Chapter 15

I'm Thinking We Should Cross the Line

So Esther Mikaelson was back, Alaric was recovering from an attack, and Caroline's father had died.

Bonnie's warning came too late. Caroline called her crying, and Bonnie could only listen and try to be there for her as best as she could. She couldn't stop herself from apologizing, for feeling like she could've done something, but Caroline reassured her that she didn't blame her. Bonnie explained to her how her memory worked, how most things were a little fuzzy and they only became clearer the closer she got to the moment they happened, and Caroline said she understood, but it sounded as if there was a tinge of resentment underneath her words, and Bonnie began to regret being truthful with her.

"So then you don't know who's behind the attacks?" Caroline's voice was quiet and small from crying earlier.

"No, I know who it is, but please don't ask me to tell you. They're not supposed to be caught yet."

"Are you sure there wouldn't be any harm in catching them earlier?"

"No, Caroline. That's the thing. I don't know what will happen and the person who's doing it is…well the situation is complicated."

"Complicated? What is that supposed to mean?" She paused. "Never mind. You probably can't answer that."

"I'm sorry Care."

"Bonnie, please stop apologizing. I get it. I do. But you know me. I can't help but ask questions."

"I know."

Not long after they got off the phone, the doorbell rang. Bonnie opened it, but there was no one there. There was, however, a mysterious envelope on the ground. She picked it up, looking around to see who left it, but no one was in sight. Aside from the sound of someone cutting their lawn down the way, the street was empty and quiet as it usually was in the middle of the day.

She looked back at the envelope. Across the front of it, her name was written in beautiful stylized calligraphy. Turning it over, she ran a finger under the flap to open it and pulled out the card inside. She skimmed the contents. It was an invitation to join the Mikaelson family in their home the following day at seven o'clock for dancing, cocktail, and celebration. On the back side of the card, there was a written message from the Original witch herself.

You and I have much to discuss, it said, and Esther's name was signed on the bottom.

Bonnie hadn't gone to this ball before, hadn't even been invited, so this was curious. Was it because she knew that Bonnie was from the future? Or was there something else going on? Whatever the case, Bonnie was curious enough that she intended to find out.

But first, she needed a dress, and as she grabbed her things to head out and find one, her phone rang again, but this time it was Damon who called her.

"I need you to convince Elena not to go to this ball the Mikaelsons are throwing. I've told her not to, but you know how she is."

"I'm going as well, so I don't know how convincing I'll be." Ready to go, she reached for her front door, pulling it open and stepping outside. Unlocking her car, she walked towards it.

"Come on," Damon was saying. "Esther already tried to have her killed once."

She opened her car door. "You're on your own with this Damon. My witchy gut is telling me that we should go. See what she has to say. Push comes to shove, we'll all be there."

"Against five Originals and their ancient zombie witch mommy," he sounded exasperated.

"Worried you won't be able to outsmart them?"

"No, but I'd rather avoid a situation where I have to altogether."

"It'll be fine, Damon. I'll see you there."

After going to multiple stores and struggling to find and choose a gown she liked, Bonnie spent the rest of the day at home, and after an awkward check-in with her mother, a good part of the next day was spent getting ready. It took her longer than she anticipated, and she wound up running a little late. Luckily that meant she was able to get in quickly since hers was the only car pulling up in the driveway when she arrived.

Pushing open her car door, she put one heel on the asphalt, careful not to step on the silk fabric of her dress. Her hair cascaded in waves down one of her shoulders as she stood and handed her keys off to a valet.

The autumn night air was chilly, and she pulled at the short black pea coat draped across her shoulders. Luckily, the entrance was only a short distance away, her heels clicking across the circular driveway and dress slightly trailing behind her. The doors to the towering Mikaelson mansion were opened for her as she approached, and Bonnie walked in, shrugging off her coat to a woman offering to take it for her.

Elijah had just started to give a speech, so she supposed she wasn't too late as she slipped into the crowd unnoticed.

