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Guest: thank you so much! I feel honored that this story got to be the first one you ever reviewed. I do hope that maybe the experience will encourage you to leave more feedback in the future! Truly, your words mean so much! I'm so so happy to hear that you like this story. :)

And knowing there are people out there - among them you! - that actually think so is always, always a big motivational booster to keep going.

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Jade: aw, thank you! And I'm so happy I get to share them with you! You've seriously been amazing. Following my crazy Benzo stories from the get go.

And you're right: I just don't get why they didn't do more with Bonnie's awesome dimension. I mean they even hinted at Enzo being there and then… ugh. They deserved so much more. But yeah, that's how my first ever Benzo story was inspired. lol

So happy you liked the banter in the last one. It was about time for some of that. :)

…

Bonnie was distracted. Seriously awfully distracted. On the way down to the team's own gym with Damon, she found herself checking over her shoulder every so often, barely able to listen to his chatter, but it only got worse from there.

She was trying to focus on Damon, guiding him through the exercises, but her mind kept going back to the short interaction she had had with Enzo by the court.

After she had returned home two weeks ago, she had seen him nowhere near as often anymore as she had come to be used to, and for some reason, it didn't have the desired effect. Instead of making her forget whatever stupid feelings she had begun to feel for him, it had made them start getting out of control.

Just last night she had found herself dreaming rather… inappropriate dreams involving him, and she had to look down as the memory came back to her now.

"Earth to BonBon!"

Damon snapped his fingers, and she looked up with a glare.

"What?"

He chuckled, carefully lifting his leg off the table she had had him lie on for the physical therapy. Then he hopped down, grabbing his crutches.

"We're not done here." Bonnie's tone brokered no argument and yet he merely gave her a mild grin.

"No, maybe not. But you are. Come on, go out there and watch the practice session. I know you want to."

"Damon, I'm not on practice duty."

"No, you're on Damon-duty." Abruptly his tone had changed into a rather regretful one and she looked at him with sympathy. But he waved it off. "And I'm giving you the morning off. Go do what you do to keep Enzo in check so he doesn't overexert himself before tonight's game. We need him to be at his best if we want to have any chance at winning this."

Bonnie pressed her lips together, fussing with her hands before she made herself stop. "I told him to take it easy. He usually listens to me, so-"

"I'd say that's surprising because he never listens to anyone. But then, you are Bonnie Bennett - and I think our poor boy might have a crush on you."

Despite herself, Bonnie perked up, blurting, "What makes you think that?" before she could stop herself. The words were out too quickly and she bit her lip when she realized it.

But Damon looked unperturbed. He was standing beside her, nudging her lightly. "Because it's glaringly obvious. If you knew him the way I do, you'd see it too." He paused, a strange fond look on his face that made Bonnie realize just how deep - if strange - the friendship of these two men was. But before she could think about it too much, however, he interrupted her musings. "Come on," he cajoled, "we'll watch them together. Give 'em a few tips for the game."

"We really need to continue with your physical therapy."

"Not right now, we don't. Don't be a spoilsport. Let's go."

"I'll be here tonight anyways. I'm on duty for the game…"

Damon gave a theatrical sigh. "And where do you think I'll be? Exactly! In the not so comfortable comfort of my home. So, can't a guy catch a break and be allowed some extra time with his teammates? If you'll make me beg, I will. Please BonBon." His puppy dog eyes were hilarious, and Bonnie couldn't help but chuckle. Finally she relented, nodding, and Damon beamed.

"Just so you know," he said, "I'm the best wingman you could hope for."

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. "I don't need a wingman for watching basketball practice."

"No, but for Enzo, silly," he said, chuckling as she slapped him. He wouldn't ever let it go, would he?

...

The basket made an almost popping sound, and Enzo's shot from three went in with ease. He grinned, high fiving his teammates. He went to retrieve the ball, his gaze falling on Bonnie chatting with Damon as they made their way back toward the bench, and he smiled as her gaze met his, then he lowered his head to focus on the game.

Because this woman had begun to do something to him, something strange. Lately he had started to live for those few moments during practice when she would check on him, making sure he did as he had promised and took it easy. A few times he hadn't and she had caught him, and even though maybe he should have been upset about it, he had enjoyed the little angry lectures she had given him.

