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CHAPTER FIVE
the founders' party
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

( family ties )

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Harper's POV.

*Harper's House, After School*

As I'm walking past the living room to go upstairs and start my homework, my ears pick up on some of what the TV is saying:

"I can confirm that a twelve-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition."

A puma? Here in Mystic Falls? This grabs my attention immediately, and I find myself standing before the TV, eagerly listening to the news report.

"To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught," says the news reporter, and then a commercial for vegan peanut butter turns on.

Footsteps pitter-patter behind me, and I turn around to find my mother coming in from the garage.

"Mama, have you heard?" I get her attention. "They caught the animal attacking everyone. It was a puma, you know, like a mountain lion."

"Oh," my mother flutters her long eyelashes in surprise. "They did? When?"

"Sometime today," I answer. "It attacked a hunter and they killed it. Hey . . . wait, doesn't that mean I can stay out past six again?"

My mother takes a moment before answering. "I suppose it does, but let me talk to your father about it first, okay?"

"Alright," I say.

I'm not gonna lie. At first, I found all the animals attacks quite interesting. They were something different that strayed from the usual boring happenings around town. But after Mr. Tanner died, reality had settled in. I'm glad there's nothing to be afraid of anymore. Mystic Falls will be going back to its usual happy-go-lucky atmosphere, at least, for the time being.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

*Founders' Party at the Lockwood Mansion*

Punctuality is something my mother is very serious about. So, of course, there was no way she was going to allow us to be late to the Founders' Party. In fact, we practically got here before anyone else. My dad drove us here in his police cruiser because he'll be on duty tonight, securing the party grounds. And thanks to my mother's close friendship with Mrs. Lockwood, the mayor's wife (aka Tyler's mom), we were let inside the house before anyone else with open arms.

At this point, I had two choices: either follow my mother around and stick to her like glue, or, find somewhere inconspicuous to hang out while I wait for Bonnie to arrive. I chose the latter, of course, cause who wants to embarrass themselves by following their mom around like a lost puppy?

As I'm sitting on a couch alone by myself in one of the Lockwood's many spare rooms, I find myself wishing I had brought my copy of the book New Moon with me. When I was younger, I used to take a book with me everywhere I went in case of boredom emergencies. But now that I'm older, I'm much more insecure about my love of books and prefer to only read them in private. Besides, most of the books I read now are romance novels. My worst nightmare is for someone to look over my shoulder and see me reading some steamy scene. By reading only in private, I'm safe from that ever happening.

As the minutes tick by, the noise in the house grows louder, indicating that more guests are arriving. It soon becomes evident to me that if I don't ever venture outside this room, I will never be able to know if Bonnie is here or not.

You're probably wondering why I'm not waiting on Caroline or Elena. Well, it's because they have dates. Elena is coming with Stefan while Caroline is coming with Damon. From past experience, I know that they will be too distracted by their dates to pay any attention to me. That was pretty much how it went at the last few school dances back when Elena was dating Matt.

Eventually gaining enough courage, I get myself to leave the room. At first, I am not quite sure where to go.

I make the split-second decision to find my mother. She's the only "anchor person" at this party that I know for sure is actually here. "Anchor people" are individuals who I consider familiar and comfortable to hang around with while in public settings. If I don't have an anchor person by my side, I feel awkward and uncomfortable, especially at parties.

I make my way towards the front of the house, passing by plenty of guests along the way. Hiding my inner discomfort, I keep my head held high and my walk confident. As a member of a founding family, I'm practically royalty (well, not really, but it sure feels that way at Founders' events). It gives me an air of confidence that I have grown accustomed to projecting my whole life, something to mask my shyness behind.

When I reach the front entryway, I don't see my mother. However, I do get here just in time to see Elena and Stefan coming through the door, followed closely by Bonnie and Jenna, Elena and Jeremy's aunt/legal guardian.

In order to get to Bonnie, I have to make it passed Stefan and Elena, which is no biggie. It's not like I wasn't going to say "hi" to them at all tonight or anything. Just because Elena has a date, does not mean that I'm going to completely ignore her.

I walk up to the couple and wave my hand to get their attention. "Hi, Elena. Hi, Stefan."

"Hey," Elena greets with a smile.

"Hi." Stefan nods. "You look lovely," he says politely.

I can't stop the huge smile from growing on my face. "Thank you."

