Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or any of the characters and scenes from the show!

A/N:Here it is! Chapter 8... I didn't want to make you wait any longer! Also there is a little Klaroline in here:3

Thanks so much for those of you who reviewed and added this story to their favorites and alert list! I dedicate this to VeraDeDiamant for encouraging me to write about the ball! **

Go ahead and R&R!

Caroline saw that Alaric was struggling to get by and she brought him a tumbler half filled with bourbon to ease his mind a little.

"Here, I think you could use a drink…" She said, smiling shyly as she took a seat next to him on the couch. Ric looked at Caroline with guilt clouding his clear blue eyes.

"Caroline…" His head slumped and he was trying to avoid looking her in the eye, because it was just too much. He could only imagine how she had felt when she found out that he was her father's killer. Ric didn't even know how to begin…

"I'm so sorry…" The sincerity in his words was clear. Caroline's eyes were fixed on him and Alaric dropped his gaze to the floor, slightly shaking his head.

"I don't even know what else I could say…" Alaric's voice filled with regret, desperate for not even being aware of his doings. Caroline huffed as she looked down at her feet, deciding the best way to handle the situation.

"Right after I turned into a vampire I killed someone. A stranger. I just… killed him." Caroline confessed, avoiding his gaze. Alaric was looking at her, his eyes drifting from her face to the floor, both of them being slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

"And what's worse is… I liked it." Caroline continued as her eyes met his for a moment, understanding washing over her face as Ric shook his head and looked away again,

"I have blood on my hands, too. We all do." She said, with a slight shrug of her shoulders, reminding them both that they were dealing with death on a regular bases what with all the vampire, werewolves and witches going round town. Ric's reply came fast as he whipped his head into her direction.

"Yeah, but the blood on my hands is your father's." Ric watched as she fumbled with her hands in her lap, but she wasn't angry at him.

"Yes, it is and maybe the guy I killed was someone's father, too." Caroline shook her head, her eyes softening.

"Look, all I know is I'm no better than you. So I'm gonna take a page from the Elena Gilbert handbook and choose to believe that you can be saved. Okay?" Caroline smiled as the words came right out of her mouth, Ric smiling slightly, too as he nodded at her.

"Okay" They were both relieved that they had talked about this and now all was back to normal.

Elena had left the two to solve their problem and went upstairs. As she entered her room, she saw a dark figure standing in front of the window. It was pretty dark. The only light coming from the moon and the man was facing away from her so she couldn't tell who it was. Her heart started beating faster and she froze in her tracks. Who could it be? Damon had just left, but he was the only one to show up in her room like that, so, maybe he came back.

"Damon..?" Her voice was shaky and she didn't dare to move further into her room. As the man turned to face her, she realized it wasn't Damon, but a totally unexpected guest. His pale skin was shining in the moonlight, his brown hair perfectly combed and his eyes boring straight into hers.

"Elijah" She acknowledged as the man stepped forward, nodding his head slightly.

„I believe we have a little catching up to do..." Elijah said as he smiled at Elena.

"So, as we all know by now, it was their mother, Esther, who was sealed in that coffin." Elena said, eyeing the Salvatore brothers as she was pouring herself a cup of coffee. The three of them were gathered in the kitchen, at the Gilbert residence. They had to sort things out and find a way to deal with the new problems. Damon and Stefan had arrived early in the morning and as soon as they did, Caroline left, taking Alaric to meet Meredith. All was back to normal between the brothers.

"But how's she even alive? I thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago." Damon furrowed his brows as he looked at Elena, genuinely intrigued by the Original Witch.

"I don't know. I'm guessing she has a couple of connections in the witching community. Elijah said that she wants to live in peace with her family, including Klaus." Elena looked at Stefan first, then at Damon as she spoke the last two words. Damon was actually shocked, but Stefan was the one to talk first.

"She was supposed to be the weapon to help us kill Klaus. That coffin was the only thing stopping Klaus from tearing us to shreds." Stefan stated as he started pacing around the kitchen, turning towards Elena then to his brother.

"Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" Damon shifted his gaze settling on Stefan as he remembered what had happened. Stefan stopped pacing and looked at Elena.

"Look, Elijah promised me that his family wouldn't hurt any of us. " She assured them, trusting Elijah's words from the night before. He was a man of his word after all and Elena didn't know why, but she trusted him. And he had confided her a lot more than he should. He didn't need to come by her house to explain things, but he had.

