A/N: AND WHERE THE FLYING FUCK WAS BONNIE DURING THE BALL? DON'T WORRY, I took it upon myself to write a one shot post 3x14, after the infamous Debekah hook-up, since she always seems to be left out of everything (though I imagine she wouldn't be caught dead dancing in Klaus' mansion, lol). But back to Damon/Rebekah... how did you all feel about it, btw? Do you think the show will EVER lead to Bamon? Be sure to include your thoughts when you review. ;) Enjoy!

Take Care

"I know you've been hurt by someone else,

I can tell by the way that you carry yourself,

But if you let me, here's what I'll do- I'll take care of you,

I've loved, and I've lost..."

-Rihanna

"You're late, I've been waiting," Damon said lazily, as he opened the front door, and the witch before him rolled her eyes, as she strolled right past him, and into the Boarding House.

He shut the door behind her, as they headed into the living room, and Bonnie set her grimoire down on the coffee table, and sighed.

"Good morning to you too, Damon," she replied snarkily. "But I got here as fast as I could. Abby wanted to 'talk,'" Bonnie said plainly, and Damon crossed his arms.

"Oh, right. Your witchy juju Mom... how is she, by the way?"

"Why? Do you actually care?" Bonnie asked with a raised brow, and Damon scoffed.

"Absolutely not," he replied.

"Then good," Bonnie sighed, almost in relief, as she dreaded the idea of even thinking about Abby for another minute. "Why'd you call me here so early? Is everything okay?"

Damon opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped. Where should he begin? Bonnie had missed a lot in the past 24 hours, and knowing her, and her bitchy, judgy, ways, he'd probably be in for a verbal beating if he didn't figure out the best way to fill her in on everything that was going down.

They weren't "friends," or at least he wasn't admitting to it, but things between he and the witch were definitely on the upside; as far "up" as they could be, anyway.

He wasn't trying to kill her, she wasn't trying to kill him, and if he were honest, Elena wasn't the only reason he was concerned with Bonnie. Yes, she was the "resident witch," and all, but that aside, he'd grown used to her. So much so, imagining life without her moralistic "What Would Bonnie Do?" attitude just wouldn't be the same. Who else would rip him a new one for his sinful behavior?

So, they were friends. He'd just... never tell anybody. Ever.

Damon sat down on the couch, and Bonnie followed suit, as he folded his hands, and his deep blue eyes met hers, in a serious stare.

"Elena... did something last night, and I'm not sure that I trust it," he admitted, and the brunette cocked her head. "She... gave Esther her blood, so that she could perform a spell that would link all of the Originals, and she'd be able to kill them," he explained, and Bonnie's mouth dropped.

"Wait, what?"

Damon let out an incredulous laugh, and cracked his knuckes.

"So she didn't tell you she was planning on helping Esther, either? Seems I wasn't the only one left out of the loop," Damon said bitterly.

Bonnie let out a long sigh as she studied his eyes, and tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ears, as Damon let out a tired yawn.

Why did Elena always do dumb shit when she wasn' t around?

"Wait, but if Esther wants to kill the Originals, is this really a bad thing?" Bonnie asked, and Damon sighed.

"Well, no, but do you really think that's all there is to it? Doppelganger blood, and poof, Klaus and his screwed up family are out of our lives forever?" he asked, suspiciously. "Seems just... too good to be true."

Bonnie sighed; he had a point. This was the very same witch who tried to help Vicki Donovan kill Elena, not too long ago.

"I... need to talk to Elena. Find out exactly what happened- maybe I can look up the spell, find out exactly what it means," Bonnie contemplated, and Damon shrugged, as he kicked his feet up onto the table.

"Good luck. She's been a dream to deal with," he answered, and Bonnie's eyes squinted as she looked at the vampire.

His raven hair was slightly messy, his eyes were sleepy; he just looked so relaxed.

Too relaxed.

"What happened to you?" Bonnie asked bluntly, and Damon shifted on the couch as he eyed her.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked coyly, and Bonnie scoffed as she continued to stare at him, never breaking her gaze.

"You look... tired," she said suspiciously, and Damon smirked knowingly, causing Bonnie to cross her arms over her body. "Did I... miss something?"

Before he could answer, Stefan strolled into the living room, with an unexplainable look on his face, as he grabbed his leather jacket off of the chair.

His brown hair, perfect as usual, and his chiseled jaw ticked as he walked in unapologetically. Bonnie almost didn't recognize the guy before her, anymore.

"Yeah, Damon," the green-eyed vampire began, with a taunting tone to his voice. "Tell Bonnie about your slumber party," Stefan said, and Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed.

"Did Elena... sleep over?" Bonnie asked cautiously, and Stefan let out a dark laugh as he slipped his arms through his sleeves.

"No, not quite. Damon likes blondes now," Stefan revealed, and Bonnie's mouth dropped, as Damon held his hannds up in defense. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of," Stefan added sweetly, as he exited.

Bonnie instantly turned back to Damon as soon as she heard the door slam.

"You and Caroline?" she exasperated, in a harsh whisper, and Damon sneered at the witch's accusation.

