A/N: I'm so sorry about the time lapse between the last update and this one! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, though. It's the beginning of Bonnie really taking Abby's advice to heart and being upfront with the group.
Chapter Summary: Bonnie and Jeremy arrive at prom and have a short time to themselves before they're asked to leave.
Battle of Wills
As planned, Bonnie and Jeremy showed up when the party was in full swing, when the lights were low on the dance floor. They missed the dinner, but they ate dinner at Bonnie's house almost every day.
The event was being held at the only country club in Mystic Falls, an impressive property belonging to the Fell family. Never having been close friends with the Fell children, the Gilbert children had never visited the place. Caroline has a couple of times, even forcing her mother to take her when she got older, and Tyler has accrued the most visits, his mom having been drinking buddies with Victoria Fell and his father wanting to nurture the Lockwoods' connection with the family. This was Bonnie's first time at the property, and even though she wasn't yet near the actual house, she had a feeling that it was fancier than the Lockwood mansion on gala night.
The instructions were for everyone to enter through the back of the mansion. The back stretched into the Mystic Falls woods. Bonnie was pleasantly surprised by what student government, headed by Tikki, and the prom committee, headed by Caroline, had accomplished with a fine budget.
"Pictures of You," Jeremy read from the placard.
Bonnie took in the plush red carpet, the small glass lanterns lining the carpet, the shining paper lanterns hanging on the trees, and the giant wooden picture frames. She remembered when most of this stuff were just ideas. She'd only attended two of the senior meetings early in the year. After that, she had given her attention to opening the coffin that was supposed to spell Klaus' end. Plus, being without a boyfriend hadn't put her in the mood to plan a party.
"Oh my God, look at how young Matt looks," she said.
"Most of these are pictures of you guys," Jeremy said, some judgment in his voice.
"Well, Caroline did head up the prom committee."
"I'd be pissed if I was part of your class."
"Don't worry; you'll get your chance next year," Bonnie teased.
No one had really blossomed into super popularity in Jeremy's graduating class, but he knew he had never stuck his neck out to pose for any pictures. He was positive he wasn't going to show up in any class of 2012 memories.
But he did make an appearance in the class of 2011. He stopped walking when a giant, crisp picture of him and Bonnie appeared on one of the horizontal picture frames. "Oh my God," he marveled.
"Holy crap," Bonnie said when she saw it. There she stood with Jeremy, as if from a past life. She looked lost in his eyes, a small smile on her lips. He looked like he was getting ready to tell her something, something important, something that would make her fall even deeper. No one could guess that she was getting ready to put her life on the line. They looked so...normal. So still and perfect.
"You submitted that?" Jeremy asked softly.
"No," Bonnie sputtered, her hand starting to sweat in Jeremy's. "I mean yes." Turning to him, she said, "It was a long time ago, okay? Before we broke up. Before we even had the first senior meeting. Caroline came up with the idea, and she wanted all of us to give her some pictures to make her presentation better and so that everyone would be more likely to vote for her idea. So I gave her this. I mean it was just one of the pictures I gave her. I forgot all about it. I can't believe she didn't take it out," she said, a bit miffed and embarrassed.
"Well maybe she's been busy," Jeremy suggested, a little amused by Bonnie's reaction.
Bonnie knew Caroline had had plenty of reasons to get distracted, starting with her father coming into town to disapprove of her and ending with Tyler's problems.
The picture disappeared, lost in the loop, and Bonnie wished it would come back. The woods were suddenly quieter than before, and both Bonnie and Jeremy silently compared the fear and relief they'd felt that night with the fear and relief they'd recently felt concerning Jeremy's death and resurrection. A body-racking shiver crossed Bonnie, and Jeremy pulled her in closer, tucking her under his arm.
"Come on," he said, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said softly, looking up at him.
Jeremy kissed her on the nose, not wanting to mess up her lipstick by getting some of it on his mouth.
They got closer to the house, so close they could see the red and white drapes billowing in the wind. For a second Bonnie wondered how expensive they were. They could see shadows of bodies jumping up and down beyond.
