Title: Distortion

Rating: M

Genre: AU/Supernatural/Romance

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus, Bonnie/Stefan, Bonnie/Damon, Bonnie/Katherine, Damon/Katherine, Bonnie/Damon/Katherine, Bonnie/Elijah, Bonnie/Kol, Bonnie/Finn, Rebekah/Tyler, Bonnie/Tyler, Bonnie/Rebekah, Bonnie/Tyler/Rebekah, Caroline/Matt, Alaric/Meredith, etc.

Summary: Bonnie discovers a hidden secret about her heritage when the Salvatore brothers convince her to go along with their plan to infiltrate the original family and gain information through seduction. However, while Bonnie's new powers put the others at a disadvantage, they aren't something that Bonnie is willing to accept.

A/N: This is a repost. For those who are new to this story I beg of you please don't take this seriously. It is trash and not my best work but hilarious and always fun to write. This story was birthed on Tumblr when people where harem shipping Bonnie out of spite and I decided that I would see how many Bonnie pairings I could smash into one fic. Basically the premise is Bonnie has to sort of infiltrate the Original family home and gain info through seduction but as she has no experience in the area Stefan and Damon and Katherine help her out though the Salvatore brothers have a more hands on approach. So this fic is mostly Klefonnie but pretty much will include nearly every Bonnie pairing under the sun at some point. So there is actual plot in this fic so it may be slow going on the other stuff. LOL This fic is dedicated to my Bonnie multi-shipping whores over at Tumblr. So this fic is way too long for me to edit completely at this point so please excuse all errors. Now please enjoy Bonnie Bennett Harem fanfic of doom….

Part One: The Best Laid Plans

Bonnie Bennett's eyes opened to an unfamiliar room and she found herself lying in an unfamiliar bed. It was surprising to say the least seeing as the last thing that she remembered was attempting to open the sealed coffin with her mother in the cave underneath the Lockwood property.

Slowly Bonnie sat up and warily looked around the room not sure what to expect. The first thing that her eyes came into contact with was the form of Stefan Salvatore standing across the room and looking out the window where he had drawn the curtains back. It almost looked like he was filming a scene for movie the way he stood frozen there, seeming not to notice her presence more preoccupied with his pose and perhaps his thoughts.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked tired of the ongoing silence. Her head ached, her mouth was dry, and she felt dizzy. At least if they had gotten any kind of results then she might be able to see the effort as being worth the pain.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Stefan said finally turning to her, "You managed to open the coffin but I doubt it will do us any good." His voice carried that empty tone that she was becoming accustomed to as of late. She wondered if he would ever actually be back to himself. If it happened she doubted that it would be anytime soon.

She might have been able to hope had she been conscious when he had showed his concern after finding her lying so still there in the cave. A rare spark of fear had struck him when he had seen her lying there. His old instinct to keep her safe that seemed inherent and completely unexplainable no matter how many times he rationalized it had surfaced and he had ran to her. He had felt like his old self in that moment, or rather somewhere between old and new. Even now he was concerned for her; had even wanted to take her to the hospital when it had taken her so long to wake. But he had given up trying to explain his behavior; it had just become a fact about himself. He saved her and she could never say no to him.

"Why not?" Bonnie asked reaching up to touch the bump forming on the back of her head. He gestured toward his wrist in a familiar offer but she shook her head. "I'm fine," she said, "It's just a bump." He shrugged and she returned to the former subject, "I thought getting the coffin open is what you wanted."

"It is what we wanted but by the time Damon and I got to you it was empty," Stefan said, "And you and Abby were unconscious."

Bonnie became alarmed regretting her decision to involve Abby in the first place. She may have still been angry with her mother but she didn't want her hurt. Her memory took her to the night with her Grams in that stupid tomb. Once again she had gotten herself into something that she couldn't handle for someone else's sake. "Where is she?" Bonnie asked moving to get out of bed, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Stefan said holding out his hands to keep her from getting up, "She's downstairs on the couch." Unlike Bonnie she had been awake at least once.

Bonnie only calmed down slightly. "Where are we anyway?" She asked. "And I thought you said that vampires couldn't go into the cave. How did you get us out?"

He was obviously getting tired of her questions but it wasn't as if she would stop if he refused to answer them. "You were outside the barrier," Stefan said, "Damon called Alaric but we couldn't reach him." He decided to omit the part about Alaric getting attacked as he was sure it would send her into another one of her heroic trips that would probably end in her being unconscious once again which would be of no help to anyone. "So we got a hold of Matt and he got Abby out. And here is the boardinghouse and you are in my room."

"And you brought me here instead of home because?" Bonnie asked raising her brow in question.

