an evening i will not forget | stefan

Things had changed a lot over the last few years, some things for better and some for worse, but Stefan had made his peace with that. His relationship with Elena hadn’t lasted because they had realised that they were at different stages of their lives but they had agreed to stay friends and to this day she was still one of the people that he was closest to. Stefan had never thought that this would become his life but he knew that he was lucky that it had done. He had friends around him that he genuinely cared about and he had his brother back. He had never thought that Damon would ever forgive him for making him complete the transition all those years ago but Damon finally seemed happy and Stefan knew that Claire had a lot to do with that. It seemed like most of his friends were coupling up these days while he remained on his own but Stefan was surprisingly fine with that. It had been over six months since he and Elena had broken up and Stefan knew that it was time for him to move on but the truth was that the only person he could see himself moving on with right now wasn’t in town so he was fine on his own.

Stefan wasn’t entirely sure why he had decided to go to the blacklight party considering that it wasn’t his scene at all but a few of his friends had made him promise that he would be there and he had known that he hadn’t wanted to let them down. If he was honest the thought of going on his own didn’t particularly appeal to him but Stefan knew that it would be fun if he was able to find his friends while he was there and if not then he could just leave. That didn’t stop him from scrolling through his phone after he’d finished getting ready to try and find someone who might be able to stop him from showing up alone, though. His gaze slowly drifted over the names of his contacts and as it came to rest on one name in particular, Stefan couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his face. He hadn’t seen Bonnie since she had left Mystic Falls to go and look after her dad but they had talked all the time and that was something that had surprised Stefan to begin with. At first it had started with him providing Bonnie with information about how the others were really doing and it had progressed from there. Now all of his most recent calls were from her and he wished that he could invite her to go with him that evening but he knew that there was no way that it would happen so he knew that he had to keep looking.

No sooner had he scrolled past her name than her picture popped up on his screen to show that she was calling him and he answered on the second ring. “Hey Bonnie, what’s going on?” he asked, his smile returning straight away at the sound of her voice. He could almost imagine the way she was smiling right now and as the announcement came over the speaker he couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s great! We’ve missed you,” he admitted, choosing to leave out the fact that he in particular had missed her. “I’m glad your dad is doing better, it hasn’t been the same around here without you,” he said sincerely. He and Bonnie had been friends for years but they had never been as close as she was to the others and deep down Stefan had still felt guilty about what had happened to her Grams. Now that guilt finally seemed to have drifted away somewhat and the two of them had grown much closer. “I miss you too,” he said as his smile returned, surprised at just how easy it was to say those words out loud after hearing them first from Bonnie. “I’m free, I’ll be right there,” he said, not hesitating for even a moment as he grabbed his wallet and car keys and closed the front door of the Boarding House behind him.

It wasn’t very often that he took his car out but this was a special occasion and it was his Porsche that pulled into the parking lot of the train station. Climbing out of the car once he’d found a space, Stefan made his way over to Bonnie and pulled her into a hug. “It’s so good to see you,” he admitted, letting her go before taking a half step backwards and holding out a hand so that he could take her bag from her. “How are you doing, are you okay?”

BONNIE BENNETT

It always surprised Stefan how the sound of one person’s voice could send a rush of warmth through him. For a long time after he became a vampire, too long really, he had kept himself at a distance from everyone else around him. It had always seemed easier that way considering that Damon had been hell bent on ruining anything good that he might have found in his life but now things were different. His relationship with Damon was better than it had been in years and it felt like he actually had his brother back and that was something that he had never thought that he would ever be able to say. He had built a life for himself in Mystic Falls and he had so many people around him that he cared about now. He and Elena had tried to make things work but it wasn’t to be and Stefan was fine with that. He knew that they were different people but she had still showed him that he deserved to be loved and that was something that he hadn’t felt for a long time. He wasn’t sure what the future was going to hold but he was truly grateful for the people that he had in his life now and he knew that he wouldn’t want to be without them.

