They all had grown up together; she, Elena, Damon, and Stefan. One of Bonnie Bennett's first memories were of the day she and her father moved to a little town called Mystic Falls to live with her father's new wife and her children.
Rudy Hopkins had struggled to raise Bonnie from the moment his wife ran off with their savings shortly after Bonnie was born. He had suffered from depression because of the abandonment which led to excessive drinking, which led to him losing his job and Bonnie being taken away from him and put into the system.
When Rudy finally put his life back together and got the help he needed, Bonnie was three years old. Being removed from her kind foster parents, the only parents she had ever known, home and placed back with a man she didn't really know, did nothing good for the father and daughter relationship. Their relationship had been strained from the very first day she had been reunited with her father and she wouldn't stop crying and it didn't get any better for a long time. And when he married Elena's mother after dating online for a mere two months, it only got worse.
When she looked back on it now, she felt immense guilt over how she had behaved even though she had only been a child. Her father had tried, he had tried his best. He never left her, not even when 'they' did. They who were her best friends and were suppose to stick by her side forever, no matter what, as they had so childishly promised the first day of sixth grade.
She had been five years when she met Elena and honestly, she couldn't say she liked her. Elena was like a princess in Bonnie's young mind, she had a big, pretty house and pretty clothes. Elena had a family, a real family, not just a dad who listened to her. Elena had a mom and dad that even though they were divorced were still on speaking terms and had a good relationship. Elena had a cute little brother who followed her around and only didn't cry when she was around. Elena was called pretty by everyone, pretty and smart enough to skip kindergarten but didn't because her mother thought she should go through school normally. At the small wedding ceremony held after they had arrived all anyone could talk about was Elena. Miranda loved to gush and rave about Elena.
Bonnie didn't hate Elena because she was honestly sort of nice, a little self-involved, but nice. No, Bonnie didn't hate Elena back then but she didn't particularly like her either. The liking Elena part came later. Elena hadn't been her first friend, despite what everyone who knew them assumed, no, her first ever friend had been Damon Salvatore.
As she gazed down at him now, fifteen years after their very first meeting, she couldn't help but think his expression was nearly identical. Wide blue eyes, stretched wide with fear, pleading and hope, and lips parted slightly, allowing rushed air to escape his mouth as he panted.
She had found him in a hole that day as well.
Bonnie had been living with her new family for about two months when she got in an argument with her father over why she couldn't have ice cream when Elena could. Her father had said milk and anything made of milk makes her sick, and she knew that, but she still hated that Elena had something she did not once again. She had stormed out of the house that day, slamming the house door as she ran, vision blurred by a flow of tears.
She had ran into the woods surrounding the house blindly and almost fell into the same old well Damon had fallen into, and if it weren't for his shouts for help she would have.
She had stared down at his dirty face and wide eyes that day in shock. After all it wasn't every day you found a boy in a well.
Fifteen Years Ago
"Are you going help or stare at me like a dummy, dummy?" He had yelled at her, blue eyes flashing with annoyance.
Bonnie had blinked hard and leaned forward a little to get a better look at the slightly older boy without falling into the hole herself.
"I'm not a dummy," she defended herself with a frown, "you're the one in a hole." He had actually looked embarrassed then. She noticed his lip was bleeding and slightly swelled. "You're bleeding," she gasped, forgetting all about him insulting her.
He touched his bleeding lip with a wince and shook his head. "I have a bigger problem than that, little girl. I'm in a hole, if you hadn't noticed."
Bonnie's frown deepened. "Did you hurt that when you fell in?" She also noticed he had a black eye. She opened her mouth to ask when she heard what sounded like a man shouting. "Over here!" She stood up and shouted.
"Shhh!" The boy had quickly said. "Shut up!"
Bonnie frowned and looked back down at the boy in confusion. "What? He could help you."
"That's my dad, stupid." He spat the words at her. "Go find someone else to help me, anyone else."
"But why do-"
"None of your business," he cut her off, "you're a nosy kid."
Bonnie scowled down at him and crossed her arms. "You're a kid too," she reminded with a huff, "and I'm not nosy." She bit her lip and shifted on her feet. "I was just wondering why you don't want me to get help from your dad."
He huffed loudly. "I said none of your business," he yelled at her.
Bonnie's face went blank. She had enough of people yelling at her that day. "Fine," she said dismissively and turned away, "find someone else to help you then." She had taken a couple of steps away when the boy called out to her.
"You really aren't going to leave me here are you?" His frightened tone was what made her pause. She hadn't really been going to leave him, just going to get her dad to help. "I don't want my dad's help because he's the one that punched me in the face and who I was running away from in the first place when I fell into this stupid hole." He sniffled and his voice grew weaker towards the end.
Bonnie eyes grew wide and she rushed back over to the hole. "Your daddy punched you?" She asked in disbelief. She couldn't comprehend it. Her father was always telling her to keep her hands to herself and never to hit anyone unless you absolutely had to."Why would he do that?" The boy didn't answer and merely stared up at her. "Your daddy is mean." She proclaimed and sucked in a low breath.
Damon's bottom lip had wobbled. "Yeah," he whispered so lowly she almost didn't hear him.
Now
That day she had saved Damon and went on to become his friend and meet his brother Stefan and become friends with him. Then somehow Elena had become friends with Stefan than Damon, which resulted in her reluctantly at first, becoming friends with Elena.
Today, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to save Damon, who unlike last time he was in a hole, wasn't alone.
An unconscious Elena was being held by Stefan towards the back of the hole. A hole that was no a forgotten well, but a trap built to do exactly what it had, capture humans. It was exactly five hours until sundown; so five hours until whoever or rather whatever had dug the hole came back to claim their spoils.
