He intertwined their fingers and lead her to the bar. In the corner of her eye, she could see her friends eyeing her and the man candy that her fingers were linked with. She got her favorite drink, cranberry, and vodka, while he got a cold beer.
"So tell me about yourself,"
Bonnie took a sip before starting, "Well I was born and raised in Mystic Falls-"
"Really? So was I...how come I've never seen you before?"
"Different social circle, I guess."
Stefan nodded and let her continue, "Um, I lived with my dad- well I practically lived by myself. My dad is always on business trips,"
"And your mom?" He took a sip.
"She left when I was little, I never really got to meet her you know?"
He nodded, "Actually I do. My mom died when I was seven, so I know how it feels to not have that relationship."
"I'm sorry,"
"Please don't apologize, I dealt with it."
"What about your father?"
"Also dead but he wasn't much of a loving father. I guess the pain of my mother's death got to him or at least I hope so."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because part of me hopes that he wasn't as bad as I remember him to be. Part of me wishes that there was good in him."
Bonnie nodded, "So do you have any siblings?"
"I do, I have an older brother, Damon. He's right over there actually." Stefan pointed in his direction.
"Your brother is gay?"
Stefan chuckled, "No, why do you say that?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.
Bonnie looked apologetically at him showing her teeth forming a frown, "Cause the guy that he's talking to is and he's interested..."
They laughed, "Is he your friend?"
"Yeah, he was one of the first friends I made when I moved here." She spoke between giggles.
"Why did you move?"
"To fulfill my dream in the fashion industry, you?"
"I like change, I like to experience different things and places, it keeps life exciting."
They spent a few more minutes talking about each other and learning things about one another. Bonnie somewhat envied the life that Stefan is living, she wished that she could travel the world and go on adventures, but she was working her way up to something that she loves and wasn't sure if she wanted to throw it all away yet. She shared her jealousy and he joked by replying, "If you play your cards right then maybe I'll show you around the world sometime."
She laughed and placed her hand on his shoulder getting a quick feel of his muscular arms. She's surprised that she hadn't broken a rib, Stefan was built like a brick house and she wondered how he looked like without a shirt on. Shaking those thoughts away she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned around to face her friends,
"Caroline, Elena this is Stefan, he lives in my apartment building."
Stefan stood up and shook the girls' hands. Bonnie could see the lust in her friends' eyes but luckily for her, the look wasn't mutual. He sat back down next to Bonnie and reached his hand across her back, feathery touching her skin.
"Sorry to ruin the party, but we have an early drive back tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked.
"Back to Mystic Falls, we don't live here, we were just visiting Bon for her birthday," Elena replied.
Stefan nodded and removed his hand from her back turning her body cold. They stood up and they swapped goodbyes and planned to meet up again sometime. He kissed her on the cheek walking over to his brother to save him from Sean's flirting. He dropped his hands on Damon's shoulders and saw the look of relief all across his face.
"Ready to go, brother?"
Damon downed his shot then walked out the door with Stefan not far behind. Bonnie chuckled and she told them that Damon wasn't gay which they all laughed too. Sean made his way over to them expressing how he almost had him if his brother didn't come over.
"He's not gay Sean."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know his brother."
Sean looked confused then surprised, "He didn't tell me that...maybe he's confused?"
The girls roared in laughter and started their journey out the club. They got a taxi back to the complex and they all headed up to her room. After the girls changed out of their dresses and into shorts and t-shirts they went back to what they were doing before; watching movies, eating popcorn, sipping on drinks before they all passed out.
Stefan and Damon also went back to the complex and sat on the couches that were in his apartment.
"Thanks for saving me so quickly while a guy was trying to get me in bed while you were out on the dance floor," Damon spoke in his sarcastic voice.
"You're welcome." Stefan smiled, earning an eye roll from his brother.
"Just remember that next time,"
"Ah, but there's the thing; there won't be a next time."
Stefan had it all figured out. He and Bonnie were going to get together, it was a given and he was going to spend the rest of her life with her. Bonnie was someone that he had an immediate connection with and he knew that the feeling was mutual. They always collided into each other like opposite ends of a magnet that kept bringing them together.
"You're talking about that hot chick you were dancing with?"
