New story, just testing the waters to see where it'll go.

Please R&R

Prologue:

After a month in the prison world together Bonnie and Damon are having their usual pancake breakfast when Damon starts a conversation that changes the course of their relationship.

"You know witchy I think you would've liked me as a human" Damon said chewing on his pancake

"Hmm really? I have a feeling a landowner from the 1800's wouldn't have been my type" Bonnie said playfully

"I'm serious. Imagine all this handsomeness, plus I was a social justice fighter"

"You? Social justice fighter?"

"Yea, Bon, I was against slavery and I was against the war"

"So you were a hippy?" Bonnie said giggling

"Please I ran with some hippies in the sixties...they weren't that impressive" Damon said rolling his eyes and stealing a piece of bacon from Bonnie's plate

Bonnie laughed and swatted his arm

"This is nice...seeing this side of you" Bonnie said looking into his blue eyes, she'd never noticed how stunningly blue they were

Damon smiled "I guess I should show this side more often" he looked into her brilliant green eyes, he'd never noticed how enchanting they were.

Damon leaned closer to Bonnie and she leaned closer as well, until their lips met in a slow kiss.

Somehow without her barely registering the movement, Damon had moved them to the couch and they were engaged in a heavy make out session.

Soon Bonnie could feel Damon's hardness pressed against her leg, which seemed to clear some of the fog from her brain.

"Damon...what are we doing?" Bonnie said as his lips traveled to her neck, and his hands ran down her sides and one hand began to creep under her shirt, fiddling with her bra.

"Something that's been long over due...don't fight it Bonnie, I need you...we need each other" Damon says as he continues to assault her neck.

Bonnie wanted to protest more 'what about Elena?' was on the tip of her tongue. But she gave into the feeling and helped Damon as they shed each other of their clothing.

When Damon enters Bonnie the first time, she feels a myriad of emotions; powerful, desired, and happy, for the first time she is being selfish and doing something that makes her feel good, and not thinking of the consequences.

After several weeks of being together, Damon makes a decision.

"When we get out...I'm going to leave Elena"

Bonnie is stunned and puts her book down.

"What?" she says, needing him to repeat the words again

"I'm serious. I'm leaving Elena. Bonnie, after all this, I can't live without you" Damon pulls her closer and kisses her lips.

"If we get out" Bonnie adds softly

"Don't say that, I know we will, I have faith in you, I have faith in us" Damon says, tossing the book out of her hand and pulling her onto his lap.

"Bonnie...I'm falling in love with you. I wish I would've seen you sooner...so much could have been different" Damon said bringing her lips down in a sweet kiss.

"Damon...I'm falling for you too" Bonnie says happily smiling back.

When Bonnie returns from the prison world after fighting Kai, she is surprised, but not really, to find Damon and Elena have reignited their passion and are back together like nothing ever happened.

After everyone celebrates her return, she can barely stand to be in the same room with the couple and excuses herself to leave her own party.

Damon offers to give her a ride home and before she can reject his offer he is pulling her into his car.

Damon knows he owes Bonnie an explanation.

They drive silently in the car for a moment, before Damon starts.

"Bonnie. When you got stuck in the prison world with Kai…I didn't know if you were ever getting out…it was just easier to…fall back in to place"

Bonnie offers no response, until she is out of his car. She jumps out and Damon follow's behind her.

"You lied to me!" Bonnie yelled in her driveway, as she stomped towards her house

"I'm sorry Bonnie! Elena needs me!" Damon said walking after her

"What about me?" Bonnie says, she can't remember the last time she's said those words

"I…care about you too" Damon says defeated

Bonnie slams the door in his face.

She walks to her kitchen, grabbing a glass and pulling the unfinished bottle of wine out her fridge.

"Don't you cry over that bastard Bonnie! Don't you do it!" Bonnie says over and over to herself as she pours herself a glass.

She looks over to her table, and sees a stack of mail she'd tossed carelessly earlier.

She flips through the mail and sees a letter that catches her eye.

"You're leaving?" Caroline says in shock

"You just got back" Elena says sadly

"I know guys, but honestly after everything, I just need a fresh start. I promise I'll visit after I'm settled" Bonnie says sipping her tea as she sat in the boarding house. Damon stood behind the others, his back to the them as he pretended to fix a drink at his mini bar. He was upset and hurt that Bonnie had decided to leave Mystic Falls. Even though he really couldn't blame her. He'd messed things up badly between them and hurt her, now he felt like Bonnie was running.

"Where will you go?" Stefan asks. He was surprised that Bonnie would make such a bold choice, and depart from Mystic Falls by herself.

"New Orleans. A distant cousin of mine died, and he left me his magic shop and his apartment" Bonnie said

"What cousin?" Caroline asked curiously

"Anthony Bennett. We'd only met a few times through grams. I'm surprised he left me his shop, but I guess there aren't too many Bennett witches around" Bonnie shrugged. She didn't go into the details of how this shop would be her fresh start and how desperately she needed to get out of this town, far away from the drama, far away from Damon and his lies, and far away from the love oozing from Damon and Elena.

"You promise to call, and visit?" Caroline said getting all teary eyed

"I do. It's going to be fine guys...I just need to do something different."