It still amazed him how Bonnie had seemingly managed to forgive him for what had happened to her Grams considering that they’d lowered the spell on the cave after he’d rushed inside to help Elena. He had never blamed her for hating him after that but as the years went on they had slowly started to fix things and he had tried to be there for her during her time away. He knew how alone she must have felt so he had done his best to remind her that she wasn’t alone at all but talking on the phone all the time didn’t match up to being able to see her and even though he said that they’d all missed her, deep down he knew that he meant that he had missed her. “Give it a week or so and we’ll probably all be back to driving you crazy again,” he said, a smile touching his lips as he spoke. He knew that that wouldn’t actually happen, Bonnie was so patient with all of them and that had never changed. He meant it as he said that it wasn’t the same without her, he had never realised just how used to seeing her around all the time that he had become until she had left. Back then Bonnie was with Scott and Stefan had completely supported the two of them being together because they were both his friends and he wanted them both to be happy but much like his relationship with Elena, theirs too had come to an end and he knew that Scott had moved on so he didn’t feel guilty about feeling the way he did right now.

As Stefan told Bonnie that he missed her too, the words had slipped out of his mouth with such ease and he felt his smile widen slightly as Bonnie said that she would wait for him. The drive to the train station didn’t take him long at all and before he knew it Bonnie was making her way towards him and her arms wrapped around his neck as his own arms wrapped around her. Hugging her tightly, for a moment Stefan didn’t want to let go but he knew that he had to and he let Bonnie step backwards as he did the same. Taking the bag from her he slung it over his shoulder before laughing as she asked how he was doing at the same time that he asked her. As she said that she was happy to be back before adding that she was happy to see him, Stefan’s smile returned. “Talking to you on the phone doesn’t even come close to being able to talk to you in person,” he admitted, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as he led the way towards his car. Opening the trunk he set Bonnie’s bag down inside before opening the passenger’s side door for her. “I’m doing pretty well actually, since it’s summer I’ve been spending time working with Jacob, Lucy, MG and everyone and I’ve been doing some work on the car,” he explained, closing the door behind her before climbing into the driver’s side. “Have you spoken to Elena or Caroline yet?” he asked, not sure if either of them knew that Bonnie was back in town.

BONNIE BENNETT

It really hadn’t been the same without Bonnie around. Stefan hadn’t realised the way that he had taken her always being there for granted until she left but he knew that he wasn’t going to do that again. He had never been as close to Bonnie as he was to Elena and Caroline but he had still considered her a friend and he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. He had never told Bonnie and Scott that he was the one who had compelled the Dean at Whitmore into offering the veterinary medicine major that Scott had desperately wanted to do but they had both figured it out anyway and from the moment that happened it was like something with them had shifted. It had only been a small thing as far as Stefan was concerned but it had been a way of at least trying to make it up to her for what had happened to her Grams. If it weren’t for him then she would have still been alive and Stefan knew that Bonnie had lost enough people she loved already so he hadn’t wanted her to lose another one.

In the end she and Scott had decided to go their separate ways but he knew that they were still close just like he and Elena were and he was glad about that. While Bonnie was looking after her dad she and Stefan had talked a lot, often for hours on end, and it was no surprise to him that they had grown closer but he was a little surprised at the way that seeing her again was making him feel right now. That wasn’t something that he had expected but he wasn’t so sure that it was a bad thing either. “You say that now,” Stefan chuckled, his smile playful as he looked down at Bonnie. He knew that the others would be just as pleased to see her as he was but he couldn’t deny that a part of him was glad that he was the first one who got to see her. Even though they had talked a lot nothing could compare to seeing her in person and he hoped that now that she was back then the closeness that had developed between them would remain because if he was honest he didn’t want to lose that now.

