an evening i will not forget | stefan

Stefan had done a lot of things over the course of his life but this was definitely a first for him. He hadn’t heard of a blacklight party before Evangeline had said that she was hosting one at the Grill but looking around at all of the people dancing and having fun while the neon paint illuminated their skin, Stefan could definitely see why it had appealed to so many people. There were a lot of faces there that he recognised and he watched them for a moment as he waited for Bonnie to return with the paint and brushes but it wasn’t long before his attention was focused solely on her once more. He hadn’t realised just how much he had missed her while she had been away until he’d seen her at the station when he’d picked her up and now it was almost like he couldn’t get enough of being around her. Bonnie was selfless and kind hearted and she always put the needs of everyone else before her own. She had been through so much and yet somehow she had still become an incredible person and he knew that things were going to be so much better now that she was back home where she belonged.

Just the thought of painting Bonnie’s body was enough to make him a little hot under the collar but he knew that he needed to stay focused. Bonnie was Elena and Caroline’s best friend and he knew that she would never think of him as anything more than her friend and Elena’s ex so he did his best to push all other thoughts out of his mind. Painting different patterns on her skin was a good distraction for a while and he couldn’t deny that he was pleased with the result when he was done although he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as she checked his work using her phone. “You’re welcome, I’m glad you like it,” he admitted, his smile returning as his eyes met hers.

Normally Stefan was more reserved about taking his shirt off, he was the complete opposite of his brother in that respect, but this wasn’t a normal situation and he and Bonnie had both agreed that they wanted the full experience so he knew that he might as well go for it. He could see the way that Bonnie’s cheeks flushed red and for a moment he wondered if perhaps that was a step too far but despite all of the noise around them he was pretty sure that he could hear her heart racing slightly and for a moment he let himself hope that perhaps he wasn’t the only one feeling something. The sensation of the brush moving over his skin was strange at first but it was something that he quickly got used to and he waited patiently for her to finish, his eyes fixed on her the whole time. He could see the concentration evident on Bonnie’s face and he couldn’t deny that it was cute. Anyone else probably wouldn’t have worried so much about what they were doing but not Bonnie, she was being really careful and he could see that she was proud of herself when she was done. For a moment her eyes seemed to linger and that was enough to bring a gentle smile to Stefan’s face. Ever since he’d realised he liked her he had told himself that it was a one sided thing but the more time they were spending together now the more he was starting to wonder if that was the truth after all. All night he had struggled to keep his eyes off her and it had been the same for Bonnie. She still hadn’t even looked around for Elena or Caroline that he had seen either so he wanted to believe that it was something more for her too. Turning to look at her work in the mirror at the side of the room once she was done, Stefan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as his gaze swept over the patterns she had created. “It’s perfect, I love it,” he said sincerely before turning back to look at her once more and holding his hand out to her. “Now I believe it’s time I made good on that promise of a dance,” he said, waiting for Bonnie to take his hand before lifting their joined hands and spinning her around.

BONNIE BENNETT

Stefan hadn’t expected the night to take this turn of events at all, he had felt sure that he would end up going to the party on his own, maybe hang out with his friends for a while and then head home. He hadn’t expected to end up with Bonnie painting his body like this even after he’d picked her up from the station but he couldn’t deny that it felt good. Normally he was so reserved when it came to his body but there were so many guys around the Grill who were going for it and he knew that he might as well join them. For a moment she had seemed a little distracted but she soon recovered and Stefan found himself smiling at her in return. “How could I not?” he asked as his gaze came to rest on her once more. He had known that the two of them had grown close during the time that Bonnie had been away but now that she was back it was almost like things had shifted up a gear, on his part at least. No longer could Stefan deny that he had feelings for Bonnie but he knew that he shouldn’t act on them and risk their friendship so he was doing his best to bite his tongue.