Bonnie blasts her music as she passes the sign that says 'Welcome to Louisiana' she smiles and takes in the new scenery. "A fresh start" she whispers as her car heads toward New Orleans.

Bonnie pulls up to the beautiful brick building. As she gets out of the car she sees an older woman come out of the building.

"You must be Bonnie. We spoke on the phone yesterday, I'm Madame Josephine LaRue, you can call me Josephine" The woman gave Bonnie a small hug and ushered her inside."

Bonnie walked inside and saw the beautiful magic shop. The powerful herbs and magical objects were neatly placed on shelves and towards the back of the shop were two registers and small room hidden by a curtain.

"Back there is where Anthony used to do his readings for the tourists, and where he would mix some of his potions, he was the best potion maker in the Quarter" Josephine showed Bonnie around the shop.

"It's beautiful..." Bonnie looked around her eyes in amazement. She'd never seen such a wonderful place. The shop wasn't too small or too large, yet it felt so comfortable, and warm and inviting.

"Yes. You've got big shoes to fill Bonnie. The people of the Quarter and the tourists love this shop" Josephine ushered Bonnie out of the shop and to the large red door beside the shop.

"Let me show you the apartment." She and Bonnie walked up the stairs and opened another door. The apartment was just like the shop, not too small and not too big. It was charming and already felt like home.

Bonnie could see from the door the living room with the fireplace, a few plants on the window, she walked farther and saw a small breakfast nook and a decent sized kitchen with granite countertops.

"It's two bedrooms, one bathroom, Anthony kept it in nice shape." Josephine said as she walked over to the coffee table in the living room and saw a picture of her and Anthony this past holiday. Anthony was a tall bald man, who had won the heart of the Quarter with his magical skills and his kindness.

"He was like my brother, he will be missed" Josephine said holding the picture

"I'm sorry. I barely knew him, yet he has been generous enough to leave me all of this" Bonnie said looking around

"He knew you would need this place" Josephine said looking at Bonnie with kind eyes

"He did?...I mean, why would he think that?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Anthony was a man of many talents. 1 week before he died he met with me and a lawyer, he said his cousin Bonnie was in need of a fresh start, and this was the place he needed to be. This was the place, she would find her best self. He made the arrangements to leave you everything."

"Wait, did Anthony know he was dying?" Bonnie asked, realizing that when he'd made those arrangements, she'd just returned from the prison world.

"He knew death was coming. When you get to be as old as us, the spirits talk to you, when your young it's a distant whisper, but when you get older it gets louder, and soon you can start to see them, just sitting beside you, talking to you, like it's a regular day. That's when you know, your spirit is getting closer to their plane of existence, and farther away from this one."

Bonnie nodded in understanding.

"Before you settle in and unpack, I should also let you know that Anthony was a trusted member of our counsel, and now that you are here taking over his business, I'm sure the rest of the counsel will welcome you to take his seat to help represent the witches, it also doesn't hurt that your also a Bennett witch."

"Counsel? Representing the witches?" Bonnie asked

"Oh I'm sorry darling look at me getting ahead of myself. Come sit, I still remember where Anthony keeps his tea."

Bonnie put her bag down and sat down at the breakfast nook.

Madame Josephine brought mugs of tea over and sat across from her.

"New Orleans has been a safe haven for all supernaturals for hundreds of years. Obviously having witches, werewolves, and vampires living in one city can be very...chaotic. In order to keep the peace we established the supernatural counsel and each supernatural is represented on the board, 50 years ago we included humans."

"Humans are on the counsel? They know about supernaturals?" Bonnie asked.

"Only the humans in leadership positions around the city. The mayor, police chief, and a priest who works for a church that's been an institution of the city for over 100 years. It's easier to include some humans in on this world. When a body shows up in the morgue with two bite marks on its neck or claw marks on its chest, the humans do a better job at covering it up. Vampire compulsion isn't always the answer."

"Mystic Falls had a similar working counsel, but it was just mainly humans" Bonnie added.

"Yes, I've heard all about Mystic Falls and the supernatural entities and events that seem to be attracted to that town" Josephine said

"You have no idea" Bonnie said shaking her head and laughing. It felt good to laugh about the chaos of Mystic Falls, like it was all behind her now.

The next day Bonnie wakes up and goes to the shop.

She takes her time learning all the items in the shop, and straightening up a few things. When she goes to the backroom, she is surprised to see a red envelope with her name written on it in cursive letters sitting on the table. She picks up the envelope and opens it. Inside is a handwritten letter from Anthony.

Dear Bonnie,

I hope you are settling in well, and Josephine didn't talk to your head off, that woman is a chatter box. I'm writing this letter to you in my last days here on this side. Your grams spoke with me a few days ago. Told me you'd had a rough time in that Mystic Falls. She was tired of watching you be so unhappy. We both decided that there was no better option to pick up my work and carry on the legacy of the magic shop than you. We want you to build a new and better life Bonnie. Explore the city, enjoy the music and the people, meet new friends, and discover a new and bolder Bonnie Bennett.

P.S

I'm also leaving you with a list of my favorite suppliers for all the ingredients and merchandise for the shop.

Bonnie finished reading the letter with happy tears in her eyes.