It was possibly the worst song ever that the orchestra chose to play while Stefan Salvatore stood in the middle of the dance floor, waiting for his brother to bring him another eager-eyed girl who was desperate to use that minute while they were dancing with him to convince him that she was his perfect woman. This included several pick up lines, poetry excerpts, and awfully sung lines from awful love songs. Stefan was in hell while wearing a three piece suit and no mask like everyone else.

Damon brought to him another girl, this one wearing all black with outrageously curly hair and a cheesy smile. The expression on Damon's face clued Stefan in that this was probably his worst nightmare; so Liv Parker.

"Hey Stefan," Liv said flirtatiously as she took his hand and began dancing, "You look dashing today. Absolutely sleek."

"Thank you," Stefan said uncomfortably, "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?"

"Now more than ever," Liv swooned, "You know, I've always dreamt of this moment. It must be a sign that we're meant to be together, since my dream came true."

"I'm sure it is..."

"I knew you'd think so. I also dreamt that we owned a mansion on the hill a few blocks from the one where I grew up in. Of course, you were famous for being an actor like your mom and I was a stay at home mom with our twin children," Liv said dreamily, "It was like a fairytale."

Stefan's eyes widened as he spun Liv around, glaring at Damon and mouthing, "Help me!"

Damon nodded and started to walk up to Liv and Stefan right as the music ended. Everyone stopped dancing and clapped for a minute. That was when Damon took a microphone and looked to the line of ladies that was going out the door.

"Ladies! Stefan is going to take a break," he announced, "No, you may not wait in line. Please, enjoy the food, socialize. I'll announce when you can get back in line."

The girls sighed and pouted for a moment, but caught a glimpse at the chocolate fountain on the snack table and immediately got over it. Stefan walked off the dance floor and to the hallway by the men's room.

"Kill me now," Stefan groaned, "I can't take any more of this. I need a break longer than 5 minutes."

"I know," Damon said, pulling out a mask from his inner jacket pocket and handing it to his brother, "New tux is in the bathroom stall. You have until midnight."

"Really?" Stefan asked, surprised, "You mean it?"

"Just take the mask and go before I change my mind about going against mother's wishes," Damon said, "I'll tell her you got sick or something. Hopefully she's too drunk herself to see that it's you behind that mask in a different tux."

Stefan laughed and took the mask, placing it on his face and going into the bathroom. When he came back out, he was wearing a regular black tux in contrast to his white jacket lined with sleek black silk. It was nice to dress like a regular guy for once. When Stefan came out of the bathroom, he felt more refreshed and confident than ever before.

"Wish me luck," Stefan said, "I'm about to find a real girl. Just watch."

"Good luck," Damon said, following him out of the hallway and into the crowd of people, "but I should warn you, most of the girls here are nuts whether they know who you are or not."

"I can spot out a genuine one when I see her," Stefan said confidently.

Right as he said that, he turned and looked to the stairs where three latecomers started to walk in. There were three girls in ballgowns. One was yellow on the far left, the other was red on the far right, but the girl in the middle had her hair up in an elegant blonde bun while wearing the most beautiful blue dress Stefan had ever seen in his life. He had seen a lot of ballgowns before, but never one that made a girl look like that.

Caroline suddenly didn't have the courage to keep walking down the stairs as she realized everyone was staring at them.

"I changed my mind," Caroline panicked, "I can't do this."

"Yes you can," Bonnie and Elena whispered, helping her down the stairs.

"Just breathe," Bonnie said, "You're not alone."

The three girls reached the bottom of the steps and as soon as the silver shoe on Caroline's foot hit the last step covered in the red carpet, Stefan approached her, not as himself, but as a random guy who just wanted her attention. Caroline couldn't recognize him anyway.

"Hello," Stefan said.

Caroline curtseyed and then immediately regretted it, so she responded with words, "Hello..."

Stefan held his hand out to Caroline, "You look absolutely stunning this evening... would you care for a dance?"

