TRUST, the vampire diaries

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"Do they still wear ties at this thing?"

"Why are you even going?" Stefan sighed, polishing his shoes for the evening.

"It's only fitting. We were at the very first one, remember?" Damon replied, an air of mocking in his tone. He was skimming through his wardrobe to find something suitable to wear, but who was he kidding? He knew he looked great in everything.

"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves." Stefan pointed out.

"So you should stay here. I'll see to it Elena has a good time," Damon retorted with a shrug of his shoulders. He watched as Stefan lifted a glass of scotch to his lips before teasingly saying, "My goodness, I've driven you to drink."

"Can't seem to rid myself of you. What else am I supposed to do, besides go about living my life?" Stefan had a wry smile on his lips.

"'Go about living my life'." Damon mocked. "See, therein lies your eternal struggle. You're dead, dude. Get over it." He lifted a tie to his chest before motioning towards it, "What do you think?"

***

"It's cool not growing old. I like being the eternal stud." Damon smirked, ruffling his collar as he admired himself in the mirror.

"Yes, being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness." Stefan raised a glass as if toasting the achievement.

Damon turned to face him as he pulled on his jacket, a surprised look on his face as he huffed out a laugh, "You cracked a funny, Stefan. I should have a drink to celebrate."

He moved to the table holding the liquor bottles and began to unscrew the cap when he caught sight of a photograph. He lifted if carefully before examining it, "1864. You and Katherine were the perfect couple. It was hell watching you dance with her."

"My happiness was short-lived, as you well know."

"I remember. I left the party early, I was waiting for her. The night you dropped her off, I was waiting just inside. You were such a gentleman, gave her a kiss on the cheek. And what she really wanted was..." Damon trailed off as he poured himself a drink, knowing that his comments got under Stefan's skin. He took the opportunity to go a step further, "Oh, well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh?"

Damon raised the glass as if raising a toast, pretending to take a sip before dramatically pouring the drink contents onto the floor and dropping the glass.

"I admire your effort, Stefan. Pouring yourself a drink and then spiking the bottle with vervain..." Damon sighed in mock-disappointment. "I'm not some drunk sorority chick. You can't roofie me."

Damon rolled his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh, "But I can't help but feel a little used. I thought we were having a moment. I have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do?"

He left the room and the threat hanging in the air.

***

"Hey!" Zach called out as he heard Stefan come down the stairs. He was stood with Avery in the hallway, she was dressed for the Founder's Party as she was attending on her father's behalf. "That was his favourite scotch. I'm sorry, I thought it would work."

"I wasn't counting on it."

"You knew it would fail?" Avery blinked in surprise.

Stefan turned to her before explaining, "It did what I wanted. It lowered his guard. He won't expect me to try again so soon."

Avery nodded in understanding, watching as Zach handed Stefan a vial,

"I doubled what I put in the scotch."

***

Avery was not a massive fan of these types of gatherings. She usually attended to keep up the Salvatore family appearance but she wondered if her attendance was really necessary what with her two vampire relatives attending. Stefan had graciously let her third wheel with him and Elena so she didn't have to drive to the event. Avery hoped she could sneak a few champagnes as she wasn't driving, the Lockwood family always bought the good stuff even for events like this.

She stood awkwardly in the queue that had formed at the entrance of the Lockwood Mansion, watching as Stefan and Elena linked arms. They were very cute together, Avery could admit that, but she was terribly worried about them involving Elena and her family in the supernatural world. Stefan liked to pretend that the topic wouldn't eventually come up, but Avery knew he was just kidding himself.

"Hi, Mayor Lockwood!" Elena greeted, a bright smile on her face.

Mayor Lockwood walked over to greet them, "Hey! Hey guys, come on it."

Avery watched as Stefan took a step forward and cleared the boundary with ease. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little nervous about this evening. She had heard that Damon was taking Caroline as his date to the event and Avery was unsure about how Stefan would cope around so many people. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, smiling politely at the Mayor.

"My father sends his regards and apologises for being unable to attend." She smiled sweetly and the Mayor returned it. There was something about him that made Avery uncomfortable, so she didn't hesitate to make a swift exit after the pleasantries were exchanged.

She just had to kill a few hours at this stupid party while Stefan acted on his plan, then the real 'Deadly Beast' would be captured and perhaps all would be well in Mystic Falls.

Who was she kidding? Mystic Falls would never be the same again.