Happy new year ;)

Chapter 18 (Part 2)

Dear Elena,

Not really sure how to feel about it.
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you.
It takes me all the way.
I want you to stay
-Rihanna

I thought he would…but he didn't. I mean why would he, he's known nothing but hate towards me for so long which slowly turned into tolerance. I mean it wouldn't make for sense to feel the same intense butterflies I did when he leaned in…

Ok I'm jumping too far in; let me continue from where I was.

After he left, about five days after we had our little "photoshoot", I stuck my head in Michael Craine. He was turning out to be a dead end. Virginia brought him home one Christmas so he could meet his sisters about five years ago. Alex didn't approve and because she didn't approve, since she now the owner of everything including Yvette and Virginia's trust. Virginia loved Alex…so much.

My sister means everything to me. Alex understood me more than I understood myself at times. She though Mikey was just a phase I was going through and that he was trying to get to our trust. Alex also said that she did research and he came from nothing. In the social world, that's a mess. I didn't care. He was perfect for me. Like Alex, he understood me more than I understood myself…

But Alex is my sister and I love her so much..

All Virginia wanted was for someone to understand her. she sound very confused, most of her diary entries were centered around the fact that she felt like an outsider not only in her family but in the world in general.

Michael went missing about two and half years later. His sister, Kaylin went to go and look for him at the Armory but also went missing. I thought that was the end of the story until I looked deeper. They were dead. On the day that snow was sticking to the ground, it was about three in the afternoon, Enzo walked into the cabin with two full grocery bags. I had to remind myself that, I felt like I was getting closer to figuring out what the Armory wanted. So I wanted to go back to the way things were before Enzo saved me, sorry kidnapped me. The old Bonnie hating Enzo would have said kidnapping right? I can't even remember that Bonnie.

"Hey." He smiled at me placing the bags down.

Old me wouldn't have greeted him back, so I just got straight to the point, "Michael Craine is dead…so is his sister."

"Figured." Enzo sighs leaning against the kitchen counter, "I looked through their records…there was no death certificates…yet they were found in the same place."

"If you knew," I looked at him, "Why didn't you tell me."

"I wasn't sure," He sighed, "The article I found just said brother and sister. It didn't stipulate who and how." He pulls out a bottle of red wine out one of the grocery bags, "How's you figure it out."

"Virginia's diary." I shrug and then walk back to the couch and realize how cold it is in here. I still made very mediocre fires and I didn't want to be nice to. SO I grabbed the afghan from the back of the couch and wrapped it around my body. I then proceeded back to the table.

Enzo frowned at me, "Why didn't you just ask me to make a fire?" He walks to the fire place and proceeds to make one quickly and swiftly. Every fiber in body wanted to turn to him and say thank you but I needed to feel like myself again. This confused and uncomfortable feeling I had in my stomach I had every time I saw him had to stop.

"There you go." He smiled after a moment and he watched as the fire began to roar, "You should actually take one day off your research to see me doing this, so you can perfect it."

"Is that a challenge?" I say in a very alluring way. Where did that come from Bonnie? I didn't mean for it to come out that way.

"It is actually." He looks smug at me.

I decide to ignore him, dropping the challenge immediately. What are you doing Bonnie? I could hear you saying. Even you can't deny how much you think of him better than Damon right now. Well Elena, I'm trying my best to stay who I am… I mean there was no way that Enzo and I could be friends. I could hear you scoff at the words "friends."

"Ohh…kay." Enzo said suddenly, "I'm making dinner." And that was it. For the rest of the afternoon, he stayed in the kitchen and made whatever it is that he was making. It did smell really good. I moved from the table to the couch with Virginia's diary. At one point, Enzo poured me wine and switched on some music. I didn't even thank him, you would have been proud or disappointed, not quite sure. Enzo seemed confused but just walked back to the kitchen as I read an entry by Virginia.

With everything that has been happening lately, I've just confirmed how I feel about this family even more. This creepy damn family! I hate it…I hate them.

But Alex is trying to reassure me that everything will be fine. Alex is up to something, I can sense it.

I didn't realize how much I was analyzing and drinking wine at the same time because the next thing I knew Enzo was standing in front of me. I looked at my glass, that he had now refilled, and then back at him.

