A/N: Since this story takes place in Mystic Falls, it's about time for a little action, don't you think? Not to mention some movement on the plot front. . . . Thanks for reading, and as always, reviews are much appreciated. I may not be able to update for a week or so because of friends coming into town, but I will try to be back as soon as possible with this story (not to mention eventually getting back to my other ones).

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. Rebecca is not the same character as the Original on the show (for one thing, she is way less whiny) so I do own her.

Chapter 8

Damon walked into the room and smiled at the sight of Becca standing in front of his mirror, holding up a vintage tunic shirt with a doubtful look on her face. He held up the garment bag he was carrying. "I have the perfect dress for you for the Seventies Dance."

Becca looked skeptical and he thought that she could read him way too well. He opened the bag anyway. He pulled out a silver sequined mini-dress. "See?"

Becca looked horrified. "I cannot wear that. It is too short to cover . . . anything." She scrunched up her face at the thought, and Damon wanted to smile at her expression. She looked adorable. He was happy to say that Becca had generally adopted the fitted, revealing clothing styles of the twenty-first century, but he definitely thought she could take it further – her body was stunning, after all. And from time to time, her reactions showed that she had lived through centuries of very different fashions for women.

"Come on. You'll look gorgeous in it."

"I am a chaperone. I cannot wear that dress. Although it is pretty. . . ." Her fingers trailed over the fabric, and Damon hid another smile. He would manage to convince her.

"You're not a chaperone. I am. You're a chaperone's date. And beside no one cares what the chaperones wear to these things. Did I tell you that I wore leather pants to the Sixties Dance? Tight leather pants."

Becca grinned at him. "When do I get to see those?"

"Maybe when you wear this dress."

Becca shook her head. "I do not think it is appropriate." Damon thought she sounded a bit regretful. Or he hoped she did.

He came up to her and slipped his arms around her from behind. He nuzzled her neck, admiring in the mirror the way her eyes closed slightly in pleasure at his touch. "You're going to be the most beautiful woman there either way, so you might as well flaunt it. Come on. Just try it on."

Becca sighed. "Alright, I will try it on. Maybe I will ask Caroline what she thinks."

Damon hid a smile at that. If she asked Caroline's opinion, he was golden. Elena might not approve, but Caroline would have no problem with short and sparkly.

•••••

Damon stood beside Alaric in the crowded school gym, pretending to be a responsible chaperone. Becca had gone to get them drinks, and he really hoped that someone had spiked the punch by now (or at least that Becca would spike their drinks) because the dance was boring him. The only plus side so far was that Becca looked just as gorgeous in the little silver dress as he had known she would. Her legs looked a million miles long with the short skirt, and the dress clung to her curves perfectly. But he had only been able to drag her onto the dance floor for a few songs. For some reason, she wanted to act like a respectable adult, and she didn't think his version of disco dancing qualified – which it certainly didn't, but being appropriate wasn't really part of Damon's style as a chaperone. So far his attempt to convince her that they were merely showing the kids what the seventies had actually been like (he had particularly enjoyed Studio 54) had failed. But the evening wasn't over yet, and at least he could give Ric a hard time. "So why didn't you invite Amaya tonight?"

Ric rolled his eyes. "It's a high school dance, Damon."

"So? It's not like there's anything else to do in Mystic Falls. She's probably sitting alone at the boarding house wishing she was with you . . ."

"I'm pretty sure she's not."

"Come on. I think Elijah might be onto something with you two. And you know it pains me to say that." Damon gave his friend an evil grin.

"Just shut up, okay."

"No one is any fun tonight." Damon sighed and fell silent. A moment later, he glanced over at Ric, wondering if the teacher had any alcohol on him. "This party needs something to liven it up."

Ric gave him a suspicious look. "Don't say that – you'll jinx us. Doesn't Elena have a tradition of getting attacked at these things?"

Damon had to concede that point, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it to continue to harass Ric. "Well, last time it was you who attacked her. Or your body anyway, so at least she's safe on that front tonight. Right?" He smirked at his friend before scanning the dance floor for Elena. "Where is our little trouble-magnet, anyway?"

Ric looked around, too, and he looked worried when he couldn't spot the brunette. "I don't know. She was over there earlier." He pointed to their right.

Damon frowned. He didn't see Elena anywhere, although at least he didn't see Stefan or Caroline on the dance floor either so maybe they were all together. Even though things had been peaceful in Mystic Falls for a few weeks, the three of them had an unspoken agreement to leave Elena alone in public as little as possible. Worrying about that girl was like an instinctive reflex at this point, and he snorted in disgust at himself. He was going to have to break that habit, and soon. Hell, Elena would probably be glad when he stopped worrying about her so much; she was the one who wanted to make decisions and control her own life after all. At the moment, Damon was getting a bad feeling, however. "Will you tell Becca I'll be right back? And hold my drink for me?"

Ric grimaced at him. "Depends on whether it's spiked or not. And I really hope none of my students heard that."

