Chapter 22

When Bonnie awoke after her night with Damon, her whole body was alive. Her skin tingled and every crease and pore ached from a pleasure overdose. The previous night had been the most intense, insane thing she had ever experienced. After that first session of sex, they went at it all night, and it wasn't like they even did anything that adventurous. In fact, most of that time was spent in the missionary position. But it wasn't the position that made it so good. It was the way Damon touched her, stared into her eyes, and sank into her wetness slowly and purposefully. And the blood sharing.

Bonnie almost moaned just thinking about it.

She had never entertained the idea of biting Damon or drinking his blood during sex. But when she did it by accident, it was a mistake she wished she had made a long time ago. In the heat of the moment, his blood tasted like honey to her. When he bit her and they drank from each other at the same time...ecstasy wasn't the way to describe it. It was otherwordly, more magical than anything she had ever felt before. It was like she could feel every part of him at once. And every time she drank from him afterwards, it only got better and deeper. The need to taste him was almost overwhelming.

After they finally wore each other out, she fell asleep in his arms. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she could feel him staring and every part of her wanted to grab his face and kiss him and spend the rest of the day and every day after that in his bed. But she forced herself to remember why they were breaking up in the first place, and she somehow found a way to slip out of his grasp. She kept her back to him while she scrounged around the floor for her clothes. Her dress was ripped in half, so she looked through his drawers for something to wear. She put on a black T-shirt and some of Damon's shorts and gathered her ruined dress in her arms.

She wanted to leave, but his gaze was burning a hole through her back. Despite her better judgment, she turned around and looked at him. And fuck, did he look amazing. He was resting against his pillows, with his black hair out of his place and his ridiculous eyes penetrating her to the core. He didn't say a word but the expression on his face was telling her to come hither. She almost did it. She really did. She even took a step towards him. She practically salivated with how badly she wanted him, and how much she wanted to dig her teeth into her neck and taste his blood again.

But she didn't. She got control of her senses and then hurried out of the room before he could tempt her any more. She hustled to the bedroom where she'd left her things and she made quick work of packing her bags and changing into her own clothes. She grabbed the overnight bag and nearly ran downstairs for fear of Damon coming out to corner her, because if he tried to stop her even a little bit, she wouldn't be able to fight him off. She was so much into her own head that she almost forgot that there were other people in the house. She stopped in her tracks when she went to the kitchen and found Stefan and Caroline there. Stefan was drinking out of a mug and Caroline was in the middle of an animated sentence, but she stopped abruptly and raised an eyebrow at Bonnie.

Bonnie swallowed. There was probably nothing she wanted to do less than answer to Caroline about the naughty things she'd done with Damon all night.

"Good morning, Bonnie," Stefan said with a smile. "Would you like some breakfast?"

Her eyes bounced to Caroline, who had formed a smirk on her lips.

"Uhhh, I think I'm just gonna go."

She hightailed it out of there and back to Grams's house before anyone would ask her questions. Once she was safely inside, she rested against the closed door for a moment and took a deep breath. Her heart was racing and her body buzzed. She decided that a good shower would calm her down, so she shed her clothes and drew herself a bubble bath. She sank inside the steaming hot water and tried to think of anything but Damon. She actually had real-life things to worry about, like the fact that she was graduating at the end of the semester and she had no plans for what she was going to do with her life.

She was just getting out of the tub when her doorbell rang, and her heart leapt into her throat. She prayed that it wasn't Damon almost as much as she prayed that it was. She threw some clothes on and went down to the door, but when she opened it, it was Caroline.

"If you think you're going to spend an entire night fucking Damon's brains out and then not tell me about it, you're wrong," the blonde announced as she sauntered inside.

"Can we talk about this later, Care?" Bonnie groaned.

"Absolutely not."

Bonnie dragged herself to the kitchen, where Caroline was pouring them both a glass of wine. She handed one to Bonnie and hopped onto the counter.

"Go," she directed.

Bonnie knew trying not to share was entirely pointless, so she gulped down her wine in four chugs and sat on the opposite counter.