Stefan nodded remembering how good her body felt against his. He was surprised that he was able to control himself when he was with her, but besides her amazing body that made a part of his jump to life, he found out a lot about her.
They had a great amount in common they were from the same place, basically had the same parental relationships and the had common interests. He would do anything to save his brother if he was in any danger and because Bonnie was the only child she would do the same thing for her friends.
"So what was the big issue?" Stefan thought back to the reason why his brother was here.
"That's all in the past Stefan."
He rolled his eyes at how stubborn his brother was. Knowing that he wouldn't get an answer he walked to the back to take a shower.
»»»
Luckily Bonnie's birthday was on a Friday so she slept in through her hangover. She woke on the couch then moved to her bed but noticed that Sean was occupying it, but she didn't let that stop her. She pushed his body over a little before sliding in. It seemed like seconds later someone was waking her.
"Caroline and I are leaving soon."
Bonnie got up from her bed and walked into the living room to see Caroline packing. She was going to miss her friends and promised herself that she was going to visit soon. After long hugs and a few tears, she walked her friends out and gave them one more hug before they drove off.
"We have got to stop meeting like this," he smiled.
Bonnie was too focused on the car that was driving away she didn't even notice Stefan was walking behind her while she was backing up. She bit her lip before responding, "Yeah we need to buy bells."
Stefan saw this as an opportunity, "Well why don't we go do that, you know, for safety reasons."
She bit her lip again then looked into his eyes, "Let me change first."
Stefan was glad that Bonnie agreed to go out with him, he didn't think that she would but he was glad when she accepted his offer. He stepped aside and let her pass by watching her hurry her way up the stairs. She opened the door trying to remain quiet not wanting to wake up Sean so he couldn't question her about her whereabouts. It was a nice day out, so she slid on jean shorts and a black v-neck. She quickly rinsed her mouth with mouthwash and headed back downstairs. She was glad to see Stefan still waiting outside for her and to see the look on his face when he saw her.
When he saw her step out the building showing off her toned legs he couldn't help the look that was on his face. He felt ashamed for staring at her like he was a dog and she was a treat he so badly wanted, but Bonnie didn't seem to mind. They started walking and neither of them was completely sure about where they were walking to, but that didn't seem to matter.
"So how long have you lived here?"
"A little over a year... I can't believe that I actually stayed this long." She realized.
He looked down at her, "Why do you say that?"
"Because I'm...I don't know I guess even being the only child I was still surrounded by friends and coming here at first I had no one."
Bonnie wasn't much of a socializer. It was one trait that she didn't like about herself but was trying her best to work on it. She wasn't even sure how she made half of her friends but was glad that she had people by her side.
When she decided to move, she didn't give it a lot of thought because she knew that she would talk her way out of it if she did. She would weigh the options and it would come down to her friends or her dreams. Surely, she didn't pick one over the other, but she decided to do something with her life, become someone that people might look up to.
Luckily, she met Sean and they clicked which wasn't intentional. He would always say things that had her laughing or say things that she would agree with. One day she found herself talking to him and the rest is history.
Stefan nodded his head in understanding, "Are you glad you stayed?"
She stared into his eyes, "Yeah,"
They stayed like that for a while; staring into each other's eyes. She held the most beautiful eyes that he'd seen, they held so much mystery. He wanted to know everything that those eyes had seen and know every last detail that there is about her.
Unknowingly their bodies started to move closer with one another until they were centimeters apart. Stefan placed his hand on the side of her face and tangled his fingertips into her hair. She felt her heat rise and she knew what was about to come and would do nothing to stop it.
Ice, ice baby...ice, ice baby...
Stefan released his hand from her hair and she returned her heels back to the ground. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and stared at the contact; Sean.
"Hello?"
"Where are you? I'm hungry let's go out for breakfast."
"It's one in the afternoon," she giggled, "I'm out with Stefan so I'll call you back okay, mhmm bye." She hung up before Sean got another word out.
"Sorry about that,"
"No, it's fine, we should be getting those bells, right?"
She giggled, "Yeah," they started walking again.
In a way Stefan was glad that they got interrupted, he didn't want to rush things between the two of them. He knew that he liked her and wanted to be with her for as long as he could, but they just met and he didn't want to move too fast.
To hell with it.
