hello! this chapter is pretty long, it's a doozy. enjoy!

Chapter 6 - Class and Charm

"That one! That one!" Bonnie exclaimed, hopping up from her place on Rebekah's bed.

Rebekah twirled one more time in her pastel yellow dress, beaming at Bonnie's reaction. They were trying on dresses for the founders event later that night. This was by far Bonnie's most enthusiastic response.

"Are you sure?" Rebekah asked.

"Yes! You look like a friggin goddess!" Bonnie jumped up and down.

"Okay!" Rebekah said, jumping around just like Bonnie. "I'm so excited!"

They jumped until they were out of breath, then they collapsed on the bed next to each other.

"Look at us. You're going with Stefan, I'm going with Katherine, we got what we wanted."

Bonnie couldn't stop her small frown. Rebekah of course took notice and looked at Bonnie questioningly.

"What's wrong, darling?"

Bonnie contemplated telling Rebekah about what happened with Elena. She hadn't talked to the brunette since Thursday - it was Saturday.

Elena had tried to reach out to Bonnie in every possible way. Through texts, calls, she cornered her at school and came to her house, but Bonnie refused to reply to anything Elena did. She ignored the texts and calls, walked away from her at school and didn't answer the door when Elena pounded on it demanding Bonnie hear her out.

She just didn't think she could get back to the place she was before with Elena. Her entire view on her had changed. Gone were the days when she saw Elena as her compassionate best friend. What kind of 'compassionate best friend' would think so low of her?

Rebekah and Elena weren't all that close, so if Bonnie told Rebekah about what happened she wouldn't be ruining a close friendship or putting Rebekah in the middle like she would be if she told Caroline. And it would be nice to have somebody to confide in.

But on the other hand, Rebekah had a big mouth and would probably tell everybody about Elena's misdeeds. Bonnie had always put Elena's needs before her own. Everybody did, something about Elena just made people forget themselves and put her on a pedestal. Bonnie was already having a hard time ignoring Elena herself, if everyone else was angry with Elena she would feel 100 times worse and would probably end up caving to her doe eyed friend.

But as she looked into Rebekah's concerned eyes, she sighed and told her everything Elena said to her.

Rebekah's expression darkened but she didn't scream or throw a fit like Bonnie thought she would. She was eerily calm, which was worse.

"Bex, please don't tell anyone. I just needed to talk to someone about it. If you tell anyone it'll all be worse than it has to be."

Rebekah's expression softened. As much as she wanted to give Elena a piece of her mind in a public setting, followed by snapping that backstabbing bitches neck, she knew it would just cause Bonnie to feel worse than she already was.

"I won't. Promise."

"Thanks, Rebekah. I love you."

"I love you too."

Stefan and Katherine stood next to each other at the front door of the Mikaelson mansion.

"Stefan? Are you going to ring the doorbell?" Katherine asked.

"Uh, I was kinda thinking that was more of a you job." He replied. Yeah, he was nervous as hell.

Katherine scoffed, muttering something along the lines of 'wimp' under her breath and rang the bell.

Bonnie and Rebekah were scurrying around Rebekah's room. They spent too long talking and were now rushing their asses. They heard the doorbell ring and grew more frantic.

" Bonnie, where the hell is the mascara?! I need the mascara! " Rebekah hissed.

" I don't know! Stop asking stupid questions and go find it! "

Freya and Keelin entered the room amidst the girls' scrambling. They looked at each other knowingly and approached Bonnie who was struggling to put her heels on and Rebekah who was aggressively applying the mascara that she finally found.

"Girls? Your date's are here. Do you need some help?" Freya inquired softly.

"What do you think, bitch?!" Rebekah screeched.

"She means yes!" Bonnie said.

Freya helped Bonnie with her shoes and Keelin cleaned up Rebekah's makeup. When they were all done, Keelin and Freya looked at the two highschoolers proudly.

"You two look beautiful." Freya smiled.

"You do." Keelin agreed. "Now go get 'em."

Both Stefan and Katherine shifted underneath Mikael Mikaelson's gaze. He was watching them quietly as they waited for Bonnie and Rebekah to come down the stairs. They exchanged a look when he tilted his head to the side. Yikes.

They heard a loud bang coming from upstairs, then an 'ouch!' and a 'it's not my fault you can't walk in heels!'. After some more thumps and bangs (what in the world was going on up there?), Rebekah and Bonnie appeared at the top of the large marble staircase.

