A/N: Woah, three months, exactly. Sorry about that, guys. The holidays, in time with school and work really got to me and have kept me busy. Too many finals (and now mid-terms, yikes) and shifts to cover. I've gotten a ridiculously awesome amount of reviews in that time, though, so thank you, honestly. I'm glad to see that you haven't given up on this story! I appreciate and read every single review. I also read all the pm's from people urging me to update and even bitching at me to do so. Hahah, I loved them, thanks for being so dedicated! Again, I apologize for the slow update, hopefully it won't happen often, but I do have school and work. My schedule's changed since the new term started for school, and I'm at school and work every day of the week. Even weekends, I'm usually studying. Stressful stuff. But I have been and will continue writing; I have this whole story outlined, I can't let it go to waste. Lol. I owe you guys a super long chapter, so here it is.
CHAPTER TEN
"He's not here to protect you anymore, little one… He's left you, alone, just like everyone else does…"
"Don't say that, shut up, you leave me alone!"
The red witch's high-pitched laughter faded into the background, and Bonnie felt like she could breathe again. She could feel herself relaxing into a deep, pleasant sleep for the first time in days.
--
"Wake up, grandma," said a voice above Bonnie, shaking her. Was she still dreaming…?
She opened her eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. "Huh?"
Her best friend grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "Get dressed; we're going out for your birthday breakfast! It's officially Bonnie and Elena's Reunion: Day one of three, now get up."
"How are you even freaking conscious right now?" Bonnie cried, pulling the pillow over her head. Elena said something about sleeping on the plane, but Bonnie wasn't listening. Something grazed the side of her face; the pouch from Damon. She thought back to last night… she had dreamt about Medea again, but it had drifted away slowly at one point during the night. Huh, it actually worked. Suddenly, she was in a good mood. She smiled into her pillow and shoved it back, sitting up. "I'll go get ready."
They had picked a little café and ordered coffee and pancakes. The weather was warm and it was sunny… Bonnie couldn't have asked for a better day to spend, walking around Portland with her best friend. They were scarfing down their food and talking a mile a minute, catching up and planning their day before Bonnie's cell phone had started vibrating next to her mug. She glanced at Elena apologetically, and the other girl just shook her head, full-mouthed and nodded towards the phone, signalling for her to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Happy Birthday, girlie!"
Bonnie laughed. "Fel? Thank you; how are you?" She saw Elena smile before taking another bite of her food. Bonnie hadn't heard from Felicia in months; just a few weeks after she had moved back to California, and Bonnie was relieved to hear that she was sounding like her old self again.
"Look, I mean Cali's a hell of a lot better than Portland, but I miss it; I miss you and I miss Steph and her crazy ass," Felicia went on dramatically; Bonnie chuckled. Elena was laughing along, undeniably hearing Felicia's loud voice from where she was sitting. Bonnie continued eating her food and let out an 'uh-huh' at all the right times, she and Elena giggling as Felicia went on a rant about how it was "too damn hot" over there. She complained about how her mom was being over-bearing since her accident and she wasn't allowed to go anywhere without one of her guy cousins. "Seriously, Bonnie. How the hell am I supposed to meet any guys with one of those big gorillas watching my every single move?"
"You're Felicia the Man-eater," Bonnie rhymed teasingly. "You'll get by."
"Easy for you to say," Felicia scoffed fondly. "How are the boys over there, anyway?"
Bonnie shrugged, poking at her plate. "Same old."
"Mm-hmm, I'll pretend like I believe you," she laughed. "What's his name?"
"There's no name," Bonnie countered with an incredulous chortle.
"If you say so!" Felicia sang. "Well, girl, I gotta go; mom's dragging me to this… appointment… thing," she trailed off.
Bonnie softened and sat back into her seat. "Like… a therapist?"
Felicia let out a light scoff. It didn't quite reach the level of disbelief she probably wanted it to. "Yeah…"
"Is it helping?" Bonnie asked, straightening in her chair.
"To an extent; I mean, I don't even know what happened, you know? I don't really remember anything," her friend said confusedly.
That's strange, Bonnie thought.
"Maybe it's better that way," Bonnie replied reassuringly. She heard an indifferent grunt on the other end and her muttering something about being brain-dead. Bonnie grinned. "Well I'll let you go. Thanks for the call, Fel."
