A/N: Hello everyone! So I posted this chapter last month, but didn't really like what was happening so I deleted it and reworked it and now I have this. It takes place around Season 3, I think, this is some serious AU because I stopped watching around this time because they kept doing my homegirl dirty.

Pairings (so far): Bonnie/Klaus, Damon/OC, Caroline/Tyler, Elena/Stefan, Matt/Rebekah

I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.


Summer 2005

Small brown arms swung back and forth as Winnie Bennett walked briskly to her Aunt Sheila's house. Mouth set in a grim line, Winnie marched on as the taunts from her "friend" echoed in her mind. Brace Face. Metal Mouth. Zipper Lips. She admitted that the last one was funny but it still hurt. What sucks is that Winnie knew once she got her braces that she would look even more like a nerd, especially paired with her glasses. What she didn't know was that her friend, Tyler Lockwood, would taunt her like the other kids and that Matt Donovan would egg him on with his loud, obnoxious laughter. Some friends. Angry and frustrated Winnie continued at a steady pace as she recalled being called "Four eyes" and "X-ray" religiously by Brian Stevens since the second grade. Now, with new nicknames coined by Tyler, due to her braces, those were sure to follow her to junior high next year. Nodding once Winnie swore that she would spend the next two years' mute, unless she were home, maybe then no one at school would notice her with braces. It would be hard, sure, but that would save her a lot of headache.

The sound of footsteps broke Winnie from her thoughts as she looked back and saw her cousin and best friend, Bonnie Bennett, jogging to catch up to her. Pausing her footsteps Winnie turned to watch Bonnie.

"Winnie!" Bonnie yelled a couple of houses down with her long curly brown hair flowing behind her as she ran to her cousin.

Tugging on the end of her braid self-consciously, Winnie pushed her glasses up her nose as she stared down the street towards Matt and Tyler, who were being yelled at by her other best friends, Caroline Forbes and Elena Gilbert. Focusing her attention back on Bonnie, Winnie waited patiently for her to catch up.

Bonnie stood directly in front of Winnie as she struggled to catch her breath. The two made eye contact as they both felt the others emotions wash over them, Winnie emitting embarrassment while Bonnie emitted concern and anger.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked breaking the silence as she stood up straighter while watching Winnie's movements as she fidgeted with her hair. Bonnie continued to watch Winnie who in turn focused her attention on the ground, while seemingly deep in thought. Bonnie was very protective of her cousin and knew she could say the same for Winnie, so it never failed to make her angry when boys picked on Winnie because of her glasses and now her braces. Winnie normally brushed off the insults, but Bonnie was sure that this time it stung considering it was from her friends. Focusing her attention back on her cousin, Bonnie waited patiently for a reply.

"I'm fine. I was expecting to be called names for my braces. I just thought that I could maybe handle it better, you know? It normally doesn't get to me." Winnie replied with a toss of her braid. "I think that the only logical thing that I can do is keep my mouth closed for the next two years, until they come off. Or maybe… Do you think my dad will let Aunt Sheila homeschool me?"

"Your dad would never let that happen." Bonnie said with a roll of her eyes. "He's the same man who said that navigating school is a great way for us to learn to network in the future. Besides you'll miss all the fun at school like our friends and most importantly, me. Do you think you could make it without seeing me in class with you every day?"

"You're right," Winnie sighed in defeat, "I would miss you, unless you were homeschooled with me?" Winnie asked hopefully then rolled her eyes as Bonnie snorted. "Fine. I doubt Aunt Sheila would leave her position at Whitmore to homeschool me. Ugh, the next two years are going to be brutal. I can take Brian and his idiot friends making fun of me, because I'm smarter than all of them combined. But it's different when it comes from friends." Winnie finished as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she looked up into Bonnie's eyes.

Bonnie nodded in understanding as she placed her hands on her hips and glanced down the street at Matt, Tyler, Elena, and Caroline then back at Winnie. "Boys are so immature," Bonnie said with a glare towards the boys crossing her arms. "Tyler can be such a jerk sometimes, which is why I punched him in the face."

"Really?" Winnie asked mouth dropping open in disbelief. "No way." Winnie watched as Tyler could be seen in the distance holding his hand to his face gesturing wildly towards Bennett's. "I wish I could've seen that! Birdie, you can't go around hitting everyone who makes fun of me. I mean your hand will start to ache at some point," She laughed.

"Meh, I'll manage," Bonnie stated with a shrug, "Plus, you know how I hate to see and feel you upset because then it makes me upset." Winnie nodded in agreement.

Ever since the two were toddlers they had been in tune with the others emotions, which is common among twins, but never really between cousins. Aunt Sheila has always told them that it was a special gift for them to share and as they got older they would be more sensitive to other people emotions.

"Maybe Aunt Sheila has a spell we can use that will make anyone vomit slugs if they say something mean."

"We could try, Mouse, but she said that we don't fully come into our powers until we're 16 so we would have to wait until that's a possibility." Bonnie answered as they fell in step towards Grams for dinner. "Until then you have me, Caroline, and Elena to back you up."

