Kevin, having said his piece, intended to grab Sarah and drag Damon upstairs by the arm to sort things out. However, Damon didn't cooperate. Their movements were minor, and with so many people around, Kevin didn't dare use the Rabbit Talisman, meaning his normal strength couldn't overpower Damon.
"Elena, it seems your boyfriend, Sarah, and Kevin still have things to discuss. Would you do me the honor of a dance in the meantime?" Damon not only refused to cooperate but also brazenly invited Elena to dance.
"No, thank you. I don't feel like dancing right now," Elena replied, glancing at Stefan and directly refusing.
"Elena, why don't you chat with my brother for a bit? Kevin and I need to step away for a moment," Stefan said. Besides the Sarah situation, he also had something to discuss with Kevin.
The two of them then took Sarah upstairs to a room. It was the usual routine; after all, Stefan, not drinking human blood, wasn't currently strong enough to directly overwrite Damon's compulsion. He could only have Kevin dispel it first, then re-compel Sarah to modify her memory.
"Sarah, you can go downstairs now," Stefan said, controlling Sarah to leave the room after altering her memory.
"Alright, spit it out. What do you need me for? If it's to plead for your brother, then don't bother," Kevin said directly to Stefan once Sarah had left.
"No, it's not that. I know you definitely won't forgive my brother. But I also certainly won't let you kill him. I have another way to deal with Damon, which would also save you the trouble of finding a way and resorting to such a bloody method of killing," Stefan said in a semi-negotiating tone.
"Don't tell me you're just going to convince Damon to leave? You know that's impossible. Leaving aside whether he'd even listen to you, I already told him that if I see him again, I won't let him off," Kevin said with a frown.
"I know Damon doesn't listen to me. And Damon also knows that your physical strength isn't enough, and if you two really came to blows and his life was threatened, I wouldn't stand idly by, so he won't leave," Stefan said helplessly, pulling a syringe from his pocket. He continued, "This is vervain. It's a vampire's bane; it can weaken them. As long as this is injected into Damon's body, he'll become incredibly weak. Then, we can lock him up. As long as we don't feed him blood, he'll slowly desiccate."
"Vervain? Alright, I'll trust you one more time. Keep a close eye on Damon later. Before the party ends, we'll coordinate and lock him up," Kevin said, glancing at Stefan and taking the syringe.
"Elena, where did Damon go?" Kevin and Stefan asked after going downstairs and finding Elena and Caroline talking, but Damon nowhere in sight.
"Damon chatted with me for a bit, then said he was going upstairs to find you two, wanting to dance with Sarah. Didn't you see him?" Elena replied, also a little puzzled.
"Let's split up and look for him. I'll check outside the house; you go back upstairs and check the rooms," Kevin said to Stefan.
"Okay, good," Stefan replied, turning and heading upstairs first.
"Caroline, I still have some business with Damon. I'll talk to you later," Kevin said, about to head out to the garden to look for Damon.
"Can you not go just yet? I haven't danced at all tonight. I'd like to dance with you first," Caroline said, grabbing Kevin's arm as he was about to leave.
"Sorry, Caroline, I don't actually know how to dance. Maybe later you can teach me, and we can have a proper dance together. Right now, I still have something to do; I need to find Damon first," Kevin said, turning to hug Caroline briefly before heading out the door.
"Stefan, have you seen Damon?" Kevin asked, having searched the garden thoroughly without finding any sign of Damon, and so he called Stefan.
"Yeah, he's right here with me. Sarah is too," Stefan said over the phone.
"I'm on my way over right now," Kevin said, frowning as he hung up and walked back towards the manor house.
"Where's Sarah?" Kevin asked as he entered the room and saw Damon, Stefan, Elena, and Caroline together, but Sarah was missing.
"Sarah said she wasn't feeling well and went home first," Damon replied casually.
"Sarah wasn't feeling well? Weren't you her escort? Why didn't you take her home?" Kevin thought, 'Her leaving first is fine. This way, I can get Damon away from the crowd and hit him with the vervain, see how well it works.'
