RARITY - A Damon Salvatore Fanfiction

Masquerade - Part 1

As I parked my car outside The Lockwood Mansion, chewing my lip nervously, I couldn't help but imagine how badly tonight could go. I had driven alone from the Salvatore Boarding House - where I was now staying thanks to Stefans concern after I told him about my run in with Katerina - we thought it would be less suspicious if we all came separately.

After turning the engine off I checked my phone, again. No notifications. Over the past few weeks I had been leaving Rose messages - filling her in on what was happening with Katerina - only to receive no reply. It was unlike her, yet as worrying as it was, I couldn't turn back now. There was a plan. Katerina was going to die tonight. She'd been tormenting Mystic Falls long enough and after what she did to Jenna... She had to die.

I pulled down the mirror in front of me, reapplying my red lipstick before shoving it back in my clutch. I knew this plan changed things for me. But I also knew that my brother must be fed up with chasing all of us - not just Katerina. If we could prove to him that we killed her... he might finally let us go, or at the very least Rose and Trevor.

I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts, I needed to focus to get through tonight. I grabbed my masquerade mask that was lying on the passenger seat next to me, it was black with a velvet ribbon and decorated with delicate spirals of gold to match my hooped earrings. I secured my mask on before checking my appearance one last time. I ruffled my hair with my hands, it was shorter and curlier than usual, barely reaching my shoulders. I closed the mirror at last and got out of the car, smoothing out my black party dress, before heading into the house.

As I entered the mansion I bumped into Tyler, I froze in place; guilt washing over me.
"Grace?" He questioned, I was fairly certain he could sense my discomfort.
"Hey Tyler" I smiled, "How've you been?"
"Fine, fine..." he paused, his eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion that went as quickly as it came. "Y'know, this is the second time you've bumped into me now" he smirked, causing me to laugh slightly.
"I know, I know" I raised my hands in mock defence "guilty as charged".
"Hey, I'm not complaining... any girl as hot as you is welcome t-"

"Grace!"

Stefans voice cut through, causing me to spin round to face him. He was standing next to his brother, both dressed in suits and masks with equally serious expressions barely concealed underneath.
"Sorry to interrupt... whatever this is" Damon added, before grinning sarcastically at Tyler, who now looked beyond confused.
"Sorry Tyler, can I borrow Grace for a second?" Stefan interjected politely.
"No problem, man" he answered casually, his eyes flicking from me to the Salvatore brothers questioningly. "I'll see you later, Grace" he smiled at me once more before heading back into the now bustling hallway.

"Him? Really?" Damon enquired dryly. I sighed in response before shrugging.
"He's cute". I responded simply, earning a groan and an eyeroll from the brothers, "speaking of... you both clean up surprisingly well" I nodded whilst glancing over both of them.
"As do you Grace" Stefan smiled, before looking to his brother smugly, receiving a look of pure confusion in return, before they both turned back to me.
"Anyways..." Damon began, ignoring his brothers strange looks, "Have you seen Katherine yet?"
"Nope" I responded, popping the 'p' as I did so, "I thought you only wanted me to be 'backup muscle', as you so eloquently put it".
"Well" he began, "true, but that's only because you're the strongest one here, which is surprising considering how tiny you are".
"Hey!" I lightly punched him on the arm, "I'm not tiny" I complained, a slight pout forming on my face, causing Stefan to smirk and shake his head in amusement and Damon to simply snort in response.
"C'mon, You're in six inch heels and you're still at least a head shorter than me" he laughed, gesturing towards my shoes.
"Just because I'm in six inch heels doesn't mean I couldn't still kick your ass" I quipped, trying to keep a straight face, before bursting out laughing.

We continued talking until we reached the garden, stopping at a flight of stairs overlooking the party.
"Do you see her?" Damon asked as his brother scanned the crowd.
"Nope" Stefan responded, "Are you sure you can do this?" He enquired, turning to face him.
"Who are you talking to?" He said with a derisive snort.
"I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated..."
"Well thats is the fork in the road between you and me, my friend, I don't hesitate" Damon smirked.
"You spent 145 years loving her..." he paused, glancing to me awkwardly for a moment "it could happen".
"I won't hesitate" the older brother responded instantaneously. Earning a nod from his brother in return with a soft "okay" before he stepped down into the party. The smirk on the remaining brothers face was gone.

As Stefan walked ahead, focused on the mission I glanced at the stairs beneath me, internally cursing myself for wearing these ridiculous shoes.
"Um, Damon?" I asked, the older brother who was still standing next to me.
"Hmm?" He responded absentmindedly.
"Can you help me down the stairs please?" He turned to me, a quizzical expression on his face as I pulled him from his thoughts - I pointed towards my shoes, earning another snort and a shake of his head. "Stop it!" I laughed, "I don't want to fall on my face, okay?"
"Fine" he sighed, although the amusement was still all over his face as he held out his arm for me to hold. As I took it and we shakily descended the steps side by side, I couldn't help but feel my cheeks burn slightly - thank god I was wearing a mask.
"So you could kick my ass in heels but you're defeated by a few stairs, hmm?" Damon teased wryly, still smirking as we neared the bottom of the steps.
"Shut up Damon" I laughed in response as I gripped his arm tightly.
"It's funny how ironic your name is" he added, glancing sideways at me as I reached the safety of the relatively flat ground. I turned to face him once more, smirking as I did so.
"Aren't you hilarious tonight" I answered sarcastically with a grin before withdrawing my arm from his as he laughed again.
"Oh, I'm always hilarious, just one of my many charms" Damon added, leaning forward slightly.
"Oh of course how could I forget" I rolled my eyes and stepped back slightly, "I'm gonna go catch up with Stefan... text me if you need me" I said as I turned away, hearing a "will do" in response.

"Oh, and Grace" I glanced back to face Damon once more, "You look... gorgeous by the way" he said simply, faltering slightly, before smiling. It wasn't one of his typical sarcastic ones that was usually plastered on his face either... It was genuine, a smile that I hadn't seen in over a century. I could feel my face burning even more as I smiled back in response.
"Thanks Damon", I grinned. turning back and heading off into the crowd to find the younger Salvatore.

I found Stefan a bit further into the party. He was dancing with... Elena? No... Katerina. I could hear what they were saying thankfully, before a girl approached them, complimenting who she thought was Elena, before one was returned, dripping with false nicety.
"I love your necklace... oh look it's twisted..." Katerina started, before walking around behind her. No... This was bad, I began pushing through the crowd, attempting to reach them in time, no one needed to get hurt tonight. Before I could reach them however, I heard an agonising crunch as the girls bone snapped.
"Paralysed from the waist down..." Katerina glared at Stefan, who's face was plastered with panic, "... and dead", she finished as another crunch sounded out, the girls body going limp as she shoved it towards Stefan. At this point, she noticed me approaching them, and turned to face me, almost apprehensively as she saw the fury on my face, whilst Stefan struggled to keep the girls body upright. "Look who it is" Katerina sighed, looking me up and down. "Y'know, I'm surprised you're not on my side here, Grace... we both want the same thing" she stated, receiving a slightly bewildered expression in return from me as Stefan glanced at us curiously from behind her.
"Are you really that desperate Katerina?" I asked dryly, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Oh come on now, we used to be such good friends... what happened?" She smirked, before turning back to face the younger Salvatore, "the moonstone Stefan, tick tock".

(A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading😊 I'm doing this chapter in two parts because I love this episode and I had lots of ideas for it so it's quite long. The pace will pick up soon I promise!! hope you liked this!💖💖💖)