"Of course, miss. Happy Birthday again, and say 'what's up' to Elena for me!"
"How'd you know?" Bonnie asked, looking at Elena. She shrugged.
"You guys always spend your birthdays together, you said, remember?"
Bonnie smiled. "See, you're not totally brain-dead. You still remember stuff," she said jokingly.
Felicia laughed. "Barely. Bye, girl, love you!"
"Love you, too, bye," Bonnie hung up and set her phone down affectionately back onto the table before looking back at Elena. "She said 'hey'." Elena smiled into her mug in acknowledgement.
"How is she?" Elena asked.
Bonnie shrugged. "She sounds normal. She's going to therapy…" Elena nodded solemnly as Bonnie continued. "But she said she doesn't remember anything that happened. It's weird – that night, she told me what she saw – she remembered then, but now it's like… it's been totally wiped."
Elena leaned in. "You don't think… he came back and erased her memory of it before she left…?"
Bonnie's eyes got slightly wider. "Maybe…"
They sat in silence for a while. "Okay, Nancy Drew, this is totally killing my Birthday buzz," Bonnie stated.
Elena laughed. "Alright then, so… who is he?"
Bonnie wrinkled her nose. "Who, the attacker? I told you—"
"No, not him," Elena made a sound of disgust. "C'mon, Bonnie, you're hot, you're young, you live on your own – don't tell me you're running around Portland like a nun."
"You know I'm not like that," Bonnie grinned. "Plus, if there was someone, I'd tell you, obviously."
"You better," Elena warned, pointing a scone at her. "And I have to approve first."
Bonnie choked back a laugh. I highly doubt you'd approve, she thought. Then she mentally froze. What the hell, approve of who? There aren't even any candidates, Bonnie. Especially not that one. Shut up.
"Okay, mom," Bonnie laughed. They finished up their food and waited for the bill.
She couldn't remember the last time she laughed and smiled like this.
Just like old times, huh, Birthday girl? She heard a voice echo in her head. She looked up and tried to be discreet with her roaming eyes. She caught Elena cocking her head to the side, narrowing her eyes in confusion. She whipped her head in the direction Elena was looking and saw nothing.
"What?" Bonnie asked curiously, turning back to Elena, her breathing building up in speed a little.
Elena shook her head quickly, turning her attention back to Bonnie. "Nothing, I just… thought I saw… something."
"Saw what…?" Bonnie asked slowly, her stomach flipping.
"I just thought I saw someone I know, but – it's not possible, never mind. Probably someone that just looks like them. I'm going crazy or something," Elena mumbled, stabbing her fork into a chunk of leftover pancakes. With force, Bonnie noted.
Damon… she thought, hoping he'd pay attention and listen to her… wherever he was. Don't…
Thankfully, he listened.
--
"Happy birthday, babygirl!"
"Dad," she sighed in happy relief. She felt tears stinging her eyes. She hadn't talked to him in a few weeks. "How are you?" She and Elena were walking around a boutique separately, browsing through racks.
"Can't complain. Got anything special planned for your birthday?"
"Elena surprised me with a visit, so I'm spending the weekend with her," she smiled.
"Oh really?" She could hear the smile and knowingness in his voice. Bonnie laughed.
"You knew," she accused.
"Well whose idea do you think it was? If Grams and I couldn't be there to celebrate with you, your best friend had to be the next best choice. Elena was all too happy to accept."
"It's a great present, thanks, pop."
"No problem. You guys having fun?"
"Yeah, we're shopping right now," Bonnie said, observing herself in a mirror, wrinkling her nose as she held a shirt up in front of her.
"Of course," her dad laughed. "The people over there treating you well?"
"Yeah," she nodded. I can't say the same for a different kind of 'people'… she thought to herself. "I really miss you guys, though."
"We miss you, too, B; everyday. What – woman!" Her dad said suddenly. Bonnie's face scrunched in confusion. "Your Grams wants to talk to you," he sighed.
Bonnie laughed and nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to you later, dad. Love you."
"Love you, too, honey. Okay, calm – ow. Bye!"
