7: The Closet

They go to a bar close to his apartment. He's been there several times to work late at night, when Matt is on a shift and the space seems too quiet and too empty. There's something comforting about strangers, going about their own business; it's like he's connected to people, somehow.

But tonight, Wednesday night with small groups of undergraduates getting drunk enough that it's likely they'll miss their morning classes, Enzo doesn't arrive alone.

Bonnie picks a booth in the back and Enzo waits at the bar for their drinks. When he returns, with two bourbons, he slides a glass towards her. Her jacket sits next to her. He should sit across, give her space and time, since their conversation may get heated - but in a split second decision, he tosses her coat onto the other side of the booth and sits next to her.

Pausing, her grip on her glass tightens as she searches him. Enzo shrugs in answer to her unspoken question and takes a drink. The burning sensation distracts him long enough that when he collects himself and turns sideways, Bonnie stares back.

"So what happened?" he asks when she doesn't say anything.

But instead, she ignores him. "Why are you so mad at me?"

Enzo decides that he'll let her lead; Bonnie has turned to let her back rest against the wall and even though their knees are touching, she feels far away. "Because," he says, running his hand through his hair, "you keep showing up - everywhere - but you seem to think the worst of me." He sighs, takes another sip, and looks at the wall. "You keep pretending to my girlfriend, but you won't even give me the chance to be your friend." Clearly, his attempt at keeping the bitterness out of his voice have failed and Bonnie frowns when she looks down. "And I'm sorry, but I don't like that you don't think I can be a good guy."

Bonnie looks up again and Enzo catches her eye. "I don't think you can't - "

"Like - the closest thing," he continues, interrupting her, because words are piling up in his throat and he can't seem to get them out fast enough, "you told me you wanted to break up with him - but you didn't know how. I just - I came up with a how, okay?"

"I didn't want to do it like that." Her fingers are twitching in her lap. "And I told you - Damon told me about - "

"Then why are you so mad at me?" She doesn't answer right away and Enzo sighs, his fingers tapping along to the pop song playing. And then, words, pushing past his lips: "I'm sorry."

Bonnie doesn't respond, just stares. Enzo tries not to move, tries not to look away - this is a challenge, and while Bonnie always challenges him, always has, this one feels different. He wants to win.

And then, finally, Bonnie sighs. Her voice is hard. "Thank you for your apology." Her eyes don't move from his. "But it's because of you that I lost my best friend."

Enzo frowns. "What are you talking about? Jeremy still talks to you - "

"I'm talking about Elena."


Four and a half years ago.

"We're going to have problems if you continue to flirt with my mother."

Enzo looks up from his glass - cheap beer in a red cup; he thought he had graduated, damn it - to find Stefan standing at the doorway. Leaning with his back against the banister on the porch, Enzo smirks. "To be fair, I didn't know she was your mother at first."

Stefan rolls his eyes and joins him, leaning forward on the railing. He takes in a deep breath of fresh air. Enzo doesn't blame him; the Salvatore mansion is packed with people - mainly drunk teenagers - and while he can still hear the loud stereo pumping music throughout the rooms, it's much fainter up here.

"And now you do - and yet, you can't seem to stop flirting with her." There's an edge to his voice, so Enzo knows that while he is, in some part, joking, he's also serious.

Sighing, Enzo turns. "Nah, you're right. It's weird." He snorts, downing the rest of the disgusting liquid someone decided to call beer. "Good thing I'm moving out tomorrow."

Stefan glances over at him before staring below at the heads milling around the front yard. "You're welcome to stay, you know. Damon - "

"Already tried." Stefan looks over his shoulder but Enzo doesn't bother. Sure enough, a moment later Damon joins them, mirroring their position over the railing. "Something about needing his own apartment to concentrate."

Enzo shrugs. "Grad school is gonna kick my ass. Best to keep away bad influences. And distractions."

"I'm the best influence," says Damon, spinning to wrap his wrists around the railing. "And all distractions, really?" His grin makes Enzo roll his eyes and he hears Stefan snort beside him. "Like, man, I know you haven't had a girlfriend for the entire time I've known you - but no sex? At all? Please, you're no saint."

