Summary

Elena chooses Stefan over her best friend A devastated Bonnie packs up and leaves town in the middle of the night, without a word to anyone. Returning to Mystic Falls five years later, she notices how all of her friend's lives have changed. She tries to stay out of their lives but when one of them goes missing Bonnie knows it is going to be harder said then done.

Disclaimer: I do not own VD. All rights go to L.J. Smith and the CW

Chapter 1

Bonnie would have never thought that she would end up back in Mystic Falls. She had run away because she felt like the only person she could ever really trust had basically booted her out their life. As Bonnie drove into town she grabbed the two envelopes sitting on her dashboard. She gripped the steering wheel as she read the note on the back of one.

Dear Bonnie

I know you may be busy with other things but Caroline and I would love it if you could be in our wedding. It is a month from now and it would make us grateful if you came and made an appearance. I am sure Caroline would want you in the wedding and it would mean the world to us.

So please RSVP and I plan to see you soon.

Your Friend

Matt.

Bonnie was completely shocked when she received the letter and that Caroline would want her it. When Bonnie left, Caroline had decided not to talk to her because she felt like Elena wasn't the only friend Bonnie had in Mystic Falls that cared for her and it wasn't fair to leave everyone without so much as one word. Bonnie knew Caroline was right but leaving felt like the best thing to do at the time. She tried explaining that to Caroline one day when she had called but she didn't want to hear it. To Caroline there was no excuse for leaving without saying anything and Bonnie could do nothing but accept that fact.

So after that phone call Caroline had not kept in contact with her and Bonnie knew the invitation was from Matt without even opening the small note. He was in fact the only other person in Mystic Falls besides her dad who still talked to her. It was sweet of him to invite her and she wanted to congratulate him in person on his engagement to Caroline, not over the phone or in some card. She felt like this was going to make Caroline happy as well to know that she was going to be here for her wedding day.

Bonnie placed the invitation down in the passenger seat and glanced at the other paper in her hand. The second reason she decided she needed to come back was because her dad had died three days ago. She couldn't be there for the funeral so the next best thing was to visit his grave. The person she spoke to over the phone told her that her dad had left everything to her. His house, car, and whatever else it was he had. Of course, she was extremely heartbroken when she heard of the death. Her dad had always been there for her. He had called her twice a month always making sure the world wasn't being to hard on her or she wasn't being too hard on it. She would miss those conversations with him. He had not liked when Bonnie left but decided it was her own choice. He would send her money whenever she needed it and in return she would send him pictures of herself from everywhere. Bonnie's vision began to get blurry from the tears forming in her eyes. She picked up a tissue and dabbed away, going back to focusing on her driving.

Driving for 12 hours straight without a bathroom would make other people crazy but not Bonnie. Being on the road for the past couple of years she got use to things and working at weird places to make her money to eat. Whatever she could get her hands on is what she would eat. It wasn't hard for her to survive out her because she had learned how to take care of herself. Her magic had become quite powerful so she could sense danger a mile a way. This new found sense had saved her life a few times. She had never resorted to using the magic unless it was absolutely dire and that happened once. When she had no choice, thinking about it made her want to forget, so that is what she did.

She finally arrived to the house at about 10:00 at night. Bonnie thought it was good that she got in late so that no one could see her arrive. She pulled the car to a stop in the drive way. Opening the car door she got out and looked around. It felt weird to be in Mystic Falls again after being away for so long. Not knowing everyone who lived in town seemed to make her look back to when she could name almost everyone that she saw in the small town. The place she so often use to call home didn't feel like it was home anymore. She didn't have a home anymore in her new life.

She made her way up the walkway until she was standing by the front door. Her dad had sent her a spare key the first time she sent him a picture of her. He said that he wanted her to have it and know she could come home anytime she was ready. Bonnie never thought about going back but was glad she had kept the key. Placing it into the lock she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Bonnie stepped inside and the atmosphere felt warm and cozy like it had always been. The feeling of being home washed over Bonnie. Her father's death had not felt real until this moment. She leaned against the wall and slid down slowly letting the tears stream out of her eyes. She knew it was not a good time to break down but she just had to get it out before it took a toll on her. So she set there for the next ten minutes letting the salty water fall. When she heard a knock at the door, she didn't want anyone to know she was here so she kept quiet, turning her sobs as quiet as they could go.

It was silent for a minute and she thought the person had left. There was then a sound of a key and the door opening. She looked up and saw Matt standing there.

"Bonnie." He said staring at his friend. She had called him when she was 10 minutes away. Walking in here must have made her forget. He came inside shutting the door behind him. Hugging her and this only made Bonnie want to cry even more, so that is exactly what she did. Matt moved Bonnie to the sofa as she cried on his shoulder until she felt like she should get herself together. She pointed to the tissue beside Matt and he moved to get the box of tissues lying on the table.

"Here you go." She took it out his hands and started to wipe the tears from her face again.