Bonnie and Elena started to pat Caroline's back, forcing her to say something to him. From the corner of Elena's eye, she saw another boy with dark hair, wearing a mask, who was staring at her like he was going to devour her. She blushed and instinctively took Bonnie's hand.

"Would you like to go to the punch bowl with me?" Elena asked Bonnie subtly.

Bonnie shrugged, knowing she had no choice and followed Elena to the left of the ballroom to the refreshment table. Damon followed after the girl in the red dress, leaving Stefan and Caroline alone at the bottom of the steps with his hand reached out to her.

"I'm still waiting on that dance," Stefan said with a chuckle, "You're allowed to say no. I'm not the best at first impressions."

Caroline looked around and saw the other people dancing on the floor to classical music that was fun and elegant. She smiled and took his hand with her white gloved hand. He lead her to the middle of the dance floor. Caroline hoped that while among other people, nobody would stare at her, but instead, everyone was staring at them both, waiting for them to start the next dance.

The music started to change to something mysterious but beautiful. Caroline was expressionless because she wasn't sure exactly what to feel while dancing with this random stranger. Stefan, however, was smiling at this girl in front of him. It was almost a miracle how he just met her a few moments ago, and yet his heart was beating so fast as he held her in his arms, dancing together.

"It's funny," Stefan said as they glided across the floor, "You think I'd recognize those eyes from somewhere."

Caroline pressed her lips together, knowing she had been made. It was only a matter of time now before he would recognize her and expose her to everyone as the creepy kitchen maid for Liv and Luke Parker. She gasped when Stefan spun her around and picked her up by the waist briefly, then she her down on her feet. She knew she had only imagined what flying felt like before, but she had never experienced it before, and that seemed like the closest thing to it. Even though she wanted to stay mysterious and secretive, she smiled anyway.

"Your smile..." Stefan said softly, "The smile of angels."

Caroline grinned, "You are full of compliments of tonight, good sir."

"Compliments...simple facts," Stefan shrugged, "All the same to me."

"Well you are very light on your feet," Caroline returned the compliment, "Not once have you stepped on my toes or fallen."

"I'd like to think I have a knack for it," Stefan bragged, "but that's me. What about you? You dance as if you're floating in the air. Someone like you has to be a dancer of some kind."

Caroline shook her head and raised her eyebrows, "Oh no, sir. If that's your way of trying to find out my identity, you are out of luck this evening."

"But madam," Stefan said, spinning her around by holding her waist once more, "Isn't that the fun of a masquerade? Finding out who everyone really is afterwards?"

"What about the secrecy? What about the mystery? I don't know about you, but my heart is racing because of it."

"No... my heart is racing for a different reason entirely..."

Caroline couldn't help but blush as the song ended and another song started. They hadn't noticed by now that they danced through three songs. From the crowd, Damon could hear the sounds of people whispering to each other, wondering who the handsome couple on the dance floor was and how they managed to stay together for all of that time. Truth be told, Damon couldn't be mad when he saw Stefan smile at this mystery girl. It was funny to Damon how he didn't understand how Stefan could be all over a girl whose face he couldn't see entirely, but then he figured out how when he caught a glimpse of that girl in the red dress.

Damon turned around and saw her standing there at the refreshment table again, but this time, by herself. Damon fixed his jacket and approached her before some other douche could. When he approached her, he held out his hand to her.

"M'lady," he said.

Elena shyly took his hand and tried to keep from blushing when he kissed her hand.

"I'm not quite sure exactly who you are," Damon said, "but I'm sure you are beautiful underneath that mask. Your dress also flatters you greatly."

"Thank you," Elena said with a smile, "Can I tell you a secret?" Damon leaned in with his ear toward her, "My friend and I made these ourselves."

"Did you?" Damon gasped.

"We're telling all the girls we found it at an expensive, exclusive designer's store, but our friend's big sister is a professional fashion designer, so we just got some pointers from her on how to make them in a short amount of time."

