Bloodstream | Closed.

Bonnie panted softly as she rolled onto the bed beside Evie, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before looking over at her. “That was amazing, Evie,” she said, smiling at her. She knew that was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more they could do together, and the thought excited her. But then she remembered that Damon was waiting for them. She sat up, reaching for their clothes. The last thing they needed was to hear him bitch about keeping him waiting.

---

Marie smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, that would be great,” she said. “Thanks.” She smiled at him before continuing the drive to the craft store. When they got there, she made sure to park his car in a spot that was open, so nobody would hit it. Hopefully nobody would park beside it. She climbed out and walked inside with him, looking around. She began to grab things from the shelves that she thought they’d need, putting them into the cart.

Evie smiled as she looked at Bonnie, sitting up and pecking her lips before she started pulling her clothes on as well. She was so happy in that moment and she was sure anyone who saw her would be able to tell something happened. The redhead made quick work of putting her clothes on, grabbing something out of the jewelry box on her dresser and slid it onto Bonnie’s ring finger.

“I found it in one of my mom’s old boxes,” she mumbled. “I’ve been meaning to give it to you.”

---

Stefan stated out the passenger window, watching the world move past him as Marie drove. It was definitely the little things like that he had learned to enjoy after he had turned into a vampire. He followed Marie into the store after she parked, quietly watching her as he followed behind her. The blonde looked so focused on getting all the decorations to make the decade dance look absolutely perfect. It honestly made Stefan smile; caring about little things that he as a vampire didn’t worry about. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed being around humans. It grounded him in a way reminding himself of his demons and past mistakes never could.

Bonnie looked at the ring and then back up at Evie. “Evie, I can’t take this,” she said, pulling the ring off her finger and placing it back in the other girl’s palm. “This is your mom’s. You should keep it.” She would feel guilty accepting such a meaningful and precious thing. The ring was beautiful, but she couldn’t take it. Even if Evie did want her to have it.

---

Once Marie had the cart full of an array of different decorations, she led Stefan up to the check out, standing in line with him. She pulled her wallet out of her bag so she could have her card ready to pay. She knew Caroline would pay her back for everything, so she wasn’t worried about spending the money.

“Bonnie please,” Evie pleaded. “Your Grams always told me to listen to my gut when it came to magic and the moment I found this my gut told me to give it to you.”

She knew it probably sounded super silly but she was genuinely scared it Bonnie didn’t wear it something bad would happen to her.

“I know you’ll keep it safe,” she stated. “And it’s not the only thing I have left of my mom.”

The redhead has multiple boxes of stuff and one of them was full of just journals. She wasn’t worried about a single ring.

---

Stefan stopped Marie and pulled out her card. “Let me,” he offered. “Being around as long as I have means I have more money than I actually need.” It was honestly something he didn’t flaunt because money was something that he didn’t really care about but if he could use it pay for something or help someone he would.

Bonnie bit her lip as she mulled over the other girl’s words. It was hard to deny her after she’d brought up her Grams. “Okay,” she said softly. She took the ring back and slid it onto her finger, looking at it. “It really is beautiful, Evie.” She looked back up at her and smiled slightly, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you.”

---

Marie looked at Stefan. “Are you sure? I don’t mind paying,” she said. “Caroline will pay me back.” Sometimes she wondered why Stefan chose to stay here when he could be on top of the world with the richest people. Although, she knew he wasn’t that type of person. Damon, however, that was a different story.

Evie smiled as she hugged Bonnie back, a wave of relieve washing over the redhead since she knew the other girl would be protected by the ring now. She hesitated to pull away from Bonnie, only doing so when her phone began to ring, blushing when she realized it was probably Damon.

“Has it really already been an hour,” she asked.

The redhead looked at her phone, hesitating before she answered. “We’ll be there soon Damon,” she mumbled. “We ran into some traffic.”

---

“I don’t mind,” Stefan insisted. “It’s not like I’m going to be tight on money anytime soon,” he joked.

Of course being a vampire he would never have issues with money since he had so much saved from the time he has been turned to now. Plus he could always compel someone if money wasn’t an answer. Obviously the vampire didn’t like having to compel people but he would if he absolutely has to.

“Sure, Red,” Damon mumbled. “Quit wasting my time.”

Bonnie grabbed their bags and carried them out to the car, putting them in the trunk before she climbed inside, waiting for Evie. She started the car, biting her lip as she looked at her phone. She wanted so badly to tell Stefan they might know where Elena was, but if they were wrong, she knew it would only hurt him more.