A part of Stefan wanted to reach down and take Bonnie’s hand in his but he refrained, instead choosing to wrap his arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the car so that there would still be some contact between them at least. Bonnie in turn wrapped her arm around him as well and that alone was enough to draw a smile to Stefan’s face. “Same here, a lot more than I realised,” he admitted, knowing that after such a long time of being completely honest with Bonnie he wasn’t going to change that now. There were certain things that he knew that he couldn’t tell her but that wasn’t one of them. He had never realised just how easy it was to talk to Bonnie until they started talking while she was away and it was something that he had come to enjoy a lot. Opening the door for her, Stefan’s smile returned as she said she was glad that he wasn’t alone while she was gone. “We all looked out for each other but your presence was definitely missed,” he said gently before closing the door behind her and climbing into the driver’s side. “They’re doing really well actually, I love having them all under one roof,” he admitted. Jacob and Lucy were living at the Boarding House with them and it made things so much better. “I know they’ll be happy to see you, I might have talked about you quite a bit,” he added with a laugh as he turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. As Bonnie said that Elena and Caroline hadn’t answered, Stefan nodded. “They’re probably already at the Grill, there’s a blacklight party there tonight,” he explained as he pulled onto the road that would take them to town. “I was getting ready to head there myself when you called.”

BONNIE BENNETT

Stefan had never been very good at letting people in, he had let Valerie into his life only to have her suddenly disappear when the two of them were going to run away together and he had found out over a century later that at the time she was pregnant. He had lost other people since then and it was something that he had grown used to but he knew that he didn’t want to go through that again anytime soon if he could help it. Lexi had died at Damon’s hands when he had sacrificed her to make it look like she was the vampire responsible for hurting people around town but somehow she had made it back and others had too. Stefan knew better than to think that would be possible for everyone, though, so ever since he’d returned with Klaus a few years ago he had made a point of enjoying the time that he was able to spend with the people he cared about.

He could have hidden how much they had all missed Bonnie, how much he had missed Bonnie from her but it hadn’t felt right doing that and the truth was that he didn’t regret it. When he said something like that he always meant it and he could see from the look on Bonnie’s face that she knew that. Her words were enough to bring a smile to his face as he looked over at her. “If any part of you is having second thoughts you might want to get out while you can because I don’t think any of us will let you go again,” he admitted. “I’m pretty sure even Damon has missed you.” So much had happened since he and Damon had returned to Mystic Falls and not all of it was good but Stefan honestly hoped that with Bonnie back now then things would continue looking up. As she questioned what he’d said about talking to the kids about her, Stefan couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I did. They heard me on the phone to you a few times and it went from there,” he chuckled. Naturally they had been curious about the people in his life and Stefan couldn’t blame them because he was curious about the people that they had in their lives too and he was pretty sure that they had realised that Bonnie meant a lot to him.

As she said that she’d heard about him and Elena, Stefan shrugged as she said that she was worry it hadn’t worked out for them. “It is what it is, we realised that we were in different places in our lives and it wasn’t fair on either of us to keep trying to make it work,” he explained. As she asked if he was doing ok, Stefan nodded. “I’m doing fine, it happened at the end of last year and we’re still really good friends so it was for the best,” he said, pretty sure that if there was anyone who would understand that then it was Bonnie. “I heard about you and Scott as well, I’m really sorry it didn’t work out for you guys. You were great together,” he added. More than anything he wanted Bonnie to be happy and he hoped that now that she was back in Mystic Falls she might just find someone who made her feel that way again. Deep down Stefan knew that he wanted that person to be him but he knew that was never going to happen so he wanted her to be happy even if that was with someone else. “Not tonight, just a regular party,” he grinned as Bonnie said that she thought that something had happened. There was always something going on in Mystic Falls but tonight it was something normal and for that Stefan was grateful. As Bonnie suggested that she could tag along, Stefan’s smile widened. “You definitely should, I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” he admitted. It would with Bonnie there at least, Stefan really hadn’t liked the thought of going alone that much. “I don’t mind at all,” he assured her as he turned the car onto Bonnie’s street and pulled up outside her house. “How does it feel to be home after so long?” he asked as he climbed out of the car and made his way around to Bonnie’s side of the car so that he could open the door for her.

