A/N: Hey guys! If you were past this point when this chapter was added don't worry, your not missing anything! This was previously part of chapter 16. During some editing I realized the chapter was super long, so gave this part it's own chapter.

Sorry if it creates any confusion!

Happy reading :)

"I don't know" I mumble to myself distractedly as I secure the last bow to the bottom of one of my braids. Staring intently in the bathroom mirror I adjust the bows so they sit evenly on each braid that is now framing my face.

"You look cute!" Zeke assures me, as he has done multiple times already this morning, from his spot leaning against the open door.

"He is right" Dad calls from over the paper he is pretending to read as he eats his toast.

"See!" Zeke shouts like now its official.

" Your not helping" I grumble to my dad, turning away from the mirror giving up and pulling on my knee high socks to make sure they too are even.

"You seemed excited about the outfit yesterday." Zeke walks away from me to join my dad at the table.

He is trying not to rush me but he keeps glancing at the clock. I know we are running late, but I just feel so out of place.

"Yea that was last night." I cross my arms over my chest and collapse into the chair beside him. "Elena's enthusiasm is contagious." I sigh.

"And the fact Damon picked out your shirt," Zeke adds glancing at me with a smirk, "don't think I didn't notice that was the one you got."

"Damon?" Dad folds his newspaper now, giving me his full intention.

"No one!" I shout sounding a little to defensive even to me.

"Her crush" Zeke teases.

"He is not!" I stand to show this conversation is over.

I grab my backpack and glare at Zeke, who now conveniently seems to no longer be worried about the time.

"He is huh?" Dad leans in closer to Zeke. "And how old is this Damon?"

"We have to go!" I interrupt before Zeke has a chance to answer.

Who knows what he would say!

"Do you kids need a ride?" Dad asks as he stands and brings his dish to the sink.

"We should be able to make it if we run" I wave to Zeke trying to get him to collect his things quicker.

"It's a pretty far way to run, you sure you don't want a ride? Its on my way to work." Dad offers again.

Zeke stares at me, not very subtly nodding his head so I know he would rather this option.

"Fine" I sigh. "Thank you."

"Yes! Thank you!" Zeke excitedly jumps up, finally finding his giddy up.

The day rushes by uneventfully. Classes are a joke, mostly just reviewing and filling out easy worksheets. The fact that every class is 10 minutes shorter, in order to make time for the pep rally today, definitely helps make time fly by.

Everyone, even the teachers, are a buzz with the upcoming game and of course the dance after. With Zeke, Leo, and Elena so excited for tonight even I find myself looking forward to it. With the last bell of the day Zeke jumps out of his seat and bounces beside me.

"Come on!" He urgently pulls at me, almost making me trip out of my seat. "Lets go!"

"Ok, ok! Chill, what's the rush?" I steady myself and grab my bag as quickly as I can.

"I told Leo we would hurry down there. He says he is going to try to save us the best seat to be able to see everything, but he specifically said don't dawdle!"

He grabs my hand and pulls me a few feet forward before abruptly coming to a halt. Damon, who is still lounging in his spot, slowly look up to us quizzically.

"Are you coming?" Zeke demands quickly, his entire body vibrating with the urge to keep running.

"Where?" Damon slowly looks between us, his lip curled back at the idea of following.

"To the rally of course!" Zeke impatiently shouts.

"Wasn't planning to" Damon shrugs as he takes his time standing up.

"But it's mandatory!" Zeke bellows, glancing at me like I can change his mind. "I heard it's actually going to be pretty cool this year." He adds like that will somehow convince him

"Look," Damon leans toward Zeke, keeping his voice low. "Don't think because of yesterday we are all buddy buddy now"

"Shut up" Zeke replies unperturbed and grabs for his hand as well. "Lets go!"

Damon's eyes widen slightly before glancing at me as if to say 'can you believe this kid?', but he allows himself to be pulled alongside me. I giggle, a little in disbelief myself at what is going on. The fact that Zeke even wanted Damon to join is unthinkable, but Damon actually going along with it? Never would have expected that.

By the time we get into the gym half the school is already in the bleachers. Zeke sighs exasperated as he urgently glances around in search of Leo.

"Up there" Damon simply points to the closest bleacher at the top.

"That's the best spot?" I look at all the open spots in the front row, I would think these would be some best.

"That's what he said!"

Zeke drops my hand and pushes his way through the people. I go to follow him, but hesitate just a moment.

"You know, you don't really have to come sit with us." I shyly glance back to Damon.

"I'm already here" He shrugs and puts his hand on my lower back.

My breath catches in my throat a moment before I force my body to calm down. He smirks as he leads me towards the bleachers. I glance up to my friends to be met with another smirk, this time from Zeke. I glare at him, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut!

"Damon?" Stephan stands as he sees us nearing them, "What are you doing here?"

"I would think you would be happy to see me here. After all, I have been told this is mandatory." Damon teases.

"If anything, what are you doing here?" I laugh as I take a seat next to Elena. "Aren't the juniors supposed to be over there?" I point to the bleachers across the gym.

"Shh" Elena smiles and puts her finger to her lips.

