Summary: She's curious. Bonnie has always been curious about Damon Salvatore. That curiosity just might become the true death of her.
Disclaimer: I do not claim TVD or Teen Wolf as my own
...
Nor do I want to.
Note: Both are up to date with their canons. Also I am fully aware that crossovers can be placed in the crossovers section-I just don't want to do that. Yolo.
Ch. 1 Code
"Do you think it'll hurt?"
"I don't kn-"
The blinding light, though purely just something that should only affect sight, cut Damon off. Bonnie squeezed Damon's hand, hoping he was still there, prompting him to finish. Her eyes couldn't bare the brightness in the rip of the Other Side so she squeezed her eyelids shut, the desired darkness and quick relief proving futile. It was still so bright and colors she never seen before started to form before her.
Though she was experiencing this, the rip and blaring light came and left, Damon's hand disappeared, and Bonnie's eyes flew open in panic, "Damon?!"
Her cry echoed in an off-putting way as she looked about her new surroundings.
It was a room.
Or a floor.
With rows of bright fluorescent lights above her head.
"Damon...?" She tried again, quieter because the space seemed to demand that of her as she looked north, south, east, and west of her. Nothing extraordinary stood out. Just a colorless room, perfectly waxed floor, and an uncomfortable abundance of lights above her.
"Damon!" Bonnie moved forward...not really sure if it really was forward or not. Where was she? Was she dead? Of course she was. It wouldn't make sense if she wasn't. But Damon? Where was he? She had his hand. He was right beside her. There was no way the void took him away from her.
She gulped.
No, no. Maybe this was what Grams meant about having her back. And only her back. This made the former witch frown as she picked up her pace, the heels of her feet clanking against the ground, "Damon?! Damon if you can hear me, say something!"
Nothing but her echo dissipated around her. She stopped walking and felt as empty as the room. She could feel her throat tighten and her vision blur when a strange pull in her chest prompted her to look to her left.
She did, taking in a steadying breath as a brunette, no older than Jeremy's age, walked gracefully pass her in the direction Bonnie came from. Her eyes looked vacant but her jaw firm and sure.
Defiant.
She reminded Bonnie of an Elena that seemed to no longer exist.
"Wait, excuse me, wait!" Bonnie fell into step with the girl who didn't acknowledge her at all.
"Hey, do you know where we are?"
The girl didn't respond.
Bonnie frowned but continued at her side. There was no one else here and maybe the reason the girl wasn't responding had something to do with the vacant look in her eyes. Like she was dead and only moving to get to where some invisible voice was calling for her.
The thought terrified Bonnie so she grabbed the girl's shoulder gently, surprising the former witch that she came to a halt.
The girl blinked furiously and looked around before her chestnut brown eyes fell on Bonnie. The teenager took in a haggard breath and looked about her again, "No...th-this is real...oh god this is really happening."
She shook her head in the negative, disbelief coloring her once sure face, as her knees buckled, making Bonnie grab her forearms to help her stay up, "I'm dead-I really died-my dad-Lydia-oh God-Scott. No-!"
She brought a shaky hand to her mouth, trying to keep in a cry that came out anyway as her body begged to slump to the ground. Bonnie reluctantly allowed it, feeling sorry for the girl as the two sat on the ground together and the teenage girl sobbed into her. A stranger.
But considering they were the only two in the massive room and very dead, who cares about being strangers and crying into the arms of one?
Bonnie swallowed her own sobs but silent tears did fall without her consent as she rocked the younger girl in her arms, trying to coax her. It's not like death wasn't already acquainted with her and exhausted all pain and heartache. She was no stranger to death but this girl...this had to be her first time. And possibly her only.
The sense of time must be warped in this vacant space because Bonnie wasn't sure whether it was a while or a fleeting moment when they both started and stopped crying. The girl took in a steadying breath, looked down at her hands, and murmured her thanks to Bonnie.