"It's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance," he was saying.

Bonnie scanned the room, picking out Damon, Stefan, and Elena ahead of her as well as Caroline off in a corner. The Originals stood on the mansion's staircase, towering above them, and she saw Esther watching the crowd at the top, her eyes wandering from Elena's direction over to where Bonnie stood.

The old witch had a presence as cold as she remembered. Every movement was calculated and controlled, from who she spared a glance towards to the way she held her hands in front of her conservative black satin gown. Her expression was measuring and so was Bonnie's as she tipped her head in acknowledgment.

"If all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

As Elijah finished speaking, the Mikaelson children all filed down the steps while Esther went up. Elena moved to follow, but Damon stopped her, visibly disgruntled at her actions. He was clearly still trying to convince her that meeting with Esther was a bad idea.

Bonnie stayed away from them. Since she wasn't exactly supposed to be there, she figured she should avoid everyone. So instead of making her presence known to any of her friends, Bonnie turned away to find a glass of champagne.

It wasn't far. In a large room off to the right, there was a table with rows of glasses and a server behind it filling them. She plucked a freshly poured flute, thanking the server, a young man who smiled back shyly when she graced him with a small one of her own.

Behind her, soft music began, signifying the start of the dance. Slipping into the small crowd of those not dancing, she meandered over to a corner unseen, sipping her glass of champagne and debating on whether or not to go find Esther when she saw Klaus dancing with none other than Caroline. The hybrid was so plainly enthralled with her best friend, and Caroline was probably incapable of recognizing it at this point, but she was slowly being ensnared in his net. Thoughts of their torrid short-lived romance and its lasting effects distracted her until Damon and Elena swam into her vision.

Their hands met in the air as they spun around, tension and chemistry bleeding from the way they looked at one another.

She tried not to let them get to her, but her champagne flute pointedly cracked in her hand. As if he somehow heard the barely audible noise, Damon glanced in her direction and just so happened to see her. Their eyes met. There was a slight almost imperceptible falter in his step, a reminder that he was currently dancing, and while his attention was pulled back to his partner, Bonnie downed the rest of her glass and went to go get another one.

Once she had, she turned back around and found herself face to face with a leering Kol Mikaelson. She stiffened.

His smile stretched across his face making him look almost boyish. "Kol Mikaelson," he introduced himself with a hand extended, and Bonnie placed hers in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you…" He slowly brought her hand to his lips.

"Bonnie Bennett."

He was delighted to discover who he was speaking to. "Ah, you must be the witch I've heard about, but nobody told me you'd be so beautiful."

"I appreciate the compliment." Pulling her hand from his, she forced herself to keep her eyes on him, but her instincts were to look for an exit from this conversation. Kol had always been one of the more problematic Mikaelsons, but she'd be damned if she revealed how uncomfortable he made her.

"Would you care to dance?" He held out his hand once more.

She blinked at the request. "I'm sorry, I'm not…"

Trailing off, she felt Damon approach before he appeared close at her side. "He's not bothering you, is he Bon-bon?" The press of his hand was warm on her skin between the plunging V line of her dress that ended in the middle of her back, and she nearly shivered at the sudden contact.

Kol glanced between them, not hiding his surprise. "I thought you were with the doppelganger."

Damon's arm slid further around her waist, pressing her into his side. "Regardless of who you might think I'm with, Bonnie is as off limits as Elena."

"Relax." She leaned into him and placed a hand on his chest. "I'm sorry Kol, if you'll excuse us."

"Certainly. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said with a false politeness, "and perhaps I might be able to get to know you better when your guard dog is not around."

Bonnie didn't respond as Kol turned to leave, and neither did Damon as he scowled at Kol's back.

