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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
something there
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( miss mystic falls, pt. ii )

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Miss Harper Lacy!" comes Mayor Lockwood's booming voice from the bottom of the stairs, "escorted by Carson Lockwood-Hamilton."

Here goes nothing.

I lift the hem of my dress to help me get down the first step. For the rest of the way, I keep one hand on the rail as I make my way down the curved staircase. Feeling the crowd's eyes on me, my lips pull up into a wide smile.

I expect to see my escort waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs just like in rehearsal, but he isn't there.

Panic overtakes me. How could Carson abandon me like this? Where is he? Oh my God what am I going to do?!

My smile turns into a frown as I start to breath heavily. This wasn't supposed to happen. This was supposed to be my big moment. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God . . .

Then Damon comes into view. He takes Carson's place, staring up at me from the base of the stairs.

I stare back, not believing what I'm seeing, and yet . . . relieved.

Just as I'd practiced and trying to keep it together, I take Damon's outstretched hand. His fingers curl around mine, and my heart flutters.

Together, he leads me out of the building and to the dance floor. Once we reach the others, I take my place in the girls' line, and he stands opposite me in the boys' line.

This is really happening. Why is he doing this? I mean, I'm thankful, but still. Wait — does he even know the dance? Oh my God if he doesn't . . .

The music starts,

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and I have no choice but to curtsy to him. He bows back.

I take the opportunity to ask him the one thing on my mind. "Do you know the dance?" I hiss.

"I do," he whispers back. "Guess you have no choice but to dance with me."

My mind flashes back to every time Damon asked me to dance and how I repeatedly turned him down. I can't believe this. I bet he isn't even doing this for me. He just saw an open opportunity, and he took it!

When the tempo to the song changes, I lift my right hand, and he does the same. We walk around in a circle with our hands held close. I know I'm supposed to be looking in his eyes, so I force myself to do it.

Blue — they're so blue. Like — crystals.

After the first circle, we stand back in our lines. We go around again, but this time, with our left hands held up. For the final go around, we raise both hands.

Then comes the part I nearly forgot about — the coming together part. Damon takes me by surprise, smoothly tugging me gently closer, one hand twining perfectly with mine, the other firm and strong against my back. A smile has slipped through the arrogant smirk permanently etched into his features and, my God, it's beautiful, heartbreaking and honest.

Damon's eyes are alight with what can only be described as joy. They're soft and tender instead of hard and aloof. They sing a thousand sorrows and shout a hundred delights. They say so much and so little, and I'm still left wondering what he's hiding in their icy depths. It's breathtaking, and I can't look away. At some point, I'll realize I'm staring, lost in the wrong eyes.

At some point.

His touch is feather light, but not hesitant. Steady and strong, but not overbearing. It's endearing. He guides me effortlessly through the steps he probably knew before anyone else here was even born. He leads me naturally, having no difficulties despite the fact that we've never danced together before. A fact I'm beginning to regret.

" 'Hi, Harper, wanna dance?' " he had asked. And foolishly, stupidly, I had told him no. At some point, I'll remember that I told him no because of the type of person he is.

At some point.

At some point, this beautifully revealing song will end. At some point, his real smile will fade away into his smirking mask. At some point, those painfully beautiful, happy-sad eyes will harden into the frigid orbs that I've become so accustomed to seeing. At some point, the only touch I'll feel from him will be accidental or teasing. At some point, I'll convince myself that I can't have feelings for someone like him.

At some point.

At some point, I'm going to get over the stupid butterflies in my stomach. I'm going to look away from his mesmerizing blue eyes and focus on something else . . . anything else . . . but I can't.

Who are you? is the one question that won't leave my mind. Who are you, Damon Salvatore? And why won't you just make sense?

3rd Person POV.

Harper fits perfectly in Damon's arms. He can hear her heart hammering in her chest. Her timid eyes never straying from his blues, and he forgets how to breathe. It's okay though, because he doesn't actually need to, but still. She's looking at him, really looking at him. As himself. For once, she doesn't see a murderous monster or Katherine's rejected plaything. She's seeing Damon Salvatore, the man under the monster.

Damon leads her like they were born to dance together, just like this. He memorizes every line of every feature of her smile. The smile she's smiling for him. He commits the feeling of her hand in his to memory, already preparing to replay it over and over again in his mind. The music slows, and they begin to part. My God, Damon misses the feel of her already.

Her eyes never stray from his though. And her body still hums with excitement and, dare he say it, joy. He cannot bear to even think of breaking this beautiful, tenuous connection. This moment where understanding changes into something . . . more.

His last chance might not have been a wasted effort after all. There is a chance, a hope. For a second, Damon allows himself to believe that this time he won't end up agonized and broken. For just a second, he pretends to hear his long dead heart beat. A slow steady thump thump in his chest, in perfect balance with hers. A heartbeat for the dead, just for her.