"It's ok...I'm just glad I'm not alone here," Bonnie admitted, giving her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
The girl looked up and gave her a half-hearted, watery grin, nodding in agreement, "Me too."
"I'm Bonnie."
"Allison."
Bonnie stood to her feet and held out her hand to help Allison up, looking around for any signs of new activity or wandering spirits. Nothing but white.
"Do you know where we are? When I woke you up you seemed like you recognized this place?"
Allison hesitated a little, pulling her lips in before pulling her hair back behind her ear, "No. Not really...it's like a type of purgatory-me and two other friends of mine had to stop our hearts to save our parents. We showed up here when we did."
Bonnie looked at her for a little more clarification but Allison seemed to not intend to elaborate. Maybe being strangers in the afterlife still was a sort of big deal.
"Do you think this is a purgatory for every kind of spirit?" Bonnie tried.
Allison looked thoughtful before carefully nodding, "I think so. Do you mean human and...and supernatural alike?"
The brunette said "supernatural" in a careful way, as if she wasn't completely sure if she should use that word towards Bonnie.
It was Bonnie's turn to nod, "Yes! See, a friend of mine and I were in a specific purgatory for just supernaturals. It was-" she paused before quickly continuing, "-falling apart, literally breaking in on itself-"
Allison furrowed her brows, "For just supernaturals...? One of my friends that came here with me the first time is a werewolf so-if that's the case he should have gone to-where you went right?"
"Yes...but he would have to pass through me to get to that place-to the Other Side." Bonnie noticed Allison's use of the present tense when concerning her friend. He must still be alive. But she couldn't assume anything. She was anchor for a short time. Who knows how long ago Allison and her friends played dead.
Allison nodded her understanding to Bonnie's last answer, "Maybe since he was with two humans he was able to come with us-"
She frowned before looking back to Bonnie, "Your friend, is he a werewolf?"
Bonnie shouldn't be amused but she was as she grinned with humor. She could imagine the look on his face if he heard Allison ask that, "No. He's a vampire."
Allison's eyes widened, "Vampires...I-I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they exist but-what supernatural doesn't?"
Bonnie mirrored her shock for a different reason, "You've never met a vampire?"
"No. Just a bunch of werewolves and special cases like were-coyotes, banshees-"
Bonnie was intrigued, "Witches?"
"No..." Allison looked to the former witch a little thrilled, "Are you one? The closest to 'magic' Beacon Hills has are Druids and I still don't know much about them or if they even use actual magic."
Bonnie furrowed her brows and frowned despite herself. She wondered if Druids were like the Travelers-a different type of witch. She looked to her hands and immediately wished she had her magic again...or maybe she did. All this time she had been dead and only walked amongst her friends, visible because of being the bridge to the other side-that no longer exists and there no longer being a need for an anchor.
So as soon as she stopped being an anchor-was she now back to being a witch?
Hope bubbled in her heart as she looked back at Allison and nodded tentatively, "Yes...I am a witch."
Allison smiled, "Well...at least you're the good type."
Bonnie gave her a sad smile that wasn't missed by Allison. The teenager put a hand to the older girl's shoulder, "You really are. You didn't have to stick with me for this long. You could have left me here to cry my eyes out and keep searching for your friend."
"Sometimes...being good steers you to being dead," Bonnie replied with a hallow tone to her voice.
Allison frowned and noticed how the air shift and Bonnie's eyes started to get a milky, vacant look to them. So she shook her head in the negative and put both hands on Bonnie's shoulders, waking the girl, "Maybe but at least you stuck to your code till the very end, right? At least your loved ones are still ok because you did what you believed was right."
Bonnie nodded feverishly with a teary smile, finally finding someone else that got it-an actual kindred spirit which only made her chuckle at the irony of the situation.
"I think we should stick together until we find a way to get out of here-staying here for too long looks like it turns us into lost souls."