"Thanks." He nodded and she grabbed another tissue. "I am so sorry for you to have to comfort me."

"Don't worry about it. I am your friend and I am here for you." Bonnie smiled and patted his knee. Bonnie looked over to him and knew he was probably the only friend she still had left in Mystic Falls. While she was gone, she would call Matt and they would talk about almost everything. He had even taught her how to gamble over the phone. This had helped her win some extra cash when she needed it fast. She thought about this and figured without Matt's help she wasn't sure where exactly she would be. She wanted cover the silence so she chose a topic to talk about.

"So how is the wedding planning going?" Matt smiled and sat back in the couch.

"Caroline is about ready to pull her hair out and Elena is thinking about helping her do it. It all seems to be stressing her out." Matt looked up to Bonnie as her face saddened again. He forgot that Bonnie and Elena had not talked in years and as far as he knew from the conversations they held Elena was also the reason that she had left. She never gave him a specific reason and he wouldn't push her to tell him. "You know being back here; you are going to run into them. Hope you haven't forgotten how very small this town is."

"I know. I don't know if they would want to see me. I hurt Caroline when I left and haven't even spoken to Elena," Bonnie said getting up and walking into the kitchen with Matt following behind her. "I mean she decided all those years ago that she didn't want me in her life. I plan on leaving as soon as the wedding is over."

"So far I would say that is about a month. You can't be here for that long without one of them seeing you or hearing about you being back in town."

"Yeah I didn't think so." Bonnie said opening the fridge and looking to see what was in there.

"You can try and talk to them yourself." Bonnie agreed she didn't know what it would be like to see the people, who use to know every single thing about her, but one thing she did know for sure was that whether good or bad it was going to be an intense sight.

"So are her and Stefan still together?" Bonnie asked intrigued to find out if the man that her friend had chosen her over was still together.

"Yeah and they seem happy but I am not sure. I think his brother is causing some trouble between them. He then comes and goes as he pleases." Bonnie finally landed her eyes on a bottle of water.

"You want one?" She said holding it up.

"No thanks. I am about to leave in a minute. Caroline and I have tons of things to do tomorrow. So I have to be up bright and early." Bonnie placed the bottle on the counter.

"I hope you have fun doing that." She said sitting on the stool.

"I don't think so but it is what she wants so I am going to give it to her." Bonnie walked over behind Matt.

"Matt, your sweet. Caroline is a very lucky to soon call you her husband and I am very lucky to call you my friend."

"I know everyone is lucky when I am in their lives." Matt said smiling. Bonnie slapped his arm and laughed. Matt's presence had made her feel so much better; to see him and talk to him had made her feel like she had never left in the first place. He got up to walk to the door. "You should come by the house when you get a chance. Tomorrow we are having a dinner so you should stop by."

"I'll try but I can't promise anything." he opened the door and was about to walk out when she spoke. "Matt, Thanks for coming over. I feel better now knowing I can count on you."

"You know you can always count on me." He said before walking out and closing the door behind him. Bonnie went to lock the door and headed upstairs. On her way up her fathers room came into view she didn't want to go in there yet, she wasn't ready to start packing up his things. It would be too much for her to handle by herself.

Walking past his room and into hers, she looked around. Everything had been exactly the same as when she left. She walked inside and peered at the pictures on her mirror. She took the picture of her and Elena down, it was the first day of elementary school and Elena's mom had taken lots of them. Bonnie remembered the day clearly because it was the same day; she found out that Elena was more than her best friend but her sister. From that day on Elena and her were inseparable. Until Stefan of course she said to herself.

She placed the picture back up and grabbed the one she had of Caroline, Matt, Elena, Tyler, and her. It was the end of the homecoming from freshmen year. The boys were on the JV football team and we were on the JV cheerleading squad. It was a great year and the thoughts of going back to those times when everything was much easier became clear in her head.

Observing the picture closely, she noticed how everyone was positioned. Matt had his hands around Elena's waist and she was leaning against his chest. Caroline and Bonnie stood next to her and Tyler was in the middle of the two of them with his arms wrapped around their shoulders. "I wish all of us could be friends like we were then but I know people change over time and everything can't stay the same." That didn't mean Bonnie wouldn't try to make them the same again. She laid the picture on the dresser and hopped up on her bed. She thought about how Elena and Caroline would react when she knew she was back in town. Caroline probably already knew which meant that Elena did too. Maybe I would take Matt up on his invite to the house for dinner, seeing the old gang would be good for me, Bonnie thought.

Bonnie went to open the window because it had felt kind of stuffy in here. Laying her head on the pillow her eyes closed and she was soon asleep. A breeze passed through her room and if you listened closely you could hear something. It sounded like a whisper and this is exactly what it said.

Poor Baby, the worst is yet to come.

A/N: So tell me what you think. I plan on having some flashbacks to explain how everyone got to where they are now. Especially the day Bonnie left. So Review please, it would mean the world to me.