[Open] Killing Time

[caroline michelle forbes]

Caroline was not exactly sure why she was at the grill, other than the fact she was bored out of her mind. Staying at home for the rest of the day really was not an option, she felt like her house was more like a prison than anything else. It only reminded her of things she tried to spend little time thinking of but they always seemed to creep back up on her. Prison was the prefect word to describe her home life. Her mother was the sheriff after all. When she was not trying to criticize Caroline's life choices she was ignoring her all together, getting too wrapped up in her 'meetings' she tended to be going to a lot now. Caroline gave a sigh as she took a sip of her coke and glanced over at a few kids from her high school that were playing pool. She knew it had been a while since she had caught up with Bonnie or Elena. She had been so busy trying to ignore her home life that she had been successful at basically ignoring everything else that week as well.

Caroline went to reach for her phone but remember it was still charging back at home. "Great." she moaned to herself. "Go figure." Caroline pushed off from the table slightly and leaned back in her seat. She was debating what exactly she wanted to do. There was always the option on making a surprise visit to some of her friends houses considering she could not exactly text them now. Caroline's eyes wandered around the room, hoping to spot some familiar face. She was going to die if she could not talk to someone. Being the isolated loner was not working for her. She needed people. She thrived off the attention and the spotlight. She could no longer be miserable about her home life. she needed a distraction.

[bonnie esther bennett]

Bonnie wandered into The Grill with a grin on her face. She couldn’t really explain her demeanor, Bonnie was usually on the sunny side of things. If one had to compare and contrast Mystic Falls’ 3 musketeers of Elena, Caroline and Bonnie, Bonnie was the hardcore optimist, if you truly wanted to see the upside in what you feel is a downwards spiraling situation, Bonnie could point it out or, she would work her hardest to help you find it.

The Grill was always an upside for Bonnie, and she supposed to anyone who went to Mystic Falls High that had the wherewithal and the privilege to go to The Grill at least once a week. The weekends were always packed with kids playing music, foozeball and sometimes there was drinking. Sure there is a carding regulation but, money talks more than an I.D card and, Bonnie figured the bartenders would rather the money over the insult of a kid flashing a fake i.d. Everyone did it…well most kids did anyway. It was easy to get away with things in a closely knit town as it was not to.

What brought Bonnie to The Grill was actually a late meeting Grams had at the university she taught at. She called Bonnie knowing this time would be their hangout time as her dad was away on business, and told Bonnie she’d be in late. Meaning; Bonnie had to find a means for dinner, and knowing she was not a good cook and she hated staying in alone, Grams brought up the prospect of The Grill before Bonnie even asked her. She also brought up the prospect that “That blond girl your friends with, will be there, you should go see her.” At that info, Bonnie giggled before she informed her Grams that that blond girl could be ANYONE of her friends. Of course Grams said that it was one in particular but, she could not recall her name and she did not have time to go over the names of Bonnies blond haired friends but she reassured her granddaughter that Bonnie would know too if she just listened to her intuition. “You got that gift.” Grams said. Rolling her eyes, Bonnie let Grams know that she was going to be at The Grill and ended the call at that, giggling to herself about yet another insight from her grandmother that Bonnie was more than just a teenage girl with a regular life here in Mystic Falls.

As mentioned, with a smile on her face, Bonnie walks into The Grill and heads over to her usual seating, which was a booth seat near the divide between the pool and foozeball tables and the bar. Caroline said it was prime seating to check out the guys that peppered the place. At the thought of her friend Caroline, Bonnie had somehow decided to go left when she would have gone right, and she turned around only to see Caroline sitting at a table by herself. Naturally Bonnie headed towards her friend, and sat down across from her.

“This is an I-told-ya-so moment.” She chuckled. “Grams said something about you today…or at least that’s what she’s going to say rather than peg this on coincidence.” Getting settled in her seat, Bonnie looks at Caroline with a brief and gentle furrow of her brow. “Caroline, are you okay?" Bonnie wondered if another fight between Caroline and her mom had transpired. It was hard for those two to see eye to eye, but Bonnie also supposed it must be just as hard to be a sheriff and a mom. Either way Caroline looked as if something was not right with her and being a good friend, Bonnie wanted to help...if Caroline wanted her to.