He hadn't brought her home because he hadn't been invited into her house and he didn't think she would have wanted him to leave her and Abby on the porch. Stefan rolled his eyes and then looked perplexed. "Where do you even live again?" He asked his tone mocking.

Bonnie frowned. Really? He was choosing now to start acting cute? "Doesn't matter whether you know or not since you couldn't get in if you did," she said getting tired of the way he was talking to her, "So how about you tell me why I'm here or I leave."

"Fine," Stefan shrugged, "I'll be good." She cocked her head to the side looking skeptical. "Okay not so bad," Stefan tried. He moved to sit down next to Bonnie on the bed throwing the covers back on to her lap as if they would somehow hinder any attempt that she would make to escape. "You're here," he said slowly in a way that could have been called patronizing, "Because I wanted to talk to you about a…delicate matter."

"What is there to talk about?" Bonnie asked scooting away from him slightly, "You got what you wanted. The coffin is open." Usually that was where their association ended at least for the most part and especially recently.

"I wish it were that simple," Stefan said his eyes dancing in a way that reminded her of Damon which was just scary, "Before we left to come find you Damon and Elijah woke up the rest of Klaus' family and they weren't exactly happy to see him."

Bonnie blinked at him still not understanding what the problem was. "Okay," she said, "Am I missing something? If you let his family lose on him doesn't that mean Klaus is taken care of?"

Stefan shook his head. "Not exactly," he said, "Things are never black and white when it comes to family. I mean you know that. Your mother whom you haven't seen in twelve years is unconscious downstairs right now because she felt guilty for abandoning you."

Bonnie frowned wishing that he didn't know so much about her situation while he was like this and wouldn't be sensitive toward it."If this is leading to you asking for my help at some point," Bonnie said glaring at him, "Your attitude is not helping your case." Stefan shrugged and Bonnie sighed seeing the pointlessness of it all. It wasn't like she would refuse to help if she could anyway. "So you think that Klaus can talk them down?" Bonnie asked, "At this point is that even possible?"

"Considering they've let him live after everything that he's done so far I'd say that anything is possible," Stefan pointed out, "If we leave it up to them to get rid of Klaus we'll likely be back where we started. You remember what happened the night of the sacrifice. Elijah switched sides and all it took was a promise Klaus ended up breaking anyway." Bonnie nodded knowing that he was right and seeing that he had her agreement in something at least he continued. "And since we don't know what or who was in that coffin then we don't know whether it helped or hurt us to let them out."

Bonnie nodded resigning herself to going along with another one of Stefan's plans. "So what are you going to do now and what do I have to do to help?"

"Have to?" Stefan asked looking over at her his eye brow raised in question, "I didn't know that you were being forced." It was time that the elephant in the room was addressed. It wasn't as if no one noticed. Damon had had fun pointing it out more than once.

"Are you saying you're going to give me a choice this time?" Bonnie asked. She really didn't want to have this conversation. She wanted to check on Abby. She wanted her head to stop spinning. She wanted to go home.

"You've always had a choice Bonnie," Stefan said reaching over and brushing a stray strand of hair behind Bonnie's ear, "It's not my fault that you can't say no to me." There he had said it, even though he was sure she would just change the subject at least he had addressed it at some point even if he still didn't know why.

Bonnie swatted his hand away and he smirked. If she was well enough to swing at him then he supposed he could stop worrying. "Just tell me what you're planning so I can go home," Bonnie said.

"I'm still not going to be convinced that you have a house until I see it," Stefan said, "I mean I have a bedroom as you can see and you obviously want to shut me up so why not show me yours?"

"Goodbye Stefan," Bonnie said moving to get up. She really wasn't sure what had gotten into him but she didn't want to find out. Maybe finding out Elena had kissed Damon made him think it was okay to flirt with her best friend or maybe Ripper Stefan just had a high sex drive. His hand on her knee stopped her.

"Fine," Stefan said, "I'll stop." Bonnie relaxed but still tried to push his hand away. He held fast not willing to risk her flight again. "Damon and I were talking and we think that what we need is a man or rather a woman on the inside; someone that can get information so we can take Klaus down."

"And how the hell are you going to pull that off?" Bonnie asked. Really they had no one to send in. It wasn't like Klaus would actually trust any of them except maybe Tyler and he was too loyal to Klaus for them to trust him even if that wasn't his fault.

"Do you know what we were doing earlier tonight?" Stefan asked ignoring her question, "We were having dinner with Klaus and Elijah?"

"Really?" Bonnie asked wondering if she had heard him right, "What do you mean by dinner?" Considering what they were that could be any number of things.