"Oh naughty!" Damon makes a show of widening his eyes in pretend shock. "What has this world come to? When the golden boy starts breaking the rules there will be anarchy in the streets!" He teases as sits down as well.

"Golden boy?" I laugh and look at Stefan expecting some sort of story. He just rolls his eyes and laughs.

"Make room!" Zeke whines as he pushes against Damon, even though it is obvious there is plenty of room for him to sit.

Damon rolls his eyes but allows himself to be pushed closer to me, our shoulders touching and his thigh brushing again my bare leg. My heart quickens as once again I feel him against me. I tense as I realize Zeke had planned this and send as subtle of a glare as I can in his direction.

Although I am sure he is aware of it Zeke keeps his eyes forward, completely ignoring me. Damon, on the other hand, is much more observant than I hoped. He raises an eyebrow at me making my cheeks burn with my rising blush.

"So ugh" I mumble, quickly trying to think of something to distract myself. "Why are these the best seats?" I ask Leo, leaning forward so I can see him.

"Oh because the cheerleaders are going to be doing their routine right there, the players are going to enter there, and the band will play over there" He explains as he points to different areas around the gym.

"Being Seniors, and sitting in our designated area" He slides Stefan and Elena a playful glare that she just innocently shrugs at. "This is the best spot to be able to see everything clearly."

"I see, I see" I nod as I lean back, trying not to take notice of how my shoulder brushes against Damon's.

"Said the blind man." Zeke chirps in.

"To the deaf dog." I finish laughing.

I glance over to see Damon looking at me, and my blush strengthens once again. He isn't smirking like usual, instead a hint of a smile plays at the corner of his lips.

"What?" I squirm self consciously under his gaze, he just smiles a little broader.

"Cute" He states simple as he lightly tugs at one of my braids.

I bite my lip and shyly look away. I hear him chuckle and I can see Elena looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I do my best to ignore them both.

Before anything more can be said the band strikes up, its music filling the room. On cue the cheerleaders, including Jenna and the twins, run into the gym. A few doing cartwheels others jumping around getting everyone excited. The gym erupts in cheers as they begin their routine. I can't help but watch in awe as they toss some smaller girls into the air to do flips.

"I'll be right back" Leo shouts over to us as he stands. " I am the one who is supposed to release the balloons at the end"

He points to the ceiling where a bunch of white and blue balloons are being held in a net. Without waiting for a reply he makes his way down the bleachers and disappears from sight.

"Stingrays!" The cheerleaders begin to chant, and the crowd eagerly follows their example.

The bleachers begin to vibrate beneath us as people start to stomp their feet along with their clapping. Suddenly the gym doors burst open and our school mascot comes running in followed closely behind by the football team.

Kevin, a boy in our grade who has been the school mascot for the last two years, is always super energetic and really loves his roll. Today, however, he seems a little out of sorts. Normally he is jumping around and even manages to do a few flips, which is astonishing to me considering I'd think the big stingray head would mess him up.

Today though he barely manages to stumble in and just awkwardly stand in the center of the gym, swaying as if he is off balance. I watch him, expecting him to suddenly burst into dance like maybe it's all part of the plan, but he just slowly starts stumbling in a circle.

"Think Kevin might be drunk!" A kid on the seats below me obnoxiously shouts out, causing an outburst of additional cheers.

As the players line up on the far side of the gym the cheerleaders begin their next routine. After a few kicks and coordinated spins they begin to maneuver themselves into a pyramid. A girl who was sitting next to Stefan stands and starts jumping up and down, screaming words of encouragement as Jenna takes her spot on the top. Jenna waves, encouraging the crowd to cheer even louder.

Suddenly, like a bull noticing a red cape, Kevin stops in front of the pyramid of cheerleaders before charging at them. There is laughter, but quickly it dies when people realize he isn't joking. A scream echoes from one of the cheerleaders as they all start to scramble, trying to climb off of one another. It all happens so fast though, and too quickly Kevin barrels into the group knocking many of them over.

I jump to my feet, just as most of the school does, to try to see if everyone is ok. The lower part of the bleachers quickly begin to empty, everyone rushing onto the floor to try to either help or get a better look. A few people near the top rows start pushing their way through the crowd, most people using the given height to try to see what is happening.

"Oh my god" The girl next to us cries out, now jumping trying to see over the people in her way.

"I hope no one is hurt"

I look down to Elena and Stefan to see them intensely staring at the crowd of people. Turning to Damon I notice something has his attention as well, only he seems much more curious rather than concerned.

"Is everything ok?" I ask, focusing more on them now than anything else.

Before they get to answer though the chaos only grows. There is suddenly a loud snap that silences everyone for a half second, before the room echoes with screams. My heart leaps into my throat as the floor beneath my feet gives, dropping about a foot and then tilting out from beneath me with a loud metallic groan.

Damon acts quickly as he grabs onto my waist with one arm, and onto the railing behind him with the other. His strong arms pulling me close, promising me safety against his firm chest. I cling to him, my arms wrapping around his neck as if my life depends on it. My feet dangle in the air, barely brushing the metal that is now twisted below us. In a panic I look to Zeke who is just barely hanging on to the railing, his eyes darting around for a way to escape.

