Three's a Crowd: A Bamonenzo Story
Kayer713
Chapter Three
What the hell does she think she's doing?
Damon paced the study in a huff, his mind stuck on the image of Bonnie and Enzo together, her hand on his chest gazing into his eyes like he was the king of fucking Egypt. The sight had been nauseating. He'd done everything in his power to keep his blood down. This was worse than he'd thought. The look said it all. This wasn't just a quick fling. Of course he'd known that the second he'd found them in bed together. Bonnie didn't just lay down with anybody.
She didn't do flings.
Which meant that Enzo might be warming her bed for a lot longer than Damon was comfortable with.
Damn it!
Why was he so upset? Why did he even care? Bonnie was an adult, free to do what she wanted with who she wanted and no obligation to him. And Enzo was his friend, they'd been through a lot together. Aside from Stefan he was the only male Damon would admit to caring about. So what was the problem?
The problem is them TOGETHER.
Touching. Kissing. Looking at each other like they had just earlier in front of him. It sent an ache through his chest. He didn't like that ache very much. It shouldn't be there.
"Damon?"
He looked up to find Stefan standing in the doorway.
"What now?"
His tone was sharper than he'd intended, reflecting his inner turmoil. Stefan took note as he entered.
"Bonnie's worried about you. She seems to think you might do something stupid like go after Julian on your own."
Damon didn't respond. He needed a drink.
"But I don't think you will," Stefan continued. "Because I don't think Julian has anything to do with this foul mood you're in."
"Oh yea?" he challenged.
Stefan looked him square in the eye, full understanding in his countenance.
"Yea."
The brothers didn't speak, allowing the knowledge of the situation to sink in. This was all about Bonnie Bennett.
"He's not right for her, you know," Damon gave in.
He just had to get it off his chest.
"Didn't he just kidnap Caroline like last month or something? And remember the time he held you and her hostage? Over that woman that I killed?"
Stefan nodded silently.
"Bonnie shouldn't be running around with him. If she knew the things he did—he ENJOYED doing... I know because we did a lot of shit together. He is a FAR cry from Little Jeremy Gilbert. He's got a real dark side—"
"Just like you," Stefan finished.
Damon didn't respond.
"When she was with Jeremy she was safe. You were safe because you knew that never in a million years would Bonnie think of you in that way. But now that she's with Enzo who's basically your darkside's twin you're seeing what could be between the two of you."
"Are you trying to psycho-analyze me, Brother? Because you're way off base."
Stefan didn't alter his stare.
"Am I?"
Damon shrugged his question off.
"You never intended to locate Julian today. That was just a ploy to get Bonnie over," Stefan noted.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
But he didn't argue further.
"Damon, you know you can't have her."
The words stung harder than they should. Damon fought the instinct to draw back at the lashing.
"Besides," Stefan added, "She's with Enzo now. Give her a chance to be happy."
Before he knew what he was saying Damon's thoughts came spilling out.
"I could make her happy."
His own words shocked him, hearing himself aloud. It was the first time that he'd admitted anything close to the truth of how he felt.
Stefan's eyes softened, reflecting sympathy at his brother's plight.
"Maybe. But that decision is up to her."
He left Damon alone then to swallow that pill. It was bitter on the way down. Maybe Stefan was right though. He should just leave things be. It was the right thing to do. And he was supposed to be doing the right thing these days. Becoming a better man and all.
Elena said to live my life.
Maybe he wanted to live his life with the only woman in Mystic Falls who'd never been fooled by his good looks and charming lies. The only woman who'd seen him for who he was, what he was and called him on it every time. She'd never cut him any slack, never sugar-coated his misdeeds. When he was being an ass she said it, made no excuses. Bonnie Bennett held him accountable.
It was that accountability that made her presence in his life so special. Because if the same acute eye that judged his many misdeeds could in turn find remorse in his heart then maybe, just maybe it was within him all along to become the better man that he'd promised to be. And if that same harsh judge could find it in her heart to accept him knowing all of these things then her acceptance was real. Bonnie wasn't his friend because he was handsome and charming. She was his friend because she truly knew him.
