Chapter Eighteen: Saturday Feels
If Caroline stopped for yet another super cute dress that Bonnie needed to try on she was going to punch someone. After they had finally gotten over their collective hangover the friends decided that they could do some shopping. Or Caroline decided that they could do it, since they were in a different town and the fashion here would probably be so much different from the things they could buy in Virginia.
So the three girls got into the car and went to the nearest mall Bonnie could think off. She didn't feel too well today so she wasn't really looking forward to spending all her Saturday afternoon in a people-packed building looking over the newest fashion.
They had been at the mall for the better half of the afternoon and Bonnie had tried on so many clothes. None of which she paid much attention to because today was just not her day. She couldn't focus on anything and the air in the mall was becoming more stifling by the second.
"What about this one, Bonnie?" Caroline's voice brought Bonnie back to reality. She had no idea how her friends functioned normally right now but it was probably because of the practice the small town life offered them.
"Care, why don't you give Bonnie some time out? I think she can need a little fresh air." Elena said in Bonnie's behalf and earned a grateful smile for that.
"Oh come on, we haven't even found an outfit for Elena yet. I can't let her get home to Mystic Falls without a super nice new outfit to impress the new guy in school." Caroline whined.
"Alight, but let's just find something for Elena and then get out of here. Find a nice place to eat something and have a movie night, what do you say?" Bonnie offered.
"Sounds like a deal to me?" Elena said and after a few seconds of frowning Caroline also nodded in agreement.
It took them another hour to find an outfit both Elena and Caroline considered appropriate to make an impression on the soon to be first date of Elena with the mysterious Stefan. Caroline wouldn't let Elena buy just anything, it had to be the perfect fit. Bonnie realized that Elena was trying to speed up the process for Bonnie's sake but of course you could always count on Caroline to plan every single detail.
When they finally bought a nice little dress Elena could combine with a fancy cardigan and also wear it in the summer, Bonnie almost ran out of the mall to get some fresh air into her lungs.
With the first step outside she took in as much cool February air as possible. Elena and Caroline followed her a few steps behind.
"Someone isn't doing too well today." Caroline teased and earned a glare from Bonnie for that. Caroline knew exactly why Bonnie didn't feel like her best self today and that was only partially because of the alcohol she had drunk yesterday. Caroline had kept everything to herself like she promised and she knew she secretly acted like this so Elena wouldn't get suspicious but she wished her friend would be a little less hard on her.
"Alright, are you hungry because I am." Elena stepped between her two best friends and redirected the conversation.
"Me too." Caroline declared. "What do you guys wanna eat?"
"Something greasy!" Bonnie said without thinking about it. She longed for some meat.
Caroline scrunched her nose. "I thought about something healthier actually."
"I guess we can manage that also. There is this cool burger place not far from here. Don't judge, Care, they are actually more famous for the veggie stuff they offer and the salads are really good too."
"Sounds good to me." Elena said and after Caroline gave her okay the three made their way to the car and put all the shopping bags into it. Starting the engine and driving a few blogs they arrived at the restaurant in less than five minutes.
Entering the restaurant a waiter greeted them friendly and showed them the way to a round empty table in the back of the restaurant. After only another minute he handed them the menu and the three girls looked through it to choose what to get.
"I don't even have to look any further; just found the perfect meal for me." Bonnie stated and closes the menu.
"What are you getting?" Elena asked and Bonnie told her about the supposedly best burger in town that she was going to try.
"Hm, I can't decide. These salads sound so good and the soups…" Caroline said and both Elena and Bonnie needed to giggle about the fact that Bonnie had chosen a big meal and Caroline was only talking about a small snack.
After a few minutes Elena had decided to try a steak with French fries and Caroline decided to try both the homemade carrot soup and the egg salad. The waiter came to take their order and left to give it to the kitchen.
"So, how was your party night? Anything interesting to share? I mean, if you can still remember!" Bonnie asked with a blink in Caroline's direction.
"Haha, talking about the pot calling the kettle back!" Caroline said fake angry and giggled herself. "I thought it was kind of fun. When I finally convinced Elena to loosen up a bit we ran into this guy, not so pretty but very nice to us by buying us a lot of drinks, right Elena?"