The door bell rang and they all turned towards the sound. Elena took a minute to finish her little speech before walking away.

"I believe him." She said, confidently as she looked Damon straight in the eyes, walking around them to open the door. When she opened the door there was no one there- only a small, white envelope with Elena's name on it. She picked it up, turning back to find both brothers in the hallway, curious to know what was that all about.

"What is it?" Damon asked as he placed his hands in his pockets, studying the piece of paper in Elena's hands as she opened the envelope.

"It's an invitation." She said and began to read aloud: "Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock. For dancing, cocktails and celebration." As she finished, her eyes instantly met Damon's and Stefan's confused ones.

"Who the hell are the Mikaelsons?" Stefan asked as he looked over at Damon, his expression truly confused. If it weren't for the tense atmosphere, Damon might have just laughed at Stefan's expression.

"The Original Family" Elena finally put into words what both her and Damon were thinking. They were all stunned at the unexpected turn of events.

"It's not bad enough they're moving into town, now they want a housewarming gift?" Damon was back to his sarcastic self and Elena noticed that there was more.

"Wait, there's a note on the back. 'Elena, I think it's time that we finally meet, Esther.'" The last word came out as a whisper. Elena looked up at Damon, her chocolate eyes full of worry, not knowing what the Witch wanted from her. They made their way into the living room, pondering over the options they had.

"If Esther wants to talk to me, maybe I should find out why." Elena said as she faced the brothers again, but was met by Damon's scowl.

"Well that's a dumb idea, she already chose to forgive Klaus. At least that's what Elijah said… and if that's true then she doesn't really need to know you." Elena was looking at Damon, not knowing what to say. She couldn't just stay away. All she wanted was to hear what Esther had to say. Elena was debating on what to tell Damon to make him understand when Stefan interrupted her train of thought.

"No, Elena is right. Bonnie was led to open that coffin for a reason. I think there is more to this than just some family reunion." Damon shook his head, hating when Stefan got these kinds of thoughts. He had to admit that he was right, but he'd not put Elena in any dangerous situation.

"Can we go back in time where the old Stefan cared if Elena lived or died?" He gestured at Elena and she just dropped her gaze to the floor. This was not the time to bring up the subject of Stefan's humanity- or lack thereof.

"What for? It's your job now." Stefan's words earned him a glare from Damon and they were both surprised when they heard Elena's voice.

"Stefan has a point, Damon. I should find out what she wants." She said as she approached them, focusing on Damon, wanting him to understand her decision.

"You can't protect yourself." Damon's response came quickly, the overprotective side of him taking over him. Elena's eyes softened at his words, even though Damon's were still boring into hers, silently begging her not to go.

"Then why don't you come with me?" Elena moved closer to him, her eyes showing just how much she wanted him to come, one of her fingers poking his chest as she spoke. Damon was slightly taken aback by her attitude, especially in Stefan's presence. He loved that sparkle of love in her brown eyes, and his resolve crumbled as he let out a sigh, taking her hand is his, Stefan long forgotten.

"Are you asking me on a date, Miss Gilbert?" Damon smirked at her, doing the famous eye thing that he knew affected her more than she'd ever admit. Stefan watched the interaction from a few feet away, wondering how far Elena will go.

"I definitely am, Mister Salvatore" She smiled warmly as she inched forward, her lips barely touching his. "Are you saying yes?" She pushed as her lips brushed over his and Damon actually forgot all about his brother watching, as he whispered a firm 'yes'. Elena closed the distance between them, molding her lips to his and nibbling at his bottom lip before she felt his tongue against her lips and she opened her mouth. They didn't get too far into it, because Damon heard Stefan's breath hitch and he pulled away,

"Pick you up at seven." Damon smirked at her and she nodded, feeling Stefan's intense gaze on them. Damon expected Elena to pull back, embarrassed that she'd kiss him in front of her ex, but she surprised him by wrapping her arms around him, and kissing him again. It was a chaste kiss, but still, Damon's heart swelled at the undeniable proof of Elena's choice. He didn't know how it all happened this way, but he felt like the luckiest man on the planet right now. Stefan raised an eyebrow at Elena's uncharacteristic behavior. She didn't show any kind of remorse, kissing his brother in front of him like he wasn't even there. But, then again, Stefan couldn't blame her for moving on.