Bonnie nodded her agreement, "So Damon must be here too-just lost."
Allison nodded even though the new name drop confused her at first. She assumed it was Bonnie's friend that she lost once she came here.
"What happens when we find what we're looking for?" Bonnie asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.
"Last time I was here-we just woke up."
"To the living?"
Allison nodded sadly, "I don't know what happens when I find what I'm looking for though...it's not like I have a fully functioning body to come back to life to."
Neither did Bonnie but she didn't say that. Instead she replied with an easy, "Your peace probably...and you get out of here."
"Here" being this empty space that Bonnie gestured to by holding up her arms and letting them fall back to her sides.
"And go where? What is there after this?" Allison seemed terrified so Bonnie grabbed her hand and started them walking in the direction Allison walked. Maybe all the "Lost Souls" were walking that way, it was the only clue the former witch and anchor had to finding Damon.
"I don't know. But I didn't know there was an Other Side when I was alive...maybe there's just levels upon levels of the unknown beyond our knowledge and control...and that's ok as long as we find our peace," The former anchor answered after a beat.
Allison nodded, "I don't know what I'm looking for though..."
"That's ok. I won't leave you until you do. I won't let you get lost again."
That made the teenager smile, "Thanks, Bonnie."
So they walked and since the sense of time was still an unsure concept to the two, it felt like hours to little to no time at all as they passed whatever time with talk.
Bonnie learned that Allison was from a family of hunters that protected where ever they are stationed from supernatural forces, normally werewolves.
She also learned that she died protecting a werewolf. That she loved a werwolf even though their kind were sworn enemies to her family.
There was no regret in her voice when she talked of her death. She seemed absolutely satisfied with her decision but sad that her death will make her friends incredibly upset.
Allison's death was final and she accepted it. Bonnie wondered if Jeremy was like that and how much distress she possibly put him through by selfishly bringing him back for Elena and herself but not for him. She wondered if she further upset him by dying, yet again, and him staying alive when he accepted his fate already.
Had she tried to do that with her Grams as well? What would her Grandmother go through knowing her granddaughter brought her back but died in the process? She would probably be miserable. Like Bonnie was miserable when Grams passed because she over exerted herself to help Elena and the Salvatore brothers.
Had she already distressed her grandmother when she died for Elena? For Jeremy? And made it permanent the second go round?
Her forcing to bring her friends back and those who just went on ahead and passed through-she wasn't one hundred percent sure how she felt about it. She was glad she got almost everyone back but she probably would have been happier if she was able to get Lexi, Grams, and Damon over in time.
Lexi refused. Grams refused.
Damon-hesitated.
Why?
It also just seemed despite her best efforts she was going to upset someone. And she really didn't want to.
Bonnie frowned, "I hope I find him soon."
"Who? Damon?" Allison questioned casually.
Bonnie nodded.
Allison glanced over the older girl's face, "Is he...your...?"
Bonnie knitted her brows together in confusion, "What?"
Allison raised a brow as if it were the most obvious question to ask.
And Bonnie knew what kind of question it was, "No! Nothing like that! He's just a friend. He's actually in a very-complicated-relationship with my best friend, Elena."
"Oh." Both of Allison's brows rose in disinterest before she looked ahead of them, "'Complicated'."
Bonnie grinned at the insinuation, "Very 'complicated'."
"Lots of 'complication' and little to no 'solution' but the 'complications' are fun and the 'solutions' are 'boring'."
"That's right," Bonnie had to keep from chortling. The Damon and Elena thing was none of her business.
So Allison made a noise for her by snorting.
"But even if there weren't any 'complications' that's still...there's still a code," Bonnie said after a quiet second.
Allison pursed her lips at the statement before a knowing and slow smirk crossed her lips, "So essentially... You have thought about it? The possibility-that is."