"Are you insane, Judgy? No, not Caroline! Been there, done that," he evaded, and Bonnie sighed. "I... sort of hooked up with Rebekah," he admitted slowly, only garnering even wider eyes from the brunette. "What? She's cute!"

"She wants to kill Elena, Damon! You're joking right? Why are you so... easy?" she screeched, and he scoffed.

"I resent that, Witchy," he pointed out, as he stood, and neared the closest bottle of bourbon. "Besides, what's the big deal? It's just sex- I'm not switching over to the dark side, or anything. So what if Elena was pissed this morning, woop-de-friggin'-doo," he added blandly, as he poured his drink.

Bonnie sighed, and her foot tapped against the rug incessantly, while the smug vampire smiled in the face of his own very bad decision.

How could one person be so self-destructive?

"You know why she was upset, Damon," Bonnie said flatly, and he took back a sip from his glass as he shrugged.

"Because Rebekah wants to kill her-"

"Because she loves you, Damon," Bonnie cut in, and the blue-eyed vampire looked away. "And as much as you don't want to believe or admit it... you know that it's true. Elena is mad because she loves you," Bonnie stated, echoing the very words that he had said to the doppelganger, himself, last night. "How could you be so stupid?" she asked bluntly.

Damon watched as Bonnie's forehead wrinkled, and he bit his lip silently, before taking another sip of his drink. The witch was right- how could do this? With Rebekah, of all people?

Oh, that's right; because Elena hurt him, again, when he put his cards out on the table; again.

That doe-eyed bitch made it a hobby of hers to rip his fucking heart out, any chance that she got. And so, she deserved a lushy/lusty hook-up tale, post-Rebekah-fling.

Hell fucking yes, she had it coming.

He'd seen the way Elena grew incredibly rigid, and amusingly jealous at the bon fire; the night when Damon first turned on his charm to distract the blonde minx, herself. He'd never imagined he'd pull the Rebekah card, again, but he did.

And you know what? He didn't regret it, one bit.

"Elena and I will never be together," he replied. "Rebekah was lonely, and I was bored. What's the big deal? Let's just call it 'poetic justice,'" he smirked, but Bonnie didn't smile.

In fact, she clenched her fists into tight balls, and glared at him; olive eyes, with a hint of rage behind them.

"You're going to screw things up with her, Damon," Bonnie said, as she stood up, and the vampire licked his teeth slowly.

"You don't know what she said, Bonnie. About the fact that I 'love her' being a problem," he revealed coldly, though Bonnie could sense the pain in his voice.

Bonnie didn't crack, as she stared at him angrily.

"She's just confused, Damon. Why can't you see that?" she asked, and he let out an incredulous laugh.

"And why do you care?" he asked suddenly, as he neared her so quickly, it made Bonnie lose her breath. "This isn't a witch problem. Doesn't that mean you automatically forfeit all participation?" he asked roughly.

Bonnie exhaled a deep breath, and stared into the eyes of the vampire she once loathed-hated with a fiery passion-and then, she merely tolerated-as she soon realized Damon cared about Elena just as much as she did.

She knew his faults; she knew that Damon was rude, unpredicatable, and volatile. Bonnie knew that at the snap of your fingers, he could fly off the handle without proper justification, just because he "felt like it."

He was good guy pretending to be the ultimate "bad guy," with a damaged heart; he was damaged goods.

So, why did she care if he apologized to Elena, or not? If Damon didn't apologize, and subsequently lost Elena's trust, the doppelganger would simply "be without him," and probably find some way to be with Stefan, again. Elena's life would be easier, Bonnie thought.

So why tell him these things; these things about Elena caring about him?

Because Bonnie, herself, cared about Damon.

As hard as she tried to fight it, she came to the realization one day; Bonnie Bennett cared about Damon Salvatore. Maybe it was the way she learned that she could trust him, the time she "died" to save Elena's life, and Damon kept her secret. Maybe it was the moment when Stefan came to her, asking for a cure to the werewolf bite, and she gave it to him, because she couldn't imagine life without Damon.

Maybe it was the fact that, though she was great at hiding any traces of it, she felt something-something weird, but constant- for the vampire, and seeing him happy would secretly make her happy.

And right now, she knew he wasn't happy.

Despite the confidence in his eyes, and the sureness in his face, she could feel it- the regret, the uncertainty- radiating off of his skin. Damon was suffering- she regrettably knew him all too well, at this point.

She regrettably cared about him in ways that she shouldn't have; ways that embarassed, enraged, and annoyed her.

She took "loving thy enemy" quite too literally.

"I care because I... I care about Elena," Bonnie said, after she cleared her throat, defensively. "And if you wanna make things right-which I know you do-I think that you should man up and talk to her," Bonnie let out, though it made her insides boil.

Damon stared at her blankly, with stagnant blue eyes, and she gulped when she realized just how stunning he really was. The way his black t-shirt bounced off of his skin, creating the perfect contrast between his natural paleness, and his unmistakable eyes was simply breathtaking.

He was beautiful; far too beautiful for words. Just too beautifully broken, for his own good.