"Don't worry, no innocent people died," he said, "We actually sat down and ate a meal together." He still wasn't sure what the hell that was about. Maybe the originals weren't big on family dinners and having one was a part of curing Klaus' many abandonment issues.

"Two vampires, an original, and a hybrid have dinner. What's the punch line?" Bonnie asked finding the whole thing completely mind bogglingly.

"Surprisingly there was none," Stefan shrugged though he remembered the ridiculousness of the situation, "It was actually rather enlightening."

"Is there a point to this?" Bonnie asked. Him speaking only made her head hurt worse and he seemed to be dancing around whatever favor he wanted to ask her.

"Patience," Stefan said his hand on her knee moved higher then back down again in what was supposed to be a soothing gesture but just made her more uncomfortable. "Let me finish."

"Fine," Bonnie said rolling her eyes and trying to ignore his hand still moving up and down her leg, "Go ahead." She tried to remove his hand again and though he stopped the motion it stayed firmly planted on her knee. And to think there was a time when she thought that Damon alone could inspire this much rage. What the hell was his problem?

"As I was saying dinner was enlightening," Stefan continued, "We discovered that Klaus and Elijah aren't exactly immune to the charms of the opposite sex. So Damon and I were thinking why not place another woman in their midst?"

"I could have told you that," Bonnie said unimpressed. Klaus flirted with anything that could manage movement and it was no secret that Elijah had a certain fondness for Elena if nothing else. "I'm going to venture a guess that this charming woman that just so happened to be the topic of conversation was a Petrova."

Stefan nodded.

"Knew it," Bonnie said not at all surprised. It seemed to be every man in Mystic Fall's default setting to fall for one at one time or another. When Stefan remained silent she looked over at him. "Are you going to tell me what this has to do with me or are you going to turn into your brother and make me set you on fire to get it out of you?"

"No fires," Stefan said, "I like these sheets." Bonnie gave him a look that clearly said, "Well?" He hesitated. Stefan looked at her seriously for a moment as if trying to figure out how to say what he was going to say next. "We learned a few things from our time with women over the years. Nothing can bring a man down faster than a woman with seduction in mind. With our brains and your body we thought that we might have something."

Bonnie's eyes widened and she shook her head attempting to stand again but she was once again shot down. "If you are suggesting what I think you're suggesting then calling you two the brains of any operation is being a bit generous don't you think?" Bonnie glared when he refused to let her go. "Considering where your brains have gotten you thus far this plan already failed before you even thought it up so I think I will take a pass on this one."

"Considering we need your body I don't think you can sit this one out," Stefan said, "Now if I can finish my proposition-"

"You can talk until the concussion that I most likely have kicks in and knocks me out again and I will still say no, so go ahead and waste your time," Bonnie said.

"Come on Bonnie," Stefan said nudging her side, "Just use your power to open the door and once you get inside that's where your body will come in. Right now you're his biggest threat and he's not going to skip out on the chance to have some sort of hold over you."

"We don't even know what was in that coffin," Bonnie pointed out, "For all we know I'm not a threat anymore."

"Then the plan will be over before it starts and we can come up with something else," Stefan shrugged.

"Or you can come up with something else now," Bonnie suggested.

"What is it you don't want to go near Klaus?" Stefan asked, "Well from what I saw there's Elijah and two other brothers. Take your pick it'll have the same outcome. We'll still get the information. Come on. If you loosen up a bit, I'm sure you could seduce an original. And it would be a break on using your magic. Unless you think magic will help."

"Considering that they were in love with someone with Elena's face, wouldn't she be a better candidate Mr. Brains?" Bonnie asked. This whole thing was ridiculous. Had he really expected her to agree to this?

Stefan winced at the mention of Elena's name. In truth the thought had crossed his mind; but she wasn't very happy with him at the moment and even in the state he was in he didn't want to voluntarily put her in a dangerous situation. It was different with Bonnie. She had her powers as in insurance policy in case he couldn't protect her and he could work with her more easily because their history was in many ways, less complicated. "Maybe," he admitted, "But-"

"But you love her too much to use her like that and I'm just collateral damage?" Bonnie asked. It was something she had thought for a long time. It wasn't a secret that they would sacrifice her for Elena's sake. Hell, Bonnie was even willing to die for her friend; so the fact didn't really surprise her.

"At one point I thought that you and I were friends," Stefan said trying a different tactic. It was the truth and he wouldn't have asked her if she wasn't the best candidate for the job.

"And you make a habit of prostituting your friends?" Bonnie asked, "No wonder you don't have many as of late. I thought Ripper Stefan was bad but now it appears that Pimp Stefan is far worse."

