https://64.media.tumblr.com/d718ad7f2611bd760319aaf265b2f400/a19557c9755716ce-c1/s400x600/61b264dd9667f3c535b9dc26fb2f04b602f5b629.gif.
THE NEXT DAY
The ache in my skull forced me to see double, the pain not as kind as I'd grown accustomed to after waking from such a heavy day of drinking. At least I still had the familiarity of Elijah walking through my dreams with me... I frowned with the mixture of memory and the dull thumping behind my eyes, for once the dream had a new setting; no-longer was Elijah seeking me out around Mystic Falls or the Boarding house specifically, instead he'd encouraged me out into the middle of the forest and among a terrain I'd barely explored--
"Glad to see you awake."
I jumped in fright, a yelp sticking in my throat when the sunlight striking my pupil pushed me to fall off the bed, "Ow..." I patted the ground, the fluffiness of a foreign rug confusing me further. "Am I still dreaming?"
"Afraid not," I raised my head to see the man I've spent the last three months pining after. "It would appear that your hybrid nature still allows you to become hungover when you consume too much alcohol."
I clenched my jaw in the struggle to stand without wincing, "Well, you looking at me like that doesn't make the headache any easier." I turned in search of my shoes, not dwelling too much on him bringing me back to his current residence and tucking me into bed rather than leaving me behind when I passed out. The room was as luxurious as Mystic Falls could provide, my guess was he'd brought me back to whatever hotel/motel he was hiding in. A flash of how long he might have been here crossed my thoughts, but the pace didn't look too lived in, leaving me to assume he'd only returned recently.
I couldn't meet his eyes again, only further distracted in my search by two advil surrounding a glass of water. I was quick to consume the remedies, ignoring the warm fuzzies over the consideration--Elijah was a gentleman, just because he did this for me doesn't mean he actually cares about me... My silence seemed to encourage him, "Looking at you like what, Miss. Salvatore?" The absence of any possible nickname I'd come to expect from my dreams stung, but the avoidance of my first name in general forced a familiar emptiness to dig through my chest.
"Like you want nothing more than to be as far from me as you can get..." It wasn't as hard as I thought to stow the tears, annoyance fueling my upset the second I dared return his gaze. "Why are you even back here, Elijah(?) Klaus is yet to show his face, and I thought that was supposed to be your calling card(!)"
He raised a brow at the snark, "I don't see it doing much harm waiting around for him for a few days."
I couldn't silence my scoff, "Wow(!) That's mighty high of you to grace us lowly peasants with your company, ma' Lord, are you sure other matters far from here don't need to be attended to(?)" I didn't expect him to vamp speed in front of me, my flinch loud as he assessed me with narrowed eyes.
"Are you upset that I left, Adelina?"
"Are you kidding me?!" I felt anger flood my veins tenfold-- "Of course I am! You were what I considered to be my best friend! I understand that I lied to you, and I take full responsibility for the pain that betrayal might have caused, but I thought I'd proven myself to you enough to merit a less cold goodbye--!" Only when the glass I'd drained smashed was I pulled from my emotions, "I have to go."
I ignored my bare feet, not allowing the man to interrupt before I blurred from his reach...
Sneaking back into the Boarding House was almost impossibly easy, the Salvatores nursing their own long night and continuing their usual bickering while I washed, changed, and snuck straight back out. A distraction was what I needed, and as entertaining as my snarky brothers could be, I knew all that could sate me in this headspace had to be of the magical variety--
"Hiya, Bonnie!" My smile was forced and wave energetic as I highlighted my table at the Gill. "I ordered your favorite."
"Hi Adelina," the spare seat was filled when she narrowed her eyes. "Is everything okay?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't it be--?"
"Listen," she sighed, "We can either skirt around how well I've learned your 'tells' to keep the conversation light and shallow, or you can cut to the chase and not insult me."
My smile grew more genuine with her call out. As I've said, I've spent a lot of time with Bonnie during Elijah's absence, building up both mine and her magic to keep my brain from fogging over. I suppose in all that time we couldn't help but form a friendship, the young witch thriving on connecting with another of her kind--sharing some of her most heartbreaking thoughts with me, and even digging into the grief surrounding her Grams and hatred she focused on Damon and vampire kind in general because of it. In return, I may have shared a life I missed with some of my best friends back in the 'real world', making sure to exclude the Bennett's previous existence as fictional...