Except, she didn't seem to know how he felt about her. He supposed he couldn't blame her. He hadn't realized it until that morning. Until he'd seen her with Enzo. God, Enzo. They hadn't exactly been bosom buddies in the time since Damon's journey to Betterville but at the end of the day he would still ride or die for his friend. He was his dark equivalent to Stefan's Lexi. But something told him that Enzo wouldn't be feeling too bestie if he put the moves on his girl.
Bonnie's not his girl. They only had one night together.
Still it was one night too many.
This was crazy. Why the hell was he stressing over a woman that was clearly interested in someone else? And Enzo of all people? He didn't need this in his life. He was Damon Salvatore for crying out loud! He could go out right now and get whatever woman he wanted in no time flat—no compulsion needed. Yea, and that's what he'd do too. He'd go out, grab some drinks, grab some chicks, have some fun. By the end of the night he'd forget all of the Bonnie/Enzo nonsense and the world would be right again.
When Enzo pulled into the parking space he immediately turned to Bonnie.
"So I guess I'm not walking you to your door," he murmured.
She bit her lip. No, Caroline would hear them at the door. She couldn't risk it.
"I'm going to tell her," she repeated her promise from earlier.
Enzo didn't say anything. Instead he climbed out of the car, came around and opened her door for her. Bonnie couldn't help the smile that quirked the side of her lip.
"A vampire and a gentleman," she teased, "I could get used to this."
He shut the door behind her then gave her a serious look.
"Could you?" he asked, no trace of humor in his tone.
It didn't take a genius to get what he was asking. He wanted to know if she'd be willing to continue with what they had, even if Caroline didn't approve.
"Enzo, I don't need my friends' permission to date. If I like you then I like you."
She leaned in toward him, crooked a finger to beckon him closer. When he obliged she whispered seductively in his ear.
"And I like you."
That brought a playful smile to his lips.
"That's good to hear," he remarked, nestling an arm around her waist.
They shared another kiss, long and sweet. With something brimming underneath. Bonnie could already feel the heat and yearned to surrender to it.
"I'd better go before Caroline starts a search party," she pulled away reluctantly.
Enzo's dark eyes bore into her, wanting more.
"Let her then. I'm always up for a party," he tempted.
She was one hundred percent sure that he had no idea how sexy he was right now. When he drew her back to him she noted a welcome surprise. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said he was up for a party.
"Why Lorenzo St. Claire is that a stake in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" she teased.
He let his lips brush against hers, stopping just short of a kiss. The tickle of his breath against her skin made her moan.
"Always happy to see you, Love."
His hand ventured down to her rear and gave it a firm squeeze. Then it was his turn to pull away.
"I'll let you get to Caroline now," he announced, a glimmer in his eye.
"Tell her I said hello."
Was he kidding? He couldn't just kiss her like that and walk away. When he continued toward his car door Bonnie flicked her wrist. Immediately the doors locked. His keys remained in the ignition. Enzo turned around, his eyes narrowed.
"You want to explain to me what you're doing?" he asked.
Bonnie licked her lips and caught his eyes drawn there.
"Getting another kiss," she replied, her tone low and sultry.
She didn't have to beckon him closer. He was on her in a second.
"You're the one that said you have to go," he reminded her.
Did she? Oh yea, she needed to get back to her dorm.
"I do," she relented, "but I'm not letting you leave until I get my goodnight kiss."
"Aren't you the greedy one."
She saw nothing wrong with being greedy with what was hers. She wanted to take him all in, and by the way he kissed her, he wanted the same. When Enzo left her this time Bonnie stared after him, a giddy feeling inside. At that moment she decided that regardless of what Caroline or anyone else said, she would be with Enzo. There wasn't a soul in the world that could come between them.
"Damon, answer your bloody phone or when I see you I'll shove it down your throat."
He didn't raise his voice at this point, but Enzo was sure to communicate that he meant business. Damon's antics that evening was beyond over the top. Interrupting his date with Bonnie, strutting around with his shirt wide open and his pants so low he was practically flashing everyone in the room. Enzo wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what his friend was doing. And it pissed him off. Period.
He'd kept his cool in front of Bonnie because he didn't want to appear insecure or threatened. But inside he was seething. Damon wasn't going to skate by with this. Enzo arrived back at the Salvatore house in record time. He was out of the car at vamp speed and knocking at the door when Stefan answered.
"I'm here for Damon," he announced, pushing past Stefan into the foyer.