Damon pulled away from her, loving the pout that she had plastered on her face as he did so. She is adorable! And then his eyes shifted to his brother, seeing his blank expression. He was trying to fight the feelings, but failing miserably as Elena turned towards him with a broad smile. His brows furrowed and a myriad of emotions coursed through his green eyes. Damon saw confusion at first, regret and finally pain and realization. Pain because he had lost the girl he loved.

Elena had made her choice. And it wasn't him. He wanted to scream at them for being so affectionate, to rip them apart and shake Elena until she came back to her senses. All of that wouldn't make a difference. Stefan brought this upon himself by leaving her, even though it was to save Damon. He just couldn't believe how just a few days ago, Elena hadn't admitted her feelings for Damon, and was really reluctant to showing how she felt for Damon around him. Clearly it couldn't have been only the fact that Damon was tortured by Klaus. But maybe it was… Nobody knew what had actually happened there.

Damon could see all of those emotions playing around in Stefan's head and to a certain extent, he shared the concern because of Elena's behavior, but she had chosen him. The smile she sported spoke volumes for both brothers as Elena leaned into Damon's chest, looking Stefan in the eye. This was her- making it official. She chose Damon and she wanted it to be clear that she wasn't hiding her feelings anymore.

Before anyone could speak, Elena's phone rang. The bright screen flashed Caroline's number and Elena smiled, answering the phone, without stepping away from Damon. Her hand was tracing invisible patterns on Damon's blue button-up shirt.

"Hey, Care. What's up?" Elena's eyes were dancing with happiness as she looked up into Damon's clear blue ones. Caroline wanted to meet Elena at the Grill as both vampires heard. Elena agreed quickly. They were girls after all and the ball was tonight and who better than Caroline Forbes to talk to about girl stuff?

"See you tonight!" Elena pecked Damon on the lips and rushed over to grab her bag, before running out the door, calling a quick "Bye" to the two vampires.

At the GRILL:

"It's all so weird. The Originals are throwing a ball. Like an actual ball." Elena narrowed her eyes as she spoke, the waitress dropping them a menu.

"It's some twisted Cinderella fetish is what it is. And why does the Evil Witch want an audience with you?" Caroline seemed agitated, but Elena put that all on the vampire heightened emotion thing.

"I have no idea. There's only one way to find out." Caroline raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at her lips, ignoring the idea of Elena actually meeting Esther. Elena smiled before she responded, knowing for sure what her friend was about to ask.

"Yes… Damon's gonna be my date for the dance. And how 'bout you?" Elena's smile broadened, but Caroline simply shook her head 'no'. Elena didn't have time to ask her about that because Rebekah walked up to them.

"Careful Caroline. It's all well and good until she stabs you in the back." Her voice was laced with sarcasm as the girls turned towards her, Elena's eyes betraying her surprise, but she recovered quickly.

"What are you doing here? I know your mom's rules. No hurting the locals." She said, channeling a bit of Damon's snarky personality, but deep inside she was a little apprehensive about the encounter.

"Get over yourself Elena. It's not all about you." Rebekah rolled her eyes at her, heading towards the bar. The two girls watched her walk over to Matt and giving him an invitation to the ball, being all charming and nice. Matt seemed surprised and Caroline turned her face back to Elena, her mouth wide open in shock and her brows furrowing.

"Oh my god. She's inviting him to the ball. Why is she inviting him?" Caroline was looking back and forth from Elena to Matt as she spoke. It wasn't supposed to be that way… Matt was supposed to stay out of this supernatural stuff, but they were both shocked, looking at the interaction.

"Probably to get this reaction from us." Elena answered Caroline's question, as they both stared at Rebekah, who was smiling, knowing that they were watching them. Matt nodded, Caroline finally breaking her gaze from the two, scoffing as she faced Elena again.

"What time is this stupid dance? "

Elena was standing in front of her full length mirror as the door bell rang. She smiled as she rushed down the stairs, her dress flowing around her, her heels clicking on the wooden floors. As she reached the front door and opened it, she was greeted with a stunningly handsome tux-clad vampire and the most incredibly blue eyes she had ever seen. Damon was smirking at her, holding a single blood red rose in his hand, his eyes widening as he looked at her, taking her in. He gave her the rose, kissing her hand as she took it and bowed slightly.