It had almost become a bit of a game for them at this point, a game she always won.

Too bad she was busy with Damon so much, or he'd get to see her a little more often. It seemed almost unreal now that just a few weeks ago she had spent almost every moment of every day by his side, and the apartment hadn't been the same since. He missed her there. He - the man that couldn't stand being trapped anywhere, with anyone - wished back the days he had been confined to his home with just her for company.

Sniffing, he rubbed his face briefly before forcing himself to focus back on the game as Lincoln yelled for him to get going.

He tried to ignore her sitting by the sidelines next to Damon as he made his moves, but it wasn't easy. There she was, always just a quick gaze away, and eventually he found himself smirking in her direction every time he scored.

And every time he missed a shot or botched a move, he exchanged a glance with Damon, who kept making smartass comments from where he sat.

"Come on Lorenzo, if you want to show Steph that he's not the only one who can make insane threes, you better step it up a bit! I could have made that last one blindfolded. With my broken leg."

Enzo rolled his eyes, waving Damon off with a grin. He was too used to the man's constant jesty remarks to be too perturbed by them. Besides, he could see right through them to the real issue. Damon was bummed that he wouldn't be able to play tonight, that he didn't get the chance to show just how good he was. Poor Damon hadn't been very lucky during most matches against the Warriors, so every game had become a big thing for him personally, too. He had something to prove, and he wouldn't get a chance to do it for quite some time. Enzo knew that it weighed heavy on his friend. Still…

After half an hour or so of constant abuse from the sidelines, he eventually grew tired of it after all, however. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he decided to focus the negative energy into playing even harder, making shot after shot, not always scoring, but it was good enough.

Suddenly, the team, who had split into two groups, found themselves in quite a heated match against each other, both sides running, jumping, racing, scoring as if it was already the real deal, and for a while Enzo forgot everything else around him.

Until the coach started yelling from the sidelines.

"Take it a notch down, guys!" he hollered, waving rather angrily, "I don't need any of you to get injured before tonight's game. St. John, you go see Doc Bennett. Now. Let her make sure you're not overdoing it here."

"Coach, I'm nowhere near my limit," he started, but the coach had no patience and spoke right over him.

"Let her be the judge of that. We know what happened last time we didn't listen to her and we can't afford something like that again. Especially before tonight."

Enzo glared at the man, eyes flickering as he reined in a retort. While he didn't mind an opportunity to spend some time with Bonnie, he had hoped it wouldn't be over his stupid health again.

"Go," Alaric repeated with a clipped tone and pointed stare before he walked past Enzo toward the other team members with a grim expression. Lincoln and Marcel both shot Enzo a look, a grin on their faces, and Marcel mouthed a "lucky bastard," which made Enzo smirk back. Maybe his mate was right. At least Enzo didn't have to listen to the coach's following lecture.

Bonnie's would be enough to deal with. At least she was much cuter, and she had been in a good mood earlier…

...

"This is not what we agreed on," Bonnie said when Enzo had made his way over to her, and Damon beside her said, "You tell him, BonBon. The idiot is gonna ruin our chances tonight if he takes himself out of the game before it has even started."

Bonnie saw the smirk Enzo had had for her vanish abruptly, making room for something darker. But before he could say anything in return, she held him back with a hand on his chest, feeling him breathe a bit too harshly. "Focus on me," she told him with a stern look, and thankfully he soon did, if grudgingly.

"Tell him to shut his mouth, will you?"

"Enzo…"

"Is there anything else you could tell me for a change?" Damon asked, "Because I'm beginning to feel like everything you ever say to me these days is to shut my mouth." He had gotten up, and Bonnie's frustration with both of them grew when Enzo stepped to the side to get in Damon's face after all.

"That's because you never know when to stay quiet."

"Down boys. Stop." Bonnie's tone had changed. She was extending her arms, trying to shove them apart as they were putting on a show, sizing each other up, getting in each other's personal spaces. Rolling her eyes at their annoying alpha male antics, she planted herself firmly between them now, first staring up at Damon, pushing herself against Enzo when he didn't seem to get the memo that the show was over before it had really started.