"Well, the way you flirted with the guy he probably thought you would be nice to him later that night too." Elena said.
"Oh, and I could have punched Faye. She was so drunk that she always said that what an idiot the guy was and she said it so loud that I was worried that he might hear it and stop buying us drinks." Caroline reported.
"Did Faye get home okay?" Bonnie wanted to know, suddenly remembering her friend joining the two Mystic Falls girls in the club.
"Yeah, we dropped her off on our way to your place." Elena calmed her.
"But she isn't feeling as good. She texted me a picture this morning." Caroline got out her phone and searched for the photo. When she found it she turned her phone around for Bonnie and Elena to see. Both girls laughed out loud at the picture of Faye lying in bed and looking like a piece of shit.
"Oh, my god." Elena said.
"Poor girl." Bonnie stated with a smile on her face.
The waiter came back with their drinks. "Thank god that we have a better metabolism. Cheers to that!" Caroline raised her glass of coke and the other two girls did the same.
After Bonnie had addressed the topic of their party night Caroline didn't stop talking about it. Elena occasionally jumped in to correct her or defend herself but Caroline reported about every little thing that happened last night and Bonnie wondered how she could still remember so many things if she was drunk like hell. Her friend was a real miracle when it came to drinking.
In the middle of one of Caroline's sentences Bonnie jumped because her phone that was in her jeans pocked buzzed. Someone was calling her and she shortly worried that it might be Kai wanting to talk. But when she got out her phone and checked the callers ID her mine froze.
In bold letters the name Jeremy flashed across her screen. Searching for reassurance she quickly gave Caroline a look and got up.
"Excuse me for a second." Bonnie said to her friends turned around and breathed in heavily before she picked up.
"Hey Jer!" Bonnie said with what she hoped was the most innocent voice ever.
"Hey Bonnie. How are you doing?" Jeremy's voice sounded nonchalant. So he hadn't picked up on anything, good.
"I'm good. A little shaky but that is because of the alcohol that I drank last night. How are you?"
"Good." There was a brief pause and Bonnie wondered what to say so this wouldn't turn out awkward but then he continued. "You got drunk last night?" His voice was questioning. He didn't know her like this, no one actually did because this wasn't usually her normal behavior.
"Yeah, Caroline, Elena and I went to this local party that is a huge thing around here. I first didn't want to go but you know Elena and Caroline, I just wanted them to have fun while they are here. And then I got a little carried away."
Bonnie heard Jeremy chuckle on the other end and had to hide a smile herself. Then the bad conscience came back and she felt so horrible about what she did last night.
"My sister and Caroline were never a good influence on you." Jer stated.
"That is not true. I am actually safer with them around then when I am alone with my friends from Portland." Bonnie snickered but the statement made Jeremy fall silent once more.
"What are you doing?" He said after what felt like a million years.
"We're at a restaurant. Caroline dragged us to the mall earlier and now we are all hungry."
"Oh, am I interrupting anything?"
"Oh, no. The food it not here yet, we're good." Bonnie reassured him. She had never heard Jeremy being so insecure about himself. Did he know something? But who would have told him? Caroline for sure didn't. Elena didn't know about the whole thing and Kai didn't even know Jeremy. Plus he would have no reason to contact him. So Bonnie pushed her fear away.
"Listen, I was thinking…" Jeremy started but stammered the rest of the sentence. "I thought… I mean you can always say no… but I though… because we haven't seen each other in a while… because of all the school stuff… I thought… that maybe… I mean… your gram's birthday is next month are you going to be there?"
"I planned on coming, yeah."
"Good, good. Then maybe you can save a few hours of you trip for me? So that we can catch up?"
"Of course, I was planning on that anyways." Bonnie had been planning on spending some time with Jeremy but for a different reason. She had decided to have the talk in person so she planned on visiting and talking to him when the weekend of her grams birthday came around in March.
"And then… I thought… I could… come visit you in Portland in April."
Bonnie blinked. Did Jeremy just say he wanted to visit her in Portland? He had never even showed any interest in coming to visit. And now he was saying that he was planning a trip to Portland in April to make sure they could see each other more regularly? What was happening to her boyfriend?
"Yes, that I a great idea." Bonnie said after a second of silence she didn't realize was spreading.
Jeremy noticed her hesitation instantly. "Really? You don't sound too happy about it."
