Three's a Crowd: A Bamonenzo Story
Kayer713
Chapter Two
Their trip into town was just what Bonnie had needed. Time away with a hot guy who only had eyes for her. Despite his bad-boy demeanor she was learning that Enzo was really a sweetheart inside. He was from Manchester, Bonnie learned. No wife or children. His brother had left for the states but he hadn't kept in touch. He'd been dying of consumption when Lily Salvatore—Damon's mom—had taken pity on him and made him a vampire. Now here he was forever young and forever strong. He'd never be afflicted again.
As they walked through town, he took her hand. It was the simple things that pleased Bonnie. Enzo seemed to know this. There was something special in the way he kept her close to him, subtle but affectionate. The way he looked at her when she spoke. Bonnie was aware that he liked her as much as she liked him. Possibly more.
"I'm having a great time," she told him, meaning it.
Enzo offered a lazy smile.
"I figured you would. It's what you needed, to get out for once and relax. No offense but the friends you keep tend to lead you into some catastrophic situations."
At that Bonnie couldn't help but to laugh. Because it was true. Ever since Elena had fallen in love with a vampire—eventually two vampires their lives had been one near death experience after another.
"You're one to talk," she shot back, "Seeing as your best friend is responsible for the vast majority of those situations."
She was speaking about Damon of course. He was the only friend Enzo really had in Mystic Falls. She expected him to respond with a crack of his own but when he didn't she paused.
"Hey, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers," she apologized.
Enzo shook it off.
"No, no you didn't offend me," he assured her.
"I think everyone can agree that Damon can be a dick."
Bonnie found his comment amusing largely because it was true. Anyone who got close enough to Damon knew as much. Before she could voice her agreement she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She found it in her back pocket and glanced at the screen.
"Speak of the devil," she chuckled as she answered Damon's call.
"This better be good," she greeted.
"You blew me off," was the accusation on the other end.
Bonnie paused, confused.
"What?"
"This morning. We were supposed to be talking about important stuff but you blew me off."
"Damon what are you talking about? I took a shower and when I got out you were gone," she reminded him.
"If anybody blew anybody off it was you."
Enzo stepped into her line of vision and gestured toward the phone.
"What's he on about now?"
Bonnie covered the receiver.
"He's mad about this morning. Apparently my taking a shower was the equivalent of a blow off."
Damon's voice rose on the line.
"Hey who is that? Is that Enzo? What's he doing there?"
Bonnie sighed, but before she could speak Enzo answered.
"Minding my own business what's it to you?"
Vampire hearing. He hadn't missed a word.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Damon questioned, clearly ignoring Enzo.
She rolled her eyes. What was with him today?
"If you must know I took a much needed break," she explained.
"To be with him?" Damon didn't let up. "What he's got you playing hooky now?"
Enzo snapped his teeth.
"What do you want Damon?" Bonnie was becoming annoyed.
Her first date in over a year and Damon was threatening to ruin it.
"Well as your best friend I want what's best for you. Unlike some people who would encourage you to skip classes—"
Was he kidding?
"Says the guy who just called me in the middle of class time," she noted.
"But you're not in class—"
"I would've been—"
"Yea if it wasn't for Enzo!"
He was being impossible. Who had the time to figure out why?
"I'm hanging up now," Bonnie threatened.
"Okay wait. I need your help," Damon blurted.
Now he was cutting to the chase.
"With what?"
"A locator spell."
Enzo scoffed.
"Bollocks," he remarked.
"It's an emergency," Damon went on. "Life or death."
That shifted Bonnie's mood. If lives were in danger then she didn't have the right to be annoyed with Damon. She had to move.
"Okay," she agreed, "I'm on my way."
She started back toward Enzo's car.
"Can you give me the details along the way?"
"No time," Damon replied, "I have to go—to go get Stefan."
Bonnie nodded though he couldn't see her.
"Give us twenty minutes. We'll be there."
When she hung up she was already at the passenger-side door. Grabbing a hold of the handle, she turned to Enzo. To find that he was trailing behind.
"Come on," she rushed, "didn't you hear what Damon said?"
He didn't increase his pace.
"Oh I heard. Do you actually believe that rubbish?"