To an outsider this probably didn't make any sense but-
Bonnie pulled in her lips, remembering the time she found out Damon and Elena kissed. There was no jealousy. No disgust. But there was a lot of curiosity. So in a way Allison was right. Did she go further in her 'curiosity'? Perhaps. But she didn't want to think about that now and bring up shacked up curiosities she forced in the deepest, darkest, guiltiest depths of her mind. And if Damon even got a hint of them, he wouldn't let her live it down.
"My best friend Lydia...she kissed Scott before." Allison started once she realized Bonnie wasn't going to elaborate on her and "Damon".
"Your boyfriend?" Bonnie exclaimed, incredulous.
Allison gave a small grin but shook her head in the negative, "At the time he wasn't but...yeah. She told me herself. And apologized...after she told me that he was a pretty great kisser. I didn't talk to her for a week and a half but-I got over it. 'Code' broken but forgiven. I still love her and she's still my best friend."
"Yeah but-"
"And I had this...thing...with Scott's friend/beta, Isaac."
"The one you died protecting?"
Allison nodded, "He was probably...upset with Isaac and me for a while but he got over it too."
The two girls fell silent for a bit before Allison spoke up again, "I guess what I'm trying to say is-feelings don't follow codes."
Bonnie looked up at the younger girl who was slightly taller than her.
"And that's ok. It can't be helped. It's how you, and everyone involved, handle the situation that really counts."
She had a point. Matt and Elena had a thing. Bonnie even had a crush on him. But then Elena met Stefan. And Caroline and Matt became a thing. Were things immediately sour between the girls? No.
But had Bonnie made a move before Care did...what would have happened? Why did it seem that she was the only one that was still ridiculously loyal to this "code"?
And why was she thinking this over the possibility of her and Damon Salvatore?
Like that was going to ever happen.
Especially considering how Intense Damon's anything is concerning the people he cares and obsesses over. He got the girl (as bad and objectifying as that sounds). What more could he want-besides to get back to her?
Bonnie and Damon? Not possible.
A squeeze in Bonnie's hand made the girl look to Allison in question before following her wide-eyed gaze. A few feet ahead of them was a woman, much older than them, with short red hair and the same defiant jaw and face Allison had.
The woman's gaze softened as Allison freed her hand from Bonnie's and carefully approached the woman. Her voice cracked, "Mom?"
The woman only nodded.
Allison ran into her mom's arms, clutching unto her as if she would be snatched away from her any minute, "But how are you not lost? How did you find me?"
"I came for you when I found out..." Her mom let out a breath as she pulled her daugther's hair back to look her in the eye, "And I'm taking you back with me."
Allison nodded crying yet smiling before hesitating and turning back to Bonnie who only gave her a supportive grin.
"I-I can't leave Bonnie here by herself," Allison stepped from her mom to approach Bonnie who shook her head furiously, "No! I'll be ok. We went in the direction you were going before I woke you. You were going to run into your mom consciously or not anyway."
"But-no one should be here by themselves."
"I'm not. Damon's here. I'll find him."
Allison nodded, not completely convinced but gave Bonnie a hug and a strong squeeze of the hand anyway.
Bonnie felt the fear crawl up her spine at the thought of Allison leaving her but it would be wrong to keep her from her mom. Especially when her mom came to purgatory to get her it seems.
"I'll find Damon," Bonnie reiterated, "Or...he'll find me."
"Ok, you'll be fine Bonnie..." Allison trailed, realizing last names were not exchanged.
"Bennett. Bonnie Bennett. And I'm glad you found your peace Allison-"
"Argent." Allison smiled and hugged Bonnie again before going back to her mom.
She turned to Bonnie, waving her goodbye as the two spirits began to disappear.
"Hey, Bonnie!"
Bonnie's head perked up slightly as Allison smiled, "Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux même."
Bonnie blinked, bemused as Allison explained, "'We protect those who can't protect themselves'. That was my code...to the very end-and-and I have a feeling you have a code very similar to mine. No matter what, don't apologize for believing and doing what you know is right."
