A/N: So sorry guys, but this may be my last update for the next two weeks or so. My brother is coming into town and I won't have time to write while he's here. I'm going to try my best to update Outsider by Monday, but if not it'll be a wait for that story too.
Anyway, hope you guys still enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement intended.
2 - Funhouse
"What are you doing here?"
"This is my house!" Damon cried.
"Haven't you been living in Louisiana for almost a year," Bonnie replied, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She threw back the covers and climbed out of the bed.
"That doesn't give you free reign to my room," Damon snapped.
"Take it up with Stefan," Bonnie advised as she stepped past him. "But don't be a jerk about it. I needed a place to crash last night. Why wouldn't he give his bestie the biggest room in the house?" Bonnie's tone was teasing. She hadn't seen Damon in months but it was all too easy for them to fall immediately back into their old habits of annoying each other.
"That's my shirt!" Damon cried as she left the room, referring to the long white tee she was wearing. Stefan had pulled it out of one of Damon's drawers, along with a pair of his own basketball shorts, and given it to her as makeshift pajamas the night before. As icky as she'd initially felt putting on an article of Damon's clothing, she knew there was nothing more comfortable to sleep in than a man's shirt. She spent many nights in one of Tyler's, and sometimes even a pair of his boxers.
"Should've taken it with you!" She threw back at Damon. She descended the stairs, wishing she had grabbed her socks as the floor was cold and her bare feet were freezing. She heard noises coming from the kitchen and headed in there, expecting Stefan was making himself something to eat. She was greeted by his girlfriend, Elena Gilbert, instead.
Elena turned from the pot of tea she was making and smiled at Bonnie when she walked in. "Hey Bonnie," she said, cheerfully. She was dressed in her scrubs and was unsurprised by Bonnie's presence in the house or her state of undress. Bonnie knew this meant Stefan must have already filled her in. "Want some tea?"
"I'm okay," Bonnie said as she settled into one of the stools in front of the counter. "When did you get here?"
"About five minutes ago," Elena replied, as she poured herself a cup. "I wanted to stop by and see Stefan before I went to work. I'm pulling a double."
"Where is Stefan?"
"In the shower," she responded. "I'm guessing you already encountered Damon."
"Ugh, unfortunately," Bonnie said with an eye roll causing Elena to laugh. "And he's still the exact same Damon. What is he even doing here?"
"I'm guessing Rebekah problems." Elena leaned over the counter as she sipped her tea. "Those two are on and off again so much I can't keep track. And I thought Stefan and I were bad in the beginning. We can't even compare to them." Bonnie nodded her head in agreement. Stefan and Elena had started dating for the first time about six years ago, during their junior year of high school. They were both popular and attractive and had connected instantly. Elena was a cheerleader, Stefan was the star of the football team, and they seemed like the perfect match. They both had recently deceased parents, Elena had lost hers the summer before junior year in a tragic car accident, Stefan had lost his mom to cancer as a child then his father to cancer two weeks prior to moving back to Mystic Falls. Needless to say, they were both depressed at the start of the school year and found solace in each other, and fell hard and fast.
Bonnie, who was already friends with Elena, had grown very close with Stefan during this time and she'd tried to warn them both against moving too fast. Of course they didn't listen, and they started fighting a lot and breaking up and getting back together constantly. They broke up again right before graduation. Elena and Bonnie went off to college together, Stefan left town for a little while to stay with his Uncle Zach in Florida, and both dated other people. Bonnie was the only person from back home Stefan had kept in contact with during his time out-of-state, aside from his brother, and it was obvious to her neither he nor Elena were over each other.
Right out of college, Elena got a job as a nurse at the local hospital, with plans to eventually go back to school and get her doctorate, and Stefan was back in town by then. They promptly got back together, and a year later they were still going strong. Bonnie had moved in with Tyler right out of school, and although she had a degree in Education, she was currently helping her grandmother run her antique shop. During this time, Damon had moved to New Orleans with his longtime girlfriend, Rebekah. Now, he was back, which must have meant that relationship had finally met it's end.
"They're both nuts," Bonnie said to Elena in a whisper. "I don't like either of them. They live for drama and chaos. They're perfect for each other."
"Rebekah will be calling him off the hook and Damon will be on a plane back to New Orleans before the week is up," Elena stated, confidently. "What about you? How are you doing?" Bonnie could read the concern in her chocolate brown eyes.
"Stefan told you about Tyler and I, didn't he?"
"He told me you guys had a fight and you needed to get out of the house," Elena explained. "He didn't...hit you, did he?"
"No! No, he didn't," Bonnie said, quickly. He hadn't technically hit her, she had hit him. A lot. She didn't want to tell Elena about the violent tantrums he'd been throwing lately, or the fact that he had been bringing out a formerly dormant violent side of her. She would surely tell Stefan, and Bonnie wasn't sure how'd he handle that information. He'd most likely try to demand her to move out and leave Tyler for good, opining that if he hadn't put his hands on her yet, he would eventually. Bonnie didn't want to believe this. Not her Tyler. In high school, he'd been an angry, violent, douchey kid until he and Bonnie started dating. He was soft and loving with her. She always brought out the best in him, and even his mother could see it. She'd never approved of any of Tyler's girlfriends until Bonnie, and she hadn't even warmed up to her until she saw the dramatic change in her son that hadn't come about until their relationship. He'd promised Bonnie she was the one he could never, ever hurt in any way and until the last couple years, he'd lived up to that. Bonnie told herself, if Tyler wanted to keep her in his life, than he would have to make some serious changes.
