5: The Ex (1)

When Bonnie finally gets out of bed, having pressed snooze on her alarm three times, she sends Caroline a quick sorry I'm late be ready in 20 text. She feels a little guilty that she slept in after making Stefan switch his brunch date, but damn, she's tried.

Bonnie isn't sure what time she got in, exactly, except that it was after midnight and it was late. And now, as she showers and dresses and hopes her makeup covers any dark circles, Bonnie wishes that she'd skip the party like she'd originally intended.

But then again, if she had, then she wouldn't have gotten to see Enzo drunk. And somehow, despite that lingering anger at him, she appreciates that Enzo has a soft side. It's nice.

There's a knock on her door as Bonnie pulls on her boots. "You can open it," she says to the door, and Caroline swings it open slowly.

Frowning, Caroline peaks into her room and scans it. "Hmm," she says, thoughtfully.

"What?" asks Bonnie, eyebrow raised.

"Nothing." Caroline shakes her head and leans against the doorway as Bonnie grabs her purse.

Bonnie pauses and crosses her arms. "What?"

"It's just that you came home late, and you woke up late…" Caroline shrugs, glancing out to the kitchen before giving Bonnie a look. "And Enzo's jacket is on the kitchen table."

"Huh." Bonnie side-steps Caroline to get out of her room and notices she's right - Enzo's jacket, neatly folded, lies on the kitchen table. "I totally forgot about that." Turning and adjusting her purse on her shoulder, Bonnie tilts her head at Caroline. "Wait - why - " Realization dawns on her all at once and Bonnie doesn't whether to laugh or roll her eyes, so she chooses the latter. "Caroline!"

Caroline shrugs, letting a grin sneak through. "What! Stefan said you guys were flirting - and you left together…" she grins wider when Bonnie shifts uncomfortably - the accusation of flirting seems so… wrong - and moves towards the living room and out of the hallway. "When I see his clothes in our apartment, it's the natural conclusion."

Bonnie sends a glare at Caroline as she picks up the jacket. "I did not sleep with Enzo last night."

"Obviously."

Hugging the jacket to her chest, Bonnie taps her foot. "Can we go? I'm hungry."

Caroline shakes her head, smiling, but raises an eyebrow as she points at Bonnie's stance, up and down. "We can go - but I hope you're looking at yourself right now."

Bonnie drops her hands, still carrying the jacket wrapped around one arm. "I was cold! He was being… nice." Caroline laughs, loudly, and Bonnie groans. "Believe me! I know! He was drunk."

Caroline swings the door open and waves her out. "Last time Enzo was drunk, he challenged me to a karaoke-off."

Bonnie ignores her and heads straight to Caroline's car.


Caroline agrees to drop her off at Enzo and Matt's apartment after brunch. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Enzo?" she asks, engine still running, when she pulls over across the street. "Stefan said - "

"There is nothing going on between me and Enzo," says Bonnie, clearly and with emphasis. "We just - keep running into each other. Getting into situations." She frowns for a moment. "It's just coincidence." Caroline looks like she's going to correct her - maybe say it's fate - so Bonnie shakes her head sharply. "Can we just drop it?"

Caroline smiles softly. "We can drop it." Unlocking the passenger side door, Caroline taps her fingers on the steering wheel. "Tell Matt I said hi."

"Will do."

After leaving Caroline and crossing the street, Bonnie quickly sends Enzo a text. Hey I totally forgot I had your jacket last night. Let me in?

The jacket still slung on her arm, Bonnie waits outside the doors of the apartment complex. There's another woman there, with curly brown hair and brown skin and in a long maxi skirt despite the cool weather, biting her lip and hovering by the intercom. She looks like she's in early thirties. Bonnie frowns but ignores her.

The woman, however, chooses not to ignore Bonnie. "You must be visiting Enzo," she says, her eyes stuck on the jacket. "That's his, right?"

Bonnie slowly nods, looking down - the jacket is anything but exceptional, just black leather with too many pockets and a soft brown lining. But somehow, this woman knows Enzo well-enough to recognize it. "You know him?"

The woman's smile is sad. "Something like that." She blinks, eyebrows furrowed, and Bonnie suspects she's putting incorrect pieces together. "You must be his girlfriend - " A relief seems to overtake her and she brightens. "That's - good. That's great!" She laughs, brightly, and Bonnie wants to correct her but something about her nervous laughter and energy makes Bonnie pause. "Then - maybe - " She shakes her head, still smiling, but moves to leave. "Just maybe don't tell him I was here?"

"Um, okay - "

The woman turns and Bonnie is so captivated by the fabric of her skirt twirling around her legs she misses the building doors open and Enzo stepping out.

"Maggie?"

