The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter One

Things can be just like they were before, said Carolean warmly, reaching out to squeeze middlings hand. only it wasnt true. Nothing could ever be the way it had been before Elena died. Nothing. And reasonable had serious misgivings about this party Carolean was stressful to set up. A vague nagging in the pit of her stomach told her that for some reason it was a very, very bad idea.Merediths birthday is already over, she pointed out. It was run short Saturday. save she didnt pass on a party, not a real party like this one. Weve got all night my parents wont be covert until Sunday morning. Come on, decorous-just turn over how surprised shell be.Oh, shell be surprised, all right, thought Bonnie. So surprised she just might kill me afterward. Look, Caroline, the reason Meredith didnt have a big party is that she quieten doesnt feel much like celebrating. It seems-disrespectful, somehow-But thats wrong. Elena would want us to have a good time, you know she would. She loved parti es. And shed hate to see us seance around and crying over her six months after shes gone. Caroline leaned forward, her normally feline green eyeball earnest and compelling. There was no artifice in them now, none of Carolines usual nasty manipulation. Bonnie could tell she very meant it.I want us to be fri blockades again the way we used to be, Caroline said. We ceaselessly used to celebrate our birthdays together, just the four of us, remember? And remember how the guys would always try to crash our parties? I wonder if theyll try this year.Bonnie felt overlook of the situation slipping away from her. This is a bad idea, this is a very bad idea, she thought. But Caroline was going on, looking dreamy and almost wild-eyed as she talked about the good old days. Bonnie didnt have the heart to tell her that the good old days were as dead as disco.But there arent even four of us anymore. Three doesnt make much of a party, she protested feebly when she could get a word in.Im going t o invite serve Carson, too. Meredith gets along with her, doesnt she?Bonnie had to admit Meredith did everyone got along with Sue. But even so, Caroline had to understand that things couldnt be the way they had been before. You couldnt just substitute Sue Carson for Elena and say, There, everything is fixed now.But how do I explain that to Caroline? Bonnie thought. Suddenly she knew.Lets invite Vickie Bennett, she said.Caroline stared. Vickie Bennett? You must be joking. Invite that bizarre little drip who take off in bm of half the school? After everything that happened?Caroline stared. Vickie Bennett? You must be joking. Invite that bizarre little drip who undressed in front of half the school? After everything that happened?For a fleck Caroline looked helplessly frustrated. Bonnie thrust her chin out, put her hands on her hips, and waited. Finally Caroline sighed.All right you win. Ill invite her. But you have to take care of getting Meredith to my house Saturday night. And B onnie-make sure she doesnt have any idea whats going on. I really want this to be a surprise.Oh, it will be, Bonnie said grimly. She was unprepared for the sudden light in Carolines face or the impulsive fancy of Carolines hug.Im so glad youre seeing things my way, Caroline said. And itll be so good for us all to be together again.She doesnt understand a thing, Bonnie realized, dazed, as Caroline walked off. What do I have to do to explain to her? Sock her?And then Oh, God, now I have to tell Meredith.But by the end of the day she decided that perhaps Meredith didnt need to be told. Caroline wanted Meredith surprised well, maybe Bonnie should deliver Meredith surprised. That way at least Meredith wouldnt have to worry about it beforehand. Yes, Bonnie concluded, it was probably kindest to not tell Meredith anything.And who knows, she wrote in her journal Friday night. possibly Im being too hard on Caroline. Maybe shes really sorry about all the things she did to us, like trying to humiliate Elena in front of the whole town and trying to get Stefan put away for murder. Maybe Carolines matured since then and learned to think about somebody besides herself. Maybe well actually have a good time at her party.And maybe aliens will kidnap me before tomorrow afternoon, she thought as she closed the diary. She could only hope.The diary was an inexpensive drugstore blank book, with a pattern of piffling flowers on the cover. Shed only started keeping it since Elena had died, further shed already become slightly addicted to it. It was the one place she could say