Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

Alaric's Story

The first time Alaric saw it was in his classroom, back when he still hated Damon and they had come to beg for his help in rescuing Stefan.

The second time he saw it was when they danced together. Not at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, intriguing as that was, but at a school dance competition. Elena had entered herself and Stefan because she had wanted them to do something normal together as a couple. But now that the moment was here to show off months of hard work, Stefan was off chasing down a lead, and Elena was trying to pretend that it didn't matter.

Alaric was talking to Damon about something he'd noticed in Isobel's old research, when the MC called for Elena and Stefan to take to the floor. Damon looked up and saw her, abandoned on the sidelines, and their eyes met. Alaric couldn't comprehend how they managed an entire conversation without words, but after Damon had scanned the room for Stefan, and Elena shook her head, he'd mimed for her to take her necklace off. She did, thrusting it at Caroline as she stepped forward and went to meet him on the dance floor.

The slow, romantic number started, and Damon, using his powers to take the choreography straight out of her mind, partnered her perfectly, leading her in a series of graceful steps. Alaric had seen Stefan and Elena perform this same dance the day before at rehearsals, and he was struck by how different the dance seemed when these two were performing it. With Stefan it had been sweet and carefree. With Damon it was intense and passionate.

When the music stopped and they were left staring into each other's eyes, holding their final pose, you could have heard a pin drop. Slowly, everyone let out the breath they hadn't realised they were holding as the spell was broken and reality came rushing back in.

Damon escorted her from the dance floor, and made sure her necklace was back on before he rushed off. Alaric followed him, determined to continue their conversation from before.

He stopped when he saw his friend bent double against a brick wall, looking utterly defeated. The vampire's love for his brother's girlfriend was the worst kept secret in Mystic Falls. Alaric had been one who had thought Damon didn't have a chance in hell with Elena. But he couldn't deny there was something there between them, something he couldn't deny was real.

Damon straightened up, obviously not wanting to talk about it. But Alaric took in the miserable expression on the vampire's face before his walls came up again, and decided to offer his friend some unsolicited advice.

"I wouldn't give up so easily if I were you," he told him.

"There's never been anything for me to do but give up," the vampire snapped.

"I used to think that," Alaric replied. Damon looked at him, his attention caught.

"But when I saw her dance that dance with Stefan, I saw a young girl dancing with her high school boyfriend. When she danced with you, I saw a glimpse of the woman Elena will become."

Damon studied him, processing that.

"She's 17, Damon. But she won't be 17 forever. All you need to decide is whether she's worth waiting for."

The End.