Hallelujah! Lol! I had hoped to have this story out sooner than this, but I just wasn't satisfied with the ending. After changing it about 10 times (I literally had about that many different endings written out) I finally wrote one that I liked. Haha! I stayed up super late last night (or early this morning depending on how you look at it, lol) trying really hard to revise this story so I could publish part 1, but as 5 am rolled around...I had to face facts that I just wasn't gonna be able to get it everything done. But now...here it is! Yay! This story is going to be 4 parts long. I originally intended for it to be shorter than that, but, once again, my mind just kept on adding more and more stuff! Lol!
Update: Thanks to a nice Italian who messaged me, Damon's Italian sentence has been corrected. Thank you! What he says means, "Enjoy Italy."
Sorry about any errors! Please enjoy the first installment! :)
It had been almost 3 weeks since Stefan had left for Italy. After Elena had realized her love for Damon & her desperate need to always have him with her, she had officially broken ties with Stefan and chosen him. Finally, Elena had realized which brother she simply couldn't live without. Stefan had left the next morning for his home country; a wise decision, Bonnie now understood. If she had been smart, she would've gone with him. Instead, she had failed to contemplate just how torturous her life would become. But now she knew.
Bonnie knew all too well how it felt to be miserable; how it felt to be heartbroken; how it felt to be dying a little everyday as you watched your best friend parade around with the only man you had ever loved. Every time her tearing brown eyes were forced to see them together, it was as if her heart was being torn from her chest. No matter how hard she cried when she was alone, no matter how hard she tried to erase the scenes from her memory, every night consisted of the same agonizing pain of a love lost.
So much torment could only last so long. Bonnie had almost become sick from it. Looking at herself in the mirror, her red curls were disheveled and tangled where her head had been lying on her pillow. Her eyes were tired, holding deep circles underneath from lack of sleep. Her usual pink cheeks held no color, matching the rest of her pale, sickly face. It was then she decided to do something. As much as she loved him, she couldn't just sit around and waste away. A phone call to a dear friend was needed. Bonnie only hoped that he would say, "yes."
With a little more hop in her step and a little more glow to her face, Bonnie waltzed into the kitchen where Elena and Meredith sat drinking some herbal tea, courtesy of Mrs. flowers. While Elena's lips lit up in a smile at Bonnie's arrival, Meredith's lips pulled up only slightly in a sympathetic grin. She had been there for Bonnie through the first 2 weeks of her heartache, offering comfort as best she were able. Bonnie couldn't be more grateful for her friend. Although she was still in despair, Meredith had gotten her stable enough to keep going. Well...that's what she let Meredith think, anyway. Unbeknownst to the dark haired girl, Bonnie still cried at night when she was alone in her room.
It was amazing to both girls that Elena hadn't taken notice of Bonnie's depressed behavior! Regardless, Bonnie was thankful that Elena was clueless. She didn't want her blonde friend to know just how hurt she truly was. It would only be embarrassing and a problem for everyone.
Bonnie offered a fake smile to the girls, as she had been doing lately.
"Want some tea?" Elena asked, holding her mint green mug up.
Bonnie nodded, "Sure."
Elena pointed at the pot on the stove behind the redhead, "It's still hot. We just boiled it. And the herbs are on the counter."
Before Bonnie could turn around and shield her eyes, Damon had flashed in and stolen a kiss from Elena. Bonnie winced at the jab that hit her heart. One more second and she would've missed it. Tearing her eyes from them, Bonnie forced herself around and opened up one of the high set cabinets mounted over the granite counter top. Opening the door, she examined the shelves' contents, searching for her favorite mug. Elena giggled lovingly behind her and Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, forcing herself not to feel the pain.
"I'm going to go sit out in the living room and finish my tea." Elena told Damon as she elegantly stood from her seat and exited the kitchen.
Bonnie heard the heavy clopping of Damon's boots on the hardwood floor before she felt his presence behind her.
"Why are you so intently staring up into the cabinet? Trying to figure out a way to reach something?" He teased.
Pretending to be annoyed, Bonnie crossed her arms, "No! I'm just looking for my mug."
She stood on her tip toes and shifted side to side, jumping once or twice to try and see farther into the top shelf of the cabinet.
"I don't see it!" She complained.
"Is it the light pink one with the polka dots?" Damon asked.
"Yeah."
"Is that it?" Damon questioned, a hint of something in his voice.
"Where?!" Bonnie asked, her wide eyes searching for the mug Damon obviously had in sight.
