To Be Or Not To Be » Stefan Salvatore

Chapter 11 - A Step into Darkness

Never in a thousand years had she expected to have anything close to a human experience.

When she first woke, she'd entertained the idea of joining the local high school—blending in, pretending—but now that she was leaving town, the thought felt like a waste.

With the White Oak stake gone, there was nothing tying her here. No reason to stay.

Then came the invitation to the decade dance. A distraction, just for a day or two. After that, she'd pack her bags and catch a one-way ticket to Chicago.

When Caroline first extended the invite, Skye had nearly declined.

She wasn't sure why the girl had asked her in the first place—pity, maybe—but for some reason, she hadn't been able to say no.

She had never been to a high school dance. Never experienced something so normal, so trivial.

Not that Caroline Forbes would ever call a school dance trivial.

And really, that was the deciding factor. A high school dance was possibly the most human thing Skye could do. It was also a chance to make up for lost time—to relive a piece of a decade she had slept through.

The Roaring Twenties had seemed like a good time. She was determined to make the most of it.

There would be people there who didn't know her yet.

She knew it was customary to bring a date, but she wasn't about to make a fool of herself asking anyone. Some people didn't hate her anymore, sure, but she wouldn't go so far as to call them friends.

So, she'd go alone and do her best to avoid standing in a corner with a glass of punch.

When Damon and Elena returned from their trip to Denver—one that Kol had evidently ruined—Skye finally understood why they had left.

They hadn't just been searching for answers about the bloodline. They had been retrieving Jeremy—Elena's little brother—who had been sent away for safety.

Not that it had done him much good.

With Kol hanging around, Klaus's usual brand of psychotic behavior had rendered the effort useless.

And, apparently, Jeremy had also been Klaus's leverage against Bonnie.

Skye had yet to meet the boy, but she figured he was decent.

Damon had spent the last half-hour glaring at her, so she shut herself in her room and busied herself with the dress Caroline had lent her.

She almost felt like she and Caroline were becoming friends, but it was too forced for her to call it that just yet.

Since Skye had no clue how people actually dressed in the '20s, Caroline had given her a crash course on the decade. She probably would've stayed to help more, if not for a call about Rebekah bailing on dance preparations.

That had made Skye hesitate. Her sister wanted to be human just as much as she did.

But she shook off the feeling. Rebekah could handle herself.

The dress was pinkish with sequins scattered across the fabric, loose-fitting and elegant. It came with matching gloves, a pearl necklace, a headband, and a pair of lacy, strapped heels.

Caroline had insisted she style her hair properly—curls or a bun, since most women in the twenties had short hair. She had even shown Skye a picture.

Skye was pretty sure she could manage that.

Once she'd finished inspecting the dress, she set about tidying up the room. Straightening the sheets, fluffing the pillows, clearing away stray glasses or blood bags.