Disclaimer: Characters and situations belong to LJ Smith and respective copyright holders.
SLOPPY SECONDS
7
Normalcy. It's something Bonnie's starting to crave. Particularly late at night when she's all by herself, insomniac in the dark, fearful of the shadows. She's charmed her house against intruders. No vampire can enter the Bennet residence now. But somehow, the fear of certain doom still presses close to her heart. After all, Yangtze has to go outside to do her doggie business, anyhow.
Yangtze has no idea her life is in danger. She looks positively wounded when Bonnie refuses to dole out a nightly doggie treat.
"I'm not feeding you after three," Bonnie says to Yangtze firmly. "No food. No water."
Yangtze looks up to Bonnie with limpid, wet eyes.
"It's for your own good," Bonnie adds guiltily. "I don't want you going out in the night time."
It was with great reluctance that Bonnie agreed to go to Caroline's sleepover tonight. Yangtze has to stay inside the house all by herself. After leaving a note on the fridge for her Dad, saying that Yangtze has eaten for the night, Bonnie gives the moping pug a final pat on the head, and heads to the garage.
Pulling up outside Caroline's house, Bonnie sees Elena's car already there. For once, happiness and contentment bubble inside Bonnie, as she envisions a cosy evening of food, girl talk and fun. But that happy feeling pops like a bubble when she spots three decidedly unfeminine faces in Caroline's living room: Matt, Stefan and Damon.
Caroline's in her bedroom, touching up on her make up.
"I had no idea this was a plus one, or two." Bonnie leans against the door, folding her arms.
Caroline wrinkles her nose. "Do you know how hard it is to separate Elena from… them? That's why I decided to bring Matt along. And don't worry!" she adds brightly. "You won't be alone!"
A sinking feeling starts in Bonnie's stomach. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing stays secret with me," Caroline declares archly. "I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Tyler recently."
Bonnie feels her cheeks warm. "It's not like that!"
Caroline blots her lips. "Not like what, exactly?"
"Caroline!"
"Or do you mean to say not yet?" Caroline's golden brows waggle with suggestion.
Bonnie flushes purple. She shakes her head wordlessly.
"Take it from someone who knows," Caroline gives her hair a last fluff before turning to Bonnie. "Tyler. Is. Hot. He's got a fantastic body, and he knows what to do with it. He also seems to like you, and that's always a plus –"
"I don't know whether to feel insulted," Bonnie tries to interrupt.
"—And I think you should know," Caroline ducks close and whispers, "He's got a tongue like a lizard."
Uncontrollably, Bonnie's jaw drops.
Caroline pulls away, smiling. "Aren't I such a good friend?"
Bonnie buries her head in her hands. "Oh, my God, Caroline. I can't believe you even went there!"
Sheriff Forbes is out of town, which is precisely why Elena and Bonnie are over in the first place. Caroline has the run of the house, and she rules with an iron fist.
Dinner is first in order for the evening. Damon and Stefan volunteer to drive out for take away. They come back with the goods, sheepishly confessing to have already eaten. The others don't blink an eye. The smell of hot pizza is way too tempting.
Caroline's plan for the night is a cocktail party. She obtained the spirits through contacts (male ones). Matt's jaw grits a little at this fact. She lines up the five liquor bottles: vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, and scotch.
Bonnie notes that Damon looks less than impressed by the offerings. He looks disparagingly at the bottle of scotch. Knowing him, he's probably used to drinking the best.
"I didn't know there'd be so many people," Caroline says apologetically, misreading Damon's expression.
"That's more than enough," Elena interrupts quickly, elbowing Damon hard.
Caroline is the perfect hostess. She mixes the drinks, albeit clumsily. The first one up is Tyler, who skulls his cup of gin and tonic in three seconds. Somehow, Bonnie finds herself drifting to Damon. Damon looks bored out of his mind.
"Why are you here anyway?" she whispers to him. "Aren't you feeling a bit old?"
"More than a bit," he corrects disdainfully.
Bonnie rolls her eyes. "Why don't you leave?"
He smirks. "Have you ever seen Elena drunk?"
Bonnie shakes her head. She's never seen Elena drunk. Well, slightly tipsy, once. Elena likes to be in control.
"I have," Damon says significantly. He toasts Bonnie with his empty cup and leaves to find Elena.
Many questions pop into Bonnie's mind all at once, 'When did that happen', first, and then 'What if something goes wrong tonight?'