Even so he still couldn’t resist spinning Bonnie around and his smile widened as her hands came to rest against his chest as she steadied herself. “I’m glad you approve,” he chuckled, his smile returning as they began to dance. When he’d first arrived in Mystic Falls he had been so intent on getting to know Elena that he hadn’t really paid much attention to anyone else but over time her friends had become his as well and Bonnie was definitely someone that he had come to care about a lot. It was easy to get lost in the moment as they laughed and with the way that Bonnie was looking at him he could tell that she was happy too and that really was all that he wanted for her. He knew that she and Scott were good together but their relationship had come to an end a long time ago now just like his own had with Elena and he knew that now was perhaps the right time for both of them to move on.

The only time Stefan tore his gaze away from Bonnie was when Josie took to the stage and the two of them watched her together. The whole time Stefan had a smile on his face and he nodded as Bonnie said that Josie was amazing up there. “She was incredible,” he agreed, his eyes picking the young witch out among the crowd once more as the crowd cheered her as she got down off the stage and kissed Hope. “Looks like she’s really going for it tonight,” he said as he nodded in their direction before turning his attention back to Bonnie once more. “I am too I was dreading coming here on my own,” he admitted as they started dancing together once again. He had promised himself that he was going to go but he hadn’t really been looking forward to it at all. He hadn’t thought that he would end up enjoying himself as much as he was right now and that was all thanks to Bonnie. “Neither can I,” he admitted as Bonnie said that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this happy. “You’re welcome, I’m glad you decided to come,” he said gently as they danced. They carried on like that for a long time and Stefan didn’t even notice as the crowd started to thin out around them until they were the only ones left at which point Evangeline made her way over with his jacket and shirt in hand. “I think that’s our cue to go,” he chuckled as he took them from her and thanked her. “I had no idea it was so late,” he added as his eyes met Bonnie’s once more. “I’ll give you a ride home,” he said, knowing that he wasn’t going to let Bonnie walk home on her own this late.

BONNIE BENNETT

Stefan had thought that he would end up heading to the Grill for a while, showing his face and then leaving before too long. He knew that he could have ended up hanging out with some of his friends but they all seemed so happy and he had known that they hadn’t needed him hanging around as the odd one out so he hadn’t thought that he would spend too much time there but being able to spend time with Bonnie like this was enough to make him want the night to never end. It had been a while since he and Elena had broken up and even though Stefan had loved her he knew now that they weren’t right for each other. They’d tried to make it work but in the end they had realised that they were at different places in their lives and they were better off as friends. Stefan had been dreading putting himself out there again but spending time with Bonnie felt so natural and he was glad that she’d asked to join him that evening. They had talked a lot while she was away but seeing her now was enough to make him realise just how much she truly meant to him and that was a little scary to say the least.

Up until the moment that Josie headed onto the stage to perform Stefan only had eyes for one person. He was surprised that Caroline or Elena or even Matt hadn’t decided they wanted to catch up with Bonnie for a while now that she was back but if he was honest he was glad that the two of them had some space. Cheering for Josie once the performance was over, Stefan couldn’t deny that he was surprised when she kissed Hope but at the same time he was proud of her. “Same here, they’re great together,” he admitted. He knew that things couldn’t have been easy for them over the last year or so considering that they’d both been aged up by the spell but they had turned into great kids and he was glad that they didn’t seem to be letting anything hold them back. Stefan knew deep down that he really needed to take a leaf out of their book but that was easier said than done. Bonnie was one of Elena’s best friends and even though he and Elena weren’t together any longer he knew that the last thing he wanted was to make things awkward between them, not to mention he didn’t even know if Bonnie felt the same way he did. Stefan would be the first to admit that he had never been very good at reading things like that but he knew he didn’t want to risk the friendship they had built so for now he knew he had to stay quiet.

