Hello, my lovely readers. Poor Enzo, he's being ignored at the moment (or several episodes leading to the mid-season finale) by anyone that he doesn't torture. Let's show him some love. Have a happy and safe holiday season. On with the show…

Chapter 12: It's a Thankless Job

Not too many people noticed him in a day. He was just there, part of the bloody scenery if you will. But that's how he liked it. Keep a low profile and not too many people will hassle you in a day, let alone the man who he called father who would barely nod when he got off work with a beer in one hand the TV remote in the other. But Enzo was used to cleaning up other people's messes. After his mother died when he was ten, he learned that there were countless messes other people could make.

Watching the men and women walk in and out of the Mystic Grill on a chilly winter night, Enzo wiped the bar top clean. He wished he could grab a glass and one of the sparkling bottles shining right behind his back and take a drink. But the last time he had a drink he thought of his father and spat it out. It tasted too bitter.

Shaking his head in anger, he looked up to see Katherine Gilbert walk in the door. He smiled but did not attempt to gain her attention. If she wanted company she would let him know, that is assuming that she wanted his company. She could be fickle and that didn't bother him. After all, she was his ex. He didn't have a claim to her. Not that he ever did. That was the problem with girls like Katy, you couldn't claim them because they valued their freedom above all. So when she wanted to go, he didn't try to stop her. Like others had, like Elijah, who got burned in the end.

"Can I get a Coke?" Katherine asked quietly as she sat down at the bar and offered Enzo a smile that did not reach her eyes.

"Sure. Will you be telling me all your sorrows as well?" Enzo joked lightly as he threw a towel over his shoulder and grinned at his ex.

Katherine took the glass that he handed her and took her time freeing the straw from its wrapper before she answered him. "It's that thing that happened with that Oliver kid. It's bothering me," she said quietly.

"'Cause of Jules?" Enzo inquired and Katherine's eyebrows rose. He could tell by her expression that she thought he didn't know; of course he knew. Enzo had known Katherine too long and kept to himself too much to not notice new developments, not to mention Amara might have let something slip.

Katherine began to twirl her straw in her drink. "Maybe. I don't know. It's like everything is different now. And everyone is being expected to say what they are. What are you supposed to do if you don't know for sure?" she asked him with wide eyed curiosity. "I mean I don't really identify with any of the things that people say or write about and I don't really want to be someone's girlfriend or whatever but if I admitted I'm involved with someone then everyone wants to label it or something. I hate this. It's ridiculous."

"Then don't let them," Enzo replied as someone caught his eye and he saw Damon Salvatore appear with Klaus Mikaelson. That was really not what he needed right now. And they were about to sit in the area that he was supposed to be serving since they were short staffed that evening. Sighing, he forced a smile. "Duty calls," he informed Katherine who peered over her shoulder and then rolled her eyes.

"Have fun with that," Katherine said while making bubbles with her straw.

Walking lazily over to Damon's table, Enzo looked down at the pair as Damon continued to study the menu like he did not already know what was on it. "Can I get the two of you something to drink?" Enzo inquired in as friendly a tone as he could muster.

"Nope," Damon said before putting the menu down on the table. "But you could find someone else to wait on us."

"There is no one else tonight. Just me," Enzo replied with a sneer directed at Damon.

"He wants a coke, a burger and fries since I don't want him eating mine," Klaus told Enzo who wrote down the order. "And I want a burger with the pickle on the side, fries and a Dr. Pepper."

Writing down his classmates orders, Enzo wondered if Damon would ever get over the fact that Katy had chosen to date him in their freshman year rather than Damon. They had been the closest of mates when Enzo started his time as an exchange student at Mystic Falls High. For a time it seemed that they were inseparable until they both began to like Katherine Gilbert. And when she asked Enzo to take her to a dance in November of that year Damon had cut Enzo out of his life completely. Damon had gone so far as to tell Klaus that Enzo had come onto Caroline at a party and Enzo had gotten his nose smashed for something he hadn't even done. Of course Caroline had punched Damon in the nose for lying, but that didn't really help.

Going back behind the counter, Enzo placed the ticket on the wheel and spun it around for the cook to read. "Dear Diary," Katy began. "Damon Salvatore is a dick. The end," she said and Enzo turned to grin at her only to see the chastity club founder coming in, by herself no less. That was a new one. Sage was rarely alone and she looked as if someone had kicked her puppy.

Pouring a Coke, Enzo grabbed a straw and brought it to Sage who was sitting at a booth and praying. Shaking his head, Enzo could not help but smile until he heard her reciting that prayer that you say at AA meetings like the ones that his father had been talked into going to before his mother passed. Sage looked up at Enzo and smiled even though her cheeks were flushing hotly. Apparently she had not expected him to catch what she was saying. He sat the drink down without a word.

"Thank you," Sage said politely.

"Anything else?" Enzo asked.

Sage shook her head. "No, I'm waiting for someone," she told him.

"Alright then," Enzo replied before striding back to the counter to find that Katherine was packing up her things to leave. "Going somewhere so soon?" Enzo teased.