"I know. You guys are the best. I don't know what I would do without you." Winnie replied with a smile. "Speaking of, how hard did you hit Lockwood?" she asked brown eyes twinkling.

"Hard enough to leave a mark," Bonnie answered dryly.

Both girls collapsed into fits of laughter holding on to each other as they tried to catch their breath. Neither noticed Sheila Bennett standing on the porch with a proud smirk on her face as she watched her niece and granddaughter laughing amongst themselves. Thick as thieves those two. They were the best parts of her and her late sister, Helen Bennett: protective, clever, and stubborn to a fault. Sheila missed Helen and had hoped that they could teach the girls about their family legacy and the girls' prophecy, together, but fate had other plans. With that final thought, Sheila watched as the girls caught their breaths before calling out to get their attention "Come in girls. It's time for supper!" Sheila continued smiling at the two fondly as they bound up the steps towards her with bright smiles on their faces.


Summer 2006

Bonnie glanced across the ballroom as she watched Winnie giggle and dance with Uncle Adrian during their special Father-Daughter dance at his wedding reception. Bonnie was happy for her cousin and uncle and their new family though his wife gave her the creeps, but she has not seen her uncle this happy in a long time. According to Grams, Uncle Adrian was super depressed after her Aunt Helen died when her and Winnie were 10. So depressed that he wasn't taking proper care of Winnie who was practically living with Grams for a while. Uncle Adrian finally snapped out of it when Grams paid him a visit. Bonnie was happy for them, but she couldn't help feeling sorry for herself.

Lately, it felt like all of her friends were growing up without her and Bonnie felt like she was staying the same. Elena and Matt were dating, Caroline finally grew boobs so she was test driving them on any guy who smiled at here, and Tyler's main focus was on football, and with Winnie moving to Texas she felt alone.

"Penny for your thoughts" Grams said taking the seat next to Bonnie. Noting the sad look on her granddaughter's face Sheila slid over a piece of wedding cake as a way to lift her spirits.

"They're not worth much these days, Grams." Bonnie replied with a sigh as she took the proffered cake.

"Oh baby. I know you're upset about Winnie moving and both of you starting high school next year, but I promise you that it's not the end. You'll still each other during holidays and the summer. And I'm sure you're both going to run up my phone bill with your talking and carrying on. It'll be okay."

"I know. It's just a lot is changing and I feel like I'm getting left behind." Bonnie said looking down and fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

Smiling slightly, Sheila reached over grabbing Bonnie's hand in her own. "Honey, you know Winnie will always be there for you. Adrian got a great opportunity down in Texas and he wants to feel free to start over with his new wife, without Helen's memory hanging over them. I just hope that once Winnie comes into her powers that he lets her come home."

"He still doesn't believe we're witches, huh?' Bonnie asked as she watched Winnie and Uncle Adrian spin in circles and bowing towards the crowd.

"He does. He's just afraid of what that could mean for Winnie. Adrian never really understood the Bennett legacy and how proud Helen was of that but he tried because he loved her, but…"

"But what?"

"I'm not so sure he'll be as understanding when it's Winnie. And with any young witch your emotions can control your powers until you get stronger and can keep them in check. I hope that he reaches out to me when the time comes, so that I could teach her. I had hoped to teach you both."

"Winnie will definitely keep in touch. She promised. We'll be here when she needs us. Maybe once she comes into her powers Uncle Adrian will let her come back home." Bonnie responded with a determined glint in her eye.

Before Sheila could respond, Winnie ran over with a huge smile greeting them both before grabbing Bonnie's hands and pulling her to her feet. "Bonnie! The DJ is going to play Déjà vu by Beyoncé! We can do the routine we practiced!"

As the girls ran off, Sheila was left thinking of the future and what that would mean for the youngest Bennett's. There were secrets and prophecies that had been passed down through their family that she had to pass on to the girls before she ran out of time. Watching the girls, as they danced in sync, Sheila smiled wistfully towards the girls. It can wait.


Present Day

Bonnie and Winnie kept in touch through phone calls, emails, and texts and visited each other during non-major holidays like they promised, but communication stopped abruptly after Winnie turned 16. That had been over a year ago and to say that Bonnie missed Winnie would be an understatement. Bonnie tried in vain to call her after Grams died but the number had been disconnected and with her powers on the fritz she couldn't locate her, so Bonnie grieved the loss of Sheila Bennett alone.

Queuing up another episode of Psych, Bonnie sat up in a more comfortable position and stifled a yawn. She'd been thinking of Winnie a lot lately and wasn't sure if it was because she was staying at her Grams or lonely. With a shake of her head, Bonnie focused her attention on the screen in front of her. Right now she just wanted to put her mind at ease by not thinking and watch a little television.

*knock knock*

Glancing at the clock and frowning, Bonnie noticed that it was close to midnight and wondered who would be coming by this late, her friends would've texted or called but her phone's been silent all night, not that that was anything new. Caroline was spending a lot of her time with Tyler lately and Elena was waffling between the Salvatore's. Rising from the couch, Bonnie made her way to the door. As she got closer she felt a familiar tingle course through her. That's weird. The last time she experienced that was with her Grams' and her mom, Abby. Trying to shake off the feeling Bonnie looked out the peephole and saw nothing, since whoever was on the other side was blocking it.

