BLINK

(PART ONE)

Playlist-Blink by Revive

"Is that what you want…for her to be like you?"

"She already is…like me!" He answers flippantly. "And if you can't see that Bonnie then you're delusional. Stop treating her like the old Elena; she isn't and hasn't been since she fed. You can't deny a vampire its basic instinct. The only thing you're doing is either setting it up for failure or death!" He stares her down driving his point home.

Standing dead center of the college courtyard he watches her as she looks past him, eyes unfocused as she processes his words asking herself when had it happened? When was the moment that Elena had become less like the girl she used to be and more like… him? Because after tonight she has to admit that to herself; she has to be honest. And the truth is her best friend never would have allowed herself to feed the way she did tonight, not if she could help it. This isn't just about being a vampire. It's about more than that. It's about making a conscience decision about the person you want to be. Caroline did it; Stefan did it. A choice had to be made and tonight Elena had made hers. Sure she may have felt guilty after the fact but in her heart Bonnie knows that it will happen again. This isn't a one-time deal. Elena liked human blood, wanted it, and like Damon wasn't going to deny herself. And Bonnie being Bonnie, couldn't accept that. She had no problem defending her friend when she thought that they were fighting the same fight; wanting the same thing. But that really wasn't the case anymore; was it? So where did that leave her? Where did that leave them? It couldn't go on like this. She couldn't go on like this.

Placing her hands on her hips she inhales and exhales on a shaky breath and when she finally looks at him her eyes are cloudy only a blink away from losing it. "Okay." The word holds a slight tremor but otherwise it is clear.

He arches an eyebrow because he doesn't understand what she is saying. It cannot be that easy. Of all the things that he expected from Bonnie, acceptance was not one of them. "What do you mean 'okay'?" He questions. He waits for the other shoe to drop; waits for her inevitable comeback; the reasoning and the fight that always comes when dealing with Bonnie. It's what she does; it's an integral part of her DNA!

"I'm done. You win." Her words sound so final and the smile she gives him is one of defeat and he's not sure what to do with it. "Let's go home."

She walks past him and as he watches her go he smirks. Perhaps he has finally gotten through to her. Finally made her understand what he knows to be true. And he wants to revel in his victory but he can't help the unsettling feeling that begins to nag at him. He's not sure why but he feels as if he has done something very, very bad.

Several weeks later he is still plagued by the thought. Sure nothing has really changed. Stefan had been beyond pissed when he found out about their fraternity feeding fest. He had given him a lecture in one breath and made excuses for Elena's behavior with the other. It was typical Stefan and just as annoying as it always is.

And it didn't stop Elena from seeking him out; still asking for his help; still wanting to 'learn' his ways even while she promised Stefan that she would try his way. It was all very typical and mundane but something had shifted. It's for this reason alone that he brings up the witch while the three of them sit in the den pouring over old history journals on vampire hunters.

"Hey how come Bonnie isn't helping out with this? Isn't she the history buff out of this breakfast club?" And he notices right away when Elena's hands fumble with the turning of a page.

"She's been busy." Stefan replies.

"Busy? Doing what? Did she not get the memo about the vampire hunter in town that's trying to exterminate us?" He pushes on because he can sense there is something up.

Shaking her head Elena mumbles something about going out of town and essay writings and then turns back to the task at hand.

He catches the look that Stefan throws him but ignores it."Well I think she's being a bit selfish. She could probably use her powers to breeze right through these and find us what we need and save us a whole lot of time!" When he is met with silence he presses just a bit more because he has never been known for his restraint and he isn't about to start now. "So no one is going to call her?" He asks.

"I'm going to check upstairs to see if there is anything else in the attic." She zips out of the room using her vampire speed before another word can be spoken.

"What the hell is her problem?"

"Bonnie got her college acceptance letter."

"So let me guess Elena didn't get in to Whitemore College and now she's all torn up and depressed. She's better off anyway. I mean that frat party was lame!" He mocks because this is all so ridiculous he can't stand it! "Besides, what's the big deal? So instead of being two minutes away from Bonnie she will be two hours! That's nothing when you think about how fast she just moved out of this room."

Stefan laughs sardonically and it's a strange sound coming from his lips. It reminds Damon of Ripper Stefan and it makes his stomach curdle and tense. "Her acceptance letter from Berkley."

"As in California?"

"That's the one."

"Well I mean…she's not going. She can't go." And he says this as if Stefan should already know this. But that feeling inside him has intensified tenfold and Stefan hasn't spoken up. "What?" He questions.

"She signed up for early enrollment. Apparently her father worked something out with the Dean of Admissions "

"What does that mean?"

"She leaves at the end of the year. I think Elena said right after winter finals. She's got enough credits to graduate. Everything else is just formalities. "

And he doesn't bother pointing out that they are already in the middle of November. And he can hear her words echoing around in his head like a song stuck on repeat.

"I'm done... you win."

And suddenly he realizes something very profound.

'She was going to leave them.'

It's a foreign concept but there it is staring him in the face and it's unnerving. He had concluded a long time ago that this was how it was always going to be. That for all their talk of leaving, none of them were really going too far. Tied together by the chains of Mystic Falls he had come to accept the unspoken truth that they were stuck with one another. Forever bonded in some capacity like a twisted relationship.

And now Bonnie was trying to change all that. She was like a sailor abandoning ship and he would be damned if she got to jump without the rest of them!

"Damon did you hear me?" Stefan's voice cuts into his thoughts.

"What?" He asks.

"I said I think I might have found something. You said that Connor mentioned something about The Five. Well there is a passage here that talks about the Ultimate Five… but that's all I can translate."

Reaching for the book he looks over the text. "That's because it's written in The Runes of Honorius…Witch's language," he states. Reaching for his leather jacket he heads for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Well we have a book written in witch's language and a witch that needs to do her part. So take a wild guess."

"Damon…"

"I'll be back. Tell Elena to stop brooding… it's bad for her forehead." And then he's gone.