BONNIE BENNETT

“Good, I guess you’re stuck with us then,” Stefan said, a smile forming on his face as he looked over at Bonnie. It had been strange not seeing her around Mystic Falls and he knew that he wasn’t the only one that had noticed it. Stefan had struggled letting people get close to him before he moved to Mystic Falls but Elena, Bonnie, Caroline and the others had all helped him realise that if he let people in then it wasn’t a guarantee that he was going to lose them like he had lost so many people before. He no longer had to worry about Damon taking people from him in an attempt to make his life a misery, his brother was happy with Claire and for the first time in a long time Stefan felt like he finally had his brother back. So much had happened while they had been in Mystic Falls and he didn’t doubt that there would be plenty more to come but at the end of the day he knew that they could all do just about anything as long as they stuck together. Life always seemed to throw them curveballs when they least expected it but they were stronger together and they always would be. As Bonnie asked how Damon was and asked if he was still being Damon, Stefan couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually right now he’s more like the brother I used to know before we became vampires. I think Claire is a good influence on him,” he admitted. She had always been able to get through to him in a way that no one else ever had, in a way that Stefan had never been able to himself, but he knew that it was definitely a good thing. Damon needed someone like that in his life and Stefan was glad that the two of them had worked things out. “Good. Don’t worry, I only told them good things,” he chuckled.

It had come as a surprise when Bonnie had called and told him that she was back in Mystic Falls but Stefan was already glad to have her back. It had been over a year since he had last seen her and even though they had talked all the time it just wasn’t the same as being able to talk to her like this now. He had suspected that if there was anyone who would get what it was like to have to call it a day on a relationship because things had changed and that was something that he had been missing. He had talked to Caroline and a few of the others about it and it had helped but Bonnie had been through the same thing after she left Mystic Falls so it was something that they could both relate to. “So am I, I wouldn’t have wanted to lose her from my life completely,” Stefan admitted, a smile touching his lips as Bonnie squeezed his hand. He knew that the breakup was for the best but no matter what Elena still meant a lot to him and that was something that he had grown used to over the last few years. They weren’t together anymore but that didn’t mean that they didn’t still care about each other and he knew that it was much better this way. “Thank you,” he said, his smile widening as Bonnie said that any girl would be lucky to have him. Tearing his gaze away from the road he looked down at their joined hands and he turned his hand so that he could grasp Bonnie’s hand in his own and he laced their fingers together. “I feel like I’m ready to move on but it’s strange putting myself out there again,” he said gently. Right now there was only one person that he wanted to move on with but he knew that she wasn’t interested in him like that so over time he hoped that he would find a way to move on from her as well.

“I’m glad you still have each other. You deserve to be happy as well, you always put everyone else first but I want you to be happy too,” he assured her. Bonnie had always put the needs of her friends before her own and he could definitely understand why but at the end of the day Bonnie deserved to be happy too and he wanted that for her more than anything. As she said that she appreciated everything that he did for them, Stefan’s smile returned. “You figured it out, huh?” he asked even though he wasn’t really that surprised. He had never said it outright but Bonnie and Scott were both intelligent people and he had known that they would figure it out sooner or later. “I saw how unhappy you both were and I didn’t want that for you, not after everything you’ve both been through,” he added. They had both done so much to protect the people they loved and he hadn’t wanted something like Whitmore not offering the major that Scott wanted to break them up.