[caroline michelle forbes]

Caroline was lost in thought when Bonnie approached her. Nothing had really happened that day with her mother, but still Caroline could not help but feel a little bit ignored. A lot of her emotions had been building up over the years and every once in a while unexpectedly they would escape and flood her with feelings she truly was not ready to deal with. Caroline was not really sure how she would go about them either. Most times when she tried to talk with her mother it always ended in some kind of fight, and those negative emotions would once again be boxed away until she could not hold it in any longer. Caroline finally looked up as she came out of her trance and tried to smile. She was relieved to see Bonnie but the negativity of her thoughts still lingered. “Well Coincidence or not I’m glad you’re here.” she said with a soft laugh. “I’m not exactly feeling like myself today. I left my phone back at the house charging. I’m sure I’ll have like a billion missed opportunities and calls waiting for me back at the house. Everyone seems to want to hang out with you when you don’t have your phone.” She said with slight irritation in her voice. She could not believe how this day was going. When Bonnie asked what was wrong, Caroline looked back up at her. She was not really ready to go into detail about everything that was going on in her mind. It was already overwhelming enough and she was still trying to process things. “Oh, It’s nothing just something stupid.” She said shaking her head. “Really don’t worry about it.”

Caroline looked down at her hands, as she continued to twist one of her rings around. She gave an amused laugh. “As hard as it is to believe I just think I have done a little too much deep thinking.” She looked back up at her friend and gave a more convincing smile. She was already starting to feel better since Bonnie had arrived. “Thanks though.” Caroline often found it fascinating that she was good at completely switching her moods when she did not want to talk about something. She had gotten very good at it over the years. Which she assumed was why she was often seen as shallow. Caroline was one that compartmentalized her emotions. Although there were often times that she was an emotional wreck, especially when it came to guys. Caroline found that being dramatic about typical high school drama was a little more acceptable than family issues. She was sure everyone knew that she and her mother did not have the best relationship in the world. That really was not something she could hide, it was so evident. Caroline felt that not everyone needed to know what kind of pain that relationship caused her so she tried her best to block things out and distract herself. “So why did you come to the grill? Where you looking for me? Anxiety separation maybe?” she said jokingly with another smile. “Or are you practicing your guy hunting skills?” her voice rang with excitement. It was amazing how energetic she could get as soon as she started talking.

[bonnie esther bennett]

Bonnie could sense the shift in Caroline but because it was something in the way she smiled through the brief and yet awkward pause, Bonnie let it slide Sometimes, even with your best friends…Well, especially with your best friends, you had to know when to pick your fights. It wasn’t to say that Caroline and Bonnie would argue straight off the bat but, sometimes the two could get into heated discussions, but they never left hating one another, and that was a god sign of tried, trusted and true friendship.

“Well, if you need to..” Bonnie fishes in her purple clutch for her purple phone, yes this was a favorite color of hers and she wasn’t ashamed to show it albeit in the biggest or smallest way possible on her everyday wear. She passes her cellphone to her friend “You can have your calls forwarded to my phone if needs be. I mean, I’m gonna be here for awhile anyway. Dads away on business and Grams is at a meeting so, that left me home alone to fend for myself and, although I REALLY need to be studying for that biology exam in a week, we both know me in the kitchen is seriously a carte blanche for disaster so…” With her own chuckle she shrugs. “Here I am, and I mean..” a little smile creeps over her lips as a water comes over to hand them both menus and fill their water glasses. Nibbling her lower lip, Bonnie mouses down in her seat as she eyes the waiter who had just left their table, before she continues in a more lowered tone. “If some guy spying happens to take place, I’m not gonna argue.

Bonnie could never see herself making the first move, in a way she had an old school romantic heart, wanting the boy to do the asking…and the woing. This was another factor about her character that had Grams talking about how Bonnie had an old soul in her. Suddenly the thought insighted a muffled laugh that Bonnie had to cover over with her hand to avoid spilling water down her chin. She could already feel Carolines eyes on her as she closed her eyes and waved her free hand, taking up a napkin and dabbing her lips before she spoke through the embarrassed grin.

“I came too close to having a Freudian moment, and this is the exact reason why I can’t just go up to a guy and talk to them like you do.” She cleans off her hands and sits back in her seat knowing that the topic of boys could always add some cheer to Carolines demeanor, and Bonnie took cue for the direction of conversation from the way Carolines eyes lit up at the prospect of seeing who could accompany them to a late diner at The Grill. “Do you think he saw that?”