"Funny," Stefan said though his expression was indifferent. There was another reason it had to be her. One that he hoped would get her to go along with the plan if he admitted it. "Look," he sighed, "the reason I am asking you and not anyone else is because as much as I hate to admit this…you're probably the only one that can keep their head out of their own ass long enough to get the job done. And really as much as you judge everyone else I doubt that you'll actual fall for anyone you end up having to go after."

"Um," Bonnie said titling her head to the side, "Thanks…I guess." She didn't know whether to object to his reasoning because there was enough truth in it to give her pause. "Okay look," Bonnie said, "There isn't some spell I can do to make Klaus fall in love with me. Witches are about balance. We're not supposed to manipulate emotions. This isn't some Disney movie."

"You don't need magic Bonnie," Stefan said, "And who said it had to be Klaus? Just someone in his inner circle. Actually it would make more sense if you went after one of the others. They aren't familiar with us so maybe they wouldn't be so quick to be suspicious. You could at least swing two out of four right. I mean give us a fifty/fifty chance?"

She had had enough of entertaining this ridiculous plan. "You can't be serious," she said, "There's no way this is going to work."

"Okay one out of four," Stefan shrugged, "That's all we need anyway. And you don't have to sleep with them. There are other methods. You just need to gain their trust. Whatever, we just need to get one of them on our side and then Klaus will be history."

"So why don't you go after Rebekah instead of putting me in the line of fire," Bonnie suggested hoping the issue would be closed. "And if you burned that bridge send Damon after her."

"That won't work," Stefan said seriously, "Rebekah wouldn't trust either of us. It would never happen."

Bonnie finally wrenched herself out of his grasp and stood. "Look you're making this whole idiotic plan off some hypothetical situation that may or may not even be an issue. For all we know Klaus could be dead right now. So I am going to get my mom and I am going to go home and you can call me when you hear some actual news. And while you wait to see if Klaus' family has gutted him like a fish I suggest that you and Damon invest in some psychiatric help."

Stefan watched her leave not stopping her as she went. He would wait to hear what he already knew…that Klaus was alive and they were once again in the business of getting rid of him. And if Bonnie still didn't agree once they heard then he would just have to manipulate her into doing it. Because if there was one thing Stefan Salvatore was good at, it was getting Bonnie Bennett to do what he wanted even if she didn't want to do it.

:::

Niklaus Mikaelson had been expecting to see his family again on his terms. But that expectation had been ruined by the Salvatores and their little witch. Klaus wasn't sure why he was surprised by this. It had become the norm; all his plans no matter how carefully thought out seemed to fall apart at the hands of Stefan Salvatore and Bonnie Bennett. He was struggling somewhere between being lethally angry and being impressed though neither emotion was helping him at the moment.

Esther, his mother, he still was not used to referring to her as such now after all of this time had passed, had convinced his siblings to adopt her feelings of forgiveness toward him. He was sure though that they were temporary and due to the fact that their mother was indeed among the living.

They were with her now. His family being reunited. It was what he had wanted. What he had spent his entire existence striving for and still he was the outsider. Because of his choices, because of his actions he was the alien within the very home that he had built for them.

"You were not expecting my forgiveness," a voice said from behind him.

Klaus turned from where he was standing staring out of the window his thoughts warring with themselves and his fingers itching to rip out someone's heart just so that he might watch their body fall to the ground. Some twisted form of catharsis. Slowly he turned to face his mother no words forthcoming on his lips. He was still waiting for her hate and expecting her rejection.

She had changed since the witch had released her, her clothes now more modern, her hair shorter. He assumed that it was Rebekah's doing. She was still very much the same however. Still beautiful, her expression still holding that silent trace of strength. If nothing else her presence still inspired the same tormenting emotions within him.

"I was neither expecting your forgiveness nor your presence," Klaus said speaking honestly, "Even though I knew they had your coffin I doubted the witch would manage to open it." And in doubting the witch he had suffered. It had become the norm. He would plan and she would destroy it without even trying and it would start all over again.

His mother looked unsurprised as she fully entered the room. "It is not the first time that you have underestimated a witch," Esther said smiling grimly. Her words were teasing but he was aware of the double meaning within them.

Klaus let out a bitter laugh. "No it is not the first time," Klaus said shaking his head, "And this one I underestimated before. I should not have been surprised to see you here. Underestimating her never pays off."

"And yet you continue to do so," Esther said her tone knowing, "In many ways you have not changed Niklaus. Even in all this time you let your pride, your arrogance, keep you from learning from your mistakes."

"You want to speak to me about mistakes," Klaus spat his eyes flaring, and his temper rising. It was laughable considering even the terms of his own conception and birth.

"Those of us with the most experience making mistakes often have the most knowledge of their consequences," Esther said calmly.