When he was far enough away, Damon's hand fell from around her, and her hand dropped from his chest, though they still stood close. His gaze wandered from her eyes to the cut of her dress. The front was also a long deep V line of gathered fabric that met at her waist with a few flowers made from the fabric along it, giving the dress a three dimensional accent. From her waist, it flared out in multiple layers, revealing the pattern of large blueish white camellias in full bloom on black silk chiffon. She hadn't thought about how the blueish tint of the flowers matched his eyes until she put it on earlier, and she blamed her subconscious sentimentality. Matching him in some way was something they always did when they went to events like this in the future, the last one being a gala she'd been tasked to organize for work, and the tux he currently wore looked almost as good as the tux he wore then.

Her eyes slid down his form.

It fit him perfectly. They never failed to fit him perfectly, and unbidden thoughts of getting him out of it invaded her mind. Damon in a tux was damn near irresistible, and she wished she could glue herself to his side the way she wanted and whisper in his ear all the things she'd let him do to her once the night was over.

As she looked up at him through her lashes, she tried to quell her rising desire, to not be so obvious. Damon, however, was not even trying to hide how his gaze was stuck on the smooth caramel skin of her décolletage. Her skin warmed under the heat in his eyes.

"You really didn't have to swoop in. I can speak for myself, you know." She tapped a manicured finger on the champagne flute, her nails painted a near black gray to match her dress.

His eyes returned to hers narrowed, the weight of his gaze heavy. "Don't tell me you were actually interested in him."

"He wasn't too bad to look at."

"Hm." He didn't sound too happy about that.

"But no." She sipped on her champagne, Damon glancing briefly at her glossy red tinted lips as she brought them to the rim of her glass. "I should probably find Esther soon."

She turned to look back towards the steps and Damon's hand curled around her elbow to stop her from moving towards them. He gently pulled her back to his side. "Wait a second, why do you need to go see Esther?"

"She asked to see me on the invitation."

His lips tightened into a thin line at that. "Why is it that both you and Elena seem keen on walking straight into the lion's den?" Abruptly, his head snapped up to search around the room.

"Looking for her?"

He was and seemed satisfied when he saw her with Stefan far across the room. "Apparently, I need to keep both of you under watch tonight." His grip on her elbow loosened until he let go, his fingers idly running down her forearm. Goosebumps rose in their wake.

"It's not like she'll try to kill me. If anything, she'll probably want to use me for something."

"All the more reason to keep you out of her reach."

She placed a hand on his arm. "Stop worrying."

He covered her hand with his, sliding it off of his arm to hold it. His thumb brushed across her knuckles. "Dance with me?"

"I-" She stared up at his cool blue eyes focused solely on her. "…okay." She was going to say no, but the way he was looking at her had her stomach already dancing, so she gave in.

Placing her glass down, she let him pull her by the hand onto the dance floor.

The song playing was a slow waltz and one of his hands went to her waist, his hold on her light, but still searing her through her dress. The other hand held hers up and to the side in typical ballroom fashion, and her hand that wasn't in his rested on his shoulder. The fabric of his tux was soft under her fingers as she shifted them closer to his neck. Only a breath of space was between them, and she ached to close it.

It only took a few seconds of them dancing for the air between them to become thick, as if the way he was staring at her had revealed some hidden layer in the atmosphere between them, a layer that only seemed to grow in density as they kept their eyes on one another. A pressure began to build in her chest.

"As much as it annoys me to say, Kol Mikaelson was right about one thing. You do look beautiful tonight." She hadn't expected the sincerity in his voice and had to fight the blush rising to her cheeks.

"Thank you, Damon. You look good as well."

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Did you just compliment me?"

They turned in a slow circle. "Don't let it go to your head. It's a matter of fact that you're attractive, and you know it."

That made him grin to the point where teeth showed. "Never thought you would admit that."

"I'm already regretting it. Your ego is through the roof."

They continued to move in slow circles and Damon let his fingers inch towards the opening at the back of her dress until they touched her skin. They glided up her spine, leaving a slow trail of heat in their wake and she arched into him on reflex, closing the little bit of space between them.

"Damon…" Bonnie warned.