Suddenly, Damon's hands were on either side of her head, tilting it down. Bonnie's breath held for a split second at the sweet shock that sent her nerves wild. She wished Damon wouldn't touch her, it only made things harder.
"Right in front of you!" Damon exclaimed, astonished at Bonnie's lack of observance.
There it was. Her favorite mug was on the very bottom shelf right in the first row of cups. She should've easily seen it. Anyone would've seen it as soon as they had opened the cabinet! This was only more proof to her that her mind was absorbing sounds and sights that she was trying to block out. Instead of seeing the mug, she had obviously been too preoccupied listening to Damon & Elena's exchange. She was almost embarrassed that she had overlooked something so glaringly obvious!
Damon's hands, instead of leaving her face, slowly slid down the length of her neck until they rested at her shoulders. Bonnie shivered involuntarily and instantly regretted it as she heard Damon's low chuckle.
"Cold, redbird?"
Bonnie gulped, "Y-Yeah."
In the next instant, Damon had yanked her into him. She could feel the hard planes of his well toned torso pressing into her back. She couldn't help it, she melted against him, her head lolling back to rest against his chest.
Damon made sure to keep his hands planted firmly at her shoulders as he leaned down to her rounded ear. He couldn't let his fingers dance across her smooth skin and risk everything he had just acquired.
"Don't lie to me, Bonnie."
The serious tone of his voice snapped the blissful red-head back into reality, and she lifted her head from his chest. Her eyes were big as she turned to stare up at Damon in nervous surprise.
Damon clicked his tongue and rolled his dark eyes as he smirked, "You really think I'm that stupid?! You've been moping since Elena & I started dating, of course I noticed!"
Bonnie sighed and looked down at her clammy hands as she began to wring them.
"You know how I feel." She whispered.
"Feel?!" Damon challenged, brows raised.
Bonnie's lower lip went between her teeth and then slipped from their hold as she failed to speak the corrected word Damon was anxious to hear. With a soft sigh, she hung her head low, ashamed. Damon matched her sigh with his own, her defeated stance telling him more than words ever could.
"Bonnie..." He breathed in a frustrated breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
The little red head didn't need to hear anymore. She didn't need any more rejection. She was just ready to go.
"I know. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath to keep her tears at bay before continuing, "But you won't have to deal with me anymore because in a few days I'll be leaving."
Damon's head snapped up immediately, his expression showing no signs of the irritation he felt only seconds ago. Shock consumed him.
"What?" He mumbled, staring at Bonnie intensely.
Bonnie wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek.
"I called Stefan earlier. He said I could stay with him as long as I wanted. I'm leaving this Thursday."
Damon's eyes had grown wider and angrier until it seemed as if he was staring at an insane person instead of his red-haired girl.
"That's three days from now! Are you out of your mind? You can't just pack up and leave! Have you even thought about what it would do to Meredith? Elena?!" Damon lectured.
Bonnie wiped another tear, they seemed to be falling against her will now.
"I can't stay here, Damon!"
"You can...but you're being selfish and taking the easy way out." Damon accused, his voice low and cold.
Tears flowed freely down Bonnie's cheeks as she cried.
"I can't keep watching you be with Elena! I can't!" She exclaimed, sobbing into her hands.
"So you'd rather abandon the people who love you? You'd rather live in another country than stay with your best friends and make the best of the situation?! Is that what you're telling me?"
Bonnie sniffed, "I have no other choice." She said, completely and utterly defeated.
Damon stared at her, his coal eyes growing harder by the second. With a sinister smile that only magnified how deadly his eyes looked, he spoke only two words in his native language before he left.
"Goditi l'Italia."
Bonnie didn't have to know what he said to know what he meant. He was angry with her...furious! It was that silent fury that he held onto for a long time; the same fury that he often portrayed with Stefan. It was a stone cold casing that Damon kept around himself, and sometimes...it could be impossible to break through.
"Damon!" She cried as he stormed from the kitchen.
The high pitched clack of Bonnie's mug slamming down onto the countertop rang through the room. Before Elena or Meredith had time to wonder, Bonnie flew passed them, disappearing down a long hallway and running up the stairs. The blonde and her friend shared a knowing look of concern as they heard a door slam shut. Getting up from her seat on the couch, Elena huffed as she went to find Damon. A crow cawed nearby as fierce flapping wings sounded through the outside air. Elena stopped in her tracks and sighed long and hard. Looking over her shoulder at a troubled Meredith, they both knew they were in for a long night. Nothing good ever came from Damon when he was upset with Bonnie.