"Yeah, I have a ton of homework to do but I needed to get out of the house. Mom and dad were at home and they were at it again. It's like they never stop yelling when they're left on their own and since they didn't know I was at home…" Katherine trailed off with a shrug.

"I know," Enzo said and waved as she walked away.

"Hey, where's our drinks?" Damon snapped as Enzo came back around the counter. Glaring at Damon, Enzo opened his mouth to retort when Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett and her boyfriend, Jesse - who believed he did not need a last name because everyone knew who he was - walked in the door. "Hey, jackass," Caroline greeted Damon with a wide grin, stopping next to Klaus, she gave him a shove. "Move over, Loser. God, for a guy who's barely big enough to make the team you take up way too much room."

"You could sit in his lap," Damon suggested with a look directed at Klaus who grinned back.

"Sure," Caroline said as she elbowed Klaus into the corner of the booth while Bonnie slipped in beside Damon and Jesse sat beside her.

Pulling out his pad again, Enzo smiled at Bonnie. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Damon began to laugh and Enzo ignored him. "Try to be a little more obvious," he snorted.

"I'd like a Sprite," Bonnie told Enzo.

Damon started to laugh even harder. "No, you like tall men with long legs. Not sprites like English here," he said with another laugh when Caroline leaned over and smacked him hard on the shoulder and Bonnie smacked him from the other side. "I want a Coke," Caroline told Enzo with a smile.

"Same here," Jesse said, looking immune to the conversation. "And a burger with mozzarella sticks." Closing the menu, he leaned back in his seat with a smirk. Enzo would like nothing more than to tell Bonnie about what he did with Katy and who knew how many other girls, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. "Wanker," he muttered under his breath as he walked behind the counter.

Pouring the drinks for the group, Enzo was shocked when he turned to find none other than Miss Bennett standing at the counter. "I was wondering if I could give you Care's and my orders," Bonnie said slowly with a light blush. It was funny because Enzo could swear that Bonnie never blushed, not for any reason, ever.

"Of course you can," Enzo said and pulled out his pad. Setting it down on the counter top, he waited for Bonnie to begin. She leaned forward and he could feel her warm breath on his cheek as he wrote.

"I'd like a chicken salad. One of the little ones, with low fat ranch dressing and some croutons. And is there any custard pie today? Because there was custard pie to die for this one day," Bonnie said with a wide grin.

"I made that," Enzo said proudly. "The custard pie."

"You cook?" Bonnie asked him with a giggle.

"Sure. But I prefer to bake," he said with wink and Bonnie's cheeks glowed even redder as her giggling increased.

"And Caroline wants a cheeseburger with one of those little Cesar salads with ranch dressing and a slice of that custard pie," Bonnie told Enzo.

"Then she'll have to wait until my shift is over because no one made any today," Enzo told Bonnie who pouted.

"But I really, really wanted a slice," Bonnie complained with a playful pout.

"Well, I can't invite you behind the counter to watch me make one and if I were here after hours then I might lose my job. And I can't have you over to my place because… it's just bit of a mess," Enzo said, looking over his shoulder to see that the orders were up.

"You could come by Caroline's because her mother won't be at home," Bonnie told him.

"Yes, maybe I could," Enzo said and then wondered what the hell he was thinking when Jesse would probably be coming with them.

Grabbing the hot plates and putting them on a tray, Enzo carried them back to the booth with Bonnie walking along with him. He handed each member of the group their food. Heading over to Sage's table, he found Jeremy Gilbert but they didn't want anything. Heading back toward Bonnie's group, he noticed Jesse leaving.

While Enzo was cleaning up and taking his apron off after several more boring hours, he walked around the counter to find Bonnie looking at him expectantly as she stepped away from the pool table that she had been occupying. "You're done?" she asked and Enzo nodding. "He's done," she called to Caroline, Damon and Klaus who laid their cue sticks down.

Enzo felt his stomach flop when Damon pulled out his car keys and walked out the door without a word. They drove to Caroline's in silence and Enzo found himself alone in the kitchen with Bonnie. He was looking through the Forbes' fridge while Caroline and Klaus argued loudly about whether werewolves of vampires were better. "Vampires!" Caroline yelled.

"Werewolves!" Klaus yelled back.

"Damon," they both shouted as Enzo found the cream cheese and sour cream.

"Vampires," Damon said and Klaus groaned as Caroline yelled in triumph.

"That's not fair," Klaus whined and Caroline began to laugh.

Enzo tuned them out as he began to whistle and pulled down a mixing bowl to place the ingredients in. "I make the crust from scratch. Do you know if they have a rolling pin?" he looked over to find that Bonnie was waving it at him with a grin. He smiled as he took it from her and set it down. Mixing the filling, he took a spoon and stirred in manually. He was not a fan of mixers in spite of what Martha Stewart used. Taking a smaller bowl, he filled it with more ingredients to make the crust.

"Can I help?" Bonnie asked as she watched Enzo grab a flat tray to scoop the crust out onto.

"Yes," he said and held out the rolling pin. Bonnie took it and began to roll the pin over the crust but became frustrated when it wasn't flattening out properly.

