Note: Seven months isn't bad for me at all. I didn't edit this! I never will!

Thank you to those who reviewed, I hope you enjoy this one, too.

PT IV

Indulge me

Bonnie was staring at her reflection in the mirror in the late afternoon light. Pulling in a pearl hair-comb into the side-path she'd made in her hair, she was finally satisfied.

Tyler would be here any minute now to take her to their last dance together, and she was listening to Moses Sumney while she finished getting ready; letting all of her emotions rise up to the surface.

Bonnie could feel an energy settle on the surface of her skin, like a kind of magic that left all her hairs on their ends, even prickling at her scalp. She was doing her best to swallow the anxious-feeling feeling down when there was a knock. Her heart burst at the thought of Tyler.

"Can I come in?" Her mother's voice called from the other end of her bedroom door.

"Sure," Bonnie called back over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on her black velvet dress, running her hands over her stomach as it toiled with knots and admitted disappointment.

Abby stepped in and immediately her pace was slowed when she took in Bonnie's form wrapped in a floor length velvet dress.

"Baby...you look gorgeous." Abby gasped.

"Don't sound so surprised." Bonnie quipped, chewing her lip.

"I didn't mean it like that," Abby said quickly. "I don't know why you always think I'm arguing with you." Abby said, crossing her arms, a small blue box shining in her hand.

"Maybe because I wish you would," Bonnie said, finally turning to look at the woman. "You know, so we could have an actual conversation about all this at some point."

"I don't think we should be doing this when you're on your way out." Abby said with a loud sigh, knowing in her heart her daughter was right. She wasn't sure she could tell Bonnie everything, not when it meant that the whole truth would pull back the curtains of years of lying that went beyond her broken relationship with Rudy.

"Happy I could give you a more original excuse this time." Bonnie said turning back to her reflection, nervous hands going back to faffing over her appearance.

"Stop picking," Abby said, putting the box down and coming closer, "You look perfect. Grams would be so proud of the curls." Bonnie smiled at the memory of her grandmother. It had been the inspiration for her hair, truthfully. Thick; coiled, finger waves that framed her face, then the rest of her curls smoothed into thick ribbons hat fell far down her back, swaying over her open back as the velvet dress curled beautifully to the small of her back.

"Old Hollywood." Bonnie said with a playful eye-roll at the dance's theme.

"I think I have something to round it off, if you'd like it?" Abby offered, standing behind her daughter, ticking her head in the direction of where she'd left the Tiffany box on Bonnie's drawer.

"Sure, why not. Tyler should be here any minute."

"Great. Lemme grab it."

Bonnie watched her mother walk to her drawer, and wondered what it was; the thing Abby was hiding. Her mother had always had this glint about her; this mystery around the way she spoke of herself, her past, her family, her people. It was both protective and evasive. Where most people respected it, or even found it charming and alluring, Bonnie found it suspicious and frustrating. What good could come from a habit of half-truths?

Maybe it was a small-town thing, the girl mused, remembering how quickly Caroline had adopted a similar manner of speaking, thinking it had an air of class about it that she desperately wanted to emulate as her own life fell to tatters when her parents got a divorce. Who knew?

Abby pulled out a pearl choker and Bonnie's brows lifted.

"Is this how we're saying sorry now?" She wondered aloud.

"Yes and no," Abby said with a shrug, "It's been a while since dad and I have gotten you anything and you've never been the kind to ask. So..." Clasping it in place, she let her hands settle on Bonnie's shoulder and smiled, a sad, tired, smile.

"I am sorry, and I do owe you an explanation. I just...I don't know if I have the right words yet."

"Find them." Bonnie said after a while. "You're running out of time." They held one another's gaze for some time.

With no warning, Bonnie freed herself of her mother's hold and turned her music off, pulled on a pair of white, satin gloves up her forearms, and made her way downstairs. Abby stood alone in Bonnie's room a little while longer, and let the thick, throbbing ache in her throat grow, wishing selfishly that it would just suffocate her with no consequence.

When Bonnie made her way downstairs, she could hear her father at the front door, so she slowed down a little.

When Tyler made his way in, she stepped slowly into view, already grinning at the idea of being in his arms any second.

He turned at the sound of her heels on the stairwell and his mouth fell open a little as her heart lurched at the sight of him. He was dressed in a cream, three-piece with a black tie and fedora, making her giggle.

"Bonnie..." his hands went to his heart as he beamed, "I don't know if this dance even deserves this outfit. Honestly."

"Eh," she shrugged, kissing him on the cheek as she took the bouquet of sunflowers and roses from him, "Last dance and all."

"This is...how would Lucy say? 'Met-worthy'"

Bonnie blushed at the compliments and handed the flowers to her father with a distracted 'i love, you bye' as her eyes stayed on Tyler as they made their way out the front door to his car.