Enzo turns too, mainly to scan the crowd that has starting to fill their floor of the house. "I said nothing about cutting myself off from sex. Who do you take me for?" Damon laughs and Enzo narrows his eyes as a smirk tugs at his lips. "Speaking of - " He nods towards a blonde, dancing without abandon, cup in her hand and hair flying around. She dances with two others, one he recognizes and one he doesn't. "Who's the blonde with your girlfriend?"

"Off limits." Enzo raises an eyebrow at Stefan's immediate answer. Shifting to cross his arms and avoiding their eyes, Stefan looks at his feet. "Damon slept with her."

Damon turns to his side, his grin even wider. "Oh please, don't pretend you don't have a thing for Caroline Forbes, little brother."

"I don't have a thing for - "

"So you won't mind if I ask her to dance or something?" Enzo watches Stefan stiffen while he does his best not to grin. "Because in that case - " He moves forward, but Stefan steps in front of him.

"I'm going to go get a drink." Stefan runs back inside and heads straight for the three friends. Caroline immediately brightens, pulling him aside. Elena and the other friend glance at each other, both with the same expression as Enzo, who grins.

Damon can't stop laughing. "You, my friend, are quite devious."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Enzo leans back against the doorway. "I had no idea that Caroline and Stefan were best friends and totally into each other."

"Uh huh," says Damon, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, "because you definitely weren't with me and Elena when we ran into her this week."

Enzo just smirks.

Shaking his head, Damon glances somewhere behind Enzo, and he suspects that his eyes have fallen on his girlfriend. "Why'd you do that anyway?"

"Caroline wouldn't shut up about him," says Enzo, staring at the potted plants in the corner of the balcony. "And you had mentioned Stefan had a crush on his best friend." He shrugs, even though he feels slight embarrassment hover around his shoulders. "Besides - I know he's not my biggest fan, so…"

Damon looks at him funny, mouth thin. "You really don't have to find another place, man. Mi casa - "

"Su casa," says Enzo, smiling sadly. "I know." He turns so Damon can't see his face and watches the unfamiliar friend of Elena and Caroline hover alone by the wall. "Besides, this fellow Elena introduced me to - Matt - he seems pretty decent, so."

He can almost hear Damon rolling his eyes. "Donovan's decent alright. And so completely boring."

Enzo shoots him another smirk. "Good, I like my roommates boring. Already experienced the not-boring roommate, and let me tell you - totally not worth it."

Damon glares at him, but before he can send a retort his way, his face brightens. "Bon-Bon!"

The girl dancing earlier with Elena and Caroline stands in the doorway, her feet rolling on the step. "Hello boys."

Damon wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Bon-Bon, meet Enzo, my ex-roommate. Enzo, this is Bonnie Bennett, my best friend. Currently dating Jeremy Gilbert."

Enzo smiles and offers his hand which Bonnie shakes firmly. "Nice to meet you, Bonnie Bennett."

"Likewise." She's cute, Enzo decides, and when she turns to Damon with a raised eyebrow, he decides she's funny too. "And actually, I'm Caroline and Elena's best friend. You just come with the territory."

"I'm wounded!" Damon clenches his chest in fake agony and Enzo laughs as Bonnie rolls her eyes. "And to think I was going to miss you when you left us for New York!"

"You're going to college in New York?"

Bonnie smiles and nods. "Yeah I leave next weekend. Which is actually why - " she turns to shoot Damon a soft glare, " they decided to have this party tonight."

"So this is your party." Enzo grins. "No wonder Damon told me to stay away from all the girls."

"Didn't want you to get arrested, my friend. Might have changed my mind about that though." Damon peers around Bonnie and grins. "And while i love talking to my best buds, I have a girlfriend who I much rather dance with."

And he disappears in the crowd. Enzo meets Bonnie's eyes - and laughs when they both roll their eyes at the same time. "I thought living with him was annoying and he was in a long distance relationship - I can't imagine living with him when she lives across the street."

