A/N- I have an essay due tomorrow so now is the perfect time to finish a chapter early and post it up!
The giant mug was placed in front of her on a china plate with a teapot beside it,
"Enjoy" Ash told her brightly, "But be careful, it's steaming!"
Bonnie smiled her thanks and waited until she was alone again before taking the lid off the pot and sticking her fingers into the boiling water.
Nothing.
She could feel the agony of the burn and the water scalding her skin but she might as well have plunged her fingers into the icy water of the Arctic for all the heat she could feel.
Nothing.
She withdraws her fingers and dries them on a napkin before pushing the small coffee table away with her foot and sinking back on the leather armchair.
Ever since she came back from the Other Side she hasn't been able to feel warm.
Standing in a shower, in front of a roaring fire, or lying on her back with Jeremy thrusting inside her, she couldn't feel even the slightest bit of heat.
All she could register was the pain from the burn, not the burn itself.
Her craving for herbal tea is gone along with any hope she had for the day.
And there wasn't much hope to begin with.
She doesn't even know why she bothered considering that she woke up this morning to a goodbye text from Caroline on her phone,
'Hey! Setting off now will call you when I get there. Have a great holiday ;)'
Setting off.
To New Orleans.
Where Niklaus Mikaelson the Original Hybrid was probably lying on a bed of silk sheets wearing little more than a smile on his despicable face.
Asshole.
And Caroline was going to sleep with him like a slut.
Not that anyone was calling her on it. Even her own mother had barely tried to stop her from going to the French Quarter, though Liz had been absolutely horrified when Bonnie had told her how her daughter planned to spend her winter holidays, she'd allowed herself to be talked into submission.
What kind of mother was she?!
Caroline would be furious if she knew that Bonnie had been the one to reveal her plans to visit Klaus to the Sheriff but what sort of friend would she be if she had let her run off into the hybrid's arms without a fight?
She'd be Elena Gilbert probably.
Bonnie loves her best friends like sisters but goes wild with anger when they fail to realise just how stupid they are being.
One of them is running right into the arms of the most dangerous supernatural creature on the planet, trusting that he won't hurt her or refuse to let her leave New Orleans when their two week vacation is up.
And there is nothing in the world to stop Klaus from keeping Caroline there. From imprisoning her in a dungeon, in chains as his slave.
Despite this, despite Bonnie having pointed this out to Stefan numerous times, nobody had done a damn thing to stop her. Of course, that was because both Salvatore brothers were busy these days.
Both of them were sleeping with Elena Gilbert.
Both of them.
Both brothers.
Sometimes at the same time!
Bonnie had been stunned all those months back when she'd discovered that after years of highlighting the differences between herself and Katherine Pierce, Elena had pulled the ultimate 'Katherine' move and entered a three way relationship with Damon and Stefan.
It was disgusting, how the hell did they… how did it work…?
Bonnie knew the three of them wouldn't last, there was no way the two brothers who'd fought for the better part of two hundred years and could barely share a house would be able to share the woman they both loved. And when Elena finally chose one of them the fallout would be catastrophic, blood, broken bones and her best friend sobbing on her shoulder completely unable to comprehend why her love life had to be so hard.
It was strange how she had endured so much seemingly without becoming an adult.
Bonnie on the other hand.
She had been born an old soul and her suffering had matured her, giving her a tragic air that drew in fellow empathic peoples.
It was why Celeste had watched her for only a few weeks before approaching her to beg for her aide.
And of course she'd sought her out.
After all, Bonnie was a Bennett. She was one of the most powerful witches in the world, she was a valuable ally.
She was special and Celeste's attention was a salve when her friends and family were busy ignoring her trauma in favour of 'living their normal lives'
The bell above the café door jingled and Bonnie raised her head as Jesse strode in, slow and confident as a senior student who knows his way around campus and knows his place all too well. He was gorgeous and intelligent and if Bonnie didn't have an epic romance with Jeremy she would have been tempted. But Jesse had taken one look at Caroline and it'd been clear where his interests lay.
