Chapter 12

"How long is this going to go on for, Elena?" Damon asked, walking into my room as I was tying a scarf around my neck in front of the mirror.

"As long as it needs to Damon. It's working isn't it?"

"That doesn't make it right. You...we are lying to everyone. Eventually someone is going to catch us out, and then what?"

"No one is going to find out. And yes, we're lying, but what they don't know can't hurt them."

"You would never have done something like this before." He said quietly.

"Before what."

"Before you turned." I felt guilty, but tried to keep my face hard.

"Desperate times call for-"

"You've changed." It wasn't an accusation, just a statement.

"I've had to."

"I like it." All of a sudden I felt his close proximity to me very acutely. He was standing right behind me. I blushed.

"I...uh...we should get going." He seemed to snap out of a trance.

"Yes..let's go. What's the plan this time, mastermind?"

"It's just a party in the woods. Remote, spread out. Perfect for you to teach me the 'Damon Salvatore hunting method.'"

"Ah, 'Snatch, Eat, Erase.'"

"Yes."

"What if we see someone there you know?"

"We'll say I'm just trying to carry on with a normal life. I used to go to parties didn't I?"

"Yes, but you used to keep the drinking limited to alcohol." He smirked. I punched him playfully on the arm. "And you used to go with Stefan."

"He wanted to check up on Caroline. You'll have to be my backup Salvatore chaperone."

"Why Miss Gilbert," Damon said in an old accent. "I would be honoured to be your date for the ball."

"It's not a date." I laughed at him. "And it's definitely no ball."

"Oh yes it is, it's a forest ball." He said, threading his arm through mine and walking me out the door yelling, "Footman! Ready the carriage. Her Ladyship wishes to depart for the ball!"

I played along with Damon's game all the way to the clearing in the forest. I was a noble lady attending a ball, and he my cordial suitor. It was silly, but hilariously funny.

"I hope the music is to your liking, Miss Gilbert." He said, as we walked past the bonfire. I listened carefully for a moment to the bone-rattling beat blasting from the speaker.

"It most surely is, Mr Salvatore. A delightful melody."

"Might I have the honour of the next dance?" He held out his hand to me, his eyes sparkling in the firelight.

"You may." I took his hand, and a split second later went spinning into his arms, before being lowered almost to the leafy floor. He pulled me up again and laid one arm on my waist. My spine tingled at the contact. I rested my free arm around his shoulder, and we began to sway slowly completely out of time with the deafening music.

"Why Mr Salvatore, this is my favourite dance!"

"As well as my own." He said, his accent making me smile. "And have you chosen who you will be drinking this evening, Miss Gilbert? Mystic Falls is famed across the land for it's fine drink."

"I have heard such stories, Mr Salvatore. Might I get a recommendation from a connoisseur such as yourself?"

"Of course. That one there looks fine indeed." He whispered, pointing surreptitiously at a girl laughing and drinking with a group of friends. I shook my head.

"How about him?" He said, looking at a boy trying to down a beer as fast as possible." Once again, I shook my head. Damon scanned the crowd again.

"Ah, that particular vintage bears my very own seal of approval." He pointed to another boy I recognised from my history class, a guy named Hector,

"You can account for it's quality, Mr Salvatore?"

"I can. Most satisfying."

"Well then I should be rude not to sample it too. How is it done?"

"This is the best part." Damon grinned devilishly at me, and taking several steps away from me to stand in the shadow of a tree. "You need to gain the trust of your target." My acute hearing allowed me to still hear him.

"His trust?"

"Yes. But first his attention. You have to separate him from the group." I looked at Hector. He was joking heartily with a bunch of friends.

"How? Just walk up to him?"

"Don't be a barbarian. It's a fine art. Be subtle."

Use your imagination, Elena.

What do you mean?

You're a hunter. Hunt.

"Subtle how?" I asked Damon.

"Lay your trap, and wait."

You're a spider. Build a web and let him ensnare himself.

I'll try.

I sat down on a log and put my head in my hands, trembling slightly as though I were crying. When my eyes felt wet enough, I glanced up at Hector. He noticed me looking at him, and I gave him a sad smile. He smiled back, and detached himself from his group to walk towards me.

Nicely done.

"Are you okay?" Hector asked, sitting down beside me.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine."

"You were crying."

"It's nothing. Could you...do me a favour?"

"Sure, anything." He smiled easily.

"Really?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"I just want...a hug. But you mustn't scream. Or run away. Or react at all. It won't hurt, and you won't remember it." His face was frozen in a blank smile.

"Sure. Hug away." I smiled, and embraced him, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Remember," I heard Damon say. "If you kill him, we'll have to leave straight away. If you let him live, we can stay and keep drinking." I bit down, savouring the blood on my tongue. Hector tensed up slightly, but didn't pull away. After several deep gulps, I paused. The temptation to finish him off was strong, but Damon's words made sense.

"Leave the party, you aren't feeling well." I told Hector, before I could change my mind. He promptly got up and left. I cleaned a spot of blood off my chin and saw Damon walking towards me with an enormous grin plastered across his face. It was contagious, I couldn't help but smile stupidly back.

"You did it!" He said, an instant before he yanked me in close for a hug. I threw my arms over his shoulder.

"We did it."

"How'd he taste?"

"Amazing...I want more." Damon released me and said,

"Why, Miss Gilbert, I'd be delighted to provide."

"Such a gentleman, Mr Salvatore." I replied poshly, feeling almost euphoric.

"I am honoured. Now come, I'll teach you how to double-team someone. You can be my wing-vampire."

Where the hell could she have gone?

Stefan thought to himself grumpily as he walked down the dark street back to the Boarding House. He'd tried everywhere he could think of where Caroline might be, but had found nothing. No one seemed to have any idea where she might be. It had Stefan worried. A missing vampire could only mean two things; She'd gone off the rails and switched off her humanity, or she'd been taken by someone else, most likely a more powerful vampire. Neither would be good news.

I'll speak to Elena about it. She knows Caroline better than anyone.

"What a party, eh?" Someone behind Stefan said.

"Excuse me?" He replied, turning to see a young man, obviously slightly drunk.

"You weren't there? Oh man, you missed out, my friend."

"Where was this party?"

Maybe Caroline went there.

"Out in the woods. What a vibe!"

"It's already finished?"

"Nope. I 'ad to leave early. Not feeling too hot."

"That's too bad." Stefan said, before suddenly noticing something on the drunk's neck. "What happened there?"

"Hmm?"

"On your neck. That looks painful." The man raised a hand to the wound on his neck, as if noticing it for the first time.

"Painful? It feels f-fine."

"How'd you get it?"

"I-I'm not too sure actually." He shrugged. "Must be why I'm feeling a bit off."

"What's your name?"

"Hector."