A/N: A long scene to show how Bonnie agreed to go to New Orleans with Klaus. I have some scenes written, but they are way in the future. Maybe I'll write something about Bonnie's reaction to the situation in New Orleans. If there's something you would like to see, tell me!
A witch and an original hybrid walk into a restaurant together and get a table. Unlike what Bonnie would ever expect or imagine, that's not the beginning of a bad joke, it's her life. She had actually agreed to meet with Klaus in a quaint little bistro thirty minutes outside of Mystic Falls. After all, meeting with Klaus at the Grille is out of question. She couldn't even imagine Caroline's reaction if she saw them together.
The perky blonde hostess sits them at a secluded table away from the windows, and throws Klaus a little flirtatious grin before leaving. Bonnie rolls her eyes at that. Really, what's the allure of homicidal vampires? First it was Damon and now it's Klaus.
The server, a young guy named Cole, comes to their table and Klaus orders what seems to be his usual. Bourbon, neat, and a bottle of white wine. His French is flawless as he specifies the wine he wants, and his voice doesn't show a hint of hesitation as he compels the waiter not to card her.
Bonnie orders the house special, a fennel and prosciutto pizza, because she knows that drinking and not eating anything is not smart. And dealing with Klaus completely sober is just torture.
"You look especially charming tonight. Didn't need to go all out for little old me," Klaus says as soon as the waiter turns his back. The corners of his lips are curled into a small smirk. Bonnie feels her face warm up a little. She doesn't think she did anything special other than curling the ends of her hair and applying some makeup. These days, makeup is pretty much essential when leaving the house, considering she's not really sleeping at night.
"Quit trying to sweet talk me and tell me why we're really here," Bonnie says, quickly thanking the waiter when he arrives with the drinks. "Last time I saw you, I was drunk and you were trying to convince me to go to New Orleans with you. Why?"
"I told you, I need a witch on my side," Klaus answers smoothly, and takes a small sip of his Bourbon. Bonnie is not so easily convinced by that.
"Try again with more details."
Klaus starts to tell this story of how his family had founded New Orleans and had to leave when running from Mikael.
"Now, I want to take back what's mine," he concludes, leaving Bonnie a little speechless.
It's not every day she hears kingdom and usurper being thrown around in a conversation. And how does one take back a city?
"Marcel, my progeny who I believed was dead when I left, has the witches under his control. I need them and their support to overthrow him."
The intensity in his voice is almost scary, and that's when Bonnie realizes this is serious business to him.
"Okay, and where do I come into play?" Bonnie asks, because she really doesn't know how he expects her to help. She is all for helping witches from a homicidal, probably sociopath vampire with too much power. However, she figures she's over her head in this one. Undoing some unknown force that causes witches to be submissive to vampires feels a little out of her grasp. After all, she turned eighteen a few months ago, and she's still recovering from her death episode. "If you want me to free these witches, you are seriously overestimating me. There's no way I can do this."
"Humbleness. That's cute. I haven't seen it in a while."
He flashes her another grin that makes her want to blush, unfortunately.
"It's not me being cute, it's just a fact."
It really is. Bonnie has yet to master the most complicated spells in Gram's grimoire, and this seems to be a spell that would probably kill her. And dying for other people is not in Bonnie's plans anymore.
"There's something you're forgetting, sweet Bonnie. You're a Bennett witch, the most powerful lineage ever. You're a direct descendent from Ayana, and you know who she was. The amount of untapped power you have is nothing short of…alluring," he finishes, and touches the back of her right hand ever so slightly. It's almost a phantom touch, and Bonnie wonders if she imagined it in the first place.
Klaus is trying to mess with her, she concludes. Perhaps he thinks she will be open to this agreement if he flirts with her or something of the sort.
"If I were to accept your offer, and I'm not saying I will, what's in it for me?" Bonnie asks, and it almost feels foreign for her to say these words. For most of her life, Bonnie was as selfless as she could be. If her friends would ask for her help, she would do it, no questions asked. Her focus was always on how to make other people feel better, and never on how her actions would affect her.
When Bonnie was twelve and going to therapy, the doctor said her 'extreme selflessness' was probably due to her abandonment issues. With her mother gone and her father absent for most of the time, Bonnie wanted to make sure everyone around her was happy so they wouldn't leave. That attitude didn't work out so well for Bonnie, considering Grams was dead, her mother had been turned into a vampire against her will and abandoned her again.
"Whatever you want is on the table," Klaus answers with no hesitation, and that makes Bonnie weirdly excited. Beside her father trying to relieve his guilt by giving her expensive birthday presents, people didn't listen to her requests.
"A Porsche?" She asks, coming up with one of the most extravagant requests she could think of.
"Coupe or convertible?"
"Okay, that's just crazy. I'm crazy for even considering this. You tried to kill me, Elena, and then you killed Tyler's mom. Amongst other things," she mutters, and proceeds to drain her glass of wine.