"Yes, Bonnie?" His voice was pitched low, a smirk on his face as he pretended not to know what he'd just done.

He ran his fingers up her back again and she shivered, the heat coiling inside her.

She glanced down at his lips, her tongue darting out to lick hers, and his eyes followed the movement as the smirk on his face widened. So much for for not being obvious.

After a few seconds, the corner of his mouth straightened into a more contemplative expression.

"What are you thinking?"

"That beautiful wasn't quite the word to describe the way you look tonight."

"Oh?" She didn't believe him. The look on his face was more serious than that. "And what word would you use?"

"Gorgeous. Bewitching, even."

A short breathy laugh slipped out of her. "Would you say that you've been bewitched, then?"

The grin returned. "Are you flirting with me, Bon-bon?"

"No, I'm just curious since your hand seems prone to wandering and you've been looking at me as if..." she trailed off.

"As if?" he punctuated the question by leaving another trail of heat along her back with his fingertips.

Bonnie didn't answer. Her brain was elsewhere, on the way that heat had sank into her core, and the need that was rising within her. It was embarrassing how hot and flustered she was becoming from the simple touch, from just being close to him and having him stare at her the way he was.

His head inched closer until their noses almost touched. "You don't seem to mind."

Her grip on his shoulder tightened. "Because I know that you're just teasing. Only trying to get a rise out of me." That probably wasn't it. Not with the way he was still looking at her like he wanted her out of her dress and naked beneath him.

"Hmm," he hummed, neither confirming or denying her assumption.

The song died down, and they stepped apart, easing some of whatever was rising between them. She looked around the room, realizing that though they were dancing off to the side, anyone could look over and see her with him. No one seemed to be paying them any mind though.

"I should go." Bonnie pulled away, but he didn't let her go far as he tightened his grip on her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Trust me." She stepped back towards him and put her free hand on his shoulder, letting it slide down the lapel of his suit to rest reassuringly on his chest. "Both Elena and I will be fine."

He didn't look convinced. "If you think I'm letting you go off to meet Esther…"

She sighed. "You can't stop me."

His grip on her hand tightened as she moved to leave again, but she whispered a spell under her breath and the palm of his hand began to burn in hers. He jerked back, looking from his hand to her as it slowly healed, his glare threatening. She raised her brows, daring him to try again, but he didn't.

"I'll be fine," she repeated, patting the shoulder of a mildly pissed off Damon.

Leaving him, Bonnie drifted off towards the stairs, heading up to go find Esther. She walked the halls until she stopped in front of a door she somehow knew the old witch would be behind.

Knowing she was outside, Finn opened it for her, and she walked in to find Esther sitting in a chair.

There was sage burning on the table beside her, a spell she cast so they could speak freely to one another in the room without anyone outside hearing. With a nod of her head, she motioned for Finn to leave, and he quietly exited.

As soon as Bonnie sat across from her, the questions began.

"Is it true that you are not of this time?"

"Yes," she answered honestly, knowing the question was merely a formality and the witch already knew the answer.

"Do you know what my aims are?"

"I do." She wanted all of her children to die.

Esther blinked, her face not holding any significant expression. "Will I succeed?"

Bonnie went quiet for a second before she answered. "I don't think I should answer that."

"You not wanting to say anything speaks volumes. Where does it all go wrong?"

"Is this all you wanted to discuss? Your future?" Bonnie let herself lean against the back of the chair so she looked more relaxed than she felt.

"That and I wanted to request you and your mother to be present for a spell on the full moon tomorrow. I assume you already know what the spell is for."

She did, and that spell was the reason Damon turned her mother, making Bonnie hesitate again before answering.

"You don't want to."

"I'm not saying that I won't. I'm trying to preserve the timeline, not change it."

"And I am trying to restore the balance of nature. What your demeanor is telling me is that I fail. I have waited years upon years to make this happen. Failure is not an option."

"It isn't an option for me either."

Her lips pulled taut into a thin line of disapproval. "Why are you even here? Why give up your future to come back to the past?"