"Who is it?" she asked through the door.

"A little mouse who's found her way home," a familiar voice rang out.

No way. Struggling with the lock Bonnie slowly opened the door and green eyes immediately connected with brown. Bonnie froze as she took in the appearance of Winnie. Looking her over from head to toe Bonnie concluded that she looked the same minus her braces. Breaking the silence, she responded softly, "This little bird wonders what took you so long?"

"Long story, Birdie." replied Winnie with a half-smile.

"Mouse? It's really you? I can't believe it." Bonnie reached out and blindly pulled Winnie into a tight hug. "It's really you, isn't it? I'm not dreaming. This is happening." she asked with tears in her eyes. Bonnie held on tightly with eyes closed shut in fear.

"It's me. I'm home, I'm finally home," Winnie said.

Bonnie and Winnie held each other tightly as they dissolved into tears of relief and happiness at having been reunited. They had each other again and nothing else mattered to them in this moment. For a brief moment they both felt when there was a definite shift as if everything had fallen back into place after a long time spent in upheaval.

"I am so happy you're here. I can't believe." Bonnie replied pulling away but still holding her close as tears ran down their faces.

Bonnie wiped her face with the back of her hand as she watched Winnie clean her glasses with the hem of her t-shirt. Gesturing towards the open door, "Come in!"

Together they hauled in a forgotten suitcase and backpack that lay at their feet. Once inside, Bonnie deposited the suitcase in the hallway as Winnie took off her shoes and hung up her jacket before Bonnie walked into the living room as Winnie followed. They settled on the couch facing one another as they continued to assess and take each other in. They had so much to discuss, but as Bonnie stifled another yawn they silently agreed to talk later. Relaxing into the couch they finally moved into a position that they were long familiar with: both girls stretched out with their feet on the ottoman as they snuggled in with Bonnie's head pillowed on Winnie's shoulder.

"I've missed this," Bonnie said breaking the silence. Looking over at Winnie, she glimpsed an anguished expression on her face that was quickly replaced with a neutral one as her eyes connected with Bonnie's.

"I've missed you and Aunt Sheila. It's been a long time..." Winnie said trailing off. Shifting slightly Winnie stared at the carpet in front of her while playing with the ends of her hair that was pulled back into a single braid, a familiar picture in Bonnie's head.

Eyeing her cousin with concern Bonnie nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There's a lot that's been happening around here," she said.

Bonnie laid her head back on Winnie's shoulder, "We have all the time in the world to get caught up," Bonnie continued and felt her cousin relax with a sigh of relief at the change of subject. "For now, why don't we just sit here and see what Shawn and Gus get into."

"I'm into that."

Bonnie reached for the remote as she pressed play she felt Winnie snuggle deeper into her side. Together they watched television until Winnie then Bonnie drifted off to sleep.

*thump*

Jolting awake Bonnie quickly opened her eyes and checked her surroundings before she realized she had rolled off of the couch. Rubbing her backside, she slowly got up stretching her limbs. At first glance, Bonnie thought she was alone but could hear the faint sound of water running in the upstairs bathroom.

Bonnie slowly made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast as she waited for Winnie to finish her shower. Checking her phone, she noticed missed calls and multiple texts from Caroline asking her about their lunch date later. Sighing in annoyance, Bonnie looked at the clock and realized that it was late. She forgot to set her alarm, but with a glance towards the ceiling she knew that she would not be meeting Caroline and Elena for lunch. Bonnie quickly shot off a text to Caroline and Elena telling them that she wasn't feeling well. Feeling slightly guilty Bonnie shook it off before returning her attention to the refrigerator as she gathered the ingredients for an omelet. She didn't want to tell them that Winnie was back yet in hopes of spending quality time with her.

Bonnie missed having family around after her Grams died and with her dad working out of town frequently, both empty houses never failed to make Bonnie feel lonely. Bonnie looked up from her breakfast as she heard Winnie make her way towards the kitchen.

Adorned in a plain white shirt and blue jeans, Winnie stood in the doorway adjusting her gold wire-frame glasses. "Good morning," she said with a smile before walking further into the kitchen and noticed an omelet waiting for her. Smiling brightly at Bonnie, Winnie took her seat and looked over at her cousin. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Surprisingly well, though I had a rather rude awakening when my butt met floor." Bonnie responded with a scoff. "What about you?"

"It was one of my better nights," Winnie said with a toss of her braid over her shoulder.

"Good. Well, I'm going to go and take a shower. You can handle these I'm sure." She said gesturing towards the dirty dishes. "I hope you didn't use all the hot water."

"I saved you a drop or two. It's the least I could do since you made me breakfast." Winnie retorted with a snort.

"There better be more than a drop or we will have a problem." Bonnie sassed. Making her way up towards stairs she paused, "I thought this would be more awkward than it is, but it's just like old times."

"I know. Now hurry up and shower we have a lot to talk about!"

Giggling softly, Bonnie made her way upstairs to shower and get prepared for the day.