The queasy feeling doesn't go away. In fact, it gets worse once Caroline's organised a drinking game: Spin the Bottle.
"That's horrendously cliché." Bonnie affects a sneer. Her stomach, however, quivers like it's full of butterflies.
"That's the fun part about it!" Caroline's all complacent smiles. "It's a time-honoured tradition."
It is then that Bonnie realises how seriously Caroline's taking the role of matchmaker. By hook or crook, Caroline's going to shove Bonnie and Tyler together tonight, and there's nothing Bonnie can do to stop it. Nothing. Worse of all, Tyler seems to be quite acquiescent to the whole process. It certainly doesn't help that he's well on his way to being drunk – he's on his fifth drink. He's also bought 'fortifying' supplies: a gigantic bottle of whiskey.
Watching his face redden, Bonnie's struck with an unpleasant thought. He's not only kissed Caroline; he's also kissed Matt's mom, Mrs Donovan; and probably half of Mystic Fall's female population.
Bonnie's gaze slides to Damon. Well, he's probably kissed a significant percentage of the world's female population. Yet she still feels a quiver of longing inside her. Damon's a bigger manwhore than Tyler ever could be, in all sense of the word. Who knows what he has done?
Why is she even thinking about this?
Bonnie grabs her drink and gulps in down in one long swallow. The contents are practically pure alcohol. Cheap bourbon. Lovely. Immediately afterwards, she hears Caroline giggle. Yes, Bonnie's drink had most definitely been spiked deliberately.
"Another?" Caroline puts on her best hostess tone. "I'm told I'm particularly good at mixing pineapple juice and rum." She flutters long eyelashes at Elena, who giggles.
Already tipsy, Bonnie thinks sourly. Damon must be thrilled.
Caroline shoves a sweating glass in Bonnie's hand and plops down to the ground. "So, we're playing Spin the Bottle," she declares. "You know how the rules work. Spin the bottle, if it lands on you, you have to chose to say a truth, or do a dare, or take a long drink."
The half-empty bourbon bottle is used. Caroline spins it, and the neck points at Damon.
Caroline's obviously sharpening her mental claws. "So, Damon. Truth, dare, or a drink?"
His smile in response is fleeting. "I believe I'll drink." After raising his glass in a mock toast, he takes a long swig.
"Coward." Caroline pushes the bottle in his direction. "You spin it next, and you get to do the honours of deciding the truth or dare for whoever the bottle lands on."
By some perverse twist of fate, when Damon spins the bottle, it lands on Elena. Bonnie eyes it; gob-smacked, certain he's done something to rig it. Both Elena and Stefan are less than happy; Elena inches closer to Stefan. "I choose a dare," she says, clearly wary.
Damon's smile this time is brilliant. "I dare you to… kiss someone. A proper kiss. And," he adds, as Elena predictably turns to Stefan, "it can't be Stefan, for obvious reasons." Damon rests back on his heels, smugly certain of the outcome.
Bonnie does her own mental calculations. For all his cunning, she grudgingly gives Damon credit. He's clearly done some thinking about this (not that that should be a laudable fact). If Elena can't kiss Stefan, she certainly won't kiss Matt, because of their history. She wouldn't kiss Tyler, because he's Tyler, and also because he smells like the backroom of a bar. And Bonnie and Caroline are kind of out of the question. Which leaves Damon the only viable option.
Or not.
Because Elena's turning to Bonnie.
"Oh, no you don't," Bonnie raises her hands, in a futile attempt to ward Elena away. "You should try Caroline," she adds, as Elena inches closer. "I'm told she tastes like strawberries."
"You told her that?" Caroline smacks Matt.
"I think you're the one who told her, Caro," Matt says defensively.
"Oh," Caroline hesitates. "Yeah, maybe I did. Which makes me think, Bonnie, when was the last time you kissed someone?"
"I'm so not answering that!" Bonnie shies back as Elena nears.
Elena halts. "It's been a while?"
How did everyone's attention suddenly divert to this question? Bonnie feels her cheeks heat to scarlet. "Save the question for the bottle," she mumbles, quite mortified.
Elena sits back. "Don't worry, Bon," she says solemnly. "I won't breech your kiss chastity. I'll take a drink." Winking to Tyler, she empties the contents of her glass.
Bonnie's suddenly aware both her best friends are conspiring against her.
"You know what?" Caroline pipes up. "We should take away the 'long drink' option. Both you and Damon copped out, Elena."