"I should've known I couldn't slip this past you," I sighed, finally allowing my frown to show.
Her hands reached out to cup mine, the Bennett's lips pulling up into a sincere smile. "What's up?"
"Elijah's back in town."
My eyes flickered to her stiffening shoulders, her smile quickly fading, "Oh..."
Yes, oh... In the time we'd grown closer, I'd shared more of my 'visions' with the young witch. Exposing vampire bloodlines, the consequences of successfully killing an Original as well as how dangerous their mother could be. In doing so I revealed how the Original matriarch still had the chance to roam the Earth even when she isn't immortal, warning Bonnie that if we were to ever pull her back from the dead then we'd need more than one Bennett to do so. I'd threw it in the air in case I ever thought waking her up would do more good than harm, but I suppose setting the wheels in motion for that rather than focusing on my spiraling emotions was as good a reason as any--
"I hate to ask this of you, Bonnie, but would you be willing to search for your mom with me?"
-TIME SKIP-
The skies were clear and the conversation light after we'd pulled Sheriff Forbes records and found our target in less than a couple of hours. Bonnie was asking me whatever question she could think of regarding my century's worth of travel, or any spells I might have come across that she was yet to find in her family--or even my own collection of Grimoires. She would rather focus on anything other than the address she was driving us to, her mannerisms developing in nerves the closer we got to the destination.
My stomach twisted with guilt, "Are you sure you can do this, Bonnie? If you feel uncomfortable or like you wanna back out, I'm more than happy to turn this car around and never speak of this again--"
"No," her grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I have to do this, you wanting this spell is only giving me encouragement to confront her. I need to know why she left..."
"Of course," I tried to offer the witch my most comforting smile, the car turning onto a familiar road sucking all calm from the vehicle. Bonnie became rigid as the car slowed, practically crawling towards the lone house in the middle of nowhere. I spared another glance at the witch when we finally stopped, "Are you ready to do this?"
She gulped, "As I'll ever be, I guess..." her gaze flickered between me and the home, brow crumpling and words struggling. "I don't want to come across as rude but, do you think you could-? I don't know, maybe-? Would it be easier--?"
I reached over to grab her shaking hand, offering a light squeeze to silence her stuttering. "Do you want me to wait here for you?"
"It's not that I don't appreciate you coming--"
"Don't worry about it," I smiled. "This is a very vulnerable moment for you, I'm sure you're terrified and don't need me looming in the background--especially when most witches don't take kindly to either part of what I am anyway." Her sad smile forced my spine to straighten with confidence, "I'll be waiting right here if you need me. And if the worst happens and you just want an escape, shoot me a text and I'll magically fuck up the car--force you to come to my rescue."
Her laughter was enough to sag her shoulders, "Thanks Adie."
"Don't mention it, Bon." She unclipped her seatbelt and slipped from her side of the car, my enthusiastic; "Good luck!" Motivating her to approach the porch and knock on the front door.
I saw the brunette being spooked by a man opening the door rather than the picture she couldn't stop looking at until we got in the car. Jamie offered a polite smile even though his demeanor was a healthy mix of confused and cautious, the Bennett witch motioning toward me in her car, my wave seeming to give her the confidence she needed to finish her inquiry. Whatever she said made Jamie's jaw grow slack, the buff boy stumbling over his words before stepping aside and inviting Bonnie in.
I busied myself with my phone, waiting for it to charge enough and switch on, almost rolling my eyes at the amount of unread texts and 'missed call' notifications that filled my screen from both Stefan and Damon combined. The boys seemed to have got themselves in quite the tizzy once they realized I'd left the party--
A knock on my window made me jump, Jamie's apologetic smile easing my erratic heart. I tossed my phone onto the dash, lowering my window and offering the boy a small smile. "Sorry about that," he nervously scratched at his neck with his free hand. "Abby wanted me to bring this out to you," a glass of lemonade was offered. "A thanks for encouraging Bonnie to come, and giving her some distance by waiting outside for her."
"Thank you," I accepted the drink, actually finding myself parched. Jaimie leaned into the side of the car, "And tell her thanks too, but it's really no bother. Coming along with her was the least I could do," he nodded his agreement. "I'm Adelina, by the way."
I held a hand out the gap for him to shake, "Jamie," he accepted before stepping back. "Listen, I better go and sort some stuff in the yard, but it was nice meeting you."
