Merry Christmas! I know I've been quiet this week, but between Yuletide 2010 and finishing up my gift fics...well it's be a bit of a battle. I thought I would share the Vampire Diaries centric fics with you guys. I hope you enjoy. First up is Bonnie x Jeremy centric fic, there's an accompanying fanmix on LJ.

Cartwheels

I. Butterflies

Jeremy felt them the first day of his freshman year of high school. She'd walked down the hall, head held high, and the cutest smirk lining her lips. He looked over his shoulder, swearing that she couldn't be headed in his direction. There was no way she was coming for him. Then it happened, she took his hand, and steered him through the crowd of upperclassmen. They stared, some laughed, and others stepped back and allowed the two friends to navigate the freshly waxed halls. Her ponytail swayed from side to side, her pom-poms swished, and he thought he was the luckiest guy in the entire school. He'd struggled to breathe, every time her green eyes met his. His stomach fluttered, flipped, twisted, and turned.

Bonnie Bennett was perfection.

Just like that the moment ended. She delivered him to his homeroom, mouthed a quick good luck, before falling into the arms of a stocky defensive lineman.

In the past two years he'd fallen for Vicki, adored Anna, but for reasons he never understood, his stomach turned into a rogue kamikaze pilot whenever he saw her. Over candles and open books in the Salvatore study, he rediscovered a crush that had existed since the day she knocked on their front door and asked if his sister could come out and play. There were no traces of the lisp that once burdened her tongue or the battered bear she carried everywhere.

The butterflies…

Always the butterflies…

II. Kisses

All of them had forgotten how to have fun. Plagued by wrinkled foreheads and rapid heartbeats inspired by fear.

Damon of all people came through with the ultimate plan. He laid a stack of tickets on the table in the library, wicked gleam filling his eyes.

Ben Harper…Bonnie laughed as her fingers traced the glossy paper. He was one of her father's favorites. Though Dr. Bennett leaned towards the artist's more angst ridden songs, she loved the lighter tunes that spoke of diamonds and stolen kisses. They piled into three cars and made their way from Virginia to North Carolina. Her eyes drifted to Jeremy during the ride. His hands gripped the steering wheel. She loved this. The new improved, matured young Mr. Gilbert, who mixed impulse with excitement. It didn't hurt that his shoulders were broader and his smile wider. She bit her bottom lip, pushing back the thoughts that filled her head.

He was her best friend's brother, it had to be a sin to contemplate the taste of the chap stick he constantly spread across that tender, pale pink skin…she had to get a grip. She forced her eyes to study the road for the rest of the ride.

Emerging from the car and quickly accepting the hug that Caroline offered. The girls piled into the club. And when Bonnie heard the opening notes of 'Steal My Kisses', she made her way to front of the sea of people; weaving in and out of the steady stream of dancers and partiers until she reached the stage. Lost in the trance created by the thumbs that strummed the guitar, she didn't feel the hands that circled her waist, not until foreign lips grazed her bare shoulder.

Bonnie turned her head and for a brief second she pressed her mouth to Jeremy's.

It was better than what she expected.

Stolen kisses quickly became her favorite thing.

III. Lovers

Their first time…

Bonnie's very first time…

Jeremy was going to be her first.

She had said yes to him months before; finally kissing him and giving in to what they both felt. There was hesitation in that moment, but it quickly gave way to the quickest, deepest connection they both had ever known. She told him once that she remembered how to smile when they were together. She was a girl, a dumb teenager, completely in love with her boyfriend.

He'd gone out of the way to make it perfect; her favorite food, a bottle of peach schnapps, and clean sheets. She was shaking when he reached for her. Goosebumps lined her skin when his fingers traced her collar bone. He felt her heart pounding between her lungs when he pulled her to his chest.

She was the bravest person he knew, standing strong and tall despite the losses she'd experienced in her short life, and right now Bonnie freely gave Jeremy her most precious gift.

He was careful, taming his raging hormones, urging his lips and hands to be gentle. Her mouth was sweet, her tongue a tangled web of talent that caused him to break out into an immediate sweet. She hissed when the pads of his thumbs brushed across her nipples. A wry grin curved her lips when he pulled. He remembered and tempered the brewing storm.

Bonnie raised her arms and allowed Jeremy to lift the shirt from her body. He studied her and the way the lace skimmed her curves.

"You're beautiful."

She shivered with his words and touch, melting under the kiss he delivered to the crook of her neck.

"Are you sure?"

Tiny hands cupped his face and she nodded her head in agreement before she pressed her mouth to the skin left uncovered by gray v-neck straining across his chest.

"I'm sure."

It was what he'd wanted for so long. Not the physical aspect, the intimacy, he could feel her spirit, entwining with his, and he didn't know if it was magic or destiny. Their bodies slowly merged into one. He lost himself in her, he let go of the past, and embraced their future.

With Bonnie Bennett, Jeremy Gilbert was a new creature, her love proved to be life changing, and this would be a snapshot in time that he would never forget.