In his car there was a thick silence that neither of them knew what to do with. It wasn't the kind of tension that followed hard feelings, but it still felt like something was going unsaid between them.

"I think I'm nervous." Bonnie admitted. "This feels very serious."

"You're wearing a very serious dress," Tyler said, keeping his eyes on the road, "But yes. It uh, it feels very dramatic right now. My heart is like beat-boxing in my throat for some reason. I feel a little nauseous actually."

"Why?" Bonnie wondered.

"Tonight is our first and last dance together. There's a lot happening in a short space of time, and I think we want it all to be perfect."

"You're right," Bonnie nodded. "Tyler...I'm going to miss you so much."

"It's not goodbye yet." He reminded her, taking her hand in his. "That's still a few weeks away. Okay?"

"Okay." She lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed his knuckles quickly and kept his hand and hers in her lap, drilling every detail of the moment into her memory for what she hoped would be forever.

Julia by SZA was playing as they arrived.

"Oh!" Bonnie squealed, turning to him with wide eyes.
"Oh, I'm in." He said, pulling her to the dance floor while a few pairs of eyes followed them.

They moved easily around one another for a few moments, but Tyler pulled her hands so she'd come closer and put his hands on her waist while she sang along.

Opening her eyes Bonnie rested her hands on either side of his face as they moved side to side to the beat; shoulders shimmying to the beat. She loved that he loved dancing too, and that they were both so naturally good at it. It meant the nerves were being pushed further away as their sense of comfort with each other grew around them like a shimmering bubble.

kiss him, kiss him

A flash of light went off as someone took a photo of them for the school magazine, and it nipped the tension in the bud.

"Drinks and photos?" Tyler suggested, still with his hands on the small of her waist while they swayed.

"Sounds good." Bonnie kissed him quickly on the mouth, and laughed when he kissed her immediately after. "PG 13."

"Okay, okay. You're right. Come on."

"You two look uh-amay-zing!" Someone called to them and they beamed.

"Alright, Bennett!" One of the cheerleaders called out as well.

"Can we take a photo?" Another person asked. "You're best dressed, for sure!"

They nodded, posed, smiled and danced their way to the photo booth.

"This feels like a dream." Bonnie whispered to Tyler while they stood in the queue for the photo booth.

"I'm glad. This is how I want you to remember everything here." Tyler said, eyes sad while his cheeks were flushed from dancing and his mouth curled up and coloured with a brush of her lipstick. She pulled out a tissue from her handbag and cleaned him up.

"You're here. That's all it takes to make me happy." It made her feel a rush of warmth seeing his expression change as he processed her words, pulling her closer to his side as the queue inched forward.

Once their photos were done, Tyler was pulled aside with the rest of the dance committee as they went over a few things, leaving Bonnie to mingle.

She smelled him before she heard his voice. In and amongst the crowd, it irritated her that the scent of her ex-boyfriend could seek her out so efficiently. It used to cover her clothes, her dog after their runs, her bedding...

"Can we talk?" Matt asked from behind her.

"Sure." She said curtly, turning to him with a hollow smile.

"One last dance? You are leaving after all..." His blue eyes looked so dark and hurt. He held his hand out to her.

It suddenly didn't feel right to keep saying no. This could be the last time they ever spoke.

"Fine. One," Bonnie held up a finger as she let him lead her out onto the dance floor. "I came here with Tyler and we're not starting anything, got it?" He raised both his hands as they came to stand in front of each other.

"I just want to say goodbye."

Some Place Else by MorMor started playing as they began to dance.

"When do you leave?" He asked, looking down at her with ceaseless warmth. The way he used to.

"Sooner than I'd like," she said, scanning the crowd for Tyler. Bonnie turned back when she felt his shoulders stiffen. "Next week." She said looking him dead on, something she hadn't done in a while. They'd both loved one another once, right? They could both use the closure.

"I'm really sorry we ended the way we did, and that you're leaving the way you are." Matt said earnestly.

"Me too." Was all she could manage to say.

His hand felt both familiar and foreign in hers, like she was trying to summon a dream after waking.

"I am going to miss you." She admitted while they danced slowly.

"All I ask is that you forgive me, even if you forget me." Matt said and that stopped her short. That was it; the thing that made him the guy she'd loved for so long. She could see in his eyes what he was seeing in hers, and it made her pull away a little. A spark of electricity followed their fingers as they stopped dancing, but still held on to each other.

"I forgive you." She said clearly, and honestly.

"I know you felt that." Matt said, trying to close the space between them.

"Yeah well, you claimed to feel that and still managed to feel someone else. So, I don't think that means much anymore, does it?" Bonnie crossed her arms after untangling herself from him. "I'm leaving and we're done and I hope..." she closed her hand around his wrist, "And I hope you're happy and that that means something to you one day long enough for you to let it grow into something else, something bigger, warmer, more you...because I know you. I know you haven't been the same since your mom left, but you let her leaving make you someone un-loveable because you refused to see that you had anything left. I was there the whole time Matt and I cared, I loved you...and the fact that we ended the way I hoped my parents would should tell you everything you need to know about where we stand."

