5.3: Will You Still Love Me?
After speaking to Caroline Bonnie took the bottle of Bourbon from the kitchen and sat back down at the breakfast table mulling everything over. She poured herself another shot. Staring at the bottle her thoughts turned to Damon. What would he do if he knew she had gone into hiding because of Alex and the Armory? Probably kill Alex! Bonnie thought to herself sardonically. It actually wasn't a bad idea. Enzo probably wouldn't even object. It's not like Alex had ever treated him like family. She'd never even treated him with respect. She was just another user. Bonnie had to laugh at herself for having such a dark thought. The more bad shit that happened in her life, the more jaded she became. When trying to survive in the supernatural world there was always a body count unfortunately.
Going back to the idea of 'taking out' Alex, Bonnie thought about the repercussions, as the Armory wouldn't let their head person be killed without seeking revenge. And, although Alex kept things confidential, at least one or two other people at the Armory had to know why she wanted Bonnie. So no, eliminating Alex was not an option. Enzo couldn't compel the information out of anyone at the Armory due to the protection of vervain. And, the idea of kidnapping any of them was pointless too. How would they even know who to kidnap that would have the right information, and, using them as leverage was useless too. It would all get very messy if they went down that road. Alex was ruthless. She'd probably let one of her minions die before she revealed her plans, because whatever it was she wanted it definitely wasn't something that Bonnie would give up willingly. There had to be a solution where they could get the information they needed without Alex finding that Enzo was protecting Bonnie. Her thoughts were getting way too dark.
Bonnie drank the Bourbon and started to think about Damon again. As angry as she was with him a part of her missed him. Despite years of animosity between them he'd become her best friend. She just couldn't understand how he could go from being her best friend, rescuing her and protecting her at times, to removing himself from her life forever. She got that he missed Elena…. But he didn't even plan to say goodbye to her face to face. She couldn't forgive him. He abandoned her, so now the easiest thing to do was erase him from her mind. She felt so guilty for the things she'd said to Enzo because unlike Damon, so far, Enzo had proved that he would never leave her.
Since she had no idea when Enzo would return Bonnie decided that she may as well call Matt. God only knew how that phone call would go down. She picked up her cell-phone and took a deep breath before trying the number that Caroline gave her.
"Hello?" Matt answered in a deep, groggy voice.
"Hey, Matt." Bonnie responded.
"Who is thi… Bonnie?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's me." She answered. There was an awkward silence. "How are you?"
"I've been better." He replied in a deadpan tone. There was more awkward silence.
"I'm really sorry about Penny." Bonnie told him sincerely.
"Me too." He said in the same tone as before.
"How are you coping?" She asked him.
"Just getting on with things."
Well this phone call is going well! Bonnie thought to herself mockingly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when it all happened."
"Yeah. I heard you were hiding out from the Armory." He responded a little more softly.
"Yeah, Enzo helped me out when they came looking for me."
"I heard. So what are you two like BFF's or something now? Cause you know you can't trust that guy, Bon" Matt used the acronym mockingly.
"Actually, we're a little more than that." Bonnie admitted anxiously.
"What do you mean?" Matt queried cynically.
"Me and Enzo… We're together."
"Are you being serious right now?!" Matt's shocked voice got louder.
"Yeah." Bonnie said confidently.
"WHAT THE FUCK! After everything that guy did to me… Caroline…Elena… even you!?"
Bonnie was not at all surprised by his reaction. "Matt, you don't have to tell me that Enzo's fucked up in the past." She began calmly. "He knows it and I know it. He can't take back what he's done and I'm not excusing it, but he's changed." She tried to convince him.
"So what are you two Damon and Elena 2.0? He fucks your friends over every other week and you forgive him?!" Matt said sarcastically.
"Enzo and I are nothing like Damon and Elena."
"Really?" He said with a sardonic laugh.
"Really." Bonnie said, understanding Matt's cynicism, but growing tired with having to justify herself. "Enzo changed long before we got together."
"But for how long, Bon? How long before he fucks up and you get hurt? Cause that's what they do. Vampires… they always do something to fuck things up and ruin your life!"
Ironically, the conversation was pretty much going as Bonnie expected. But Matt's words still hurt her. She had to defend her man confidently.
"It's been 2 and a half years, Matt, and all Enzo's done in that time is take care of me and treat me with respect!"
"It's just a matter of time, Bon. They can't help it." He said referring to all vampires.
"Caroline isn't like that." She told him.
"Caroline is Caroline, but she's still had her moments." He said referring to the time she turned off her humanity after Sheriff Forbes death. "It's like trouble follows them wherever they go."
"Matt, I know you've dealt with a lot of shit in your life with what happened to Vicki and everything else, and, I'm sorry. But vampires are not the root of the world's problems." She said with sympathy.
"You just don't get it." He said wearily.
"Really, Matt?!" She said, starting to get beyond annoyed. "My Mom was turned into a vampire, Silas murdered my Dad. So don't tell me that I don't get it! Nobody is perfect! Not even you! And neither am I! But vampires are not all the same and if you could really believe that for one minute, you could get past all this bitterness you have inside you."