It wasn’t long before they were nearing Bonnie’s house and Stefan nodded as Bonnie said that she came back just in time. “Impeccable timing as always,” he grinned, unable to deny that he was glad when Bonnie said that she would go. He had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to go on his own but that didn’t mean that he had liked the idea. He knew that he and Bonnie wouldn’t technically be going together but she would hopefully still be someone that he could spend time with while he was there without feeling like a third wheel. As they pulled up outside her house, Stefan’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment as Bonnie said that being there felt like a dream. “A good one, I hope,” he admitted. He knew that it couldn’t be easy for Bonnie coming back and knowing that her Grams wasn’t going to be there but he hoped that in time it would start to get easier. Heading up the path to the front door, Stefan stayed outside while Bonnie stepped into the house. She had already invited him in after her Grams died but so much had changed since then and he knew that he didn’t want to just assume that she would want him there. Handing the bag to Bonnie as she reached for it, Stefan was surprised when she invited him in and told him to make himself at home. “Are you sure?” he asked, waiting for her response before stepping into the house. As Bonnie headed upstairs Stefan sat down on the couch to wait for her and she emerged almost twenty minutes later. “You have nothing to apologise for, you look beautiful,” he said sincerely as he got to his feet. “Let’s go,” he nodded, opening the door and waiting for Bonnie to head outside first before he joined her and they headed to the car together. The drive to the Grill didn’t take very long and once they were inside Stefan looked at the tubs containing the different coloured wristbands to signify their relationship statuses. “Ladies first,” he said, unable to deny that he was curious about which one she would go for.

BONNIE BENNETT

Stefan had never realised just how much seeing Bonnie every day meant to him until she was gone. When he’d first arrived in Mystic Falls his sole focus had been on Elena and he hadn’t been that worried about getting to know other people but in time her friends had become his as well and they had all come to mean a lot to him. For a long time Stefan had been on his own and he hadn’t wanted to let anyone get close to him in case he lost them one day like he had lost so many people before but now he knew that he had been wrong to think that way. Having them all in his life meant so much to him so Stefan had definitely seen the error of his ways and he knew that he didn’t want to end up alone again if he could help it. It had almost happened when he’d left Mystic Falls with Klaus during his quest to create hybrids, back then he’d had to leave everyone that he cared about behind and he honestly hadn’t known when or if he would be able to return to them or what kind of person he would be when he did return but he had managed it and he had stayed true to who he was and that had given him hope once more.

When Bonnie called him that day he had thought that it was for just another catch up but the truth was that this was so much better. “It really can. He’s different to how he was with Katherine, this time it’s real,” Stefan admitted. He had never seen his brother like this before and he honestly hoped that things worked out between them. Claire had been like family to them both ever since they’d met her in London in the early 1900s and Stefan had always suspected that there was something more going on between the two of them but he hadn’t wanted to pry and Damon wouldn’t have wanted him to back then either. Now things were different though, now he had his brother back and things were how they were meant to be. “I don’t know, I think a lot of people would have reacted the way you did,” he teased. That was the day he had realised that Bonnie was a witch and he had known that she was going to end up being a powerful one.

“I know, that’s why I want to try,” Stefan admitted. He knew that Bonnie was right, he would never know who was out there until he tried to find out but that was still easier said than done, especially when there was one person in particular that he was interested in right now. He thought that he had found the one in Elena but he knew that he had been wrong. The two of them were happy together for a while but in the end things hadn’t worked out between them. They were in completely different places in their lives and deep down he wasn’t entirely sure that she had ever completely accepted the fact that he was a father and that he had taken in MG when he hadn’t had anyone else. That was a lot to put on anyone and he knew that he would probably end up having the same problem time and time again but he knew that he didn’t want to give up. All of his friends had been really supportive and he hoped that one day he might find someone who would want to be with him and accept that part of his life as well. “I thought you probably would have figured that Elena or Caroline was behind it,” he shrugged. If one of them had done it then chances were that they would have owned up to it, though, so he knew that that was probably why it had been easy for the two of them to work it out. As Bonnie said that she appreciated it, Stefan felt a smile form on his face as he looked over at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I figured it was the least I could do,” he said gently. He had been the cause of so much unhappiness in Bonnie’s life and he hadn’t wanted her to go through anymore, not while there was something that he could do about it.