Neither Elena nor Meredith saw or heard from Bonnie for the rest of the day. Finally, when the sky had grown dark they had gotten tired of waiting around.
"You think Damon's ok?" Elena asked Meredith as they both stood from the couch and stretched their knotted muscles.
"I'm sure he's fine, Elena. Just give him some time. You know how he gets with Bonnie." Meredith said through a yawn as she gently swung her arms around her.
Elena sighed through her nose, "I know. That's what worries me. He's not himself when they aren't on good terms."
"If Damon isn't back by morning, we'll go out looking, ok? He's a badass vampire...he can handle himself tonight." Meredith offered with a playful smile.
Elena's lips lifted slightly as she giggled.
Walking up to their rooms together, the friends halted in their tracks as they reached the top of the wooden steps. Down one of the hallways on their right, directly where Bonnie's room was located, Damon's voice emanated, loud and angry.
"I don't understand how you could do something so drastic over something so irrelevant!" Damon exclaimed.
"It isn't irrelevant! It's how I feel! Can't you understand that?!" Bonnie sobbed.
Elena and Meredith glanced at one another before bolting the rest of the way up the stairs and towards Bonnie's room. The friends were quiet as they snuck close to the red-head's bedroom door and listened.
"I understand that you're running away from petty issues and hurting others in the process!"
"I'm not trying to hurt anyone!" Bonnie's broken voice squeaked.
Meredith and Elena looked to one another, confusion clearly etched on their light and dark features.
"Then don't leave! Stay and find a way to deal with the situation!" Damon said, sounding as if he were begging.
Elena and Meredith only heard Bonnie's soft sobs in the silent seconds that followed.
"This is the only way I know how to deal with it! I know it'll hurt Elena and Meredith and Matt, but if I stay I'll go insane! I can't handle it, Damon...I can't!" Bonnie mumbled, beginning to cry once more as she finished.
It was silent again.
"Please don't be mad at me." Bonnie begged through audible tears.
"How can I not be? You'll be hurting the girl I love by making this choice. I'm not going to sit back and support such an unnecessary action." Damon grumbled, sounding just as broken as Bonnie.
The clop of Damon's boots sounded across the hardwood flooring and Elena and Meredith moved away from the door, waiting casually by the stair case. Damon spotted them almost immediately as he exited Bonnie's room. A devious smirk lifted up the corner of his lips. Looking back at the sniffling red-head over his left shoulder, he nodded to the two nosy girls in the hall.
"Perfect timing! Why don't you come out here and tell your best friends all about your plans!" Damon announced loud and clear.
The bad Salvatore sauntered towards them almost drunkenly, his obsidian orbs exhausted, "Bonnie has some big news to tell you!"
Elena and Meredith walked slowly into Bonnie's room to find her face buried in her palms, her shoulder's shaking softly as she cried.
Meredith was the first to reach her small friend, putting an arm around her slender figure.
"What is it, Bonnie?" Elena asked softly as she placed a hand on the red-head's upper arm.
"I...I didn't wanna tell you like...like this." Bonnie said in between hiccupped breaths.
"Tell us what, Bonnie?" Meredith asked as gently as she could.
The red-head dropped her hands from her tear stained face, wiping away the salty droplets as she sniffed. Wringing her fingers, she stared down at her hands as she answered.
"I-I'm leaving."
Elena's and Meredith's jaws dropped, hanging agape as inaudible gasps escaped.
Bonnie didn't have the courage to look up at her shocked friends, afraid of their reactions.
"I'm going to Italy...to stay with Stefan." Bonnie shared, her saddened voice barely above a whisper.
Elena's mouth snapped closed, her tongue slipping between her teeth as she bit down on it slightly.
"Italy?! Bonnie! Why on earth do you want to move there?!" Meredith asked, astonished.
Bonnie shook her head, "I just-I need a change. I-I can't stay here anymore."
"Because of Damon?" The tanned girl questioned.
Bonnie was silent, refusing to answer, too embarrassed to utter a word. What could she say without lying? How could she tell Elena without hurting her?
Meredith was speaking again, effectively ending the awkward pause she had created.
"Bonnie, if this move has to do with Damon I think you need to slow down. Don't leave over something trivial! Give yourself some time to think about this!"
Finally Bonnie looked up into her friend's eyes.
"I have! And I'm going!" She announced, firm and determined.
Meredith and Elena were a bit taken back as they stared at her. It was the most sure their petite friend had ever sounded. But her brown orbs gave her away, holding nothing but fear.