Stefan is such a sweet guy. I may never have a chance with him, but when it comes to his relationship with Elena, I give full approval. She picked out a good one.

My eyes flicker to Elena's dress. It's a fiery orange, yellow-red color. My cousin looks stunning, as always.

"Ooh, I like your dress," I compliment.

"Thank you," she responds. "I like yours too."

I'll take the compliment, even though I know she's just saying that to be nice like everyone else does. All I'm wearing is one of my blue church dresses, nothing too special.

Now that I have said my "hellos," I move past them towards Bonnie. I don't know where Jenna has gone off too though.

It looks like the rest of the night is just gonna be me and Bonnie.

*Time Skip*

I'm so bored. Bonnie and I have talked for so long and practically explored every inch of the Lockwood Estate. And since I've been here a bunch of times because of my mother's friendship with Mrs. Lockwood, there isn't much at the Lockwood Manor that I'm not already familiar with.

Feeling thirsty, I realize that my glass is empty, and I need another refill.

"I'm gonna go get a refill," I announce to Bonnie as I stand up from the outside table we were sitting at. I take my glass and make my way to the Lockwood's large patio where they have a dance floor set up. There's a table with drinks on it right by the dance floor.

I stand before the table and try to quickly figure out which are the non-alcoholic sparkling ciders and which are the champagnes. I don't want to stand here for too long like an idiot just because I'm not allowed to drink alcohol.

When a man walks up to the table next to me, I try to remain calm. I've been standing here for so long. I'm just about ready to take my chances and randomly pick a glass so I can get out of here.

"Looking for something a bit stronger?" the man says in a sweet, seductive voice.

My heart kicks to hear the unfamiliar, yet familiar voice. On impulse, I turn my head to face the man. Damon Salvatore.

And by gosh darn, he be looking fine.

My pulse quickens. "I . . . uh . . . well, no—" Oh shoot, I don't want to tell him the truth: that I'm a baby who isn't allowed to drink yet and can't tell the difference between an alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage. "I was just looking for the most full one," I lie before picking up a random glass.

Please, God, let this be sparkling cider.

Damon turns to lean back against the table. His eyes shift from the dance floor to mine.

Shock waves travel down my spine. Up close to him like this, I have a perfect view of his handsome features. At the dinner party, I never noticed how truly beautiful his eyes are. They're a piercing light blue color that almost borders on grey. I could easily find myself gazing into them for a while longer if it wasn't considered impolite.

"And how are we doing tonight?" he asks. He says it so casually. It makes me second-guess if he's even speaking to me and not someone else.

"I'm doing good," I answer quickly. Trying to act natural, I take a sip of my new drink.

This is not sparkling cider.

I grimace and swallow it down. Oh great, I've broken my parents' rule. How lovely.

"I haven't seen you around with anyone," Damon says. "Are you here alone?"

I know he's referring to the fact that I don't have a date. I can't lie to him about that. It would be a stupid thing to do.

I nod my head. "Yeah, I am." And I end it at that. I don't want to tell him it's because I'm not allowed to date yet. That would be so embarrassing.

This conversation is getting pretty awkward, but for some reason, I don't want to end it just yet, so I say the first thing that comes to mind. "Where's Caroline?"

"She's around," Damon answers simply. He suddenly leans down closer to my ear and whispers, "She talks more than I can listen. I needed a break." He then draws back.

His close proximity distracted me for a moment until the meaning of what he said sinks in. Does he even care about Caroline that much? It didn't sound like it.

I try to politely continue the conversation. "I mean, yeah, she does talk a lot, but—"

Who am I kidding? What I really want to ask is why he's still dating her if he clearly isn't happy with her. But I'm not going to ask that.

Why?

Because I don't want to get him or Caroline mad at me. As much as I want to intervene, I'm too self-conscious to do so.

So instead I say, "But after a while, you get used to it. I've known Caroline since first grade. Trust me."

"Still," Damon says. "In the long run, I think she'll drive me crazy. I really don't see us going anywhere in the bigger picture if I'm being honest."

"Oh," I say, his words take me by surprise. "Well, you should probably tell Caroline before things go on for too long."

"I will," he says, somewhat of a crooked smile starts pulling at his lips, but I'm not sure why.

Well, at least now I don't have to be the one to tell him to break up with her. He's already realized it himself.