A girl who was sitting a row beneath us is wailing from the ground now, clutching her wrist in pain. When the bleachers gave it acted like a slide, sending her and two others rushing to the floor beneath them. A boy who was next to her is laying on the ground, hauntingly still. I stare at him, my mind hardly able to comprehend what is going on.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God" The girl next to Stefan repeats over and over again like a mantra.

If she is ok, then it must not have been a very big section that gave. I find momentary comfort in this, but my panic is brought back in full force when I see Zeke starting to slip.

"Oh no!" I cry out.

"It's ok, I got you" Damon whispers to me, trying to comfort me.

A shiver runs through me, and I hold to him tighter. I do feel safe in his arms, like he would never let anything hurt me. Right now though, it's not me I am worried about.

"Zeke?" I whimper in explanation.

His eyes widen in realization and he glances behind his shoulder to get a look.

"Stefan!" he calls for his brother and I hear shuffling behind me.

I can hear motion in the gym, people moving around and calling to one another, but I pay them no mind. I focus my attention, the little I have right now, on my friends surrounding me.

"Nereza," Elena calls softly to me, "it's ok. We got you"

"A little bit closer." Stefan's calm voice instructs us.

"Can you hold on for just a second?" Damon asks, his eyes full of concern for me.

I nod, unable to find my voice.

"You sure?" He asks again.

I grasp onto his neck with every ounce of strength I have and nod again. I almost yelp when I feel his arm leave me, my body falling away from him a bit as I dangle from his neck. Quickly, now that he has both arms, he shimmies us closer to Stefan and Elena.

"We got you" Stefan cooes as he grabs me under my arms and pulls me from Damon.

For a split second panic rushes threw me at the thought of letting go. With an encouraging nod from Damon, and a second reassuring word from Stefan, I let my fingers drop from his neck. Instantly I am pulled into Stefan, he takes a step back and pulls me onto the solid bench of the intact bleachers.

"You're ok" Elena reaches for me and instinctively I wrap my arms around her, finding comfort in her embrace.

"You good?" I hear Damon call and I am reminded of Zeke's position.

I spin just in time to see Damon stepping onto the solid section, closely followed by a shaky Zeke.

"Zeke!" I my voice is shrill, and still thick with panic as I grab for him.

"What the hell was that!" Zeke returns my hug, but is urgently looking around for an explanation.

"That was amazing!" a girl gushes from behind me, sounding all to happy after such an experience. "You, like, saved them!"

I glance up to Damon, who is paying the girl no attention, and realize she is right. Without him Zeke and I would have gone tumbling to the ground! He really did save us...

Damon returns my gaze, the concern still all over his face. Slowly he reaches out to me, gently rubbing my back as I continue to hug Zeke.

"Are you ok?" He chokes out, the words seeming difficult for him to say.

All hint of his casualness and confidence gone, replaced with worry for me. My heart pulls as I look at him, swells with how thankful I am to him.

"Thank you" I breathe, still unable to process everything that happened. He clenches his jaw and nods.

"What are we doing sitting here!" Zeke bellows, as he looks around with renewed panic. "Lets get down before the rest collapses!"

He grabs my hand and quickly, a little carelessly, starts running down the bleachers.

"Good point" I mumble to myself, my shaky legs barely keeping me up.

Once on the ground we are surrounded by people. Questions being thrown at us so quickly they make no sense.

"Back up!" A teacher pushes his way through the crowd, demanding that people give us space. "We need to get you three checked out! Could have dislocated an arm hanging like that!"

He ushers us through the group to where the nurse is already checking out the few people that were thrown to the ground. I glance around trying to find Damon, but he is no where in sight. Stefan and Elena have seemingly disappeared too. Sirens wail in the distance as an ambulance comes rushing to our assistance.

Miraculously it seems there were no serious injuries. The girl I had seen earlier might have a broken arm, and the boy who is just now coming around probably has a concussion, but otherwise its just a lot of scrapes and bruises.

Zeke and I huddle together in the corner of the gym awaiting to be brought to the hospital for a more thorough check over. People all around us are crying, and people are constantly trying to push their way to us to ask questions, but thankfully the teachers are doing a decent job clearing the place out.

"What do you think happened?" Zeke ask staring in awe at the mangled section we were previously sitting in.

"Old school, not maintaining things properly?" I shrug giving the only explanation I can come up with. "Where do you think they went?" I ask scanning the room for our friends again.

"They had to take off of course." Zeke shrugs not giving it much thought.

"Why? I ask, obviously not getting something.

"Well they couldn't very well be looked at by doctors now could they?"

"Oh" I mumble, feeling stupid.

"This is just all to crazy!" Zeke shakes his head, "First Kevin taking down the pyramid like some sort of bowling ball,and then this?"

"I know" I agree.

Scanning the room I am able to spot a few of the cheerleader milling around. Doesn't look like any of them really got hurt. I don't see Kevin though, I wonder where he ran off to?

"To crazy," Zeke whispers to himself now, shaking his head again at the whole situation.

I wrap an arm around him and lay my head on his shoulder, doing my best to comfort him. He is right, this is all too weird.