"This isn't you, Bonnie. You're not thinking clearly. The girl I know would never leave her friends to go vacationing in a foreign country alone!" Meredith said, hurt clear in her voice as her green eyes filled with tears of uncertainty. She wanted to believe her own words, but the truth was, she wasn't positive that Bonnie wouldn't leave them. She didn't know how far Damon had pushed. But maybe it had been enough to shove the sensitive girl over the edge.
Although unsure of Bonnie's final decision, Meredith was absolutely certain of who had made Bonnie feel trapped.
"I won't be alone. Stefan will be there! And it isn't a vacation. It's a lifestyle change." Bonnie mumbled the latter as she shrugged out of her friends' holds and wrapped her arms around herself.
She would break soon of she didn't keep herself together.
Meredith and Elena stared at her with wide, surprised gazes. Exotic green eyes concerned and alluring blue eyes confused. Bonnie dropped her chocolate browns to her bare feet.
"Bonnie! Please stay! Whatever it is, we can help you through it!" Meredith pleaded, trying to get through to her friend.
Tears fell directly from Bonnie's eyes onto the worn, woven rug she stood on. She began to shake her head gently from side to side.
"You can't help." She muttered.
"We can try if you just tell us what's wro-"
"It's not something that can be fixed, Elena!" Bonnie burst.
"I've tried everything. This is the only way left."
"Bonnie, just tell us what's going on! We can-" Meredith began, her tone comforting yet concerned as she tried to break through the wall Bonnie had built around herself.
"Please" Bonnie breathed, "just let me do this, ok?"
She looked up at them, her doe eyes bloodshot and begging.
"I need to do this!" She emphasized, trying to make them understand. It was the first and only time she wished she were able to use compulsion.
Reluctance heavy in their hearts, the girls nodded and silently left the room. As soon as the door shut, Bonnie threw herself on her bed and buried her face in the quilt, bawling her tired eyes out.
Bonnie woke up lying in the same position she had fallen asleep in, on her stomach with a tear stricken face. Getting up slowly and stretching her sore muscles, she snuck across the hall to the small bathroom she normally used. It only accommodated one, having a single sink and claw foot tub. Bonnie sighed as she stared at the white porcelain bowl with its rusty iron feet. Flashbacks of Damon holding her so tightly in his arms after saving her life hit the broken spot in her chest, making it ache. With a quick shake of her head, Bonnie fluffed her fiery curls and filled the tub with warm water. After cleaning herself up and dressing in a comfortable pair of burgundy sweatpants and an oversized, pink t-shirt, Bonnie dragged herself downstairs and into the kitchen. Dread filled her stomach, making her lose her appetite as she neared.
Walking through the mahogany doors, Bonnie didn't make eye contact as she went straight for the pantry to grab her favorite cereal. She groaned internally as Elena, Meredith, & Damon all went silent. Pouring about a serving size of cinnamon toast crunch into an ivory bowl & filling it with 2% milk, Bonnie quietly made her way over to the long, wooden table her friends sat at. She focused on her breakfast as she sat across from Elena & Meredith. Damon, in his usual seat at the head of the table, noticed how the red head sat as far down from him as possible, putting two chairs between them. Usually, she sat next to him. It had become routine for Damon, when he sat at their dining table, to reserve a place for both his girls. Elena at his left, and Bonnie at his right. Meredith, Stefan, and even Matt knew it to be tradition. The empty seat on Damon's right had simply become Bonnie's. For her not sit there...Elena and Meredith knew something was very wrong. Meredith seethed inside, furious with Damon for whatever he had done to her fragile friend. She had known from the start Bonnie's glum behavior was his fault. For Bonnie to be this down...it was always his fault.
Bonnie didn't dare make eye contact with a single one of them throughout the friends' awkward breakfast. None of them spoke a single word to one another. The only sounds present were the sipping of coffee, and crunching of toast and cereal bits.
Standing from the table, Bonnie slipped and glanced over at the eerily silent dark vampire at her left. Unlike Elena's and Meredith's expressions, which were undoubtedly uncomfortable, Damon's face was cold and unmoving; anger set in stone. His ebony eyes stared out at nothing, but were keenly aware of the maiden staring at him.
A frown disfiguring her hopeful features, Bonnie turned and carried her bowl and spoon to the silver kitchen sink.
Leaning over towards her boyfriend and placing a hand over his forearm, Elena spoke in hushed tones.
"Really? Is this how it's going to be?"
With no response, not even a flinch from Damon, Elena continued.