Elena was absolutely gorgeous. Her dress was strapless, the corset-like top was emphasizing her tiny waist, the heart shaped neckline making her breasts stand out and the black lace contrasting beautifully with her olive skin. The cream, sparkling material and the patches of lace were making Elena look even more beautiful than usual. Damon's mouth was practically dangling open as he finally met her eyes, the color of melted honey and chocolate.

Elena smiled as she was admiring his perfect body, too. His black tux fitted him to a tee, his white dress shirt making a beautiful contrast with his raven hair, his cerulean blue eyes standing out even more than usual. They didn't know how long have they stayed like that, eye-fucking each other, but when Damon moved closer and offered her his arm, Elena pulled him in for a scorching kiss. They needed that and Damon's hands encircled her waist as he brought her closer into him, his tongue seductively playing with hers.

All too soon they pull away, their breathing shallow as they go to Damon's Camaro and drive off to the ball.

The massive doors open as Damon and Elena walk into the Mikaelsons Mansion. The room was full of people, elegant dresses and tuxes all around as all of Mystic Falls' residents were attending the ball. The decorations were fancy and beautiful, a massive staircase leading up to the second floor. There was music playing in the background as they walked inside. Elena's dress was sparkling in the light coming from the thousands of little lights that hung down from the railing of the staircase. They looked around, spotting Stefan making his way to them. Damon rolled his eyes at his little bro. He never listened…

"Surprise, surprise. Nice tux. You're not supposed to be here, bro." Damon's voice was low as he looked around to see if there were any of the Originals around. He didn't need to have to worry about him, too.

"Well I decided that I couldn't miss the opportunity to meet the famous Mother of the Originals" Stefan said as they all made their way through the crowd. Elena saw that Caroline had just arrived and she told Damon she'll go talk to her. Damon spotted Carol Lockwood talking to one of the Originals and he and Stefan made their way to her, to mingle with the mayor.

"Hello Carol. Hanging out with your new besties?" Damon smirked at the Original as he kissed Carol's hand and then extended it to the vampire. "Damon Salvatore. Have we met?" He narrowed his eyes as the Original replied, shrugging.

"Kol Mikaelson. I've met a lot of people. And you don't particularly stand out." Then he walked away, leaving Damon wondering why his face seemed so familiar. Stefan looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow.

Caroline was looking around to see if she could find Elena or anyone familiar for that matter. Her eyes fell upon Klaus. He was drinking champagne with some woman, but as his eyes met hers, he walked up to her. He looked dashing in a black tux and a white dress shirt with a white bowtie. She suddenly remembered that she was wearing the dress that he sent her that evening as his eyes roamed over her body. Klaus stopped right in front of her, his grey-blue eyes fixing hers.

"Good evening." His lips twitched into a small smile and Caroline took a deep breath to calm down as she meet his eyes.

"I need a drink" She turned abruptly, heading quickly away from him. Klaus followed her with a look of admiration at how good she looked in that blue dress.

Elena was waiting for the waiter to fill a glass of champagne as a strange man came to her. He looked older, but she immediately knew that he was another Original, his resemblance to Elijah evident. He took two glasses of champagne and handed her one of them while he spoke.

"Elena Gilbert, I presume? I'm Finn Mikaelson. You're here to see my mother" Finn's voice was deep, still with a thick British accent and as soon as Elena heard his last words, she looked around before asking. "Is she here?"

"Her request did not include your friends" Finn spoke as if he hadn't even heard her. He was strange, different from his brother, Klaus, but a lot like Elijah.

"They're protecting me." Elena said as she searched the room for the Salvatore brothers and spotted them with Carol, still.

"If you want to see my mother, you'll need to be alone." Elijah's voice was echoing through the room as Finn excused himself.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please." Elena watched as Finn joined his siblings on the staircase as Elijah addresses the company.

"Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." As he spoke, they could all see Esther coming down the stairs. Damon and Stefan were looking at her, too,

"Do you see who I see?" Damon asked Stefan in a hushed tone.

"Oh, yeah." Stefan nodded as Elijah continued to talk.

"Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom." Elijah continued his speech, his voice calm and polite as always. As everyone makes their way to the ballroom, Esther retreats silently back upstairs. Elena moves to go upstairs, but Damon blocks her way.

"Don't even think about it." He stood there, with a determined look on his face.

"She wants to see me alone, Damon." Elena pleaded with him, but she knew that he wouldn't agree to that. And she was right, judging by his words.

