A/N: Thank you for all the pleasant reviews :)
Every Good Party Needs A Planner
Bonnie is already in the cellar when Tyler arrives. Caroline is asleep back at the house and Tyler is almost positive she didn't wake up when he left. Even if she did, he's still positive she didn't follow him. They had sex and in a way, it felt the same as before. But in other ways, it didn't. He hopes Caroline doesn't expect that they're back to normal because they're not. He's not. He will never be that kind of normal again.
Tyler and Bonnie don't talk about Caroline. Instead he says, "I think I'll have a party."
Bonnie's green eyes meet his brown ones and she stares at him for awhile. "Because�"
"It'll provide a distraction," he says. "And you know everyone will come."
"Yes," Bonnie agrees. "Everyone will come. Including Elena and Caroline."
He doesn't tell her he doesn't care about Elena.
"It's a big house," he says instead.
"It's too risky."
"We can make it work. Caroline said you guys did something to trap Katherine at the masquerade ball." The night I killed Sarah. It's a depressing memory. He wouldn't have gotten into this situation at all if that night hadn't happened. "Can't we do that? Just with Stefan? You're strong enough to do that, right? I can do the actual staking. You just get me in a room with Stefan."
Bonnie is thinking. She taps her fingers on the ground and stays quiet.
"It was a spell to trap Katherine inside a room," she says. "To trap a vampire. I think we can assume you'll be trapped inside, too."
"That's fine. You can let me out when it's done."
"We'll need to take precautions," she says. "There's a spell that will silence the room."
They don't need any other vampires hearing what's going on. Tyler can already picture Caroline coming to see what all the fuss is about and finding Tyler just as he pierces Stefan's heart with a stake. She'll probably want to break up then.
"We'll have to think of a way to get Stefan to you," Bonnie says. She starts mumbling to herself and Tyler can hear her clearly but he can't make it out. He asks her what she's talking about.
"I think I can do a glamour."
"A glamour?" He only understood the bare bones of what Bonnie was telling him when she put Klaus in his body and this is brand new information.
"Yeah, I can make him see whatever I want him to see."
"And what would you make him see?"
"Elena."
They stay there for hours, talking it out. Going around in circles, again and again and again until they both think they have it right. Bonnie needs more practice, to make sure she can do it. "I don't want any surprises," she says. Tyler is impatient but he agrees to give it another week though they both know that in a week, everything could have changed. In a week they could have another hunter to deal with or Matt could get turned into a vampire or someone could blow up something and then they'll have to rethink all their plans.
Bonnie is getting ready to leave when Tyler speaks again, "Do you think we could kill Klaus?"
Tyler remembers a feeling of relief when he learned that Klaus had been dessicated and was lying in a coffin, not speaking and not breathing. Then he remembers how Klaus being inside his body seemed like a good idea if it meant it would save them all, including him. Including Caroline. Now he just wants Klaus dead. Hayley wanted it to though she had an easier time accepting how impossible it was. Killing Klaus meant killing the hybrids, meant killing Tyler. Hayley decided right away it wasn't something they should try to pursue.
Bonnie shrugs. "We'd have to find a way around the whole bloodline thing. Besides, Klaus is pretty immortal."
"But you did manage to dessicate him."
"Yeah."
"But that's dark magic, right?" That he knows because Caroline told him about that once Tyler was back in his body and she tried to explain what happened with Bonnie and her magic and it didn't make sense. Some stuff about spirits and black magic and Bonnie's Grams.
"Yeah."
"So you can't do it?"
"No, I can do it," she says. Her tone is harsh but she seems to feel bad about that and speaks softly next. "The spirits just won't let me."
Tyler doesn't understand the difference.
"I'll figure something out," she says.
"Don't worry about it," Tyler says. "We'll cross that bridge. Later." There's no reason to push her, not when they've already got their hands full. Besides, she's helping him kill Damon and Stefan and that's enough for now.