Stefan didn't bother closing the door.
"He's not here."
"Oh bollocks, don't try to protect him Stefan. I know you like to do that, right?"
He sent Enzo a level stare.
"Look, I know you and Damon have this weird competition thing going on over Bonnie but did it occur to you that maybe neither of you are good for her?"
Enzo squared his shoulders, not liking what Stefan was getting at.
"You care to elaborate?" he requested.
Stefan seemed to notice his irritation but of course he didn't care. Saint Stefan never cared what the lowly evil vampires thought. Enzo's upper lip curled in disdain.
"You know Damon. Next to me better than anyone. And you know yourself. There's a darkness in the both of you, a darkness that ends up swallowing anyone who ever loves you. If you care about her at all—"
"And you're just a ray of sunshine aren't you?" Enzo cut in. "No darkness in the great Stefan Salvatore, ripper of the entire East Coast."
"The difference between you and me is that I fight that darkness every day," Stefan came back, "I learned to control it. Not just for the people I love but for people in general."
"Oh believe me it's taking a hell of a lot of control to keep from tearing your self-righteous tongue out and feeding it to you."
Stefan threw his hands in the air.
"Right that's it. Go straight to violence and threats when I'm trying to tell you something, Enzo. Tell me again how good you are for Bonnie."
Enzo stepped to him, finished with the conversation.
"Tell your brother I'm looking for him."
He was exiting the front door when Stefan called him back.
"Enzo wait."
He turned around, ready to fight.
"Look, Bonnie Bennett is a damn good woman," Stefan noted, "She's given up so much for so many people—myself included. I just don't want to see her hurt. By you or Damon or anybody else."
Well at least they had something in common.
"I can respect that," Enzo conceded. "But answer me this. Why is everyone so bloody sure that I'll be the one to hurt her?"
He gestured toward Stefan.
"You and your friends have been here what seven years? Because of you she lost her grandmother, her mother, her father. She literally lost her life. But when was the last time you called her, just to say hi? Or to hang out? You've dated two of her best friends for crying out loud and you've spent more time with me in the past week."
At that Stefan was rendered speechless. He opened his mouth but could find no excuse. Because there weren't any. Now that he had his attention, Enzo hammered in.
"When I call Bonnie do you want to know what my first words to her are? I'll tell you what they're not. 'I need a favor.' And do you want to know why? Because contrary to popular belief I actually care about her. The fact that I haven't ripped your brother's heart out for that stunt he pulled earlier says as much. I'm no angel and I don't pretend to be. But your hands aren't clean either Stefan, yet that didn't stop you from loving Elena. Or Caroline. So what makes my feelings for Bonnie any different?"
Again Stefan was speechless. And rightfully so. Enzo gave him a moment to come up with something. When Stefan did finally speak his words surprised him.
"I don't know."
He looked away from Enzo for a second, appearing to be in thought suddenly. Whatever was in his head, Enzo couldn't care less about. The person he was seeking out was not here. Without another word he took off. Wherever Damon was, he should consider himself one lucky son of a bitch.
"Are you sure there's nothing going on that I should know about?"
Caroline had been all over her the second she'd returned to their room. Bonnie had practically had to pry herself away just to get a shower. Now she sat on her bed, clad the spaghetti shirt and shorts she used as PJs and hoping for a night's rest.
"For the last time, no there's nothing going on," she reassured her friend.
"No heretics, no emergencies nothing but the usual Mystic Falls drama."
Caroline watched her closely.
"Oh yea then why'd you skip out on class just to go to Damon's?"
How had Caroline found out?
"I didn't skip class to see Damon," she protested.
"But you skipped class," Caroline pointed out. "And don't deny it because when I called you should have just been getting out of Sociology. So unless Damon payed you a visit on campus, you were at his house. So I want to know why."
Her friend was good. Too good. You'd think being pregnant with magical twin babies, a full-time class schedule and managing a relationship tainted by the presence of a heretic ex-girlfriend would give her something else to worry about.
"Tell me the truth," Caroline asked, "Did something happen and you guys are trying to keep it from me because of the babies?"
Bonnie blinked.
"What?"
"Did the heretics kill somebody?"