"That is none of your business. I don't have any intentions of staying here longer than I need to."

"Right. Of course. I suppose you won't elaborate on the reasons you're here. So you leave me no choice then but to present an ultimatum. You help me actually complete my plan or I reveal you to all of your friends, and I will make it my mission to prevent you from doing what you came here to do. From what I've heard from the witches on the other side, you value your secrecy and your only purpose is whatever it is you've come here for."

Bonnie's gaze darkened. She straightened in her seat and her grip tightened on the wooden armrest. "You don't want to play this game with me. Not with the knowledge I have."

"If we can't come to an agreement-"

"The only way we could do that, the only way I would risk changing the future for you is if you unlink them. Unlink the sirelines and I'll ensure you get what you want." She may have played too much of her hand by saying that, but eliminating the Original family would do a whole host of good.

"Restoring the balance requires all vampires to be eliminated, so I cannot agree to that. But you want them unlinked because you care about the vampires, correct? Is it Damon Salvatore?"

"It's all of them. And if you touch one hair on his head, his brother's head, or the heads of any of the vampires I care about, then not only will I say fuck the future and reveal you to your children, but I will erase your existence in this plane and the next. You would do well to remember whose bloodline you're channeling for power."

Esther paused at that. "Then we are at an impasse."

"An impasse that is going nowhere, which means we're done here." Bonnie stood and left the room.

She was going back to the staircase when she saw Elena come out of another room further down the hall.

Elena did a double take in her direction. Obviously, she hadn't expected to see her. "Bonnie? You didn't tell me you were coming? You look amazing in that dress by the way."

"Thanks Elena."

She looked to where Bonnie had come from and frowned. "Wait, did you just meet with Esther?" What did she want with you?"

"Help with a spell, but I can't say anymore out here. Go. You should talk to her. We'll catch up later."

Elena looked worried as she walked past her, her sparkly tool covered gown flowing behind her. Bonnie headed back down the steps, and immediately went to get more champagne.

She might have just fucked herself. Esther could decide to do anything different. And then there was the consequence of the spell. If she could just sabotage it without letting Damon kill her mother, everything could still remain on track. Abby becoming a vampire was inconsequential to anything as far as she remembered.

Her head began to hurt, and she rubbed at her temples.

She needed to get out of there. Damon was upstairs somewhere, but she had interrupted his night enough, and she no longer felt like being in the Mikaelson home, so she left, not bothering to witness the toast where Esther would link her children together so killing one would kill the rest.

Instead of her empty home, however, she headed to the boarding house for a drink that would hopefully dull her headache.

Still in her dress, she made herself comfortable there, getting frustrated as she tried to think of alternate ways she might be able to stop Esther.

In the midst of her ruminations, Damon texted her at some point asking where she was, and she told him.

He said he would be there soon, but she wasn't sure how long she was sitting there drinking until Damon came in, looking upset. He froze for a moment when he saw her casually sitting on the sofa in her gown and nursing a glass of bourbon. Immediately, she stood, the gown's fabric falling around her bare feet as she went to pour him a drink of his own. It dragged across the hardwood floor behind her.

"You look like your night ended just as badly as mine."

She was a little more than tipsy, and even though she had kicked her heels off a while ago, she had to focus on her steps when she went to make the drink.

"What happened with you?" Damon took off his jacket and bow-tie and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. "How did your little meeting go with Esther?"

She glanced back at him. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. What happened with you?"

"I'd rather forget."

What was left of her headache after drinking four glasses of whiskey was already clearing up in his presence, and she gave him his drink, but when she turned around, he grabbed her hand and twisted her into him. She stumbled clumsily into his chest, catching herself with her hands on his dress shirt. The drink he held threatened to spill over onto both of them, but it never passed the rim. Still, her heart leapt to her throat and her eyes grew wide. What was he thinking?