Harper's POV.

As I walk inside with the other girls, I can feel my heart hammering in my chest. I can't stop thinking about Damon, our dance — the moment we shared. The way he held me, it took my breath away, strong and sure, yet gentle and delicate. I didn't hate it. I should have, but I didn't hate dancing with him.

Maybe there's more to him than the terrible person he's been made out to be. Maybe I've judged him too quickly.

I shouldn't be thinking this way about Damon. But here I am, reminiscing about his eyes, his firm grip, the way he looked at me like I was . . . like I was beautiful . . .

I'm brought back to reality when the five of us pageant girls line up in front of the crowd. Right, the reason I'm here. The winner is about to be announced.

"So did Elena ditch?" Caroline whispers from my right.

Since I don't want to get into trouble for chit-chatting during the ceremony, I keep my eyes trained on the crowd and whisper back hastily, "Yeah."

The crowd claps as Mayor Lockwood comes to stand in front of us. "Before I crown the winner," he announces. "I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." He claps, and the audience joins him in applause.

I can't hold back the smile on my face. I wanted to be here. This is something I've been looking forward to ever since I started high school, and I'm not going to let anything keep me from enjoying basking in the spotlight while it lasts.

"So, without further a due," Mayor Lockwood continues.

Here we go.

"It is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls . . . Miss Caroline Forbes!"

Oh. The disappointment only lasts for a second when it sinks in that it is one of my best friends who won. I should be celebrating!

I quickly turn to Caroline, smiling. "Congratulations!"

"I actually won!" she laughs, embracing me in a hug.

I let go of her so Mayor Lockwood can award the Miss Mystic Falls sash over her shoulder.

At the sight, everyone breaks into a louder applause. I'm happy for her. I really am. And if I'm being honest, there's more important things I should be focused on right now.

After the ceremony, I search for Elena, but she's no where to be found. Growing worried, I consider finding Damon. However, I don't have to think about it for long because he finds me first.

Damon grabs my lower arm and pulls me to the side. For the first time, I don't cringe at his touch, and after he lets me go, I'm surprised at myself for feeling disappointed at the loss of contact.

I chase these thoughts away with the matter at hand though.

"Have you seen Elena?" I ask him. "She went after Stefan, and I can't find them."

So no one can hear, Damon responds in a low voice, "There were signs of a struggle in the downstairs bathroom. There was blood and that Lockwood boy is still missing."

"My escort?" I question, nearly having forgotten about him. I feel bad for forgetting him, but still. "You don't think Stefan did something to him, do you?"

"Let's just find them, okay?" Damon gestures with his head towards the door. "Let's get your coat. Come on." He links his arm with mine and starts to lead me away.

Without even thinking, I dig my heels into the floor which slows him down. "I — I can't," I stutter.

He looks down at me with a look of concern, loosening his hold on my arm but not letting go.

"My parents are here. If they see me leave, they'll get mad," I explain. I hate that I have to worry about things like this. It's so embarrassing, but unlike most people my age, I do.

A sigh falls from Damon's lips. He completely lets go of my arm this time. "Alright, you stay here. Promise me you won't go outside until you hear from either me or your cousin, got it?"

"I won't," I assure him.

"Okay." He nods then turns to leave out the doorway.

As soon as he's gone, I find myself missing his presence. There's definitely more to Damon Salvatore than the selfish person I've thought of him as. He cares about his brother. He might even care about me. If it's real or not, I don't know. There's so many variables involved, like the fact that I look like Mary Gilbert, a girl he used to be in love with. I can't forget about that.

All I know is that he deserves another chance. The question is, am I going to give him that chance or not?

*Time Skip*

Elena finds me by the front entryway of the Founders' Hall. I'm a bit disappointed that it wasn't Damon who came to find me, but as soon as I see the glimmer of swelling tears in Elena's eyes, I get over it.

"What happened?" I ask in concern.

Her lips press together before she answers. "Stefan's not okay," she croaks out. "He attacked your escort. He — He lost control." A single tear slips down her cheek.

"Is Carson okay?" I inquire.

She nods. "He's fine. Damon compelled him to forget what happened, and he's getting taken to the hospital."

I let out a sigh. "Oh, thank God."

A silence falls between us.

I speak up, "What are we going to do about Stefan?" I ask her.

Elena doesn't get a chance to answer though because Alaric comes up to us. "Oh, good, there you are," he says, looking at Elena. "Jenna wanted me to get the car."

My cousin turns to Mr. Saltzman with a deep frown on her face.

He immediately notices that she's upset. "What happened?" he asks her.

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a/n:

The title of this chapter was inspired by the song from Beauty and the Beast that goes "Something there that wasn't there before . . ." I really feel like that song captures what Harper and Damon are feeling towards each other while they danced. Plus, Damon is literally the beast and Harper is so his beauty.

-- roxy

( word count: 2.1k )