Chapter Fifteen: Cozy Get-Together
If you wanna be my lover
You gotta get with my friends
Make it last forever
Friendship never ends
Bonnie was dancing through her room like a lunatic. She occasionally bumped into things, like her chair, her bed or Elena for that matter, but she didn't care. She was letting go of all the tension that apparently had been building up in her for weeks now. There was no better way to let go then to dance and sing to the Spice Girls with her best friends, getting ready for a party.
It was still early but the three girls liked to start their preparation early because they knew that the singing and dancing part was going to steal a lot of their time. The friends had a blast. To celebrate their reunion Bonnie's mom had been so generous to allow them to drink a bottle of sparkling wine. Of course they had to promise her not to drink anything else this night, like that was going to happen. They broke that promise the second they finished the bottle and Caroline went to her bag to grab another bottle she snuck into her luggage out of her mom's liquor stash.
So Bonnie was on her third glass of champagne when Caroline decided it was time to use her as a model and started doing her makeup. Bonnie trusted Caroline with her life and she knew that she had good taste, but she also knew that Caroline had the tendency to exaggerate from time to time so Bonnie was now sitting on her chair praying to god that she would still look presentable after Care was done with her.
Elena was sitting on the bed, overlooking the process and from time to time making a snarky comment about the color Caroline was using.
"Don't be so elite, Elena. Once I am done with Bonnie, you are next in line!" Caroline warned her friend and Bonnie had to laugh about the threat hanging over Elena's head now.
"So, Care, since you are not doing anything important right now, you can start spilling some beans about that knew boytoy of yours." Bonnie bugged.
Elena let herself fall on her back but still kept her gaze locked in Caroline's direction.
"He is not my boytoy!" Caroline set right in a sharp voice. Then she chuckled and snickered and her voice was turning sweet. "His name is Klaus and I met him in the Grill. I was there after this horrible decade dance I had put together and Elena was already home. So I was sitting there all by myself and then I saw him. Tall, mysterious and inhumanly handsome. He bought me a drink, a real drink and we talked. After that he kind of disappeared and Elena wouldn't believe me that he even existed. But then a few days later, I saw him in the park and his sister, the slut Rebekkah, arrived in school, and another few days later when my mom was out of town, I got sick and Klaus brought me some meds. He sad at my bed and talked to me, made me feel better instantly."
Bonnie would have killed for a peak at Caroline's face right now but Care's coiffure made that impossible. Care has never been the touchy feely person of the group, that had always been Elena's part, but the way Caroline spoke of this guy made Bonnie think of how much she must like him.
"So you two are together now?" Bonnie asked.
"No… I mean, kind of, I mean… we haven't had that talk yet. But I like him and I think he likes me."
"What is he doing again?" Elena asked from the bed.
"He is restarting his study. He is a politics major."
"Wow, a smart ass."
"You have to come visit us soon, Bonnie. You have to meet him. And then you can see your own boyfriend again. It's been a while."
Bonnie's mood changed suddenly by the mention of Jeremy. He had basically been radio silent for the whole week. Just a few texts here and there but no calling and every time Bonnie had called he was never picking up. Elena had picked up on Bonnie's sudden mood change and focused on her now.
"You know, Jer is really busy right now. I don't know how it happened but he had a change of opinion about failing the whole school year. He is trying really hard to get better in school and that takes some time. He really isn't trying to avoid you, Bonnie. He is just really invested in school."
Bonnie nodded. She didn't want to talk about Jeremy right now. For once because she didn't believe that that was the reason for showing Bonnie the cold shoulder and secondly she knew Jeremy too well, that change of heart didn't just come around. But Bonnie had decided that this weekend she wasn't going to let Jeremy Gilbert screw with her mind. She was going to enjoy the time with her friends and so Bonnie took the opportunity and changed the subject.
"So what about you Elena? How is everything going with Matt? Is he still pissed?"
"He isn't even talking to me. He only throws me some bad glances and then he turns away. Sometimes he is even heading the opposite way when he sees me in the school hallway. I have really messed up with him." Elena admitted sadly.
"But you did right by him and yourself! Neither of you would have gotten happy!" Caroline interrupted and Bonnie nodded to underline her friends' statement.
"And some day the right guy will walk right into your arms and all will be forgotten."
"Maybe that already happened." Elena said so quiet that Bonnie nearly missed it. It must have been news to Caroline too because she let go of Bonnie and turned around to face Elena. Her eyes were wide open.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" She asked Elena.
The later sat back up and looked shyly onto the floor. But she had that gleam in her eyes that Bonnie hadn't seen on her before.
