Caroline got up quickly, checking her phone, and Bonnie did the same with hers.
I took the opportunity to flop onto my bed and reclaim all my space again.
"Elena is calling us to go meet her boyfriend," Caroline huffed, staring at her phone.
"The hot bunny-eating vampire?" Bonnie said excitedly, and I just looked at them lazily. "What? He's hot."
"Bonnie, if a vampire shows up with half his face rotting off, you'd still think he's hot," I declared, sleepy.
"He's right, Bonnie," Caroline agreed, already aware of Bonnie's tendency to fall for vampires. "You have a huge crush on any vampire. Don't steal Elena's boyfriend."
"Gross, I'm not stealing him," Bonnie grumbled. "But tell me, who's hotter than Stefan?"
"Me," I said.
"Nik," Caroline said, a little red.
Huh? Wait… what do you mean?
"That doesn't count," Bonnie complained irritably. "You're basically my adoptive brother and technically my ancestor."
"But are we going?" Caroline asked shyly. "It's not good to leave Elena alone with a bunny-eating vampire."
"You go," I snuggled back into the bed. "I'll sleep more."
That was when I felt weight on top of me, and when I turned, Caroline was on me, completely flushed, and Bonnie had her hands out.
She tossed Caroline onto me, and I could feel her breathing.
"Nik… I…"
Seriously… what do I do now? Do I push her off? But she wants to say something…
"Yes?" I asked, nervous too.
Don't blame me—every physical interaction I'd had with girls in this life had been one-night things.
Not to mention they were all adults. Even though my memories from my other life aren't complete and are literally just memories… I knew I had died as an adult.
Now I'm with someone I genuinely like in this world.
"Nik, do you want to date me?" Caroline murmured, her voice shaky, probably afraid of being rejected.
Man, I should say no. I really should say no.
No, I can't, Caroline. I have memories of another life, my soul is an adult, I can't have a relationship with you.
But her look, her face—everything about her made me afraid of hurting her. I couldn't do it. I closed my eyes.
"Yes," I said, with a bit of guilt. "I want to."
"Yay!" Bonnie shouted, jumping with joy. "Caroline 1, Elena 0!"
Wait—what?
I couldn't even finish because Caroline pulled me into a kiss with so much emotion that Bonnie's smooth brown skin showed hints of redness.
"I'll wait outside," Bonnie said cheerfully. "I'm waiting for you."
Caroline slowly pulled away, like she was only now realizing what she'd done. The smile was still there—too big for her face—but her hands trembled slightly, betraying delayed nerves.
The room felt strange. Not silent—my heart was way too loud—but suspended, like the world had hit pause just to see what would happen next.
She spoke first.
"I… I didn't kiss you because Bonnie yelled, okay?" she said too fast, words tripping over each other. "I mean, I wanted to, but not because she pushed me. I already wanted to, I just didn't know if you—"
"No one starts a sentence like that when they're calm," I replied, trying to sound light, even though my head was spinning.
Caroline let out a short laugh, almost a sigh of relief, and sat on the edge of the bed, keeping a careful distance now. That said a lot: excitement, yes, but also respect. And that hit me harder than the kiss.
"So… we're dating," she said, like she was testing a new word.
"We are," I confirmed, feeling the weight and strangeness of it. It wasn't fear exactly. It was awareness. Every choice here had layers no one else could see.
Caroline tilted her head, watching me closely.
"You accepted pretty fast," she commented. "Don't tell me you were already planning to ask me out?"
"I tend to answer on impulse when I'm under pressure," I said. "It's a chronic flaw. Not that I regret the decision."
"Well," she shrugged, smiling sideways, "if it helps, I rehearsed this in my head for weeks. In half the versions, you rejected me and I moved to another city."
"Dramatic."
From the hallway, Bonnie's voice echoed, way too loud for someone who said she was 'outside'.
"IF YOU START MAKING OUT I'M GOING TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR."
Caroline blushed again.
"She has no sense of privacy."
"She does," I said. "She just chooses to ignore it."
Caroline stood up and held out her hand to me, hesitant, like that simple gesture meant everything.
"Let's go? Before she invents a celebration song."
I took Caroline's hand. It was just that. A simple touch, but deeply symbolic.
Outside, Bonnie flashed a victorious grin.
"Finally," she declared. "Now let's go meet the bunny-eating vampire. But fair warning—if he's less handsome than expected, I'm judging."
Caroline squeezed my hand and we left.
We left the room and the world kept going as if nothing had happened. A lie. Everything had happened. Caroline's hand in mine wasn't casual—it was a declaration. Caroline was mine, eyes off her, horny teenage boys chasing hot blondes.
Bonnie noticed immediately and smiled like she'd just gotten a spoiler from the future.
Elena's house looked the same as always: too organized for someone pretending not to be nervous. She opened the door quickly, like she'd been waiting for hours.