Bonnie hand tightened around the strap of her rifle, while her other hand swung the line of squirrels she was carrying lazily. Her green eyes left Damon and floated up towards the naked, leafless trees above her.
She was surprised to see them. It had been three years since she had last seen them. Three years since they left her. They left her alone to fend for herself. No, she wasn't alone. She still had her father for a while.
"I'm sorry, Bonnie."
"You have to understand, Bonbon, Elena needs us. She doesn't have anyone left."
It was funny, because it seemed as if Elena had everyone, per usual, and she was the one alone. She had been alone for three years after her father. She survived all on her own.
"Don't ever let those monsters get their dirty hands on you, feed off you, baby girl. You're strong. Stronger than your mother ever was and you're stronger than I could have ever dreamed of being. If anyone can survive this world, its you. You got this, baby girl, you got this."
Bonnie was brought out of her vision of dirty, cold hands wiping tears from her eyes and her father's blood stained smile when her name was called again. She blinked hard, her eyes falling back to the hole. Her eyes lingered on the sweaty hair sticking to the side of Damon's dirty face, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Help us, please," Damon called out to her.
Bonnie cocked her head to the side, gaze flickering to Stefan. They always wanted something from her.
Something burned bright in her chest and her jaw clenched. Without a word Bonnie spun around on her heels and began the journey back to her home.
"Bonnie, please," She ignored the call for her and all of the others that followed.
When the trees thinned out and she made it to the clearing just before the hill sitting above her home, Bonnie's legs grew heavy and the back of her neck tingled. She ignored the feeling as well as the feeling that she was forgetting something.
As she slid down the soggy hill, her gaze landed on her home. The home she had found just outside of Mystic Falls. It wasn't much and had been abandoned long before the world as she knew it ended. It was a two story home made of brick and the windows were boarded up and littered with graffiti. The gutter that wrapped around the back of the home hung on just barely.
Bonnie stalked across the overgrown yard, bypassing the rusted jungle gym between two dead trees. Instead of heading towards the back door or around the house to the front, Bonnie came to a stop outside the basement door.
She studied the bloated wood and rusted lock and after a moment deemed it untouched. No one had visited her. She stuck the end of the string of squirrels between her teeth and wrestled with the old door until she got it open.
Down in her basement home, she lit a lantern she kept at the bottom of the stairs. She took it into one hand and moved deeper into the basement. Half of the space was cluttered with old things, some useful and some not; while the other half was where she lived.
She had a table and a cupboard on one side and a wooden stove someone had installed when the house was newer and a single cot.
She sat her lantern down on the table along with the squirrels. Her eyes went to the thick, black rope she had hanging on the back of the chair pushed underneath the table. She stared for a moment before removing the blade strapped to her hip and beginning to skin her dinner. She didn't cast the rope another glance.
She was standing over the wood stove, squirrel sizzling in a pan, when she suddenly slung the heavy pan across the wood stove in anger. She spun around sharply on her heels and stalked over to the rope and snatched it off the chair before blowing out the lantern and storming out of the basement.
Bonnie fumed as she stared up at the quickly setting sun. Why couldn't she just forget them? Why couldn't she just have them get what was coming to them? Why couldn't she leave them.
Bonnie was livid with herself as she ran swiftly back to the hole, back to the people who left her. They hadn't given a damn about her when they left.
"Dad said there is only room for one more person, I'm sorry, Bonnie."
Bonnie slowed down in her sprint when the hole came into view. Bonnie quietly panted as she looked around before moving to a tree and beginning to tie the rope around it. Her cheeks burned from the chill in the air. Finishing, she wiped sweat from her brow before tossing the left over rope into the hole.
When nothing happened, Bonnie moved closer to the hole and stared down at the three still inside. Both men were crouched beside a still unconscious Elena, trying to wake her. Bonnie pressed her lips together tightly, of course they weren't going to leave without Elena.
"You have an hour until sundown, I suggest haste." Bonnie spoke, tone dry, empty.
"She's not waking up," Damon said, eye brows furrowed with worry and eyes wide with panic. He only showed such genuine emotion when Elena was involved, Bonnie decided upon studying the emotion on his face.
"Sounds like you should slap her," She suggested, a twitch moving her lips, "or leave her. Who knows how long it'll be until you guys can find shelter."
"Bonnie," Stefan's tinged with panic voice made her shoulders tense, "do you have anything that can help us get her out of the hole?"
"No," she answered bluntly. "A good slap should wake her up. It won't kill her."
The brothers frowned at her but Damon took her advice and slapped Elena firmly on the cheek, despite Stefan's protest. Elena blinked her eyes open and stared blurry eyed up at Stefan.
"Stefan?" Bonnie heard her whisper weakly.
"Day light is wasting away," Bonnie reminded. The brothers nodded before explaining things to Elena quickly.
Stefan was the first one up out of the hole, followed by Elena who had help from both Damon and Stefan; Damon was the last one out of the hole. The trio panted and the brothers held up Elena.
"Bonnie," Elena whispered blurry eyes landing on her, "you're okay." She truly sounded happy, much to Bonnie's annoyance. They stared at her openly, expectantly.
Bonnie moved to gather her rope, ignoring them for a couple of minutes. "You should find shelter." She told them, avoiding their gazes.
"You don't have a place?" Elena asked hesitantly. "We cou-"
"I didn't offer," Bonnie quickly cut her off, "and I'm not going to."
Elena looked surprised, while the brothers merely frowned deeply.
"We don't have a place to go." Damon said slowly.
Bonnie had figured that, so she said nothing.
"Without shelter, you would have saved us for nothing," Stefan said staring at her until she met his eyes. "Why go through all of that trouble for nothing." Ah, Stefan, always the voice of reason. The one who always managed to make her change her mind.
Bonnie shook her head and smiled humorlessly. "Follow me," she said and turned around.