"No, I am! Trust me I am. I was just a little surprised that's all."
"Oh, okay. So I am on this website where you can book flights…any date in particular you want me to come or you are busy?" Jeremy asked and Bonnie could hear him press some buttons on his keyboard.
"Let me think… I guess I don't have any plans for April yet. But there is always the possibility to get a last minute assignment or pop quiz to do so I can't promise you that I won't have anything to do when you come here." Bonnie realized her mood had started to get better by the second. The prospect of having Jeremy here, even if it was only in two month, made her cheerful and almost forget about all the things he had done or not done to make her worried and pissed off.
"How does the 15th sound to you? I could catch an early flight there and stay until late on Sunday."
"Perfect, sounds great." Bonnie smiled in her phone.
After a moment of silence Jeremy proudly reported that it was all set and done. That he was going to fly to Portland on the 15th April and that he couldn't wait for Bonnie to come to Mystic Falls in a few short weeks.
"I am really looking forward to seeing you, Bonnie."
"Yeah, me too."
"I gotta run. I'll call you later, okay? Or is it bad because Caroline and Elena are there?"
"I think I can manage a few minutes to talk to my boyfriend, they won't mind."
"Alright. Oh, and tell Elena that some guy came to our house and wanted to talk to her. His name was Stefan. He said she would know who he was."
"I'll tell her."
"Alright, see ya."
"Bye, Jer."
Bonnie hung up and pressed the phone to her heart. She breathed in and out and felt the happiness flood through her veins. So maybe all her worries were for nothing. Maybe Jeremy was really just busy with school stuff and wanted this relationship to work just like she did.
Bonnie put the phone back in her pocket and turned around to get back to her table. With a little more pep in her step she arrived at the table and had to fight back a smile on her face. Of course the two people who knew her the best in this entire planet caught up with the change in Bonnie immediately.
"What's cheering you up all of a sudden? " asked Caroline.
"I just got a call from Jer. He's going to come visit me in April."
"Really?" Caroline said skeptically.
"Wow, that's cool, isn't it?" Elena cheered. She sounded a little too happy for Bonnie's ears but because she as well was happy about it she didn't give it another thought.
"Yes, he said he wanted to see me again and because I am going to Mystic Falls next month he thought he could come visit me in here in April." Bonnie explained the conversation to her friends and Elena seemed like it was her and not Bonnie who would get a special visit from her boyfriend. "Oh, by the way, that Stefan guy came to your house yesterday to talk to you!" Bonnie added in Elena's direction and Elena's smile widened even more.
"And you think that Jeremy is really going to come here?" Caroline said still sticking to the old topic. Bonnie looked to her and saw the serious look she wore and knew exactly what her friend was thinking or worrying for that matter.
Bonnie smiled a reassuring smile. "He already booked the flight. He is going to be here on April 15th."
Caroline smiled back at her and nodded. Turning back to Elena Bonnie saw that she was watching the two of them closely.
"Did I miss anything?" she asked. "Because it seems like the two of you are secretly talking about something that I don't get."
She was talking about the fact that Caroline knew about last night and that Bonnie had confided in her that she wasn't happy with the situation with Jeremy anymore and that was why Caroline was concerned about the whole thing. And Caroline wasn't the greatest fan of Elena's little brothers behavior towards Bonnie. That was the secret conversation Bonnie and Caroline had, but Bonnie couldn't tell Elena all of it. But she figured that it wouldn't hurt if she told Elena about her thoughts about Jeremy.
"Well, I told Caroline about the fact that I think Jeremy isn't as invested in our relationship as he should be for it to work. He kind of ignored me the past few weeks and even if we talked it was always short and like he wanted to get it over with as fast as possible." Bonnie admitted to Elena.
She only looked between Bonnie and Caroline and said nothing at first. "Why haven't you told me that, Bonnie?" she finally asked.
"I don't know. Maybe because he is your brother."
"That doesn't change anything. I mean, I could have talked to him, yell at him. I would have been as mad as you."
