Three
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"Alright, I think that's gonna be all for today," Carla says, taking a look at her wrist watch, "The video of our Cinco de Mayo gig will be uploaded online over the weekend so feel free to like it and share it on social media, you guys did a very good job. Oh, and don't forget to confirm whether or not you'll be singing with us at the End-of-the-year-fiesta, it will be our last gathering of this school year and it's gonna be a lot of fun. I have emailed the list of the songs we'll be performing, nothing new to learn, just the couple hits we've all liked to sing together. Alright, have a good one, see you on Tuesday."
We all nod, respond or applaud Carla's words and our group disperses, people gathering their stuff and leaving for lunch. As I see Bonnie get closer to our club president in a somewhat timid step, I wave a distant goodbye to my suitemate Tina and decide to join my target. I haven't seen much of her lately, and though I was a bit surprised that she showed up this morning, my senses were on alert mode right away.
The first time I ever saw Bonnie Bennett was last semester, at a party where Jessica dragged both her suitemates in order to have fun and get to know each other. I didn't really protest and decided to roll with the flow, and that's when I spotted her in the crowd: a little bit shorter than me, black hair, dark skin, beautiful green eyes, and this strength and joie de vivre despite her bleak witch Light. I knew right away that something was off with my witch's magic but the girl didn't seem affected by it, she was simply enjoying life with her two vampire friends, Caroline and Elena.
I am clueless regarding what's happened to her magic but throughout the year, I always thought she had this presence and this chin-up attitude for someone who couldn't practice witchcraft anymore. I am a rather good observer and this pale version of her, all lost and shy and discreet as hell, is not the powerful-yet-magicless witch I am accustomed to. This is what tipped me off.
"…So I don't know yet whether I'll be able to join on our last gig," Bonnie is saying as I step close enough to signal I'm waiting for a chat with Carla as well, without seeming to eavesdrop.
"I understand," our president tells her with a heart-warming smile, placing a hand on Bonnie's wrist, "But if you can join us, even if it's last minute, please do; it'll be an absolute pleasure to have you."
"Okay, thanks."
Bonnie tries to smile and looks at the ground and this is when I gently step in, "Hey Carla, Bonnie, sorry to interrupt, I just gotta be quick 'cause I'm heading to work but I wanted to let you know that I'm very not sure whether I'll be able to attend our last gig. I have a lot of personal stuff going on and I really don't know if I'll be able to make it."
"Oh no, you too?" Carla asks and we can both hear how much it simply pains her not to have us at this last performance of the year.
I hate to ditch her and the others because this is my only normal-person hobby and I like it a lot, and I like our little group, but if my witches continue running around, talking about Travelers, there's a high possibility that I'm gonna be very busy for the next few weeks.
"I know; I'm sorry. I'll try to make it but in case I don't, you should definitely make sure to bring your own guitar for the music accompaniment."
"Yes, of course," Carla nods and I can see her eyebrows knitting, already worried that this something personal of mine could be really bad.
"But as I was telling Bonnie just now, try and keep me posted, and if you can show up in the end, even if you don't have time to text me, please do come, it'll be a very good surprise. Okay?"
I nod, both Bonnie and I looking as sorry as we feel to be missing our last gig with the team, and we watch her leave, left to our own thoughts. A minute passes by and I stand near the witch, who is still lost in thoughts, until the silence of this empty room seems to wake her. She gathers her purse and her jacket and I say, "Hey, it's been nice having you this morning."
She blinks and looks up at me, as if wondering who I am. It is weird coming from her because, though we are not best friends, I made a serious point of talking to her quite often during our sessions and this has been going on for a year now, so she knows who I am. She only seems far away so I keep on, "It's just– I haven't seen you in a while, I was wondering how you were doing."
She has this smile then, like she remembers I'm only some innocent human who gets through life, completely oblivious and clueless regarding the supernatural world, and who wouldn't believe nor understand anything she's been going through lately. I know that smile; it is one I often give Tina and Jess. She nods, looking for the right words and says, "You know, personal drama with boyfriend and a couple health problems, so I've been staying home a lot."
"Oh, okay," I say cautiously, "I hope nothing too alarming."