Bonnie's hand went to her hip. They didn't have time for this.
"Look will you get your ass in gear please? God, what is it with you vampires today? First Damon is spazzing about my class and now you're…I don't know what you're doing but you need to get over it."
Enzo pouted in defiance, but he put a little pep in his step.
"So we can rush to Damon right?" he remarked once he reached the car.
Bonnie gave him a look.
"He needs our help," she responded.
He rested his hands on top of the vehicle.
"I don't recall his asking for my assistance. No, I distinctly remember him asking for you and you alone."
She shrugged.
"Well I'm a witch, Enzo. Didn't you get the memo? Now will you open the damn door."
He didn't move.
"Of course you would go running to him though," Enzo went on. "When Damon calls Bonnie answers. When Damon says jump—"
"Are you serious right now?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Enzo, who not even a year ago would have had moved the earth, mountains and sea to free Damon from the prison world suddenly had a problem with her helping Damon? Was he taking vervain to the head or something?
"Your best friend just called and said that he needs help and you want to sit here and act like a five year old?"
He waved off any concern.
"Yea, he suddenly needs help as soon as he realizes that you're out with me. How convenient."
Bonnie was floored. And quite frankly at a loss for patience. She'd known that Enzo could be selfish—what vampire wasn't—but to be this childish? And toward the only vampire in town who'd dared to call him a friend? This was a side of him that she was not liking one bit.
"We don't have time for this. With or without you, I'm going to Damon's."
She let her eyes communicate that she meant it. She was more than capable. Just a quick spell, give him an aneurysm and take his keys. Enzo seemed to get it and finally opened the door. So this was really their first fight? Over Damon? The entire ride to the Salvatore's was both silent and tense. Enzo's jaw clenched, his expression visible irritation. Not that she was looking. She was too peeved off to give him any kind of attention.
Upon their arrival Enzo moved to open her door but Bonnie didn't wait. She stormed toward the front door without looking back. After a couple of knocks her effort was rewarded when Stefan answered.
"Bonnie? What are you doing here?"
She made her way inside leaving him to note Enzo's sour expression.
"Ask your brother," Enzo offered, pushing past him.
Bonnie stood in the foyer, glancing around.
"Where's Damon so we can get started?"
As if on cue the elder Salvatore appeared at the top of the staircase.
"Hey Bon Bon."
He started to descend, allowing Bonnie the chance to note his attire. His black silk shirt was open, revealing pale, toned pecs. Her eyes lowered over equally tight abs to come to the sharp cut of his hips just above black slacks that hung low. A neat, dark line of hair hinted at the forbidden region below. Briefly her eye caught it before she moved back to his face. His eyes held a mischievous twinkle.
"Dear god I can smell the alcohol from the doorway," Enzo murmured.
Stefan cleared his throat.
"Damon you want to tell me what's going on?" he asked.
His brother's eyes were on Bonnie.
"I needed assistance."
When his gaze didn't waver, Bonnie blinked.
"A locater spell, right?" she clarified.
Damon nodded.
"That's right."
An awkward silence followed. Stefan cleared his throat again, visibly uncomfortable. Enzo possessively moved between the two.
"What exactly is she supposed to be locating?" he wanted to know.
Damon's twinkle darkened at the block.
"Not what. Who."
Enzo stepped closer.
"Well who then?"
Before Damon could answer, Valerie emerged from of the den.
"Am I missing something?" she asked lightly, "Why's everybody out here?"
Enzo took one look at her then back to Damon and shook his head. Her question was innocent enough, but her presence was the answer he needed.
"How long have you been here?" he decided to ask.
Valerie shrugged.
"I don't know a few hours maybe—"
"I want to locate Julian so we can kill him," Damon interrupted, "Bonnie?"
He gestured for her to follow him to the study. Bonnie scratched her head, confused herself.
If Valerie's been here for hours why didn't she do the locator spell?
But she followed. So did Enzo and the others. They waited for Damon to turn back to face them before reaming into him.
"Are you crazy? The last time you and Stefan tried to kill Julian you both almost died," Valerie began.
"If your mother hadn't stopped him—"
"We weren't prepared," Damon cut in.