"Hi," she said, smiling… until her eyes dropped straight to our joined hands. The smile faltered for a microsecond. Huh. Why did she react like that?
"Hi, Elena," Caroline replied, overly sweet, stepping slightly in front of me, territorial.
What the hell is happening here? Did they fight or something? Why would Elena want to introduce her new boyfriend to us then?
Bonnie walked in first, without asking.
"So," she said loudly, "where's the bunny— I mean, the boyfriend?"
Elena rolled her eyes.
"Bonnie."
"Just kidding," she said, with zero regret. "Or not."
That's when he appeared in the living room.
Stefan.
Tall, perfect posture, the expression of someone who'd spent a hundred years practicing how to look harmless. The kind of guy teachers love and security guards trust without knowing why.
"Hi," he said. "You must be Bonnie. And you, Caroline. And…"
His gaze lingered on me a second longer.
"…Nik."
"Heard of me already," I commented. "Of course you have, it's impossible not to know the hottest guy in town—ow!"
I yelped when two feet stomped on mine. I looked at Caroline and Bonnie glaring at me. What the hell is wrong with them?
"I don't know about hottest," he replied with an amused smile, extending his hand, "but people around town do love gossiping about you. It's a pleasure to meet the blond Bennett."
"They have nothing better to do," I said, shaking his hand. "Just a bunch of idiots talking more than they should."
His grip was firm and human. He knew how to control his strength. Very good for someone living on bunny blood… The Salvatores really are talented.
"You have a firm grip," I said. "Do you work with ice?"
Bonnie coughed to hide a laugh.
Caroline bit her lip.
Stefan raised an eyebrow.
"Old habit," he replied. "And you? Your grip's strong too. Do you use some kind of ritual to train muscle control?"
Ohhh. He already figured out I'm a witch… probably felt some magical residue.
"Nothing special," I said with slight irritation. "Just family secrets."
We sat down. Elena stayed glued to him, clearly marking territory now. Caroline made a point of sitting on my lap. Bonnie sat facing Stefan, eyes shining with near-scientific curiosity.
"So, Stefan," Bonnie began, "Elena said you don't eat meat."
"No," he replied calmly. "I prefer… alternatives."
"Moral alternatives?" she teased. "Getting weaker to protect the population you call cattle?"
"That too—and for health reasons," he corrected, raising an eyebrow. "Meat is good, but it's not very good for me."
"Interesting," I added. "Most people don't choose a diet like they're doing penance."
Stefan tilted his head, analyzing.
"And most people don't speak as if they know exactly what they're talking about," he replied, eyebrow raised again, clearly irritated.
Point for me. Suck it, Salvatore.
Caroline smiled from my lap, her hair blocking part of my view.
"You seem very… stitched together," she said. "Military? My mom's the sheriff—you remind me of her."
"Nothing like that," he replied. "I train self-control. Some people can't afford to make mistakes."
"Funny," Bonnie said, resting her chin on her hand. "Nik says the same thing. Just with less guilt and more sarcasm."
Stefan looked at me again.
"You three seem… close."
"We are," Caroline replied before I could. "Trust matters."
A short silence followed. Elena frowned.
"You're all acting weird today," she said. "All of you."
"It's the town," Bonnie replied. "Mystic Falls makes everyone kind of… weird."
Stefan smirked.
"I've noticed."
He turned to me.
"And you, Nik. What do you do in your free time?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Depends," I replied. "I train with a voodoo doll to curse out-of-control idiots."
Bonnie's eyes widened. Caroline cleared her throat.
Elena laughed, thinking it was a joke.
Stefan didn't.
"I hope you never tried to curse me," he said with a light laugh.
"Sure, as long as you don't turn into a new Hannibal with people I care about," I replied, smiling.
"I'll do my best," he joked back, and I felt honesty there. Yeah… he's not a bad guy. The show was right.
Elena watched everything. When she noticed my hand in Caroline's again, she looked away. Huh… what the hell is really going on here? I don't get these girls.
He smiled.
"Maybe we'll talk more another day."
"Maybe," I agreed. "Mystic Falls is small. But full of things buried, waiting to be dug up—for the right price."
After everything was done and the night finally ended, I went to check on Jeremy in his room and saw that the sobriety curse was still working—and still keeping my evil grandma out of his head.
We left. Bonnie burst out laughing as soon as we turned the corner.
"I KNEW IT," she said. "He felt it. All of it."
"Elena was jealous," Caroline said, squeezing my hand angrily. "She already has her bunny boy. Screw you, Elena."
"She hid it so badly even clueless Nik noticed," Bonnie corrected, laughing hard.
"Huh? Noticed what?" I replied. "She was just nervous about introducing her new boyfriend."
Bonnie and Caroline laughed together and didn't tell me why.