Stefan gulped when he laid his eyes on Bonnie. He could say extremely confidently that she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. He already knew that though, this was just confirmation. Her hair was natural and curly and her blue dress made her skin glow, but he had the privilege to know that all clothing did that to her. Her warm, emerald eyes glistened in the chandelier light, and once he looked into them he couldn't look away. She was like a goddess. Their green eyes stayed connected as they gazed at each other, forgetting everyone else in the room.

Katherine felt the familiar sensation of butterflies when she looked at Rebekah. She didn't know why the blonde always sparked a reaction in her, but a part of her loved it. Loved the way her dress complemented her peach colored skin, the way her full lips were pulled into a graceful smile that Katherine could stare at forever - oh, crap. I can't feel this for her. I can't and I don't . She averted her eyes from Rebekah and turned to look at Bonnie who was sharing an intimate gaze with Stefan.

Rebekah frowned when Katherine looked away from her. She thought they were having a moment, but apparently not.

Mikael cleared his throat. Katherine looked at him eagerly, Rebekah looked annoyed and Bonnie and Stefan were still ogling each other. Mikael cleared his throat louder this time and Stefan and Bonnie reluctantly looked away from each other.

"Have fun, children. And don't forget that we'll be there as well." He motioned to himself and Esther.

With that, they were out the door.

Rebekah exhaled deeply as they pulled up to the Lockwood Mansion. The car ride there was physically painful for her. They all decided to ride in Stefan's car, so Stefan and Bonnie were trading longing stares the whole time (Rebekah could grudgingly admit that that made her happy), but Katherine refused to look her way.

She didn't know why Katherine was ignoring her, things were fine between them up until that weird moment when she looked away during their eye contact.

She opened the door to the back seat and walked over to Katherine's side of the car and opened the door for her while Stefan did the same for Bonnie.

Katherine looked at her hesitantly and then reluctantly took her hand.

"Thanks." The brunette muttered quietly.

Rebekah sighed. "No problem."

The girls walked beside each other in silence towards the entrance. They reached the front doors which were open with Carol and Richard Lockwood greeting guests.

The sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful greyish blue color. The lighting inside the mansion was warm and it was a nice contrast from outside.

"Katherine, Rebekah!" Carol Lockwood smiled tightly from her place at the door. Her eyes swept over the girls distastefully. Her already fake smile dimmed. "Are you here together?"

"Yes." Rebekah said, making confident eye contact with the judgy Mrs. Lockwood. Katherine didn't look so confident.

"I see." She frowned. "I can't say I didn't expect this. There's always at least two of them." She sighed. "Enjoy the party, ladies."

Katherine and Rebekah were speechless as they were mindlessly nudged through the crowd.

Rebekah was angry. Red, hot, angry. Who did that bitch think she was? Just because her relationship with Mr. Lockwood was probably withering away, didn't mean she could judge anyone else on who they chose to love.

Katherine was dreadful. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready for people to know yet. She just wanted to curl into a little ball and let the world forget her.

A thousand emotions and thoughts swirled in the brunette's head. "I have to go. I can't be out here with you." Was all she could manage to say before running off to an empty room.

Rebekah's heart dropped. She held back her tears and ran after her. Because even though she may have loved Katherine romantically, first and foremost they were best friends, and right now that's what Katherine needed.

Stefan and Bonnie were all giggles as they got out of the car. Their arms were linked and and their smiles were bright as they sauntered over to the entrance.

Bonnie looked up at Stefan and for the first time noticed how damn hot he was. Obviously she had noticed before - his good looks were very hard to miss - but that wasn't what had attracted her to him at first. In the faint light of the sun, his kind, considerate, goofy, loveable nature and his handsomeness combined was almost too much to take.

Of course, Stefan was having similar thoughts. The pair's smiles grew when they met green eyes. Bonnie's eyes were more hazel while Stefan's were more emerald, but both were equally gorgeous.

They walked up the few steps to greet Carol and Richard Lockwood.

"Stefan, you look dashing as always!" Carol cooed. Stefan grimaced. "And Bonnie, I didn't know you could wear makeup and dress up! I always figured you were allergic to looking nice, since you avoid it like the plague."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. What a bitch.

"It's interesting that you say that, Mrs. Lockwood. I find that she always looks nice." Stefan defended. He looked at Bonnie softly. "Maybe you just aren't looking hard enough."