"Our biggest mistake was not having a witch involved."
He rounded the desk before stopping to survey his audience. No one was on board.
"Speaking of witches, Julian has at least three heretics at his disposal," Bonnie pointed out.
"Mary-Louise for sure and where she goes Nora goes. I don't know about Beau but those two are enough. How do you suppose we get around them?"
Valerie shook her head.
"Beau won't help. Not after what happened to Lily. He's taken off, no one knows where."
Well that was good news. Still…
"You basically asked me over here to assist you on a suicide mission," Bonnie concluded.
"Sorry Damon, not happening."
She crossed her arms under her chest, her eyes set. He looked her over, rested his hands on his waist and sighed.
"Fine. Have it your way," he relented, "but remember, I'm the one that took down two heretics already. Not too far a stretch to take down their daddy."
He offered another smirk, cocky this time which elicited a groan from Enzo. At the look Bonnie was tempted to remind him that he hadn't acted alone with Malcolm. She'd distracted the heretic while Damon had come from behind and torn his heart out. In a way she'd also been a distraction for Kai. If he hadn't been busy gloating at her, Damon would never have been able to decapitate the bastard. Wow, she and Damon worked well together.
"Julian's a lot older than Kai and Malcolm," Stefan pointed out. "And a lot smarter too. Plus, like Bonnie said, Mary-Louise is loyal to him and Nora's loyal to her. If we want to stand any chance against him, we'd have to get the two of them out of the way first. Until we can figure that out, I think we should nix any plans to kill Julian for now."
Coming from probably one of the two people who wanted Julian dead the most, that was a powerful statement. All parties seemed to agree. Still tension flexed in Stefan's jaw, the weight of what Julian had taken from him still heavy. Valerie had had centuries to adjust to the knowledge. For Stefan it was still too fresh. She reached over and touched his arm.
"Hey, why don't we go get something to eat," Valerie suggested.
Stefan nodded. Before leaving the room he gave Damon a stern look.
"Don't try anything without me."
Damon waved him off, but voiced his agreement nonetheless.
"Yea, yea."
As if he could be intimidated by his baby brother. Bonnie watched Stefan and Valerie leave the room and waited until they were out of earshot before speaking her observation out loud.
"She soo still has feelings for him."
Damon snickered at the obvious.
"Caroline's got nothing to worry about, Love," Enzo assured her. "Saint Stefan Salvatore would never sully his good name by an act of infidelity."
Bonnie ignored his sarcasm and turned to the two remaining vampires.
"He has to see it," she continued, "There's no way somebody can be that into you right in front of your face and you not see it."
Enzo let his eyes drift toward Damon knowingly.
"Oh you'd be surprised."
Damon held his stare in challenge. Bonnie was still thinking of her friend, missing the exchange entirely.
"I don't like this," she went on. "It's disrespectful to Caroline. I mean I get that he's trying to protect her—Stefan's always trying to protect someone in need but Valerie's not just anybody. She was special to him. She probably still is. Feelings don't just go away."
She sat at the edge of the desk, between the two. For a moment no one spoke.
"But you guys are the last people on Earth to talk to about this stuff with so I guess I'd better save it for one of my girlfriends."
Like Elena. She'd have something to say about the matter. God she missed her. Sensing her drop in mood, Damon reached over to rest a hand on her shoulder. Bonnie didn't notice Enzo stiffen.
"Hey, I know I may not be much in the girl talk department but if you ever want somebody to talk shit about Valerie with I'm always game."
That brought a smile to her face.
"Thanks Damon. You're a true friend," she laughed.
Enzo glanced at his watch, annoyed.
"Yea he's a gem. Anyway, it's getting pretty late. I should get you back to the dorm."
He roped his arm around her waist in one fluid motion and pulled her away from the desk and Damon's hand.
"You do have class in the morning," he reminded her.
His comment earned an eye roll from Damon.
"Now he cares about class," he murmured.
Enzo ignored him, guiding Bonnie toward the door. But she'd heard Damon's mumbling and paused to turn around.
"Okay you know what, you've been acting weird today," she remarked.
"Since when have you cared about my classes?"
