Heartlines ▹ Elena Gilbert [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

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     Rowan arrived at the decades dance alone, since Elena decided to ride with Jeremy. Damon and Stefan rode together as well, following her into the parking lot. She was climbing out of her car as they parked in the lot beside her. Rowan didn't wait for them to climb out and join her. She could see Bonnie waiting outside of the school and having a heated conversation with Jeremy, so she decided to walk toward them. They stopped talking as soon as they noticed her walking their way. She raised her eyebrows as she stopped beside them, putting her hands on her hips.

"What are you two lovebirds arguing about?" she asked expectantly, narrowing her eyes when Bonnie and Jeremy shared a glance. She knew before they even responded to her that she wouldn't know what they were fighting about. It was probably something personal between the two of them, so she wouldn't push for now, not unless Bonnie stopped being happy around Jeremy because of it.

"Nothing important, don't worry about it," Bonnie dismissed, just like Rowan knew she would. She plastered on a smile then before she took a step back to take in Rowan's outfit. Bonnie was wearing a multicolored go-go dress with knee-high go-go boots to match. Rowan's outfit was the exact opposite, choosing to wear a bright red vintage swing dress with a sweetheart neckline and black high-heels to match. As soon as she had seen the dress in Damon's box, she had fallen in love with it. Now, looking at Bonnie, Rowan felt a flash of insecurity. Maybe she should have worn the blue go-go dress instead. Bonnie let out a small laugh of amazement. "Wow, you look..."

"Is it too much?" Rowan asked anxiously, smoothing down the skirt self-consciously. She didn't notice until then that her hands were trembling. Elena had agreed to be there around the same time Rowan said she would arrive, and now that she was finally at the dance, she was finally remembering that this was a date. She was about to take Elena Gilbert to a dance as her date. It was a little hard to wrap her head around. She fiddled with the circle of white pearls around her wrist, then reached up to touch her daylight necklace. It instantly comforted her, if only a little. "I mean, I love red, but this is really bright and—"

"You look beautiful," Bonnie quickly jumped in, seeing her starting to panic. She even reached for her hands, holding them both in hers as she smiled brightly. Rowan gave her a shaky smile, though it widened into an amused grin when Bonnie cut a short glare toward Jeremy. "Doesn't she, Jeremy?" He instantly looked uncomfortable, though to his credit, he did open his mouth and try to stutter out a compliment. Rowan snorted and waved him off, taking her hands back from Bonnie.

"Thanks, Bon. You look beautiful, too. And so do you, baby Gilbert." Jeremy scowled at her, a bit embarrassed. Rowan laughed again. Before he could respond, Stefan and Damon were at their sides, and so was Elena. Rowan smiled at her brightly, but Elena froze on the spot when she saw her, eyes growing wide. Rowan felt a blush crawling up her neck and immediately ducked her head. Her hair was in loose curls, so when she bowed her head, they tumbled over her shoulders to cover her face. She didn't raise her head again until she knew for a fact her blush was gone, and by then everyone had greeted everyone else. Now, they were all looking at each other in silence.