Stefan pushed Bonnie up against the outside wall of the store and stared into her eyes. He ran his fingers through her hair and switched his view from his eyes to her lips. Bonnie drew in closer and Stefan met her halfway and closed the space between them. He wrapped his hand around her back and pulled her body in closer to his.
Bonnie was glad that she took a shot of mouthwash before she left or this would've not been a nice kiss. She felt his tongue slip into her mouth and she felt like her knees were about to give out. She gasped and his hand slid down to grab ahold of her ass. No one has ever dared to hold her in such place but she wasn't complaining.
Her hand reached the back of his neck to draw him in closer and they could feel their bodies electrify. Bonnie pulled away needing air and as her chest was moving rhythmically he placed a chaste kiss on her lips missing how they felt against his. They kept their gazes on each other for a while until Stefan backed up. Looking into his eyes, she couldn't help but sense a type of knowing. His touch, his lips, his tongue felt all too familiar, but she knew that it was impossible. She would never forget a man like him no matter how hard she may have tried so it all didn't seem to make sense.
"Now those bells, shall we?" He extended his arm.
Bonnie nodded grabbing it locking their fingers together and they walked into the crafts store. She wanted to ask if he felt the connection too, but she didn't want to scare him off. She was surprised that they actually found the small bells in the store and after Stefan paid for them, they walked back to the apartment building. He took her to his place knowing that more than likely Sean would be there and they wouldn't have any privacy.
"Nice place you got here." Bonnie sat down on the couch.
"Thank you, I like to keep things simple you know?"
Stefan had a modernized living area. It had an olive accent wall that the television stand was pressed up against along with the connected shelves. He had a matching rug that the glass coffee table was on holding a few CD's and magazines. Two square chairs that were pressed together on one end of the rug and on the other a large square couch that was gray in color. A black wooden ceiling fan was providing a cool breeze from the center of the room and from where she was sitting she could see the view from the balcony.
Stefan sat beside Bonnie, "Here you go."
Bonnie smiled as Stefan gave her a bell bracelet. It was put together by a strip of coil that he had slid the bell charms on. She watched him as he tied it around her small wrist and they smiled once it was tied and Bonnie shook her wrist making the small bells sound. Bonnie tied his bracelet around his wrist and he shook it as well making them chuckle. He drew his head closer to hers and rubbed their noses together like a lion and Bonnie smiled closing her eyes. She tilted her head up and captured his soft lips.
This kiss wasn't lustful like the one they shared outside of the store, this kiss helped exchange the feelings that they have for one another and they knew that they both wanted the same thing; each other.
The door opening brought them out of their lip lock and their heads turned to face Damon. He had a smirk on his face knowing that he just interrupted the couple and he was glad that he could be of assistance.
"Bonnie, this is my older brother Damon," He said as he was making his way over.
Bonnie stood up from the couch and shook Damon's hand with a smile.
"Nice you meet you, Damon."
"You too," his eyes shot straight to her legs.
"Sorry about the other night when my friend tried to take you home." She chuckled.
Damon's eyes looked at hers and she watching his face change from confusion to remembrance to annoyed. It made her laugh more but she held it in as best as she could.
"And speaking of, I should get going he's probably starving."
Stefan moved over to her to walk Bonnie out. After a hug and a quick kiss, he walked back inside.
"Man, I love the way her hips sway."
"Stay away from her Damon," Stefan warned.
"Alright, alright settle down tiger." He took a seat on the chair.
"What are you doing here anyway, aren't you supposed to be back in Mystic Falls by now?"
"Well I'm so glad to know that I'm wanted," Damon rolled his eyes. "I just decided to extend my stay," he picked up his coffee mug, "for awhile." He spoke behind the mug.
"What?"
"I said," he spoke loud and clear, "that I just decided to extend my stay" pause, "for awhile."
Stefan walked over to his brother who was flipping through a magazine sipping on the coffee that he made for himself and Bonnie.
He folded his arms under his chest, "What do you mean for 'awhile'?"
"You know long enough until I find a place of my own."
"You have a place of your own...in Virginia."
"Not if that place so happens to be burned to the ground."
Stefan's eyes went wide as he processed his brother's words. The house that he spent most of his life in so happens to be burned to the ground. The house that held so many memories and books and pictures were all gone and turned to ash. He didn't know what to feel, anger, range, sad, helpless.