He placed the drink on a surface somewhere beside them, his gaze heated. "You know, this night doesn't have to end on a bad note." His arms slid around her waist, pressing her body against his. The sudden intensity in his eyes transfixed her. Her stomach flipped, and a fire simmered beneath it. Slowly, as if they had a mind of their own, her hands traveled up his chest and wound around his neck, leaving her flush against him. She glanced down at his lips.

This was bad. Her mind screamed at her to diffuse this situation, but her eyes were locked on his lips, knowing she could so easily have them on hers in seconds. Her fingers unfurled and slipped into the soft hair at the nape of his neck.

"Damon…"

"Bonnie…" He echoed, leaning close enough for her to feel his breath fan against her lips.

Her nose brushed his, her lips parted, and she melted against him. As he leaned down, his lips lightly caressed hers and she held herself there, on the edge of giving in. Long repressed need had her body trembling with the desire to let him kiss her, to give in and have him in all the ways she craved him between her legs. She missed him so much, but it wouldn't be enough. She needed all of him the way she used to have him. This Damon would be incapable of giving her that, and she wasn't going to settle for less. Besides, her Damon would be waiting for her in the future when she finally saved this one.

With all that in mind, pulling away was what she thought she was going to do, but the moment he pressed his lips against hers, she was lost. Her fingers slid further into his hair, her mouth parted, and she found herself kissing him again and again and again. When she went to kiss him a third time, his tongue slipped in her mouth, and she swirled her tongue against his, tasting him. She moaned.

The taste of him was so good, so familiar like having a bit of her favorite cake after months of craving it. The nostalgia was like a drug. Her stomach was doing flips. A throbbing started between her legs, and she pressed her thighs together. But he was more hesitant with her than she expected him to be. Though he initiated this with an obvious goal in mind, since they began to kiss, he hadn't tried to push her for more at all. Instead, his arms were wrapped around her tight like he expected her to push him away at any moment, but she was swimming too deep in nostalgia to have any immediate intentions of doing that.

Kissing him was just like she remembered, but these kisses in particular were sweet with just a hint of restrained hunger simmering underneath. She knew from the way he flexed his fingers along her back that if she pushed herself any further into him, bit at his lip, or toyed with him in any way, he would turn ravenous, that just below the surface he was a match waiting to be ignited. But no matter how eager she was to see that side of him, she was still cognizant of the line she had crossed in kissing him, and she didn't want to cross that line any more than she already had, so Bonnie stayed there, standing in the middle of the boarding house and letting him kiss her until unbidden tears began to pebble in the corner of her eyes. She didn't want to stop, but a tumult emotions became inches away from boiling over, so when they broke apart and he went back in for another kiss, she let her head drift to the side and her cheek rest against his. She breathed long and deep, trying to hold back the tears and catch her breath at the same time.

To hide her face from him, her arms stayed wrapped around his neck. He held her, waiting for her to make the next move as he ran one of his hands up and down her back. She openly shivered at his touch, her skin tingling in anticipation of what she was going to deny herself, but like she should've done before he first kissed her, she shoved all her longing and want back inside the depths of her heart. This couldn't happen. No matter how much she wanted it to, it couldn't happen.

She willed her voice to come out steady. "We shouldn't ruin this," her words were warm against his neck. "We're good as friends, don't you think?" She pulled back to look at him.

"Friends?" He looked lost and confused at the question.

Her hands fell from his neck, and she slipped out of his embrace. "Yes. Friends. You're still in love with her. And I don't think you're ready for someone like me." Not yet. "But thank you," she raised up on her tiptoes and pressed a final kiss into his cheek. "For worrying about me tonight. For always being worried these days."

A/N:

Soooo originally they weren't supposed to kiss at the end. I really was about to drag this slow burn through the mud and into quicksand before I let anything happen between them this early, but a few weeks ago I was like this is going way too slow for me and I need something to happen so….yeah lol.

Hope you guys enjoyed this one and thanks for reading!

Chapter title from "Ruin the Friendship" by Demi Lovato.