Underneath the Mistletoe

The holiday party was in full swing as Rebekah Mikaelson made her rounds greeting the new faces. Unlike her brothers who were nicely dressed in black suits, she wore a long, glittery red gown with matching heels she bought specifically for the occasion.

She sent a smile to Niklaus as she passed him since she was thankful he let her throw the party to begin with. All she was wanting to do was make friends and spread cheer. After all, it was the holidays and quite a few people seemed to need it.

As she greeted a few more people she noticed a girl sitting off at the side. Rebekah knew she had seen the girl at Mystic Falls High School from her short time there. The girl was quite shy and was looking sad as she sat alone. Rebekah didn't know much about her, but did know she had a huge crush on her brother, Kol. Knowing what she had to do, Rebekah went on a search for her brother. No girl was going to be at her party being unhappy.

Meanwhile, Maria sat off to the side while watching the guests mingle. Nearly all the guests were dressed fancy especially the Mikaelson family. Maria felt like an outcast with her plain black dress and flats. Her brown, wavy hair was cascading down her back naturally and she wore little make up. She wished to be dressed like Rebekah or even some of the girls she went to school with, but she didn't have the money for the expensive clothing or to get her hair done. The only thing Maria currently liked about herself was the dark red nail polish that glistened on her fingernails. She did it herself was quite proud with how it turned out.

As the holiday music played on, Maria kept her hopes up for seeing Kol. It was really the only reason why she was there. Ever since she laid eyes on him, it was the only person who crossed her mind. There was just something about him and Maria couldn't figure out what.

"Maria, isn't it?" Rebekah spoke from beside her. Maria was too lost in thought to even notice her appear.

"Um, yeah," Maria answered, shocked that Rebekah was even talking to her.

Rebekah smiled knowing that her plan would work. She knew it was going to make Maria's night. Her brother might not be too happy with her, but he could get over it.

"I have a surprise for you," Rebekah grinned as Maria became more shocked. Maria didn't know if she was telling the truth or being mean. After all, Rebekah was a Mikaelson and they didn't exactly have the best reputation.

Maria hesitantly followed Rebekah through the crowded house. She caught some glances from girls at her school who had bullied her over the years and they seemed jealous that she was walking with Rebekah. She knew it was because they were wanting to be BFF's with her, yet Rebekah would never give them the time of day. Maria knew she was even farther down on the list of people Rebekah would ever notice or even be seen with which made her grow more suspicious of her intentions.

"You look beautiful," Rebekah told Maria as she tried to break the tension between them. She was being honest even though she wanted to give the poor girl a makeover and maybe some new clothes.

"Thank you. You look beautiful as well," Maria said quietly. She wasn't used to comments, and didn't exactly expect one from Rebekah. Rebekah said thank you as well as she sent her a smile.

"Can you stand right here for a moment?" Rebekah asked as she positioned Maria near the doorway. She excused herself to find her brother once again.

Maria was confused more than ever as she stood where she was. Very few people were in this part of the house, and none of them even paid attention to her. The only person she knew was Niklaus Mikaelson and he was dancing with a girl she did not know.

Maria stared down at her hands since she felt awkward staring at the dancing couple. She kept trying to figure out what her surprise was, but had no idea. It could be good or bad, and since she was brought to the emptier part of the house, it couldn't be all that good.

Maria glanced up when she noticed movement of someone coming toward her. She had to hide the smile that was beginning to appear on her face when she saw it was Kol. Rebekah stayed back as she saw the happiness in Maria's eyes. She was thankful that Kol did what she asked without putting up much of a fight. However, Rebekah kept the biggest surprise of all for the right moment.

"Are you Maria?" Kol asked as he walked up to the girl his sister told him about. Maria smiled before replying with yes. "Would you like to dance?" Again Maria answered with yes as she took his hand.

Rebekah kept smiling as she watched the two dance. Elijah came up next to her and asked why she was so happy. Knowing that Kol would hear, she instead pointed above their heads where a mistletoe hung. "All your work?" Elijah questioned his sister.

"I couldn't have her being a downer at my party," Rebekah answered her brother. Elijah knew she did it out of the kindness of her heart even if she didn't want to admit it.

Maria smiled as they swayed back and forth. Her head was resting on Kol's shoulder and she could see Elijah and Rebekah watching them. They were both smiling which was easing the bad thoughts from her mind.

When the song ended they pulled away from each other as Rebekah came over to them. She had a wicked grin before pointing up. Kol and Maria glanced up to see a mistletoe hanging directly over the two of them. It was something that neither had noticed. Kol glanced down at Maria as she blushed. He was going to kiss her. This was something she had only dreamed of, but it was going to happen. Maria began to feel very self consciousness since the few people in the room had their eyes on the two. Kol leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips before pulling away. It may have not been much, but Maria was blushing a deep red and smiling. They began dancing to the next song as Maria tried to take in what had just happened.

Rebekah smiled at the two before walking away to leave them be. She was glad she had made someone's night. In fact, it felt quite good to make someone happy, but Rebekah was never going to admit that to her brothers.

Kol had known his sister was up to something, but it wasn't what he was expecting. He wasn't mad at her since he was now dancing and kissing a beautiful girl, plus it was Rebekah's party. She would have put a dagger him right in front of Maria if he had ruined it in any way. He was actually glad he did Rebekah asked, otherwise he wouldn't have known the girl he was dancing with even existed.

Maria enjoyed the rest of her night dancing with Kol and occasionally getting a few more kisses. Her dreams had come true and it made her happy. She had came to the party just to see Kol, but never expected so much to happen. It was a night she would never forget.