Damon grinned. "You're a role model, Ric." Then he moved off to make sure Elena was okay.

•••••

Caroline straightened her dress and checked her hair before following Elena out of the bathroom. So far the dance was really bumming her out because there were no good prospects at this school at all. She should have found a college boy to be her date or something, even if it took compulsion to make it happen (which it totally wouldn't anyway). Really, she still missed Tyler, and not even a college boy was going to fix that. With a sigh, she stepped out into the hallway only to see Stefan shove Elena behind him as a strange man approached.

Before Caroline could react, the stranger slammed Stefan into the wall, and he buried some sort of weapon that could have been a small stake in Stefan's chest. Elena screamed as Stefan crumpled to the ground, and Caroline raced forward to hold her friend back. The strange man had to be another vampire, and Caroline felt her fangs coming out at the prospect of a fight.

Then suddenly Damon was there, and Damon's attack drove the vampire away from where Stefan was disturbingly still. But to Caroline's horror, a moment later the strange vampire had turned the tables and Damon flew into the wall hard enough to shake the school. The vampire sprang across the room to where Damon had landed, another weapon in his hand. Caroline could only watch in horror, not wanting to leave Elena's side when a vampire could snap her neck in a second. And this other vampire was fast – he drove his weapon into Damon's neck before the black-haired vampire could even react. Damon lay on the floor, unmoving, blood pooling from his neck, as the other vampire got to his feet and turned toward her. The entire fight had lasted only seconds. Elena backed away as Caroline stood resolutely in front of her, although both of them were well aware that Caroline would be no obstacle to a vampire who could throw Damon around like a rag doll.

The vampire paused in front of the two girls, however, and his eyes roamed over Caroline's body, his gaze leering. "Aren't you a pretty one? I'd rather drive a different stake into you, honey."

"Eww. Not in a million years, creepo." Caroline was proud that her voice sounded so steady.

"Feisty. I like that in a baby vampire. I think both of you are coming with me."

Suddenly there was another figure in the room, and Caroline felt a surge of relief. If anyone could take this guy down, it was Becca, and she was going to be pissed about what he had done to Damon.

The Original had taken in the whole scene at one glance. Her voice was firm, and her eyes blazed with fury. "Sorry, no one is coming with you."

The strange vampire turned toward Becca with a bemused look on his face. "You're going to stop me? With what army?" Caroline knew that he saw a petite, beautiful blond woman in a vintage silver sequin party dress, and she smiled gleefully at the thought of just how much he was underestimating Becca based on her appearance.

Becca's smile could only be described as a smirk. "Just me." She was across the room too fast for even Caroline to really see the movement, and one blow sent the larger vampire flying. He hit a wall and sank down, shaking his head dazedly and cowering slightly as Becca stood over him. Caroline wondered just how hard Becca had hit him.

The vampire looked at Becca incredulously. "Who are you?"

Becca ignored him. "What do you want with my friends?"

"Look, I just want the doppelganger, okay? I'll let you in on the action."

"What is 'the action'? Tell me, and maybe I will not kill you."

The strange vampire both looked and sounded desperate. He held up a hand, and Caroline noticed for the first time that he was wearing gloves. She suddenly suspected that there had been vervain on the stakes he had used on Stefan and Damon. That would explain why the brothers hadn't gotten up. "I heard that there's an Original building an organization of vampires. I thought that the doppelganger would be the perfect way in."

Becca frowned at that, and Elena gasped. "Who is the Original?" Becca asked.

"I don't know the name, okay?" Then he seemed to finally figure it out. "Wait, are you. . . ?"

Becca interrupted him before he could finish. "I am an Original, yes, but I want nothing to do with followers." She sighed. "Caroline, can you find me a stake please? I would prefer not to get blood on my dress."

The man was begging now. "Please don't kill me. I'll do whatever you want."

Caroline sped to the nearest classroom, effortlessly breaking the lock on the door and snapping the wooden leg off a desk. She was in total agreement that it would be a shame to get blood on that gorgeous dress. She was back in seconds, and Becca caught the stake that Caroline tossed to her without even looking. Her eyes were still trained on the vampire who had attacked them. "Sorry, I do not like you. And you hurt my friends." The man tried to move then, but Becca caught him around the neck with her free hand and slammed him back. A second later she drove the stake into his heart. She stepped back with a look of distaste. "Idiot."

A curse from the other side of the hallway revealed that Damon had regained consciousness and managed to pull the weapon from his neck. Caroline watched as he staggered to his feet and crossed the room to Becca's side. He rubbed at the rapidly healing wound on his neck and his hand came away bloody. His voice was hoarse. "But a strong idiot. That guy was not young."

Becca shook her head. She rested her hand on Damon's arm, and Caroline thought she saw relief in Becca's brown eyes that Damon appeared to be okay. "No, he was quite old." Caroline thought Becca looked concerned, and that scared her a little. She heard a groan come from Stefan, and she watched as Elena finally moved, looking more than a little dazed, and crossed the room to where her boyfriend lay on the floor.