"When I went up there to talk to him, it was obviously not to have sex."

"Obviously."

"But he compelled Lance to forget me and I had to address that with him."

"He did what?"

Bonnie waved her hand like that wasn't even the important part. "So I confronted him and we both yelled and was I about to leave. The next thing I knew, he was standing behind me, breathing on me and saying stuff he shouldn't have been saying, and then we were tearing each other's clothes off."

"Uh-huh," Caroline said with big, interested eyes.

"And...I don't know," she said with a shrug. "We just went at it. It was crazy. And it's like we couldn't stop."

Caroline waited for me and when it didn't come, she frowned.

"Seriously? That's all you have to say? You just "went at it"? You were banging him all night! And look at you now. You're practically glowing."

"I am not."

"Oh, no, trust me. You are. It's like you put Christmas lights under your skin or something."

Bonnie looked at her arm and noticed that it did look a little...shiny...or something. But she shook her head and shrugged.

"Maybe this is just how I look after I've had amazing sex."

"You and Damon had amazing sex all the time when you were together and you never looked like this. There has to be more to it."

She didn't know why she was hesitant to tell Caroline about the blood-sharing. She supposed that somewhere in the back of her mind, she was afraid that in vampire-speak, blood-sharing was as good as a marriage proposal.

"We might have...you know..." Bonnie made a gesture with her hands but Caroline stared blankly.

"No, I don't know. You'll have to explain."

She looked away, feeling embarrassed for some reason, but after Caroline kept pressing, she finally told her.

"We were kind of drinking from each other."

Caroline's eyes got big. "You were what?!"

"See! This is why I didn't want to tell you. You'll make it a big deal."

"It is a big deal! You were blood-sharing with Damon? Oh my God, have you ever done that before?"

"No," she said, and she felt her cheeks burning.

"Then why the hell did you do it when you were breaking up with him?"

"I don't know, Care," she groaned. "It just kind of happened the first time because believe it or not, I didn't actually want all of Mystic Falls hearing me scream like I was getting the pounding of my life."

"Well, just to let you know, mission failed on that one."

Bonnie sighed. "It happened and it was good, so it just kept happening every time we did it." She looked at Caroline with concerned eyes. "I'm not, like, betrothed to him now, am I?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well you got all freaked out when I said we were drinking from each other. Does that mean something that I don't know about? Does a vampire sharing blood with a witch during sex bond them together forever or something?"

"No idea."

"Then why'd you make that face?"

"Because even if it doesn't make you his bride, it's still really intimate. Like the most intimate thing a vampire could do. And I've never heard of a vampire doing it with someone who wasn't one. And definitely not a witch."

Bonnie groaned and pressed her head to the side of the fridge. "I just want to sleep," she said. "Can you berate me later?"

"No berating," Caroline said, as she held up her hands in surrender. "I only wanted to make sure you were okay. And that you're not getting back with him just because he put it down on you."

"No, definitely not going back to him."

Her voice wasn't as strong as she would have liked, and Caroline looked unconvinced. Still, the blonde hopped off the counter and patted Bonnie on the knee.

"Call me later."

Bonnie promised that she would, but she was happy to have a little time to herself. And it stayed that way for the next couple of days. Caroline came over and they hung out during the day, and when Caroline went back to the boardinghouse to be with Stefan, Bonnie stayed behind. She managed not to go to Damon or call or text him, even though it physically pained her not to. Her hands itched to dial his number, but she held back. She couldn't understand why she wanted him so much, why she craved him, but she chalked it up to missing him and his incredible lovemaking.

During her time alone, she did notice some other things about herself. She noticed how she barely had to think of something before her magic made it happen. It was little things at first: the bathtub filling up on its own, doors opening without her having to touch them, the dishes magically being cleaned. But then there were bigger things. Like how after she woke up from an intense dream about Damon, everything in the house was floating. Or how at the slightest feeling of sadness, the skies opened up and rain poured down like a tsunami.