"It was yesterday. I was searching for Jeremy and someone told me he was in the men's room. So I went there but didn't find him. When I got out of there I practically ran into this guy. And then I saw him again in the park. His name is Stefan Salvatore and he lives with his uncle and brother in the old boarding house. He invited me to the Grill this weekend but I had to take a rain check for obvious reasons."
Caroline grabbed a pillow that lay nearby and threw it in Elena's direction. She could barely escape it, because the movement came out of nowhere. And she only stared at Caroline.
"How the hell did you not tell me about this, Elena?" he screamed.
"I… I don't know. Maybe it isn't even worth mentioning. I haven't even talked to him that much. And… I wanted to wait and tell the both of you at the same time." Elena explained herself. Caroline looked furious and the look on her face made Bonnie laugh, which was exactly what the situation needed right now. First Elena and then Caroline started to laugh too and soon the three were back to casual boy talk and imagining their lives with their newfound love interests.
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The party was already in full progress as the three girls finally arrived. Neither of them was able to drive anymore so they decided to take the bus. From the bus station Bonnie had tried to navigate them to the address Kai had texted her but her sense of navigation was worse than she remembered and so they had to stop and ask a few people for direction.
But now they were there and could walk in on an already lively party. Caroline had made Bonnie put on a black dress she had found somewhere deep in Bonnie's closet. It was fluttery but short. Bonnie had preferred to put on some tight jeans and a cool top but Caroline wouldn't let her. She said that for that makeup she needed to wear the right clothes and jeans wouldn't cut it. Caroline herself had put on a very short dress. It was golden with sequins all over it. Even in a bigger town like Portland she sure would get all the attention so Bonnie didn't want to know how the people in Mystic Falls would react to Caroline's outer appearance. Elena looked classy chic like always. She wore a fluttery skirt-top combo that Bonnie and her shopped the last time she was in Mystic Falls. Her hair fell down her shoulders but what made the look complete was the dark Smokey eyes Caroline had given her. She looked like a real famme fatale!
As they entered the house, which was already full of people Bonnie had never seen, she felt a spark of regret agreeing to this. These kinds of crowds weren't usually her thing. After taking in the scene they headed for the kitchen and got themselves some drinks. On their way back to the living room Bonnie ran into Faye.
"Oh my god, Bonnie! You are really here. I said I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. You look amazing." She said, already sounding tipsy. Then she turned to Elena and Caroline and hugged them both tightly. The three always got along very well and Faye had been excited to see them again since Bonnie had told her about their arrival.
Faye dragged them to the sunroom where the music was a little quieter and Perry, Liza and Connor were sitting. Bonnie greeted them all and Caroline and Elena placed themselves next to them like they have been part of this group forever.
Bonnie chatted with Perry and Liza until Faye had the brilliant idea to start a drinking game. Caroline was instantly on board, the two of them were just so similar in some points, and reluctantly after all her friends had joined so did Bonnie. But she tried to not drink too much; she still wanted to look out for Kai, who hadn't shown yet. That made her a little bugged because he insisted that she came today and now he wasn't event coming himself? Still, if he would show she owed him at least a hello and didn't want to be completely wasted when she found him. He wouldn't ever let her forget this moment.
She kept a look out for him but half of the people here were complete strangers to her. But when she got a quick look at Brian Glen rushing down the stairs into the kitchen her hopes were raised. She was about to tell her friends she was going to search for Kai when the music changed and Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit roared to Bonnie's ears.
Elena and a pretty drunk Caroline started screaming and dragged her and Faye to the dance floor. Bonnie hadn't had the intention on hitting the dance floor anytime tonight but Faye was already too drunk to care about it. So she went with her friends, taking another shot on her way to the dance floor. She didn't care about staying sober now anymore. If she would be dancing it out she wasn't going to do that with a clear mind.
The four of them danced for another three songs and Bonnie had made the acquaintance with one very drunk guy how didn't realize she was stealing his shots every time he got himself new ones. Because of that Bonnie forgot the time and was closing in on the alcohol level of her friends. But drinking alcohol had the side effect of making you need to pee, so Bonnie made her way to the toilet.
When she made her way back to the dance floor she couldn't find Elena and Caroline or Faye, Connor or Liza and Perry. So she made her way back to the sunroom. Halfway through the room someone grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the wall. Bonnie was struggling to keep her balance because of the alcohol in her system and the fact that she tried to get rid of her attacker. The person softly placed her against the wall and Bonnie was about to slap the guy when she realized who it was.