"I don't want her to leave either but you can't treat her like this! It's her choice, Damon! So make-up and be friends again! You don't want her to leave this way, do you?"
Sections of her coaxing must have broken through to the statuesque vampire as he turned his cold gaze to her, beginning a whispered argument.
"It doesn't matter to me if she leaves or not!"
Meredith rolled her eyes; Damon tried not to notice as he continued talking.
"What does matter is that she's hurting you and everyone else! She's only thinking of herself!"
His dark eyes landed on Meredith briefly, "Meredith will be depressed! Matt will be intolerable! This whole ordeal is ridiculous! Bonnie's leaving for no reason at all and she's probably going to end up hurting herself in the process!"
Bonnie's slight footsteps were heard retreating from the kitchen, but the gang continued to keep their voices low. It was Meredith's turn to speak as she leaned forward into Elena, peeking around her blonde friend as to stare accusingly at Damon.
"No reason, huh? Then please enlighten us; why is she leaving, Damon?"
Damon glowered at the brunette with the exotic Spanish complexion.
"Meredith!" Elena chastised.
"Well he seems to assume Bonnie's packing up over nothing! So he must know what her reasoning is!" Meredith countered.
Elena turned her gaze back to Damon, her lapis depths suddenly suspicious.
Damon rolled his eyes, rising from his seat with a huff, "I don't have time for this nonsense! If you believe I'm the reason she's leaving then believe it! I don't give a damn!"
"Damon!" Elena tiredly called at his leather clad back.
"Well you have to know! You were the one arguing with her over it in her room last night!" Meredith exclaimed, no longer keeping her voice down.
Damon spun, walking backward, "And you two did the same thing! Tell me, did you learn every detail?" he jabbed.
With a dastardly smirk, he spun back around, disappearing from sight.
"Ass!" The feisty brunette yelled.
Elena glanced warningly at Meredith and the olive skinned girl offered a sheepish smile.
"No offense." She said apologetically, patting Elena's shoulder.
No one saw Bonnie again until sunset when she finally came down from her room to grab some dinner. Elena and Meredith were relieved as they heard her fiddling in the kitchen, they had briefly contemplated bringing a plate of food up to her. Although desperately wanting to barge into the kitchen and talk to her, the blonde and brunette decided against it; instead, gruelingly waiting for Bonnie to finish her meal.
Shyly, the small red-head entered the living room where they all sat. She was like a timid deer, being overly cautious of her surroundings and the people in it as she slowly took a seat on the chair furthest away. Even knowing Elena and Meredith weren't mad at her, the most important out of the three was furious with her, and that was enough to make Bonnie feel entirely unwelcome.
Damon continued reading a worn, hard cover book, flipping through its wrinkled, yellow pages as if she weren't even there. Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling the high tension swirling thick in the air. She didn't dare look over at the two girls on the couch. She knew very well they were watching her, waiting for her to break as they stared on with sympathetic gazes. And she just might break if her eyes met there's.
The minutes ticked by slowly and no one spoke a word. Elena and Meredith were unsure of what to say, and Damon didn't care enough to try. Bonnie focused on her short, paint-chipped nails. She wasn't sure how much more silence she could handle. Trying hard to think of something to say, anything to ease the tension, Bonnie's eyes began to wander the room, looking for inspiration. Much to her displeasure, her brown orbs swept across Damon's lounging figure on the couch across from Elena and Meredith. His back was propped against the arm rest, his legs and feet taking up the remainder of the empty space. And just there, just passed his boots, Bonnie noticed the size six footies she had been looking for earlier. Reaching down, she touched her fingertips to the portion of her foot that stuck out from her folded under legs. Her skin was as cold as ice from going barefoot all day long. Mustering up some courage and praying that Damon would respond well, Bonnie took the opportunity as an excuse to talk to him.
She began softly, stuttering slightly, "D-Damon...could you please hand me my footies?"
The solemn vampire didn't respond, acting as if he hadn't heard her as he continued to turn the crinkled pages of his book.
Elena and Meredith watched on intently, curiosity eating away at them as they, too, waited anxiously for Damon's reply.
"D-Damon...?" Bonnie tried again, feeling more nervous by the second.
Still, there was no response, not even an indication that he had heard her. But Bonnie and the other two girls knew for a fact that he had. He had enhanced, vampire ears capable of picking up the vibrations from a footstep made a mile away.
Tears welled up in Bonnie's chocolate eyes as a lump formed in her throat. Standing from her chair, she marched over to the couch, grabbed her footies, and ran up to her room. Meredith rolled her eyes at the fake innocence the vampire portrayed as he looked up from his book.