"You: back off. I think it's time for you to go home. You're not helping." She turned around without waiting for Damon's reply, focusing on Enzo instead. "And you: I thought I had made myself clear." Handing him his inhaler with a glare, she typed in a timer on her phone before she continued, "If you can't get that breathing under control within the next five minutes, you're out for tonight."

"You can't do that."

"Ooooh, watch me."

"I'm fine!"

Hell yes you are, a little voice inside her head said, throwing her off for just a moment before she had herself back under control.

"That remains to be seen. I told you to take it easy. I warned you that tonight's attendance relied in a large part on how well you'd do during practice. How you can follow orders. This right now? That's the reason you end up on the sidelines - or the hospital. You want that?"

He cocked his head, squinting at her. Something was going on behind those dark eyes, and she began to feel slightly uneasy. But then he took the inhaler, used it and broke into a smirk.

"I want to play," he said, plain and simple, no apologies, no explanations, not even a real answer to her question - though of course it had been rhetorical anyways. Still, it irked her. It made her furious, but that stupid disarming smile pulled the rug right out from under her. "Can I go now, Bonnie Bennett?"

Raising her chin defiantly, she shook her head, checking the time. "Four more minutes. You'll wait right here for four more minutes. Then I'll check your lungs. And maybe you can go back then. If you take it easy."

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

The minutes stretched and Bonnie stood her ground, feeling her stupid legs grow shaky.

"You two are adorable, you know that?" Damon eventually piped up from where he had sat back down on the bench, and Bonnie and Enzo both turned to shout a "Shut up" at him, making him raise his arms in surrender. "Case in point," he sang, his grin only widening before he mercifully did keep quiet.

They both watched the timer on her phone, as if this was some kind of standoff, then, when the time was up, Enzo grabbed her hand, placing it against his chest, over his lungs, holding it there.

"Seem okay to you?" he asked, and she glared up at him, waiting a moment before she tore her hand away.

"Go," she told him with a jerk of her head, both relieved he was fine and a little annoyed that she didn't have a reason to bench him, and the winning smirk he shot her didn't help lighten her mood either.

Why the hell was it suddenly so easy for him to get under her skin?

"Don't tell me again that there isn't UST between you guys," Damon suddenly whispered in her ear, before he limped past her toward the exit, leaving her feeling rather flustered.

...

Gamenight. Lately, Caroline had begun to not enjoy it as much anymore. Watching the Hybrids play, catching glimpses of Klaus's sometimes stoic, sometimes feverish expressions, it all wasn't so thrilling now that she hadn't heard back from him in almost a month.

A month. Why was she even still thinking about him? The signal couldn't be much clearer than if he had shouted it from the rooftops. Caroline Forbes was an easy fuck.

Ugh. She squeezed her eyes shut as she closed the door to her store after a long and tiring day, jiggling with her keys as she made sure everything was safely locked. Ever since Bonnie's scary incident with that crazy Salvatore mom, they all had grown a bit more cautious, Caroline included.

"Hello, Caroline."

Whirling around in shock, she almost dropped her keys as she found herself facing Klaus Mikaelson, who was standing a mere few inches away from her in his too fancy suit, and with his too fancy limousine parked at the curb, his driver waiting.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, looking around as if this could be a trap of some sort, although of course that was a ridiculous thought.

"I would like to invite you to the game tonight," he said so nonchalantly that she wanted to slap him. And then she did, startling not just him, but herself too.

Gasping, she pulled her hand away, half covering her mouth as she stared at his surprised face, waiting for a reaction that came all too fast. Not two seconds later she found herself pinned against the door, his hand around her neck, his face, his lips too close to hers.

"Let. Go."

"What was that?" he hissed, but she merely glared at him, trying to free herself and failing. When he didn't let go but she realized he also didn't hurt her, she finally deflated a bit, though she kept pouting.

"I'm not someone you can just fuck and then dump," she said, "You didn't even pick up your stupid cashmere coat. It's sitting in my apartment and I've been this close to just tossing it in the trash about a million times."

He blinked, the corners of his mouth curling up. "And why didn't you?"

"Because…" She huffed, angry now. Because she hadn't been able to do it. Hadn't been able to ditch her hopes. Because she was stupid, apparently.

Then why was he here now? Inviting her to spend time. At a public place… Maybe her hopes hadn't been so stupid after all. "Because it's a nice piece of clothing that doesn't deserve to be tossed just because its owner is an asshole."