"Bye," she chuckled. She heard the phone being passed on and Gram's voice came over the phone.
"So what's really going on, sweetie?" Grams asked quietly. "I'm sensing something's wrong."
Bonnie looked around her and felt uncomfortable that there was a handful of people surrounding her in various parts of the store, so she stepped outside.
"I don't know. I mean, Elena's here for the weekend, so I'm okay, but… when I'm alone, I'm… I just – I'm scared," she said.
"You know you can always come home."
She momentarily flashed back to her nightmare. "He's left you, alone, just like everyone else does…" She was wrong. Everyone was still there for her, she realized, and she couldn't let Medea scare her into believing these things.
"I know; but I can't. I came out here to grow up and be independent. I can't rely on everyone all the time anymore."
"That's what I like to hear. I'm proud. But I do worry about you everyday… how are you feeling?" Bonnie knew she was talking about her powers.
"Tired," she admitted.
"Things are going to be hard on you from now on; you need to do whatever it takes to keep things under control."
Bonnie all too knowingly agreed with that. It was just bad timing; she couldn't let Elena know that Damon was helping her. She especially couldn't know their about their terms in this agreement.
"Be careful," Grams said, a slight warning in her tone. "I may not know exactly what you're up to out there, but I do know you need to be smart and not trust so easily. You got that?"
She knew about Damon? Bonnie didn't push it any further, and nodded. "Got it. I'll be careful, I swear."
"Okay, I'm trusting you on that," she replied. There was a pause before she continued. "I think I should let you go now; happy birthday again, baby. I'll talk to you again soon."
"Thanks, Grams. Bye."
She hung up and turned to head back into the boutique – she nearly ran into the figure blocking her way. "Are you seriously following me?! Stop following me! Elena already thought she saw you; you're not helping right now!" She scolded him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him around the corner where no one could see them.
He rolled his eyes crossed his arms. "We need to talk. About Medea, but you've been avoiding me all day."
"Not now," she hissed. "Plus, hey, the pouch worked, she's not bothering me anymore."
The vampire scoffed at her. "She's not the boogey-man, Bonnie."
"I know, I get that," she huffed exasperatedly, throwing her hands up. At that exact moment, her phone buzzed. She checked the text message she got and looked up at Damon. "Elena's wondering where I am… look, we'll talk later, okay?" She watched him hopefully as he clenched his jaw and let out a deep breath. "Great, thanks," she said quickly before leaving him behind.
--
"So who keeps texting you every five minutes and trying to ruin Bolena's shopping day?"
Bonnie didn't bother to check the message and shoved her phone into her purse while letting out a (rather loud) laugh. "Bolena?"
"You know, like Brangelina, without the marriage and the kids," Elena joked.
Bonnie let out a genuine laugh. "Sounds like a lunch meat. What about… Elennie? I like Elennie." She looped her arm through her best friend's as they walked down the sidewalk. She continued to ignore the short buzzing in her bag.
"Elennie's cute," Elena nodded, grinning.
Something caught Bonnie's attention and she shot a look to her right into the glass display of another small boutique. "And so is that purse, c'mon." She pulled Elena into the shop door.
Buzz… Bonnie clicked her tongue and fished the phone out of her bag, reading the message.
You owe me big time for making me wait around like this.
She rolled her eyes and shut her phone, jamming it back into her purse.
"Bonnie, just text them back," Elena chuckled.
"What?"
"Whoever you're avoiding. Just text them back."
"I'll do it later…" Bonnie said, waving her off.
"Is it a boy?" Elena asked, a huge grin on her face.
Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her. "No."
"A girl?!" Elena gasped teasingly.
"Shut up," Bonnie laughed and joked back, "You're the only girl in my life, doll."
"Damn right," Elena said with a nod. They laughed.
Her ringtone suddenly filled the air.
"Okay, Bonnie? It's driving me crazy, and I know it's driving you crazy."
The ringing started again, and Bonnie stalked off into a corner, despite Elena's wondering look, and took the call. "What?!"
"It's later," he pointed out. "Why do you care about this so much!?" She asked.
He scoffed disgustedly. "Because I'm fucking hungry. Just watch your back," he growled.
She sighed and murmured an apology. "It's just… Elena, she—"
"Yeah, yeah, the Great Elena; gets everything she wants. Fine, go."
