White Lies (The Vampire Diaries)

| 07 | Dance

The typical calmness surrounding the recreation area in the woods of Mystic Falls, usually a place where families would gather for a picnic during the day or celebrate their child's birthday party, was transformed into a massive party scene the moment the first batch of students arrived. The family friendly area was now filled with coolers of alcohol, marijuana, and loud pop music.

A senior boy parked their truck near the party, blaring music from their iPod through the speakers to create the perfect party scene ambience to the large chunk of woods they claimed as their own for the night.

With every passing hour, the woods gradually filled with more tipsy teenagers until nearly the entire student body of Mystic Falls High School was socializing amongst each other with beer bottles and solo cups in their hands.

The taste of beer never satisfied Presley's tastebuds with its rancid taste, which explained the silver flask in her hand, mixed with whiskey and animal blood. She felt like a proper buzzkill without a drink in her hand and became the sole reason she brought her own drink of choice with her, along with suppressing her potential temptation to drain a bear if she happened to stumble upon one.

Her hips swayed to the beat in her ears, grateful for her supernatural ability to hear the music as if she were standing right next to the truck. Everyone around her underneath the gazebo believed she was simply another teenage letting go of their worries for the night, except, in fact, she was aware of where every single one of her friends were at the party.

Jeremy sat in front of her by the rest of his 'so-called' friends he usually hung out with on the side of the school. A few had joints pinched between their fingers, immersed in a conversation about their summer break while Jeremy sat in silence beside them with a beer clasped in his hands.

Elena and Bonnie stood near the bonfire, soaking in the warmth it provided during the chilly weather of Virginia. Their voices easily reached Presley's ears as she momentarily eavesdropped on their conversation. She quietly snickered under her breath when she heard them discuss Stefan's 'romance novel stare.

Caroline stood a bit further to the left with Heather from the cheerleading team. Her eyes scanned the recreating area as if she was looking for a specific person.

Presley spun in a half circle as her cobalt eyes drifted behind the group of stoners and smiled when she locked eyes with Matt on the other side of the bonfire, who held his beer bottle in the air in a friendly greeting. All of her friends were within a safe distance if she needed to rush to their aid for any reason. Everyone was safe and she planned to keep it that way.

She danced her way in front of Jeremy on the bench, shielding his intense gaze from wandering through the crowd. Her right hand wiggled in the air at him.

"Come on, Jer," she said, batting her eyelashes. "Dance with me."

He lifted his dark eyes to reach hers above him. "You know I don't dance."

"Everyone will be too drunk in twenty minutes to even remember your dance moves by tomorrow. Just one dance," she begged, widening her eyes and pouted her lips. "You never dance with me."

"It's not gonna happen, Presley," he snipped with an edge to his voice.

The tip of her tongue pressed against the inside of her cheek, shocked and by his curtness toward her. She exhaled through her nose.

"Fine," she snapped back, unable to hide the hurt she felt. "I bet Matt will dance with me. I'm sure he's in a nicer mood."

He willfully ignored her bitter response as he shifted his attention back on the crowd after Presley stepped aside, searching for a certain brown haired girl. The lip of his beer bottle returned to his mouth as he wobbly climbed to his feet for a better view. The same amount of alcohol ran through his system as Presley, yet he was the only one who felt a cloudy haze in his mind.