"Is this why you wanted to take some time apart, Elena?" Stefan asked, his voice sounding hol ow and distant. Final y noticing him, they broke away from each other, Elena's face pale with shock.
"Stefan," she said. "Please, Stefan, no, it's not what it looks like." She reached out a hand toward him, then drew it back uncertainly.
Everything seemed so far away to Stefan; he was aware that he was shaking, his mouth was dry, but it felt almost as if he was watching someone else in pain. "I can't do this," he said. "Not again. If I fight for you, I'l just end up destroying us al . Just like with Katherine." Elena was shaking her head back and forth, her hands stretched out toward him imploringly again. "Please, Stefan," she said.
"I can't," Stefan said again, backing away, his voice thin and desperate.
Then, for the first time, he looked at Damon, and a redhot rage slammed into him, overriding the numb distance instantly. "Al you do is take," Stefan told him bitterly. "This is the last time. We're not brothers anymore." Damon's face opened for a split second in dismay, his eyes widening, as if he was about to speak, and then he hardened again, his mouth twisting scornful y, and he jerked his head at Stefan. Very well, that gesture indicated, then get lost.
Stefan stumbled backward, and then he turned and ran, moving with al the supernatural grace and speed at his command, leaving them far behind even as Elena screamed, "Stefan!"
Chapter Twenty-Four
Giggling, Bonnie tripped on her way down the stairs, her foot coming right out of her high-heeled shoe.
"Here you go, Cinderel a," Zander said, picking up the shoe and kneeling in front of her. He helped slip her foot back into it, his fingers warm and steady against her instep.
Bonnie gave a mock curtsy, muffling her laughter. "Thank you, m'lord," she said flirtatiously.
She felt fabulous, so sil y and happy. It was almost as if she was drunk, but she'd only had a few sips of beer. No, she was drunk. Drunk on Zander, on his kisses, his gentle hands, and his big blue eyes. She took his hand, and he smiled down at her, that long slow smile, and Bonnie just absolutely quivered.
"Seems like the party's wrapping up," she said, as they hit the first floor. It was real y getting late, almost two o'clock. There were only a few groups of hard-core partiers left: a bunch of frat boys by the keg, some theater-department girls dancing with great wide swoops of their arms, a couple sitting hand in hand at the bottom of the stairs in deep conversation. Meredith, Stefan, Samantha, and Matt had disappeared, and if Elena had ever shown up, she had left, too. Zander's friends had gone, or been kicked out.
"Good-bye, good-bye," Bonnie caroled to the few people who remained. She hadn't real y gotten a chance to talk to any of them, but they al looked perfectly nice. Maybe next time she went to a party, she'd stay longer and real y bond with people she hadn't met before.
Look at al the new friends her friends had made on campus. Bonnie gave a special wave to a couple of people she'd seen Matt with lately - a shortish guy whose name she thought was Ethan and that girl with the dark curls and dimples. Not freshmen. She loved everyone tonight, but they deserved it most, because they had seen what a wonderful guy Matt was. They waved back at her, a little hesitantly, and the girl smiled, her dimples deepening.
"They seem real y nice," Bonnie told Zander, and he glanced back at them as he opened the door.
"Hmmm," he said noncommittal y, and the look in his eyes, just for a minute, made Bonnie shiver.
"Aren't they?" she said nervously. Zander looked away from them, back toward her, and his warm bril iant smile spread across his face. Bonnie relaxed; the coldness she'd seen in Zander's eyes must have been just a trick of the light.
"Of course they are, Bonnie," he said. "I just got distracted for a sec." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pul ing her close, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She sighed contentedly, cuddling up against his side.
They walked together companionably for a while. "Look at the stars," Bonnie said softly. The night was clear and the stars hung bright in the sky. "It's because it's starting to get colder at night that we can see them so Well." Zander didn't answer, only made a hmming sound deep in his throat again, and Bonnie glanced up at him through her eyelashes. "Do you want to get breakfast with me in the morning?" she asked. "On Sundays, the cafeteria does make-your-own waffles, with lots of different toppings. Delicious."
Zander was staring off into the distance with that same half-listening expression he had the last time they walked across campus together. "Zander?" Bonnie asked cautiously, and he frowned down at her, biting his lip thoughtful y.
"Sorry," he said. He took his arm off of Bonnie's shoulders and backed away a few steps, smiling stiffly. His whole body was tense, as if he was about to take off running.
"Zander?" she asked again, confused.
"I forgot something," Zander said, avoiding her eyes. "I have to go back to the party."
"Oh. I'l come with you," Bonnie offered.
"No, that's okay." Zander was shifting from foot to foot, glancing over Bonnie's shoulders as if, suddenly, he'd rather be anywhere than with her. Abruptly, he surged forward and kissed her awkwardly, their teeth knocking together, and then he stepped backward and turned, walking in the other direction. His strides lengthened, and soon he was running away from her, disappearing into the night. Again. He didn't look back.
Bonnie, suddenly alone, shivered and looked around, peering into the darkness on al sides. She had been so happy a minute ago, and now she felt cold and dismayed, as if she had been hit with a splash of freezing cold water.