He knew that coming home now had to be at least a little bittersweet for Bonnie considering everything that she had happened but she said that it was a good thing and that alone was enough to make Stefan’s smile return. Following her up the steps, Stefan hesitated at the door. Bonnie had invited him in before but so much had happened and he hadn’t wanted to take advantage of that invitation. Bonnie seemed to know exactly why he was hesitant, though, and he said that there wasn’t anything that she was more certain of so Stefan nodded and followed her inside. It was easy to distract himself while Bonnie was getting changed and the compliment fell from his lips with ease once she had returned to him. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. He had been to a lot of different parties over the years, most of them with Lexi, but never one like this so the truth was that he hadn’t been sure what to go for.

It wasn’t long before they reached the Grill and Stefan held the door open for Bonnie like he always did before heading inside himself. The wristbands were a surprise and Stefan knew which one he should go for, the one that signified he was single considering that he technically was, but he knew that that wasn’t the whole truth either. There was someone that he was interested in, really interested in, and as Bonnie reached for an orange wristband so did he. He wasn’t sure who she was interested in but for a moment he let himself hope that it might be him even though he was pretty sure that that was just wishful thinking. As she held out her hand to him and asked if they should start with drinks, Stefan took her hand and nodded. “Definitely. What are you having? I’m buying,” he said, knowing that he wasn’t going to let Bonnie argue with him about that.

BONNIE BENNETT

"I think you'll like him. It's taking time to see past the things he has done but he's trying," Stefan admitted. He knew that Damon had spent a long time thinking that others wouldn't believe that he had changed and some perhaps still didn't now but Stefan had been able to see the change in his brother and he hoped that in time others would too. Bonnie always seemed willing to give people another chance sooner or later, after all she had done that with him after what had happened to her Grams, and he had a feeling that she would do the same with Damon as well. He wasn't the same guy he was when he arrived in Mystic Falls, he wasn't pining over Katherine any longer and he wasn't willing to do whatever he had to in order to get his own way regardless of who he ended up hurting in the process. He really had changed and he had become someone that Stefan was proud of. "Perhaps I'm getting too predictable these days but you always put the happiness and wellbeing of others before your own and so does Scott so I thought it was about time you both had someone put you first for a change," Stefan shrugged. He didn't regret it for a minute but he was still sorry that things hadn't worked out for them.

When they reached the Grill and headed inside Stefan debated on whether to go for a green wristband or an orange one but he soon realised that he didn't want to lie to himself or anyone else by giving the wrong impression so he decided to go for an orange wristband and the fact that Bonnie did the same was enough to give him hope that perhaps she felt the same way he did. It had been a while since he'd last had to worry about that, after all he and Elena were together for years before they called it a day, but he had forgotten how good it could feel when something started to develop with something new and that was exactly what he was finding with Bonnie now.

Nodding as Bonnie told him what she was going to have to drink before placing her order as they reached the bar, Stefan was acutely aware of the fact that they were still holding hands but he made no move to let go until he ordered a bourbon for himself and pulled his wallet out of his pocket to pay for their drinks once both had been brought over. Handing over the money he lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip before turning his gaze back to Bonnie. As she asked if he wanted to dance, Stefan felt a smile form on his face."I always used to say that I don't dance but I guess I can't get away with that anymore," he chuckled, knowing that even when he said that he always ended up dancing anyway. "Let's do it," he nodded, draining the rest of the contents of his glass in one go before holding his hand out to Bonnie once more. Her next suggestion was the one that took him by surprise and he studied her carefully for a moment. "Do you want to?" he asked, unable to deny that that thought was an appealing one. If he was honest he had expected Bonnie to go looking for Elena and Caroline after they got there but she hadn't even looked for them yet so Stefan knew that he wanted to make the most of this while he could.

BONNIE BENNETT