The brown-skinned girl took in a breath as she felt a tear roll down her cheek, nodding towards her friend. Allison grabbed her mother's hand as the Argents vanished leaving Bonnie alone.
She stood there for what felt like, for the first time in this timeless dimension, an eternity before her feet turned in the opposite direction and headed back to where she was heading before she ran into Allison.
She was dead and without anyone for the first time. Could her Grams do that? Come here and take her with her? Or was it different for supernaturals? What if they didn't go where the humans' peace was?
Bonnie sighed and looked ahead, feeling her heart get heavy. What if she never finds Damon? What if Damon never came here after all? Was this a space for just humans and certain types of supernaturals? Was there another way to get out?
"-we just woke up."
But how? What's the difference between waking up from a state of being lost and that of waking up to the land of the living? Oh how she wished she asked Allison to clarify instead of talk about "complications" and "girl codes".
Is there such a thing of getting sleepy in the afterlife? In purgatory? Because she was feeling it even though her body didn't seem tired and was running on autopilot. Her mind though? Definitely sleepy.
She wondered if she was becoming vacant. That was terrifying.
As soon as the thought came up she saw a dark speck in the distance. Blinking and slapping her face to stay awake, she started to run towards it. There was a strong pull coming from it and she didn't seem to want to stop or ignore it. It was like a beacon, calling for her.
The closer she got, the faster she ran until she could identify the shape as a large tree stump.
And when she got even more closer she made out a figure that laid on top of it.
"Damon?"
The man didn't respond but Bonnie was too happy to suspect anything, "Oh thank god I found you!"
No reply.
Bonnie came at the foot of the large stump and felt such a large amount of power and energy radiating from it that she felt her body sway involuntarily towards it. Like it was alive tempting her to come closer.
But what if she wasn't supposed to?
It didn't feel dangerous or sinister though. In fact it was intoxicating because she could actually feel a part of nature even though this stump appeared to be supernatural.
Damon laid on top, eyes staring up into one of the fluorescent lights. His eyes mirrored that of Allison's when Bonnie first ran into her; milky and vacant.
"Damon? Wake up Damon," Bonnie shook him by the shoulders and got no response from him.
Panic slowly settling in, Bonnie sat on the stump, shaking him violently, "Dammit Damon, wake up."
No response.
She stared down at him for a while before turning from him entirely, back towards him, eyes scanning the area once more. The room had no end. No darkness or shadows and yet it was so unnerving. The safest she felt was with Allison and now on this stump-minus comatose Damon.
Was she too late? Had being with Allison cost Damon his soul? His consciousness?
Her vision blurred as she buried her face into her hands and screamed. Ridiculous. Just her luck-
The world spun suddenly and it only made sense again when she looked up at a feral and vamped out Damon Salvatore looming over her. She was now the one laid out on the stump underneath Damon as he bore his fangs at her, ready to rip her throat out.
Ghost of her heart was pounding at the sudden activity but she wasn't afraid, nor was she pissed because upon further observation, Damon's eyes were still vacant.
She reached up to his face with her small hands, using her thumbs to smooth out the black veins that appeared under his eyes. She didn't make a sound and she didn't think she needed to as she watched the vacancy in his eyes disappear, his shoulders sag, and his fangs vanish. His brows furrowed as he regarded her, confused before he started with an unsure, "Bonnie?"
"Good. You're back. Now get off me."
He noticed their positions before looking back to her face, a smirk at his lips. Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"I don't know. I kind of like where we're at right now."
"You're vile. Get off."
"Says the girl who's caressing my face."
"I am not," She snatched her hands to her sides. "Get off me. Now."
He shrugged nonchalantly, obliging, "That was probably your only opportunity to take advantage of the situation, babe. Your lost."
Bonnie scowled, "First off, never, ever call me 'babe' again. Secondly, gross. No. I would never do that to-"
"-feelings don't follow codes."