"I should go back," Tyler says. It's close to 4 AM now.
"You should," Bonnie agrees. "We have school in a few hours."
Welcome to Mystic Falls, where school seems more make believe than all the vampires and werewolves and hybrids.
"Do you want me to walk you to your car?"
Chivalrous Tyler is not a Tyler Bonnie is familiar with. "No," she says. "I'll be okay. I'm a witch remember? If I you think I can't protect myself then you asked the wrong person for help."
They both smile.
Bonnie makes it to her car just fine but she doesn't go home. With her dad out of town again, her house empty. And it rarely feels like home. She's spent most of her time at Elena's or Caroline's or her Grams' over the years. It's late and going to see Elena would stir up questions not to mention Bonnie doesn't want to interrupt whatever it is Elena may be doing with Damon. Caroline isn't at home anyway. And her Grams' place feels just like the tomb she died trying to seal.
All that considered, Bonnie still isn't sure why she goes to Wickery Bridge. This is Elena's spot not hers. This is where Elena's story began but it seems like Bonnie's story is so entwined with Elena's these days that she can't separate them. Besides, the moon in its crescent glory lights up the bridge tonight. And it's not the bridge that interests Bonnie. It's the water below it. She goes down the slope toward the bank. When she's at the edge of the water, she starts taking off her clothes.
She's not an exhibitionist but she's sure there's no one around. She feels her surroundings with her magic, touching no one alive (or dead). It's perfect. She wades into the water in her underwear, ignoring the chill. She goes to the center of the water, where her magic keeps her afloat. To anyone who saw her, she would look like she is standing, like the water isn't so deep. But she can't feel the bottom with her toes and knows that it was deep enough to kill Elena's parents and Elena only weeks ago.
She's never done this before but she feels the need to try. Shane says it's nature she should worry about. The spirits are just spirits but Nature is the mother, the father and every other authority that should matter. She's not strong enough, not yet, to go around the spirits. They block her because they are her.
And you let them, Shane says. Don't let them. You're alive. You have your own power and you don't need theirs. You don't need permission.
Nature is the mother. The father. Nature is what matters. Nothing - no one - else matters. Other witches have done it. Greta Martin did it. She didn't let the spirits choke her magic and her power and limit it the way Bonnie has. Greta is dead but it's not the magic that killed her. Bonnie closes her eyes.
"I will kill Stefan," she says to the water, to the sky, to the stars, to the earth, to Nature. "I will kill Damon. I will kill Klaus. And anyone else that needs to die. I will save myself and my friends. I don't have to be afraid. I will kill Stefan..." She repeats this for hours. Until she begins to feel warmth on her skin from the rising sun. She opens her eyes and swims to the bank.
You'll learn to put yourself into trances, too, Shane said.
Bonnie only returns home to shower and change clothes. She gets to school late but at least she showed. She has History with Caroline and Jeremy. Jeremy, who is somehow taking AP History though Bonnie doesn't know he finds the time to study. Caroline's mood has improved exponentially now that she's back on steady ground with Tyler. Jeremy manages to look unaffected by everything though Bonnie still remembers his emo phase and his druggie phase and marvels at how he's not regressing. Maybe it's the hunter thing. Maybe this is Jeremy's hunter phase. Except this one will be permanent.
"I'm so glad me and Tyler talked," Caroline says afterward as they walk down the hall together, sidestepping all their normal classmates. "I think we're okay now."
Bonnie can tell Caroline isn't totally certain of that. "But?"
"He left last night after we...you know."
Bonnie doesn't react. "Where'd he go?"
"I don't know."
"Did you ask him?"
"No. I just pretended I was asleep when he got back. He was gone for hours."
Bonnie makes a mental note to tell Tyler they should keep their meetings short, at least when he's got Caroline over. Then that reminds her of the other mental note she made to text Elena yesterday.
"Have you talked to Elena?"
"No," Caroline answers. "I think she's avoiding me."