Bonnie was grateful for her dark complexion or else she'd be as red as a tomato.

Carol swallowed. "Maybe."

The pair entered the party, little smirks on their faces.

Bonnie's smirk dropped when Elena started walking towards them.

Elena tried not to frown when she saw Bonnie and Stefan's intertwined hands. She put on her poker face and looked back up at Bonnie. She wasn't here for Stefan, she was here to get her best friend back. Bonnie had to understand that she was angry that day and anything that she said or innuendoed to, she absolutely didn't mean.

"Hi, guys!" She greeted with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"Hi, Elena." Stefan smiled politely. Elena was a good friend, but they were never that close. She was Bonnie's best friend, though, so he guessed he would have to be around her more. That is, if Bonnie would want to keep hanging out.

"Elena." Bonnie said with a flat smile.

"Bonnie, you look beautiful." She complemented. And she wasn't lying. Bonnie looked gorgeous. She was almost jealous.

"Thanks. So do you."

Elena smiled. There was silence for a moment.

"Okay, well I'll see you guys around." The brunette said disappointedly. She would try again another time, but she knew this conversation wouldn't be getting anywhere.

Bonnie's heart broke at the look on Elena's face, but she knew that she shouldn't just let this go because she felt bad.

Stefan noticed the awkwardness of their interaction and the dampen in Bonnie's mood, and he assumed the girls were fighting or something. He would ask Bonnie if she was okay, but he didn't want to make it worse, so he just rubbed the back of her hand with his.

She looked up at him with tears glistening in her eyes slightly and smiled somberly at him.

It had never been harder for him not to kiss her.

Lexi (who was already halfway drunk), stumbled around the party. She considered herself an intellectual when she was drunk. She noticed things more.

She was also incredibly nosy. Drunk Lexi didn't know how to mind her own business.

So when she saw Klaus Mikaelson's face when he watched his brother and his brother's fiancé enter together, she knew something was up.

It was time for investigator Lexi to come out and play.

She snuck behind a big potted plant to watch Klaus' interaction with them once they came up and greeted him.

She couldn't hear what they were saying but she could easily see how uncomfortable Klaus and Hayley were. It was insane how Elijah hadn't seemed to notice. One time Bonnie invited her over for dinner and the dynamic between the three was completely normal. She wondered what changed.

Lexi felt a presence behind her and turned to see Vicki Donovan, Anna Zhu and Kai Parker looking at her. Ah, she remembered them. The three of them were thick as thieves - and they kind of were thieves.

They were always always engaging in criminal activity, whether they were graffitiing government owned buildings or TPing their enemies houses, they were always up to something when they were together. This particular night, they were slowly collecting (stealing) all of the jewelry that was passed down through the Lockwood family.

"Hey, party people." Lexi said, taking another sip of her drink.

Anna's eyebrows raised. "Lexi. You're back."

"That's right, I'm back." She gave a little twirl.

"And you're drunk." Kai pointed out.

"Right again." She took another gulp, emptying out her glass.

"Why are you hiding behind a plant?" Vicki inquired.

"I'm people watching."

"You mean stalking?" Kai deadpanned.

"No, Malachai , I mean people watching." Lexi sassed. She tried to take another sip but frowned when she realized the glass was empty.

"Okay, I'm just gonna take that from you." Anna said, taking the glass from Lexi's clutches.

"Who are you watching?" Vicki asked.

"Those things." She said, pointing to Klaus, Elijah and Hayley who were still awkwardly conversing.

The three of them looked to where Lexi was pointing and immediately noticed the tension between Klaus and Hayley. They all inched closer, so that the plant was hiding all four of them.

"Y'know, I'm thinking Hayley and Klaus had an affair or something but it ended." Vicki guessed.

"Yeah, or maybe Klaus confessed his love to her and she didn't feel the same." Anna suggested.

"Or both." Kai agreed.

Klaus kept his eyes on Hayley while she tried to act normally, but was clearly failing. She was gripping onto her bag with acute force and kept flickering her eyes to Klaus, as if he was going to do something she didn't want him to do. Elijah just looked absolutely thrilled that he got to talk to his two favorite people at once. He clearly didn't notice the awkwardness.

Hayley nodded towards the bar and Elijah smiled at her. She scurried off to the bar and took a big sigh of relief when she got some alcohol in her.

Klaus and Elijah were talking alone now. Klaus looked more relaxed and Elijah still looked ecstatic.