Bonnie hung up without another word, gritting her teeth as she walked back to Elena. "Who was that?"
"No one important."
"Didn't look like it!"
"No, he's uhh… my tutor," she spat out quickly. "From school." Hey, it was half true. "He's umm… worried about whether or not I'm studying for… midterms…"
Elena started sniffing the perfumes on the shelf. "But you're one of the smartest people I know. Must be one hell of a class if you need a tutor."
"You have no idea…"
--
The girls decided to check out Portland's scenery, having ditched Bonnie's car and leaving it at home. The weather was nice enough for them to walk in, so they enjoy Portland's city night life and Bonnie showed Elena around to her favourite places. They dropped by Reed and walked around the empty quad, in an area off to the side, which Bonnie found relaxing. They sat at a park table, laughing and talking.
"Jenna keeps hinting to him that she wants to get married but he's not budging," Elena laughed.
"Imagine when they do, though; you're gonna be related to our old history teacher." They giggled.
A sudden breeze cut through where they were sitting, and they both froze. "Did you feel that?" Elena asked, slowly sitting upright, looking around. Bonnie nodded and scanned the trees behind her…nothing. "Maybe the wind's just picking up…" Elena said, as if trying to reassure herself.
Bonnie heard cackling in the background. Or maybe it was in her head; she couldn't differentiate. It sounded like it was coming from the woods. "What was that?" she muttered, balling her hands into fists.
"Bonnie, what's wrong?"
"Did you hear that?" She couldn't be here…
"No, what –"
She voiced her thoughts, talking more to herself. "She can't be here, that's—"
"Bonnie who are you talking about, what's going on?" Elena asked earnestly. Bonnie could hear the trembling in her voice.
Something took a hold of Bonnie; she couldn't stop herself from standing up and taking a step forward. "I'm not afraid of you!"Bonnie felt herself yell into the wooded area, facing away from Elena. Bonnie heard the cackling again… it was closer this time.
"Bonnie, nothing's there! What are you—you're scaring me!"
Control… control, Bonnie… you'll be fine… she chanted in her head.
A white blur appeared feet away, causing Bonnie to instinctively raise her hand, pushing out as much force as she could with a cry. Elena screamed behind her and she saw the white figure fly back and hit a huge oak tree with a thud. Bonnie couldn't make the figure out in the darkness, but it couldn't be Medea… then, a pair of green eyes flashed at her. Antony.
"Elena, run!" She cried; he was closing in on her, unaffected. She kept attacking Antony by levitating the large branches that lay around the woods, and managed to knock him back a few times. Other times, he raised his arm to block them, and to Bonnie's horror, they broke right in half. Antony let out a fierce growl and fixed his gaze square at her.
"Bonnie look out!" was all she heard, along with her own scream and was knocked the opposite way by something. The ground was all she saw before it all faded to black.
--
She woke up feeling a cool breeze hit her face. Sitting up slightly, she found herself in the woods near the campus still. She moved to look behind her and saw Damon sitting where she had been previously, looking at her with his arms crossed.
"You pushed me out of the way?"
"You're welcome," he sighed smugly. Then his face got serious. "I tried to tell you," he growled. "I've been trying to tell you all day. But you didn't listen. Now look what happened."
She gave him a hard look. "Fine; I'm sorry. You happy?"
"No," he snapped. "Look at you!" Bonnie blinked, speechless, as her expression softened. "Pathetic," he grumbled under his breath. She rolled her eyes. And here, I thought you cared. Jerk. She saw Damon give the slightest hint of a grin.
"That wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, moving her eyes to his. Damon only gave her a curt shake of his head as he stared at her. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. It was almost pitying. She took a moment to steady herself as she attempted to straighten up. Then she remembered something.
"Elena – where's Elena?" Bonnie said frantically, searching around for her friend.
"She's fine, she's back at your apartment," Damon said, unaffected, waving her keys in his hand. "Swiped it from your pocket."
"God, if anything happens to her," Bonnie started, feeling tears prick her eyes. "I can't – Felicia, she – it can't happen again, Damon. He knows about her. If Elena – it'll be my fault –"
"Bonnie, Bonnie… breathe," Damon said, swiftly gliding to her side, gripping her shoulders slightly and coaxing her. She got a hold of herself and did as he said, coming down from near hyperventilation. "Elena will be fine, I'll make sure of it."