She tilts her chin and makes eye contact, he nods and heads over, reaching down for a friendly hug before pulling up a chair,
"So…" he clasps his hands, "Caroline headed off this morning?"
"Yep" Bonnie poured him her tea, "Around dawn I'm guessing, sorry about that"
He shook his head with a rueful grin, "It's fine, I figured she wasn't going to ever drop her plans solely for my sake, especially when it would have meant her coming to Jackson or me headed to Mystic Falls and meeting the parents"
He speaks lightly but there's a wistfulness in his tone that makes her understand that even if he wasn't betting on that happening, a part of him had hoped that it would.
Bonnie sighed, taking in the hot guy in front of her. He was perfect for Caroline, he was funny, kind, friendly to everyone, sociable, intelligent, considerate and a romantic. Every straight girl on campus who knew Jesse was single had spent the semester actively trying to change his status and he was interested in the one girl too stupid to know a catch when it landed in her lap.
This was the guy you dated, the one you brought home to meet your family on holidays, the one you had cute study sessions with in the library and introduced to your friends.
Klaus was the guy you ran from in fear or avoided like the plague.
Caroline couldn't bring him home for the holidays, he had a kingdom to despotically rule in New Orleans and her mother would shoot him if he walked into her house. He had a kid so he wasn't about to re-enrol in college and what the hell would he study anyway?
Politics 101 or Intro to Criminal Law?
No point introducing Klaus to her friends, they all had an acquaintance with the man who had terrorised them mercilessly to get what he wanted.
She smiles as Ash brings her a fresh cup for the tea and sits on the arm of Jesse's chair, chatting with him for a good five minutes, utterly enchanted with everything he has to say. She lived on the same floor as him and was either deeply infatuated or completely in love with him.
Soon she's called back to work and Jesse edges closer to Bonnie, lowering his voice even though there's no-one around to understand what they're discussing,
"So" he clears his throat, "What did Celeste have to say?"
Twelve hours earlier
Jeremy had fallen asleep quickly after they'd had sex, dozing off with his arm flung over her chest, she'd counted backwards from one thousand before climbing out of the bed, thankful when he didn't stir.
Dressing quickly in yoga pants and his sweatshirt, she stuck her feet in ugg boots before venturing out into the freezing night. The cheap no frills motel was in a quiet residential area which suited her greatly, nobody would be around to witness anything.
Still, she hurried down to the ground floor and slipped behind the side of the building, waiting impatiently until her mother came out of the shadows with another woman, Bonnie waited for them to approach and shivered when she felt the power radiating from the stranger.
"Are you Celeste?" she asked and the woman nodded, "Yes and you're the brave girl whose going to help the New Orleans witches"
Bonnie swore that she detected sarcasm in her tone, she felt defensive, "I'm saving my friend from Klaus, the witches can sort out their own problems"
Celeste bristled, "We need each other Bonnie Bennett, it's the only way we'll be able to destroy Klaus and the Originals once and for all"
"My daughter is more than willing to help" Abby assured Celeste, giving her daughter a pointed look that she'd seen mothers give their children when they were running around the Grill.
But why should it in any way quell Bonnie? Abigail Bennett had walked out on her when she was a year old, she'd re-entered her life only to shout orders at her ineffectually and sit on the sidelines bemoaning her vampirism as her daughter was lost to Expression.
This was followed by the several months in which she barely responded to the emails Bonnie dictated to Jeremy as the woman failed to realise that her own daughter had died.
No, Abby did not get to discipline her.
She eyes Celeste, from her boots to her pleather jacket, "What's in this for you?"
She receives a grin that brings to mind a dog bearing its teeth, "Freedom for the witches of New Orleans"
"No" Bonnie has been standing up to supernatural creatures for years now, this one doesn't frighten her, "If that was it there'd be eleven other people in this conversation, I don't work with people unless I know what the hell they're fighting for, what's in this for you?"
Celeste juts out a hip and glares "You're bold for a girl without magic"
Bonnie crosses her arms, "Go ahead and kill me, you can either answer to the Ripper of Monterrey and his psychotic older brother, a Five hunter or Klaus Mikaelson courtesy of Caroline Forbes. Make no mistake, I will end this deal right now and walk away without a damn"
"Fine" she rolls her eyes, "I have a vendetta against Katherine Pierce, happy?"
