Bloodstream | Closed.

Bonnie bit her lip, walking inside the house. “I wasn’t yelling,” she said. “You weren’t listening to me.” She moved to stand in front of Evie, looking her over. “Were you with Damon last night?” She just wanted the truth.

---

“Would you maybe want to go to the dance with me?” Marie asked, picking nervously at her fingernails. She wouldn’t be upset if he rejected her. She understood that he was going through a lot right now.

“We ended up drinking next to each other at the grill,” Evie stated. “I got trashed and I don’t remember much else.” The redhead walked into her kitchen and began making breakfast for her and Bonnie. She really hoped no one had seen her leave with Damon or she was sure her and Bonnie were going to end up having another fight.

---

Stefan looked at Marie, noticing how nervous she got when she asked him to the dance. “Marie,” he stated. “I’d love to go to the dance with you.” He was actually kind of relieved he was feeling happy and not overly focused on Elena or how her leaving felt.

Bonnie followed her into the kitchen, watching her walk around as she prepared breakfast. “Evie,” she said softly, walking over to her. She reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her from what she was doing. “Do you really not remember what happened? I won’t be mad… Just tell me the truth.” She wouldn’t be mad, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be upset. “Matt saw you leave the bar with Damon. You come home looking like a mess. Did he do something to you?”

---

Marie looked up in surprise, not expecting him to answer the way he did. She figured he might be a bit awkward about it, but he sounded confident in his answer. It made her heart soar. She smiled at him and nodded her head. “Yay,” she said playfully, her smile only growing. Stefan was truly her best friend, and he made her so happy. She wanted it to develop into more, but at the same time, she knew that he was destined to be with Elena. Her chances of ever ending up with Stefan were probably slim to none. And whatever happened between them now, was just a fluke, until Elena inevitably showed back up to Mystic Falls and reclaimed his heart.

Evie pulled her hand away from Bonnie and shook her head. “He didn’t hurt me,” she insisted. “I just woke up on the couch at Damon and Stefan’s.”

The redhead knew it was wrong to lie but she didn’t want to admit to Bonnie she had gotten drunk and slept with someone she was just starting to tolerate. She didn’t want to lose her especially since she felt like she could at any second after the last fight they had.

“After I woke up I didn’t stick around long enough to ask questions,” she stated.

---

Stefan’s smile grew wider at Marie’s reaction to him agreeing to go to the dance with her. It actually made his heart flutter a little in a way it hadn’t since he had first seen Elena. The younger Salvatore brother bit down in the inside of his cheek as he began focusing on driving and the ride in front of him. “Do you think Caroline has noticed we left yet?”

Bonnie sighed softly. She hated how distant Evie was being. She always got like this after fights and it was really the worst. “Okay,” she mumbled after a moment. She wouldn’t bother her if she didn’t want to be. She left the kitchen, going to the living room to sit on the couch.

---

“I’m not sure,” Marie said. “Probably not since she hasn’t spammed me with texts.” She checked her phone briefly before looking back at him. “I wish she would just leave Tyler. He’s not good for her.” Although, Klaus wasn’t much better. Or really, better at all. They were both pretty shitty options when it came to men. Caroline had awful taste.

Evie finished making her and Bonnie food, making them plates and set them on the kitchen table. The redhead closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping she wasn’t about to ruin her friendship with Bonnie. Evie walked over to Bonnie, pulling the other girl to her feet and pressed her lips to hers. Evie needed to know if Bonnie actually felt the same way or if they were just really close friends.

---

“I’d rather her with Tyler than Klaus,” Stefan stated. “I don’t trust him or his intentions with her.” The vampire honestly just wanted all of the originals to leave Mystic Falls already. They didn’t have any reason to stay anymore. Elena was a vampire so it’s not like he could use her to make more hybrids besides she had left. “But you’re right. Tyler has been making her really unhappy lately.”

Bonnie stood there in shock when Evie kissed her. She hesitated, only for a moment, before kissing her back. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t have feelings for Evie. She’d never felt this way about another girl before, but she knew her feelings were true. She pulled back after a minute to look at the other girl, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth anxiously.