Then there was her appearance. Just as Caroline told her, her skin was almost glowing. It was radiant. Flawless. And her eyes were so bright that it looked like someone had taken a neon green highlighter to them. Her hair was luscious and thick and styled just how she wanted it when she woke up, with no additional work from her.

It was...bizarre. Good bizarre, but bizarre nonetheless.

And people noticed. After she and Caroline were back in school, Bonnie noticed that everywhere she went, people stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Men and women alike seemed suspended in time when she walked by, with their mouths open in disbelief. She almost felt like she was floating, too. She couldn't see herself but she could tell that she was moving gracefully, effortlessly.

Caroline had been nice enough not to question what was going on, but Bonnie was sure that she was curious, too. Neither of them said anything until one morning when the conversation became unavoidable. Bonnie was rummaging through all the kitchen cabinets and the fridge in search of something to eat. Even though the apartment with stocked with all her favorite foods, she just didn't want any of it. She turned her nose up at the Pop-Tarts and the thought of eggs and pancakes made her stomach roll. Her eyes landed on the pot of coffee that Caroline had made, and she decided to settle for that.

She poured herself a mug and took a whiff. Her eyes fluttered closed at the enticing smell of it, and then she took a tentative sip. She moaned loudly as the coffee hit her tongue and the flavor of it exploded in her mouth. It was the best thing she had tasted in weeks, and before she knew it, she had chugged the whole mug and was pouring another. She didn't realize that she'd drunk it all until Caroline came into the kitchen.

"Hey, Bon, have you seen my..."

The blonde stopped short and Bonnie sheepishly put her mug down and wiped her mouth.

"Uh...did you just drink all of that?" Caroline asked.

"I'm sorry, Care. I didn't realize I was doing it. But that was amazing. Everything I've eaten lately has tasted like shit and that was just...wow. What did you put in here? Some kind of French vanilla creamer or something?"

Caroline looked from her friend to the coffee pot, and then she said, "I put blood in it."

Bonnie's eyes widened and even though she wanted to feel sick and rush to the bathroom and vomit all of the coffee into the toilet, her body wasn't unsettled at all. For the first time in several days, actually, she felt really satisfied. And that scared the shit out of her.

"Oh my God," she said quietly. She looked at her skin and touched her eyes and then asked Caroline, "am I turning into a vampire?"

Caroline's shoulders sagged with relief and she started talking too fast.

"I haven't wanted to say anything because I knew you'd freak out but oh my God, I think you might be. I mean, look at you! You look like some kind of freaking magic goddess! Everywhere we go it seems like you're hypnotizing people and you're not even trying! What the hell is going on?!"

Panic settled into Bonnie's bones and she started pacing.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God, Caroline!" she shrieked. She felt her eyes light up even more and she asked, "is this because of the blood-sharing? How can this be happening? I didn't die!"

She followed Caroline's big eyes and slowly realized that everything in the kitchen, even the things that had been bolted down, was floating.

"Bon, calm down," Caroline said slowly.

"Calm down!? I'm a vampire! I'd rather be dead!"

A wind picked up in the room and actually knocked Caroline into a wall. That snapped Bonnie out of her rage and she ran to her friend and helped her up.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said repeatedly.

"It's okay. It's fine. You just need to calm down and we need to think."

Bonnie's mind whirred and the only thing she could think was that she had to find a way to change whatever was happening to her. Her mind immediately went to her mother, the only former witch and current vampire she knew. Maybe Abby would have an answer. She hurried back to her room and called Abby, but she got the voicemail.

"Abby," she said, "...Mom. It's me, Bonnie. Look, something's happening to me and I really need to talk to you. As soon as possible. Call me."

No sooner did she hang up did the most vicious wave of nausea she'd ever felt hit her, and she fell to her knees. She covered her mouth to keep from spewing vomit everywhere, and she managed to pick herself up and run to the bathroom before every ounce of her stomach contents flew into the toilet. She was retching so loudly that Caroline came running in, and she grabbed Bonnie's hair and held it back while the witch vomited what felt like everything she'd ever eaten. When there was nothing left to throw up, she heaved loudly and painfully.