"Did she… see you?" Bonnie asked quietly.
Damon pursed his lips. "No," he said firmly. "And she won't know any of this happened, stop worrying." She realized that he meant he had wiped her memory of what had happened. She also tried pushing that unsettling feeling from the pit of her stomach that he had left her lying here in the woods while he brought Elena to safety. Get a grip, she told herself.
"What does she want from me?" Bonnie asked about the other witch in a small voice, looking past Damon into the distance. She ignored the way his fingers laced through her hair and the way his thumb gently brushed across her cheekbone. She didn't really know what she was looking at. She just couldn't look at his face.
"I don't exactly know, but you did the right thing, telling Elena to get out of there. Pretty sure he would've ripped her apart." His words caused her to wince and shut her eyes, trying to force the image out of her mind.
"He keeps doing this; he keeps trying to hurt my friends, people I care about… if he wants me dead so badly why doesn't he just do it?"
"No, it's not you he wants, he likes the chase; he's doing it to bring you closer to her. She knows that."
"As long as she leaves my friends alone," Bonnie said grimly. "Wait, how did you manage to get Elena to forget…"
He shrugged. "I didn't see any vervain on her."
Bonnie scrunched her nose. That was weird… Elena told her that Stefan insisted on her carrying it in a locket when they were in Mystic Falls. Bonnie assumed she'd carry it around still.
"I know what you're thinking," Damon mused. "And I think Stefan's being irresponsible about it, too. He knows better than anyone – besides me – that vampires can be anywhere. Some boyfriend, huh?"
Bonnie clicked her tongue in annoyance. He just wouldn't stop with the mind-reading. "I wasn't thinking that at all! Stop putting words in my mouth."
"Ahh, but they didn't exactly come from your mouth," he grinned, shaking his finger at her. He moved to touch it to his temple. "They came from up here."
"Fine, you took what I was thinking and manipulated it; I wasn't saying anything bad about Stefan. Whatever problems you have with your brother is just that. Yours. Leave me out of it."
"Whatever. Get up," he said, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Unless you want to lay in twigs forever."
She rolled her eyes and took his outstretched hand, allowing him to help her up. As soon as she pulled her body up, she winced and let go, falling back down. She clutched her side and shut her eyes, taking deep, sharp breaths.
"Let me see," she heard him say sternly. She turned her body away from him, not letting go of her side. She shook her head.
"It's just a scratch," she said.
He rolled his eyes and held his hand out again. "Okay there, Mercutio." He beckoned her with his fingers. "Get up, let me see."
She just fixed an angry glare at his face, not even acknowledging his outstretched hand. "It's not bleeding. I'm fine."
He sighed impatiently. Bonnie swore she heard him mumble something ('like babysitting a two-year-old'). She opened her mouth to retort but he beat her to it. "I must've accidently done that while pushing you out of the way," he muttered. "You know, if you don't get that thing fixed up, it's going to start bleeding, and your neck will no longer be the only thing my teeth will tear into. You do remember I'm kind of a vampire, right?"
Bonnie gaped. "And you want me to show you this, why?!"
Damon looked like he wanted to strangle himself. It was kind of funny. Or, it would've been, if Bonnie didn't feel like her skin was burning. "It won't bleed if we fix it up now, so let me take a look before you end up as nothing but a pretty little corpse."
"You don't have to be so morbid," she spat, taking his hand, letting him pull her up gently. He handled her carefully, lifting her shirt only slightly, leaning back a bit, looking like he was trying to control himself, just in case she did start bleeding (it was odd, considering he wanted her for her blood, anyway). She saw his face twist into a grimace. She looked down at her side and winced.
"Wow, I don't know my own strength," he muttered, staring at her cut.
Now it was Bonnie's turn to roll her eyes. "You only brag about it all the time."
He cracked a smirk, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Yeah, well." He studied the cut. "Shit, really sorry about this, though." He looked pained. "Does it uhh… does it hurt?"
She looked up at him, amused. "It's killing you to be concerned about someone, isn't it?"
