.

He grinned and shrugged. "No problem."

"No, Damon. You don't know how hard I've been trying to find another way to wear vervain since… Thank you. Thank you so much…"

She reached up and kissed him, causing him to smile beneath her lips. "You're welcome." He said when she pulled away.

She gave him a small smile, and she seemed to be thinking about something.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Are you ready?"

He nodded and offered her his arm. "Shall we, Miss Gilbert?"

She smiled and linked her elbow with his. "It would be an honor, Mr. Salvatore."

VvvvV

"Elena, so glad you could make it. Damon, the council is holding a meeting after cocktail hour."

Mrs. Lockwood, who was smiling brightly as she welcomed her guests, whispered the last part while ushering them onto the lawn where everyone was gathered.

"A meeting? About what?" Damon asked her.

Mrs. Lockwood bit her lip. "Well, you're both aware of what happened to Mr. Saltzman?"

Elena grimaced, but nodded along with Damon.

"Well, then you know it wasn't an accident. That monster who turned my Tyler into a… a…"

"Hybrid." Damon said.

"Yes. Well, I believe he's behind it…"

"He is." Damon said, and Mrs. Lockwood frowned.

"How do you know?"

"He's getting revenge on Stefan by trying to kill the people we care about. Jeremy was supposed to die, but Alaric saved him."

Mrs. Lockwood's eyes widened. "You can't be serious…!"

"Oh, I am. And believe me; getting the council involved with Klaus is the last thing you want to do."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"I suggest you leave the Klaus problems to me and Elena, because they're our problems, not yours."

"Elena? Don't tell me that you're involved in all of this, too?"

Elena sighed. "I wish I wasn't."

"So do I." Damon said under his breath.

"Well, what do I do? I've already called an emergency council meeting…"

"So tell them it was just to inform them of what a grade A job they're doing, and how they have nothing to worry about."

"You want me to lie to them?"

"Not lie. Just don't tell them the truth."

Mrs. Lockwood sighed. "Fine. But you'll still come, won't you? To help me?"

"Of course."

She nodded and walked back to the front of the house to welcome more guests.

The entire Lockwood property was covered in twinkling lights, with food everywhere. A band was playing on a stage and several people were dancing.

"There's Ric." Elena said when she noticed him handing food to people with Dr. Fell.

Damon grinned. "I can't believe the poor sucker got himself roped into doing that…"

"Hey," Elena scolded. "Don't be that way. He likes her. I'm glad; it's about time he moved on. I'm glad he's happy. I think Jenna would be, too."

Damon smiled at her. "So do I."

She was smiling up at him when Caroline caught her attention. "Elena! There you are. I want you to meet someone."

Caroline rushed up to them in a short green dress, with a guy around their age on her arm. He had reddish blond hair, and looked very nervous.

"Elena, this is Max. He's captain of the Mystic Falls High School debate team. Max, this is Elena."

Elena smiled politely. "It's nice to meet you."

"You are pretty." He said nervously, and blushed. "I mean, Caroline said you were pretty, but…"

"What's going on?" Damon suddenly snapped, and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"And this is Damon Salvatore, who is leaving."

"I am not!" Damon hissed at her.

"Yes, you are. Go… talk to people your own age."

Damon was glaring.

"Um… I'm kind of wondering the same thing, Caroline. What's going on?" Elena asked.

Caroline grinned. "Well, I was talking to Max about cheerleading, and he said that he thought the squad should cheer for non-sport related things, as well. I totally agreed with him; more publicity for us and all…"

"Caroline, not the point here."

"Right, sorry. So, we were talking about that when I wondered why an awesome guy like Max was here alone. It turns out he's single. So, I thought he should ask you to dance, since you're single too…"

"Oh…" Elena said.

"She's not single!" Damon suddenly cried, and all three turned to look at him.

He just made a face and shook his head. "Whatever. Mingle with the debate geek. I'm out of here."

"Damon, don't…" Elena said, and he turned his head back toward her.

"Oh, forget him. He's just a jerk, anyway." Caroline said, pulling Elena's attention very unwillingly back to them. Damon shook his head and walked away.