Bonnie grimaces as she joins Enzo in the middle of the balcony. "Believe me. I get it. I love Elena but - " she shakes her head. "They're… intense."

Enzo opens his mouth to respond - that's one way of putting it - when Bonnie suddenly closes the distance between them, hand on his bicep. "Oh that's so funny!" She laughs, loud and fake, her head thrown back and her hair tickling his skin. He frowns but when he follows her gaze - a dark haired guy pauses on his way towards them - it quickly turns into a smirk.

His arm wraps around her waist. "Your laugh is very pretty," he says and when she stiffens slightly he leans closer. "What's his name?" he whispers.

She may have shivered, but he's probably imagining it. "Kol. Really not interested." She stands a bit taller, bringing her face inches away from his. Her eyes are really green. They're pretty. His gaze falls to her lips - they look soft and kissable and she smells so good -

"Okay," she says quickly, backing away and Enzo feels cold. "He's gone." She smiles at him and Enzo wonders if that's how he looks when a girl he's not interested in tries to flirt with him. "Sorry about that."

Enzo shrugs, shaking away wayward thoughts. "It's no problem." And, truly, it's really not. He's a guy, and she's hot, so he's not going to complain if he gets to hold her for a couple of seconds. "Why can't you just tell him you're not interested? And that you have a boyfriend?"

"He doesn't think my boyfriend is intimidating enough, I guess. Or because he's just a dick."

Enzo snorts and Bonnie smiles at him. "What's the deal with your boyfriend, anyway? Jeremy Gilbert? Elena's brother?"

Bonnie nods as her arms cross over her chest "Yeah. He's in high school. So, yeah, he's young. But only by two years - and he's really nice and sweet - " He doesn't think she realizes she's slumping her shoulders, her defensive tone making Enzo raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"I meant - right now. Where is he?" He tries not to sound too amused, but really he can't help it.

Bonnie maybe blushes, but her tan skin hides pink very well. "Oh! Right. He's getting drinks, I think."

Enzo frowns thoughtfully, debating whether to pry - but, then, he shrugs. She's Damon's friend, so maybe she'll be his too. "You don't sound very thrilled about him."

"That's really none of your business." When Enzo raises his hands in surrender, Bonnie sighs. "I love him, okay?" She kicks the air as she looks down and Enzo almost wants to reach out to make her look at him. "I just - " she sighs again, looking back towards the house, to the crowd of people laughing and dancing and crying and drinking. She finally looks at his shoulder. "I had to grow up this summer. And I don't think Jeremy did."

"So dump him." It seems obvious to him, so when Bonnie shakes her head, he tilts his head in confusion.

"It's complicated, okay?"

"It's only as complicated as you make it."

He finds victory in that fact that she has no answer.

As Bonnie continues to bite her lip and maybe search for a mediocre argument against his full-proof solution, another guy sticks his head out. "There you are. Dance with me?"

The smile that Bonnie plasters on her face doesn't reach her eyes. Enzo wonders how the other guy doesn't notice. "Of course. Jeremy, this is Enzo, Damon's friend."

Jeremy gives him a once over before nodding. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jeremy." He turns back to Bonnie without moving from his spot in the doorway. "C'mon, they're gonna play your favorite."

This smile reaches her eyes and her skin, as if the corner of her lips are exploding suns. "Get Low?"

"What? No!" Jeremy shakes his head and laughs, reaching for her hand. "I meant that Backstreet Boys song you always liked - "

Bonnie gives him a smile over her shoulder - the smile from before, the only that stays on her lips and nowhere else - as walks away. Enzo returns it and hopes his looks more sincere.

The moment she disappears into the crowd, however, he crosses his arms over his chest.

This bothers him.

He's bothered by Bonnie stringing this guy along, when she clearly was no longer interested. He's bothered by the way Jeremy didn't seem to notice how different her smiles can be. He's bothered by how quickly she used him to throw off the Kol guy.

Bonnie Bennett bothers him.

There's a moment where he wonders - he's projecting, she said it was complicated, it's not her intention to worm her way into someone's life, break them down, and rebuild them in the way she wants, to own them, to have them wrapped around her finger -

"Still out here?"