"How in the hell did it just," he air quoted, "burn to the ground?" His voice was full of range; his decided upon emotion.
"Well I did a little something to someone and that someone thought that it'll be funny to burn the house down with me inside it."
"What was the something and who is the someone?"
"That's not important, the important thing is that I'm handling it."
Stefan shook his head annoyed at his brother. He never knew why Damon couldn't just mind his own business and leave people alone. He always had to start unwanted drama and no matter how hard he tried, he was always dragged into it. He loves his brother but sometimes he just wants to choke him until he can't breathe and right now was one of those times.
"Wait for this the reason why you came here in the first place you said that you handled it, how can you handle something huge like that?" He started to shout.
"Well if you must know, Steffy, I'm having it rebuilt to look exactly how it was before it caught fire. I wasn't even going to tell you, but I was tired of staying at hotels."
"Well, maybe you'll consider that before you mess with someone else."
Damon rolled his eyes returning to the magazine. Stefan shook his head and walked back to his room knowing that if he stayed beside him any longer they'll be rolling around on the floor rearranging each other's faces.
»»»
When Bonnie returned, Sean was sitting on the couch flipping through channels. She suggested that they go out for a late lunch because both of them were starved. After the waiter took their order, Bonnie saw that Sean was giving her a look.
"What?"
He stared at her longer, "So what's up with you and this Stefan kid?"
Bonnie shook her head, "Well one, he's not a kid and two, I'm not exactly sure about what's going on between us." She frowned.
"And why do you say that?"
"Well we went for a walk and started talking, and I told him about how I moved here and he asked me if I was glad that I stayed and I said yes. I figured his question had a double meaning but my answer to that was yes too."
Sean put his elbow on the table and brought his face to the palm of his hand like a high school girl staring at one of the One Direction boys.
"We inched together about to kiss but then you called which is why I rushed you off the phone. Sorry about that by the way."
"Understandable, continue."
"So then we started walking again neither of us exchanging a word and when we reached the place he pushed me up against the wall, stared into my eyes before staring at my lips then we met somewhere in the middle."
The waiter sat their chicken sandwiches down in front of them and after asking if they needed anything else he went to attend another table.
"So how was it?" Sean took a bite.
"Amazing," she swallowed.
"What happens next?" He asked like a kid whose mother was reading him a bedtime story and he so desperately wanted to know the ending.
"Well after that heated kiss we held hands and walked into the store to find bells."
"Bells?"
"Yeah remember how I told you that we kept bumping into each other?" Sean nodded, "Well when I was saying goodbye to Caroline and Elena, we bumped into each other again. Jokingly I suggested that we needed bells so that we knew when each other was coming so we could save any possible injuries so he asked me if I wanted to go get some and I agreed."
Bonnie took a break from storytelling to finish what was left of her sandwich. After their meals were consumed and filled the hole that was in their stomachs, they paid for the meal and started walking to Sean's place.
"So after we bought the bells," Bonnie continued with her story, "We went back to his place and he made me this," She held up her wrist so Sean could get a look. An 'aw' escaped his mouth causing Bonnie to smile.
"Then he does the cutest thing and rub our noses together like he wanted to kiss me but wasn't sure if I wanted to kiss him. So I was the one to kiss him this time but then we got interrupted again but this time it was by his brother."
"You mean the confused one?"
Bonnie chuckled as Sean opened the door to his place and walked inside. She followed him to his bedroom so that he could change clothes. She plopped herself on his bed staring at the ceiling while he undressed.
"Then I decided that it was time to leave so he walked me out and we hugged and kissed each other goodbye."
"I could see why you're confused, I mean obviously you two have the hots for each other but neither of you is willing to admit it." Sean stepped into the bathroom.
Bonnie sat up on the bed and scooted back until her her back was on the headboard. She would admit that he did have a point but she wouldn't say that she was scared to admit it, but they were feeling the same way and didn't see a need to speak those feelings.
"You're right, we just need to have a conversation about us and see where it takes us."
After they brushed their teeth (Bonnie always kept a spare at her friends' houses just for situations like these), Sean walked her home before going in for a last minute meeting.
»»»
A week has passed and Bonnie hadn't seen much of Stefan. She could hear yelling coming from behind the door and figured that he was going through a tough time with his brother. Today was quiet she heard no sounds coming from down the hallway so she decided to go for it.