Klaus smiled, tilting his head to squint at her with evident amusement.

"I like that," he said, and she grumbled. Because apparently she also didn't have any pride. Scoffing, she tried wiggling out from under Klaus's grasp, but he was too strong.

"So…" He eyed her like a lion its prey. "Will you join me?"

"You didn't call or message in four weeks - four long weeks - and now you want me to come to the stupid game with you? What is this? Pity? Or did you get stood up by your… your actual date or something? Is that it?"

"I was busy."

"Busy. Well, oookay. In that case…" She rolled her eyes, anger making her brows furrow. She couldn't believe this man. But when he finally let her go and she could have run, she found herself staying, staring at him.

"I'm sorry. I realize I should have called earlier. I've been meaning to give you this…"

He handed her an envelope, and when she opened it, there was a season ticket inside. And… was that a hand drawn card? A portrait of herself stared back at her… Eyes widening, she took it out, unfolding it.

I want you to be mine, it read, short and simple, and rather demanding. But for some reason, it made her tingle in all the right places.

Sighing, she looked at him, her heart already making a decision that her mind was telling her was wrong, wrong, wrong. But she couldn't help it. Her moral compass Bonnie Bennett would be so disappointed, wouldn't she? Bonnie never made decisions in the heat of the moment, so why did Caroline?

She had barely thought it before she leaned in and grabbing Klaus's shirt, kissed him.

…

Bonnie was so damn nervous. It seemed to be awfully obvious too, because Luke kept shooting her these sideways glances.

"What?" she asked at some point, fed up with whatever unspoken thing was bothering him, and he shrugged, grinning at her.

"Nothing," he evaded but she wasn't having that.

"Spit it out," she ordered, "but it better not have anything to do with some damn UST."

His grin widened, if that was even possible. "So I'm not the only one who noticed, huh?"

Bonnie made a face, focusing on checking her supplies one last time before the game would soon start. Already the stadium was filling up, so many people here for the big game, and she could feel the anticipation in the air.

Which meant so could Enzo. And he'd want to fight her on his restriction again. Just like the coach, and Klaus. She knew that, too. This morning she had already gotten a taste of it and she knew she'd have to be thorough monitoring him tonight. With a sigh, she turned around finally, about to take her seat, when she saw the players coming down the hallway, Enzo leading the way. He was still wearing a hooded longsleeve and tearaway pants to stay warm, and she involuntarily smiled when his gaze landed on her.

He walked past her, way too closely she found, his sleeve brushing hers, and she bit the inside of her lower lip to keep that smile from growing out of control. What the hell was going on with her? She should be angry at him for his behavior earlier.

"Hello, love," he said, his sonorous voice making her press her lips together briefly as she rolled her eyes.

"Hello yourself." Real smooth, Bonnie, she thought, annoyed with herself.

Maybe Caroline had been right. Her friend had blamed her own little thing with Klaus on the fact that she had been starved for some sexual attention, and Bonnie, too, hadn't had much happen in that regard, not since Jeremy… But Enzo? She grimaced at the thought, then chided herself silently. Was that really it? Was she just freaking horny?

Enzo had long passed when Luke nudged Bonnie's side again.

"Hate to tell you this," he muttered, "but that right there was definitely a moment. And I mean, you two were barely even grazing each other. So, whoever mentioned UST to you, they had it right. Better do something about that 'U' part soon."

Luke chuckled as she slapped him lightly, not gracing his comment with a reply.

When the game started shortly after, she forgot about her struggles for a while, just watching the game, watching their team almost go under as KD and Steph Curry seemed to decimate them within seconds. It was awful. She flinched so often within that first quarter that it was downright ridiculous.

From the corner of her eye she saw how agitated Enzo was growing. He hadn't been in the starting line up due to his heavy minutes restriction, and she knew the coach wanted to wait till the latter half of the game before bringing him, but clearly, Enzo didn't like it.

Come the second quarter, she could see him quietly arguing with Alaric, who finally brought him toward the tail end. Bonnie's hands were sweating where she was gripping her seat, not even trying anymore to appear calm.