He held her gaze for a long time.

"I get it." He said, nodding. "I do. Hey...moving is going to be hard." She felt her heart begin to hurt at all the change that was still coming, even while her life was already in shambles. "Text me if you need someone to talk to, or whatever. In a friend way. I don't want you to be alone."

"I won't be," Bonnie said certainly, eyes lighting up as she looked over his shoulder. Matt turned to see Tyler approaching.

"You guys look good." Was all he said before leaving.

"We really do." Tyler said, kissing her on the forehead and steering her towards their table.

Stefan was listening to Soothsayer by Sevdaliza when a wave of magic shuddered through him.

"B-" a word bubbled on his lips. "Bennett." Gasping and shooting upright, his headphones fell off, and he startled his cat that'd been sleeping next to his books.

Checking the time, he walked through the long hallways of his house to his mother's study.

Lily had kept tomes in archives for as long as he could remember. Stefan knew he had about twenty minutes before his father checked in.

Running his fingers across the spines of grimoires, diaries and academic texts, he finally found what he was looking for.

Beatrice Bennett's Diary.

Lily had bought it an an auction of an unknowing hawker, recognizing the name immediately, if he remembered correctly.

Stefan had been raised as a researcher first and foremost by his parents. They'd believed always that the power of knowledge preceded the power of magic.

Knowing where magic came from, knowing all of its iterations was a strength that they insisted upon their children as Salvatores.

But knowledge, as he'd seen, was possessive, commanding, and ego-inducing. Knowledge had ultimately been the thing that had destroyed his family beyond repair.

Taking the diary to his room, he shut the door behind him and put his phone on loud so that it would only ring once before he answered, as his father preferred.

The first thing he noticed was that there were inscriptions, fresher than the original text, scribbled in the margins, signed each time with the letters: E.B. He made a note of that.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Stefan jumped at the sound of his brother's voice. Eyes checking the room, he moved to looked out to the neighbours house, and saw a silhouette by the bedroom window once more.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Stefan hissed, his heart still racing.

"I'm un-dead...so no." Damon pointed out, his voice deadpan. "Plus, the more you know, the more I know...you know that."

"How is that tether still in place?" Stefan seethed.

"Ask dad. He's the one who won't let us die." Stefan's heart skipped a beat.

"-What?" He gasped.

Bonnie was twirling around the dance floor, hands slipping between Tyler's hold as he spun her, before catching her and drawing her to him.

Mine by Beyonce started playing.

"Isn't this the song you're always singing?" Tyler asked. She nodded and pressed her mouth to his, making sure to avoid tongue. There'd be no coming back from that.

"It's a perfect ballad...I mean, Drake's part could go missing and no one would care, but it's...it just gets it." Tyler laughed at that and Bonnie looked up at him; up at the smile she'd always wanted to hold in her hands, whether she knew it before or not.

The overhead lights twisted her vision for a moment just long enough for her to see Tyler's face change to someone else's. The smile and the warmth stayed, but the flash of another boy's face made her jerk a little. He was...who was he?

"What? Are you okay?" Tyler's concerned returned his face to normal and Bonnie's eyes scoured his features, just to be certain.

"I don't know, sorry. It was nothing." Bonnie reassured him quickly, tucking her head under his chin as they moved. "It's been a hell of a week."

"No kidding." Tyler murmured from above her.

Let's stop holding back on this and let's get carried away

Stop making a big deal out of the little things,

Cause I got big deals and I got little things

I got everything I'm asking for but you...

"You do have me, you know?" Tyler said, pulling away to look Bonnie in the eye. "I know it's all sudden and soon and somehow also all too late, but, Bonnie, you one hundred percent have got me. Whichever way you want."

"And you have me." She said easily, because it was true. "And it makes me so sad that I'm leaving our home behind to try and save my parents marriage." She would hex them if she could in that moment.

"Maybe it'll work out for them, you know? Be worth it?" Tyler offered. Bonnie loved him for it.

"Right now nothing feels worth losing you." She sighed, eyes tearing up. Tyler was both enamored by her words and terrified of her word choice. He couldn't lose her, not now, not ever.

"But that's what I'm saying," Tyler lifted her chin up, "You're not losing me. Ever." He drew in a breath. "Bonnie, I'm in love with you and I love you. That isn't going away."

"I fucking love you," Bonnie said fiercely, letting a tear fall as she went on her toes to kiss him.

With tongue, because there was no going back.

A/N: Well, would you look at that, a decade dance with just the right amount of drama unfolding. We're getting very close to the AHS story-arc that I'll be weaving in, and that's when we get to have some fun! Reviews let me know I'm not screaming into the void like I do on Twitter.

XO