Chapter One: Introducing...
Date: August 8, 2020
Characters: Bonnie Bennett, Abby Bennett, Rudy Hopkins-Bennett, Prudence Bennett (OC), Mikael, Esther, Elijah, Niklaus, and Rebekah Mikaelson.
Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with another one. If I don't post it now, I probably never will lol. As you all know, I love Bonnie Bennett and I don't think I'll ever let her go so, as long as you all are still reading, you're stuck with me. Yes, I borrowed Prudence (Night) Blackwood from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina because Prudence is that bitch. This story came to me one night while writing chapters to No Church In The Wild and I had to stop to get this off my chest. I hope you all like it. It is (very) loosely inspired by Jay-Z & Beyonce's song Part II (On The Run) along with other songs that'll be mentioned later (through lyrics and chapter titles). This story is completely AU|AH meaning there are no supernatural elements and the characters are a bit OOC. It's my first attempt at this so be nice to me, please! Thank you for the reviews in advance!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any song lyrics in the story, nor do I own any of the characters of the story. I am simply borrowing from creative content released to the public and blah blah blah, who's is actually monitoring this site?
"Who wants that perfect love story anyway? Cliché…"
-X-
Wake up. Dress. Hair. Make-up. Smile for 8 hours. Come home… Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Routines were never Bonnie Bennett's forte. She left that to her sister Prudence. If Bonnie had to be somewhere at 8 am, she'd wake up at 7:55, fully expecting to get there on time. Her father's voice always echoed in the back of her mind, 'You can't leave the house 5 minutes beforehand and expect to make it there 10 minutes early!' Over the years, that voice became a dull mute. Today was no different.
"Oh my God, are you kidding me? Wake your ass up!" Bonnie groaned and pulled the sheets over her head, trying hard to drown out her sister's voice. Prudence Bennett stood over her younger sister, glaring at her in disdain. It was always something with her. "MOM!"
A tired Abby Bennett came into view in Bonnie's doorframe, staring at her youngest child in disappointment. "Of course she's not up. I heard her come in at three this morning, she's probably hungover," Bonnie could hear the defeat in her mother's voice from underneath her pillow.
"Yes, I am. So if you all would get out and turn off the lights that would be great. Thanks," Abby rolled her eyes and walked over to Bonnie's bed. She yanked the covers back and grabbed Bonnie by the leg, pulling the young girl out of bed. Bonnie tumbled onto the floor, growling as she heard Prudence's cackles in her ears.
"Seriously!? I have a headache!" Bonnie bit back a cuss when she saw the look on Abby's face.
"I'm sick of you and your shenanigans, Bonnie," Abby shoved a stern finger in Bonnie's face, provoking her on purpose. "Have your ass dressed and downstairs in thirty minutes or I swear on my mother's grave I will turn your life upside down, you hear me!?" Bonnie jumped slightly at her mother's shrill tone, wincing as her headache increased tenfold.
"Why do I have to go to this stupid thing? She's the one getting married, not me!" Abby didn't dignify Bonnie with a response. Instead, she stormed out of the room, leaving Bonnie and Prudence alone. Bonnie glared at her sister who returned the look with a smug one of her own.
"Get your ass ready, Bon Bon." Bonnie threw a pillow at Prudence who dodged it with ease.
"Bald-headed bitch," Bonnie muttered with no real bite to her tone.
Prudence chuckled and called over her shoulder, "Ya' daddy!"
-X-
Much to her family's dismay, Bonnie was dressed and ready to go—forty-five minutes later. Any way she could push her mother's buttons, Bonnie made sure she saw fit to do so. On the outside, they looked magazine ready which was always required. Her father Rudy Hopkins-Bennett was a high-profiled movie producer while Abby Bennett was famous for being famous. Abby's mother, Sheila Bennett was a famed movie star that was highly regarded during her prime. Her daughter, Abby was the rebellious it-girl, much to Sheila's dismay. Abby found herself in scandal after scandal, which her mother paid to keep under wraps as much as she could. After meeting Rudy, Abby finally settled down and became the wife and mother Sheila always dreamed she would be. From their union, Abby bore Prudence and Bonnie Bennett. Prudence took after Sheila in her temperaments. Bonnie—well, she was Abby's karma.