"That's water under the bridge, as they say. You tried to kill me too, and you don't see me holding a grudge," Klaus says lightly, as if their differences are based on trivial matters, and not on attempted murder. He stops for a minute, contemplating something, and Bonnie almost doesn't want to know what he's thinking. "You just graduated high school and you're supposed to go to college."
"That was very well spotted, Klaus. I believe you're the smartest Original hybrid running around!" Bonnie exclaims with sarcasm, and Klaus' weird smile stays on his face, freaking her out. "What?"
"I'll pay for university, granted it's not too far away from the city."
"That's weirdly thoughtful of you, but I missed all of the deadlines," Bonnie says, feeling a little depressed with that. College was supposed to be Bonnie's chance to finally have a normal life, and it seems she's not going to have that either.
"Deadlines are for people that can't compel others. Just tell me the university of your choosing and I'll make it happen. And as an offer of good will, I'll throw in a car in the deal, and I have arranged for a witch to help you with your magic."
"It sounds like you want to be my fairy godmother, and it makes me feel like I'm in an alternative universe."
"Of all the things I've been called before, fairy godmother was never one of them," he says with a small chuckle, feeling pleased with himself. Convincing this witch to be on his side is no small task and it seems like he's accomplishing. "But I'll take the title if you accept my offer. It's a very reasonable offer, if I do say so myself."
"I don't know, Klaus. It's not like I can disregard everything that happened in the past. Working for a vampire was never in my plans, I was taught that vampires are unnatural."
"I'm sorry, Bonnie, but you still haven't realized that you've been working for vampires for years now? Damon and Stefan basically use you as their little witch on call. They have a problem and you are there to solve it, even if it hurts you in the process. Anything for the precious Elena Gilbert, right?"
Bonnie looks down and starts fiddling with the hem of her navy blue dress. Having someone outright tell her that others felt Elena's safety and welfare is more important than hers is kind of painful. Even though she knows for years now, it still messes with her.
"It's not like that," Bonnie mumbles, and feels even more pathetic. She doesn't like showing weakness to Klaus, of all people.
"But this is your chance to step away from her shadow, isn't it? You know that every time Elena is in danger, they will turn to you to save her. It will never end, and the stakes will only get higher," Klaus says in this matter of fact tone that indicates to Bonnie he's honestly speaking his mind. Even if he didn't have that tone, she would know it's true.
After all, her sacrificing for Elena is an old thing. Grams died, her mother was turned against her will, and she had actually died. The odds of Bonnie going through college unscathed are not in her favor.
"And working for you will make it all better, isn't it?" Bonnie asks with sarcasm, and Klaus shrugs in response. "What's the difference between helping you and staying with them?"
"You know what you're getting with me, love. I won't pretend to be your friend and then ask you to sacrifice yourself for me. What do you think of my offer, witch?"
Bonnie taps her pretty manicured fingers on the cherry wood table, trying to take everything in. She could ignore Klaus' plans and stay in Mystic Falls. Whitmore is Gram's alma mater, so there would always be a place for her in there. However, it's very likely that her life will be the same. Caroline is already talking about the three of them sharing an apartment on campus, which means Care has no intentions of breaching out and meet new people. Well, she'll probably want to meet new people, but none of them will ever make it into their circle. So it's going to be their little band of super naturals for a long time. And Bonnie doesn't know if she wants that.
"Wait, what if I want to get out later? Will you let me, or I'll be stuck with you for the rest of my life?" Bonnie asks. If she's going from one homicidal vampire to another, she better make sure it won't bite her in the ass.
"You can get out once I have complete control of the city and the witches," he says and finishes the drink in one big gulp, his eyes almost glimmering with excitement because he has her where he wants.
"And no messing with my friends? Just because I don't want to be in Mystic Falls doesn't mean that I want to see them hurt."
"As long as they don't mess with me, I see no reason to go after them. Like I've said, my focus is on taking back my city. I have no use for Elena now that she's a vampire."
Bonnie is silent for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. A part of her says that it's safer to stay close to home, that it doesn't matter she is occasionally used for her powers. The other urges her to accept this crazy offer and get out of there as soon as possible. That part is too jaded by everything that happened, and needs a clean slate to be able to finally heal in peace. That part wins in the end.
"I'm in. I'll go to New Orleans with you," Bonnie says, her heartbeat accelerating. The two of them shake hands to seal the agreement.
She doesn't know if it was the wine, but she feels almost…giddy. Like a girl who just came home from a date and is anxiously waiting for a text or a call. It feels kind of like an outer body experience, because she would never help Klaus if he came to her a few months ago.
Today she's agreeing to go live a new life, in a new city, with Klaus Mikaelson of all people. She can just imagine everyone's reaction to her decision. Caroline would be shocked, and Jeremy would be furious with a small touch of feeling betrayed. Some concern goes through her, but it passes quickly. Perhaps this is the day Bonnie Bennett starts being a little selfish.