The music suddenly switched and Bonnie wrapped her other arm around Jeremy's front and walked around to face him. "Let's dance."
"Here?" he asked and looked over her head at the crowd inside.
"Yes. Who knows what'll happen once we get inside. Let's dance out here. Just one dance." She held Jeremy's hands and alternately pulled on his left and right arms, and she swung her body in the same directions. "I danced for you," she reminded him as Rihanna's voice told them to 'come on' in the opening of S&M. "Now you get to dance."
Jeremy was slow to move, his embarrassment apparent. He looked around to make sure there weren't other people. Faced with regular, up-beat dancing, he'd rather slow dance. He'd really just rather Bonnie dance and he watches. That would be his first choice every time. But Bonnie wasn't having that right now. She refused to turn around and back up on him. When the beat dropped, she bent her knees and Jeremy started to move. He wasn't a sucky dancer. He's danced in his room. It was just hard for him to let go when there were other people around, and Bonnie counted as other people. He was focused on what he looked like.
"Just relax," Bonnie said. "Or we'll do the next song too," she threatened. Bonnie put her arms around his waist, and he started moving, following her lead and tempo. When she let go, he kept going, avoiding her eyes and focusing on her pelvis. He was smiling, so Bonnie knew he was getting into it. "See, you're doing good. If you're this shy about dancing, why did you ask me to dance that one time?"
"I thought you were hot, and I wanted us to get close. That was more important than whatever I felt about dancing in public."
Bonnie laughed and finally turned around. Predictably, he pulled her back so that her butt was flush against him. But he at least kept moving, swaying his hips along with her, dipping with her almost to the ground and than swaying back up. They turned, stepped forward, stepped back, their hips never ceasing their swaying. Bonnie curved one arm back around Jeremy's neck and laughed, elated by how on beat he was.
"That wasn't so bad," Bonnie said when Party Rock Anthem came on.
"That was great," Jeremy said. He really did like to dance once he got into it.
"Come on." Bonnie took his hand and led him inside.
"Jesus," Jeremy commented once they entered. "Is this prom or a wedding reception?"
"I don't think Caroline cares about the difference."
The lights were low, but it wasn't dark like they were expecting. The room looked warm. The lights shown a pale golden yellow. It gave Jeremy the feeling of everything and everyone in the room being surreal, and he wondered how much student government must have spent on the lighting to create that effect.
"It's beautiful," Bonnie said. "Almost like a dream."
"Yeah. Maybe Pictures of You is the wrong name for this."
Bonnie caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, and he followed her onto the dance floor, dropping a kiss on one of her bare shoulders as he walked behind her.
"They've already announced prom king and queen!" Bonnie yelled at him while they danced. "Look! I think Matt won!" She swiveled her head to peruse the room for the queen. She saw the runner-up: Amber Bradley. Not bad, considering she didn't even get to compete in the Miss Mystic Falls pageant the year before, thanks to Stefan. Her dress was an off-white, strapless, mermaid design with beading all over. She had dressed to win.
"I found the queen!" Jeremy said and turned her in Tikki's direction.
Bonnie smiled. Amber Bradley had dressed to win, but Tikki was dressed like she was already regal and an actual crown was simply a bonus. Her hair was pulled up into a full, tight bun. Her dress was black, floor-length like most of the girls, and with a cut so deep in the back Bonnie was sure two or three teachers had spoken to her about it.
"She looks amazing!" she said to Jeremy, and he nodded. Bonnie looked equally amazing at the moment, with her wide smile and excited eyes.
"What the hell?" Bonnie commented, confused and surprised when an old song started blaring out of the speakers. Jeremy laughed, but they still got down to Bouncing off the Ceiling.
They danced until they sweated, until Bonnie's sexy tight dress became just a tight dress and the poofy material that made up her skirt was too much, until Jeremy wanted to take off his jacket and dress shirt. Bonnie saw him get so deep into a song that he was banging his head back and forth hard enough to give onlookers a headache, a sight she would never forget.
"Bonnie? Bonnie!"