---

Marie nodded. “Tyler has a one track mind,” she said. “He only wants one thing.” When they got to the Salvatore house, she climbed out of Stefan’s car and started walking to the front door with him. She really hoped that Damon wasn’t home because she didn’t want to deal with him. She just wanted some peace and alone time with Stefan.

“Please tell me I didn’t just ruin our friendship doing that,” Evie mumbled. The last thing the redhead wanted was her feelings to ruin what they had.

---

“Tyler wants what we all want,” Stefan stated. “Klaus and Rebekah gone from Mystic Falls for good.” The Salvatore vampire still didn’t remember his time with Klaus or Rebekah but he assumed it had to have been during a time when he was ripped which meant it was definitely something better left forgotten.

Stefan lead Marie inside the house, relieved when he didn’t hear his brother roaming around the house anywhere. The last thing he had wanted was his brother and whoever he had brought home with him last night to still be roaming around the house.

Bonnie shook her head. “No,” she said, reaching up to take the other girl’s hands in her own. “You could never ruin our friendship, Evie. Besides, I like you too.” At the end of the day, Bonnie was a good person, and she was constantly giving out second chances to people, even if they didn’t deserve them. Even if Evie did the worst thing she could possibly do, eventually Bonnie would probably forgive her.

---

Marie nodded her head. “I want that too,” she said. Aside from Jeremy and Matt, she was the only other person in their circle who had nothing to do with the supernatural. Sometimes she felt completely out of the loop. “Is it weird that I’m the only normal one left? I mean, besides Matt.”

Evie felt tears begin to form in her eyes, beyond relieved that Bonnie felt the same. She pressed her lips to the other woman’s, happy she could kiss the other witch whenever she wanted to now. When the redhead finally pulled away she couldn’t help the wide grin that formed on her lips.

“Do you want some breakfast,” she asked.

---

Stefan shook his head. “Of course not,” he stated. “Just because you aren’t a vampire or a werewolf doesn’t mean you aren’t important.” The vampire lead the blonde up to his room and began rummaging through his stuff to find the right photo album. “You’re important even without being supernatural.”

Bonnie smiled softly at the other girl and nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m hungry. What did you make?” she asked, walking to the kitchen with her.

---

Marie nodded her head. She watched as he pulled out the photo albums, smiling. “I can’t wait to see these pictures,” she teased.

“A little bit of everything,” Evie stated.

Evie lead Bonnie to her kitchen table, sitting down and smiled at the other woman. “I’m sorry I fought with you last night,” she mumbled.

---

Stefan chuckled when Marie mentioned her excitement about finally seeing the photos. He finally found the photo album he was looking for moments later, opening it and smiling at some of the found memories that came to his mind. He handed the album over to Marie, waiting for the response he figured would happen; her highly amused reaction at old photos in cheesy vintage clothing.

Bonnie nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry too,” she said. “I just… understand where Elena is coming from. I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to leave Mystic Falls too.” She never would, though, because these were where he roots were, but she’d thought about it plenty of times before.

---

Marie took the photo album from him and began to flip through it, smiling to herself. “Wow,” she murmured. “These are really amazing.” Of course, it was weird to see Stefan, the same age, in such old photos from over 40 years ago. But at the same time, she’d gotten used to the whole vampire thing at this point.

“I get wanting to leave,” Evie mumbled. “We all hate this stupid town.”

She quietly took a bite of her food, sighing softly as she looked at Bonnie. “It was the way she left.” The brunette hadn’t really given anyone a proper goodbye. She had left letters for some people but not her and had just vanished in the dead of night.

“You would think the amount of times we both almost died as hostages would mean I get a fucking goodbye letter.”

---

“Photographs were one thing I learned to treasure,” Stefan said. “Because even when the people in them left I still had the memory of them.” It was one of the many cons to being a vampire in his opinion. You had to watch people you cared about die.

“So what else did you want to know about the 70s,” he asked.

Bonnie nodded her head in agreement. “I understand,” she said. “Trust me, I do. A goodbye would have been nice.” She’d been friends with Elena for ages and for the other girl to just up and leave without so much as a text or anything, it did hurt a lot. “We all had plans for after graduation, and now she might not even be here for it. I feel like something else is going on, you know? Elena wouldn’t just skip out on graduation or college.”