She was in front of his door ready to knock, but her body froze. She knew that they needed to talk and she wanted to do it soon, but when it came time to make a move she didn't want to do it anymore. She remembers Sean's words telling her to just go for it so she went for it and placed firm knocks on the door. After a few moments and no one answered she was about to make her way back to her place assuming that no one was home. Just as she turned around the door swung open,
"Bonnie?"
She turned around and if she thought that she was frozen before she was wrong. His tight chest and abs were exposed and she tried to fix her eyes on his but was finding it hard to do.
"Sorry I took so long I just got out of the shower."
"No it's fine I just uh...wanted to know if you have a few minutes so we could talk."
"Yeah sure, are you hungry we could go get breakfast?"
Bonnie nodded her head and watched him button his plaid shirt that was covering his arm muscles.
"I guess I need shoes right?"
Bonnie laughed, "That would make things easier."
He smiled before heading in the returned moments later with shoes on.
The walk to the small cafe was silent. She thought that it would be best to have this conversation sitting down so they could focus on each other and not at where they were going.
"So I asked you to talk so that we could talk about us." She sliced in her pancakes.
"What about us?"
"That's the thing I don't know what this is." She looked confused.
"Listen, Bonnie, I really like you and I know that I haven't been showing it lately because of my brother, but I would like to get to know you better."
She nodded, "It's just that ever since we kissed I wasn't sure what to feel. I like you too, but I'm just afraid that we...moved too fast you know?"
"Actually I do. I just... it's something about you that makes me feel alive. The way you look at me with your gorgeous eyes and the way you smile just sets my soul on fire. I feel as if I've known you for years, that only you can do this to me."
Bonnie looked at him dazed. No one has ever said something as sweet as that to her and she didn't know what to do.
"I understand if you want to take a few steps back and be friends for awhile but I want you to know how I feel."
She could do nothing but stare into his eyes. She badly wanted to kiss him but knew that that would complicate things even more. She likes Stefan and wants to be with him but she would like to get to know him better before jumping into a relationship. She's done it once before and it didn't end well and she didn't want to make the same mistake with Stefan and possibly ruin a good relationship.
The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Stefan paid for the meal and they walked back.
"I see you're wearing the bracelet." He smiled.
She looked down at her wrist that was creating light jingle sounds as it lightly slapped her lap, "Yeah I forgot I had it on," she smiled.
"You know, I never got your number."
"Let me see your phone," she held out her hand.
He handed her his iPhone and she typed in her number then took a quick selfie for her contact picture. She sent a text to herself so that she could save his number later.
"How come you have no contact pictures?" They started walking again.
"Well for starters people aren't much of picture takers."
"Are you?"
"Nah,"
"Hey Stefan," He looked down and Bonnie snapped a picture of him on her phone, "gotcha!" She smiled.
"Just remember that next time, Bon."
"Should I be scared?" She teased.
Stefan bit down on his bottom lip nodding his head while she laughed. He bent down and threw her on his shoulder, she squealed as she felt him pick her up and laughed as he continued to walk down the sidewalk. People started to walk by and eye Stefan as he had a girl on his shoulder and Bonnie would simply wave as they looked back at her.
"Are you going to let me down anytime soon?"
"Only if you ask nicely."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Can you let me down please, Stefan?"
"Yes, I can, but will I?"
"Stefan!"
"Kidding, kidding," he chuckled.
He bent down until her feet were touching the ground. She smiled up at him and he smiled looking down at her. Bonnie was the first to break away from their staring match and started walking again. Stefan stayed back and watched her walk for a few moments before catching up to her.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and she wrapped her arms his neck for a hug goodbye. He inhaled her scent and she smelled like lavender which made him want to bury his head closer to her, but he didn't. A few moments later they released each other from their grips and Bonnie walked in closing the door behind her. When she closed the door she smiled widely and called up Sean telling him everything that happened.
»»»
A month had passed and things between the two have been going well. They would have moments between them that they would be close to kissing each other and one will have the willpower to pull away or change the subject.
It was getting on Sean's nerve that they wouldn't just be a couple already. He has eyes and sees the way that they look at each other and how every time Stefan texts her, she'd have a smile on her face. He rolled his eyes at the couple but knew that they would become one sooner than later.