There he was, Enzo St. John, jogging onto the court, ready to play his first game since he had been out. And play he did. As if he had never been gone, he scored and fought, he ran, and jumped, even shooting an impressive three from half-court, as if he wanted to show Curry of the Warriors that other people could do it too.

Bonnie was gnawing on the inside of her lip so vigorously that she winced when she accidentally hurt herself, and forcing herself to stop she wiped a hand across her mouth just as Enzo came casually jogging down the court, his gaze briefly meeting hers, and he grinned, wagging his eyebrows, making her chuckle despite herself.

"Showoff," she mouthed, making his smile widen before he focused back on the game.

Her heart was beating too fast, and when the third quarter was finally over and the Hybrids had almost caught up, she was so ready for the calm and peace of her own four walls that it wasn't even funny anymore.

At least Enzo had been listening to her orders so far and seemed to be doing just fine. Nothing a quick puff of his inhaler couldn't take care of.

When she took a minute to catch her own breath, her gaze fell on Klaus Mikaelson and whom she had thought was just the next blonde by his side. But now she had to do a double take as she realized it was Caroline who was waving over to her.

"What are you doing?" she mouthed, and Care shrugged at her innocently, a sheepish grin on her face.

"You think you can cover for me for a minute?" Bonnie asked Luke beside her, who nodded with a frown, and she pointed over to her best friend. "I need to talk some sense into this one before she does anything stupid."

Luke grinned. "Uh huh… and maybe she can also talk some sense into you so that you will do something stupid?"

"Shut up," she told him with a chuckle, then she quickly began to make her way over toward Caroline, just as the fourth quarter was starting up.

Bonnie had barely made it to the start of Caroline's row, when she felt something ice cold being pressed against her neck however, and she froze.

"So good to see you here," a sweet voice said out loud, "come follow me, we're all sitting over there…"

Her heart thudding in her chest, she tried to shoot a glance down to the court where she could see Enzo playing. It looked almost like he was dancing around Draymond Green, then past Iguodala, past Durant, and…

"Don't make a sound," Lily whispered in her ear, making a shiver creep up from the small of Bonnie's back to the nape of her neck where the woman was pressing what Bonnie had to guess was a gun against her too hot skin.

"Lily, don't. This is not gonna make Enzo-"

"Shhhh," Lily made, grabbing Bonnie's arm as if they were old friends. She had moved the weapon so it was pushed against Bonnie's ribs, and she winced in discomfort.

This was not good. There were hundreds of people around her, and she didn't know how to ask even a single one of them for help without endangering anyone.

"What do you think this will accomplish?" she asked, hoping that making the woman talk would maybe help her see the error of her ways.

"You'll see soon enough. Come with me now. If you make a sound, I'll have you know there's a friend of mine in the crowd tonight, ready to shoot Enzo if anything happens to me. So at least we can be united in death."

"You're insane," Bonnie said in horror as she realized just how crazy Lily Salvatore had become. When Lily pushed a little harder into her ribs, however, Bonnie fell silent, panic making her tense.

She tried to catch Caroline's attention, Luke's, even Enzo's. But it was futile. No one was expecting her to be in the hands of a crazy person in their midst. No one. Taking a few short breaths, she tried to force herself to stay calm as snuck her hand into her pocket, fumbling with her phone. Maybe she could make a call, get it to connect so that someone would be able to track her.

Maybe…

As she half stumbled alongside Lily, she couldn't see who she was trying to call, hoping it was Caroline, or maybe Elena. She also didn't know whether the call connected at all or not. All she could do was follow Lily, through the stadium and out, out until she could feel the cool night air in her face, and still they kept going.

Until she realized that she had a chance now that there was no one else there who would see them. Lily's ominous friend wouldn't know about it if Bonnie managed to take her out. He wouldn't shoot Enzo now, so Bonnie had to try to break free, right now. It was her best chance...

With a quick movement, she tried to shove Lily away so she could run. Surprise had been on her side so her attempt was successful enough. Lily fell to the ground, a cough immobilizing her further. Bonnie used the opportunity to run back toward the stadium as fast as she could. She had to warn Enzo, had to save herself, too.

But then a shot rang out and before the sound had quite registered with her, she was already slumping to the ground, staring at a growing red stain on her shirt.

"No," she breathed, clutching at it with both her hands, staring up at the sky. "No…"

…