Kai's arrogant smile greeted her and Bonnie's hand that was still ready to slap someone relaxed. Suddenly the sight of Kai's stupid face made Bonnie hyper amazed. She let out a high squeeze and through her arms around Kai's neck. The whole act was a little more complicated than she imagined it to be because she was losing her balance and Kai had to hold her in place so she wouldn't tumble to the floor.
"You're heeeere! Thought you wanted to make a joke out of me." Bonnie muttered into Kai's ear.
He drew himself a little back from her and looked at her with a questioning look. "Are you drunk?"
"Duh! Sorry, I didn't take you to be the fun police!" Bonnie pushed herself away from him, suddenly feeling disappointed that Kai was clearly still sober.
He only laughed and helped her place her body onto the wall for comfort. "Trust me, no one ever called me that!"
"Where have you been? I was looking for you earlier. I thought you bailed on me."
"No way, Bonster. I was the one telling you about this, remember? And have you ever seen me bail on free alcohol?" Kai leaned in closer now because the music was so loud and Bonnie wouldn't understand a word he is saying if he stayed where he was. From this position she could make out Kai's smell and it was amazing. A slight fragrance hit her nose, it smelled like the ocean. Bonnie closed her eyes for a second to take the smell in.
"Then how are you not drinking? How are you standing here and daring to talk to me sober?" She shoved him a little and felt that he laughed about this too.
"My little Bonnie, I can assure you I have been drinking. And the fact that I am not as drunk as you are, is because I have a higher tolerance for this. It's just the practice."
"Well that's no fun." With these words Bonnie pushed herself off the wall and grabbed Kai's hand. She headed in the direction of this kitchen and dragged Kai with her, pushing them through a crowd of people. Arriving in the kitchen Bonnie grabbed the first bottle she could find, without taking a look at it and took two shot glasses. She poured herself and Kai the drink and handed it to a doubtful looking Kai.
"Don't you remember? You wanted to celebrate our good assignment. So, to finally leaving this shit behind us! Cheers!" Bonnie clinked their glasses and waited for Kai to show some sign of happiness about her willingness to drink with him. He only took a quick look to the bottle and then his face lit up and they both drowned their shot.
The taste of whatever Bonnie had poured them spread across her tongue and the bitter and strong taste almost made her puke. She was coughing and trying to catch her breath while Kai braced himself on the table because he was laughing so hard.
"Egh, what the hell was that?" Bonnie could get out between gasps.
"That my friend was sambuca and you totally served it wrong."
Bonnie made a disgusted face. "Why the hell did you let me drink this? It is disgusting."
"To see this exact reaction. You should have seen your face. I wish I had a picture of it." He started to laugh again and Bonnie sat on a nearby chair glaring daggers at him.
"Oh, come on Bon. Let me have some fun here. It is not that I get to see this side of you every day."
Bonnie only pouted to this and Kai placed himself next to her. "See it like this, you now know to always check the cover of the bottle before you drink something." He poked her with his elbow and that was when Bonnie broke into a smile.
"See, that's way better. A smile suits you way better than a pout."
"Well, than it is your turn now to find us something to drink. But nothing that is in anyway close to this shit!" Bonnie pointed to the open bottle on the table.
Smiling Kai got up and searched for something to drink. Just a few moments later he returned with two shot glasses filled. One filled with something creamy and one filled with some clear liquor. Kai handed Bonnie the creamy one.
"What is this?" she asked, she had lost faith in the taste of alcohol.
"Just drink, I promise you'll like it." Kai said and after Bonnie looked at him with wide eyes he added. "Trust me!"
Bonnie nodded and said her cheers and raised the glass to her mouth, Kai doing the same with his glass. Bonnie closed her eyes because she was afraid of the taste of the liquor but was pleasantly surprised when a soft, hazelnut taste filled her mouth. She looked at Kai questioningly to ask what it was.
"Good, right? That was Bailey's." He got the bottle out from behind his back and handed it to her. She took a look and poured herself another one, making Kai laugh again.
"Okay, I didn't know that you recently became a Russian citizen, don't you want to slow down on the booze. I mean you are such a tiny person."
"Let that be my problem a'right." She winked at him and he shrugged like he wanted to say 'I tired. I did my duty' and poured them both another, which made Bonnie giggle like a preteen.
"Parker, there you are."
Kai and Bonnie turned their heads in the direction the voice came from and Bonnie recognized the ever annoying face of Brian Glen standing in the door frame and signaling Kai to come with him by a quickly tilting his head to left and back.
Bonnie realized Kai was going to leave her and she turned to face him with a perfect 4-year-olds pout ready on her face to make him feel at least a bit bad. Briana would have been proud of her, she thought.