The family of four rode silently in the back of Rudy's Mulsanne Grand Limousine. Bonnie particularly hated the car because it forced them all to look at each other. Currently, Rudy sat across from Bonnie, watching his baby girl with silent interest. Bonnie had always been a quiet child. Headstrong and sure of herself, however, after the death of his mother-in-law a few years ago, Bonnie slipped off the rails and he neither his wife could ever pull her back to safety.
"I see you went out last night," Rudy began as he thumbed through his text message threads.
"I did," Bonnie answered curtly. "Had fun too," she added. She slouched in her seat, much to Abby's dismay. While Rudy, Prudence, and herself looked as if they were about to attend a gallant affair, Bonnie looked as though she just left someone's club twenty minutes prior. Because they were already running late, they couldn't afford to wait while Bonnie changed. Abby knew Bonnie had done it on purpose.
Prudence giggled softly at Bonnie's smart-assed response, earning a hard glare from Abby. "Do not encourage her," she hissed sternly. All laughter on Prudence's face quelled just as Bonnie gave Prudence a sly glance. The two girls shared an amused look before Bonnie turned her attention back to her father.
"Yes, father, I had a darling time, gallivanting with the peasants," Bonnie corrected in a posh accent. She sat up straight, uncrossing her legs as she was taught in finishing school. She folded her hands in her lap and plastered the fakest smile she could muster for them. "Is this how I am to behave for the next few hours? Is this up to par with your standards?" Rudy sighed and glanced at his wife with an exhausted look.
"Maybe we shouldn't have brought her with us, Abby." The two of them shared a look before focusing on their youngest. Bonnie kept her pretenses despite the sting she felt at her father's words. It was no secret that she was the black sheep of the family, but as the saying goes, it's better to be included, than excluded. Bonnie dropped the act and returned to her former position. Her eyes met Prudence's who gave her a sympathetic look. How she wished her sister could be more agreeable sometimes. How much easier would their lives be?
"You know, you are just so difficult to love sometimes, Bonnie. I don't understand why you have to fight us on everything. It's just a luncheon that we want you to be a part of. Jesus Christ, is that too much to ask of you?" Bonnie stared out of the window quietly. There was another twist in her chest. If she had a dollar for each time someone told her she was hard to love…
"If I embarrass you all so much, why do you keep inviting me places?" It was a question that made her parents go stiff. Bonnie tore her eyes from the window to meet their gaze and Prudence swore she saw the beginnings of unshed tears in her sister's eyes. Her heart broke.
"Because we love you, Bebe," Prudence offered softly, heartbroken that her parents didn't have an answer for her.
'At least one of you do,' was what she wanted to say. Instead, Bonnie continued to stare out of the frosted window. There was so much anger inside of her that she didn't know what to do with. Until she figured it out, her parents were the easiest target.
"We've arrived," the driver announced through the open partition. The family of four readied themselves to exit the car. Abby fixed her husband's bow tie while Prudence checked her hair in a compact mirror. Bonnie watched silently, feeling like a fish out of water.
Abby Bennett was gorgeous. Her long brown and slightly greying hair cascaded down her back, much like Bonnie's. News tabloids that murmured about her beauty secrets heralded her fair skin. 'Black,' Bonnie would always say when asked about their beauty secrets—she was rarely taken seriously. Her father, Rudy Bennett had a slightly darker complexion. His dark eyes held a permanent uninterested look which made him hard to read. Whether he was joyous or annoyed, one could hardly tell. His bald head was his signature look, one Prudence seemed to take a liking to. They both had the right shaped head for it.
Prudence lived for her family's opulence. She was the debutante they all dreamed of. Her once long brown hair had been traded for a low cut, blonde, finger wave that Bonnie obviously had to say looked good on her older sister. It was a bold move—one that Prudence was usually incapable of, and much to their mother's dismay, one that Bonnie had a hand in. A few years ago, upon graduating high school and entering college, Prudence's high school sweetheart broke up with her, leaving Prudence devastated. Naturally, as any good sister would do, Bonnie took her out and the two got shit-faced despite Bonnie being underaged. The two could always pass as twins to the untrained eye and many stolen ID cards later, Prudence caught on to her little sister's antics.