"He's gonna wreck your life, Bon. And I don't think I'll be able to help you when that happens." Matt told her coldly, still unconvinced.
"Matt, I'm sorry for everything you've been through, but you can't go on like this. Enzo has done more for me than anybody else has over the last 2 and a half years and if you can't at least appreciate that then there's nothing more to say."
"I just can't deal with this right now. You're one of my oldest friends… I just think you're making a big mistake trusting Enzo. I can't talk about this anymore. I gotta go." Then Matt cut off the call.
Shit! Bonnie thought to herself. So much for Matt helping them out. She understood his anger and she didn't expect him to be over the moon about her relationship with Enzo. But, at the very least she would have liked to conclude the call with a 'let's agree to disagree', rather than being cut off. She valued Matt's friendship. And while she didn't expect that they'd ever be as close as they were again, she hoped that they'd at least be on civil terms in the future.
Well now that that awkward conversation was over (awkward being an understatement), Bonnie just had one more person to resolve things with for the day. But at least with Enzo she knew the conversation they had when he returned would end on a positive note. Because however angry they were with each other, they still loved each other and what they had was too strong to fall apart so easily.
When Enzo entered the cabin Bonnie was still sitting at the breakfast table. He sat down opposite her, then took the glass she'd been using and the bottle of Bourbon and poured himself a shot. He downed that one then poured himself another swallowing it in one go too. Bonnie watched him and when he looked at her he observed the weary expression on her face.
"Just spoke to Matt." She said breaking the ice. "He's not impressed with me at the moment."
"I just spoke to Caroline." He responded. "She's not too impressed with me at the moment either."
"I'm sorry." She said sincerely. "You've done more than enough for me. I just… I just can't take this anymore. I just wanna travel the world with you. I feel so helpless. I guess I was just… taking my frustration out on you and that's not right cause… you didn't have to help me in the first place. But you did. I'm just… I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too." Enzo told her. "And Bonnie, I am listening to you. But I still don't think we should go and see Virginia. At least not until we've exhausted all our options."
"What options?" She said, sighing cynically. "We have no other options. But, you're right. It is a massive risk. We should try and find another way, then as a last resort we go and see Virginia."
He nodded in agreement. "I should never have got you to come to the Armory…" Enzo began.
"It's not your fault. You know Alex would have tracked me down eventually. Maybe it's better that you were involved, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to warn me that she was looking for me and hide me." She reassured him.
"Why did you decide to stay?" He asked her. "When I brought you here the way I did, what made you choose to stay?"
"What other choice did I have?"
"You could have left. You weren't a prisoner."
"And go where? I had no one."
"Why did you trust me, after what I did to you when you and Damon came to the Armory?" He said, referring to him knocking her out and almost making Damon wolf chow. They'd discussed it more than once before. Enzo had apologised profusely, not expecting that she'd ever forgive him for it even when they were on friendlier terms. Bonnie had told him that what he'd done was completely unacceptable. She did forgive him though. She told him that he had clearly temporarily lost his mind, but his actions wouldn't be forgotten.
"You didn't have to tell me about Damon's plans to desiccate." She said in response. "When you said you wouldn't let the Armory bring me in I gave you the benefit of the doubt."
"Do you think you're still here because there's nowhere else to go, no one else to go to?" He asked anxiously.
"No." She said softly. "I'm still here because of you."
He looked at her, still feeling slightly insecure.
"Enzo, I know what I want and the fact that it's just been me and you for the past few years doesn't mean I'm just imagining the way I feel about you. The feelings are real."
His gaze changed from anxious to content as he understood her words.
"I know you have your own mind." He told her softly.
"Glad to hear it, cause that's never gonna change." She said confidently with a smile.
"That doesn't mean I'm gonna let you go out there and do crazy shit that puts you in danger without saying anything though." He told her sternly.
"Wouldn't expect you too." She said. Bonnie understood that part of being in an adult relationship meant listening to each other and working your problems out together. It was just that the whole situation was pushing her to a point of desperation. What she needed to do was just breath and give her mind time to come up with another plan. She was still safe for the time being.
"You know how I feel about you." He began, expressing that he loved her without actually using the word. "I can't let anything happen to you, especially after what happened in New York."
"I know." Bonnie replied.
Enzo stood up and Bonnie followed. They moved towards each other meeting in an affectionate embrace. He kissed her temple and stroked her hair while she wrapped her arms around his middle tightly.
"What do we do now?" Bonnie asked.
"How about we stop worrying about the Armory for the rest of the day and I entertain you with some more music?" He suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Bonnie agreed, looking up at him with a smile before they walked over to the fireplace to enjoy some stress free time together. Their problems would just have to wait to be solved another day.
End Note:
Hope you enjoyed this part of Bonenzo's story. The recent chapters have been a bit more serious with all the angst and the heart-to-hearts. To lighten the mood I've been thinking of writing a chapter with some costume-based smut. It won't be anything to do with cheerleading as I have something else in mind. What do you think? Should I go for it or has there been enough smut already? Please let me know in the reviews.