---

Marie nodded, putting her wallet back in her bag. “Alright,” she murmured. She let Stefan pay for everything, taking the cart back to its spot before she picked up the bags. It wasn’t a whole lot, and nothing heavy. It was mostly paper and other small things.

“I’m sorry,” Evie mumbled. “I didn’t expect for Bonnie and I to lose track of time.”

She walked down to the car, leaning over and pecking Bonnie’s lips before she buckled up. “We’ll be there soon.”

Evie hung up the phone, biting down on her bottom lip nervously as she began to realize this was going to be the first time she had seen Damon since they had slept together. She honestly hoped he did the right thing and kept his mouth shut about it.

---

Stefan quietly helped Marie with the bags, knowing she’d probably try and argue with him about helping if he had asked. If there was one thing he didn’t like arguing about it was helping with things he considered courteous. He was raised to help especially when it came to woman and while he had learned when he could without pissing anyone off he has a feeling he probably just annoyed Marie a little with his actions.

Bonnie chuckled softly. “Let me guess, he whined about us being late,” she said, backing out of the driveway and beginning the drive to the Salvatore home. If Damon could find something to complain about, he would.

---

Marie really didn’t mind Stefan’s help, because it showed her that he cared. Any other boy would have just let her carry the bags herself, but Stefan was a gentleman. That was one of the things she really loved about him. As they got back to the car, she turned to look at him. “We should drop these off at the school,” she said. “And then we can take a look at my car.”

Evie nodded. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Isn’t a fan of us making him wait.”

Of course she knew it also didn’t help that she has pretty much ordered him to be ready by a certain time and they weren’t even there. The redhead moved to hold one of Bonnie’s hands, smiling over at the other girl as she continued to drive to the Salvatore boarding house.

“How long do you think he’s going to nag us about it?”

---

Stefan nodded. He was actually looking forward to helping Marie with her car. It had been a while since he has worked on any other car besides his. It would definitely help keep his mind off things since it would be something brand new he didn’t know like the back of his hand.

“Until I make him shut up,” Bonnie said, smiling. Probably the best thing she could do was make vampires shut up by blowing their eardrums out. And she wouldn’t hesitate to do it to Damon if he got on her nerves. She didn’t like to use her magic in that kind of way, but Damon was the one exception. And after everything he’d put her through, he deserved it.

---

Marie smiled and climbed into the car, deciding to let him drive this time so she could text Caroline. She let her know that Stefan had paid for the decorations, so she could put more of the school’s budget towards whatever else she needed, like the ridiculous record hanging from the ceiling idea.

“Let’s hope you two can play nice long enough to find Elena,” Evie teased.

She pressed her lips to Bonnie’s hand, smiling at her again as they pulled up to the boarding house. The redhead’s body tensed slightly when she noticed Damon was already outside waiting for them. It honestly surprised her that he was and from the smirk that was growing on his face she knew he has seen her kiss Bonnie’s hand.

---

Stefan started his car, glancing over at Marie as she text who he assumed was Caroline. He moved his gaze back to the road and began driving towards the high school, assuming that’s where they would be meeting Caroline or at least leaving the decorations to be stored like they had been in the past.

Damon walked over to the car, tossing his bag into the backseat before he climbed in. “Well, looks like you two got friendly,” he said.

Bonnie glanced at him in the rearview mirror, rolling her eyes. “You know, there’s such thing as minding your own business,” she said. “Why don’t you try it sometime?”

---

Marie looked up from her phone when she finished texting Caroline, smiling at Stefan. “Thank you, for all of this, you know,” she said. “You really didn’t have to help, but I’m glad you did.” Not only did it mean she wouldn’t have to follow Caroline around 24/7 but it also meant that she got to spend more time with him. And that’s what she really wanted.

Evie sighed softly, hoping the entire car ride wouldn’t just be the two of them bickering. Of course she didn’t like Damon any more than the other witch did but it got old after a while.

“If you two are going to do this I’m taking a nap so I don’t have to listen,” she stated.

Evie knew what she had said honestly sounded more like something Caroline would say but she didn’t care at the moment. She was anxious that Damon would tell Bonnie what had happened just to piss the other witch off and the thought made her sick to her stomach.

---

“It’s no problem,” Stefan insisted. “It’s nice to keep busy y’know.”