Bonnie knew the jig was up by the look in Jeremy's eyes. She turned around. "Caroline! Hi! I love your dress." Red really was the blonde's color. The shade Caroline wore wasn't as bright as Bonnie's, and it had some purple-y magentas in it, but she still looked great. "Hi, Matt," Bonnie greeted, and Jeremy waved at the king.
"What the hell are you doing here? Are you crazy?"
"No, just thirsty," Bonnie responded and pulled Jeremy in the direction of the bar. "Can I get a water, please?" she asked when they got there.
"Two," Jeremy said.
Caroline pulled Bonnie away from the bar. "You're making jokes? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"
"Dangerous? I think you're exaggerating."
"You know what I mean. Dead boy at prom?"
"Bon, what are you guys doing? No one's supposed to know Jeremy's alive yet," Matt said.
"No one seems to so far," Bonnie said flippantly.
"You don't know that," Caroline said. "We saw him."
"Bonnie," Elena said, coming up on Caroline's left with Stefan and Damon in tow.
"Oh great," Bonnie said sourly. "Did you guys send out a mass text?" she asked Caroline and Matt. "We're just having fun, just out and about."
"Which part of wait for us to work this out completely went over your combined heads?" Damon asked. "I mean I get Gilbert thinking this was a good idea, but I expected better from you."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "No one's losing their shit at him being here. Up until you guys decided to make a scene and crowd around me, no one had even come up to us."
Jeremy appeared with Bonnie's drink, having downed his on the way. "What's up?" he asked.
"Jer, you need to go home," Elena said.
"No." Jeremy saw Damon grimace from the corner of his eye, and he tensed, expecting Damon to start man-handling him at any moment.
"Okay, enough. We're not leaving. It's not a big deal. Everything's fine, and if someone does see him it's not like they're gonna ask questions."
"You don't think it's gonna be a problem when we come out with his resurrection story after people have seen him partying it up at prom?" Caroline asked.
Bonnie grabbed Jeremy's hand and left them.
Stefan wanted to tell a couple of them to back off, because Bonnie was right: they were creating a scene and calling attention to the situation by trailing Bonnie en masse like this, but the only person who could be cut out of this conversation was Matt. Caroline and Elena weren't going anywhere, and Damon wasn't going to willfully butt out.
Bonnie tried to start dancing with Jeremy, but Caroline was standing right there, waiting for her to come to her senses.
Elena put a hand on Bonnie's arm. "Let's talk outside!"
"No. Just drop it."
"Bonnie, please."
Bonnie rolled her eyes hard and started making her way through the crowd, her frustration and anger rising. She threw some drapes aside and stepped out onto the red carpet. She walked four paces from the party and whirled on the group. "What? What the hell is it?"
"What it is is that you've lost your mind."
"Shut up, Damon," she bit off. "What are you guys gonna do? Force us to leave? Compel us?" she asked and gave Damon a withering glare and he rolled his eyes.
"I know you wanna be at prom," Caroline said, clasping her hands together.
Bonnie rolled her eyes again. "How do you? I've never said anything."
"Bon, you gotta admit that this is a bad idea. It's risky," Matt said calmly.
"I don't care. I don't care about the risks. Guys, this is like the least risky thing I've done this month alone. Going to a freaking party?"
"With a dead boy," Damon opined.
"Stop calling him that!" The speakers inside of the dance suddenly malfunctioned, a sharp sound severely assaulting the attendees' ears. Bonnie blinked, realizing that her frustration had manifested in her powers and lashed out. She took a deep breath, and it was suddenly quiet inside, and people worked to get the sound going again. Bonnie cursed under her breath and put more distance between herself and the mansion.
"You know," she began as she walked, "I've been to plenty of events with people I didn't think belonged," she turned on her heels and pinned Damon and Stefan. "I got through it," she shrugged. "So you guys will survive. I do want to be at prom," she told Caroline. "I want to be out. With him. I'm sick and tired of holing up in my house while you guys take your precious time coming up with a story. So I guess you can take this as your warning that you don't have as much time as you thought you did."
"We're just trying to figure out a way to slip it into the public. We're trying to figure it out with Sheriff Forbes," Elena said.