[caroline michelle forbes]

"Thank you really are a life saver!" Caroline said with relief as she took the phone from Bonnie. "Maybe if you have nothing to do and there is something going on you can come with me." she said as she began to set things up on Bonnie's phone. Caroline looked up just in time to see Bonnie face change from a deep in thought to an embarrassed expression as she reached for a napkin. Caroline gave a smile. "Well judging from the look of confusion on his face I would probably say so. Still does not mean you completely blew your chance. Guys seem to like that stuff." she said reassuringly looking back at Bonnie after studying the guy for a little longer which she did not mind at all. "I would try to visit wonderland a little less often though. It might lose its cuteness after a while." Caroline laughed as her spirit began to perk up. She eyed a couple more guys. "I almost forgot why I love coming here." she smiled as she caught the eye of a guy that was close by.

"Now catch me up on everything so far." Caroline said refocusing her attention back on Bonnie as she handed the phone back. "If there was a guy in your life you would tell me right?!?!" her voice got down to almost a whisper as if it was some kind of secret. Normally guys were secrets until something was official. Not that Caroline was the best at keeping secrets in the first place, she was probably one of the worst people in the world at doing this. "I won't tell I promise." she said starting to get a little excited. She knew she might have been jumping the gun slightly. Caroline was thankful that Bonnie knew exactly which topics to pick to distract her. She always could rely on Bonnie in that way. Not only could she help brighten her day, but when Caroline was ready to talk about things she was there to listen. Caroline knew most likely, that today was not going to be that day. She knew though that eventually the two of them would be having a heart to heart.

Taking a sip of her coke she looked back over at the guys one more time before looking back at Bonnie. Caroline did not want to appear rude but it was often hard to focus when there were guys in the room looking at her. Caroline loved the attention, almost to the point she thrived off it of. She was happy she was back to normal instead of sitting there sulking about her home life. It was a relief by far. "Have you seen Elena lately?" Caroline asked suddenly thinking of her. It had been a while since Caroline had talked with Elena. They were not the best of friends but they were not enemies either. Caroline had been trying to get closer to Matt but all he seemed to want to do is get closer to her. Caroline was not exactly fond of this. Elena always seemed to get what she wanted and Caroline always saw herself as getting the sort end of the stick. "Is she still with Stefan? It's hard to believe when Matt keeps following her around like a sad puppy." the jealousy was beginning to surface once again. Whenever the subject of guys was brought up Caroline would think of Matt then everything else would follow. It was unavoidable.

[bonnie esther bennett]

Bonnie resisted the urge to point out how Caroline had just offered to take her along to any hangout she was invited to. She resisted the urge to point out that Caroline made it sound as if Bonnie were just an accessory, like a pair of earrings or a watch, than a friend, and just chuckled with a slight shake of her head because, Bonnie would bet dollars to donuts that Caroline didn’t initially mean it like that. This was just another Caroline-ism.

If one were to glimpse the exchange of conversation between the two girls, you would never know that Caroline had just been sulking in a puddle of self pity moments ago. She was back to her regular self, or as regular a self as Bonnie knew her to be, sitting up talk and confident, giving brief and small smiles to guys whos eyes lingered in her direction, giving Bonnie advice on how to breach her veil of shyness and just walk up to a guy she was interested in. Guy talk, social scenes this was all perfectly fine venues of conversations to tread with Caroline but, Bonnie also knew that Elenas break up with Matt was seen to Caroline as a good thing since she’d been eyeing him for awhile. Not that she would have moved to attempt to take him while he was going with Elena, she was just the type to silently hope they would part ways before graduation so that she could walk into prom on his arm, Matt and Elena did break up but, the situation that flowered to pull them apart was so drastically unexpected and tragic that not even Caroline could find a boost to make a move…not yet…not openly... “I haven’t seen much of Elena either, but I mean, she just started to get back to things, she just needs some time, yanno..?”But, beyond Carolines pining for the boy, she was right. Matt still had feelings for Elena, even Bonnie could see it. But Elena had so much to deal with, and then Stefan waked into the picture, and for all that it’s worth, though Elena was happy with Matt, Bobbie was happy for Elena and Stefan.