On a whim, Prudence decided she wanted a hair cut and Bonnie took to the scissors. Using skills she picked up from the streets, Bonnie chopped and shaved Prudence's hair, completing it with a polished, platinum blonde look. Abby nearly fainted the next day as the photos of her daughters flooded her Google Alerts. The famed Bennett girls were known for their trademark chocolate tresses, as was Abby. Prudence's offense was truly an act of terror to Abby and while the world grew to accept Prudence, Abby never forgave Bonnie for being the driving force behind the change.
Bonnie always enjoyed a chance at sticking it to her mother.
Bonnie exited the car first. The string of camera flashes that came was inevitable and Bonnie gave a small smile from behind her dark sunglasses. Her eyes were always hidden. Today it was because of the massive hangover lingering behind her temporal lobe.
The flashes died down after the rest of the family exited the car and made their way up into the high rise where most of the Upper East Side's finest met for lunch. The Richelieu was known for its fine dining experience. Bonnie knew it for its stuffiness. Constantly having to worry about cutlery placements, which order to use which fork, all to eat a fucking bowl of leaves and a thinly sliced piece of carcass.
At least the booze was good.
Already seated, the Mikaelson family watched as Rudy Bennett approached them. They were a picture of wealth. The family consisted of Mikael Mikaelson, the stupidest name Bonnie had ever heard, his wife, Esther, and their three children, Elijah, Niklaus—the second stupidest name—and Rebekah. Elijah, in Bonnie's words, was a 'snazzy motherfucker'. Niklaus, she had no real opinion for, but she could admit that surface level, he was pretty hot. Rebekah on the other hand was drop-dead gorgeous by society's standards. She was the curviest white girl Bonnie had ever met, which wasn't saying much since most of the white girls of the upper crest was calorie deprived.
The Mikaelson family accrued most of their fortunes through generational wealth. The late Ansel Mikaelson was a Scandinavian immigrant who became a financier for JP Morgan & Company, quickly climbing the ranks and earning company shares. Right before the great depression, he cashed in his shares and the Mikaelson family made a killing buying up foreclosed real estate properties for pennies on the dollar. Real shady shit, if you asked Bonnie. Today, their money made money and the Mikaelsons simply lived off the interest. Still, like every greedy bastard of the upper crest, they had their grubby paws in everything, including her sister, Prudence.
Bonnie did a quick scan of the table as they all stood to greet them. Niklaus was the tallest, she noticed his looming height instantly. Esther and Rebekah had their height as well, but they both barely cleared the gentlemen's shoulders with the help of heels. Bonnie felt inferior for just a second. She was cursed with Sheila Bennett's stature while her sister took after their mother and father with her medium build.
"Mikael, Esther, my deepest apologies for being late."As her father spoke, her mother slowly cut her eyes over to Bonnie, silently informing everyone that she was the reason for their tardiness. Bonnie rolled her eyes and looked away, counting the seconds before this stuffy luncheon was over. After the greetings and formal introductions, they all sat across from one another. At the furthest end, Mikael sat at the head of the table while her father and Esther sat across from one another. Rebekah sat next to her mother and between Elijah, who both sat across from Abby and Prudence, respectively, which left Bonnie and Klaus sitting across from one another at the end of the table. Bonnie stared down at her phone's screen, blocking the table out as she scrolled through her social media feed. Abby cleared her throat, which Bonnie ignored until she felt Prudence lean in to whisper in her ear.
"Mother wants you to sit up straight, put your phone away, and for the love of God, please remove your sunglasses." Bonnie sighed and sat up straight, placing her phone in her lap after a quick glance at her call history. She shrugged out of her leather jacket and passed it to the maître d as they arrived to place menus before them. As she moved, she tried not to notice Niklaus sitting before her, watching intently. Bonnie removed her sunglasses and sat them on the table. She glanced up at her mother, leaning in so that she could meet her mother's gaze.
"Happy?" Abby simply smiled and nodded.
"There's my green-eyed girl," Abby boasted. Bonnie rolled her eyes yet again. Her eyes were always the subject of conversation and partially why Bonnie kept them covered. In truth, green eyes were not hereditary in her family and no one knew why or how Bonnie got them. Her eyes made her stand out, much to Bonnie's dismay, and her mother's internalized colorism drove her to point them out whenever she got the chance. It drove Bonnie nuts, to the point that in high school she wore brown contacts to hide them. However, that plan backfired when her eyes appeared more hazel than brown. She couldn't win.
