9: The Accident

The last time Bonnie visited a hospital, she was fourteen, a freshman in high school, and Caroline had accidentally dropped her during cheerleading practice. Her broken ankle needed an x-ray and a cast, but the entire time she had Caroline, Elena, and Grams surrounding her.

Her sole hospital experience was not sad - instead, it reminds Bonnie that she has family. Loved ones.

But she knows Jeremy and Elena hate hospitals.

And when they pull into the hospital that Elena is supposedly at, and Enzo bites his lip and hesitates, Bonnie realizes someone else may hate them too.

"Do you mind if I park and we walk in together?" Enzo doesn't look at her, tapping fingers randomly against the steering wheel, his eyes glancing to the rearview mirror to make sure he's not blocking other cars. "I - I'd drop you, but - " he sighs, deeply, and Bonnie feels like it's easier to breathe around him, now, "I - I don't think I can go in alone."

Bonnie blinks. His shoulders are tense and his jaw ticks, so she smiles softly. "Of course. I think there's an open spot in that next lane."

When they briskly walk into the hospital, Bonnie notices that while he has his hands stuffed in his pockets and a hunch in his shoulders, he's purposefully walking with smaller strides. He wants to stay in line with her. And somehow, that makes Bonnie even more curious - she wants to know why he hates hospitals, why he won't talk about Maggie, why he was so ready in the face of an emergency -

They find Damon first.

"They won't let me see her!" He paces the hallway, nurses giving him strange looks. "The doctor said she was fine, but - "

Stefan and Caroline, hand in hand, appear around the corner. "Oh, finally! We found you - " Stefan leans on his knees, panting, and Caroline pats his back. "We ran. He's a little - well - "

"I don't care that my brother needs to get his ass to a gym," says Damon, glaring at them. "They won't let me see my girlfriend!"

"Aren't you her emergency contact?" says Enzo, leaning against the wall with a knee bent.

Damon glares. "I kept forgetting to turn the stupid form in." He swears and resumes pacing, but Stefan grabs him and holds him still. "Get off."

"No." Stefan leans around his brother. "Why is Enzo here?" he asks, directing the question to Bonnie.

Bonnie glances over at Enzo, who's jaw ticks again but keeps his gaze on the floor, before sighing. "We were with Matt and Sarah - long story - "

Caroline stands on her tiptoes on the other side of Damon. "Sarah and Matt are together?"

Just as Enzo groans and Bonnie grins, Matt and Sarah round the corner and stop at the group. "Okay, so maybe we didn't need to rush over here," says Sarah at Matt, with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. Matt raises his arms in surrender.

"Well isn't this just a party," says Enzo under his breath and Bonnie's pretty sure she's the only one who hears him. She bites back a grin. Something about how the nurses are more amused by them than worried gives her the impression that maybe Jeremy - and Damon - were overreacting. Before she can find a nurse to ask, however, the door opens and Damon escapes Stefan's grip.

"Dr. Parker! Please tell me she's okay - "

The doctor shakes her head, smiling wryly. "Elena is perfectly fine - cuts and bruises, and a broken arm - but fine." She holds up a hand when Damon tries to talk. "You can see her in a minute - not at all of you, maybe two or three at a time - but first, Elena asked that one of you contact her brother and tell him not to bother flying over here."

Matt, holding Sarah's hand, takes out his phone. "I got it. And if she's fine - Sarah and I - um - " Pink colors his cheeks.

"Please tell me we didn't interrupt you two having sex for this," says Caroline, face slightly contorted. When Matt continues blushing, looking down, and Sarah just nods with a tiny smirk, tugging at her boyfriend, Caroline shakes her head. "On Elena's behalf, I apologize."

Sarah laughs and the four - Sarah, Matt, Caroline, and Stefan - step to the side, waving and indicating that they'll call Elena in the morning. Bonnie turns back Dr. Parker, who's filling in Damon about Elena's injury.

Enzo leans against her shoulder. "I think we should stay for a bit. Give Damon some company." Frowning, she looks up at him - he stares back, not breaking eye contact, and the seriousness in his gaze makes her swallow. "Maybe you can talk to her."