Elena sighed as she stood from the couch to go after her friend.
"That was mean, Damon!" She scolded as she passed him.
Damon's gaze only held a flash of guilt before he blinked and repressed it all, turning to the angry brunette glaring in his direction.
"I know you know." Meredith stated once Elena had disappeared up the steps, her voice low and accusatory.
Damon's lips held a faint smirk as he swung his feet back to the floor and sat straight to face her.
"Why yes! I've been alive for many centuries, so I do know quite a lot. Glad to hear you've finally come to appreciate my intellect." He tantalized, closing his book.
"Cut the crap, Damon! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Meredith exclaimed.
"Considering I get blamed almost every time anything goes wrong around here...you might have to jog my memory of exactly what it is you think I've done now."
"Oh, that's right!" Meredith began, shaking her head as if thinking herself dumb, "Sometimes I forget that I'm talking to an old man."
Damon smirked deviously, hatred swirling in his black depths, "Well since you're so young and springy, maybe you can remember which of us has a pair of very sharp teeth?"
Losing her taunting edge, Meredith narrowed her eyes into dark green slits.
"What did you do to Bonnie?" She asked, clearly pronouncing each word.
"Why do you suspect Bonnie's behavior is my fault?!" Damon argued.
"Because anytime she's this upset it's your fault!" Meredith exploded, flinging her arms out to her sides.
"She won't speak to you, she won't sit near you, she won't even look at you! All signs point to you, Damon!"
Damon's smirk fell, his lips set in a deep frown as he hung his head low. It was the first time Meredith had seen any outward indication that he might be upset too. She watched curiously as he tangled his fingers in his raven locks, visibly frustrated by the truth in her words.
Meredith softened her voice, sewing in a lace of sympathy as she began again.
"No one can hurt Bonnie as easily as you." She paused, "You know why that is, right?"
Damon ran his hands over his face and then stood abruptly, walking over to the large fireplace barely lit with dim, orange flames. Placing his hands on the stone mantle, he braced against it, looking as if he were trying to keep it from falling.
He huffed loudly, "I'm very aware of how she feels."
There was a long pause before Meredith spoke again.
"Are you aware of how you feel?" She asked, knowing fully just how risky the question was. Damon had never taken well to being accused of caring for anyone besides Elena.
Damon whipped back around, midnight eyes furious, nostrils flared, and fangs bared.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He growled.
Unaffected by Damon's frightening outburst, Meredith shrugged, "It means that you seem to be awfully upset over Bonnie's moving plans."
Damon retracted his fangs, "Yes, because it's a rash and naive decision. One she's only going to end up regretting."
"Why is that? What's her reason for leaving? You seem to know more than I do!" Meredith burst, popping up from her seat and folding her arms across her chest.
Damon sighed inwardly, raking his fingers over his face and through his hair.
"It shouldn't be hard for you to figure out, Meredith. But if you want to know so badly, go ask Bonnie! I won't be the one to upset Elena!" Damon exclaimed, beyond frustrated with their looping conversation.
Meredith groaned exaggeratedly, pulling at her silky hair and clenching her teeth, "Why is it such a secret?! Why can't you just tell me?!"
Not bothering to acknowledge her further, Damon sped off to his master suite, unable to withstand anymore of Meredith's interrogation.
The irritated brunette plopped back down onto the wood framed sofa, making it creak. She thought hard, reaching into the depths of her mind. Bonnie's reason for leaving had to be fairly obvious for Damon to have said that it wasn't difficult to figure out. She knew Bonnie leaving had something to do with the troublesome Salvatore. She knew Bonnie had been depressed ever since Elena had chosen Da-
And it struck her right then! Bonnie was leaving because of Elena and Damon's relationship! Of course! That's why Damon didn't want Elena to know! It would break her heart to know she was hurting her best friend. On the other hand, it might also infuriate her that Bonnie wants Damon at all! Meredith was surprised at her own stupidity...how had she not been able to figure that out sooner?! It was obvious!
Meanwhile, Elena sat on Bonnie's queen bed with an arm around her sniffling friend's shoulders, attempting to reassure her that Damon didn't hate her. For the last ten minutes that she had been in the redhead's room, only now had she gotten Bonnie to stop crying and listen to her.
"Bonnie, I'm sure Damon didn't mean to be rude. You know-we all know-how he can be. He's just in one of his moods, is all!" Elena comforted, rubbing her hand up and down Bonnie's arm, as if trying to warm it.