"You still speak the most on the situations of which you are least aware," Klaus said turning back to face the window, "And I am sure that you will also continue to remain silent when you are most needed." He remembered all of the times she had allowed Mikael's hatred toward him. Even in death Mikael still haunted him; he had killed the man not the memories.

"I am aware of more than you know," Esther said, "Witches often see far beyond the world around them and this witch is powerful beyond her own knowledge and mature beyond her years. And yet…"

Klaus turned to face her again attempting to follow her train of thought. He wondered why the Bennett witch was even their topic of discussion. There were many other things they had to discuss. Many sins that needed to be atoned for. But his mother was never one to harp on a subject that she didn't deem to be important; he would just have to hang on long enough to see why she felt the witch to be so. "And yet?" Klaus asked gesturing for her to continue.

"And yet she has a vulnerability that almost begs to be preyed upon," Esther said choosing her words carefully, "She is self sacrificing which can be of value and fiercely loyal a trait that all of us have come to admire and expect from others especially given our prior experience."

"What good is her loyalty to us?" Klaus asked, "If you were aware of as much as you seem to think you are aware of then you would know that it is her that has stopped me at every turn. You made contact with her once did you not? In an attempt to keep me from making the hybrids?"

"I have made contact and not just on that night," Esther revealed, "I have been sending her dreams; building a sort of…connection, between her and you."

"And why would you do that?" Klaus asked confused and more that a little wary of her motives, "Her loyalty is to the Salvatore brothers and as long as they want me, us, dead she will want it as well."

"My motives should be clear to you then," Esther said reaching out and touching his shoulder, "She is a tool to them. They take her for granted. There are deep insecurities and there is resentment buried within her because of it. That kind of loyalty can only go unappreciated for so long before one gets tired of giving it."

"I'm listening," Klaus said as the picture began to become clearer.

"She is better to us as a friend than a foe," Esther went on, "To kill her would be a waste; a waste of power and a waste of potential. We could play on those insecurities and those vulnerabilities. We could integrate her into this family. We could turn our greatest threat into our strongest ally."

"She will not make it easy," Klaus said, "She has years of friendship with the doppelganger and months of hatred built up towards me." Not to mention that annoying moral high ground that she possessed as well. No, she would not make it easy.

"And since when Niklaus do you shy away from a challenge?" Esther asked. She walked over to the window and looked out it into a world that she no longer knew, but there was one thing in it still familiar to her and that was her children. "I have started the work for you already. One cannot dream of someone without them being inbred into their subconscious. You are already in her thoughts; all we have to do is change her thoughts from those of hatred to one's more favorable. And if she is not open to you I have three other sons that are equally as handsome and as charming."

"And if she is not open to them?" Klaus asked smirking as he doubted the witch could be open to anything outside the realm of saving Elena Gilbert's life or ending his own. His mother was now the one underestimating Bonnie Bennett.

"Then Rebekah can offer her friendship," Esther said easily as if she had already considered the possibility, "There is also me. The witch is powerful but has no one to teach her how to use it. Her own mother is weak and cannot be trusted. My own powers may be limited by what I am now but they are not all lost to me and I have more than enough knowledge to become a viable mentor."

It was obvious she had thought this through. It would take careful planning and supreme manipulation on their part but it wasn't altogether impossible. Still Klaus didn't know what was special enough about the Bennett witch that made her deserving of so much time and attention. She was powerful, yes, beautiful to be sure, but there were witches with more power and more beauty with less self righteousness that could be more easily preyed upon.

"Why are you so set on this?" Klaus asked seeing how serious she was about the entire situation. It seemed that nothing he could say would stop her from attempting to sway the witch to their side; though he thought that it would be a better option to simply make good on his own promise to end the Bennett line. The problem was that her power was a draw to him and his mind could not help but linger on the victory that he would receive if he took the Salvatore's witch right from underneath their noses, it would be a victory over them and over her as well. The perfect revenge for their constant interference.

"For over nine hundred years it's been my dream for this family to come together as one," Esther said touching the side of his face, "You understand more than any of my children the need to neutralize any threat to that. In this moment the witch is the largest one. We sway her then there is no longer anything in this town for us to fear. We may live here in peace. Is that not what you wanted?"

"I assume that you have a plan," Klaus said agreeing to help her without voicing it. It wasn't as if he could say no to her.

"I believe it is time that we extended a sort of olive branch," Esther said happy to have his acquiescence so quickly.

"How will we do that without seeming suspicious?" Klaus asked, "I doubt she will agree if I ask her out for coffee."

"We cannot target her individually," Esther said seriously, "If we do they will know what we want before we can even move to obtain it. They will protect their interests. They may not value her now but they will the moment someone threatens to take her away. We need to keep them guessing."

