A/N: I can't stress it enough, reviews are LOVE!

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, it belongs The CW. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 3 - Bonfires & Comets

The following night Stefan arrived the exact time he said he would. Bonnie had given him her Grams address since she was staying with her that weekend. He looked overwhelmingly hot in his expensive black leather jacket, and the way he checked her out suggested he liked what he saw as well.

"It's still pretty early," she pointed out. "Want to come in? Hang out for a little while?"

"Gladly." Stefan stepped in the house and followed Bonnie into the living-room where her grandmother was sitting in her favorite armchair.

"Grams, this is my friend, Stefan."

Stefan gave her a friendly smile. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Sheila Bennett gave the boy a once-over. "You're taking Bonnie out tonight?"

"Yes, if you'll allow it."

"Depends. Are you going to behave yourself?"

"You have my word, Miss Bennett."

She finally cracked a smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Stefan." She got up from her living-chair. "I'm going to bed. Don't keep my grand baby out all night."

"I won't."

Once she was upstairs, Bonnie and Stefan settled onto the couch and switched the channel to VH1.

"Do you usually stay with your grandmother?" He inquired, curiously.

"Sometimes," she replied. "She doesn't live far from me. My father is a traveling pharmaceutical rep so he's away a lot. I don't like to be in the house alone too much."

"Well, just so you know, if you're ever feeling lonely you can call me and I'll come keep you company," Stefan offered. Bonnie's brow raised. "And I mean that in the most respectful way possible."

Bonnie smiled. "You're different."

"How do you mean?"

"You're not like most guys our age," she said. "You're much more mature. The last thing on most these guys' minds is actually showing a girl respect."

"A girl like you deserves nothing but respect," he told her. "You deserve love, loyalty, happiness. Everything your heart desires."

Bonnie found herself at a loss for words for a moment. Then, "Wow, that's a broad statement for a girl you barely know."

"I feel like I've known you for years already, Bonnie," he said. "If there's one thing I'm glad about being back in Mystic Falls for it's that I met you." He leaned in closer to her.

"And because you were leaving someone behind back home."

Stefan sighed and fell back on the couch. "Is this really the time to talk about that?"

"I'm sorry to kill the moment but..." She paused. "It was going to come up eventually if this friendship continued."

"My ex and I broke up six months ago," he said, a note of irritation in his voice. "That's over and done with and has nothing to do with anything I have going on here. Definitely has nothing to do with my...friendship with you." His pause was very pointed.

"How long were you two together?"

He exhaled. "Two and a half years," he said. "Then she broke my heart, end of story."

"There's no need for the attitude, Stefan, if you don't want to talk about her you don't have to."

"I don't have an attitude." He quickly adjusted his tone. "I don't. Did I love her? Yes. Do I still think about her? Sometimes. Do I want her back? That's an unequivocal no." Stefan reached out and placed his hand over hers.

"There's nothing for me in Richmond. Hopefully there's something for me here."

Bonnie's phone started ringing. "It's Caroline, she must be wondering where we are," Bon reported.

"I'm ready to go if you are."

"Yeah, I'm sure Care is very anxious to get her claws into you."

In the car, Bonnie apologized for pressing him about his ex. "Don't apologize," he responded. "I'm sorry for getting all snippy about it. I understand why you asked. Hope I didn't lose any points with you."

"You're cool, Salvatore. No points lost. Just don't let it happen again," she added jokingly. He chuckled.

The bonfire party was in full swing by the time they arrived. Drinks were immediately shoved into their hands, weed was offered and refused by both, and Bonnie was pulled away by some of her fellow cheerleaders, who wanted all the details on her "thing" with the hot new guy. They were disappointed by her lack of intimate details, although some were happy to hear he was still on the market. When Bonnie finally managed to break away from the group, she spotted Caroline approaching Stefan by the fire. Bonnie paused and watched curiously. The conversation was short. Stefan walked away, leaving Caroline standing there, her face devoid of the mischievous, lustful smile it held only moments ago.

Stefan's eyes fell on Bonnie and he headed toward her. "You were able to shake off the clique?" He asked.

"They're not my clique," she said. "So you had a little one on one with Caroline?"

Stefan nodded "She's very forward. And she doesn't handle rejection too well."

"That's Care Bear for ya."

Stefan surveyed the party scene and quickly decided on what he'd rather be doing. "Want to go for a walk?"

"I don't know," Bonnie replied, teasingly. "Wandering off into the woods at night with a guy I barely know could be dangerous. You could be a serial killer or a vampire or something."

Stefan smirked. "Do I look like a vampire?"

