A/N: This is my very first Klonnie fic, so I'm going to try to do it justice. You all know how I am, I love being true to the characters as much as I can, and, with that being said, I hope we can all agree that bonnie and Klaus aren't going to be romantically involved in the first five chapters. If that's turned you off already, I understand I wish you the best smut finding lol.

Let's do it.

Chapter One: All The Same

Elena Gilbert was a vampire.

To be honest I can't say I didn't see it coming, no matter how optimistic I tried to be. I'd heard once that you never met a vampire and came out alive; you either died or became the undead, there was no inbetween. We had all been prolonging the inevitable, playing with fire until we got burned. Running with wolves until we were left behind.

Hunting until we became the hunted.

And while Elena never planned for her vampirism to happen, I think on some level she was prepared for it. As a matter of fact I knew she was. It was a talk we had on her roof once, while Caroline was at the Mystic Falls Uniform Ball in the town square. She and I had been bored, alone, and Damon had left an entire bottle of Bourbon in her room.

I asked her about it. "Why was Damon in your room?"

"You know why." She shrugged.

"Did anything happen?"

"Nothing more than the usual." Elena took a gulp and passed the bottle. "Declarations of love, why he hates himself for it. How he knows I'm the one for him."

It never ceased to amaze me the depths Damon would go through for her. Or the fact that she would entertain it. Having your boyfriend's brother be in love with you and, whether she liked it or not, loving him back in her own way sounded complicated.

"Is it wrong that I feel something for him?" Elena asked me. "Like I'm trying hard not to be that girl, not to be-"

"Katherine?" I supplied.

"Right."

I took a drink from the bottle and relished in the flavor. Call Damon what you wanted, but he had a taste for the best. It was smooth enough to go down easy, but had enough kick to excite you and make you want more.

"I don't know if it's wrong," I said passing the bottle back to her, "but I do think it's one of those things you're going to have to actually figure out. If you have feelings for Damon while you love Stefan, it's past working itself out."

"I remember those days." Elena said. "The days where you could leave well enough alone and things would work themselves through."

"It's been so long, I don't think I can remember."

Elena lifted the bottle to her lips, then set it down slowly. "If I tell you something, it stays between us?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I didn't tell anybody about you thinking Alaric was hot…"

"That was for one week, bitch." She glared and then her eyes softened. "But seriously."

"Yes, Elena, you can tell me and it stays between us." I patronized.

Elena took a deep breath, exhaled, and then did it again. I'd honestly never seen her like this before. Her eyes shifted away from mine and her foot tapped. Elena Gilbert was the type to fidget and seeing her do it now was almost unnerving.

"I've been thinking about doing it."

I gave her a look. "You've been doing it since sophomore year."

She laughed nervously. "That's not what I mean."

"Okay…," I said, "so what is it?"

"Turning." Elena said. "I'm thinking about turning."

I froze. "Wait, what?"

"This whole time it's been about me being human. Doppelganger blood and curses and stones. If I were a vampire it'd be a lot easier."

"Elena that's not what you want." I told her. "That's the one thing you've held on to this whole time."

"And I still don't want it Bonnie, but I have to look at it that way. I don't want to leave Stefan. No matter what kind of bullshit I have going on with Damon, I know Stefan's the one. He's it for me. I can't leave him and I don't want to. I'm tired of always being in danger when it could all be so simple."

"Becoming a vampire isn't the only way to solve those problems. We can beat Klaus, you won't have to worry about-"

"And that's just it, Bonnie." She cut me off. "What if we don't? What if Stefan's too caught up in trying to protect me, he misses something and gets staked? What if you use too much magic trying to save me, what if Klaus succeeds? He'll kill me, Bonnie. He'll bleed me dry. At least if I choose my death …it's not ideal, but it's better than that. Anything is."

And so here we were.

I held the princess cut ring in my left hand and the Lapis Lazuli in my right. Whenever you're working with stones it's best to use the hand you use the most magic with. I channeled my power through my hands murmuring the Latin fluently and closing my eyes. I could feel the jewel reacting to my magic, it's own innate properties coming forth. Lapis Lazuli would permit the a vampire to walk in the sun, but they would never feel it. From what I'd heard, that was the point.