After that the two of them literally danced the night away and Stefan didn’t even realise that everyone around them had left until Evangeline made her way over to them and handed him his jacket and shirt. “I guess it’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun,” Stefan said, a smile forming on his face as he looked over at Bonnie. Soon enough they were outside heading to his car and Stefan opened the door for her so she could get in. “I hope you’ve enjoyed tonight, I know I have,” he admitted as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and started driving in the direction of Bonnie’s house. “I expected Caroline or Elena to steal you away for a while but I’m glad they didn’t,” he added as he pulled onto the street that would soon lead them to Bonnie’s. It wasn’t much longer until they reached her house and as Stefan brought the car to a stop outside, he turned the ignition off and turned to look at Bonnie. “I’m really glad you’re home,” he admitted.

BONNIE BENNETT

Stefan had known that he wouldn’t have been able to get away with not going to the party at the Grill, he didn’t doubt that Caroline or one of the others would have dragged him along if he had decided to skip it, but he had thought that he would just end up showing his face and then heading home again. He hadn’t thought that he would end up getting involved in the painting or that he would spend so much time dancing with Bonnie but the truth was that he had enjoyed himself a lot more than he had thought he would, so much so that he had completely lost track of time and hadn’t realised that everyone around them had already left. “Same here. Maybe we should do this again sometime?” Stefan suggested. He knew that it would only be as friends as he was certain that there was no way that Bonnie would feel the same way about him that he felt about her but the truth was that as long as he got to spend time with her then he knew that it didn’t really matter. He wanted something more but after everything that had happened he knew that he was lucky to have Bonnie in his life at all so he knew that he didn’t want to push his luck.

As they headed outside it was automatic for Stefan to open the car door for Bonnie and he couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his face as she thanked him. Closing the door behind her, he made his way around to the driver’s side and climbed into the car. “I’m glad,” he admitted as Bonnie said that she’d enjoyed it a lot. As she spoke again, his smile returned. “Even if you had, you wouldn’t have been alone,” he assured her. “I’m glad you had a good time though.” Stefan knew that he would have been there for Bonnie if she’d asked and he didn’t doubt that Elena and Caroline would have been as well. Bonnie meant so much to all of them and he knew that they would be pleased to have her back as well. Stefan honestly had thought that she would have wanted to spend some time with the two girls but instead she’d spent the night dancing with him and Stefan couldn’t deny that it meant a lot to him. As Bonnie said that Caroline definitely saw them dancing together, Stefan couldn’t help but laugh. “Rather you than me, she can be relentless sometimes,” he chuckled. Caroline was one of his best friends and he knew that she only wanted what was best for all of them but he knew that she had a way of getting information out of everyone and if she tried it with him then he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she learned how he felt about Bonnie and he knew that the last thing he wanted was to make things awkward. He and Elena had ended things on good terms and it had been long enough that he felt ready to move on but Bonnie was one of her best friends and he knew that that would surely make things complicated.

It wasn’t long before they reached Bonnie’s house and for the first time Stefan found himself wishing that the drive could have taken longer. He knew that he couldn’t be selfish with Bonnie although he had already spent the whole evening with her so in a way he already had been. Bonnie hadn’t seemed to mind though, in fact she had seemed to really enjoy it and for that he was glad. For a moment after Bonnie agreed with him it looked like she wanted to say something else but she seemed to think better of it and instead she wished him a good night. “Good night Bonnie,” he said, his smile returning as he nodded. Being so close to her it was easy to imagine what it would be like to lean over and kiss her but he refrained. Bonnie had forgiven him for what had happened to her Grams but he knew that she still wouldn’t want him in her life like that no matter how much fun they’d just had so he knew that he needed to let her go.