She gave him a once over. "Actually, yeah, kind of." They both laughed and started their trek away from the bonfire.

"So, why reject Caroline anyway?" She inquired. "She's pretty, single, and pretty much down for whatever."

Stefan exhaled in frustration. "Are you really going to pretend you don't know why, Bonnie?" He asked. She raised her eyebrow. "Why do you do that? I'm here with you, I've only been spending time with you. Are you so used to guys picking your friends over you that you can't accept that I'm different." She hated to admit it, even to herself, but he was right. "I'm going to take a tip from Caroline and just be straightforward. I like you. I see a lot of things in you that intrigue me. None of these other girls have peaked my interest like you have. Even the pretty ones." He took both of her hands in his. "So, if you allow me to get to know you, that's what I'll do, and maybe this can be something amazing. Whether it's a friendship or something else, I want you around, Bennett."

Bonnie stopped gazed into his hazel-green eyes for a moment. She read the genuiness in them. "Wow. You're really good at this," she complimented. Stefan chuckled. "You know what I want." Bonnie declared. "I want you to have fun. I want to see you loosen up a little bit. Let's get some drinks in your system, Salvatore. Let's go." They linked hands and started back toward the party.

"There you go, being a bad influence again," Stefan joked. When they reached the bonfire one of the football players was upside down at the keg stand chugging while all the other teenagers cheered him on. Care was leaning against a tree, glaring at Bonnie and Stefan as they emerged from the woods, hand-in-hand. She watched as Bonnie poured him a drink. As Stefan was pulled into a drinking game with some teammates, Caroline approached Bonnie.

"Congratulations, Bon Bon," she said in a not-so-congratulatory tone. "You won."

"What are you talking about?"

"Clearly, Stefan picked you."

"Caroline, it wasn't a competition."

"Is that your bitchy way of saying I never had a chance?" She snapped. "You finally get one guy to like you and now you have an ego?"

"Okay, I know you're drunk right now so I'm going to take this as the liquor talking," Bonnie stated sternly.

"I knew he had those gorgeous green eyes set on Elena but you swooped in and snatched him up for yourself," drunk Caroline continued. "That was a twist I didn't see coming."

"Care, what is your problem?"

"You knew I liked him!" She cried. "You knew I liked him and you went after him anyway!"

"I didn't go after him!" Bonnie defended herself. "We casually started talking and clicked as friends. Why are you making this about you?"

"Whatever." Caroline tossed her empty red Solo cup aside. "I'm going to go make-out with Todd McKinley." And she stalked off. Elena appeared beside her and watched the blonde go.

"That looked tense," Elena observed. "What's going on with you guys?"

"She thinks I stole Stefan from her or something."

"That's ridiculous. You can't steal what she never had."

Bonnie sighed. "She did tell me he was hot," she admitted. "And that usually equates to, 'I'm going for it' with Caroline."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I like him, Elena. I really like him."

"Then I say it's your turn to go for it," Elena slid another cup into her hands. Bonnie smiled at her encouragement and headed off toward Stefan. She missed the way the smile disappeared from Elena's face at the sight of them together,

As Bonnie started yawning continuously, Stefan offered to bring her home, claiming to be tired himself. He continued to do everything right. He opened the car door for her, and walked her to the front door when they arrived at her Grams' house. As they bid each other goodnight, Bonnie waited nervously to see if he would make a move, unsure if she would let it happen. Seemingly, sensing her nerves, Stefan leaned down and placed a soft, gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Have a good night, Bonnie," he said. "I'll see you soon."

"You too, Stefan." She opened her Grams front door and stepped inside. He headed off and she watched him for a moment before closing the door and allowing a huge smile to crack her face.

The next day went as most Sundays did for Bonnie. She ate breakfast with her Grams, headed home to greet her father coming back from one of his many business trips, texted with Elena throughout the day, managed to make an edible dinner for her and her dad, then started on some homework. As she was finishing up her phone rang. It was Stefan.

"Hello?"

"Is this a good time?" She couldn't help but grin at the sound of his voice. If it was possible, he sounded even better on the phone.

"You caught me at a perfect time, actually," she responded. "I was just finishing up the History homework. What's up?"

"I was starting to miss you," Stefan confessed, "I wanted to hear your voice."

"Are you running game, Salvatore?"

"No, I'm being embarrassingly honest." From there a full conversation bloomed and before Bonnie knew it, it was nearing midnight. They both had school in the morning but neither seemed to care. Stefan talked about his life in Richmond and the year he lived in New Orleans. Bonnie talked about growing up in small town Virginia, Stefan talked about the death of his father and his absentee mother, Bonnie talked about lack of a true parental figure, Stefan even opened up about his last relationship with Katherine, the older more experienced woman that he fell head over heels for. He spoke of the devastation and heartbreak he felt when he learned she was having a relationship with someone else almost the entire time they were together.