Bonnie trailed off and Damon raised a bored brow, "Never do what to who?"
Bonnie recollected herself as she narrowed her eyes at him, "Nothing. We need to find a way to get out of here."
"You're not the anchor anymore and you have no authority over this purgatory so I'm very curious as to what kind of plan you have to get us out."
"I don't have a plan. And I clearly said 'we' as in this is a team effort."
Damon leaned back on the tree stump, "Oh? We're a team now?"
Bonnie pursed her lips. What the hell was he on about, "When have we not been a team?"
"When we first met. The Gilbert device. You deciding to die for snot-nosed brat baby Gilbert without consulting anyone, most importantly me, and oh, when you lied about knowing how to stop the other side from collapsing-"
"You can not be serious right now," Bonnie gawked and Damon just shrugged.
"Wow. Unbelievable. You are serious. When we first met you were an ass. During the time of the Gilbert device, you were still an ass-"
"A thankful one-"
"And Elena needed her brother-"
"Funny considering she spent most of her time with me than him once she got him back. And, just because I feel like it, I think you brought him back more for yourself than for her-"
"Like when you brought me back for yourself than Elena?"
It grew silent and Damon's entire countenance grew serious before answering with no humor, "Yes. Maybe it was more for me than Elena. Maybe because you dying for him when even he didn't want to be brought back pissed me off. And again, you not telling me-anyone-hell even Stefan, that you were going to do something like that could have prevented you from dying in the first place."
Bonnie held her breath.
"...I felt like I was responsible for your death," Damon said in a softer tone.
"Me dying was my decision to make."
"A very misguided one. Normally I'm all for what you want to do but that? It's why I thought you didn't have any motivation to stay alive. And in a way I still think that's the case because the one thing we didn't figure out what to do was how to make sure you didn't go away along with the other side once we all passed over."
Bonnie bit her lip, "I made my peace with it."
"Don't. Don't lie to me again, Bonnie Bennett."
Bonnie glared at him before turning from the vampire altogether to stare off into the endless distance of the lights.
They sat like that for a while before Damon sighed, "If you feel some sort of guilt that I couldn't make it back over, don't. I didn't want to leave you behind until I knew for sure that you were going to be ok."
"Why do you care so much?" Bonnie managed, still not looking at him.
A beat passes before he answers, "I don't know."
Bonnie didn't want to dig any further. At that point it was dipping a toe into uncharted waters with Damon and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that. If she was ever going to be ready for that. She didn't know why she even confronted him on his obsession of bringing her back at any cost in the first place.
On his own.
And the fact that he admitted to bringing her back for himself than Elena was enough to catch her off guard and never speak of this again.
But she's curious.
And she's always been curious about Damon Salvatore.
That curiosity just might become the true death of her.
"Hey," he pinched her side to gain her attention, "lay down."
"No."
He rolled his eyes, "Despite your suggestive yet accurate suspicions of me, this time I'm being innocent about it. Lay down. Listen to the tree."
Bonnie furrowed her brows and turned to him. He had his eyes closed, content.
She laid beside him carefully, making sure to be of appropriate distance from him, and closed her eyes to listen to whatever he was getting at.
Birds chirping?
Wait...Birds?
"What the..." Bonnie started breathlessly.
"I know. That's why I came over here. I mean-I was looking for you for a while too but I heard birds in the trunk and had to listen."
"Are they trapped inside?"
"Nope." He knocked on the trunk and it was pretty solid
"So how...?"
"You tell me."
She looked to him to find that his eyes were examining her as well. She swallowed, "Damon. I think we just found this purgatory's anchor."
A/N: Ah hell. I did a thing. I've been wanting to have a Teen Wolf and Vampire Diaries crossover of some kind for purely character exploration purposes only. I also wanted Tyler to be involved because that would have been awesome. However, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Tell me what you think.
Ok.
...
Bye.