Damon was still talking to Becca, although he choked on the words a little as if it hurt to talk. "Do you think he was telling the truth that one of your siblings is looking for followers?"

Becca sighed again. "Yes, I suspect that he was. And I can probably guess who."

Caroline was puzzled by the whole idea. "Why?"

Becca turned to her. "It is a form of power, to gather other vampires around you. Especially one such as this."

Caroline glared down at the body. "He was a creep. I see what you were saying about male vampires."

Damon looked puzzled at that, but Becca brought her finger to his lips to silence him before he could ask. Her voice was soft. "I will tell you later. Right now, you and Stefan need blood, and we need to get rid of the body."

Damon's eyes flashed briefly, but he nodded. "Yeah, I guess a dead vampire in the school might not go over too well. We can get Ric to help, but . . ." He glanced down at the blood staining his vintage polyester outfit. "Someone not covered with blood is going to have to go get him."

Caroline glanced over to where Elena was trying to help Stefan sit up. "I'll go." She headed back toward the dance at human speed. Maybe it was a good thing that she hadn't brought a date after all. He would probably just have ended up dead.

•••••

Damon lay back on his bed with a frustrated sigh. He had just gotten out of the shower, and he was wearing only a towel. He rubbed absently at his neck where the other vampire had stabbed him. He had consumed a couple of glasses of blood and washed off his own blood so that he looked as good as new, but his neck was still sore. His pride was hurt worse, however. If Becca hadn't decided to stay in town for the dance, at best they would be chasing after a kidnapped Elena. Again. And at worst, that vampire would have finished them all off before leaving with his prize. Damon wasn't sure why the other vampire had just disabled himself and Stefan rather than going for the heart in the first place. He muttered to himself. "How humiliating."

Of course Becca chose that moment to walk in. "Are you talking to yourself?"

Damon forced a grin. "Yep, I've finally lost it completely."

Becca smiled back a bit wistfully as she sat down on the bed next to him. "You are not the only one. Alaric is still absolutely fascinated by those little stakes that vampire had. He says they are carved from some kind of porous wood and were soaked in vervain. I think he wants to keep them, although they will not do us much good unless you want to wear gloves all the time." Her smile faded slightly as she trailed her fingers softly along Damon's bare chest.

Damon couldn't help but sigh into her touch. "Yeah, there was definitely vervain involved." It didn't help his pride any, although Becca's caresses were making him feel better.

Her voice was quiet. "You are okay? I felt it when he hurt you. That was how I got there so fast."

Damon hadn't thought of that particular effect of the blood bond between them, but it made sense. And it might have saved the day, after all. "Yeah, I'm okay." He knew she had been worried for him, and he loved that she cared even as he hated how easily that other vampire had taken him out. He captured her hand and kissed it lightly. There was something that he needed to ask her before they went too much further, though, and he wanted to change the topic of conversation away from his weakness. "So what were you telling Caroline about male vampires? Should I be insulted?"

Becca's brown eyes met his and she smiled again. "You remembered that?" She paused a moment before continuing. "I was explaining to Caroline why I was . . . alone for so long."

She stopped talking then, and Damon waited with what he thought was reasonable patience for her to continue. After a minute or so of silence, his patience ran out, however. He sat up, but he tried to keep his voice nonchalant. "And what did you say to her?"

He thought Becca looked uncharacteristically vulnerable as her brown eyes met his blue ones. Her voice was quiet. "Over the centuries, I met many male vampires who were not comfortable with me being stronger than them."

Damon suddenly understood that look, and he brought his hands up to the sides of her face, keeping their eyes locked together. His gaze burned with intensity even as his thumbs brushed lightly over her skin. "I don't care about that. I love how strong you are." Not to say that he didn't wish that he was strong enough to match her, but she didn't need to know about his insecurities.

Becca sounded a bit doubtful. "You do?"

"Yes, I do." Damon brought his lips to hers to show her just how okay he was with her power. She tangled one hand in his hair even as the other rubbed down his back, and her touch ignited a fire in him. His smile was very much a real one when they finally broke apart. "It's definitely time to get you out of that dress."

Damon was so caught up in Becca that he didn't notice when the door to his bedroom was pushed open slightly and then closed silently a moment later.

•••••

Elena backed away from the door and took a shaky breath. The image of Damon's naked, muscled back and damp black hair seemed to be burned onto her retina, but of course, Becca's hands had been all over him. Damon never had any time or attention for her anymore. He didn't care that she had almost been kidnapped again tonight (she ignored that it was Becca who had saved her from that fate) or that Bonnie couldn't just be replaced by some new witch or that tonight might set Stefan back. She told herself that it wasn't that she was jealous of Becca, but she needed her friend right now – and Damon didn't seem to care about that. He had his perfect little vampire relationship, and Elena decided bitterly that he probably had never wanted anything other than sex anyway. She moved away from his door with a huff of anger.