"Why?"
"Because of Stefan."
Because Caroline likes Stefan and hates Damon. And Bonnie suspects it may have something to with Caroline taking the vampire thing better than Elena ever could. For so long Elena was better at Caroline at everything. Well, maybe not better but people liked things more when Elena did them. They liked it better when Elena told them things Caroline wanted them to know, liked it better when Elena wore clothes Caroline wore, liked Elena better than they liked Caroline. And now, for the first time, Caroline is better than Elena at being a vampire. But still, everyone likes Elena better because of it.
Bonnie never asks Caroline about Matt. Caroline may be more mature now but she's still Caroline. And Matt ditched her because she was a vampire, because vampires killed Vicki. But now that Elena's a vampire, he has to be her walking, talking, breathing blood bag. No, Bonnie does not - will not - ask about Matt. Ever.
"Where is Stefan?"
"He's not coming back. I mean, he only enrolled for Elena."
Centuries old vampires being enrolled in high school is weird. Bonnie has always thought that.
"Do you think I should ask Tyler?" Caroline asks. She looks at Bonnie with her round eyes and tugs on the end of one of her curls. Sometimes Caroline seems so human. "Or should I let him have his space?"
Bonnie shrugs her shoulders. "It's probably Hayley."
"Yeah," Caroline agrees. "Did Elena tell you about that?"
"What?" Bonnie knows she's messed something up.
"I mean, I tried calling you to tell you but you never called me back and yesterday you just kinda knew. I was just wondering if Elena told you." Caroline doesn't look like she's going to make a big deal about it but it's startling for Bonnie who wants to keep this whole thing as separate from Caroline as possible. Caroline's not stupid and this all seems so obvious from Bonnie's end. All Caroline has to do is piece it all together and then it'll fall right into her lap and Bonnie and Tyler will be stopped before they even start. She tells herself that Caroline may think it's weird but it's going to take a lot more than that for her to leap to Bonnie and Tyler partnering up to kill Stefan and Damon.
"Did Elena tell you?" Caroline asks.
Bonnie almost says yes but then she remembers that she'd told Elena she already knew about Hayley. She bites the bullet.
"Tyler told me."
Caroline cocks her head to the side. "Tyler? You said you hadn't talked to him."
Well, fuck. She did say that.
"I know," Bonnie says quickly, "but he was talking to me the other day about it. About you."
"What did he say?" Caroline's voice goes up in pitch. It always does that when she's about to freak out.
"Nothing," Bonnie assures her. "Nothing bad. He was just asking about you. How you were doing and stuff and he told me what you were fighting about. I think he thought I knew already and he just...said it."
"Then why'd you say you hadn't talked to him?"
Welcome to Mystic Falls, good luck keeping your lies straight.
"Because I told him to call you because you missed him," Bonnie says. It's true. She's glad that part is true. "And I didn't want you to get mad because I was...you know, in your business or whatever. Sorry."
"Oh. Well, thanks I guess." Caroline's over it, just like that. She loves Bonnie too much to question it. God, that makes Bonnie's stomach hurt. "Oh, he said he's thinking of having a party soon," Caroline says. "Friday. Not this Friday but next Friday. Are you gonna go? Please go. I know you're all teacher's pet right now..." Bonnie rolls her eyes. "...but you should go because I'll be there and we haven't been to a party together in forever and we can go shopping together and get ready together! I can do your makeup! Tyler will probably think it's weird but you can invite Shane if you want to. I mean, he did go to that frat party."
Bonnie laughs and agrees to all of it. Except for the Shane part. There will be enough people she knows there and she can't be distracted, not when she's got a Salvatore to kill.
A/N: Regarding Tyler's feelings on Elena, I've always thought Tyler is the only member of the group who really has no reason to care what happens to her at all aside from some polite childhood acquaintance feelings hence his growing disdain. Also, I plan on some Bonnie and Jeremy scenes down the line because he'll become important eventually.