"Elijah." Stefan still said his name with contempt. Bonnie couldn't imagine this Elijah having anything Stefan didn't have and imagined Katherine was some kind of stupid hoe to ever cheat on Stefan.

"I hate to do this but I think it's time we both get some sleep." She'd been fighting against her drooping eyelids for a half hour.

"I guess so. At least I get to see you tomorrow," he said. "You don't live far from me. Want a ride to school?"

She pondered it for a moment. "No, that's okay. I have some things I need to do after school so I'm better off in my own car."

"And you're afraid all the chickens will start clucking if they see us come together."

"I care less about what people think than you think."

"Except Caroline, right?"

"She'll be fine," she said without much conviction "We'll be fine."

"Have a good night, Miss Bennett."

"You too Mr. Salvatore."

School went by in a breeze the next day. Before first period, Bonnie approached Stefan at his locker and they walked to class together. She found herself wishing they shared more than three classes. After second period an uncertain Caroline approached her, full of apologies.

"I vaguely recall being a complete and total jealous bitch toward you Saturday night and I am so sorry," she gushed. "Bon, honestly, if this guy makes you happy then I'm happy for you. I had no right to react that way. Please forgive me for being such a wench."

Bonnie's face softened. "You're not a wench, you're my best friend and we swore to each other a guy would never get between us. Of course you're forgiven." Care smiled and they embraced.

"I wanted to call you so bad last night but I thought you deserved a face-to-face apology," she said. "And you have to give me details about what happened when you and Stefan left the party."

"Nothing, he took me home."

"Did he kiss you?"

"He was a perfect gentleman."

Care's face scrunched. "Who's moving at the pace of a kindergartner."

"We haven't even been on a real date, Caroline."

"This isn't 1952, Bon, if you want to kiss him you can kiss him," Care rebuffed. Elena suddenly appeared beside them.

"What are you guys talking about?" She questioned.

"Stefan not making a move on Bonnie."

"He's being a gentleman, Care."

"Thank you Elena," Bonnie said with a smile. "When the time is right it will happen." They got to class and sat together, as usual whispering to each other whenever the teacher's back was turned. Apparently, Elena and Matt had been arguing all weekend, both accusing the other of acting differently over the past few days. Bonnie became distracted from the conversation when her phone buzzed and she saw Stefan was texting her.

'I need you. I think I'm dying,' read the message. She knew he was in class down the hall.

Bon checked the teacher's back was turned before quickly typing back. 'That's what you get for taking French with Ms. Long.'

Less than a minute later, 'Well excuse me for trying to get cultured.' Bon giggled and Elena and Caroline looked at her.

"Who are you texting?" Elena questioned, suspiciously.

"Stefan Salvatore," Caroline answered for her. "Her boo thang." Bonnie blushed as her friends "oohed" at her like children and she quickly stowed her phone away when the teacher looked their way.

When the lunch bell rang, Bonnie approached Stefan at his locker and invited him to sit with she and her friends in the cafeteria. "They want to get to know you," she told him. "You're still a mystery to everyone." He obliged, much to Matt's chagrin. The tension between Elena and Matt was still thick in the air but everybody ignored it.

Everyone in the group confirmed they were going to the Mystic Falls Illumination Night that Thursday. The next day Bonnie had cheer practice after school. She spent most of it getting chewed out by Caroline for being distracted. She couldn't help it. Stefan looked so good, running around the football field, clearly a superior player to everyone else, including Matt who was the star quarterback.

Over the next couple days Stefan continued to sit with Bonnie and her friends at lunch, further integrating himself into their group and Bonnie's life. Matt even seemed to be becoming more tolerant of his presence, the more he saw how into Bonnie and not Elena he was. Stefan was sitting beside Bonnie in the classes they shared, and being friendly with her best friends in the other classes. He and Bonnie capped their nights on the phone.

When Illumination Night came, he instantly sought Bonnie out amongst the large group that had gathered. She was standing with Elena who was doing her best to ignore the looks Matt was shooting at her from across the field. They'd had another big fight and now they weren't even speaking to each other. Stefan caught the tail end of the girls conversation as he walked up.

"It's all becoming too stressful," Elena was saying. "I think I just need a break from the relationship for awhile."

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise?" Stefan stepped up beside Bonnie.

"You could say that," Elena replied with a heavy sigh.