"Well that's the point, isn't it? You wouldn't. You would be mad at your little brother being a dick to your friend but when it was all over he was still going to be your brother and you would still love him. It is not the same. Plus, I don't want you to be my voice. I can yell at him myself. What would he think if every time we had a problem I would send my friend to fight my fight for me. This isn't supposed to offend you, Elena but… you being my boyfriend's sister isn't always the most ideal situation." Bonnie was surprised by her honesty. She loved Elena dearly but it had to be said. She just hoped that Elena would understand and not be mad at her for keeping things from her.
Luckily, Elena smiled at her and Bonnie felt the love her friend had for her radiate from her worm and understanding eyes. "I get it Bonnie. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to know what is going on in your life. Even if it is my brother that is bothering you, I want to know this. I want to be part of your life and I want you to know that you can tell me anything."
"I know that, Elena. And I am sorry for not sharing. But now I can tell you that I will talk to Jeremy about that matter. When I come to Mystic Falls I will confront him about it. I need to do that and I need to do it in person."
Elena nodded understandingly and Bonnie weirdly hugged her over the table, which was harder than she expected.
"Good, now that my two best friends are back to being on the same page let me just appreciate the waiter coming our way with what I suppose is our food."
They laughed at Caroline's talent to lighten the mood and when the waiter actually brought their meals the three friends chatted about this and that and ate all the food they ordered.
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"How about the notebook?" Caroline suggested.
"Caroline, how many times have you seen this movie?" Elena giggled.
"That is so not the point." Caroline glared at her friend and Bonnie had to laugh about the scene. Elena and Caroline had had this conversation at least 100 times before and it never got any easier.
"I agree with Elena, we should watch something that everyone of us hasn't seen over a million times already, Care." Bonnie said and earned a frown form Caroline.
"Alright, than I don't have any other suggestions. It's your turn, guys."
Elena and Bonnie looked at each other and started to think about a movie they could see for movie night.
"I have actually never seen Pride and Prejudice." Bonnie admitted.
"Me neither." Elena agreed and they turned to Caroline for her final judgment.
"Fine, let's watch Pride and Prejudice. But I am not making the popcorn." Caroline stated.
"Alright, I am going to make the popcorn. You guy figure out how to get the movie started while I am at it." Bonnie made her way down to the kitchen.
She opened a cupboard and got out some of the popcorn she bought a few days ago with her mom. She was glad that a few of them were still left because her mother had the tendency of eating a lot of popcorn. But right now she was lucky.
Bonnie opened the microwave and put the popcorn in it. While she waited she looked at her phone.
She just received a text from Jeremy.
J: What are you guys doing?
B: Preparing for movie night.
J: Okay, then I won't interrupt. Have fun I'll call you tomorrow.
B: Alright, have a good night Jer.
Bonnie frowned a little when she read Jeremy's texts. She was looking forward to talk to him but she could understand that he wasn't willing to interrupt her girl time. And tomorrow would come faster that she could think so she had something to look forward to and not only look at it as the day Elena and Caroline would leave again.
When she was about to close the messenger her eyes got stuck on another name on her chat list. She hadn't texted with Kai the entire day, which was not necessarily weird but given what happened it let a shadow fall over their new formed friendship.
Bonnie breathed in sharply and took all of her courage and opened the chat. Then she stared at the screen for another minute not writing anything. What would she even say? She couldn't have the conversation about yesterday via WhatsApp. She needed to talk to him in person about it. She needed to see his reactions, even though she knew he was a phenomenal actor, she needed to read his thoughts in his face. And she had thought that she had gotten pretty good at that but with a topic like this she could never be sure.
When the microwave binged Bonnie jumped, so lost in her thoughts. She got the popcorn out of the microwave and put it in a bowl. Before she left the kitchen she turned back to her phone.
Bravely she typed in the word 'Hi ' and pressed send.
Now it was his turn to write back. Bonnie wasn't sure what she was trying to achieve with this chat but she still felt like it needed to happen.
She took the bowl and made her way back to the girls. Right before she wanted to enter the room her phone buzzed and she knew who it was. She stopped in front of her closed door and got out her phone.
She read the simple word that had popped up on her screen. 'Hey'.
Author's note: Sorry, but I am not too happy about this chapter but it had to be done. I couldn't include anything else to make it more interesting because it would have taken too much space. So, don't be too mad at me. Thought it was also important to give Bonnie a little Mystic Falls people time. So, thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next time, LiLaAir.