"And seeing as Caroline's not around," Damon begins, looking around us, at the dance floor, then back at me. "Would you care to dance?"

My heart skips a beat. I was not expecting that.

"Um . . . I'm sorry — no," the words leave my mouth before I can stop them. I don't even realize why I said them until I remember that my parents are somewhere at this party too, and if I got caught dancing with some guy, I'd be in big trouble.

Flustered, I say, "I mean, I would like too." Time to spill the beans. "It's just that my parents are here, and if they see me dancing with you, I'm gonna be in big trouble. I'm sorry. I hope you understand." I say the last words in a rush as heat floods my cheeks. This is my first time ever letting a guy down before, for obvious reasons.

Damon quickly shakes his head. "No, I do. I completely understand. I'm — I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's just not my intention."

He says it so genuinely. It makes my heart hurt for rejecting his offer. This is some more foreign territory, a guy actually wanting to spend time with me.

"No," I say quickly shaking my head. "You're — You're good. Thank you for offering." I pause before continuing, "You know, I'm just gonna go. I think Bonnie is waiting for me. So, um, bye." With my unwanted glass of champagne in hand, I move past Damon and make my way back to our table.

As I'm walking away, I can feel Damon's piercing gaze on my back. Whether he's actually watching me or if it's just my imagination, I have no idea. All I know is that I humiliated myself in front of the elder Salvatore. Our conversation could not have been any more awkward, and it's all because of my lame-ass social skills.

Then it hits me. What was I even doing with him? Even though they're on the verge of breaking up, regardless, Damon is still Caroline's boyfriend. And to think I even considered dancing with him. That would have been so messed up.

Then again, my motives were pretty messed up anyway. My reason for not dancing with Damon was because I was afraid of getting in trouble with my parents. I never once thought of what Caroline would think. Which makes me wonder, if I was allowed to date, would I have taken up his offer? Would I have taken up his offer and danced with him even though he's supposed to be in a relationship with Caroline?

I'm such a selfish friend.

*Time Skip*

"This is my fault. I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter," Bonnie apologizes to Elena as the three of us eat ice cream in the Lockwood's parlor.

Elena quickly shakes her head. "It's not your fault. I just—I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it, and then that's exactly what I did." Her gaze falls down to her ice cream. "I got all snotty," she adds shamefully. 

Apparently, Elena got into a fight with Stefan, not a major one, but just enough to set them at odds.

I don't know whose side to take though. While I do see where Elena is coming from—as his possible future girlfriend, she does have a right to know about his past relationships, I also believe that Stefan has a right to his privacy. And as a more reserved person myself, I know I wouldn't like it if I were being forced into giving out my personal matters to someone I've only known for a few weeks.

Mrs. Lockwood comes walking into the room. I'm surprised my mother is not with her. I expected them to hang around each other for the whole night.

"Elena, honey, there you are," she addresses, taking a seat across from us. "I noticed the watch still isn't in the collection."

My cousin takes a moment to process her words. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I, um, I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere." Elena nods.

Mrs. Lockwood smiles in understanding. "I see. Well . . ." She begins, patting Elena's thigh. "Please let me know if you do find it."

"Okay." Elena nods.

Mrs. Lockwood then gets up and leaves the room.

At first, I'm not exactly sure what Elena and Mrs. Lockwood were talking about. But as a member of the Gilbert family, I think I know which watch she was searching for. I recall my mother telling me about a watch in our family that gets handed down through the men's side. And since my mother's brother, Grayson Gilbert, was the oldest, he must have been the last person to have possession of the watch before he died.

When we finish our ice cream, I go with Elena into the restroom to clean up. We find Caroline in there, fixing herself in the mirror. I really hadn't spoken to her the whole night. I wonder if Damon has talked to her about their relationship status yet. Probably not.

While I go to relieve myself in the stall, I'm able to overhear Elena and Caroline's conversation.

"So how are things with Stefan?" Caroline asks Elena.

"Great. Just great," Elena responds.

"Really?" Caroline questions. "Well, my radar must be off, 'cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes . . .'"

A silence ensues between them as I flush the toilet and exit the stall, only to find Elena trying to remove Caroline's scarf.

Caroline flinches away from Elena. "Don't," she says irritably.

I stand behind them completely confused but with no other choice but to stand there because they're both blocking the sinks.

