AN: I'm sorry for taking so long to update, school has been crazy for me. I'm going to try to update more regularly and frequently, but it might be an issue considering a possible change in my living situation, anyway I appreciate all reviews, all being possible it makes my day to read them. Enjoy.

"It's okay, you're okay." Bonnie said with a smile. Matt wasn't smiling, he saw Vicky but she was ripped away again, like everything, she was ripped away.

Okay? Okay, it wasn't okay. Nothing had been okay since the Salvatore brothers rolled into town, their boots stepping in the town limits causing anything in a mile radius to wilt and die. The Salvatores brought death and darkness along with them everywhere they went. They poisoned the air with their sickness, everything they touched became damaged. The darkness that entangled them had already entangled the town. Matt could feel their talons sink into his flesh, the faint pain in his heart a constant reminder of what he had lost, loss, the bony hand of Death snatching the loved ones in all their lives, with a tight and suffocating grip. With each death the colder it seemed to get, the once vibrant and warm town turning to ice. Ice, Matt was so sure that his insides had frozen. He felt like the town was frozen in an odd way stuck in constant chaos, never warmth to taw them.

He nodded trying to reassure her that he was fine; Bonnie's grip remained on him. Her crystal green eyes remained locked on him, looking into his. Bonnie noticed how blue he was, his skin, his eyes, even the clothes that were clenching to his skin like a second skin were blue. In that moment she realized how vulnerable Matt was, how she was. She took in his shaking form, remembering he was human, solely human. He had the ability to be cold, unlike most of the people she was forcing into associate herself with. Matt didn't heal, didn't have magic or any special abilities. In a world that was becoming more tainted with a supernatural presence he remained human, and at the moment Bonnie was solely human as well.

He didn't say anything and he focused on breathing, the burning in his throat and lungs reminded him of what he had done, the thought of being unsuccessful staying there with Vicky scratched at the back of his mind like an idle child scratching old paint, piece by piece his sanity falling away. He looked at her, her hair dripping. She smiled at him, just glad he was alive. She pulled him up, "C'mon." Matt allowed himself to be pulled up, his gaze on the water.

He touched his neck, rubbing it. He could still feel the burning in his throat as a result of the chlorine. Bonnie watched him, wondering what was going through his mind. In hers she couldn't stop thinking how reckless he had been, if she hadn't saved him in time. She couldn't imagine it, she refused to, and in a town filled with death she tried to focus on the life. So she pushed back the image of Matt submerged in the water, seeing how the bubbles clenched to his faces as he floated there. She wondered briefly if she could ever get the image out of her mind. Did Matt care so little about his life to do something so reckless, but who was she? She had done things like that before, she risked for life on numerous occasions, and she even faked her own death. She was in no position to judge.

Bonnie helped pull him up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, supporting him even if he wasn't injured she just felt the need to. She felt if she didn't hold him would do something reckless again and she would loss him, she couldn't loss him. He was the light the darkness, the last bit of purity left in this town. If he gotten hurt or worse she wouldn't be able to dealt, she just couldn't to another funeral. She was sure all her black clothes were dirty from the constant use.

"C'mon let's get you dry." Bonnie said.


"As soon as you feeling better, I'm going to kill you." Bonnie said as they walked through the hallway. She glanced at Matt, seeing him wrapped in the towel. She mentally sighed time wasn't frozen like it should be in these situations. The shock was supposed to be crushing her, her friend could have died but now death didn't faze her like it used to, so all she did was scold.

"But it worked, I saw her, I saw Vicky." Matt said, he wasn't smiling, he had hoped their reunion would be different heartfelt, as of late he thought of the expression she would give him if she learned how he died. Suicide in his eyes was becoming more and more likely cause of death in the near future, but no one else seemed to notice. His voice conveyed slight disbelief like he still couldn't believe he saw her.

"You did?" Bonnie said, shocked. She couldn't believe Matt was a medium. She briefly wondered what seeing Vicky would do to him. They never had closure much like Jeremy and Anna. Jeremy, she refused to think about him. His name just brought up feelings and thoughts she was too busy to deal with.

He nodded. "She said she had a message for you." He was a little upset about that. He finally reunited with his sister and the few things she said to him had to do with Bonnie. It just a frustrating that everything in his life tied back to the supernatural, nothing was safe from that tainted poison that ran through all of their lives.

"For me?" Bonnie was confused, why would Vicky have a message for her. They weren't close when she was living, they weren't enemies. Bonnie had interacted with her when she was younger and used to visit Matt. She briefly wondered why she didn't do that anymore.

"From the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus. She said Elena shouldn't have survived Klaus's ritual, hybrids can't transition because Elena is still alive." Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena. She was the main character is all their stories, in Matt's eyes she was the root of this. She is the damsel in a story that has been repeated twice before.