Klaus nodded. "Target them as a group," Klaus said. He was unsure how they could do that and appear to be making peace at the same time and he voiced as much.

"Leave it to me," Esther said, "I have an idea that I believe will work perfectly." She turned to leave and he grabbed her shoulder causing her to turn back around to face him. "Yes, Niklaus?"

"There are other things that we need to discuss," Klaus said seriously. She had ignored so many issues for so long and he was tired of them weighing down on him.

"Once we succeed in this we may discuss whatever you wish," Esther said, "We ensure our families safety and then we figure out the rest."

Klaus nodded. Things had never worked when doing them his way so perhaps now that his mother was back he supposed that it was time to try things hers.

:::

Bonnie Bennett woke up to the sound of insistent pounding. At first she thought that it was the pounding in her head. The bump that had been there from the night before had gone down slightly but her head still hurt and she thought that maybe she should have accepted Stefan's offer of blood though it seemed excessive the night before she wasn't looking forward to the amount of Tylenol she would have to take. Though having Stefan's blood in her system was something she didn't want to feel again anytime soon so maybe taking a whole bottle of Tylenol wouldn't be such a bad option.

The pounding continued and she pulled her pillow over her head. She knew that it wasn't Abby, her estranged mother had taken up residents at her Grams old house as they didn't think that her father would want to come home from his business trip to find Abby staying there, and after she had woken up the night before Abby had gone to her temporary home to sleep away the pain of her own minor injuries. So that left only a few other people as a possibility and as she was sure neither Elena nor Caroline would even be awake as early as it was on a weekend unless there was some sort of emergency and so she decided to get out of bed.

She sighed stumbling as she untangled herself from the sheets and blindly walked downstairs toward the front door. "Okay," she called as the pounding continued, "I'm coming. For the love of all that is holy please stop with the pounding."

Thankfully the pounding stopped so by the time she reached the door the pain in her head had ebbed some. When she opened it her headache came back full force when she saw Stefan Salvatore standing on the other side.

"I thought you didn't know where I lived," Bonnie said blinking at him and wondering why he was even there. She had hoped that she had dreamed up the conversation from the night before but since she could remember her actual dream, another one with Klaus, she was sure that it wasn't.

She had hoped that since the coffin had finally been opened that the dreams would stop but she had never been lucky and should not have been surprised when they continued. The one from last night had been the strangest. There were no coffins. No threats. No attacks. There was just Klaus in a tuxedo asking her to dance.

"Of course I know where you live," Stefan said breaking into her thoughts, "But I really haven't seen your room so feel free to invite me in."

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked instead of complying with his request. She really hoped he hadn't come to talk about his half brained scheme. There was no way in hell that she would ever agree to it.

"We've established that I know where you live but apparently I am not the only one," Stefan said holding up a white envelope with her name written on it in black curving letters. She raised a brow at it before looking back at him.

"What is that and where did it come from?" She asked.

"An invitation from Klaus and company," Stefan said flipping it around in his hand and leaning against the door frame. "Elena got one too this morning. Damon found one on the front steps of the Boarding House as well. And if I'm not mistaken Caroline, Tyler, and Matt received them too."

"Klaus is alive?" Bonnie asked her attention split between that fact and the envelope in Stefan's hands.

"Yes, Klaus is alive and he and his family are throwing a ball," Stefan said. Bonnie shook her head her mind immediately going to her dream. That explained the tuxedo, she thought. What the hell? A ball? What was the point? "We don't have time for this Bonnie," Stefan said losing patience, "Invite me in."

Bonnie took a step back from the door realizing that she really didn't have a choice. "Come in," she said her tone resigned. For some reason even given his recent behavior he was still the only vampire that she trusted completely so him having an open invitation to her home may not have been the worst thing.

Stefan walked into the house shutting the door behind him. Bonnie moved to walk into the living room and he followed sitting down next to her on the couch and tossing the envelope onto the coffee table. He watched as she leaned back her head resting on the back of the couch. "How's the head?" He asked reaching out and touching the small lump that was still there behind her curtain of hair that ran surprisingly easily through his fingers.

"Still hurts and you pounding on my door didn't help," she muttered though she didn't move away from him which was a better reception than he expected after his proposition the night before. Though the plan now seemed even more necessary.

"I tried to call you but you didn't answer your phone," he said instead of making the teasing comment that was on the tip of his tongue. He decided that if he had any hope of convincing her of going with his plan he had to get her to understand the seriousness of the situation and teasing her wouldn't help that.