I brought my hands together slowly until the ring and the jewel were in my right hand. My whispers became a low hum that radiated throughout my mind. I focused solely on the magic, the energy I was drawing from the earth. I opened my palm and felt the ring hover slightly above it. There was a small burst of blue behind my eyelids, a slight breeze, and the ring fell back into my palm.

It was done.

When I opened my eyes, Elena looked distant. Stefan nodded at me and Caroline grinned.

Damon shook his head. "Took you long enough."

I ignored him and gave the ring to Elena. "It looks great."

"Stefan picked it out." She said, sliding on the ring and holding up her hand.

It was the moment of truth.

Although I knew the spell worked, sometimes I wasn't so sure. Me and magic had an understanding a lot of the times, but that wasn't to say it didn't escape me every now and then. Since my break from the spirits I'd had to learn to do things on my own. There was no extra magic coming my way, only what I had. It took a lot of practice and meditation to get to where I am now, but even still I wasn't completely confident in my abilities.

Elena held her hand in the sunlight streaming in from the window. When nothing happened, I think we all let out a breath.

"I can't feel it." She said in a soft voice. "I can't feel the sun."

I offered a small smile. "You won't anymore."

She was staring at me. I hadn't seen her turn her head. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"It's the point of the stone." I replied. "The property of it is to make sure that you don't feel it. It's the only way you can be out in the daytime. Otherwise…"

"I'd burn." Her voice was still soft. Still processing.

Stefan came up beside her as I stood and walked away. I wasn't exactly sure why I had, but I just felt the need to get out of the moment. When I'd made Caroline's daylight ring, she'd been so thrilled to be able to step outside again. Maybe it was her perky nature or whatever, but she'd come to terms with the whole thing very quickly. That and she'd gotten to wear the miniskirts that she wanted.

Elena was something else. I don't know what I'd been expecting, but it hadn't been that. I rubbed my hands on my jeans and tried to think of something else other than her voice. She couldn't feel the sun, it was the point but it was still heartbreaking. She wouldn't tan anymore, she wouldn't sunburn in the annoying way. She could go outside in July, full on winter gear and feel nothing.

Reality felt weird.

There was a moment where I felt suspended in time. My best friend was the newly undead and I'd just given her a way to move and function. Her undead boyfriend and his undead brother were comforting her on the couch, getting her used to her new existence. Short of me, Matt, and Jeremy who'd opted to go to school, there was nothing alive in or around the house. Realizations I'd been ignoring were making themselves known. I needed to be elsewhere.

Caroline came up to me and smiled. "I don't remember my daylight ring being made like that."

"I memorized the spell, but I put a little more of my will into it just in case I hadn't."

She sighed and folded her arms, looking at the back of Elena's head. "She'll need us."

I nodded. "I know."

"I'm not really sure how she'll take being a vampire. I mean, it's Elena. She'll do one but she didn't want to be one."

I laughed in spite of how I felt. "Caroline, stop."

She nudged me. "You know it's true. Besides, something had to give. Elena's already unreadable and you were about to clock out on me."

"You noticed."

"Duh. Besides we're going to need each other too. Something tells me that," she pointed at Stefan, Damon, and Elena, "situation isn't going to get any lighter."

I knew what she meant. Now that Elena was a vampire it seemed like history was repeating itself with old feelings and new roles. The Salvatores were the elders this time, they would have to teach Elena pretty much everything. The only problem with that was that they were barely on the same page themselves. Add feelings and a girl who looks like the one who started this and there was only a matter of time before shit hit the fan.

And it definitely would.

"Do we even try for hopeful optimism anymore?" I asked. "Is it too late?"

Caroline shrugged and flipped her hair out of her eye. "I guess it depends on what we're being optimistic about."

"Making it out alive," I said. "Going to college."

"Well all of our grades are intact." Caroline said. "We're seniors. All of us are on the fast track to graduation. College isn't too far behind."

"You missed the first part of the question." I pointed out. "The making it out alive."

Caroline looked at Elena and sighed. "I think that ship already sailed for me and her."