"…Tyler." Tyler, Matt and he were growing apart as well. He didn't know how to feel, Tyler became part of the supernatural Matt felt more alone and it was placing stain on their relationship but it hadn't been the same since Matt was compiled to attack Tyler, things haven't been the same.

"He is going to die isn't he?" Matt said in a matter-of-factly, like he was sure about the fact because in his eyes it was a fact, he knew Elena wasn't going to die because in their lives it was becoming more apparent that everyone could be scarified if it ensured the safety of Elena if Elena herself wasn't aware. The world bent backwards for

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, given the choice doppelganger or hybrid, I'd go hybrid every time. " Klaus said appearing out of nowhere, causing Matt and Bonnie to turn their attention to him, simultaneously the two hearts leaped in surprise but one's beat subsided quicker than the other. Matt's continued to race, to be in the presence of such a powerful creature, being in Klaus's presence make Matt feel inferior. He knew that Klaus had the ability to kill him with batting an eyelash, to kill everyone he knew without batting an eyelash.

Bonnie shifted moving in front of Matt, Matt took notice. He didn't comment but he left himself to wonder, how did Bonnie take upon the role of protector? It seemed like the role was shoved suddenly into her hands along with her powers. Matt was bigger, stronger in the more physical sense, out weighting her by more than a dozen pounds yet he was the one hiding behind her, he was the one who was being covered. He clenched his fists wanting to take a more defensive stance but he was in no position to do, he was sure Klaus was able to rip out his vocal cords before he could say a word of protest, he wasn't Elena he didn't have the privilege to talk back.


Matt laced his shoes, sitting on the bench. He didn't notice Bonnie's presence in the doorway until she spoke. He turned his head slightly at the noise.

"Hey, you ready? I could still use a ride to Jeremy's." Bonnie said, mentally cursing herself. She was supposed to say more, do more, but what could she say? That everything will be fine in the morning? That this some twisted nightmare the whole town is going to wake up from one day, and that everything that happened would undo itself; that Matt's mom and Vicky would be with him, her Grams would be alive; Elena's parents never went off that bridge? She couldn't bring her lips to form the words she desperately wanted to say. She wanted to comfort him, to warm him from the chill she saw encasing him like a shell but she couldn't instead she took it safe, leaving all the potential lines to die in the air never having the chance to be spoken.

"Yeah, just a sec." Matt replied, his voice monotone. Bonnie's eyes glancing over him, repaying the events from earlier in her mind. She never wanted to repeat that again, she wanted to shove the image of Matt submerged in the water out of her mind. Bonnie wanted to burry in the pile of this she wanted to forget.

"Listen to me I know you want to help, and I know you miss your sister but what you did was reckless and stupid-"She began the words sounding stern like she hoped, but on the inside she was trembling, she wanted to get her point across to stop Matt from risking his life like that again because too many reckless actions have taken place and too many people have died as a result. They were like dominions and Bonnie didn't want to Matt to be another one to fall.

"I know…Bonnie I know, but it worked. It was worth it." He said he was fully aware of what he did; the decision to do so was fully voluntary. In Matt's eyes it was, he like everyone else had to protect Elena, he had to protect his friends. His loyalty was his flaw but he thought Bonnie would understand.

"You don't want to be a part of this Matt." Bonnie said, knowing how this would tangle Matt in, it was cage him inside this town, taint every aspect of his life and Bonnie didn't want that for him. Bonnie didn't know that Matt felt like he was already involved, his sister was killed because she was involved too fast. Vicky drove head first into the supernatural, blindfolded, and look where that got her. Matt was in too deep by connection, he didn't feel lost he felt stuck. "You the only who gets to live their life like a normal person, no matter how lost you feel, don't forget that." Bonnie said. Matt looked at her, eyes filled with something. She searched in them to find what he was trying to convey but all she saw was dullness. He nodded, licking his lips, wanting to say how he felt but the words died in his throat.

"I get it Bonnie," He paused. "I'll be out in a minute. I…um…Vicky's here, watching me and I just need a minute to say goodbye okay." He said his tone hollow. Bonnie looked at him before nodding getting up from the bench she seated herself moments before, she didn't feel like she got through to him but she left anyway, feeling he needed space.

He continued to tie his shoes; he felt a presence like someone was watching him. He was sure Bonnie lingered in the doorway; he didn't want her looking at him, not like this, not looking this weak, he didn't want her to see him on the brink of tears. Bonnie wasn't crying why should he?

"Bonnie, I'm going to do anything stupid I just-" He said turning, cutting himself up at the sight of someone he thought he wouldn't see again.

"Vicky?"

"Hi Matty."