"What?" I try to say it in a hostile tone but it comes out more sarcastic.

"It's New Year's Eve." He says to me. I had completely forgotten about new year's eve. I actually forgot about the new year completely, I know it's so like me but I just hadn't thought about it. I just roll my eyes when he says that. he seems disappointed by my reaction so he abruptly says, "Get up. We're having dinner. Oh, and for the love of God, please put on something besides these abhorrent sweatpants." He takes in my appearance which only serves to anger me, kind of.

"What do you care about my sweatpants?" I scoff at him.

"I'm instituting a dress code." He seems proud at his assessment because he smirks at me, "For the holiday." He sips his wine before walking away.

I sigh and then get up walking to my room. When I close my door I wonder if this hostile thing actually was going to work. I mean, things could get ugly between Enzo and I…but that's the whole point of hostility. I look in my bag and find two dresses. One cream chiffon one, it's beautiful and delicate…it also provokes niceness from both parties. That's not the point.

So I take out my black cocktail dress. Yes black, makes it seem like I seriously don't care. I check myself in the mirror and apply a little bit of make-up. I don't want it to seem like I actually care enough about my appearance to look good in front of Enzo. Once I've applied a little bit of lip gloss, I open my bedroom door with a very blasé attitude.

"This is the best I could do..." That attitude left very quickly when I saw the scene in front of me. The living room had completely changed. There was now all over the living room, dozens of strings of Christmas lights. In front of the fire place was a nearly decorated table for two. What catched my breathe even more, is that he has changed into a suit. He seems satisfied by my surprised expression.

"I thought you deserved a proper celebration." He smiles at me as he pulls out a chair for me.

I smile at him with a level of appreciation I've wanted to show him all day. I think that was the perfect moment to show it…hostility aside. I sit down and watch as he goes to the kitchen and fetches two plates. I didn't even focus on what was on my plate, I was still mesmerized by all the effort he had put in to make yet another holiday perfect. There was even champagne, which I think is starting to become our signature drink. If it's not that, it's bourbon.

I finished my meal before he did, and just took a moment to enjoy the cracking of the fire, the wind blowing the snow around outside and soaking in every moment of the Moet.

"If you would've told me a year ago we would be spending New Year's Eve together," I say to him twirling my glass around, "I would have called you crazy."

Enzo stands up and chuckles slightly, "Well, you've called me far worse than that in the past."

I can't help but chuckle when he says that. He walks towards the stand next to the fire place where the is a neat stack of records a long with a record player. Enzo blows the dust of the record player.

"So, I was thinking about your cousin- whatever you want to call her. Alex?" I say to him as he looks at the record and places the record in the player, "How you said she never wanted to discuss her siblings. But her sister Virginia's journal talks about how close they were."

A jazz tune starts playing, you can see the infatuation with the tune despite the curiosity embedded in his forehead.

"What else does Virginia say?"

"Kind of off-balance." I look at him while I let that sink in, "Seems to hate everything your family stands for."

"Well, at least she knows what that is. I'm still trying to figure it out." He rolls his eyes and lifts his glass up and takes a long gulp of his champagne.

"Why do you care? Hmm? They abandoned you." I lift my own glass and look at him, "Left you at a workhouse." I take a sip of my own champagne.

"You have two parents, right?" When he says that Elena, I couldn't help but feel a brief twing of hurt and pain and a lot guilt oozing inside of me. I set my glass down and look down at it. Even immediately when he says it, it's like he acknowledges the fact that he made a mistake. Something that the old Enzo would have felt nothing towards doing, "Oh, sorry. Um, had- I know your dad died." He breathes a little, "I had none. Curiosity about what they stand for is what keeps me from hating them for leaving me."

It was a sad notion to make, but a clear one. I couldn't help but smile a little at his brief assessment, as assessment he had been making clear to me since I met him.

"What?" Enzo spots me smiling.

"Nothing."

"What?" He chuckles slightly urging me to answer him.

"Nothing." Elena remember that thing we did when we were trying to be all coy in front of a guy, so we used to play with our glasses, I was doing it right then and there and I couldn't help it. I just smile as I say, "Just, after all this time, I think I'm finally starting to understand you."