"You're still here." I replied. "You know what I mean."

"I do. But if you can still admit that we're still in some way alive, then maybe you're still more optimistic than you think."

She had a point.

I wanted to say that I was that optimistic about everything, but the witch in me wasn't on the same page. While everyone else clung to something to help them out in the hard times, crazy love for each other or otherwise, I'd had to be more practical. A lot of the different aspects of my life had been ruined by vampirism, mainly my family. I'd mourned them and more ways than one and continued to even today. I didn't think I could handle losing my friends. The people who actually knew me in ways my family never would.

"Is Matt okay?" Caroline asked.

I shook my head. "He feels guilty still. Like maybe if he'd done something different things would be better."

"Of course he'd beat himself up over something like that. You're going to see him aren't you?"

"Yeah, headed there now actually."

Caroline hugged me. It was one of those swift vampire movements I hadn't seen coming and the vice grip she had on me told me everything she wouldn't. She was scared about what happened to Elena, pissed at the Originals, namely Rebekah. I hugged her back as hard as I could, showing her that I understood. I loved my best friends, I really did.

We pulled away.

"Be careful." She said.

"I will."

Matt lived on the other side of Mystic Falls, where the houses got a little less middle class and a little more working, but I loved it here. Because his mom and Vicki were always gone, we pretty much had the place to ourselves all the time. Now that his mom was really gone and Vicki was never coming back, matt was the only guy in school with his own place. No matter what the snobbier people of Mystic Falls thought about it, and the fact that you could be a snob in Mystic Falls irritated me, it was still pretty cool.

Matt was drinking a beer when I got there.

When I looked around him, he'd been drinking a couple of beers before I got here. I walked up slowly and sat in the white plastic chair beside him, reaching into the six pack and grabbing the last one. Half to drink, and half to keep him from drinking anymore.

"How is she?" he asked.

"How are you?" I countered.

He winked at me. "I asked first."

"I made her a daylight ring. She's coping. Stefan and Damon are helping her. I'm sure Caroline will too."

"Why'd you leave?" he asked. "She probably needed you too."

"She wasn't the only one who went off that bridge."

"She was the only one who suffered."

Matt took another swallow of his beer and blinked away the tears forming in his eyes. His cheeks were a little red and he was sucking in air through his teeth. If I'd known he'd been in the rough of shape, Elena's daylight ring would've had to wait. I hated that no one had been here for him. I hated that even though I was here, he'd rather I wasn't.

"You know the fucked up thing?" Matt asked.

I shook my head.

"I saw Rebekah. A split second before I went off the bridge, I saw her. Old Man Donovan always taught me that if it has enough nerve to be in the road, you don't stop at all. The one thing I shouldn't have avoided and I did."

Old Man Donovan was the name we'd given Matt's grandfather because when you met him, it was the only thing that applied. He was one of those men who'd reminded you of every Dirty Harry and Bronson movie you'd ever seen in your life. Probably the biggest drinker we all knew and had the foulest mouth. He'd loved me and thought Elena was too skinny. Matt and I cried oceans when he died.

"You're blaming yourself because you thought you should have hit Rebekah?"

"I'm blaming myself because I should've done something other than what I did."

"Matt you did the only thing you could. You saw a person in the middle of the street and you reacted normally. No one's blaming you."

"Damon is." Matt said.

"Did he say anything to you?" I felt my magic rising. "I swear to God-"

"It's not anything he has to say, it's in his mannerisms. I was never much in his eyes, but now I'm worthless. I don't know if I'd survive being in the same room with him. I went to the Gilbert house to see Elena and he didn't want to let me in the house. Jeremy had to threaten him with a phone call to you to have his invitation to the house revoked."

I calmed myself before I got angry. "He won't hurt you."

"I'd deserve it if he did."

"Okay you know what, Matt?" I snatched the beer out of his hand. "If you're angry, then that's fine. I understand it, trust me we all are, but you're not going to do this. Not in front of me."

"I didn't ask you to come here."

"You didn't have to."

The tears actually did come this time. "I hate myself, Bonnie. I hate myself for letting that happen."