Bonnie shook her head, stifling a giggle at Caroline's conclusion. She couldn't be farther from the truth. Still a part of her felt bad for not coming clean right then and there. But it was late and she was tired and if she told the whole story then there was no way that Caroline would let her get any sleep. She'd probably keep her up all night lecturing about Enzo.
"If you must know Stefan and I just talked Damon out of trying to take Julian down on his own," she finally gave in.
"Damon asked me over to do a locator spell. I told him I wasn't interested in watching him die."
Which was true. The part about her being on a date with Enzo when she'd gotten the call was irrelevant. For the moment.
Tomorrow, Bonnie thought as she lied down in bed.
I'll tell Caroline tomorrow.
"I knew something was up!" Caroline was reaching for her phone now, most likely to give Stefan an earful for not telling her about Damon's mad plan.
Bonnie took the opportunity to tuck herself in.
"Hey, you're not off the hook yet," Caroline threatened but Bonnie wasn't too worried.
"Talk to your boyfriend," she murmured as she pulled the blanket over her head.
"I'll tell you everything I know in the morning."
Caroline didn't like it, but whatever grievance she had was distracted when Stefan answered the phone.
"Stefan? You want to tell me what's going on?"
Bonnie closed her eyes then. Before the conversation was over, she was fast asleep. When morning hit she was awakened by the beeping of her phone. Caroline was in the shower, she could hear the running water behind the closed bathroom door. If she hadn't been she'd have answered the phone herself for some peace and quiet. Still groggy with sleep, Bonnie reached over to the table and tried to silence it. That was when she saw the screen. Twenty missed calls. From Damon.
Oh god, what's he done now?
He hadn't gone after Julian alone had he? Immediately Bonnie was wide awake. She sat up in bed and prepared to call him. He'd left voicemails. Should she listen first or just call? Before she could decide there was a rapping on the door. It startled her and for a moment she froze.
"Bonnie?"
The voice on the other side caused her to drop her phone. Damon. Oh dear God he had done something stupid. And when she hadn't answered his calls he'd come directly here. Possibly with Julian on his tail. Bonnie hurried to the door and opened it.
"Damon, what did you do?"
He looked a mess. He was wearing the same clothes she'd seen him in yesterday, his hair was ruffled like he'd been raking his hands through it and he smelled even more boozy than the last time. Were he a human he'd surely be hungover. This must be really bad.
"Do? Why do I always have to do something? Why can't I just come by to say hi?"
He was drunk. This early in the morning. Most likely late in the night for him. Whatever he'd done must be REALLY bad.
"Damon, don't joke with me," she warned, apprehension running through her.
"You never come by just to say hi. What happened?"
He perched up against the doorframe and gave her a weird look.
"What do you see in him?" he suddenly asked.
She folded her arms under her chest.
"Excuse me?"
"Do you really think a vampire can make you happy?"
She caught on and felt her heart leap up in a panic. She hadn't told Caroline yet. And with her vampiric hearing she could very well overhear what Damon was saying from the bathroom. If Caroline ever found out that Damon knew about Bonnie & Enzo before her she'd be less than happy. Hoping to prevent such misfortune Bonnie quickly shoved Damon backward into the hall and shut the door behind her.
"Watch your mouth Damon, I haven't told Caroline to hear yet," she hissed.
Damon raised an eyebrow but went along as she pushed him farther down. She waited until they were at the other end of the hall before she spoke again.
"As for being with a vampire I think I've spent enough time with your species to know a thing or two about how to date one."
He glanced down at her hand on his chest just before she retracted it.
"He's not like Stefan," Damon shot back, "Enzo has no moral compass. He's a predator, Bonnie."
Again she crossed her arms. What was this? Damon of all people talking about a lack of morals?
"Oh yea? Sounds familiar."
"You don't know what you're getting into. I know this guy a lot better than you do."
"Really you're going to go all protective on me now," Bonnie checked him.
"You're going to tell me how dangerous it is to have a vampire boyfriend?"
Damon's eyes darkened at her remark.
"So he's your boyfriend now?"
She hadn't said that but now that he asked…
"He's whatever I want him to be," she came back.
He didn't like that answer.
"You can't possibly want Enzo for a boyfriend. He's selfish and shady and a cold-blooded killer!"
His voice was escalating.
"He couldn't treat you the way you deserve. He couldn't love you the way you deserve."