-X-
Niklaus Mikaelson wasn't one for the high-class shenanigans as he called it. His brother Elijah was to be betrothed to a family known for their media frenzy. Everyone knew the Bennetts, more specifically, everyone knew the youngest Bennett, Bonnie. The girl had a flair for the dramatics and the media adored her. It seemed as though she equally adored them since she was always the talk on gossip columns. What/who was she wearing, who is she dating, what hairstyle or eye color will she sport next? Beneath the beauty, Klaus suspected there was nothing more to her, which is why he was glad that his parents selected the eldest Bennett girl. Prudence was a woman of class and decorum and while she's had her run-in with the paparazzi, it was nothing compared to that of her younger sister. The girl could learn a thing or two from Prudence.
"I'm calling it now, the Bennetts will be late," Rebekah announced, storming into her brother's room. Niklaus ignored his sister as he focused on his tie. He hated ties.
"What makes you say that?" Elijah strolled in, ever put-together in his tux, complete with a cumber-band. One glance at his younger brother's struggles and Elijah was swooping in to save the day. "Here, allow me," Elijah muttered as he unfurled Klaus's tie and began anew.
"Bonnie was out late last night with her pariah of a boyfriend, Marcel Gerard, and apparently Marcel was taken away from the night club in handcuffs." Niklaus rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure this is the family you want to associate yourself with, Brother? You'll be inheriting that as a sister-in-law." The judgment in Klaus's voice was ever-present.
"Brother, you know as well as the rest of us that you can't believe everything you read in the tabloids. I'm sure Miss Bennett has her own version of events. Let's not catch judgment." Elijah was uninterested in idle gossip, however, his sister Rebekah thrived on it.
"Say what you want about her but, the bitch is hot," Rebekah countered. "And her sister is yummy. Are we sure Prudence isn't gay? My radar is through the roof," Rebekah smirked at Elijah's dis-ease.
Rebekah, much to her parent's dismay, preferred the company of women rather than men. It was never a secret since she's been caught with several of her 'best friends' at an early age, however, her parent's desire to marry her off to a wealthy family had been put to the side. Despite the changing times, the upper crest of society still looked down on same-sex marriages in favor of 'tradition,' so finding their daughter a suitable wife was beginning to look like a fantasy. It wasn't that lesbians didn't exist, they simply weren't 'out'.
The Mikaelsons arrived on time and as Rebekah called it, The Bennetts were running a bit behind. Rudy at least had the decorum to call the restaurant and have the waiter announce that they'd be five minutes late due to 'traffic'. The city always had traffic so that was never a viable excuse.
When the Bennett family arrived, the Mikaelsons stood to their feet. It was the first time Klaus and his siblings had ever met the Bennett sisters; in the past, Rudy and Abby always visited alone. The husband and wife appeared first; the pinnacle of black excellence. Next was Prudence who was ever-graceful. Her maroon sweater dress was accentuated with delicate lace at the sleeves and collars. Her six-inch heels put her at eye level with Elijah and her hair was meticulously finger-waved. Her make up was dark, accentuating her copper skin and her nails were professionally done with that, 'stiletto tip' as Rebekah called it.
The last to enter was Bonnie—who looked completely out of place and owned every bit of it. Her skin-tight dress hugged her curves and despite her short stature, the girl was all legs. Her stiletto clad feet put her just above five feet, five inches. Her expression was hard to read behind the large frame glasses she wore and as they took their seats, her mother instructed her to remove them. Klaus watched as Bonnie leaned in to make a smart-assed remark.
"There's my green-eyed girl." Klaus turned his attention back to Bonnie who sat across from him. The girl in the tabloids looked wild and crazy and always seemed to be having the time of her life. The girl before him was guarded and, if he was being completely honest, a bit miserable. He observed her as she studied her dark phone screen. His heart skipped several beats when her eyes shifted and met his—she'd caught him staring. He was used to women looking away shyly when they noticed him staring, instead, she stared boldly without wavering. The longer they held one another's gaze, Niklaus found himself captivated.
Her eyes were really as green as Hollywood claimed.