I was on the ground in front of him, hugging him before I knew it. I let him cry into my shoulder as I stroked his hair, both of our bodies racking with his sobs. Damon and Stefan lost a lot when Elena went off that bridge, but Matt had lost something even they couldn't deny. Matt had always looked out for us in more ways than one. Elena was his first love, I was the sister he said he should've gotten, color aside. He'd never trusted the vampires to protect us, not completely. His entire sense of confidence was gone.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for something you couldn't control. This happened to you, Matt. This wasn't a result of something you did. You went off that bridge just like she did. I think she saved you because on some level she knew what she'd involved you in and it wasn't your fault. It wasn't either of your faults. You can't keep doing this. Blame Rebekah for being on the bridge. Blame Stefan for not getting Elena out first. Blame him again for not using speed or strength to get both of you out of the car at the same time. But don't give it all to yourself."

I held him tighter.

"You need to stop being so hard on yourself." I said. "And don't let Damon blame you for anything. The next time he does, remind him that he wasn't there for either one of you. Stefan was."

"He'd snap my neck." Matt said, voice muffled.

"I'd kill him." The conviction in my voice surprised even me.

Matt pulled back and wiped his face. "I can't remember the last time I cried like that."

"You were long overdue." I rubbed his knee.

"I don't know if I'll ever fully stop blaming myself." He said. "I don't know if I can."

"When Grams died I felt the same way. If only I'd been more powerful or stronger or better. She took on all that magic herself because she knew I couldn't handle it. She knew it'd kill me. The first few days after her funeral were hell. I was weak, stupid, a failure, all at the same time. But given the situation, I'd done all I could do. Could I have casted a spell to put Elena to sleep so we wouldn't have half the problems we had that night? Damn right."

He smiled, it was a small one.

"But after awhile I had to look at it objectively. It sucks Matt, what happened to you was awful. But don't forget it happened to you as a result of someone else. You were being a good friend to someone you loved and you got hurt. You're still a good friend. You're still a good person. I think the only reason you feel as bad as you do is because you walked away from it with nothing."

He nodded furiously. "That's it."

"How about we get you something?"

He gave me a look. "What?"

"Your truck is still down there isn't it?" I asked.

"It…it should be."

"So why don't we get you a piece of it for you to have. Plenty of people do it. You'll have something that showed you survived instead of just Elena who gives you guilt."

"My keys." He said.

I nodded. "Pick a day, we'll get them together."

"You mean that?" he said. "You'll go with me?"

"Elena has everyone right now." I said. "I won't be missed for a day or two."

He was silent for a few seconds, I could see his wheels turning. What I was proposing was something that would take him back to the source of his trauma, but something he needed to do. Elena would only show Matt his self given short coming that night. If he had his keys, he could focus on something that was his.

"Okay." He nodded. "Okay."

"Great." I said as I started grabbing beer cans. "No more self medicating. You'll lose your abs."

He chuckled. "Can't have that can we?"

"Beer Gut Matt won't get us to Hollywood after we graduate."

"I wasn't aware I was doing anything after graduation."

"Chill out." I said as I put the cans in a plastic bag. "After graduation, the small town hottie with the honest eyes and the scar on his lip is going to rule the world."

"That much faith, huh?" he smiled. This time it was real.

"That much optimism." I winked.

I stayed with Matt for a few more hours, just to make sure he was okay. We watched a few movies and ate cold pizza while he sobered up. I'd forgotten how much he loved the Mission Impossible series and how seriously he watched them. He and I were on the couch under the thick comforter he kept in case someone came over. His arm was around my shoulder, my head on his chest, and we stayed like that for awhile. Matt and I had always been on the same page when it came to physical comfort. Sometimes you didn't need to talk about everything. Sometimes you just needed to feel something outside of yourself. It was something only the two of us shared.

My phone vibrated. It was Tyler.

The problem with that was that Tyler was inside of Klaus's body and couldn't possibly have been texting me. Which meant either A: one of the Originals had Tyler's phone or B: Klaus had Tyler's phone. Either way it went, I was just really glad Caroline hadn't been called. That'd have been another mess on it's own.

Mikaelson Mansion. One hour.

"Everything okay?" Matt asked.