"Yes," Damon says, looking more than annoyed his kiss was taken away from him. "We definitely should take out the drinking option."
"Hear, hear," Elena agrees. She leans forward to spin the bottle.
However, at that precise second, Bonnie's phone rings. More than grateful for the interruption, her hand dives into her pocket. She's surprised to see the number on her screen: it's her Dad.
"I'll take this." Bonnie presses the button. "Hello?"
"Hello, Bonnie." To Bonnie's horror, she immediately recognises the voice on the phone. It isn't her dad. It sounds like Elena. Of course, it can't be Elena, because Elena's sitting metres away. Which means it is Katherine. "You never told me how nice your father is," Katherine's voice is sugary sweet. "Why, we're standing outside your house right now, trying to look for your dog. Did you know she's gone missing?"
The phone abruptly goes dead.
Bonnie's whole body feels numb. Katherine's words may sound innocent enough, but its inner threat is unmistakeable: Tell anyone and your father will die, just like Yangtze, who is already dead.
"I'm stepping out, for a moment," Bonnie says. Her voice sounds strangely flat to her own ears.
Without waiting for a reply, she goes. She enters her car, turns on the ignition and starts driving almost mindlessly, only knowing she has to go home.
The streets are dark. Bonnie's head is pounding. She feels so heavy with panic, there's no room for anything else. So five minutes away from, when the sound of sirens wails in the distance, she doesn't think to run or evade. In fact, she doesn't even connect the words: 'siren' and 'police'. She doesn't realise what's happening, not until she sees the police car behind her, flashing lights indicating that she has to pull over.
It is then Bonnie realises her dilemma. She's been drinking. And she's driving. Drinking, driving… it's a crime.
In a flash, Bonnie considers her options. She can either pull over now, and delay saving her father; or maybe, just maybe, the county police might understand she's reacting to an emergency, and excuse the drunken driving, and maybe the underage drinking too. Maybe.
So, she floors it. Puts her foot down heavily on the accelerator and speeds towards home. Pulls into the driveway. The police car follows in, wailing.
Bonnie rushes out. She hammers on the door. Deputy Rogers steps out from the car. "Bonnie Bennet? You're under arrest, young lady."
"Just one moment!" She fumbles for her keys, attempting to find the right ones. Her sweaty fingers slip on the key the first time, and the second. Finally, she prods at the door with the right set.
And then she hears a bark. A male voice. The door opens to Mr Bennet, who looks belligerently at his daughter. "Bonnie, what on earth is going on?"
Katherine's right behind him, smiling. "Bonnie! Look who we found, Yangtze!" She holds the bundle over overjoyed fluff in her arms.
This excitement is too much for Bonnie. Bracing one hand against the wall, she doubles over, hoping, praying that her dizziness with go away.
"Bonnie!" Katherine-as-Elena puts on a voice of supreme concern. She rushes over to Bonnie, braces her, but in doing so, Katherine uses the farce to whisper in Bonnie's ear: "Promise me one thing, and I can make this all go away."
One thing. Bonnie doesn't think twice. She doesn't wonder what preposition Katherine has in mind. There's only one answer to such a question. "No," Bonnie says firmly. "I won't."
Still pretending to be Elena, Katherine props Bonnie up. Her hand tightens on Bonnie's shoulder for one inexorable, painful second, before letting go. Katherine's smile at Bonnie is pure sweetness. "Suit yourself," she says. "I better go," she says to Bonnie's father. "Stefan will be missing me."
Just like that, she departs, leaving Mr Bennet, Yangtze and Bonnie alone with Deputy Rogers. Bonnie can still taste vodka lemonade on her lips. Deputy Rogers is holding some contraption that looks unmistakeably like a breathalyser.
Bonnie takes a deep breath, and then another. There's no getting out of this mess. Underage drinking and drunken driven. This will go on her criminal record for sure. Goodbye pristine record as a 'good student' in Mystic Falls High School. Goodbye Ivy League colleges – not that Bonnie had much hope to begin with.
Refusing Katherine was the right thing to do; of that, Bonnie is sure. But she also knows the next few hours are going to be painful. And in the pit her stomach, she has a horrible feeling she's going to lament this decision for the rest of her life.
A/N: This comes pretty late. Apologies. I was trying to figure out how to direct the storylines to a sharper focus. Rest assured, the next chapter should be pretty Damon-heavy, if that's any indication of how Bonnie's criminal record is going to go...
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