She shrugs and we leave the room. As we walk through the corridors, she decides to simply tell me about her boyfriend Jeremy – yes, Jeremy as in Jeremy Gilbert, the little vampire hunter. I know – with whom she's been having some sort of melodramatic crisis that wasn't really one or whatever. She doesn't elaborate on the health issues and I don't press her. I have learned it is generally best to remain silent for only a moment longer and people will keep talking without me having to ask further.
It turns out she's heading to the Scull Bar too and we keep chatting until a male voice interrupts us, "Hey, Andy, long time no see."
We come to a stop and acknowledge the tall feature and the broad shoulders of a sandy blond guy with bright blue eyes. He smiles at us both but I can feel the burn of his stare on me and I clear my throat before saying, "Eric, hi."
"You… forgot to call me," he slowly says with a playful smile that would probably work if I didn't have other things to think about right now, "or to text."
"These things go both way, you know," I simply retort and his grin widens.
"Well, you're the one who disappeared before I even woke up."
Bonnie arches a brow and gives me an appreciative smile.
"I know, I meant to text you and then I got caught up in all sorts of things and I kinda forgot–"
"That was last week," he counters with another smile, "You want to have me believe that you didn't think of me since last week, not once."
"I'll leave you to it then," Bonnie discreetly tells me, placing a hand on my arm, "It was good talking to you, I hope we do that again soon."
"Same," I smile, "And remember you're on for a shooters night after finals."
She pauses to look at me, solemn and wise, as if securing me in her memory and for a second, I sense something big and bad coming her way.
"Bye, Andy," she finally says and she turns around, resuming her walk toward the bar.
I stare at her for a moment and it's Eric's rambling about waiting for news that brings me back to reality. I look up at him and decide he's annoying me more than he's being successful at trying to seduce me right now, and I don't want to hide it.
"Hey, look," I say as patiently as I can, "We had a lot of fun last week and it was great but it's not– it's not really becoming a thing, you know."
Eric loses his smile and frowns, "But you like me, I know you do."
"I do," I confirm, trying to be as gentle as possible, "I do like you, but we're not– we're not in a relationship and… though it was really nice to spend some time together, I think it might be time for us both to move on."
"You mean me," he understands, "It's time for me to move on because, for some reason, you don't want to date me."
"More like I don't want to date anyone at the moment, which I told you before we headed to your place, and you were fine with that."
"I was–"
"So, how about we keep up with what we agreed on and simply go our separate ways for a while; which doesn't exclude saying hi or having fun from time to time, what do you say?"
"So you're making me your bootie-call?"
"Uh, I think I'm making us friends, with the possibility to share a night from time to time, since we both enjoyed it the last time around."
"Wow. Unbelievable."
"It's take it or leave it, Eric," I say gently, "I don't have anything else to offer."
"Then I think I'll just leave it. I'm looking for more than an occasional hook-up."
"And I can't blame you."
I sound and feel sorry about it but I am firm and determined, and Eric making eyes at me won't change my mind. Eventually, he wishes me a good day and leaves, somewhat thrown off to have been rejected, which is certainly not a treatment he gets very often. I sigh and watch him leave, not really regretting any of this conversation. I warned him that first night and he was fine with it. Is it my fault if he decided he wanted more all of a sudden and I still don't? I don't think so. But had I clung hard to him, desperate for him to become my boyfriend, he probably wouldn't even have tried to see me again. Guys, really.
I am still shaking my head, the shadow of a smile on my lips as I remember our night together, when I enter the Scull Bar. I immediately notice Bonnie studying with two of her vampire friends, Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore. The witch looks up and smiles at me, and I wave back as I come closer to the counter, where Liv is busy washing glasses.
"What are you doing here?" she immediately asks with a frown.
"Hello to you, too," I answer emphatically, as I take my lunch bag out of my purse and sit down, "I was hoping to have lunch here but I might leave since the bartender is in such a good mood."
She doesn't smile or joke, she simply leans over the bar and says rather darkly, "Well you can't have it here. Now take your stupid little sandwich and go eat it elsewhere."
"Wow, you really are in a good mood," I simply notice, snatching a napkin next to her and settling in.
"I am not kidding," Liv slowly insists, her eyes darting toward the door from time to time.
I immediately hold back the questions about who she might be expecting with so much defiance and why she wouldn't want me around because I know she'll just shut me out if I ask, so I say nothing and take a bite out of my sandwich.