“Caroline, they were really good friends before they started dating, you know that. They’re still friends now, that’s all.” Bonnie pinches a soft grin at her friend before unfolding the menu on the table. “I think Stefan is good for her. I mean, I know Matt was too but maybe she wants to move on and being with Matt was too much of a reminder of before…” Bonnie can’t even bring herself to mention the death of Elenas parents, the loss of ones parents would ware on anyone, and Elena had not only herself to worry about but, also her little brother Jeremy, who chose his own unique path to heal. "You could just hear the sighs of hearts breaking when news that they were together went around.” Bonnie chuckled still eying the menu, unsure of what to order. “There IS an upside to this though; you’re still on the cheersquad so, that means more time with Matt. He’s a man made of marble, and you’re a sculptor" Bonnie sits up, brow furrowed as she hears her own words waft back to her "…or something. You know what I mean; work your magic.”

[caroline michelle forbes]

Elena seemed to have fallen off the radar, but that really was not hard to understand considering what had happened to her parents. Caroline did not want to spend too much time thinking about it though. It was an unfortunate event that had impacted not only the family but those around them. So when Bonnie barely touched the subject Caroline gave a slight nod in agreement. She was not going to argue, Elena had been having a rough couple of months. Caroline never was good with dealing with death or anything like that. It was hard enough for her to deal with family issues. She was thankful that Bonnie had switched the subject back to Matt although it was a little bittersweet for her.

Caroline knew that everything Bonnie was saying was true but it was still painful. Elena and Matt were just good friends, but she knew as well as anyone else that Matt wanted to be more. “I think your right about everything. I mean they are just really good friends. And Stefan is very good for Elena.” Caroline said beginning to sound a little more upbeat. “And I’ll be seeing a lot of Matt, there is still hope.” She said reassuring herself. Caroline made a face as she picked up a menu. She was hungry but not sure for what. “I never know what I want.” She said with a sigh. “What are you getting?” her eyes looked over at Bonnie curious as to what she was going to order. Biting her bottom lip she glanced over the menu once more, trying to decide what sounded good to her at that moment. Caroline knew she was probably one of the most indecisive people in the world. Normally she would just go along with whatever anyone else was getting.

Caroline looked back up at Bonnie and gave a smile. “Anything exciting happen lately to you? I just know this town is just bursting with excitement.” she laughed knowing how sarcastic her last statement was. In all honesty there was not a whole lot going on in Mystic Fall but school and the abundance of meetings that her mother kept going too. “There has got to be some kind of big thing coming up with the amounts of meetings my mother is going too, but that might just be wishful thinking on my part.” Caroline could not really help but sound a little irritated when she mentioned her mother. Things were not how she wanted them to be at all but she knew she could not really change things. “Maybe you life is slightly more interesting than mine. I mean you do have all those stories your gram tells you.”

[bonnie esther bennett]

At Carolines words, Bonnie can’t help but chuckle. “You know in place named Mystic Falls you’d think there was more to be talked about other than my imaginative grandmother, but I mean, you ARE right to ask.” She adds skimming the menu again, “ I think I’m gonna have a cheese burger and a garden salad instead of the fries, I think Grams said something about read meat and studying, it’s supposed to help..or something.” Another chuckle escapes her before she sets the menu aside and continues. Speaking with Caroline was never a problem, when there was an easy overall subject to gab about. Things like Matt and Elena were a little touch and go but, Bonnie understood Carolines concern, beyond wanting to hook Matt, Bonnie had not seen much of Elena, and the news of her and Stefan only came to Bonnie by way of what she called Rumor Soup, at school. With just Bonnie and Caroline at the Gril, it was starting to feel apparent that the girls needed a moment to get things back together.

Bonnies mind began to roll over possibilities before she turned back to Caroline and the conversation. “Well, today grams says I’m psychic, or maybe she thinks she is. Once I tell her I ran into you here she’s probably gonna gimme that look of I-told-ya-so, mind you this is based on the fact that she just said I’m gonna run into a blond friend. Like that’s saying anything.” Bonnie waves off the possible chances that Grams was right afterall. “She told me about this one ancestor we have, who could like..touch things and know things about people through that.” Bonnies eyes lit up with the information. She did genuinely find these stories of her family interesting but, her dad constantly told her they were just stories of an overactive mind, in fact when her father was around, those kinds of stories weren’t to be shared or breached. It was something of a big no-no with mister Bennett. “ I love hearing what kinda sixth sense powers she thinks I have but I mean this one…Sounded a little too X-Men for me.”

