The Revenge Con

11. Unpacking

"Can we talk?" The moment Damon had made his way to the bus bathroom, Bonnie was determined to get Kai to talk to her. 

"Sure." He shrugged, not seeming to care whether they talked or not. 

"I'm sorry for kissing you." She began and he shook his head in disbelief.

"You think I'm mad at you for kissing me?" She bit her lip, feeling foolish.

"No. I just wish I hadn't screwed everything up. I shouldn't have pulled away. I-"

"I don't care that you pulled away. I just wish you trusted me enough to talk to me about it." He sighed, making her feel 10 times worse than she already did. Bonnie stood up and crossed the aisle, slipping into the seat next to him. Kai tensed as her shoulder brushed against his. He shut his computer and turned to face her. 

"I did something bad in my last relationship and ruined everything. I don't feel like I deserve to be happy." She explained, her nerves causing her voice to waver. "You make me happy." She confessed. 

"Could've fooled me." He spat the words but the venom had fallen from his tone at her sincerity. 

"Kai I'm scared." She admitted. "I don't want to mess this up." 

"I'm scared too." He replied honestly. He glanced toward the back of the bus wondering how long they had before Damon returned. "Why don't we try taking it slow?" Bonnie was surprised by Kai's suggestion. 

"What?" 

"We'll both be in Mystic Falls for the time being, why don't you let me take you out on a real date?" He reached for her hand. Bonnie looked into his eyes wondering if he was doing all this to get her back for what happened in Greece. Before Bonnie could answer Damon plopped into the seat across from them where Bonnie had been sitting. 

"You lovebirds finally make up?" He questioned leaning back into the seat. Bonnie groaned subconsciously burying her face into Kai's shoulder causing the two men to smile. "I guess that answers my question." 

Elena set her bag down in Matt's guest room. 

"Are you sure you don't mind if I crash here?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?" Matt chuckled tossing her other bag onto the bed. 

"I know but it was only supposed to be for a night but with Jenna and Mason selling the house and-" 

"Elena it's fine."

"I can pay rent or buy groceries or cook for you!" 

"We both know you can't cook." He scoffed, shaking his head at her. "Make yourself at home, I gotta head to the station but I'll bring home dinner later." As he left, she sat on the bed. She couldn't believe she was living with Matt Donovan of all people. 

After the dinner party, Elena made Jenna explain everything. She felt guilty for holding them back as long as she did. As much as she wanted her aunt to be happy, she was dreading having to once again figure out what she was doing with her life. Not that she had exactly done that before...

She knew she could always go stay with her parents instead of inconveniencing her high school boyfriend. If she was honest, she wasn't sure they could face them. They had sat down with her former fiance. They had gotten to know him. They would be ashamed. 

Elena knew her parents had heard about what happened. Reporters had been at their door not long after they followed Elena to her hometown. She had been dodging them since she had arrived and luckily they respected her boundaries when she had refused to come out of her room. Elena knew she owed them an explanation but she had hoped she would have a plan by the time she told them. A plan that didn't consist of crashing in her ex-boyfriend's guest room.

After an hour of unpacking some necessities, Elena decided to take a look around Matt's place. It was the same house he had grown up in but it had been renovated. The furniture now suited the much more mature Matt Donovan. She noticed a few pieces of decor that she could see her or Caroline picking out and she wondered if Matt and Penny had decorated the place together. She turned her attention to some of the pictures that hung around on the walls. There were a few she recognized, early photos of his family and their friends but there were some that were more recent. There was a collage of photos from Vicki and Tyler's wedding. In one of the photos, she could even spot her laughing with Caroline and Bonnie in the background. She wondered if Matt had used that one on purpose. There was something about seeing the trio together that made her nostalgic. She longed for when times were that simple. 

Her gaze shifted to a picture of Matt and Penny. He looked so happy with her. Penny's death had been a shock to the whole community. Mystic Falls was a place where nothing bad ever happened. When Penny was shot in the line of duty the peaceful town had frozen in time. 

Despite being filled with evidence of love, Matt's house ached with loneliness. Elena knew he missed Penny in a way she couldn't imagine missing Elijah. While Elena felt as though she had lost her soulmate forever, Matt truly had. 

There was a small possibility that Elijah would one day forgive her and they'd live happily ever after and while it may have been small, Elena was holding on to it.