The Gilbert house was silent.
Dinner had already ended, Jenna had gone up to her room after insisting that the two of them wash the dishes properly, and Jeremy… well, Jeremy was being Jeremy somewhere in the house. Normalcy had returned, at least on the surface.
But the atmosphere between Elena and Bonnie still carried the weight of what had happened at the door.
Now, lying side by side on Elena's bed, the two stared at the white ceiling, illuminated only by the soft light of the lamp on the nightstand. The room was too quiet for two girls who normally never stopped talking.
Elena let out a long sigh.
"That night was… weird." She murmured, turning her head slightly on the pillow. "Like, really weird."
Bonnie kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling, but her body was a little more rigid than usual.
"Elena…"
"No, seriously." She continued, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Stefan showing up out of nowhere was already weird enough… but you practically kicked him off the porch."
Bonnie was silent for a second.
"I just didn't like the look of him." She said finally, trying to sound casual. She couldn't reveal that he was a vampire, not yet... According to Ryan, it was better to keep it a secret for now, and she trusted him...
Elena turned her head a little more, looking directly at her friend's face, clearly not convinced.
"Bonnie…"
The tone wasn't accusatory.
It was curious.
Knowing.
"You don't 'not like' people like that." She continued softly.
Bonnie exhaled slowly through her nose.
She grabbed the pillow and hugged it against her chest, buying a few seconds to compose her expression before responding.
"Stefan isn't a good person." She said firmly.
Elena blinked.
Then a small, almost teasing smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Is this medium talk now?"
Bonnie finally turned her face, meeting her gaze.
And, to Elena's surprise…
She nodded.
"Yes."
The response came simply.
Elena arched her eyebrows, clearly taking it as half joke, half Bonnie being… Bonnie.
"Okay, Grandma Bennett." She teased with a light smile. "Did you have a vision? Bad vibes? Did the universe send you an alert email?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes, but there was a serious undertone that didn't disappear.
"Laugh all you want." She murmured: "But I'm serious, Elena, don't listen to whatever Stefan says and never be alone with him...."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Elena watched her friend for another second… two…
And then her smile softened a bit.
"Do you really think he's that dangerous?" She asked, now more calmly.
Bonnie hesitated for just a second.
Because there, in that moment…
She wasn't lying.
"I do." She replied quietly.
Elena turned back to look at the ceiling, thoughtful.
The name Stefan Salvatore meant nothing in her mind.
But, for some reason…
What really stuck in her mind was the way Bonnie reacted. She wasn't the type to react like that for nothing....
The silence settled between them like a heavy blanket, but gradually, Elena's mind began to drift away from the door, from Stefan… and slide into much more complicated territory.
Much more personal.
She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling, but her focus was no longer there. Her thoughts had turned to the conversation she intended to have that night…
The real problem wasn't accepting it, no matter how absurd that kind of relationship might seem…
The problem was something else.
How was she going to talk about it with Bonnie?
Elena's gaze slid slightly toward Bonnie at her side.
A small knot formed in her stomach.
Because, as logical as the idea had started to seem…
It was still a dangerous line to cross.
And she wasn't usually afraid of difficult conversations, but that night, for the first time in weeks…
She was choosing her words before even having the courage to say them.
Elena took a deep breath once.
When she spoke, her voice came out more direct than even she expected.
"Bonnie… you like Ryan, don't you?"
The effect was immediate.
Bonnie's body stiffened beside her as if someone had pulled an invisible string. Her heart raced so hard that for a second she was sure Elena could hear it. The first thought that crossed her mind was pure panic. Guilt followed right behind, heavy and overwhelming, squeezing her chest in a way that almost hurt physically. Bonnie forced air into her lungs, trying to compose herself before the silence gave everything away.
When she finally turned her face, there was too much tension in her dark eyes.
"…I…" Her voice faltered for a second.
Bonnie closed her eyes briefly, as if accepting an inevitable sentence, and then let out, low and sincere: "I'm sorry, Elena."
Her fingers tightened on the pillow against her chest.
"I didn't plan it… it wasn't something I wanted to happen like this." Her breath came out shaky, laden with real guilt. "I love Ryan. I tried to ignore it, really… but I couldn't help it."
The room fell silent.
And Elena… misunderstood everything.
Because what she saw wasn't betrayal; she had no idea that her best friend was sleeping with her boyfriend....
It was suffering.
It was the Bonnie she had known since childhood clearly feeling guilty, as if she were waiting to be judged. Elena's chest tightened immediately, a wave of guilt rising too quickly.
She had taken too long.
She had taken too long to speak.
"Hey… hey…" Elena's voice softened immediately.
She turned onto her side on the bed, propping her head on her arm as she looked at Bonnie closely.
"Bonnie, you don't need to apologize."
The sincerity there made Bonnie blink, surprised.
Elena let out a light sigh.
"Actually… I've wanted to talk to you about this for a while."
Now it was Bonnie who froze again, but for a completely different reason.
Elena continued, more calmly:
"Do you remember that night… when we almost crossed the line? The four of us."
Bonnie swallowed hard.
She nodded slowly.
Elena bit her lower lip lightly before continuing, choosing her words carefully, but without backing down.
"Ryan and I…" she began, lower, "…we're already dating."
The air in the room seemed to hold for a second.
And then Elena continued:
"And after talking a lot with him… we decided we didn't want to keep pretending this is simple." She spoke slowly, but firmly. "Or ignore what's right in front of us."
Bonnie remained completely still beside her.
Elena turned her body a little more on the bed, now facing Bonnie directly, her gaze serious....
"Bonnie, I'm not blind." She continued, more softly. "I see how you look at him. I see how he looks at you too."