Bonnie shook her head, and rolled those thoughts out of her head; those threatening thoughts that had plagued her from the very moment she trusted Damon with her life, and he surprisingly delivered, as he helped her trick Klaus into thinking that she was dead.

He didn't break his promise. He looked out for her, just like any friend would.

The moment when she realized she liked him. The moment when she realized she'd never be able to admit it.

Damon finished off his drink and studied her, in the long silence, watching the faint glow behind her emerald eyes, and the warm disposition of her skin. Her straight brown hair was tucked behind her ears, and the expression she wore was enigmatic.

Why couldn't he figure out her motives? He'd always been good at that, until clearly, today.

Today, he couldn't figure Bonnie Bennett out if his non-life depended on it.

"You really think she'll forgive me?" he finally asked quietly, and Bonnie sighed.

Of course she would. She was Elena- and she was fucking perfect. So annoyingly perfect.

"She will because she loves you," Bonnie said slowly, and the vampire sighed, as he placed his glass down, and tapped his foot.

With his hands at his waist, he looked pensive, as he figured out the best way to approach this situation. He'd had sex with Rebekah; she wasn't just a random- she was somebody who'd threatened the woman that he loved.

Wasn't that unforgivable, in itself?

"I guess I'll... apologize," he relented, and Bonnie nodded silently, though her heart was poundng out of her chest.

He stood so closely to her; she could smell the faint bourbon on his pursed lips; she'd imagined the way it burnt going down- she'd imagined his pain, over and over again.

She breathed in his regret.

"It's a... good decision, Damon," Bonnie forced out, though her stomach was doing backflips.

He didn't respond, and she sent him a quaint smile; her smile burned her, all the way down to her core.

"So, Esther..." he began, breaking the silence, and Bonnie nodded quickly, as she picked up her grimoire, almost forgetting why she had come there in the first place, after reading his urgent text message. They were actually texting. She decided not to overthink it.

They were partners-in-crime first, something-that-resembled-friends second.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna call and Elena, see exactly what Esther did... maybe I can find a way to look more into the spell, find out the full effect," Bonnie said quickly, as she flipped through the pages sporadically.

She suddenly felt a hand grip her wrist, an Bonnie looked up, to see Damon holding her skin, tightly in his fist.

Bonnie stared at him curiously, and the man cleared his throat.

"Thank you," he said, softly, "For saying what you said. It... was a wake-up call," Damon confessed, and Bonnie felt her throat dry up as he stared at her, for what felt like, a decade.

Damon had never stared at her, life this.

He mostly reserved his witty remarks, annoying banter, and cold stares for his one and only witch, and he never thought twice about it.

But the way he was looking at her now- as if he admired her, and actually valued the fact that she was in his life- it was overwhelming. It was strangely satisfying. Damon knew that Bonnie was the one person who wasn't afraid to let him have it; she never put up with his shit before, and she clearly wasn't going to, now.

Bonnie was that one friend who told you when you were being an ass, while the rest of the world found a way to comfort you for your asinine mistakes. Bonnie was that girl; a true friend, even if he'd never be able to call her one, out loud.

He didn't have to.

The unspoken bond between the two was just that- a bond. And despite the feelings that could have been developed at the right place/time/moment, Bonnie knew better; she knew Damon's heart belonged to Elena. It would always be Elena; she would be foolish to even think otherwise. Fate would never allow it.

And she knew that, despite the fact that Damon's thumb was unknowingly rubbing her wrist, and she was allowing it, they'd never be more than this; they'd never be more than two beings with a shared interest in protecting Elena Gilbert.

They were a pair of two strong-willed, empowered, but broken, and hopeless beings that would always put her safety-her happiness- before their own; no matter the cost. Elena would make Damon happy; and seeing Damon happy was all that Bonnie could really ask for.

The guy had spent centuries in pain, and if you asked her, he was still paying for his sins. And though she didn't exactly believe being with Elena was a good idea, the normally outspoken witch would never admit to thinking otherwise.

She was her best friend; her perfectly, perfect, best friend.

Damon deserved perfection.

"Don't thank me," Bonnie replied modestly, as Damon's eyes transfixed on hers. "I'm saying this for Elena," she lied.

Damon nodded in acceptance, and dropped her wrist, as he quickly retrieved his cell phone from his pocket, and dialed the number that Bonnie knew, just by the pitch of the tones, as his fingers hit the keys.

"Fair enough, Witchy," Damon said plainly, before he spun on his heel, and exited the room, with the phone pressed to his ear, ready to offer Elena the million and one apologies that she "deserved" for him being so reckless, protective, impulsive, and controlling- for him being so human; for him simply being in love.

Bonnie watched as he disappeared, and her fingertips ran over the words on the page in her grimoire, though she didn't bother to look down at it.

It's for the best, she whispered to herself, though the tightness in her throat screamed otherwise.

Falling for Damon was not an option.

But it wasn't a choice, either.

How could one person be so self-destructive?

A/N: Sigh, heartbreaking enough? lol. Do you think it'll ever get to the point on TVD where Damon must choose between Bonnie and Elena? Also, how about the idea of Bonnie being the one falling for him first, for a change? Gah. I'm sad that I wrote this. Broke my own Bamon heart, lmao. Review anyway! :)