"Andy, this is serious, you shouldn't be here."
"Actually I should. My shift starts in about fifteen minutes."
"You're not working today," she counters harshly, "Clarke is."
"He asked me to fill in for him this afternoon and in exchange for the favor, he's taking my Saturday night shift. Guess who is going to whatever frat' party will be going on that night?" I say with more enthusiasm but she doesn't flinch.
"Anyway, I think I'm gonna close up, it's kinda dead. You should go home."
I snort and give an emphatic look around; dozens of students are silently studying in small groups all over the place. The Scull Bar is definitely not as loud as it is used to being but it's far from dead. Liv's mouth opens and I can see she's struggling between wanting to tell me something and not wanting to. Welcome to my life, Liv. She eventually folds her arms and snorts with displeasure before leaving me to my brief lunch.
When I come back downstairs after leaving my stuff in the locker room, ready to get to work, I come face to face with Liv and Bonnie talking alone and I really wish I could be invisible in order to eavesdrop as I please.
"What?" I heard Liv ask in her oh-so-charming-voice.
"Nothing. Not really nothing. More like a rhetorical question about how to fix an imploding supernatural purgatory."
And that's all I get before they abruptly stop talking as I come close. I give them a casual 'hey' with a smile and go look for something by the cash register, hoping they'll continue their conversation where they stopped it, but unfortunately, that is also when the door opens and Liv's face falls, "Oh great, he's here."
She casts her version of a concerned glance over at me and sighs, somehow bracing herself for what is coming, while I look up to see who just entered the bar. Tall, short black hair, dark eyes, light olive complexion and handsome. I take in the vampire's cocky smirk as Bonnie, still talking to Liv, confirms his identity, "You know Enzo?"
"Yep; not a fan."
The vampire and her share a glance from across the room and I watch him go sit down and talk to Elena and Stefan. I discreetly keep an eye on them and I know Liv and Bonnie are doing exactly the same thing. Over time, I have learned not to feel threatened by Stefan or Elena, they seem to be good vampires but this one, this Enzo St-John, I hardly know him and from the intel I have collected, he is more like Damon Salvatore, aka the bad brother of the vampire community. Now I don't know what is going on but it can't be good.
Suddenly, Enzo rises up and loudly asks Liv for a little service at their table. Nobody looks up from their books to hush him, which is kind of weird, but I don't miss the concerned glance Liv gives me before biting her lip and walking over to him. She casually lifts her hand and starts chanting the witch way, just like that, in front of everybody. Her invisible powers immediately obey and I can perceive the beautiful and strong Light of her magic swirl around her arm toward Elena and Stefan, who immediately cling to their heads, their faces distorting with pain.
"Liv, what are you doing? Stop!" Bonnie shouts, coming next to her, and once again, no one in the bar moves a muscle. Even I don't know what to do.
"I can't stop, sorry," she grits through her teeth, giving Enzo a look.
"That's my fault, really," he says before speaking up, "Where's Luke?"
The backdoor leading to Dominic's office opens behind me and I turn back to see Lucas being held out in the room while Enzo explains he's compelled a couple blokes from the 'rugby team' to keep his life in jeopardy so that should the witch disobey, he will die.
So that's it. Liv is not purposefully hurting people with her magic, she's being manipulated, used as a weapon, and this vampire has certainly done his homework, because there is no better leverage than Luke's life when it comes to her. But now I am not hidden somewhere out of sight; I am in the same room as them, intently witnessing the whole scene and I am definitely not invisible. My witch is not going astray; on the contrary, she is being threatened and used for evil; taking her out is not an option. Nonetheless, I need to make a decision. Do I do something? Am I even allowed to act in such a case? And if I do act, what am I supposed to do exactly?
Luke and I share a glance.
"There's a good soldier," Enzo purrs and Liv interrupts her chanting, which results in Elena and Stefan's pains to cease, "Okay, Stefan. Are you ready to talk about what you did to the love of my life?"
Aster's quick word: So here we are, entering the TVD timeline for kind of real; we're situated by the end of season 5. Special wink to you, Lily Amazon: I remember how happy you were to catch a glimpse of our beloved Enzo ;)
Hope you enjoy the story so far :)