"I turned it off," Bonnie sighed turning toward him slightly, "I wanted to actually get some sleep before dealing with all of this. So what's the deal with this ball?" She supposed she should have felt some self consciousness sitting next to him wearing only her pajamas especially given that he was massaging the stupid lump on her head as if he thought that if he touched it long enough it would go away but she was too tired and in too much pain to care. She would probably regret letting him get that close to her later however.

"It's supposed to be some sort of celebration of his family once again becoming whole," Stefan said wondering if now that he was becoming comfortable with touching her if it would become a habit, "I think its bullshit."

"You think Klaus is going to try something?" Bonnie asked slightly distracted by his hand in her hair. The smart thing to have done would have been to make him stop but it was doing wonders for her head and it was better than popping Tylenol and it was kind of his fault that the lump was there in the first place so maybe she could let him keep going for a little longer without feeling too weird about it. It was better than taking his blood.

"I know that he will," Stefan said picking up the envelope with his free hand and dropping it into her lap, "I just don't know what. He can't accomplish much with a room full of people."

"Look at what he accomplished on Senior Prank Night," Bonnie pointed out, "And his family is awake now and if they're going along with this ball then they're more than likely helping him with whatever he's trying to accomplish this time."

"There is a way that we can figure it out," Stefan said referring to his plan. Bonnie finally pulled away from him a frown immediately appearing on her face. His hand fell to his side and he silently prepared for her wrath.

"I'm not doing that," Bonnie said, "There has to be another way for us to figure out what he's planning."

Stefan sighed. "He doesn't trust me anymore and let's face it I was the only in," Stefan said, "We can't really use anyone else. Tyler could get the information but he's loyal to Klaus through no fault of his own. This is pretty much our only option."

"Stefan," Bonnie said looking at him, "Why would Klaus even look twice at me? If I suddenly show interest in him then he'll get suspicious."

"You might not interest him but your power will," Stefan said seriously, "You can be subtle it isn't that hard. We'll be here to help you through it. And he'll do it to get back at me if nothing else. Another thing that he can take from me."

"I don't belong to you," Bonnie said quickly. Sometimes she felt like some pet witch that the Salvatore brother's kept on call but she would never let herself be owned. Or at least she would never let anyone say as much.

"To Klaus being loyal to me and being mine are one in the same," Stefan said shrugging, "Maybe if you could say no to me then it wouldn't be an issue."

"I'm saying no right now," Bonnie pointed out. She really didn't like the fact that he kept bringing that up because she didn't want to go into why she couldn't say no to him in the first place.

"Really?" Stefan asked. He didn't see it that way. She would give in eventually. Besides he wouldn't let things get too far. There was no way he would send her into the snake pit without thinking it through first. If nothing else he would always try to protect her even when the situation made it next to impossible. Even though he had given up she seemed to be the only person that still could place some trust in him and he would not take that lightly. "Because all I'm hearing is that you'll think about it."

"Fine," Bonnie said, "How about this…we go to the ball and if any of the Original family shows interest in me then I will think about it. The way I figure it if I can get one of them to pay attention to me there when they have plenty of other targets then your plan might have the tiniest chance of working though I wouldn't trade in your Ripper card for a pimp hat just yet."

Stefan laughed shaking his head. "I'm surprised you're actually agreeing to go to this thing," Stefan said glad that he had at least convinced her to give it some thought.

"Well if I don't go what do you think will happen if Klaus tries something?" Bonnie asked, "Who else is going to save your ass?"

"Look who's getting cocky," Stefan smirked causing her to grin. His grin disappeared when he saw her face suddenly become serious. "There is something else isn't there?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know if Elena told you about this but I've been having these dreams about Klaus," Bonnie said quietly.

"Okay," Stefan said, "What kinds of dreams?"

"Mostly about the coffin," Bonnie said, "I thought that they would stop since we got the coffin open last night but when I went to sleep when I got home there was another one."

"I take it the coffin was absent in this one," Stefan said prompting her to continue.

"Yes," she said nodding, "But Klaus was still there and this time he was in a tuxedo asking me to dance." She watched as Stefan's face went from being passive to being surprised.

"I see," he said nodding, "Well that changes things. It's good that you are going to be going with me then."

"Am I?" Bonnie asked raising a brow, "I figured you'd be going with Elena. She was invited right?" Where there was Elena there was Stefan. That was just how it was. To think any different just seemed weird.

"And she is going with Damon," Stefan said in a tone that said that he wasn't going to talk about it. It was better that way. As much as he loved Elena he knew he wasn't good for her. Neither of them was but it was just for one night. Damon would protect Elena of that he was sure, something that he couldn't be sure he would do for Bonnie. He might protect Bonnie but he wouldn't put her safety over Elena's. Stefan had come to realize that at times they would have to. After all if Bonnie died then the rest of them were as good as dead. Besides it wasn't like Bonnie would actually agree to go with Damon anyway, even if she had stopped setting him on fire recently and Stefan was sure they both cared about each other more than either of them would ever be willing to admit.