"That's great. Keep doing that," Bonnie said and moved to step between them. Damon got in her way.
"You're not understanding the word no, are you?" Damon asked.
"Neither are you," Bonnie said, and Damon squinted, aware that she could very well hit him with a skull-crushing aneurysm.
"So what is this, like a battle of wills?" Jeremy asked. "Are you guys gonna stand there like a fucking wall until we give up and leave, go wait and hide in that house until you decide when it's time for us to come out?" Jeremy asked.
"Of course they are, but what's better is that if we leave they're all just gonna turn around, go back inside, and continue dancing the night away, because nothing gets in the way of a night off, right? Nothing gets in the way of a chance to be normal, to feel normal, to have a little time to unwind, right?" her bitter questions were directed at Elena. "So we're supposed to tuck ourselves away, but you guys get to get away from it all. You burned down your house, and somehow it's still okay to show your face at prom. I wasn't important enough to get a warning when you wanted to burn his body; I had nothing to do with his death. But now that he's back I'm suddenly the most valuable player; I'm the babysitter. I didn't matter when he was dead, but now that he's back somehow it's been decided that now I need to put my life on hold until you guys figure something out. Tell me how that works," she said, cocking her head at the group.
"You did matter when he was dead," Elena said. She took Damon's place in front of Bonnie.
"Stop lying to me. You burned his body without a word to me."
"I was compelled," Elena defended.
"Bullshit! That's bullshit, Elena! You wanted to burn him before you were compelled!" Bonnie blinked. Both her and Elena were surprised. Her psychic powers had been triggered by Elena's fib, allowing her to know what Elena, Stefan, Damon, and Caroline knew: the truth. "You just lied to me."
The accusation hung in the air. No one moved; it didn't feel like anyone was breathing. Somehow Bonnie catching Elena in a lie felt like a big deal. Elena felt exposed and was annoyed by that feeling. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd told a lie. She's lied and manipulated plenty of times before to get herself out of sticky situations with murderous vampires. And she has sure done her fair share of lying since she'd been forced to turn her switch off. But this, maybe it was the simplicity of it, maybe even the uselessness of it. It wasn't like she was ashamed of what she had done. Destroying Jeremy's body, switch on or off, had been her desperate way of pushing back at the destruction that had been piling in her life since her parents died. Even Jeremy understood that.
But her hackles were up. With her switch off, she didn't take well to being challenged. "You need to leave." She enunciated every word even though she barely opened her mouth to get them out.
Bonnie stepped up to her. "Or what? What are you gonna do, Elena? What can you possibly do?" Bonnie asked the last question in order to challenge her on the basis of power, and she knew Elena understood. The vein in the middle of Elena's forehead was more prominent than usual.
Elena vaguely heard Stefan and Jeremy calling her name in warning for her to keep calm, but all of her attention was on Bonnie.
"You're right, Damon," Bonnie said and turned her attention to the older Salvatore. "I don't understand the word no. Especially not from you guys. We speak in yeses. Or have you all forgotten? Bonnie can you do this? Yes. Bonnie can you do that? Yes. Bonnie can you lift this spell? Yes. Bonnie can you cast that spell? Yes. I have never heard no from you guys, because everything you want always matters. Isn't that what you all think? And you've never heard no from me, either. I can't remember the last time I said no. So guess what I can do right now? Guess what matters right now because I want it? I'm going back inside to dance with my boyfriend, and who the hell's gonna stop me?"
Bonnie parted her hands in front of her and the wall broke; Stefan and Damon went flying to her right, and Elena, Matt, and Caroline landed in a heap on her left. "Not any of you. Come on, Jeremy."
Jeremy took her hand while Bonnie lifted her skirt to step through the tangle of bodies. Jeremy looked back at the group scrambling to get back on their feet. He was wary of Elena trying something. Her curses came to him loud and clear, and Caroline was sputtering over being thrown on the ground in her nice dress. He heard Damon say Bonnie has lost her mind. He thought Bonnie literally throwing them out of the way to clear their path was a little overkill, but the battle of wills had definitely been won.
Bonnie looked straight ahead, ignoring the noise behind her, her jaw tight.