Before he could come up with an answer, her phone rang. Bonnie took a moment to forget Damon and answered.
"Caroline, hey."
"Hey? That's what you have to say to me. Not an explanation for what I just found in our dorm room? Bonnie what happened to my dresser?"
She'd forgotten about that. After her shower she'd had to rush out. Enzo had kept her mind on other things.
"Oh, the dresser?" she stammered, unsure of what to say.
She didn't even know herself what had happened. She'd woken up to find Damon and Enzo and the battered furniture.
"That's a good question, Care."
She instinctively pulled away from Enzo, as if Caroline would sense him on the other line.
"See what happened was…I was practicing some spells and sort of had an accident."
Both Enzo and Damon shot her looks of surprise. She responded with a finger to her lips to shush them. She'd explain once Caroline was off the phone. She didn't need her to hear who'd really been there.
"Well in the future next time you want to try new spells can you at least try them on your own furniture?" Caroline remarked.
"Or better yet in another room? We still have to live here nine months out of the year."
Bonnie turned her back from the perplexed stares she was receiving.
"Will do Care. Sorry again. Hey you can use my dresser. You have way more clothes than I do anyway."
Enzo moved into her line of vision, not even attempting to hide the questioning look on his face. Behind her, Damon laughed out loud.
"Oh I see you're not alone" Caroline's vampire hearing caught.
"I'd recognize that evil laugh anywhere."
"Hello to you too Caroline," Damon teased.
Bonnie shot him a look for blowing her cover. She hadn't wanted Caroline to know that she was with him because then she'd want to know the hows and whys which included the interruption of a very romantic date with Enzo. Bonnie still wasn't sure how she was going to tell her that she was seeing him. How could she admit that he was "Mr. Hotstuff?"
"So what are you and the evil Salvatore up to?" Caroline wandered.
"Keeping him from strangling puppies?"
Damon sauntered around the desk toward Bonnie.
"I know a certain Lockwood puppy I'd love to strangle," he countered.
Caroline responded with a groan. Again Bonnie shot him a reprimand.
"Ignore Damon," she apologized, "he's just being a jerk."
"As usual," Caroline replied. "I don't understand how you can stomach him for more than five seconds, really."
Bonnie noted the mischievous smirk on his face as he wiggled his fingers toward the phone. He was up to no good. She had to end the call quickly.
"Yea, me either. But listen, I have to go. I'll see you tonight."
"Okay see you then."
She hung up, took a deep breath and faced the oncoming questions head on.
"I know, I lied," she beat them to the punch.
"But Caroline doesn't know that Enzo was there last night and for the moment I'd like to keep that private, okay?"
Enzo folded his arms under his chest but didn't say anything. He appeared to be studying her. For what she could only guess. They'd most likely continue the conversation in private. Where Damon couldn't interfere with his wisecracks and sarcasm.
"Oh I'm not judging," Damon picked up just as she'd expect.
"I mean we've all done things we're not proud of."
Enzo glanced away from her long enough to send Damon a warning. He wasn't amused in the least. His friend was clearly grating on his last nerve. Hoping to avoid an exchange, Bonnie moved into him, resting her hands on his chest affectionately.
"I'm going to tell her," she promised. "Believe me, there's nothing about me and you that I'm ashamed of."
His eyes met hers and for a brief second she saw a hint of vulnerability—a fear perhaps that she may very well be hiding him due to shame. She read it in him, and was sorry that she'd created such doubt so early in the relationship. She'd have to rectify it.
Behind her, Damon made a barfing noise. God why was he being so dickish today? Even more than usual?
"It's time to get going," she announced, "Damon, promise you won't do anything stupid."
Enzo's arm slid back around her waist as they prepared to exit the study. Bonnie leaned her head into him and embraced the feel of his body near hers.
"Whatever," Damon called after them, an angry edge to his voice that she didn't care for.
She'd have to ask Stefan to look in on him before she left. Maybe tomorrow she'd get to the bottom of it. But for now she was going to enjoy Enzo's company. Because for the first time in a long time she was entertaining a man whose sole purpose for spending time with her was to spend time with her. To get to know her, to make her happy. And for the first time in a long time she began to believe that happiness was possible.