"Okay, where are you friends?" he asked her turning back to look at her and shaking his head as he saw her expression.
"Who knows, who cares?" Bonnie sing-songed.
"I do! Because you are freaking drunk and I am not going to leave you here all on your own with a bunch of horny strangers who can't take their eyes off of you." Kai got up and looked around the room for a familiar face.
"Ooooh, one might think that you're actually concerned about me."
"Well, I am." Kai leaned down to pull Bonnie back up. "And you are keeping me from getting wasted."
"I am not. I just did shots with you, remember?" Bonnie stumbled after Kai.
"Not that kind of wasted."
It took Bonnie a few seconds to understand what he was talking about. The alcohol already did its toll on her. Kai was talking about getting stoned. That was what Glen had informed him about, that the good stuff was finally here. A thought flashed through Bonnie's mind.
"Why can't I come with you?"
"You want to do what?"
"I could try some pot! Never done it before. I think it is time to change that." Bonnie headed in the direction Brian had disappeared to before Kai caught her arm and pulled her back.
"Wow, wow, wow. Not so fast, Speedy Gonzalez."
"Don't be such a party-pooper, Kai."
"I won't let you do this. I am way to sober to get this arranged with myself."
"Since when are you such a buzzkill!"
"Believe me, I am the last person to tell you what you should consume or not but the fact that I know you, I mean the sober version, makes me think. I guess you wouldn't appreciate me letting you do this. So if you ever want to get high, be my guest. But we should talk this threw when we're both sober." Kai explained. "Ah, there is Perry."
Kai grabbed Perry's arm and handed her a pissed looking Bonnie and then he was lost in the crowd.
"Where have you been, Bonnie. Everyone is looking for you." Perry asked her when they headed to the living room.
"You can all quit worrying, I was never in any danger. Just did some shots with Kai that's all."
"Bonnie, there you are!" Elena came running to her and Bonnie started to get annoyed by everyone treating her like she didn't know what she was doing. She stumbled to the couch and let herself fall on it, not very svelte. Elena sat next to her babbling something, but she didn't listen. All of a sudden she felt so tiered and could barely keep her eyes open. After just a few moments she was asleep. The next thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a few people slow dancing in the middle of the dance floor.
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"Bonnie? Hello?" Elena waved her right hand in front of Bonnie's face but her friend didn't give any sign that she heard her.
Wonderful, Bonnie was lying in front of her, passed out and Caroline was somewhere dancing in the crowd enjoying herself. Now it was on her to convince her drunken friend, high on alcohol and fun, to get her passed-out friend home. Why oh why was she always the one staying sober enough to get things done.
She asked Perry to take care of Bonnie and calm her down should she wake up, but she doubted that would happen anytime soon. Opening a way through the crowd searching for Caroline she found her dancing on a table in the dining room.
"Care! Care!" Elena yelled in her direction.
"Eeeelena! Get your ass up here!" Caroline said as she saw her.
"No, you need to get down here, now. We need to get going."
All that Caroline did was lean down a bit to hear Elena better, but she stayed on top of the table.
"Bonnie is passed out in the living room. We should get her home."
"What? Why bother. Nothings going to happen to her here. She can take a nap while we have our fun." Caroline brought a bottle of wine to her lips.
Elena shook her head and left Caroline alone. It made no sense to argue with her in this state. She was in full partying mode and only the sunlight was going to get her down form it. Elena went back to to the living room. She nearly tripped over someone's bag that lay on the ground and tumbled into the crowd. Just as she thought she would end up on the floor some strong arms caught her.
"Easy there!" a deep male voice spoke to her when he helped her stand safely on her own two feet again.
"I'm sorry. I tripped." Elena explained but the guy didn't seem too convinced. His gray-blue eyes were full of mischief and skepticism. Elena felt like she needed to defend herself. "It is true I haven't had that much to drink."
"Even if you did, I'm the last person to judge you!" He raised his glass to her and took a sip.
Elena looked around. She was in the middle of the crowd, no one she knew in sight and from her place she could see a sleeping Bonnie was still on the couch. So she decided that if there was no leaving this party she might as well enjoy it. In a quick move she took the handsome strangers glass and emptied it in one gulp. The guy only looked at her with shock but also a hint of adulation.
"Please, why don't you take my drink? I don't mind getting myself a new one!" he teased.
"Don't be such a baby. I need to catch up with all these people and something tells me that you are way ahead of me."