"No problem, no rush. I was still hoping for a dance. Which of you two lovely ladies would grace me with a dance?" Damon said, addressing Elena and Caroline.
"Sorry, I'd still prefer to dance with Stefan," Elena said, walking towards Stefan, and the two of them held hands and moved onto the dance floor.
"My apologies, Damon. Kevin, let me teach you how to dance," Caroline replied to Damon, then walked over to Kevin.
"Alright," Kevin said with a smile, taking Caroline's hand and leading her to the dance floor. Although Kevin wanted to keep an eye on Damon first, the party was ending soon, and he had promised Caroline he'd learn to dance. He figured he could dance with Caroline for a bit and keep an eye on Damon, who was right there; it shouldn't be a problem.
Kevin learned to dance with Caroline for a while and quickly discovered he really wasn't cut out for it. It was more like Caroline had one hand on Kevin's shoulder, Kevin had one arm around Caroline's waist, and they moved under Caroline's guidance.
Luckily, Damon didn't try to run off during this time. Perhaps he still thought there was no vervain in Mystic Falls, and if a real fight broke out, Stefan would help him.
After a short while, Damon hadn't made any moves, but Stefan seemed to have angered Elena, and the two had separated. Kevin gave Stefan a look, signaling him to watch Damon. Stefan understood Kevin's meaning, nodded, and went to sit with Damon, striking up a conversation.
"Let's stop here for now. We can practice more later," Kevin said to Caroline after they had danced for a bit.
In that short time, if it hadn't been for the reaction speed granted by Kevin's Rabbit Talisman, his abysmal dancing talent would have long since resulted in Caroline's feet being stepped on until they were swollen.
"Okay. Actually, Kevin, your dancing aptitude isn't bad. At least, for a beginner, you didn't step on my feet even once," Caroline said to Kevin with a smile.
"Yes, well... let's head over there," Kevin could only reply with an awkward laugh.
"I'm going to find Elena," Caroline said, having noticed earlier that Stefan and Elena seemed to have had a fight, and wanting to talk to her best friend.
"Okay, good. Your mom is here too; you should probably go home with her later. I might leave a bit early. See you tomorrow," Kevin said, hugging Caroline and kissing her on the forehead.
"Okay," Caroline replied with a sweet smile.
"What makes you think you still dare to show your face in front of me?" Kevin said to Damon, after watching Caroline walk away.
"Do you know where Sarah went? And with so many people here, do you dare to make a move on me? More importantly, do you really think you can take on both of us?" Damon said, sitting on the sofa with an air of complete indifference.
"Stefan, when you found them, what did he do to Sarah?" Kevin asked Stefan, suppressing his anger.
"When I found them, things seemed pretty normal. When we all got downstairs, Damon just compelled Sarah to go home first. Then you came over," Stefan explained to Kevin, also somewhat puzzled.
"Alright, spit it out. What are your demands? Don't force me to get rough," Kevin said, walking behind Damon.
"I need you to—" Damon didn't even finish his sentence before Kevin jabbed him with the vervain syringe, causing him to wilt.
"What are you staring at? Help your brother! I'm going to get the car to take you home. Such a lightweight, getting drunk after just a little bit of alcohol," Kevin said, having stealthily injected Damon from behind using the Rabbit Talisman's speed, then motioned for Stefan to come and help Damon out.
"Uh, okay," Stefan said,愣了愣 (lèngle lèng - stunned for a moment), then supported Damon and started walking out.
"Ughh~" Damon groaned, whether from the vervain hitting him too hard or from the shock that Stefan had actually conspired with Kevin to stealthily inject him, he was trembling with a bit of rage. After all, Kevin, who knew nothing about vampire weaknesses, must have gotten the vervain from Stefan.
However, the vervain was indeed quite effective. They had barely made it out the main door, before Kevin could even bring the car around, Damon had already passed out.
"Take him to your place?" Kevin asked Stefan, who was currently stuffing Damon into the back seat.
"Yes, that's fine. We have a 'room' for Damon at my place," Stefan nodded and closed the car door.