"You guys can get past this," offered an optimistic Bonnie. "You've basically been together since you were kids. There's bound to be rough patches."

Elena looked back at Matt, who's face was even stonier since Stefan appeared. "I don't know you two that well, but I can definitely tell he loves you," Stefan added. "You're not going to solve your problems by ignoring each other."

Elena looked at him with a surprised yet appreciative expression. "You're right, I'm going to go talk to him." She headed off toward Matt and Bonnie faced Stefan.

"That was very nice of you," she told him.

He shrugged. "It was nothing."

Bonnie handed him the extra candlestick she'd been holding onto. "I'm glad you came."

"I won't lie," Stefan started. "This whole thing is all right but you're 99% of the reason I'm here."

They gazed at each other a moment, the flames of their candles slightly flickering against the soft wind of the night, then Bonnie turned to look up at the comet. Stefan did the same, standing so close behind Bonnie she could feel the body heat radiating off of him. He started spewing off some historical fact about the comet but Bonnie wasn't listening. She could hardly concentrate on the comet itself with Stefan so close in proximity.

They watched silently for a moment then continued their small talk. Soon, he took her hand and led her away from the field of spectators.

"Where are we going?" Bonnie questioned.

"I just want to enjoy your company on this beautiful night," he responded. He brought her to an area by the park building and leaned against the brick wall. "Look, you can see the it even better from here." She gazed up at the sky and smiled at the beauty of it.

"Wow, you're right," she said. She then felt hands wrap gently around her waist and pull her into his body.

"Is it okay if I hold you?"

Bonnie's breath hitched and she nodded, then relaxed into him. They admired the view and started talking again. Bonnie was surprised how comfortable she felt with him. So comfortable she wished she could spend the rest of the night with him.

"What time do you have to be home tonight?" Stefan inquired.

"My dad likes me home by 9:30 on school nights but he goes into his office and gets so into his work he hardly notices when I get home," she explained before a large yawn escaped her. Stefan chuckled. "But I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a long day and I'm kind of tired."

He smiled at her and held out his hand. "I understand. I'll walk you to your car."

"Okay, let me just say goodbye to my friends first." He agreed and hand-in-hand they trekked back over to the crowd. Elena and Matt didn't look like they were having that good of a time, they were standing close but their bodies were stiff. Caroline was yapping away to them, Tyler was nearby rolling his eyes, and Elena's focus was shifting toward Jeremy, who looked like he was in the middle of a transaction with the local weed dealer.

All of them took note of Bonnie and Stefan's linked hands as she told them she was heading home. "I'll see you all tomorrow." Stefan gave a wave as they headed away which was returned with the added looks of curiosity. They reached Bonnie's car but she hesitated upon getting in.

"As much as I hate it, this is where we say goodbye," Stefan declared.

"I had a good time," she responded. "It's been nice getting to know you."

He smirked. "Am I growing on you, Bennett?"

"Maybe just a little," she admitted. "Don't get too excited."

"Too late," he joked. "It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you as well, Bonnie" Taking hold of her small hand, he brought it up and placed a soft kiss on the backside of her hand.

Bonnie smiled. "How charming."

His face grew serious. "You're a very beautiful person, do you know that?" He stepped closer to her. Very slowly he brought his hand to her face, gazing intently into her emerald eyes as he did so. "I can't wait to see you again, Bon." Then he placed his lips to hers in a tender kiss, slowly drinking her in. Bonnie closed her eyes, melting into his kiss as he held her, keeping the control and making her knees weak. When he pulled away, it took her a moment to open her eyes.

"Oh," was the only word she could muster up. With a confident smile, Stefan stepped back and opened her car door. "Drive safe," he instructed as she settled into the seat. "Be seeing you soon." And he shut the door. He didn't walk off immediately, waited patiently as she started the car up and pulled off. She looked into the rearview mirror to catch sight of him. He lingered for a moment, watching her go, before turning and starting away with his sexy strut.

Her phone was buzzing almost as soon as she walking into her bedroom. It was a text from Elena 'R u home?' Bonne typed back a quick reply, 'Yes, what's up?'. Though she was sure she already knew what. Unsurprisingly, her phone started ringing.

"Hey, Elena."

"Spill, now."

Bonnie sighed deeply before replying with a broad smile. "He kissed me."

"Really?" Elena squealed. "When?"

"When he walked me to my car. We kissed."

"Be honest. How was it?"

"Oh my God," Bonnie flopped onto her bed. "It was good. It was really, really good."

"So, what does this mean?"

"I don't know," Bon answered honestly. "But I feel it, Elena. I feel that it's real."

A/N: I bring in Damon in the next chapter, I promise!