"Not necessarily." The guy took his glass back from Elena and turned around to give a bullish-looking guy in a red football jacket a sign to get him some more. Elena used the opportunity to get a better look at the young man. He had short dark hair which was tousled, he was tall and kind of muscular but not like his friend, wore an all black jeans-t-shirt combo and boots and the bright eyes of his didn't quit fit the whole package. But Elena had to admit, he was a looker.
"I have never seen you on any of Chloe's other parties." The guy turned back to Elena.
"That's because I am not from around here. I'm visiting a friend." Elena gave a short explanation.
"Hem, well that can't be a coincidence. That friend is not under any circumstances a certain Bonnie Bennett?"
Elena was surprised. "Actually it is."
They guy laughed. "So I bet you're Elena. Or wait was Elena the blonde one? I can't remember, Bonnie always talks so much."
Suddenly the penny dropped and Elena could finally make something out of this situation.
"It's Elena and that makes you the infamous Kai Parker! I heard so much about you." Elena rested her elbow on a nearby shelve and watched Kai closely now, her interest awoken now that she knew who she was talking to.
A self-righteous grin appeared on his face as he said "So my reputation precedes me!"
"Well, like you said Bonnie likes to talk."
"Where is my favorite little witch, by the way? I kind of hit the wrong nerve with her earlier. Need to check if she is still disappointed that I didn't take her with me to Disneyland."
Elena frowned. "She fell asleep over at the couch." Elena pointed in the general direction of Bonnie and then continued. "What the hell did you do to piss her off?"
"Piss her off- that might be a little hard. I just denied her the privilege to get high with big boys but I figured her sober self wouldn't have appreciated that." Kai craned his neck to get a look at Bonnie's sleeping form and refocused his attention to Elena again.
"That is actually a very smart decision." Elena stated, impressed that he was still able to see so clearly.
"I am known for making smart decisions." Kai winked at her, knowing fully well that Elena had heard all the stories of his escapades over the years. Elena could see some character traits that Bonnie had mentioned before: he was self-confident, maybe a little too much for his own good, had a sharp tongue and was full of shenanigans. It was interesting because she couldn't picture Bonnie with him at all.
In that moment Elena saw Caroline walking close by and she grabbed her arm so Care could make an encounter with Kai as well. Caroline only looked confused as she got pulled to the side and when she realized it was Elena she said "What the hell, Elena?"
"Care, guess who I just ran into. This is Kai Parker!"
Caroline looked from Elena to Kai and her angry expression changed into a prying one. "No way! You are Kai Parker?"
"The one and only!" Kai took a little bow while saying this and that gesture hit the right nerve with drunken Caroline.
"Ha, I was hoping to get a peek of you this evening but I lost all hope when Bonnie passed out after only five minutes!" She looked around to find her friend passed out on the couch a few feet from them. "She should really learn how to party properly. Hey, since we can't teach her that I am going to assign this to you!" Caroline poked Kai's chest with her index finger and tried to look serious but Kai only smiled at her action because of her face and the "assignment" she just entitled him to.
"I'll do my very best." He let out.
"Goooood." Caroline stepped back contently and turned around to face Elena. "Hey, a few people are hitting the clubs, wanna join?"
"Care, I don't think this is a good idea." Elena started but was interrupted by Caroline's begging.
"Hell yeah it is. Aren't we here to have a little fun? Come on!"
"We can't just leave Bonnie!" Elena tried to convince Caroline and that made her pause for a second. Elena hoped that Caroline would see her point. There was no way she could take care of both her friends if those friends were in two different places but of course Caroline came up with another option.
"Faye and the others are still here, we find them tell them to look after B and then we'll be off in 5."
Elena was out of arguments. She knew Caroline too well, in this state she was never going to back down from her idea and Elena now had to weight on whether to leave Bonnie or Caroline.
"Don't worry, I'll have an eye on Bonnie. She'll get home safe." Elena heard a new voice join the conversation and saw Connor approach her. She turned to him and tried to put all her gratitude into her eyes.
Caroline got exited and clapped her hands. "Well, well than it's settled. Come one Elena." She took her hand and pulled her into the direction of the door but she suddenly stopped and turned back to Kai.
"Oh, by the way you look totally hot, if I wouldn't have some kind of boyfriend back home I would have totally hit on you! Bye, bye have fun boys." And with that Caroline resumed her pulling at Elena's arm. She could one look back one last time to give Connor an apologetic look. When she tried to make eye contact with him she failed and saw that he had a strange expression on his face and was watching Kai from the short distance they had been standing in. And then someone blocked Elena's view.
Author's note: Back from Finland and presenting you the next chapter. Had been halfway through this before my trip but had to finish this up today. Hope you like it. The whole partying thing isn't over yet so stay tuned. Until next time, LiLaAir.