anything she wanted without people looking blow out of the water and saying, Bonnie McCullough or Oh, Bonnie.She was still thinking about Elena as she turned off the light and crawled under the covers.She was sitting on lush, manicured grass that spread as far as she could see in all directions. The sky was a flawless lamentable, the air was warm and scented. Birds were singing.Im so glad you could come, El ena said.Oh-yes, said Bonnie. Well, naturally, so am I. Of course. She looked around again, then hastily back at Elena.More tea? There was a teacup in Bonnies hand, thin and fragile as eggshell. Oh-sure. Thanks.Elena was wearable an eighteenth-century dress of gauzy white muslin, which clung to her, showing how slender she was. She poured the tea precisely, without spilling a drop.Would you like a mouse?A what?I said, would you like a prepare with your tea?Oh. A sandwich. Yeah. Great. It was thinly sliced cucumber with mayonnaise on a dainty square of white bread. Without the crust.The whole scene was as frothy and beautiful as a picture by Seurat. Warm Springs, thats where we are. The old picnic place, Bonnie thought. But surely weve got more important things to discuss than tea.Who does your sensory hair these days? she asked. Elena never had been able to do it herself.Do you like it? Elena put a hand up to the silky, pale gold mass piled at the back of her neck.Its perfect, s aid Bonnie, sounding for all the world like her mother at a Daughters of the American Revolution dinner party.Well, hair is important, you know, Elena said. Her eyes glowed a deeper blue than the sky, lapis lazuli blue. Bonnie touched her own springy red curls self-consciously.Of course, blood is important too, Elena said.Blood? Oh-yes, of course, said Bonnie, flustered. She had no idea what Elena was talking about, and she felt as if she were walking on a tightrope over alligators.Yes, bloods important, all right, she agreed weakly.Another sandwich?Thanks. It was cheese and tomato. Elena selected one for herself and bit into it delicately. Bonnie watched her, feeling uneasiness climb by the minute inside her, and then- And then she saw the mud oozing out of the edges of the sandwich.What-whats that? Terror made her voice shrill. For the first time, the dream seemed like a dream, and she found that she couldnt move, could only gasp and stare. A thick glob of the brown stuff fell of f Elenas sandwich onto the checkered tablecloth. It was mud, all right. Elena Elena, what-The air was no longer warm and scented it was hot and sickly sweet with the odor of rotting garbage. There were black pits in the green grass, which wasnt manicured after all but wild and overgrown. This wasnt Warm Springs. She was in the old graveyard how could she not have realized that? Only these graves were fresh.Another mouse? Elena said, and giggled obscenely.Bonnie looked down at the half-eaten sandwich she was holding and screamed. Dangling from one end was a ropy brown tail. She threw it as hard as she could against a headstone, where it hit with a mingy slap. Then she stood, stomach heaving, scrubbing her fingers frantically against her jeans.You cant leave yet. The company is just arriving. Elenas face was changing she had already lost her hair, and her skin was turning gray and leathery. Things were pathetic in the plate of sandwiches and the freshly dug pits. Bonnie didnt want t o see any of them she thought she would go mad if she did.Youre not Elena she screamed, and ran.The wind blew her hair into her eyes and she couldnt see. Her pursuer was behind her she could feel it right behind her. Get to the bridge, she thought, and then she ran into something.Ive been waiting for you, said the thing in Elenas dress, the gray skeletal thing with long, misrepresented teeth. Listen to me, Bonnie. It held her with terrible strength.Youre not Elena Youre not ElenaListen to me, BonnieIt was Elenas voice, Elenas real voice, not obscenely amused nor thick and ugly, but urgent. It came from somewhere behind Bonnie and it swept through the dream like a fresh, cold wind. Bonnie, listen quickly-Things were melting. The bony hands on Bonnies arms, the crawling graveyard, the rancid hot air. For a moment Elenas voice was clear, but it was broken up like a bad long-dis-tance connection. Hes twisting things, changing them. Im not as strong as he is Bonnie missed some words. b ut this is important. You have to find right now. Her voice was fading.Elena, I cant hear you Elena an easy spell, only two ingredients, the ones I told you alreadyElenaBonnie was still shouting as she sat bolt upright in bed.