"Yeah," I locked my phone, "My dad just wondering where I am."

"You should go." Matt said.

"Smooth, Donovan."

He blushed. "Not like that! I'm just…I feel a little better. I don't want you to think you have to babysit me all night."

I smiled. "Pick a day."

"Thank you for coming. I mean that."

"Always."

Outside in the car, I texted Caroline for an update. She told me Elena was herself on emotional steroids, but other than that she was fine. The biggest thing going on was what type of vampire would she be. Stefan wanted her to feed on animals while Damon thought she at least needed blood bags. Seeing Damon's name reminded me he and I needed to have a little conversation about Matt.

The Mikaelson Mansion was one of those properties that was on the very outskirts of Mystic Falls. It'd taken me forty five minutes and the rest of a playlist to get there, but at least my car was good on gas. I hadn't actually decided what my reaction would be once I saw the originals again, but I knew I had to. Switching bodies was something I'd done to protect everyone, including Damon, from immediate death. If I hadn't, Elena nor Matt would be there.

A hybrid was at the door when I got up to it. He said he needed to search me.

"I'll pass." I told him.

"No one goes in or out of here without being searched."

"Touch me and we'll test that."

He moved forward. So did I.

Someone snapped his neck from behind. It was Kol.

"Some of them are a little too enthusiastic." He smiled. "You'll forgive the poor hospitality won't you?"

I didn't say anything. I was torn between looking at the dead hybrid on the ground who'd only been doing his job and the Original who was a little enthusiastic himself. That moment when reality wasn't starting to feel real again was kicking in. I pushed it away. I needed to be focused.

"Come in, Nik's been waiting."

For what it was worth, the mansion was very well decorated. I could still spot a few hybrids moving around with boards and everything, but for the most part it seemed to have come together rather quickly. The fact that I was focusing on the interior design of the family who planned on ruining my friend's and I's lives let me know something was off. I wanted the comfort of Matt's arm and his couch back.

The living room was even bigger than the Salvatore's, which was saying something, and yet the three figures inside seemed to occupy all the space. Kol flopped down on the expensive sofa and kicked his feet up on the ottoman. His arms went behind his head as he stared at me with a smirk. I'd heard he had a thing for witches. When I averted my gaze, my eyes landed on Rebekah. She was sitting on the loveseat with her legs crossed and her head cocked. She was staring at her phone, thumb scrolling.

Klaus's body was in the middle of the floor.

Tyler's back was to me, but I knew she shoulders and the hair. He turned the instant I thought of him, but the second I saw his face, I knew it wasn't him. I didn't know how Klaus could manage to be so himself inside the body of someone else, but it was. The steeled, yet amused, eyes. The trademark smirk. The little bit of a saunter as he took a few steps forward. My resolve had kicked in. I wasn't afraid. I'd told him I was done being pushed around and I meant it.

"Hello, love." He said.

"Klaus." I replied.

There was a low groan.

On the wall on the opposite side of the room, there was a guy chained to the wall. His body was covered in gashes and bruises, face badly beaten and bloody. He didn't look familiar, which was good, but it only reminded me of the time I'd seen Damon here. I didn't like it then. I didn't like it now.

"Pay no attention to the hybrid behind the curtain." Klaus smiled. "He's just serving his punishment."

"I don't suppose a slap on the wrist would've cut it." I said.

He shook his head. "Not quite."

"Can we get on with it then?" Rebekah played with her hair. "Not all of us want to be here all night."

"You'll have to excuse my sister." Klaus said. "If she wants to keep the flippant little tongue of hers, she'd better excuse herself."

Rebekah rolled her eyes.

For a second, I wanted to try my luck. I wanted to test all the theories I had about taking down an Original. Could I inflict the same pain on them I inflicted on Damon. If I tried hard enough, would it work? Could I desiccate Rebekah for what she'd done and make it out of here alive? My fists clenched just thinking about it.

Klaus brought me back.

"Oh I know that look." Klaus said.

"I don't know what you mean." I said.

"You were sizing her up, just then, wondering if you could take her."

Rebekah was on her feet. "Was she?"

"Sit down, Rebekah." Klaus warned. "There will be no blood spilled tonight."