---

Marie nodded her head, knowing what he meant. She’d learned that as well after having lost her mother. The wallpaper of her phone was a picture of her and her mother when she was little. It was the most important picture to her that she owned. “Where were you at in the 70’s? I know you traveled a lot,” she said.

“She hurt you,” Evie mumbled. “And honestly that’s why I got so mad.”

The redhead hated seeing Bonnie upset. She has already been through so much in the short time she had know the other girl and she hated it. “Just because you’re a badass and can handle it doesn’t mean you should have to deal with more bullshit or heartbreak.”

---

“I started out in California and by about 76 I ended up back home at the boarding house,” Stefan stated. “Everyone couple decades I’d pop back into Mystic Falls to see how things were.” The younger Salvatore brother definitely still considered Mystic Falls his home and probably always would be.

Stefan had lived there and had even died there. Honestly no matter where he went he found himself always wanting to come home; back to Mystic Falls.

“It’s kind of funny how even with as much as I’ve traveled over the centuries I find myself missing this town when I’m gone.”

Bonnie smiled sadly at her. “Thanks,” she murmured. She bit her lip as she looked down at her plate, picking at her food. “I know everyone thinks Elena just left, but… I know there’s more to it, Evie. I can feel it.” She looked back up at the other girl, a look of determination on her face. “I’m gonna figure this out, but I don’t want to do it on my own. Are you in?”

---

Marie laughed softly. “Really?” she questioned. “This town can be a real nightmare sometimes… but with as much history as you have here, I guess I could understand why you would miss it so much.” She bit her lip as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, opening up her camera before she moved closer to Stefan. “Take a picture with me.” She smiled at him before raising her phone up, taking a selfie with him. She wanted him to have a picture that he could always remember her by after she was long gone. She forwarded the picture to his phone, biting her lip gently. “There. Now you’ll always remember me too.”

Evie looked from her plate of food over to Bonnie before she nodded. If Bonnie felt like something was off she was normally right. The redhead just hoped that whatever they found didn’t lead the other girl to more heartbreak or hurt that she wouldn’t know how to fix.

“Do you want to try a locator spell after we finish eating,” she asked.

---

Stefan looked down at his phone and the photo once the text went through, a small smile forming on his lips as he looked at it. It always impressed him how strong Marie was and how positive she could be when things looked absolutely bleak.

“Thanks,” he spoke. “But I don’t think I’ll need a photo to remember you by for at least sixty or seventy years.”

The vampire saved the photo in his phone and stood up, pulling another older photo album from a shelf. “Since Damon isn’t here do you want to see some old embarrassing photos of him?”

Bonnie sighed softly. “I’ve already tried, but we can always try again,” she said. “Two witches are more powerful than one.” She’d tried a locator spell after Evie had stormed out the night before, and had gotten nothing in return. Maybe she wasn’t as strong as Evie thought she was. Maybe she’d been pushing herself too hard lately, and now her magic was faltering because of it.

---

Marie smirked slightly and nodded her head. “Of course,” she said. “Is that even a question?” Evie wasn’t the only one with a dislike for Damon, so anything embarrassing about him was a plus for her. Sometimes she wondered if maybe he was the reason that Elena left. After all, he had been pining after her for some time now. Maybe he’d done something to seriously upset her enough to make her run off.

Evie quietly finished her food, hoping Bonnie was right and they could find Elena. As much as she was mad at her she knew everything would be odd with everyone until Elena was back. The redhead got up and washed her plate, putting it in the dishwasher before she went to grab a map and her scrying crystal. She knew Bonnie wasn’t finished eating yet but she figures setting everything up while she did wouldn’t be a bad thing.

---

Stefan couldn’t help at the excitement in Marie’s voice when she said yes. He knew the blonde didn’t like his brother and the only one who hated him more was probably Evie. He was sure if Damon wasn’t a vampire Evie would have started a fist fight with him on several occasions.

“Just promise you won’t take any pictures and share them with Evie,” he joked. “You know she’ll taunt him about it and piss him off.”