𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖗 𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 ↬ 𝗗. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 [1]

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚

✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳

✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳✶✳

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 hair with her fingers gently and slowly, a slight smile appears upon her lips as she looked at the curly-haired girl from afar, being chased by the decent man and laughing loudly.

"Ms. Montgomery." A deep male voice startled her as it sounded from behind her back and she rushed to turn her head.

The smile that her lips wore grew wider into a smirk as the curly-haired man stood behind her and she turned her gaze back to the pair that played in the garden. "Mr. Salvatore."

"May I?" He asked with raised brows, referring to the stone bench she sat on. She looked at him for a short moment before nodding in silence.

"You seem thoughtful. Is something troubling you?" He asked after a moment of quiet, his eyes now follow the two who ran together with loud laughs in front of him.

She took a deep breath, not daring to look at him whilst she feels his eyes on her, waiting for her answer. "What do you see, Mr. Salvatore?"

"Pardon me?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and followed her gaze on his brother and Katherine.

"When you look at these two, what do you see?" She extended.

"Well," He inhaled and thought before answering, "I see affection, I suppose."

She chuckled lightly and her lips curved upward to a small smile. He looked at her, examing the porcelain pale face that he got used to seeing each day. "And what do you see?"

She turned her head to face him, immediately drowning in his ice-blue eyes that shined even brighter in the daylight. She tried her best to concentrate on speaking the words, and so she quickly cleared her throat and lowered her glance to her palms that rested on the puffy skirt of her dress.

"I see love." She simply answered.

"Do you?" He tilted his head to the side and a soft grin covered his lips.

"I do." She nodded as she raised her head to him with a serious expression that quickly turned to a soft smile that his own one induced.

"And by what reason you call it 'love'?" He added to ask.

"Look at them," She told him as she went back to the two and he follows her, "Those smiles cannot show anything other than love."

"Hmm," He hummed before turning to look at her again, his lips parting when he wondering whether to ask the question he was interested to ask. "Have you ever experienced love, Ms. Montgomery?"

She smiled and lowered her gaze, shaking her head slowly. "I did not."

"And why not?" He frowned as he asked.

She chuckled as she raised her eyes to the bright sky above them. "I have an extremely protective brother that, sadly, prevented me from any kind of love other than family's one."

"You cannot be serious." He blanked rapidly and she turned her head to him.

"Why not?" She asked, her British accent sounds like a soft melody to his ears.

"Because it seems to me like an absurd reason to be obstructed from experiencing love. In fact, from giving up on any sort of joyful moments that life can give you." He shook his head in disbelief.

She looked deeply into his eyes, listening to his claim, and taking it seriously. Niklaus' intentions were pure, that she knew for sure, yet the man that sat beside her had a point. There were a lot of things she gave up on during the millennia she had spent with her brother and listened to his advices. For the first time in her long life, Amelia doubted her relationship with her younger brother.

"What about you? Did you have gotten to feel love before?" She exhaled and changed the subject.

"I have not." He shrugged and she giggled.

"And what is your excuse?" She asked with a grin.

"I simply never found the right girl I should fall for." He said calmly and she turned to look at him once again, the grin disappeared completely and she gulped heavily. The tension that arose in between the silent duo made them feel uncomfortable and pleased at the same time.

It wasn't the first time they have felt this tension in the air; some sort of conversation that they could have without saying any word. She read his eyes, and he read hers. None of them could explain it, but they never felt like they have to do so.

The brunette girl cleared her throat and looked at the garden, noticing that Stefan and Katherine are gone. "There is a ball at the Lockwood mansion tomorrow." She stated.

"I am aware." He nodded, staring at the air.

"Who are you escorting, then?" She asked confidently.

"I haven't gotten to ask anyone to let me accompany." He said and it was only then when the thought that it is the right moment to ask her to attend the ball with him crossed his mind. He intended to ask her since his father told him about the ball, yet he couldn't find the right timing to approach her with that offer.

"Excellent. Then I should probably ask you," She said and got up on her feet, turning around to face him as his eyes narrowed in question. "Mr. Salvatore. Would you like to escort me to the ball?"

"You are asking me to escort you?" He asked in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised?" She returned.

"You have to admit, Ms. Montogemry, that it is not so common that a lady asks a gentleman to attend a ball together." He exclaimed.

"You are aware of how sexist that sounds, do you?" She chuckled and asked with raised brows.

"I.." He mumbled before smiling softly, "I am only mentioning the facts, Ms. Montogemry. This is an unspoken rule."

"Mr. Salvatore," She took a step forward, looking down to his hypnotizing pair of eyes, "The only rules I follow are my own ones."

She turned on her heels and started to walk, only to stop for a moment and turn her head for behind her shoulder. "And even those I seem to break."

She walked towards the large mansion in front of them, leaving the man with a grin upon his lips and a rapid heartbeat.