"God, I suck at this," Bonnie announced with a sigh as her shoulder drooped. Enzo came over and stood behind her. Taking the hand that was still holding the pin, he placed it above the crust and then took her other hand, guiding it toward the pin. Moving their hands backward and forward he watched as the crust flattened.

"Better," Enzo whispered into Bonnie's ear.

Bonnie looked at him, searching his eyes, "Very," she said. "Now, what do we do?" Reaching out, Enzo picked up a pan, and placed it on the side of the tray. Taking the crust, he placed it over the pan. "It's too much," Bonnie informed him as he walked away and pulled out a sharp knife. Walking back over to Bonnie whose eyes were wide as he came to stand behind her again; he then held out the knife to her.

"Now, you cut the crust," Enzo said as he took Bonnie's hand and showed her how to cut the crust, without taking off her other hand as their hands circled the rim of the pan. When that was done, Enzo set the knife aside and reached for the filling. Handing it to Bonnie, he watched as she poured it in.

"It there anything else?" Bonnie asked quietly as Enzo turned on the oven to pre-heat so that he could get a little distance.

Smiling, Enzo walked over to her and took her hands again. "Just one last little detail. You know how they have those little indentions on the rim. You can make those with your fingers," he told her and then began to press his thumbs lightly over hers, they circled the pan and his heartbeat pounded away in his chest. He would love nothing more than to turn this girl around, kiss her and tell her how much he loved her but he couldn't. Not yet. It wasn't their time yet. But that didn't mean that he couldn't show her what she was missing as he took the dessert and placed it in the oven.

"Thank you," Bonnie whispered with a smile as she leaned against the counter.

"For what?" Enzo asked curiously.

"For being you," Bonnie said and then walked out into the living room with Enzo following her.

"Vampires!" Caroline shouted and Klaus shook his head vehemently.

"Werewolves are much cooler!" Klaus argued.

"Are not!" Caroline protested.

"How long does it take to make one dessert," Damon inquired, looking up at Bonnie and Enzo who shrugged.

"It depends on who's making it," Enzo explained. "Some people take their time and others rush in," he said, looking at Bonnie.

"I'm hungry," Damon complained while typing away on his phone.

"Some things are worth the wait," Enzo said cryptically as he smiled at Bonnie who began to blush again but was grinning happily before shouting "Witches," which just added another layer to the argument as Enzo watched her.

Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, read and/or reviewed this story.

Answers to review for chapters 10/11:

ObsessWithElijah: Yes. It's good that Luke was able to come out but it is also bittersweet that it took losing his lover to push him to tell the truth.

Lootmagoot: Ch. 10: They did, didn't they? Next week is Kat's chap.

EmeraldEyeCat: I still need to PM you stupidly long answers to your comments. I'll probably do that Christmas Eve. Think of it as my present to you. The gift of my blathering. It is a gift that keeps giving and giving and giving and…

JuseaPeterson: Ch. 10: You're welcome! Yes, chapter nine was sad and I wrote it before Oliver began to grow on me. Agh! I know, but poor Soph had no idea that Luke was gay so at some point she's going to have something to say to him about asking her out to hide who he is. At some point we're going to see a lot more of Klaus and Caroline but I have to get to the right point. It's like these mazes where you get to keep getting closer to the center and that is where Damon, Elena, Klaus and Caroline are.

Ch.11: Yes. As morbid as this might seem, chapter 10 is one of my favorite chapters because it's about all these characters who would not gather together during ordinary times to find each other.

I'm probably going to kill Kenny off. I don't know why I have these OCs sometimes. I suppose I just didn't want to make one of the main characters do the things that this character did. You can always think that I borrowed him from South Park and made him into a teen. That way there's the joke of "You killed Kenny." Maybe.

They were. Thank you. I love the little bits that we see of Klaus and Caroline so we can piece them together when we get to their chapters they'll create a complete picture.

Chapter 11: Thank you. I do feel better and wish I had last week because I planned on updating a ton of fics for Christmas… Dalaric is one my broOTPs! Thank you. It was not easy trying to figure out what to write for Damon's reaction since I've never been in a similar position although I don't think it's fun to have to try to tell your friend, "Nope. Not going to happen." Damon is a real schemer in this story and he will stop at nothing to convince Hayley to help him because she's got a social ranking that would only bolster him to the top which is where he wants to be.

Starlight000: Kenny is more than likely going to die. Have you seen South Park because I think that's where my inspiration (if Kenny was a teenage date rapist). I think every high school and college had at least one. Thank you. I like Caroline and Jackson's friendship in this story. I wonder how they would get along on TO?

Klaroline-lovegames: That would be one way that Kenny would end up dead. I will take it into consideration.

Bellaxchristina: He did. That's what I love about Damon. He goes with the flow even if it takes him a moment.

Tippy093: Damon would not be Damon if he could figure out a way to accept Ric for who he is. Ric is like another brother to him and even when he wants to kill his brothers, they're still his family. I will probably do Miss Mystic at some point. Caroline will get all dressed up for some reason at some point. We definitely have to have Klaus drooling over her. Thank you and I do.

Peace,

Jessica