Watching Bonnie head up the path to her front door, for a moment Stefan thought about going after her but as she closed the door behind her a sigh escaped his lips and he hesitated for a moment before starting the car and driving home. The silence engulfed him as he headed home and as he pulled up outside he knew that he was being an idiot for not at least trying to give himself the chance to be happy but if he was honest there was a part of him that still wasn’t sure that he deserved it. Instead he climbed out of the car and headed into the Boarding House before closing the door behind him. Heading into the living room he poured himself a drink from Damon’s favourite bottle and lifted the glass to his lips. Taking a sip, he only waited a moment longer before draining the rest of the contents and setting the glass down on the sideboard, knowing that he could wash it up in the morning. A sigh escaped his lips as he headed in the direction of the stairs but he stopped as he heard a knock on the door. It was really late so he wasn’t sure who it could be but as he opened the door he was surprised to find Bonnie standing before him. “Bonnie, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he asked as his gaze swept over her, instantly worried about her.

BONNIE BENNETT

“Great,” Stefan said, a smile forming on his face as he looked over at Bonnie. He was surprised that she would be up for having a repeat of that night but he couldn’t deny that he was pleased about it. There was a time when the two of them weren’t that close but over time Bonnie had come to mean so much to him and Stefan knew that he would take whatever time he could get with her now that she was back. There was a part of him that wondered what it might be like to be able to call it a date but he knew that he needed to push those thoughts out of his mind. Bonnie had forgiven him for what had happened to her Grams in the end and she knew that he’d tried to help her and Scott make things work by compelling the Dean at Whitmore to offer the course that Scott wanted to do but they were still so different and he couldn’t shake the feeling that Bonnie would never want to be with someone like him. “I don’t know about that, you’re the one who saved me from being the third wheel tonight,” Stefan admitted as Bonnie said it was all thanks to him. He knew that Caroline and Dec would have spent time with him at the party if he hadn’t had Bonnie to keep him company or Matt and Rebekah or some of his other friends might have done so but either way he would have been the odd one out and that was something that he hadn’t been looking forward to. “Definitely, I hope the fridge is fully stocked,” Stefan chuckled, knowing that it would be just like Caroline to do something like that. “I know she’s really missed you.”

---

Just the thought of the smile that seemed to have been a permanent fixture on Bonnie’s face all night was enough to fill Stefan with a warmth that he hadn’t felt for a long time. Relationships had never been easy for him, first Valerie had left and then Katherine had turned his life upside down and there had been a few others along the way but his most serious relationship after Katherine was with Elena. Stefan had thought that he’d found the one but he knew now that he had been wrong. They were good together for a while but they were too different and that was something that he had learned to accept. They had wanted different things out of life and deep down Stefan had always felt like Elena was holding something back. What that was he had no idea but it hadn’t made things easy and he had realised that he didn’t want to be in a relationship like that. He had always been the kind of person who put others first and considering the awful things that he had done in the past he knew that it wasn’t much but he wanted to make the lives of those around him better. Just once he wanted to be with someone who chose him and him alone, though, and he knew that he didn’t want to settle for anything else.

Stefan knew who it was that he wanted to be with but he also knew that she was someone that he could never have. That didn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat as he saw Bonnie standing on his doorstep, though, but he was also worried that something had happened. It soon became clear that it wasn’t what he’d thought, though, as soon enough Bonnie’s hands were cupping his cheeks and she was kissing him. For a moment Stefan was surprised but he quickly recovered and his hands found her waist as he kissed her back. In that moment his lips moved against hers with such ease and nothing else in the world mattered. Too soon it was over, though, and Stefan cleared his throat as Bonnie leaned back, knowing that he had gotten caught up in the moment. He wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what Bonnie wanted right now so instead he stayed silent and as she finally broke that silence, the words that left her lips were just the words that Stefan had been needing to hear. “You do?” he breathed, hardly able to believe it as she said that she liked him. It wasn’t long before the words started pouring out of Bonnie’s mouth and Stefan shook his head as she apologised for judging him too quickly. “You have nothing to apologise for, I would have done the same in your position,” he assured her. In that moment he couldn’t help but wonder if this was all just a dream but if it was then it was one that he knew he didn’t want to wake up from. Stefan stayed quiet as Bonnie continued but as she said it was ok if he didn’t feel the same, he brought his hand up and brushed her hair away from her face gently. “I’m glad you finally decided to put yourself first,” he said as his eyes met hers. “I really like you too. I’m not sure when it changed to something more than friendship, perhaps it was all those hours we spent talking while you were at your dad’s, but when I think about what I want the future to be like you’re always right there beside me,” he said gently before letting his hands find her waist once more. This time he pulled her to him and he poured everything he was feeling into that kiss. He knew that they were different, Bonnie was mortal while he was frozen at seventeen forever, but he knew what he wanted and that was Bonnie. “I never thought you would feel the same,” he added, needing to say those words out loud and make sure that this was real.