Don't think I didn't see the pleasure in his eyes when I said that. It was true though, I wasn't even pretending. Enzo spent his whole life alone with no one and every time he found someone, something bad always happened to them. I could relate. My mom was a vampire, my dad was killed by a vampire/ witch that wanted to die, my grandmother died trying to do a spell I wanted to do, the first real love of my life had no family anymore so left his family home, the friend I thought I had left ended up in a box…next to you another person I had lost.

Enzo lifts his glass and drinks some more champagne and instead of dwelling on everything I was thinking about, I joined him in that glass. Once done he surprises me by standing up and coming to my side.

This Elena….this where everything changed…or started feeling different.

"May I have this dance?" He extends his hand out for me but chuckles slightly at my exasperated expression.

"Really?" I roll my eyes.

He grins widely at me, a little hopeful if you ask me, and waits for my response. Well it would have been rude of me to decline.

"Why the hell not?" I take his hand and stand up. He actually kind of gently pulled me to my feet, keeping his left hand wrapped around my right, and putting his right hand on the small part of my back as we made our way to the center of the living room . We sway slowly to the music and because I was focused sincerely on how close we were, I decided to focus my attention on something else.

"So, when I was reading the journal..." I began.

"Enough research for one day." He shakes his hand as we sway slowly.

"It's all I have to occupy me."

"Yeah?" He says in a playful tone.

"Mmhmm." I smirk at him.

"All?" He continues to look smug.

"Not all. Not counting guitar practice." I smile at him as I whisper to him.

"Eh, getting better." He shrugs slightly as we continue to move.

"And the fire-building." I point at the fire place which is roaring.

"You are nearly an expert." He says almost sarcastically.

"And now this!" I look in between us as I continue to smirk at him, "Old-people dancing."

"Quit!" As he say this Elena, he pulls me unexpectedly down into a dip that has me squealing like a little girl. When he pulls me back our faces are centimeters apart, if not less. It's then that I am looking into his eyes once more and I am realizing that the deep and soft hazel brown eyes is starting to become a safe haven for me. More so…Enzo was beautiful. I know that men didn't really want to hear that but I've never seen it before because I was so focused on how indecent he was on the inside. But now I see him.

Like I actually see him, Elena.

For a moment I think he is about to kiss me, but he smirks slightly almost flirtatiously like this is all some sort of game. When he moves his face way from mine, I follow my nose grazing against is smooth yet strong jawline. I could sense his breathing quicken as I was sure he could sense mine. His hands move in a way that has me believing that he is about intertwine his fingers with mine. As this happens his head moves back in which has me falling in more and more. Instead of intwertining his fingers with mine, he trails one finger in the middle of my palm and also moves his head back completely, sighing in the process.

What?

"As lovely as this evening has been, I really must get going." He says trying to smile but this smile doesn't seem as natural as it was in duration of the night.

"It's not even midnight yet." I lean in slightly and say. Trying to hide whatever disappointment that is clearly evident.

"But I've already stayed too long. If I don't show up, Alex will wonder where I am."

"Forgot." I say then whisper, "Being a double agent must be a full-time job."

He smiles sadly at me and then cups the back of my head with his strong soft hand cupping the back of. He leans forward and kisses me on the cheek before whispering in my ear, I can't help but hold my breathe. There are a lot of things I couldn't help but do tonight.

"Happy New Year." He whispers in my ear.

The disappointment that I felt in that moment was more than I could ever explain to you Elena. I stayed where I was as I heard him walk to the door and grab his coat. Though it seemed like a life time before I heard him walk out the actual door and close it behind him. I was hoping that in that moment, he would stay and do the one thing that I would have never wanted from him…

It was only when I finally heard the door close that I said, rather whispered, "Happy New Year."

I spent that whole night in bed wondering why he left, what changed his mind. He could have easily kissed. God knows as do you what would have come next…

I didn't know what was happening to me Elena, I spent years hating this man and I was determined to keep that way up until now when all I wanted…was to have him?

What was going on?

B

Authors note:

I hope I satisfied you all JJJ

I am very happy. Keep those updates coming and I promise you, that more updates will be on your way. However the question I will keep asking you from now on is….

WHAT COMES NEXT?

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Love you all so much.
xxxx
CJR