Days With Zion Dawsey

26. The Event

"Thank you again, Cirus, for coming with me. I know you're a busy man these days." Bonnie smiled at her friend as the two were heading to the annual charity event. Last year it was her friend Jason Humberback that designed her dress and was the one that acompanied her to the event.

Bonnie was determined on going on her own, since she wanted to show the world that a stupid rumour about her and Zion will not get to her and all the comments and judgemental looks at the entrance will not stop her from having a great time tonight. But Cirus had so kindly offered to go with her, since he felt bad for not being there for her once the news about Zion and her surfaced.

Of course, Bonnie told him she was fine with it, but he didn't believe her. And maybe she wasn't as fine with it, as she wished she were, Bonnie thought. Which was why she allowed him to be her companion for tonight.

"I'm never too busy for you, Bonnie. Besides that, I feel honoured to even go to an event like this. So, I have to thank you." The two smiled at each other. Bonnie was really glad she's found an actual friend that's not one of her employees or business colleagues.

They met at a café a few months ago and ever since then occasionally talked. But the two soon came to trust each other with almost everything. Of course not everything, but most things. That was also why she would trust Cirus with River so much. He was a great friend and was amazing with kids.

"Do you know who's coming tonight?" Cirus Kent asked Bonnie, who shrugged in answer.
"I really don't know. But I know there's going to be a lot of people if it's even remotely as full as last year." She answered.

"Do you know if he's going to be there?" Bonnie knew exactly who he meant.
"I don't and I don't care whether he is or not." She answered, knowing she was a bad liar. But she really didn't even want to think about Zion tonight, especially if he wasn't even coming.

"Let's just not talk about him, honestly. With all that's been going on, even thinking about him is annoying me. I want to enjoy tonight, so let's just do that." She said that as Bonnie turned to him with a look that made him gulp.

But Kent smiled a second later, grabbed her right hand and nodded.
"You're right, let's just have fun." He brought her hand up to kiss it, causing Bonnie to blush. She didn't exactly know what to do or say. Cirus has never really been this touchy. Of course, he flirted with her every once in a while, but she figured it was just for fun.

Now, she didn't know so much anymore. Why was he looking at her like that and why was he still holding her hand? And why didn't she take it away? Bonnie mentally shook her head at all the questions and just smiled back at her friend. He was probably just nervous about tonight. After all, this was his very first charity event. On top of that, he was walking in with news topic number one. So, of course he was nervous.

"Jesus Christ." She heard Cirus whisper and followed his gaze out of the window. He was looking at the entrance of the Lord's castle. A ton of paprazzi were currently shouting at Veronica Monroe, who smiled at all the cameras before vanishing into the castle. Bonnie's limousine was next up to arrive at the beginning of the red carpet and she turned to Kent again.

"Are you ready? There's still time for you to decide whether you want to be seen with me or not. But I'll tell you again, you might get a lot of backlash for even being my friend. People are going to assume stuff and-"
"Relax, Bonnie. You told me all of that and I'll answer again. I don't care. You're my friend and I want to be here with you." He squeezed the hand that he still hadn't let go of.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." She said just as the door to Kent's right opened. He walked out first, not really catching the attention of any camera. But his smile never fazed as he turned back to offer Bonnie a hand. She took his with a deep breath and carefully climbed out of the vehicle. And that was it.

The papparazzi went wild as they started snapping away. The pair was still holding hands and Bonnie just didn't have the heart or the mind to pull away as he lead them to the center of the carpet. Of course, every camera had a voice, telling her to look at her or smile.

But all of that was momentarily gone once she felt a pair of lips on her cheek. If it was possible, the camera's were being clicked even faster and the flashes almost gave her a seizure. With one last smile, she practically pulled Cirus after her, in order to escape the shouting.

Once the two arrived inside, away from the papparazzi, she found their reserved table, glad the rest seemingly hasn't arrived yet. Once the two settled down, she turned to Cirus with a look.
"What's wrong?" He frowned at her.

"You gave me a kiss on the cheek." She reminded him.
"So? I always give you a kiss on the cheek?" He said, referring to their casual greetings.
"Yes, but on a red carpet in front of the cameras- that's not a chaste kiss on the cheek. That's a reason for them to write another stupid article about me and my secret boyfriend." She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I didn't mean to upset you." Cirus told his friend. She sighed again and just shook her head. She was making a drama out of nothing, she knew. But she really didn't want Cirus' name to be dirtied as well.

"No, I'm exaggerating. I'm sorry. I really just-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake." She suddenly heard and looked up to the owner of the voice.

Great. Just great.