Clair de Lune - K.M.

c h a p t e r t h i r t y t h r e e

"No."

"Come on, it won't be that bad."

"I said no."

"Stella, it's not going to kill you to help out for one day, I mean-"

"Caroline, I fucking said no! I'm not going to the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant."

"Please?" my best friend begs and I rest my head back with a sigh.

I've been staying at Klaus' since everything went down with Elena and her hunters curse. I thought that being here, in the house of the biggest villain in town, would be intimidating enough to repel anyone who would want to talk to me. Turns out that I was wrong. Caroline still felt the need to track me down this morning and beg me to help her set up and to attend the very pageant that she won last year. A pageant that happens to be my least favorite part of this shitty town.

"Why do you even need me?"

"Because! I'm going and I want you there. Plus you're the mayors daughter, you should be there."

I shoot a glare at her in response and knowing that she probably just gave me the worst reason in existence, Caroline switches tactics.

"Fine. I need you there because Elena broke up with Stefan and I'm going to try and convince her that she made a mistake."

"You don't want me there for that," I tell her. "I don't think she made a mistake."

"Stella! Come on, don't be so grumpy."

"There are several things in this world that I hate with my entire being. Actually, there's a lot of them. Folding the corners of book pages instead of using a bookmark, sleeping with socks on, and honestly most people. None of those things compare to how much I despise Miss Mystic Falls. It is the cumulation of everything I hate about this fucking town wrapped up into a misogynistic tradition where you have to spend the whole day wearing heels. No thanks."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You don't even have to wear heels until later!"

"Caroline-"

"No," she interrupts me, holding out her hand. "I'm tired of the whole 'I'm mean and don't like anyone so just leave me alone' thing. You're coming to help Elena and me and everyone else set up this morning and then this afternoon you're going to put on a dress and watch teenage girls compete in a pageant. Get over it."

The two of us face off for what feels like a long time as I consider my options here. Willingly subject myself to the worst form of torture known to mankind for an entire day or deal with Caroline. I honestly don't know which one is worse.

"Ugh, fine," I say eventually and even though I already regret agreeing, I can't deny that the happiness on her face does soften the blow.

"Thank goodness," Caroline sighs in a relieved voice. "I was worried I was going to have to drag you there."

"Like you even could."

"Whatever," she grins, getting off the couch and hopping to her feet. "Come on, there's lots of work to do. We'll swing by your house and grab you a change of clothes."

"I can't go in this?" I ask, looking down at the clothes I'm currently wearing.

"Stella. I cannot believe you seriously just asked me that."

"Oh come on," I grin. "You don't think Klaus' shirt and boxers are an appropriate outfit for a pageant?"

"Definitely not," Caroline says, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Not everyone needs to know that you're having scandalous sex with an immortal hybrid."