Enzo blinks as Damon joins him again. "Yeah. No Elena?"

"Bathroom break."

Silence hovers, thick yet comfortable, as the bass rocks beneath Enzo's feet. He wants to go back in, dance and drink, but his stomach churns. His eyes fall on Jeremy and Bonnie - dancing, happy, but Bonnie backs up when Jeremy tries to pull her closer, twirling herself around instead.

Something in Enzo breaks.

"What's up with her and Jeremy?" he asks, nodding in their direction. He's proud his voice is level.

Damon frowns. "I think she wants to break up with him, actually." He smiles wryly. "But she won't. Because he's Elena's little brother. And that's just who Bonnie Bennett is."

Enzo hopes his disgust stays put in his chest. "That seems like a bad reason not to break up with someone."

"I agree. She won't listen to reason though. Too stubborn. The only way she'd do it is if she's forced too - I should lock her in a closet with him or something." Damon laughs and Enzo smiles, but he's too busy letting Damon's words sink in.

He's still thinking it over when Elena comes over, waving at Enzo and grabbing her boyfriend. He's even still thinking about it when Stefan, now drunk, yells at him to get inside and explain why Caroline knows who he is. And when he does re-enter the house, he heads straight for Jeremy and Bonnie.

"Sorry to interrupt." Jeremy looks surprised but Bonnie frowns, deeply. For a moment, Enzo thinks he should back out - but his stomach hurts and Jeremy's brown eyes remind him of her . So he continues. "Do you happen to know where the coats are kept?"

Bonnie's eyes narrow. "It's the middle of August. Why did you bring a coat? And don't you live here?"

"I'm moving out tomorrow," says Enzo, grinning. "And I wanted to take a stroll. You never know, maybe it'll start raining."

"Ask Damon or Stefan," says Bonnie, tugging on Jeremy's arm, trying to move away from him. "They're the hosts."

"Oh, but aren't we all family?" Enzo smirks and if it were possible, Bonnie would have melted him with her gaze. Somehow, that only makes him smirk even wider. "So - any ideas?"

Jeremy, glancing between the two, shrugs. "Probably the coat closet downstairs. Near the drinks."

"Care to show me?" Enzo shrugs and keeps his eyes on Jeremy, because if he looks over at her, he may start laughing - a laugh filled with the acid building in his stomach, but still a laugh. "I still get lost around here."

"No, we don't." She turns to Jeremy and her face softens just a bit. "C'mon, Jer, let's go - "

"Why are you being rude?" Jeremy frowns and shakes his head. "You don't have to come, but I want a new drink anyway so - "

Bonnie looks between them and Enzo can see gears working in her head. FInally, her gaze falls on him and while the glare still pierces him, she stands straighter. "Fine, I'll come."

Jeremy leads the way, so Enzo continues smirking at his back. Bonnie, arms crossed and sending glares his way every few seconds, walks beside him. If his stomach wasn't still trying to battle a hurricane, he may have found it amusing. Or cute.

They reach the closet just as Bonnie leans towards him and whispers, "I know you're up to something. Please don't."

And for that second - where Jeremy throws open the closet and Bonnie faces him and her eyes seem to flicker with emotion - Enzo wants to listen, to be nice.

But the monster in his chest roars and Enzo shoves them both into the closet and locks it with the spare key Damon gave him two months ago when he moved in.

When he leans against it, he can feel Bonnie banging against the door. He thinks he hears her shouts, several threats and pleas, but the music and the people drown her out.

Enzo smirks.

Mission complete.

He walks away whistling, the monster in his chest purring.


Notes: I know I said I'd post something else before this, but frankly, I've lost inspiration for other BE fics.

I was really excited to write and post this chapter, since it's been in my head since the beginning of the story. It's the only thing I really planned when I started writing, other than general tropes that I wanted to use. Therefore, I'm really looking forward to hearing reactions! Please let me know what you liked/didn't like - and any guesses for what happens next!

Next chapter we'll be back to Bonnie's POV, plus another Big Event, before we jump head first into what I like to call "Phase 2" of this fic.