With the hand he was holding, Damon spun his mystery girl around and admired how the dress comfortably hugged each and every one of her curves, but still managed to look like a beautiful ballgown meant for a princess.

"Absolutely perfect," he breathed, "So what brings you here to the Salvatore party?"

Elena shrugged, "We needed a night off and this seemed like the perfect escape."

Damon was surprised to hear this, "Not excited to meet the famous Stefan Salvatore."

"I guess so," she said, "but we see him at school all the time. He may not see us, but does that mean we have to line ourselves up like it's the stone age? I hardly think so. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure he's hiding somewhere and that couple on the dance floor seem like the happiest people here."

Damon looked from Stefan and his mystery girl to the one standing right in front of him. He held his hand out again/ "Maybe the 2nd happiest..."

Elena looked from his hand to his sly grin. She knew it would probably be a bad decision in the morning, but for now, she decided that they were in masks and now was the time to take chances. Happily, she grasped her mystery boy's hand and he took her arm, leading her to the dance floor as well. Elena looked over his shoulder to see Bonnie in her yellow dress, giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

For the whole next song, the four of them were on the dance floor together, circling each other and all of them smiling at the people they were dancing with. Finally, however, before the song ended, Stefan started to speak to his girl.

"Are you feeling tired?" he asked.

"Why would you ask that?" Caroline asked.

Stefan chuckled, "Because we have been dancing for a while."

Caroline looked around and found the clock, remembering that she must have arrived long before this hour. That's when she laughed too.

"I had no idea," she breathed.

"Me either," Stefan laughed, "I didn't notice until I looked at the clock. Would you like to retire to the garden with me?"

Caroline nodded and they separated. Stefan held out his arm and she took it. The people watching the four couples dancing parted to let Stefan and Caroline through to go through the large glass doors that led to the garden outside. Damon and Elena didn't stop dancing even though they were the only two left on the dance floor. Slowly but surely, people started to join them until they were in the center of the dance floor.

Stefan left the doors to the garden open as Liv and Luke watched him leave with the mystery girl. Liv crossed her arms.

"That has to be Stefan," Liv said proudly, "I'd know that hair and bone structure anywhere. I'll bet that girl doesn't even know who he's talking to."

"Liv-."

"Stay here and make sure no one follows me out," Liv demanded.

"What are you doing?" Luke complained, "Can't you just enjoy the ball?"

"Not until I'm back in Stefan's arms," Liv said, starting to find another way to get to the garden from the back.

In the garden, Stefan took Caroline to a little white bench by the large fountain. It faced the fountain exactly so people could see it and the silhouettes of the colorful dresses inside. Stefan was the first to offer Caroline a seat and then she patted the spot next to him. He bowed before sitting down, which made her laugh.

"Your laugh..." Stefan admired, "I love to make you laugh..."

Caroline hesitated before responding to the compliment, so she decided to ask something else instead. "Why did you choose to be with me tonight? You seem smooth and charming enough to have any girl here. Why me?"

"Easy," Stefan said, "All of the other girls here are wearing dresses that are as big and pompous as you can get. They all wanna get a glimpse of..." he almost said "me", but hesitated, "Stefan Salvatore..."

"Oh right!" Caroline gasped, "This party was for him! I had almost forgotten."

"You see, that right there is why I'd prefer you to any of these girls," Stefan explained, "You're genuine. You don't look like you dressed for a guy. You look like you dressed for yourself, to make yourself feel beautiful. Let me tell you, it worked. You are the most stunning girl here."

"And you aren't a jackass, which I like a lot," Caroline said, making Stefan laugh, "To be honest, I almost didn't come tonight. I thought I would never be able to have a good time because I'm not like anybody else."

"Why you let being different stop you?" Stefan asked.

"I didn't in the end. I mean, I'm here, aren't I? And now here you are... telling me you picked me out from all of these girls because I'm different."