"Oh my God, Bonnie, what is happening to you?" Caroline asked quietly.

Bonnie was so weak when the vomiting spell ended that Caroline had to carry her to the bed, and she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. As good as she'd looked before, that was how bad she looked right then. Her hair was dry and brittle, her eyes were dull and her face looked haggard. Caroline placed her on her bed and her body broke into a sweat and she simultaneously felt hot and cold.

"I'm dying," she managed to say while her body shook on the bed.

She couldn't see Caroline but she could tell from her friend's tone when she said, "I don't know what to do!" that she was worried. Really, really worried. Bonnie couldn't formulate a coherent thought enough to give any advice, and then she passed out. When she woke up again, her vision was hazy and she was drenched in sweat. She fell in and out of consciousness and every now time she woke, there was someone different at her bedside. Caroline. Stefan. Abby.

And then the last time she came to, the person staring down at her was Damon. She fought through her pain and extreme sleepiness long enough to try to grab his hand. He did it for her and rubbed her skin. He was talking, although she was too out of it to know what he was saying. She caught bits and pieces: apologies for everything, he was going to fix it, don't die. Please don't die. She tried to keep up by reading his lips but her eyes fell to his neck. A deep, overwhelming hunger consumed her and as soon as she realized that she wanted his blood, her gums throbbed and fangs began to descend, bursting through her tissue like a hot knife.

"Augh!" she screamed.

Damon reached down and she thought he was asking what was wrong, but all she could hear was the throbbing in her own ears. When he got close enough, she reached up and grabbed him by the neck. She pulled him down, even though he was fighting back. Even in her state, she easily overpowered him. She didn't say anything when she sank her new fangs into his neck and drank like a dying woman in the desert.

She could feel the life flowing back into her. With every gulp of blood, she felt better. Stronger. More alive. She drank until she was full and then she tossed him off of her, which sent him flying across the room. His head made a hole in the wall and once she had her wits about her again, she went to him and helped him up.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I don't know what's going on with me."

Damon didn't answer, though. He just stared at her, like he was possessed.

"You look..."

He didn't finish his thought because Stefan came into the room.

"Bonnie," he started, and then he looked entranced just like Damon had. Bonnie knew that she must have been glowing again but before she could respond, Damon's face vamped out and he bared his fangs at Stefan.

"Leave," he growled. And he sounded more animalistic than Bonnie had ever heard him.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

Damon's response was to attack him. He jumped on his brother and punched him in the face one, twice, three times until Stefan's nose was bleeding.

"Damon!" Bonnie screamed.

Caroline ran into the room and saw what was happening and when she tried to come to Bonnie's side, Damon turned his attention on her and growled.

"Get away from her!" he shouted.

Caroline held her hands up and backed away slowly. Bonnie had no idea what was going on or what the hell was wrong with Damon, but something told her that she could calm him. She touched his shoulder and when he looked at her, she said, "sleep." He dropped to sleep right there on the floor. Then Bonnie helped Stefan up and she, Stefan and Caroline went to the living room, where Abby was pacing.

"Mom," she said. She ran to her and hugged her closely, and then Abby pulled away and looked at her daughter.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"I don't know what's happening to me," Bonnie said with fear in her voice. "I look so different and I feel different. I got really sick earlier and just now Damon attacked Stefan for no reason and almost attacked Caroline."

Abby nodded slowly.

"He was protecting you," she said.

"From Stefan?"

"Yeah, from me?" Stefan asked. "I would never hurt Bonnie."

"Logically, I'm sure he knows that. But in this state, he's not thinking."

Bonnie frowned. "In this state? What are you talking about?"

Abby hesitated and then said, "a male vampire will attack anyone that gets too close to close to his mate."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "His mate? Seriously, what the hell are you talking about? Since when am I his mate?"

Abby's eyes wondered to Bonnie's stomach, and then back up.

"Since you got pregnant with his child."