But Bonnie knew better. She knew Damon wasn't just being himself, he was making a clear effort to ignore her as punishment for leaving. Regardless, she nodded and hung her head, strawberry curls falling in curtains around her heart shaped face.
Silence coated the room for a moment as the two girls pondered on their own thoughts.
"You know...you don't have to leave." Elena began slowly, making sure Bonnie knew there was an alternative to whatever problem was chasing her away.
Bonnie sniffed, wiping the back of her hand over her cheek bone, "There's no other way."
Elena sighed heavily, "You keep saying that but-"
"I can't stay, Elena."
Tired of hearing Bonnie's hopeless words, Elena got up and stood in front of her solemn friend, hands perched firmly on her hips.
"Now you listen to me, Bonnie! I've known you forever, and we've been through terribly hard times, and through it all, you've never been one to just give up! So don't give up now! Don't run from whatever it is chasing you off! Stay and let us help you! You don't have to be alone in whatever's bothering you!" Elena lectured, her tone as pleading as her blue orbs.
Bonnie wanted to burst into a fit of insane laughter at her best friend's plea. How she wished there was a simple solution to her problem like Elena obliviously thought.
Bonnie shook her head as her eyes filled with fresh tears, "I haven't given up. This is just the only option left to try. I don't want to leave you, any of you! But please understand!"
"I'm trying to! I really am! But how can I understand when you won't tell me what's going on?!" Elena exclaimed, exasperated.
More tears began to roll down Bonnie's flushed cheeks. Her friend had every right to be upset and confused. She put up a valid argument. How could Bonnie ask her to understand when she couldn't know the reason?
"I...I just-" Bonnie stuttered in her choked-up voice.
Elena, breathing heavily in her anxious state, ran a frustrated hand through her long golden strands.
"It is Damon, isn't it?" She blurted, her chest rising and falling quickly with her heated breaths.
Bonnie looked up into Elena's serious lapis lazuli's with a telling shyness. Luckily, her reddened, watery eyes hid the blatant nervousness in her features. Quickly looking back down from her blonde friend's intrusive gaze, Bonnie fiddled with her fingers. She heard Elena's sigh and her heart dropped before pounding rapidly in terrified anticipation.
"Are you...upset because Damon..." Elena trailed off, searching for a kind way of putting her thoughts into words.
"B-Because he chose you over me?" Bonnie finished boldly for her struggling friend, her eyes glued to her thin, trembling phalanges.
Elena was too shocked to respond, hearing the words spoken aloud that she, herself, had been too afraid to say. Just as a coherent sentence formed on the tip of her tongue, Bonnie broke down. The curly-haired girl was hunched over with her face in her hands, sobbing into her palms. She looked heartbroken, emotionally exhausted. It was the most fragile Elena had ever seen her friend, and for that reason, she was afraid to touch her. Bonnie had always been a sensitive girl, maybe overly sensitive at times, but this girl was a step away from falling over the edge.
Elena watched Bonnie's shoulders shake as she only bawled harder, tear after tear streaming down her ivory arms and onto her legs, forming minuscule puddles in the soft indents made where her elbows touched her thighs.
"I'm s-sorry, Ele-Elena!" She blurted suddenly, stuttering harshly as she tried to get the words out through her non-stop cries.
Elena was too guilt ridden to move, feeling like she had sent Bonnie into this world of agony she was stuck in. Seeing her friend fall apart right before her eyes was a heart-wrenching sight she was sure she would never be able to erase from her mind. But how could she help when she was part of the thorn that jabbed Bonnie's aching heart? What could she do to ease the pain that she was creating? Elena had never felt so helpless...so selfish! What could she say to comfort her?! Swallowing hard the lump stuck in her throat, Elena dabbed at the corners of her eyes, hoping no tears had fallen.
"You don't have to be sorry, Bonnie." Elena practically whispered, her voice hoarse in her dry mouth.
"Does...does Damon know how you feel?"
Bonnie nodded into her hands, her sobs growing into quiet hiccups.
Elena felt too overwhelmed with guilt, with pain, with sadness. The room was beginning to spin, to feel too small for comfort. She had to get out! She needed space, room to breathe, room to think. Everything was too much in this moment. All she could manage was a muttered, unintelligible mash of apologies before she was hastily exiting Bonnie's room.
Bonnie slung herself back down onto her bed and, bringing her knees up to her chest, curled into a ball. Everything was a mess, and she couldn't see a path that led to a happy ending. At least...not for her.