"And I mean that too," Stefan said, taking her hand in his, "I mean every word."

"I know you do. Everything here feels so honest and good, like I can be myself and not worry about expectations or social standards. It's just me."

"I know exactly how you feel. Outside of this property, one could say I'm like... a prince charming or something. I always have to smile for the camera and keep up a certain image. Now I put on this tux and a mask and I can stop pretending to enjoy my life and live the one that I wanna live. If my mother could here us now, she would have a heart attack."

Caroline laughed, "If my stepfather could hear us now, he'd freak out too."

They enjoyed each other's company for a brief moment, just sitting there in silence with their hands touching. Caroline suddenly got up and started to look at her own reflection in the water. Stefan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her shoulder.

"Something tells me this is too good to be true," Stefan whispered.

"You have no idea how badly I want this to be real," Caroline whispered back.

Caroline looked over her should at Stefan and suddenly found herself being turned at the waist by her perfect mystery boy. They looked into each other's eyes for a lingering moment and started to lean in towards each other. With a loud click, the sprinklers started to go off. A smiling Liv was hiding in the bushes her her hand on the control lever. Caroline screeched and ducked away from the water, which caused her to lose her balance and fall into the water. Stefan grabbed her hand as she fell and only fell slightly forward, not enough to fall completely into the fountain.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

He helped her out of the fountain and looked down at her dress, then back up at him.

"I can't do this..." she said, trying to leave.

"What?" Stefan protested, "No, you can't leave."

"Look at me," Caroline said, squeezing the water out of her ruined dress, "This always happens. Something always has to go wrong."

From behind the bushes, Liv grinned.

"I don't care," Stefan said, placing his hand on her cheek, "You are still all the more beautiful to me."

He hesitated to lift her mask off because she already seemed so upset, so instead of revealing her, he put his hands on his own mask and started to lift it off. That's when the loud chime of midnight rang clear throughout the hall. The people started to cheer as the classical music ended and the real party music started. Caroline gasped.

"No really, I have to go," Caroline said, picking up her dress and running out of the hall.

"Wait! I don't even know your name!" Stefan called back.

Caroline stopped and turned around, "Maybe it's better that way..."

Stefan quickly removed his mask and tossed it to the side as he watched his mystery girl in the powder blue dress run out of the garden and through the ballroom. Caroline met up with Bonnie and Elena, who were at the bottom of the stairs. The three of them started to run up the stairs as Stefan ran through the ballroom. The party guests were starting to notice Stefan as the man dancing with the girl in the blue dress. Caroline was running so fast up the stairs that her bun was falling out. The little hair piece that rested on her bun fell off and started to bounce down the stairs. Quickly, Caroline turned around and tried to reach for it, but saw Stefan Salvatore waiting at the bottom of the steps with a distressed look on his face.

"No..." Caroline whispered.

He was wearing the same tux that Caroline's mystery boy was dancing in. The world suddenly started to move slower and time was moving faster. Her heart was racing faster than it was earlier, but this time in complete confusion, fear, and love.

"Come on!" Bonnie said, grabbing Caroline's arm and running up the stairs and out of the room.

Stefan ran up the stairs and picked up the diamond hair piece, then watched her and her friends run all the way out to the side of the street, where a car picked them up and took his mystery girl away from him. Damon came up to Stefan, breathing heavily.

"They left?" Damon asked.

"Yeah..." Stefan answered.

They both looked at each other and Stefan frowned to see lip stick all over Damon's mouth.

"You have a little..." Stefan said, pointing to the area on his face.

Damon went wide eyed and started to rub the lipstick off with his hand. "Who was that?"

Stefan shook his head in disbelief, not wanting to accept that he had the perfect girl and then lost her in the same 5 minutes. "I don't know..."

AN: Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated last, so I posted the chapter last night and now I'm posting this one! Please review, follow, and favorite. It really means the world to me when I hear back from you guys. It really motivates me to keep updating. Thanks!