"Well sucks to be her then." And he did that eye thing that Elena loves, extending his hand towards her.

"It would be rude not to dance, you know" His velvety voice making her heart flutter. He was using all his charm just to keep her away from Esther, but she rolled her eyes and finally took his hand.

"It is tradition" Elena smiled at him as he led them to the ballroom. The music started playing and they moved along the song with the others. Stefan watched the interaction and his heart sank a little deeper as the happy couple started dancing.

Damon led her gracefully onto the dance floor. Elena noticed that Caroline was dancing with Klaus and Stefan with Carol Lockwood. They were swaying with the soft notes of the music, and then Elena placed her hand into Damon's, his other hand bringing her closer. He was an excellent dancer and he knew it. He had decades of practice to back him up on that.

Elena felt like she was floating. For a moment there were no Originals, no witches, no curses and all that mattered, all that she could feel and see was Damon. Their faces were close, eyes locked, bodies pressed against each other and Elena couldn't take anymore of this. The love and adoration that graced his features, mimicking her own were melting her heart.

'All I want is the taste that your lips allow. My-my, my-my… Give me love' The lyrics of the song couldn't have been more spot-on, Elena's gaze shifting to Damon's lips as he parted them slightly. She closed the distance between them, her lips soft, yet firm against his. Damon smiled as he traced her lower lip with his tongue, not giving a damn about all the people watching them. They hadn't talked about what they'd say to the others, but in this moment, there was no one but the two of them, dancing and kissing.

Caroline was checking up on Matt, who was dancing with Rebekah, not wanting to meet Klaus' eyes as they floated around the room.

"Caroline, you look ravishing in that dress," Klaus was smiling broadly and those adorable dimples were driving Caroline crazy. How could he be so damn cute? Not to mention the sexiest British accent…

"I didn't really have time to shop." She shrugged her shoulders, relieved that she could come up with a good enough reason as to why she was wearing the dress he gave her. But Klaus caught onto that and he smirked, pointing at the bracelet another of his gifts,

"And the bracelet I gave you, what's your excuse for wearing that?" Caroline was taken aback by that and she looked away. "You know, you're quite the dancer." Klaus' words snapped her out of her thoughts as complimented her sincerely.

"Well, I've had training. I happen to be Miss Mystic Falls." She held her head high, scoffing, annoyed by the compliments and the smiles he was giving her.

"I know" His response came so quickly that it shocked her and she hated how that only made his smile widen. He was enjoying getting her all worked up and he wasn't hiding it.

She saw Elena and Damon kiss as they danced around in circles, thinking that Elena hadn't been that happy in a very long time and she smiled, enjoying the sight of Elena and Damon together, they looked like they belonged in a movie.

The kiss started off chaste and full of love, but as soon as Damon's tongue slipped between her lips, Elena clutched his hand tighter and gave into him completely. She wanted more of him and she forgot all about Esther and Klaus as they kissed, tongues dancing along to the music. Elena nibbled at his lower lip, sucking it into her mouth, but Damon decided they'd better finish this elsewhere, not in the middle of the dance floor and he finally pulled away, resting their foreheads together. The song was picking up and he knew the next move would make them switch partners, still he twirled her around, reluctantly letting her go right into Stefan's arms.

"Hmm. He dances, and I didn't even have to beg." Elena teased him, rolling her eyes as they began moving to the music again. Stefan smiled a bit, before replying in fake annoyance.

"Well Mayor Lockwood dragged me out here. Couldn't exactly say no." They were close, but Elena turned her head to the side and caught a glimpse of Damon dancing with Rebekah, jealousy taking over her as unpleasant memories came rushing back into her mind. She pushed them away, though, practically dragging Stefan out of the ballroom and towards the drinks.

Stefan handed her a glass of champagne and watched as she drowned half of it without even blinking. A small smile graced his lips and Elena noticed, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Looks like I've had a bad influence on you." Damon's deep voice made Elena turn around, grinning at the blue eyed vampire sheepishly. Stefan rolled his eyes, but he couldn't contain a smile as he observed Damon and Elena's expressions.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it! I had to end the chapter like this only because I want to know your opinion on something.

Where do you want them to hook up? Right there in the Mikaelson's mansion or do they have to go home…? 3

Do you want more Klaroline?

Review and let me know!

xoxo Rose