BONNIE BENNETT

“You might regret that offer, I’ll probably take you up on it,” Stefan chuckled. He had started to grow used to being the third wheel after he and Elena broke up but the truth was that it still wasn’t something that he was comfortable with so he knew that he would much rather avoid that if he could. It would also mean that he would have an excuse to spend some more time with Bonnie and that was never going to be a bad thing as far as he was concerned. They had talked a lot while she was away but a part of him had wondered if things would end up going back to the way they used to be when she finally returned. Back then they hadn’t spent too much time together and he knew that he didn’t want it to go back to being like that between them but if tonight was anything to go by then Stefan had a feeling that he wasn’t going to have to worry about that after all. “That’s Caroline, there’s never a dull moment,” he grinned, knowing that it was definitely true. “I don’t know how Dec keeps up with her sometimes,” he added with a laugh. Caroline was happy, though, and so was Dec so he was so glad that the two of them had each other.

---

The kiss was the last thing that Stefan had expected but it didn’t take him long to recover and kiss Bonnie back. It was something that he had thought about so many times and even more so after spending the night dancing with her at the Grill. Something had changed between them and Stefan would be lying if he said that that wasn’t a little scary considering that none of his past relationships had worked out but he couldn’t deny that this time felt different. Bonnie knew everything about him, the good and the bad, and she knew about the fact that he had kids. She knew everything that he had done and yet here she was kissing him. It was so much more than he deserved but in that moment Stefan knew that he didn’t want it to end.

Naturally it had to but even as Bonnie pulled back she didn’t move too far away and his eyes widened in surprise as she confirmed that she liked him. Bonnie had been on his mind so much lately but every time he’d thought about her he had quickly dismissed the idea of anything else happening between them because he had felt sure that she would never want him in her life as anything more than a friend. She deserved so much better than the hand that she had been dealt in life and he had already been trying to make sure that she didn’t endure anymore heartache than she had to. That was why he’d stepped in and compelled the Dean, he had never told Bonnie and Scott that he’d done it but they had figured it out anyway and even though things hadn’t worked out between them he was still glad that they’d had the chance to give it a go. Now Scott had moved on with Malia and it seemed like Bonnie was ready to move on too, just like Stefan was. He had never thought that her homecoming would end up taking this turn but he knew that he didn’t want to try and fight it. Instead this time it was Stefan’s turn to kiss Bonnie and he found himself smiling into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved so she could deepen the kiss. Each first kiss was different but with Bonnie it felt right and he pulled her closer to him as his lips continued to move against hers. Finally breaking the kiss, Stefan looked at her in surprise as she said she had never thought that he would feel the same. “Are you kidding? I’d be crazy not to,” he assured her. Bonnie was incredible and he’d finally realised just how much during all of their chats while she was away. As she asked if he wanted to go out on a date tomorrow, Stefan felt a smile form on his face. “I’d love to,” he nodded. “Would you like to come in?” he asked, realising that he was being rude making her stand outside. It was then that he remembered that it was late, though, and he hesitated for a moment. “Unless you’d like me to give you a ride home?” he asked even though he didn’t really want to say goodbye to her again just yet.

BONNIE BENNETT