"Hey, pipe down," Bonnie shushed him.
"The guy's just a fake Klaus wannabe. I mean that accent? Pshh! He thinks it's charming but it's not. It's the dumbest accent I ever heard. And to top it off he's got stupid hair too!"
What the hell was wrong with Damon?
"Oh my god you sound like a jealous ex-boyfriend right now," Bonnie snapped, "Just stop."
She knew that his intentions were good, that he only wanted to protect her but he was starting to weird her out a little.
"I'm—I mean—why would I be jealous of Enzo?" Damon stammered.
He was looking odd again. Those blue eyes off. She stared at him for a moment, studying him. When he noticed, he shifted uncomfortably.
"There's something going on," Bonnie realized, "something you're not telling me, isn't there?"
He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Even more suspicious.
"Damon, what aren't you telling me?"
Was is about Enzo? About something he and Enzo had done together? He kept insisting that Enzo was cold-blooded. Had the two of them done some awful act? Of course they had. Damon was bad enough by himself. Imagine him with a buddy. In fact, hadn't the two of them kidnapped Jeremy once?
"What did you do?" she wanted to know. "What did Enzo do?"
It wasn't like she didn't know that he had a past. But lately Enzo had been in the process of a turnaround. He'd helped her friends on a few occasions and made efforts to bridge the gap between him and Damon. Before she'd thought of him as calculating and downright sociopathic; now she recognized that he was just lonely. He'd been abandoned as a new born vampire, imprisoned by Whitmore and lost everyone he'd ever cared about. He only had Damon and then Damon had turned out to be responsible for the death of Maggie, his one true lifeline. No it didn't excuse the awful things that he'd done. Nothing ever would but he was trying to change. Just like Damon, he deserved the chance.
"Damn that's a fine ass."
She recognized the voice of one of the residents behind her, a jock who liked to hit on all the girls, Brody. Caroline had compelled him once to walk the other way whenever he saw her coming. A real class act. She ignored the comment, hoping it wasn't directed at her but when Damon glared past her she knew there was no such luck. Before she could say anything the click of a camera sounded.
The next thing she knew Damon had vamp-sped past her and she heard a thud. Bonnie spun around to find Brody pinned up against the wall by the throat, courtesy of her vampire friend. With one hand Damon held him, the other he crushed the jerk's phone to pieces. Bonnie gasped.
"Damon!"
His veins were showing, black and vampy. His eyes had already turned. When he spoke his fangs protruded dangerously.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your throat out," he growled at Brody.
The terrified jock couldn't answer on account of his crushed windpipe. His wide eyes gaped down in fear.
"What were you going to do with that picture, huh? Take it back to your room so you can jerk your little dick off to it? Post it online? It'll be pretty hard to do after I break your arms."
It was early but a few people were leaving out for class. A small crowd was beginning for form. Because Damon's back was to them they couldn't quite see his face but Bonnie was close enough to the action to notice. She had to do something.
"Damon stop!"
She stepped into his line of view, attempting to come between them.
"I'm okay, just let him go."
But he didn't budge. She saw into his eyes then, saw the rage and knew that Brody literally had seconds to live. God she couldn't let him kill the guy. And not in front of all of these people. But she couldn't very well be using her magic in front of everyone either. Thinking quickly she leaned into Damon, pretending to be speaking calm words when she uttered the spell.
"Motis."
Damon's fingers jerked apart, dropping Brody to the floor. Immediately Brody scrambled away. She'd have to get someone to compel what he saw away from him later. Right now she needed Damon to de-vamp before the rest of the dorm saw him. She kept his back to them, standing directly in front of him now.
"Hey."
She placed her hands at both of his cheeks, pulling his face to hers before he could go after Brody.
"Calm down. Look at me. I'm okay."
For a moment her language was foreign to him as he was still in attack mode.
"I'm okay," she repeated her voice low and soothing.
"Just take a breath. Relax."
He stared at her then. After a moment the veins disappeared. His eyes went back to blue. His fangs receded. He didn't stop staring. It was then, for the briefest of seconds that Bonnie could have sworn she saw something, something that terrified the hell out of her. She gasped out loud. That seemed to snap Damon out of it. He cleared his throat.
"I should get going," he murmured.
Before she could reply he turned away and was gone.