(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seventy-Two

Damon picks at the skittles in his palm, propping up the bar with Daphne as she drinks from a glass of champagne, occasionally taking from his stash. They are both keeping to themselves, watching everyone else seemingly enjoy the event. Those that are oblivious to the threat. Those that are ignoring it. Damon would much rather focus on Daphne anyway. He still is struggling to get his mind around how she looks in that dress. His hand finds the small of her back and she closes her eyes, leaning into his touch as he shifts closer to her. Just then, Elena joins them, leaning next to Daphne and letting out an annoyed breath. Clearly, her conversation with Stefan has not gone well. But it likely wouldn't have. Stefan is recovering and shouldn't really be thinking about adding the stress of a relationship into the mix, even if Elena wants answers and explanations, she's just going to have to have some blind faith right now. They all do. Stefan grabs Daphne's arm when he appears at her back.

"I need to talk to you," He tells her and pulls her away with him. Damon kind of just stares after them. Not sure what happened or why his brother suddenly has an interest in Daphne. Elena clenches her jaw a little and turns to the bar, where she picks up a glass of champagne and then downs the sparkling liquid inside.

"Slow down" Damon teases. "It's going to be a long night as it is" He leans back against the bar as she sets the glass down. "How'd it go with boy wonder?" She pulls a face and takes a fresh drink from the bartender.

"Bad" She grumbles. "I don't want to talk about it" She adds. "I want to talk about something happy, something good" She looks at him and he knows exactly what and who she means. "You and Daph....you seem to be...."

"I talked to her about it" He stops her before Elena can say something to jinx it. "She's dealing with some stuff, but it's not a no" He shrugs a little. "Just...not yet"

"Not yet" Elena repeats and nods. "Okay, so that's...promising" He hums in agreement. "And you clearly think she's worth....waiting for" He gives her a look as she smirks at him. She has learnt how to read him pretty well it seems.

"If it shuts you up" He starts. "I'll let you in on a little secret" He leans closer to her so he can whisper something in her ear. Elena's eyes widen before a smile lights up her face. She turns to look at him and he nods back at the look on her face. "But you can't say anything before I do" She faux zips her lips with a huge smile. He seems to have appeased her for now. He's not really ready to talk to Daphne about it let alone her sister. But if it gets Elena to back off a little, so he can get his head around it, then he can give her something to keep her going. He knows it's not going to be easy with Daphne, she's terrified of something, he knows that much, and it has something to do with her and what she is, he knows that too. But unless she tells him, he can't help her. On the staircase across the main room, Elijah stands, ready to make an announcement.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please" He voices to the crowds now in the foyer room. His siblings all move to join Elijah on the stairs. Beyond them, Esther walks down the staircase from upstairs. The guests all turn to pay attention to the family. Daphne still stood with an on-edge Stefan, Damon and Elena still at the bar. "Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance" Daphne's eyes move past the siblings to Esther who is already looking through the crowd, her gaze falling on Elena. Daphne lets out a breath and looks across at her sister who appears oblivious of the attention on her. That's not exactly a good sign. Too many things can already go wrong, but the way Esther is looking at Elena is a problem they can't ignore. They know that Esther wants to talk with her, but that look implies something else entirely. Daphne narrows her eyes at Esther and then reaches out with her telepathy. She knows she's not all that powerful, she can read minds, and that's it, and she's never been very good at reading minds across rooms, usually, only those that are physically close to her. But she is older now, in control of herself, she can do it. It's just one mind. A sudden sharp stinging pain zaps at her mind. Shocking her enough that her telepathy snaps back.

"Ouch," She complains, pushing the heel of her hand into the side of her head.

"You okay?" Stefan whispers, she nods and pulls her hand back.

"Yeah" She answers. "Just...telepath troubles" He follows her gaze to Esther who is now watching Daphne. Clearly, she felt Daphne inside of her head. And Daphne was warned to stay out with a little brain zap. That's a first. She's never had that reaction before. And she doesn't like it. Why would Esther warn her away like that if she's got nothing to hide?

"Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz" Elijah continues. "So if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom" Stefan groans and Daphne turns to face him, he does not seem pleased with the prospect of having to dance with Elena.

"Suck it up, buttercup," She tells Stefan. "It's one dance...and we're kind of only in this mess because of you" She smirks at him, overly sweetly before she walks away from him. Damon appears at her side and touches her lower back. The two of them share a look as his fingers press into her side, drawing her closer to him.

"Everything okay with my brother?" He asks her quietly, she hums and nods.

"He was asking about side effects of that spell" She answers. "He's feeling a little overwhelmed"

"Humanity switch is back on, he's feeling everything he should have felt when it wasn't" He explains. "It's worse this time because of your sister"

"I know" She agrees and stops them, stepping in front of him with a smile. "But it's because of you" She whispers. He frowns. "He feels he let you down...and it's hurting him" Damon glances over at Stefan and Elena. Daphne smirks a little and then chuckles. "You could talk to him..." Damon gives her a look.

"That's not really my style, Red" He argues, she gives a one-sided shrug.

"I don't know" She teases and pulls him closer to her. "You can be pretty philosophical when you want to be, and you've proven to be pretty good at cheering me up when I need it" He smirks softly at her. "Give him a little of that"