He scoffed. "It's not like I ask people if they're okay after I attack them. They're usually dead. They're nobodies, anyway."
Her eyebrow quirked questioningly. And I'm…?
He narrowed his eyes at her and let out a small cough. He straightened, still holding her shirt up just below her ribs. Bonnie momentarily shivered when his fingers brushed her skin as he lifted it a little more to see that the cut was actually a bit higher than they thought.
"I got it," she said softly, slipping out of his grasp and turning away from him to attempt to tend to the cut herself. The small amount of vampire blood still in her was causing her cut to heal up, along with her aiding powers. She pressed her fingers against her skin and felt it mending. He watched her in disbelief.
"Honestly, Bonnie?" He sighed exasperatedly. "You don't trust me even a little bit?"
Bonnie frowned, thinking; even though she really didn't have to anymore. "I… I do trust you. To an extent." Then her voice deadpanned. "Because you still are tearing my skin apart and taking my blood, so… I don't know, that kind of throws off the dynamic a little bit, don't you think?" She turned towards him and gave him a look.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll take it."
"You know, you being really nice to me lately… it's kind of creeping me out." She turned back around to keep herself busy – but not before she could look over her shoulder and shoot him a small smile. A real one; one that met her eyes. "But I like it. It's nice." I kind of like having my skin intact for once. Well, almost intact, she thought. She heard him chuckle, and then there was silence. "I really wouldn't have been able to do any of this without your help," she mumbled. Damon just grinned.
"Getting soft on me, Bennett?"
"No, shut up," she grumbled.
Another moment of silence followed as she bent her neck awkwardly to look at her work. The cut was barely there. She smiled in satisfaction, and he spoke up again. "You know, part of the reason I was willing to help you was because I saw how alike we are."
"How strangely narcissistic," she jutted.
"Yeah, and?" He rolled his eyes and continued on. "You wanted something and you're doing whatever it takes to get it. It's kind of… admirable."
Bonnie shifted her feet. He was being too nice to her right now. She tried to ignore the tinge of gratitude in the back of her head.
"I'm just saying, you go after what you want and you're willing to put your life on the line for it. You're totally my protégé," he teased softly.
She let a laugh slip through her lips. "I think you're the one getting soft on me, Salvatore."
She didn't even know when he had come up to her because the next thing she knew, he was right in front of her, brushing her hair away from her face. Bonnie wordlessly shivered a little and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access to her neck and closing her eyes. She braced herself for the pain, but it never came. Instead, she felt his fingers move from her hair to cup her chin, pulling her to face him. She blinked her eyes open and wow, when did he get so close…?
"I'll show you soft," Damon mumbled. Then his lips were suddenly on hers ever so slightly, and Bonnie didn't know what the fuck was going on but for some reason, this wasn't enough. She found herself on her tip-toes lightly, leaning into his lips while her hands were softly clutching the bottom of his jacket. She tilted her head back, giving him better access, and he gladly obliged.
So good… God, these lips… so soft… her jumbled and oddly analytical thoughts drifted as his thumb brushed her cheekbone. He parted her lips with his tongue and Bonnie sighed. But the sensations couldn't stop her thoughts. Sharp… blood… drinking… death – these lips killed—
And with that, she abruptly pulled away and took a step back, her eyes slightly wider than before. He looked slightly taken aback at the rashness of her actions, starting at her. He was frozen. Then his eyes got dark and his face hardened, looking like realization had just smacked him in the face. Oh god, you heard all that, Bonnie thought frantically in her head. She couldn't open her mouth.
His eyebrows shot up in acknowledgement and his mouth formed a straight line, giving her his answer.
"I—we can't—"
"Yeah," he said shortly, barely giving Bonnie any time to form coherent words before responding.
She retreated even more, biting her bottom lip. Damon was staring at her mouth while she did this so she stopped, pursing her lips instead and looking anywhere except his face.
"Come on, I'm taking you home," he said, emotionless.
She silently followed him out and into her car, with him driving. It was the quietest car ride they've ever had.
So I don't even think this chapter was worth the three-month wait I put you guys through; but hallelujah, they kissed! Although, it probably didn't end the way you all wanted it to. I'll make up for it next chapter, promise.