Bonnie's attention snaps to him - he's in sweats and a hoodie over a thin t-shirt, just socks on his feet, but it's his face that freezes her. He looks pale and deathly - like he's a ghost.

Slowly, the woman - Maggie - turns back. The smile is still there, but it seems… fake. "Enzo," she says, sweetness dripping from her lips. "You look well."

"What are you doing here?" His shoulders are stiff and while his hands are still in his hoodie's pockets, Bonnie suspects they're balled up. Biting her lip, Bonnie takes a step towards him.

"I just wanted to talk." Maggie shakes her head. "But I see you've moved on."

Enzo opens his mouth, probably to correct her, but Bonnie steps right beside him, wrapping her free arm around his waist. He's still holding the door open so it's almost as if his arm is on her shoulder too. "Yes. He's moved on. You said you were leaving?" Her voice is probably harsher than necessary, but it's kind of cold, and seeing Enzo like this - Bonnie hopes her arm does not tense around him when Maggie frowns, almost skeptical.

Maggie gives one last pained smile. "You should call me, Enzo," she says, and there's an airy element in her voice now, like she's trying to be seductive and Bonnie feels Enzo tense beside her. With a glance upwards at his face, Bonnie frowns when only his jaw ticks.

But then Maggie leaves and Bonnie relaxes. Enzo doesn't move, so she pushes him inside the building. "C'mon, I need to say hi to Matt." Enzo doesn't say anything, but he doesn't protest much as she guides him up the stairs and to his apartment door.

Only once they're inside and Enzo heads straight back for his room does she say anything.

"So, Maggie, huh?" says Bonnie, following him. She dumps his jacket on his bed. "Seems kind of old for you."

"It's complicated. We never dated. Not really." Enzo paces the floor of his room, as if she's not there, running his hand through his hair.

Bonnie crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow, feeling a mix between amused, confused, and concerned. "So who is she?" She doesn't know why she's so curious - but it may have something to do with watching Enzo unravel before her.

He's trying to remain calm and poised, but it's like a part of him just doesn't care anymore. He stops pacing, but his foot taps crazily against the floor. "Foster sister. Kind of. She wasn't really around when I was at the James' - in college." He sighs, loudly, and sinks into his desk chair. She stays standing. "She was my first."

Bonnie wonders if her eyebrows are still attached to her face. "Wait - you lost your virginity - to her?" Her arms fall to her sides and she sinks onto the edge of his bed. Enzo looks - like a mess. "Damn. She must've done a number on you."

Enzo glares at her. "It's complicated."

Bonnie wants to ask him to uncomplicate it - but she's already learned too much about him - and if she learns more, well… "Fine. Sorry I asked." She stands, ready to just find Matt and leave.

"Wait." Enzo stands too and suddenly he's actually very close to her. For a moment, she flashes back to last night - his arms around her waist and the music loud in her ears and his breath so hot against her face... "I'm sorry." He sighs, loudly, and steps closer. His hand runs through his hair again and the strands fall into disarray. There's beauty in that chaos, especially when he leans forward and his hair turns brown in the direct sunlight. Bonnie forgets how to breathe. "Thank you for not correcting her about the girlfriend thing."

Bonnie swallows and hopefully the face she makes looks like a smile. "Just returning the favor," she says, glancing down at his chest. His warmth radiates from him all the way over - or maybe it's the sun hitting her from his window too. Licking her lips, she forces herself to keep eye contact. "Couldn't have her trying to steal my man." She's joking, of course, but for some really odd reason those last two words resonate on her lips.

Enzo doesn't smile. But his eyes - "Your eyes are very green."

"What?" Bonnie blinks, as if a spell has been broken, and shakes her head. She steps back. "I'm not actually jealous - "

"No, I mean, your eyes are green. Literally." Enzo chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging, and Bonnie kind of wants to hit him. "They're… very pretty."

Bonnie feels a headache rising. Maybe she is hungover. "Are you - was that a compliment?" She wants to ask if he's hitting on her, but she's not sure she wants to hear the answer to that.

Enzo smirks and Bonnie glad that whatever earlier was has passed, because she's back to being annoyed with him - especially when he wears that smirk. "Apparently sober me can be nice too."

Rolling her eyes, she steps into the doorway. "Well, drunk you forgot to remind me to give him his jacket back. So there you go."

"Thank you for not stealing it."

"Believe me, I thought about it," she says. Glancing backwards as she heads to Matt's room, Bonnie is surprised to find him following her. She spins around and stops; Enzo walks into her, stepping on her toes, but balances himself on her shoulders. "Ow! What the hell?"

"You stopped!"

"You were following me! It was weird!" She shrugs off his hands from his shoulder. His touch makes her - she shakes her head.

"I was heading to the kitchen," he says, annoyed, pointing diagonally behind her. "And now you're just in the way."