"No" Bonnie scoffed, "Everyone in the supernatural world has a vendetta against Katherine Pierce, she can't sleep at night unless she's committed three atrocities or ruined six lives. What makes your hatred of her so damn special?"
"If you must know, the bitch killed me"
Bonnie related this to Jesse in a low voice, pleased by his interested expression,
"Okay, so she wants revenge on one person" he mulls the information over, "Does that matter though? As long as the both of you have the same goal, as long as the vampires are taken out, does it matter what happens to the Katherine person?"
She considered this as they were brought another round of tea and offered lunch menus,
"I'm worried she'll leave Katherine alive" she admits, "Even if she's no longer with the Originals…actually, especially if she's out on her own, she's going to be dangerous as hell and wanting payback. If she gets to Mystic Falls, if she turns Caroline or Elena against me, she'll have the entire group on her side"
Jesse shakes his head, "Caroline would never turn against you she loves you and Elena like her own sisters"
Bonnie sighed, "Yeah but once I would have been positive that Caroline would never be stupid enough to sleep with Klaus and that Elena would never sleep with two guys at the same time, brothers. I can't trust my friends not to be stupid about this"
He nods, "Okay, logically, from a scientific point of view, if they're going to negatively affect the outcome, you remove them from the process…I'm not saying kill them" he hastily adds, putting up his hands defensively, "But, I don't know, put a sleeping spell on them or something?"
She considers this idea and promises him that she'll think it over before throwing down some notes on the table and hugging him goodbye. She steps out into the blinding sunshine and figures that the dorm room will be empty by now, she can enjoy some privacy before Jeremy gets back from meeting his father's old lab partner.
Ashley threw off her apron the moment Bonnie Bennett was out of sight, grabbing her cigarettes from her pocket she announced that she was going on break before marching out the back door of the café, to a tiny area facing the road, hiding behind the large dumpsters and lighting up eagerly.
She'd had to go to great lengths to hide her nicotine addiction along with her natural accent and dammit every time she'd pasted a fake smile this semester she'd fucking wanted to claw someone's face off.
In a few moments Jessie slides into the space beside her, yanking the cigarette from her lips and pushing her against the wall as he kisses her passionately. She grinds her body against his and is raring to go when they break for air, "Christ it's been too long" she complains as he takes a drag before handing the cigarette back to her,
"You're one to complain," he snaps, gladly dropping back into his British accent,
"I haven't been able to so much as look at an ad for smoking lest I disgust the uppity Bennett bitch and last I checked you're not the one who's been the fuck toy of a vampire for the last two months, Jesus you wouldn't believe the fucking things I've had to do or the pills I've had to swallow to keep her interested. She's like a slutty energiser bunny, we go all night and she still sticks her fingers up her cunny for the finishing act. Fuck I've missed you babe"
He reaches for her hand and unbuttons his jeans, shoving her inside,
"Well?" she prompts as she squeezes him, "What's the plan?"
"They haven't fucking got one yet" he grouses, "Six fucking months and the only thing they've got is a boner for destroying about the mighty Mikaelson family. Why the hell the council sent us to watch this bullshit is beyond me, best case scenario they maybe overthrow a powerbase- that's a big fucking maybe
considering what I read in the dossier on this Klaus bugger, worst case scenario- they fail and a few witches die, Nature gets thrown out of whack for…what? A generation or two max! God…" he trailed off as he came and leaned against the wall with a sigh,
"Still, we could have phoned this one in"
Ash wiped her hand and finished her cigarette, "Yeah, problem is though, these fucktwits might be brainless gits but they're also some of the most powerful or rarest supernatural creatures. If they wipe each other off the map the council is going to be pissed as hell"
"Right" he concedes with a sigh, "Gotcha, I'm gonna go deal with Maxfield before he recruits the younger Gilbert to his slicing and dicing…you good to handle Abigail Bennett"
Ash smirks, "It'll be my fucking pleasure"
A/N- I blame the last part on caffeine.