Bonnie's heart raced again.
But for a totally different reason.
"Elena, I—"
"Let me finish." Elena asked, without harshness.
There was a small silence.
Then she let out, finally:
"I don't want this to turn into a situation where someone gets hurt." Her fingers played distractedly with the edge of the sheet. "And… as strange as this sounds… I also don't want to pretend you're not part of this. Since that night we had where we shared the same guy we loved, I believe that even now it's not hard to accept this again, just this time more permanently...."
The air in the room seemed to change.
Bonnie blinked slowly.
Elena continued, choosing each word with almost painful care:
"Ryan and I have talked a lot in the last few weeks." She admitted. "Like… a lot. And we came to a conclusion."
A small pause.
Her gaze met Bonnie's directly.
"That… maybe… we don't need to choose just one path."
Bonnie's heart practically stumbled in her chest.
Elena took a deep breath.
"What I'm saying is…" Now there was a slight real nervousness in her voice "…that if you want… you don't have to stay out of it. You can… be with him too..."
For a whole second…
Bonnie forgot to breathe.
Because inside—
That was everything she secretly wanted most. Her heart beat too hard, too hot, a wave of desire and relief almost dangerously rising in her chest.
But on the outside…
She lowered her gaze, pretending to process, her fingers tightening slightly on the pillow as if she were still in conflict.
"…Elena…" Her voice came out hesitant, carefully controlled. "Are you… sure about this?"
She raised her eyes again, letting just a calculated trace of vulnerability show.
"Because this isn't… normal."
Very convincing.
Elena let out a small sigh through her nose.
"I know." She admitted. Then, more firmly: "But I also know that pretending nothing is happening would be worse."
Bonnie felt her chest tighten, this time not from guilt.
But from real emotion.
She hesitated just one more second… two…
Enough to seem real.
Then she nodded slowly.
"…If you're sure…" She murmured.
But inside?
Her heart was in complete chaos.
Because the mistress had just gotten permission to become a girlfriend.
And, honestly…
How could she refuse something like that?
Elena reached out, touching Bonnie's arm gently.
"I am. And Ryan is too. We've talked a lot about this. We don't want you to be left out. We don't want this to turn into something that hurts anyone."
Bonnie lowered her gaze again, pretending she was still weighing the words, but actually trying to hide the smile that threatened to escape. She bit her lower lip, as if fighting against the emotion.
"I… I've always liked him, Elena." She admitted, her voice low, almost shy: "Since we were kids. But I never wanted to get in your way. I… I swear."
Elena squeezed her arm lightly.
"I know. And that's exactly why I'm talking now. Because you're my best friend. And I don't want to see you suffering in silence over something we can solve together."
Bonnie raised her eyes, now letting the emotion show through; tears shining in the corners, but not falling.
"You won't regret it?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Elena smiled, softly.
"No. Because I know you. And I know you love him the same way I do. And I… I love you both. I don't want to share just with him. I want to share with you two."
Bonnie let out a nervous laugh, wiping the corner of her eye with her finger.
"You're crazy, you know that?"
Elena laughed too.
"Maybe. But it's a good kind of crazy."
Bonnie fell silent for another second, processing everything, her heart still racing, but now from pure relief.
Then she leaned in and hugged Elena tightly, burying her face in her friend's shoulder.
"Thank you…" She whispered, her voice choked. "Really."
Elena returned the hug, squeezing her affectionately.
"You're welcome. Now… we need to talk to Caroline too. She deserves to know."
Bonnie nodded against her shoulder, the hidden smile slowly spreading.
"Yeah. She's going to freak out...."
The two pulled apart slowly, the look exchanged between them laden with a new complicity, of a friendship that had just gained a different layer, deeper, more honest.
Elena lay back down, looking at the ceiling.
"And now?" She asked, almost laughing nervously.
Bonnie lay down beside her, the shy smile returning.
"Now… we let it happen, I guess?"
Elena let out a light puff through her nose, the corner of her mouth curving into a small, almost conspiratorial smile.
"You guess?" She turned her head a little on the pillow to look at Bonnie sideways: "Since I gave you the green light to be with Ryan, you can stop holding back."
Bonnie blinked, surprised.
Elena continued, her tone becoming lighter, more teasing in the way she used when she had already made a decision and didn't intend to back down.
"Seriously, Bon. Ryan will probably hit on you without even trying to hide it." A playful gleam appeared in her eyes. "You don't need to hold back or feel guilty for falling for his temptations."
Bonnie's face heated up immediately.
"E-Elena…"
Elena laughed softly.
"I'm serious." She turned more onto her side now, propping her head on her hand.
Bonnie tried to keep her expression neutral, but failed miserably.
Her smile almost escaped.
Elena watched and clearly noticed.
That only made her smile grow a little more.
"Besides…" She continued, in a tone now openly amused, "…to be honest? It's actually good to have someone else to help."
Bonnie's eyes widened.
"Elena!"
Elena laughed for real this time, the soft sound filling the room.
"Hey, I'm just being honest." She shrugged against the pillow. "Ryan seems like a real nymphomaniac. That boy just doesn't know the meaning of 'satisfied'...."
The silence that followed lasted half a second.
Then Bonnie brought her hand to her face, trying to hide how red she was.
"…You're terrible." She murmured, but her voice came out weaker than intended.
Elena just smiled, relaxing back against the pillow.
"Maybe." She admitted calmly. "But you'll know what it's like when you finally sleep with him..."
Bonnie didn't respond.
Because, deep down…
She already knew.
But would this relationship really work out? Three women with one man.... Would it really work out?
____________________
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