"Wait a minute," Lexi slurred. "I'm uber duber drunk. I'm not 'of sound and mind', so I have an excuse not to mind my business. You're all as sober as a… sober… person. What's your excuse?" She asked with a scrunched up face.

"We're nosy." Kai said simply.

Lexi thought for a second, then shrugged. "Good enough for me." She turned her attention back to Klaus and Elijah. The four of them stood watching them with rapt attention.

"So, where's Lexi?" Bonnie asked. She hadn't seen the blonde yet and she wanted to say hi.

Stefan and Bonnie sat at a table together, just chit chatting. Neither of them were particularly fond of dancing, so they decided to talk instead.

"I think I saw her hiding behind a bush with Vicki, Kai and Anna." Stefan answered. He had no idea what Lexi was up to but as long as she wasn't committing a Class A offense, he didn't care.

"So she's drunk." Bonnie said.

"Definitely." Stefan agreed. They chuckled.

"Hey, guys." Damon said, approaching them.

"Hey, Damon." Bonnie smiled.

Stefan smiled tightly. "Hey."

Truthfully, Stefan was still a little bit angry with Damon because of the other day, but when he was mad he didn't confront people, he just waited until it simmered down and chose to forget it. And that's what he was planning on doing.

Damon could tell his little brother was kind of mad at him, and he was keeping his distance pretty well. But he wanted to talk this out. He was sure it was because of what he said about Stefan being too sensitive, but really, that's not what he meant! He didn't really know what he meant. But he would never say anything to hurt his baby bro on purpose, and Stefan needed to know that.

"Bon, do you want to dance?" Stefan asked.

She looked at him in confusion, but when he saw the urgency in his eyes, she agreed. "Uh, sure. Bye, Damon."

Damon watched Stefan drag Bonnie to the dance floor. "Bye, guys." He sighed.

Rebekah found Katherine sitting on a bed in a random empty guest room. She looked like she had just been crying. Rebekah slowly approached her and sat next to her on the bed.

She didn't know what to say to comfort her, so she just sat silently. They were quiet for around five minutes. Then, Katherine broke it.

"I like you, Rebekah." She whispered. Rebekah's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I like you."

Rebekah swallowed. She wanted to ask for clarification, just so she could hear it out loud, but she knew what Katherine meant. "I like you, too." She replied just as quietly.

"But I'm not ready yet."

"You don't have to be." Rebekah assured.

Katherine leaned her head on Rebekah's shoulder and Rebekah wrapped her arm around her. Rebekah stroked Katherine's brown locks. "I will be ready one day."

"I'll wait for you."

After dancing clumsily for a little while, Bonnie and Stefan decided to go home. Bonnie gave Esther, Grams and Mikael hugs (they were hanging around the bar the whole night), waved awkwardly to Elena, kissed Caroline, Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, etc. on the cheek, hugged all of her pseudo Mikaelson siblings and searched for a little while for Rebekah and Katherine but couldn't find them so just sent them texts asking where they were.

Rebekah replied saying that she and Katherine would catch a ride with Esther and Mikael.

So it was just Bonnie and Stefan on the ride home. She didn't question him about his weirdness with Damon and he didn't question her about her weirdness with Elena. They sat in comfortable silence the whole way to Bonnie's house. He pulled up in the driveway to the house.

"Thanks for driving me. I had a lot of fun." She smiled.

"I did too." He hummed. "Do you want me to walk you to the door?"

"Sure." She grinned at the idea of stretching out their time together.

Neither of them moved to get out of the car, though. They just stared. There was a lot of staring that night. Their smiles dropped as the moment intensified.

Faces inched closer and eyes started drooping. They were so close that they could feel each other's minty breaths.

Bonnie made the first move and left a soft kiss on his even softer lips. Both of their eyes snapped open and blood rushed to Bonnie's face.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what-" She started apologizing but he cut her off by crashing their lips together.

She melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. He placed his hands on her hips and they fought to get closer to each other, even in the awkward angle of the car.

They pulled away to catch their breaths. "I should probably go inside now." She said, breathing heavily.

"I'll walk you." They got out of the car and stood on her front porch with wide smiles in place.

She placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Goodnight, Stefan."

"Goodnight, Bonnie."

thanks for reading! i hope the kissing scene wasn't too bad. i'm not good at writing kisses at all, but i love to anyways. thanks again!