[caroline michelle forbes]

Caroline smiled as she began to hum the twilight zone theme before deciding to speak. “You have a more interesting family history than I do. Sounds like I should be careful around you.” She gave a wink as she brought the glass of water up to her lips and looked down at the menu. “My psychic friend; never thought I would be hearing that one today.” Caroline did not mean to come off as rude but often times whatever she said came off that way. She supposed it was because her tone of voice always seemed peppered with a slight sarcasm that she never seemed to be able to hide. Caroline glanced down at the menu and smiled finally settling on something to eat. “If red meat helps you study more, I think I need a lot of it. So a Burger and garden salad sound like an excellent choice now that you brought it up.” She folded up her menu and placed it back on the table before folding her arms and looking back at her friend. “So what kinds of things does your Grams think you can do? Can you read minds or the future?” her eyes lit up with excitement. She was not really one to believe in the supernatural because it all seemed to fantasy to her but she was amused at the stories that Bonnie would tell but never once took them as fact. “and your right like Blond does not describe like the whole school population.” She said with a sarcastic laughed. “I bet your Grams is keeping tabs on how many times she it right. She is going to be thrilled about our meeting today.” Caroline smiled.

Caroline’s eyes wandered again when she caught another guy staring in their direction. “Can you tell me anything about sir looks a lot over there?” she said lifting her brow and giving a slight nod towards his direction. “It might come in handy to know if he is a freak or not I mean. It saves you a lot of trouble. Your Grams should teach you cool stuff like that.” She said looking back at Bonnie with a smile. “Oh! Do you know anything about reading palms? I have always wanted to have mine read.” She said looking down at her hand and studying it as if how to read it would suddenly come to her. “By all means go for it if you know how. It will be fun!” she said holding her palm face up and looking at Bonnie with a smile. “If not that should be one of the first things you ask Grams when you see her. I’ll be waiting for my free reading.” She flashed another smile. “I have to say you live a very strange life but it makes for some great stories.” She said taking another sip of her water.

[bonnie esther bennett]

Usually Bonnie would be able to see past the condescending tone of Carolines but, somehow when it came to asking about her family, it was almost a cardinal rule for Bonnie that if any slips were to be made about her grams and the things she says, it was going to come from Bonnie alone. Hearing the tone from Caroline pinched more than usual and she sighed shaking her head. “Why do you have to do that?” Bonnie asked in genuine curiosity, a lilt of hurt and offense gleaming in her eyes. “I mean yeah I know my grams..the things she says can seem a little crazy but, why do you have to talk to me like I’m the crazy one too?” Just then, as if fate had wanted this encroaching argument to be cut off before it got any further, the waiter came over to take their order.

Waiter at The Grill was a loose term since the waiters also doubled as busboys. You knew you moved up in the foodchain at The Grill when you made bartender or hostess. Those jobs were usually a fixed position, and it made sense since it worked well for the establishment. It wasn’t too fancy to be a five star restaurant but it wasn’t too stuffed shirt to make the foozeball and pooltables a frowned upon decore faux pas.

“Cheese burger and a garden salad instead of fries…please.” Bonnie enumerates her order with a brief shy smile at the waiter who nods and turns to Caroline.

[caroline michelle forbes]

"Bonnie I--." before Caroline could get many words out, the waiter had come over and Bonnie was already ordering. Caroline gave a half smile. "I'll have the same." she said passing him the menu and looking back at Bonnie. She was obviously upset over what Caroline had said. When the waiter finally left Caroline turned back to her friend trying to form some kind of apology. "Bonnie, I got a little carried away. I did not mean it like that." Caroline voice got a little lower as she looked in Bonnie's eyes. "You know me though, I say stupid stuff all the time." She said giving a quick smile. Caroline had a way of getting herself in trouble when it came to conversations, she always ended up saying the wrong thing. "But I'm sorry. Honestly."

Caroline looked at Bonnie sheepishly as she gave a smile. She hoped that it would be enough to get things back to normal. She did not want to fight with her friend especially after everything she had gone through that week. "Just forget I said that OK?" Caroline waved it off, as if this action could eraser her very words she had said to cause Bonnie to feel upset. Caroline hoped that her apology was enough to fix things. Caroline knew she needed to try to keep her month shut a little more. Once Caroline started talking she lost track of things, and she was far less likely to filter anything that came out of her mouth. This of course was what got her in trouble the most. "Are we good?"