First it's anger - that he'd even suggest that, not after that whole entire conversation - then it's shame, that he may actually be right - and then fear, bubbling and acidic, only dulled by Enzo's hand resting lightly on her lower back. "I - "

She doesn't know what she's going to say, but she's saved from figuring it out when Damon turns to them. "She's in room 30, come with me?" He doesn't wait for them to respond, quickly following Dr. Parker through hallways and past corners. Enzo glances at her with a raised eyebrow - and without thinking, Bonnie just follows.

When they reach the room, Enzo nudges her forward and past the door, his hand still resting firmly on her back. She finally shakes him off and he pockets his hands, but Bonnie still drags her feet.

Elena looks pale. When she sees Damon, she brightens immediately and kisses him, rolling her eyes when Damon starts ranting about being more careful when crossing the street and maybe she needs to wear reflexive lights like on bikes or something, or maybe just a bell -

"Damon, I'm fine. It's just a broken arm. Did someone tell Jeremy to keep his ass in Chicago?" Elena squeezes her boyfriend's hand and looks past him - and sees Bonnie.

Bonnie smiles back weakly. "Matt did. How are you feeling?" She hates how soft her voice sounds.

"Like I could use some coffee." Elena gives a pointed look to Damon who grins and kisses her forehead. Just as he moves to leave the room, Bonnie tries to follow him. Enzo gives her look as she drags him by the door too.

Enzo lowers his voice, moving in front of her to block her exit. "You should talk to her."

"Now?" Bonnie hisses, glancing sideways, but Elena seems preoccupied with her arm. She pushes them closer to the door, and Enzo now leans against it. "I don't think - "

"Do you want me to lock you two in here?"

There's a long pause, when Enzo stares at her - he's still serious, intense, studying her - but she realizes this time he's asking. Her heart flutters, or something.

"No," she says, pushing him aside. She puts her hand on the doorknob and he's so close - the warmth of his body burns. Closing her eyes, she lets out a sigh - he's still standing right next to her and somehow that makes her decision very easy. "Thank you," she says, looking at her hands and not at him. She gently tugs open the door when he steps back and nudges him out. "But I've got it. Keep Damon out for a bit?"

"Of course." He hesitates, but suddenly he's tucking a strand hair behind her cheek and she doesn't know how to breathe. And then, he's gone and the door is closed and she lets out a deep breath.

Bonnie turns and Elena looks only at her.

"So are you and Enzo dating yet?"

"Hilarious." Bonnie walks over to her bed, sitting next to her feet. She looks at Elena's arm. "So what happened?"

Elena may have shrugged. "Was just walking and didn't see the car. It was dark and they didn't realize it was still a red light - it was right by the light so it wasn't horrible, but I fell weird. Broke some bone in my wrist."

The silence is awkward and thick and Bonnie wishes she knew how to break it.

"I miss you," says Elena, finally, cradling her arm. Her voice is soft and Bonnie has to look at her face. Elena looks close to tears.

"I miss you too," says Bonnie honestly, because she's already had one sincere conversation tonight, what's one more.

Elena frowns, her voice cracking slightly. "Then why do you keep avoiding me?"

"Wait - what? I'm not avoiding you!" Bonnie shakes her head. "You're avoiding me."

Elena blinks and the pause before the silence breaks is definitely lighter - Bonnie feels her heart pick up -

Elena laughs and Bonnie has to join her - because maybe Enzo was right. Are you sure you're not avoiding her? Damn that bastard. She was never gonna live it down.

"I'm not avoiding you, Bonnie," says Elena with a small smile and with unbroken eye contact. "I just thought you didn't want to talk to me about it - so I just - stopped trying, I guess and - "

"And I thought you were completely done with me - and that you didn't want to make drama so you didn't say anything, so I just let it be - "

"I can't believe Caroline never said something," says Elena, now grinning and scooting closer to her. Bonnie crosses her legs on the bed, leaning forward.

"I thought you told her to let it go, honestly."

Elena blinks. "I thought you had said something to her." Shaking her head, she clicks her tongue. "Damn. All these years - I mean, you were busy in New York and stuff - but once you moved back home - "

Bonnie shrugs. "A lot had happened. People grow apart." Her hand rests on Elena's ankle and she looks down. "But I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about everything. About Jeremy. Damon."