Elena tries to take off Caroline's scarf again but only succeeds at lifting it up a little. "Oh my God, Caroline, what happened?" Elena demands to know.

Caroline shoves Elena's hands away. "Nothing, okay?" she insists.

"That is not nothing! Did somebody hurt you?" Elena demands.

"No, okay, it's nothing," Caroline repeats, brushing the accusation off. She tries to go back to applying her lip gloss. "It's just . . . my mom would kill me," she mumbles.

Okay, I'm really confused now.

Finally, Elena remembers I'm here, and turns to face me. Her eyes are full of concern. "Harper, come look at this."

I take a step closer to Caroline as Elena lifts down the shoulder of her sweater. My eyes land on a bad bite mark. "What is that?" I gasp.

"Did Damon hurt you?" Elena inquires to Caroline.

Caroline quickly covers the bite mark with her sweater. "No!" She shakes her head rapidly. "Of course not!"

"Then what bit you?" I ask, confused and concerned.

Caroline ignores my question while Elena tries to take another look at the bite. More forcefully this time, Caroline pushes Elena away and flinches back. "Just leave me alone! Okay?!" she yells before marching out of the restroom with her things. "God," she exhales in frustration before the door closes.

Elena and I immediately make eye-contact.

"What just happened?" I ask in bewilderment.

My cousin averts her gaze to the floor and shakes her head. "There is something seriously wrong with Caroline." Her eyes meet mine again. "I know it's Damon. It has to be."

"How can you be so sure?" I ask. Accusing someone of freakin biting someone is a serious accusation. Caroline could have just gotten bitten by a stray dog for all we know.

"Well, Damon is the only different thing in her life," Elena points out. She hesitates before saying, "And according to Stefan, he has some issues. Look." A dark aura seems to take over Elena's face. She takes a step back towards the restroom door. "I'm going to go confront him." She goes out the door, leaving me alone in the restroom.

I don't know what to do at this point. I don't want to believe that Damon Salvatore is some sort of weirdo with a freaky biting kink. But what Elena said did make sense. If an animal had bitten Caroline, she would have fessed up to it immediately, but instead, she refused to tell us what happened. Meaning, she is covering for someone, and the only person new in the equation is Damon.

But Damon seems so nice. While there is that tension between him and his brother, I've only ever seen him act nothing but friendly. We were literally just talking not that long ago.

I don't know what to think anymore.

Despite not knowing what to do, I get myself to leave the restroom. I want to go find Elena and ask her about what happened with Damon, but I don't want to run the risk of running into him. The very thought of being around Damon Salvatore is making me uneasy. Until we know the truth for sure, I plan to keep my distance from him. After all, he did ask me to dance earlier even though he is supposed to be in a relationship with Caroline. That's another red flag to add to the list.

So instead of searching for Elena, I look around for Bonnie, and when I can't find her, I try to find Caroline. The party comes to a close, and I end up having no luck finding any of my friends. I guess they all just went home. I'll have to get the scoop of what Elena found out about Damon tomorrow.

I'm currently once again sitting in the Lockwood's parlor, but this time, I'm alone. My parents are in some sort of meeting that was planned for after the Founders' Party. I can't go home until the meeting ends, and my parents can take me home in my dad's police cruiser.

With the Lockwood's house almost entirely empty, I feel calm and at peace. Leaning my head back against the couch, I relax myself.

It has been a long night. I'll say that. Elena had a fight with Stefan, and Damon might have a weird biting kink. The Salvatore brothers are certainly causing a lot of drama in my friends' lives. There's so much to think about and sort through, and I just don't have the energy to do it.

I hope my parents' meeting ends soon, cause I really just want to go to bed so I don't have to be plagued by all these thoughts anymore.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

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a/n:

Harper is so innocent. I swear. She really can't see through Damon's whole nice act right now.

Also, in case you're wondering, the meeting her parents were in at the end is, in fact, a meeting for the Founders' Council. So both her parents are in the Founder's Council and are very aware that vampires exist. This explains why her mother was so surprised at the beginning that the animal causing all the attacks was caught. It's because she knows the actual killer is a vampire. It also explains why Harper is not allowed out past dark because of the whole vampires can't be in the sun thing.

Harper has no idea about any of this though. She's completely in the dark right now.

-- roxy

( word count: 3.7k )