"You too," I waved my goodbye, quickly draining the drink and unclipping my seatbelt. The journey to the porch was short as I rested the empty glass on the table outside, barely landing back in my seat before my phone screeched with new life. I huffed at the contact name, knowing it was best to deal with this headache sooner rather than later.
PHONE CONVERSATION
A - Hey, Day--
D - Where the hell have you been!?
A - (I winced at the volume) Out with Bonnie, get the stick out your ass.
D - And you didn't think to tell anyone(?)
A - My phone died, jackass, I wasn't being a runaway on purpose.
D - (His exhale highlighted his annoyance at my careless attitude) Fine, whereabouts are you both now?
A - Just on a field-trip, you know(?) Places to curse, people to trap--the usual. (I shrugged)
D - Well, when do you think you'll finish up with your witch business?
A - Why the twenty questions?
D - (I could practically feel his teeth grit over the phone) Because you have a visitor that I'm trying very hard not to kill.
A- (My stomach dropped with the possibility of it being Elijah, then my sense reasoned he had no cause to seek me out after my outburst this morning--or at least, I hoped he wouldn't seek me out just yet) Whoever it is, say I'll be an hour tops. Any longer and they can meet me at The Grill for seven, okay?
D - I'll pass along the message.
A - (My peripheral picked up on people exiting the home) And, Damon?
D - Yes, little sister?
A - Promise me you won't attack them if you know for sure they can kill you without even trying?
D- *Crghhh* Sis? *Crghhh* Sorry-- *Crgh* Can't hear-- *Crghhhh* Bye! (I knew he was making the noises with his mouth, Does He Think I'm Stupid?!)
END PHONE CONVERSATION
The vehicle jostled when Bonnie filled the driver's seat, my phone easily forgotten in my lap. She seemed on autopilot, buckling in and starting the car, offering the figure on the porch a weak smile and a wave before pulling out. My gaze didn't shift from her face, waiting until she was in the groove of her driving before breaking the silence. "How did it go, are you okay?"
Her exhale was shaky, "I didn't expect that question," she breathed out a little laugh. "I expected 'Did she agree to help?', not 'Are you okay?'. Is that weird?"
She risked a glance in my direction, "It's a little sad," I admitted with a frown. "More so because of how used to putting others before yourself you are. This was a big thing for you, Bonnie. I don't really care whether or not she agrees to help us, all that really matters is if you're okay."
Her lips twitched in a smile, "I don't really know..." she sighed. "I guess I feel relieved? Complete? I honestly don't know yet. We agreed to see more of each other, and she seemed willing to work on her magic with me--said how she 'owes me'," her brow crumpled into a more distinct frown.
"What's that thought?"
"It's just the way she worded it," she admitted. "I don't want her thinking she's in my debt because she left--that if she is able to help out with this spell for you, that'll magically fix everything."
"Then tell her that," I reached over, comforting one hand cemented to the steering wheel. "Let her know that while you appreciate the effort, if she actually wants to be in your life then she's gonna have to try harder than that, I'm sure she will--"
The young witch scoffed, "Why? She left me in the first place, what's to stop her doing it all over again?"
"Because if she can meet the amazing woman you've become and watch the pure majesty you can exhibit with your magic and still choose to leave? She's an idiot that doesn't deserve the privilege of calling you her daughter. Sheila would be incredibly proud of the young witch and woman you've developed into, Bonnie, and you don't need the acceptance of a stranger to fortify that."
Her gaze never strayed from the road, but I didn't miss the glisten in her eyes or the wobble of her smile. "Thank you, Adelina, that means a lot."
"Don't mention it, Bon. What are friends for(?)"
-TIME SKIP-
I yawned when pulling into the Salvatore driveway, not recognizing the car stealing my usual spot. I was reminded of my visitor, checking my watch to see I had another fifteen minutes before they gave up on waiting for me here and went to meet me at The Grill later.
I called out after sealing the front door behind me, "Who needs me?"
Damon was quick to make his way down the hallway leading to the library, fists clenched and eye twitching. "Why don't you come and see(?)"
I narrowed my eyes, hesitantly following behind him, "You didn't try to kill them, did you?" My nerves continued to bubble in our approach to one of my favorite rooms in the house.
He turned into the library with a scoff, "See for yourself."
I paused in the doorway, frozen in place by a familiar devilish smirk, "Hello, love. Did you miss me?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooEv1cH97HA... (Golden Days by Panic! At The Disco)
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Thanks for reading x