Elena smiles and shakes her head. "I get it. I didn't at the time - we were best friends, you were supposed to me everything - but I think I was embarrassed. Here I was, constantly gushing about Damon to you - and you were in love with him. I felt awful. And then for a while, I was jealous too. What if he'd rather have you? I know that's silly," she adds when Bonnie opens her mouth to protest. "But that's how I felt. And I wanted to apologize, to talk to you again - but you were in New York and I was here and Caroline told me about all these adventures you were having - " She shrugs. "I didn't belong anymore."

"Elena." Bonnie keeps shaking her head, her back straighter and her head a little clearer, despite the exhaustion still hovering in her chest. "I wanted to call you so many times - to see how you were doing - but I was so scared you were still so mad."

Elena shakes her head. "We're so dumb." She reaches for her the same time Bonnie leans in and being careful of the broken arm, Bonnie hugs her tightly. "Let's not go four years without talking again, okay?"

"Deal."

Their laughter must have attracted attention because Damon sticks his head in. "Are my favorite girls finally back together again?"

"Shut up and give me that coffee." Elena stretches her uninjured arm and wiggles her fingers in Damon's direction and Damon grins as she takes the drink from him.

Bonnie glances back to the door - and Enzo walks in, looking only at her. Bonnie ignores the warmth in her stomach. When he raises an eyebrow at her, Bonnie squeezes Elena's leg again before smiling widely and standing. "You two going to be okay for the night?" A yawn she didn't realize had been building leaves her lips. "I'm exhausted."

"Of course!" Elena grins, waving her away. "We need to make up for lost time, but not tonight. Now get out of here - you too, Enzo."

Enzo shrugs, arms crossed over his chest. "Well I'm her ride so…"

Elena and Damon exchange a look, but before they can say anything Bonnie rolls her eyes. "We were out with Matt and Sarah."

"It's almost midnight on a Wednesday night." Damon glances between the two and Bonnie shakes her head and decides that since the couple have returned to annoying her, she'll just ignore them.

"Get some rest, Elena. Goodnight." And as she guides Enzo forcefully out the door, she may hear Elena giggling behind her.


They drive all the way back to her apartment before she says anything.

"Say it again."

Enzo frowns. "What?"

Sighing, Bonnie unbuckles her seatbelt and turns completely in the seat. "Apologize. Again."

"Seriously? You really want me to - "

"Just do it, Lorenzo."

With a long-suffering sigh and large grin, Enzo turns to her. "I'm sorry, Bonnie Bennett."

Bonnie makes sure he can see her smile and eyes when she responds. "Apology accepted." He raises an eyebrow but says nothing. They stare at each other. She wants to look away but - finally she just clears her throat and blinks away the residue of his gaze.

Enzo looks down with a small smile. "So, I guess this means we're friends now."

Bonnie can't stop the hard laugh that escapes her throat. "Really?" He grins at her.

"Yep. We don't hate each other anymore. So that makes us friends," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing on the planet, and maybe because he's said it - it definitely seems that way now.

So Bonnie smiles, a slight squeezing in her chest. "I think I can do friends."

"Good."

"Good."

Her hand lingers on the door handle, ready to head straight to bed - but Bonnie can't quite leave. There's something about this silence, as if it can't be over yet, as if there's something that needs to be spoken and Enzo still stares at her like he's trying to find the answer to a question he doesn't really understand and Bonnie shifts in her seat, wishing she knew what that particular twinkle in his eye meant -

"Matt and I were going to watch movies all day Saturday." Enzo hesitates, his tongue running along his bottom row of teeth, and Bonnie can't look away. "If you want - "

She doesn't let him finish, because maybe this is what's missing and if she doesn't leave the car soon - "I'd love to." And she would. Enzo grins and Bonnie finally brings herself to look away and leave the car.

"See you Saturday!" He grins at her before she shuts the car door.

Bonnie waves goodbye, but really it feels like a whole new beginning.


Notes: Sorry this chapter feels so rushed. I'm not very happy with it.

It was never my intention for the Elena part to play too big of a role in the present day of this fic, more of something for BE to overcome on their way to friends. A lot of the reactions to Elena rubbed me the wrong way, so while I always intended for Bonnie/Elena to have their conversation in this chapter, I may have closed that chapter more soundly than I originally thought I was going to.

Reminder that I have drabbles posted over on archive of our own (under the same username) that you should all go read! I wrote a missing 8x05 scene last week.