Rebekah walked towards me slowly, heels clacking. "Think you stand a chance, do you? Want to play a big girl's game? Cast the spell, darling, I won't do you before."

Kol leaned forward entertained.

Klaus came to stand beside his body. "Did you not hear me sister?"

I had a moment of impulse. "You know I'd been wondering why everything was so calm here, and then I figured it out."

"Really?" Rebekah smiled. "And what did you come up with?"

I cocked my own head. "You haven't told him you killed Elena did you?"

Klaus eyes darkened as Rebekah's narrowed.

I gathered my magic and cast the spell.

At first there was nothing, but then a breeze swept through the room as my magic picked up. I could feel Tyler, weak inside of Klaus's body, hover into the space between life and real death and be guided towards by my power. Klaus did the same, exiting Tyler's body with ease and going back into his own. Because I'd come up with the spell, it was a lot easier for me to do since I didn't have to follow someone else's rules. The whole thing took ten seconds at most.

Tyler's body collapsed. Rebekah's hand went around my throat.

Air was starting to become scarce as her delicate looking fingers crushed down on my windpipe. I used the momentum from my spell and forced magic into her gut, sending her flying into the wall above the huge fireplace. Like the Original she was, she landed against the wall and launched herself at me like a missile. I planted my feet firmly and splayed both my palms.

Klaus snatched her out of the air.

He slammed her to the ground first before grabbing her by her own throat. He was back in his body, frame slightly smaller than Tyler's, but just as tough. The deep honey blonde curls were tousled from laying down too long, however everything else about him seemed to thrive. The deep blue green of his eyes glittered with anger as he held his sister.

Tyler was coming to.

I ran over to him and slapped him lightly on the face. "Tyler?"

He coughed as he sat up, arms wrapping around himself as he shook his head. It was like he was trying to get rid of something inside of him, but I could feel what it was. His essence was settling back into its original place, reconnecting with him. I rubbed his back and tried to help.

"Bonnie?" he looked around, eyes focusing on mine. "What happened?"

Thank God. "I'll explain later, we need to go."

It took him a twice to get to his feet, but with my arm and weight under him he managed. As soon as he did, we watched Klaus hoist Rebekah higher.

"I thought they had killed you Nik!" she cried. "It thought it was over!"

Klaus said nothing.

Kol on the other hand had moved off the couch and was directly in front of me and Tyler. The look on his face was unreadable, but I knew he wasn't going to let us pass. Tyler wasn't in any shape to fight. I didn't know if I could take one. The odds of getting out of here alive were slim to none. I put my uneasiness aside and raised my right hand, magic ready. If I was going out, I was going out fighting.

"Let them pass."

My eyes went to Klaus, whose own eyes were now on mine. He had the strangest look in them, like he was seeing me for the first time. Kol moved out of the way and swept in a semi bow. I kept my hand out, magic focused, easing us out of the room and managing to keep my eyes on everything. It wasn't until we were almost completely out of the room before Klaus spoke again.

"My gratitude, little witch." Klaus said.

I shook my head. "I didn't do it for you."

"You did it all the same. You'll see me again."

Outside, the hybrid was gone and the hobble to my car was as quick as we could make it. I think more than anything, Tyler wanted to get out of there just as much as I did. Once he was in the passenger seat, I sprinted to the driver's seat and fumbled with my keys before getting them into the ignition. I don't know how or why my fear decided to show its face, but it did.

Tyler and I sped out of the driveway and into the street.

A/N: I'm sooo shaky on the ending. I hate when I can't wrap up a chapter.

So what did you guys think? Yeah we really didn't get into too much Klonnie, but it's coming, bear with me. Thanks to all you guys on tumblr (rosegoldexiletumblrcom insert dots accordingly) for your love and support. I feel really good about this project and it was a nice writing break from Effervescent which is coming to an end here pretty soon. Anyway, I hope you guys like it. If you're unfamiliar with my writing, just know there's a method to my madness, I swear. If you haven't figured it out, this story takes place at the beginning of Season for. As always with my stories, there will be a Monnie friendship. I really hope you guys like it.

Read and review!