Instead of responding, because she's pretty sure her response would be something to the effect of screw you, Bonnie turns and move to her right to knock on Matt's door. Enzo stomps past - leaving her back cold all of a sudden - but Matt's door swings open before she can even touch it.

"You two need quieter foreplay," mumbles Matt, clearly just waking up. He grabs Bonnie's outstretched fist, lowers it, and kisses her head, before heading around the corner to the bathroom.

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie leans against the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen. "Didn't you have a date last night?"

Matt sticks his head out of the bathroom for a second. "Yes. And it was amazing. Which is why I was sleeping in." His eyes widen, pointedly, and Bonnie grins at him before he slams the door.

Bonnie walks over and leans on the counter of the kitchen, watching Enzo rummage through the cabinets. "Your roommate got laid. You got a visit from an ex who clearly wanted to get in your pants. Stefan basically lives with us. Damon and Elena actually live together. Why am I the only one without a love life?"

Enzo glances at her after putting a piece of bread in the toaster. "If you want my opinion - "

"I really don't."

" - it's probably because you keep saying no." Bonnie frowns and opens her mouth but Enzo keeps talking. "You were asked out at least three times yesterday. Said yes zero times." A smirk spreads over his lips as the toaster pops. "I guess you are the Empress after all," he says, carefully placing his toast on a plate.

"Don't be ridiculous. That would mean we - "

"Are you two still at it?" Matt walks out of the bathroom, clearly much more awake, and snatches one of the two slices on bread on Enzo's plate. "And I thought you two getting together would make my life easier." He chews on the toast, grinning, and Enzo glares at him. But Bonnie is too curious.

"Are you gonna tell us who this mysterious date is?" Bonnie leans over the counter even further and Enzo glances at her with a frown. "You seem to really like her…"

Matt smiles, relaxing, and Bonnie can tell he's in deep. "She's amazing. You'd love her. In fact - " He glances quickly at Enzo, but keeps his eyes focused on Bonnie. "Would you like to have dinner with us on Wednesday?"

Bonnie brightens. "Absolutely!"

Enzo hands Matt a plate, frowning. "What, you don't want to introduce her to your roommate?"

"No, I was wanted to make sure Bonnie was coming to be our buffer, first," says Matt, not looking at Enzo, using the plate as a distraction.

Enzo pauses. "Why would you need a buffer?"

Bonnie bites her lip to stop the laughter as Matt purposefully turns his back on Enzo, facing the sink. The water is loud, but Bonnie just barely catches Matt's words over the noise. "Because I'm dating Sarah."

Enzo stares. "Please repeat that. Because I think I just heard you say you're dating my sister."

"Foster sister," says Matt turning around - but he quickly turns back to the sink at Enzo's eyebrow raise. "But yeah. Sarah. I ran into her at Tyler's welcome back party - and, well - "

Bonnie can't help but laugh when Enzo starts massaging his temples. He glares at her and Bonnie grins back, even wider. "My sister is dating my roommate." He lets out a deep breath. "You're lucky I'm actually free on Wednesday."

Matt looks like that fact is seemingly unlucky but he smiles anyway. "Great. It'll be like a double date."

Enzo groans and Bonnie just rolls her eyes. "It'll be nothing like a double date because Enzo and I are definitely not dating." She glances at time on the stove before standing straight. "But, for you, Matt, I will go and meet Sarah." She gives him a quick hug. "Oh, and Caroline says hi."

"You've been here this long and only now bring that up," says Enzo, following her to the door and shaking his head. He pauses and frowns before a small smile sneaks onto his lips. "Sorry about before - with - " He tilts his head and Bonnie takes pity on him.

"Maggie?" She grabs her purse. "It's okay. Like I said. I figured it was time you got to use me."

Enzo clicks his jaw and swings the door open for her, keeping it open with one arm as he leans against it. He looks like he wants to say something, something probably important - but then he just grins, shaking his head. "You, Bonnie Bennett, are something else." She may have been holding her breath, but instead she lets out an uneasy laugh as her stomach clenches.

Bonnie tilts her head, slips under his arm - ignoring how close he is - and grins in the doorway. "Grams always said I was a witch." She wiggles her fingers at him and Enzo laughs, from his chest and out, and Bonnie admires the way he brightens. Biting her lip, she steps out his apartment. "See you on Wednesday, Enzo."

"See you."

Enzo steps back and the door clicks shut. Bonnie bites her lip, staring at it for a moment, as she realizes for once, she didn't leave his sober company wanting to strangle him.


Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and comments! Please keep them coming - I love hearing your thoughts. As a teaser... the next couple of chapter titles:

Chapter 6: The Double Date

Chapter 7: The Closet

Chapter 8: The Ex (2)