"Well I don't recall you asking me," Bonnie said glancing at him sideways.

Stefan looked at her earnestly taking her hand. "Bonnie Bennett," he said clearing his throat theatrically, "Will you go to the Original Ball with me?"

"I'd love to," Bonnie said laughing a little at his serious expression then a thought occurred to her, "I'm assuming Caroline is going with Tyler. What about Matt? Is he staying at home?"

"Rebekah invited him," Stefan said, "To make up for homecoming." Bonnie winced as she thought about homecoming and then frowned as she thought about Rebekah on a date with Matt. Maybe they could send him in for information; no that was too dangerous he was after all still mortal.

"What the hell am I going to wear to this thing?" Bonnie asked herself as she flipped the envelope over in her hands.

"I'll take care of it," Stefan said, "Why don't you open it?" Stefan had felt the envelope and it was slightly heavier than the other ones. He could no longer hold his curiosity in about what was inside of it.

"What for?" Bonnie asked, "It's probably the same as everyone else's." Stefan shrugged and she opened it. She pulled out an invitation card exactly like the ones that Stefan had seen the other's had received. But there was something at the bottom that caught Stefan's eye.

"What's that?" Stefan asked though he recognized it well enough.

Bonnie turned the envelope upside down. A necklace fell out identical to the one that had been the Original witch's only the gold shined like new. Magic hummed from it, the power immediately able to be felt by them both. It was obviously recently made.

"There's a note," Stefan said gesturing toward the folded piece of paper at the bottom of the envelope.

Bonnie pulled it out and unfolded it. "A gift to you, Miss Bennett; a powerful treasure for a powerful witch," Bonnie read aloud from the paper, "Thank you for giving me my freedom. Signed…Esther."

Now this was a rather interesting development. "Looks like you got someone's attention already," Stefan said, "At least we know who was in that coffin."

"Their mother?" Bonnie asked, "I thought Klaus killed her?"

"I guess we were misinformed," Stefan said, "What do you think that means?" He gestured toward the necklace.

"I don't know," Bonnie shrugged, "I'm not getting anything negative from it."

"Still I want you to be careful," Stefan said seriously.

Bonnie picked up the necklace and looked at it as it glinted in the light. The necklace seemed the opposite of dangerous. In fact it felt as if it was completely attuned to her and her magic. As if it had been made for her specifically and as it was a gift for her this was more than likely the case. "I guess I have something to wear to the ball after all," Bonnie said, "You think we can find a dress to match?"

"You're actually going to wear that?" Stefan asked surprised.

"It's probably some sort of scare tactic or test," Bonnie said, "I doubt it's actually dangerous. I bet they want to intimidate me. You know Klaus thinks that he can inspire fear in anyone. Why would his family be any different? If I wear it then I'll be calling their bluff. Besides it's a gift so it would be rude not to."

"You're the only one who got anything special in their envelope," Stefan said his tone leading. Bonnie glanced over at him knowing exactly where his thoughts were going.

"That doesn't mean that your plan is going to work," Bonnie said rolling her eyes.

"Did you just agree?" Stefan asked. He smiled smugly not giving her a chance to answer. "I knew you couldn't resist my hot back."

Bonnie's eyes widened and she stood. She remembered her words on the first day she had seen him. It never occurred to her that they would come back and bite her in the ass. She hadn't thought about the words since she had said them but now it seemed obvious that he had heard. He was a vampire after all. She decided to play dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about," Bonnie said, "I'm going to get dressed."

Stefan chuckled shaking his head. He smirked at her obvious embarrassment. He didn't think it was a big deal. It wasn't like he had never thought about her in that way. He was a guy after all. But if it would get under her skin then he would definitely bring it up again. "Sure you don't," he said, "I'll wait here." Stefan propped his feet up on the coffee table and Bonnie kicked them off.

"What for?" Bonnie asked eyeing the handwritten invitation with some distaste. The necklace still dangled from her hand and she set it down on the table resisting the urge to put it on.

"We're going shopping," Stefan said raising a brow at her, "Didn't you say you wanted to find a dress that works with the necklace?" He picked it up from the table examining it closely.

"Fine," Bonnie said with a shrug, "I'll be down in a minute." She tossed down the invitation and headed for the stairs.

Stefan watched her until she disappeared. Bonnie may have thought that his plan didn't have a leg to stand on but he was pretty damn sure that the necklace in his hand was telling him otherwise. If he hadn't thought she was the perfect choice before he was sure of it now.