PRACTICE went worse than Raven had expected.

It seemed like over the summer, she'd lost all sense of rhythm. Even the freshmen managed to stay on the beat. Bonnie, of course, did a wonderful job. She'd been so happy to see Raven strut onto the field and congratulated her even after Caroline had kindly suggested to sit this routine out. Raven had obliged, even though it sliced her ego into pieces.

Only two good things had come out of tryouts: one, she had successfully convinced Bonnie to attend dinner with Stefan. And two, when Raven was kicked to the sidelines, she saw that Stefan had taken her advice and tried out for the football team. And wow, he was amazing! He'd dodged Tyler with ease, dashing and spinning. No amount of humiliation Mr. Tanner evoked from his students could make him as delighted as he was seeing Stefan kill it on the field. And even though Raven had been having the worst time of her life, she couldn't help but smile. She'd hoped that Stefan could cement his place in the school. Newcomers didn't always have it easy—as seen by Tyler Lockwood's unprovoked treatment—but she knew that Stefan wasn't exactly one to give up.

"Fire!" Bonnie suddenly yelped, breaking Raven out of her thoughts.

"What?" Raven murmured. She followed Bonnie's gaze to see blue flames emerging from the stove. She gasped and dropped the pot she'd been holding. She rushed to turn the knob on the stove, barely noticing the clang behind her. The flames dipped down and she sighed. 

Bonnie knelt to expect the pot. "The food's safe," She announced, slowly rising to her feet.

Raven chuckled. Ugh, she just wanted tonight to be perfect. She'd never hosted dinner at her house. She'd been at other dinners—namely, ones hosted by her father's colleagues and her mother's fellow committee members, but the Gilberts thought that their home was their haven. They didn't just invite anyone in. It was reserved for family and only their closest friends.

Raven's parents had tried to teach her the perfect etiquette and preparation but she failed every lesson. She hadn't made anything homemade (she sucked at cooking—also, this party may have been a tad spontaneous); she didn't preheat the stove properly; and to make up for it, she turned the temperature a little too high. 

Then she had to assemble the perfect outfit that said "I'm a hostess but I'm also just a teen and I really want to impress you guys but I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard." When she finished raiding her own closet, she returned to the stove, but she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she had barely noticed the smoke, even as it stung her eyes.

"What's wrong?" asked Bonnie, setting the fallen pot on the counter. It wasn't like Raven to be so...tense. The black-haired girl had always teased Caroline about being so high-strung when planning events, but at least Caroline wasn't so clumsy. She did everything perfectly.

"I'm just nervous is all," Raven said simply.

Truth be told, her thoughts were killing her. At first, she'd been worried that tonight would be a disaster. She wanted nothing more than for Bonnie and Stefan to bond...but thinking about her friends made her think of all the secrets she was keeping from them. So naturally, her mind wandered to the center...and Ryder. Ryder was the last thing Raven wanted to think about. But what if Bonnie touched her, had a vision, and caught a glimpse of him?

Her powers seemed to be getting stronger. Earlier that evening, she'd told Raven about a commercial she predicted—which was questionable, to say the least (that commercial was more inescapable than the moon cycle). But then she'd also guessed where the serving spoons were. After Jenna moved in, she'd rearranged things so they were easier to grab. That had to mean something.

But Bonnie refused to speak to her grams. She didn't want real confirmation that she was a witch. It made Raven wonder if Bonnie hadn't described her vision because she loved her or if it was because she was scared to acknowledge that her powers were real. Raven hadn't brought it up because she didn't want to give too much information away...what if she admitted to something Bonnie hadn't seen and then Bonnie saw her as a monster?

The doorbell ripped Raven from her troubles. "That must be him," She said and took a deep breath. She faced Bonnie, who smiled uneasily. "Remember, just be your normal, loving, non-cold, engaging self."

Bonnie nodded. Raven rushed to answer the door and swung it open. Stefan awaited with a smile.

◇◇◇

It only took a few minutes to get situated. 

Now the food was spread across the table and everyone's plates were full, but no one said a word. The only noises came from forks clinging against white earthenware. After sharing the hundreth awkward look with her guests, Raven sipped cola from her mom's fancy wineglass and cleared her throat."Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" She asked Stefan, setting your glass down.

"Well he let me on the team, so..." He chuckled softly. "I must've done something right."

Raven smiled. Even someone as prideful as Mr. Tanner couldn't pass up a potential star player. Looking at Bonnie, she said, "Bonnie, you should've seen Stefan today! Tyler threw a ball right at him and—"

"Yeah, I heard."

Raven's smile fell as naturally as it had emerged. Without a word, she reached for her drink, hoping to swallow her sadness and frustrations, and wishing it was liquor. It was like Bonnie wasn't even trying to bond with him.

Raven had wanted to invite Caroline, but she could be...well, a little too extroverted. While Bonnie was outgoing, she tended to be on the more mellow side, much like Stefan. Raven had worried that if she invited Caroline, she'd take over the conversations, leaving little room for Bonnie and Stefan to have a one-on-one.

Stefan lightly tapped his finger against the table. Raven sighed quietly to herself. This was a disaster. Her mother must've been rolling in her grave. 

Raven tried to think. If she couldn't get Bonnie interested in Stefan, why not do the opposite?

"Bonnie," She tried again. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

Bonnie blinked and glanced at Stefan. "Um...divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." She chuckled awkwardly.

"No, about the witches," Raven clarified. Stefan immediately turned his head to her, interest piqued. She bit back a smile. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie muttered. Raven gave her a look. Why had Bonnie even agreed to this dinner if she was going to be closed-off the entire time?

Raven grabbed her plate by the rims, ready to give up and storm off, when Stefan suddenly said "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed but I know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem."

"Really?" He asked. Bonnie gave a tight smile. Her eyes darted away from his intense gaze. "Salem witches?"

"Yeah." She laughed softly and looked at her lap. Raven suddenly felt guilty. Maybe she'd been too harsh. It couldn't have been easy talking about this. While she knew quite a bit about supernatural creatures, Bonnie must have felt like a freak. A weird family history and suddenly she was seeing and feeling things that she couldn't explain? With a guy whose presence was causing these feelings? Bonnie must have been so scared. The way her shoulders tensed...how she could barely maintain eye contact. It reminded Raven of...herself.

"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan said kindly.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie smiled again, but this time the tension was dulled by sincerity. 

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity," He explained.

For the first time, Bonnie smiled proudly. "Yeah...they are."

Raven masked her grin with another sip of cola. Finally, things were working out. Stefan's perspective of witches impressed her—but what was more impressive, how he'd made her best friend feel less freakish and more...confident. She hoped she could see Bonnie's eyes sparkle like this more in the future when she talked about her family line.

As Raven sat her glass on the counter, the doorbell rang. She frowned, almost forgetting what that sounded like. "I'll get it," She announced. "You guys keep talking."

As Raven rose to her feet, conservation swept over the duo. She headed for the door with tentative steps. Jeremy had his own keys. So did Jenna. Who would randomly show up at this hour? Did Sheriff Forbes have more questions about Ryder? Had she realized that Raven was holding out on her? Was she going to drag her to the station?

The nerves in Raven's body felt like sand running through her veins. She couldn't even tell if she was breathing anymore. Suddenly the front door felt like the only thing standing between her and her secrets.

Slowly, she reached for the knob...and flung the door open. 

-- 

I hate how short this is, but since the focus isn't really on the love triangle (but still pretty necessary), I thought I'd keep it nice and sweet. Let me know your thoughts ❤️

- Jess