After all this was why Caroline had sent him to help Marie, right? To keep him busy so he wouldn’t be sulking at home in his room over Elena leaving so suddenly and without any goodbyes or reason. She had been so happy with him. He was so sure of it but he had also been so sure Katherine had loved him once too. Of course he knew Elena was nothing like Katherine but it also didn’t help that she had left pretty much out of nowhere with no goodbyes to anyone.

Bonnie frowned as she looked at Evie. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. She was more mature than this, but Damon just brought out the worst in her sometimes. She didn’t say anything else, and thankfully neither did Damon. She kept her eyes on the road, not noticing how hard Damon was staring at Evie.

---

Marie nodded her head. She understood. She would feel the same way if she were in his shoes. She would have to keep herself busy, otherwise she’d just sit and think about everything she’d done wrong and all the possibilities and outcomes. Once they got to the school, she carried the bags inside, dropping them off for Caroline before she went back out to the car.

Evie looked over at Bonnie when she apologized, giving her hand a light squeeze to let her know she wasn’t mad at her. The last thing the redhead wanted was them to have a fight over someone like Damon, a vampire who ruined people live’s for fun. The witch let go of Bonnie’s hand, smiling at her as she turned on the radio with the flick of her wrists. The redhead hadn’t shown Bonnie she could do that yet and was honestly a little excited to see her response as whatever new rock song was on played in the background.

---

“So what did the boss say,” Stefan joked. “Did we do perfect?”

The vampire knew joking was a good thing; joking meant he was starting to heal even if doing it felt wrong at the moment. He just didn’t want to see Marie sad or walking on eggshells around him like everyone one else besides his brother obviously was. He loved his friends but subtly didn’t seem to be a phrase they had mastered well.

Bonnie looked down when Evie flicked the radio on, raising an eyebrow. “Wow, Evie,” she said, smiling at the other girl. “Nice job.” She was impressed with how far Evie had come in such a short period of time. She really caught on fast and was a great learner. At first, Bonnie had been skeptical about teaching her magic, because she herself wasn’t the best, but it was a lot easier than she thought it would be, thanks to Evie.

---

Marie laughed softly, nodding her head as she got in and shut the door. “She was satisfied,” she said. “So I think we did just fine.” She smiled at him before buckling her seat belt. “Alright, back to my car.” She was having more fun doing mundane things with Stefan than she’d had in a long time. She hoped he was enjoying her company just as much as she was enjoying his.

Evie couldn’t help the grin that had formed on her lips at Bonnie’s praise. She loved impressing the other witch and showing her progress to her. The brunette was honestly the only reason the redhead thought she was even as good as she was so far. Evie was absolutely certain if it hadn’t been for Bonnie she wouldn’t even be able to do a simple locator spell.

“Like I said before I have a really good teacher.”

---

Stefan smiled at Marie’s response, her laugh almost like music to his ears. The younger Salvatore brother hasn’t even realized how much he stopped enjoying little things while Elena had been gone. He couldn’t let himself do that; not again, not like when he has first turned and had been left alone.

Stefan waited until Marie buckled up and began to drive back to the boarding house where they had left her car.

“Thank you Marie,” he stated. “I didn’t realize I needed this.”

Bonnie smiled at her. “You’re a good student,” she said. “You catch on pretty quickly.”

Damon rolled his eyes, wondering how he’d let himself get sucked into this little lesbian love fest. That’s right, Evie. He really was dumb sometimes. He could be so easily swayed with just the right words or by just the right person.

---

Marie looked up at him and smiled. “Me either,” she said. “Today has been a really good day.” Even if they were just doing minor things like getting decorations for Caroline’s stupid dance, it still felt really nice to be spending time with him. It made her happy, more than she’d been in a long time.

Evie blushed, obviously very happy with the compliment. The redhead glanced up through the rear view mirror, her blush deepening when she notice Damon looking back at her. “Isn’t Whitmore where Caroline wants us all to go after we graduate?”

The redhead knew it was a weird topic change but she knew she needed to do something before Damon or Bonnie found a way to start bickering again.

---

Stefan couldn’t help but continue smiling at Marie’s response. It honestly almost felt a little odd to him. He felt like he hadn’t this much in ages. It felt so human and he genuinely like that. He turned down the street that lead to the boarding house, his attitude definitely way better than when he has been at the Grill earlier that day.

“So,” he mumbled. “What kind of issues are you having with your car?”