Elena ran into Damon halfway down the hall, but her trance-like eyes didn't allow her to truly see him. Catching her by the arms, Damon stopped her from going any further with a firm grip.
"Elena!" He said, alarmed at her zombie-like state.
"What's wrong?" He questioned, bringing his left hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
Elena flinched away from his touch, jerking herself out of his hold in the process.
"Please! I just-I just need to be alone for a while." She stammered as she rushed passed him.
Damon's black eyes glazed over, becoming hard as soft crying sounds emanated from Bonnie's half opened bedroom door. All he saw was red as he stomped toward her dimly lit room. Had she told Elena?! What had she said to make his princess so distraught?!
"What did you tell her?!" Damon demanded as he burst into Bonnie's room, startling his little bird wallowing in a nest of despair.
Propping herself up with one hand, her doe eyes were wide as she stared at him, tear droplets dripping from her flushed cheeks.
"Damon!" She exclaimed, as she tried to wipe away any evidence of her sobbing state.
"Why is Elena so upset?! What did you say?!" He questioned as he stalked closer to her, his tone only growing harsher.
Bonnie leaned back slightly, frightened by the menacing vampire towering over her.
"I-I didn't! She asked!" The petite redhead squeaked, still attempting to dry her face.
Abruptly, Damon grabbed a hold of Bonnie's upper arms and yanked her up to her knees so she was closer to his eye level. His grip didn't loosen as he held her in an inescapable lock. Bonnie's already watery orbs spilled over once more as she stared reluctantly into Damon's hostile eyes.
"AND YOU TOLD HER?!" He exclaimed, incredulous.
Bonnie tried to keep her lower lip from trembling as she bit down on it, "I couldn't lie to her!"
Damon's increasingly dark eyes looked like black holes that might just swallow her up at any second. His hold tightened and Bonnie was about to protest but his voice was too loud in her ears, scrambling her thoughts.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE?! YOU'VE RUINED THE ONLY GOOD THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!" He yelled.
Bonnie couldn't be too affected by his words, his hold was too harsh on her arms. She whimpered as she tried to break free.
Her pathetic sound of pain hit Damon's sensitive ears particularly hard and it was then he realized how tightly his fingers were digging into her delicate, alabaster skin. In an instant, his hands had loosened and released their iron hold on her arms, and Bonnie's bottom hit her heels as she dropped down, sitting on her curled under legs. The small girl didn't have time to survey the damage done to her arms, she was too busy studying Damon's face as it flashed through an array of different emotions. She only caught a few; guilt, anger, loss.
"I'm sorry." Bonnie whispered, her head bowed as she let the remainder of her tears fall.
"I'd leave sooner but I already booked my flight and I-"
Damon interrupted her rant, "I don't want to hear anymore about the damn flight!"
Bonnie shut her mouth immediately, not wanting to make him any angrier.
Raking both sets of fingers through his hair, Damon growled inaudibly low as he paced lightly in front of Bonnie's dresser, teetering on the line between sanity and insanity.
Bonnie hung her head, letting her curls fall forward to hide her puffy features. A loud crack split through the room, and she jumped, shooting her head right back up in alarm. Her eyes darted straight to Damon and she saw the vanity mirror above her dresser cracked where he had punched it.
The dark vampire looked upon his girl once more, his eyes studying her every detail. Her slender frame, her messy curls, her red-rimmed chocolate eyes, the pink flush across her tear-stained cheeks and button nose. Then another girl popped into his mind, clouding his vision of the beautifully tragic maiden unintentionally beckoning to him without a single word or movement.
This girl was gorgeous, the exact replica of an angel on earth. Her golden blonde hair was silken and straight as a pin. Her lapis eyes were kind and alluring. Her perfectly pink, full lips called for his. There wasn't a single flaw to her person. He was sure it was her he belonged with. Damon's mind cleared alongside his sight, allowing him to see Bonnie once again, and suddenly, all the joy and certainty he felt drained, leaving him to second-guess himself. Without another word, he swiftly turned and walked from the room.
Only seconds after his departure, Meredith arrived, green eyes wide and frantic.
"What happened?! I heard yelling and then a big crack! Like glass-"
Bonnie pointed at her mirror, effectively stopping Meredith's rant.
"Did Damon do this?" She asked, surveying the circular, cracked spot on the top right corner of the mirror.
Bringing her knees to her chest, Bonnie folded her arms over top and buried her face in the hole made between them.
"I've messed everything up, Meredith." She mumbled.