"I don't know what's happened with us," Bonnie said with a sigh."Nothing is the same anymore. I can't even remember what we were fighting about last night. We fight so often it's all become one big, red, angry blur."
"I'm so sorry, Bonnie," Elena sympathized. "You deserve to be happy. If that means cutting Tyler out of your life, than that may be what you need to do."
"Good morning, ladies," Stefan sang as he waltzed in the kitchen, his happy tone shattering the serious moment between the girls. He stopped in front of Elena with a smile on his face. "Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, handsome," she threw back with a smile before he planted a kiss on her. "I made you some tea."
"Cool," Stefan said as he grabbed a mug. "How'd you sleep, Bo?" Bo was a nickname Stefan had donned Bonnie with a long time ago.
"Pretty good," she said. "It's always weird sleeping in a bed that's not your own. Especially when you think of all the women that Damon has had in that bed. The thought alone makes me feel icky all over."
"Yet you wanted so bad to be one of those women," Damon quipped, walking into the kitchen unexpectedly, "You didn't have to sleep there. I have to tell you, Bons, if I wasn't there, it doesn't count."
"Could you be any more gross?" Bonnie asked rhetorically.
"Yes," he responded, simply.
"Don't start you two," Stefan admonished them. "Damon, you've been back all of five minutes and you're already working people's nerves."
"As long as you're happy to have me back, baby brother," Damon said with a smirk. "That's all that matters."
"I have got to get going," Elena announced than looked to Stefan. "Walk me to my car, babe?"
"Of course." Stefan put down the mug he was drinking from and followed her out of the kitchen, her hand wrapped around his. Bonnie smiled at how cute they were, though feeling a twinge of sadness inside at the fact that she and Tyler rarely had cute moments like that anymore. Holding hands, snuggling, stealing kisses, that all seemed to be a thing of the past.
Bonnie sighed, stood up, and walked over to the fridge. She grabbed a carton of milk out and placed it on the counter, then stood on her tippy toes to get a box of cereal from one of the cupboards. When she turned back around, the eldest Salvatore brother was pouring the milk she'd taken it into his own bowl.
"Damon!" She cried. "That was the last of it!"
"Was it?" He looked at the empty carton with faux surprise. "Oops."
"Nobody makes cereal milk first, you totally just did that on purpose!" She screamed. She was getting a lot angrier than this situation warranted, but with everything she'd been dealing with the smallest thing was likely to set her off.
"I'm not like other people." He snatched the box of cereal from her hands and it took everything in Bonnie not to smack him across the face. Instead, she smacked the bowl of milk off the counter, the majority of it splashing onto Damon's black shirt.
"I wish you would've stayed gone," she hissed then turned and stormed out.
"What the fuck, Bonnie?!" Damon screamed after her angrily. She was satisfied at the fact that she had been able to wipe the smirk off his face.
She jetted upstairs. She grabbed her clothes from the night before out of Damon's room and went into Stefan's to get dressed. She was putting her last shoe on when she heard his voice in the hall, calling her name.
"In your room!" She called back.
He opened the door and lingered in the frame, shaking his head at her. "I really can't leave you guys alone for two minutes?"
"I'm sorry, Stefan," she said. "I've been going through so much shit lately and the last thing I need is your brother trying to piss me off."
"I know." Stefan crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry he bothered you." His voice was slightly muffled by her brown hair. They heard a noise at the door and turned to see Damon looming in the frame, looking thoroughly pissed off.
"Get out," he demanded through gritted teeth. Bonnie couldn't help but smirk at his stained shirt. All of his clothes were expensive, ruining any of them was a surefire way to enrage him.
"Don't worry, I'm going."
"Bonnie, you don't have to - " Stefan started to say but she quickly cut him off.
"No, I do, Stefan." She stopped in front of the door but Damon didn't move. He just stared down at her angrily, his blue eyes wide. "Move!" She demanded. He didn't budge. Her patience quickly ran out and she pushed him as hard as she could. Damon was solid, so it didn't move him that much, but enough for her to attempt to squeeze her tiny body past him. He reached out and grabbed her arm, causing her to shout, and a struggle ensued.
"Hey! Hey, stop it!" Stefan ran at them and quickly pulled Bonnie away.
"Don't ever fucking touch me!" Bonnie screamed, trying to swing at Damon but Stefan blocked her.
"Don't touch her, Damon!" Stefan scolded him
"Fuck her," Damon spat.
"Are you serious! Like children, you two, I swear!" Stefan was clearly irritated as he pulled Bonnie to the stairs.
"If he would've moved I wouldn't have had to push him!" Bonnie shouted.
"Don't come back here again!" Damon shouted back.
"Hey!" Stefan yelled at his brother. "Just shut up, okay?"
"Fuck you!" Bonnie was yelling. Stefan placed his hand on her upper back to gently guide her down the stairs. He did not miss these volatile disagreements between his brother and his best friend, and Damon's time away had unfortunately done nothing to change their feelings toward each other. If anything, it seemed to have heightened their animosity.
Once she hit the bottom floor, Bonnie was rushing toward the front door. "Bonnie, wait!" Stefan quickly rushed after her. "Where are you going?"
"Home!"
"You can't. What if Tyler is still there?"
"He's not," she informed. "He has work at this time."
"So, what are you going to do?"
She sighed as she mulled it over. "I'm going to grab some of my stuff and go to my Grams," she decided.
"Are you sure that's what you're going to do?" Stefan had heard this before, but Tyler was always able to talk her into staying and trying to work things out.
"Yes, I'm sure," Bonnie said, opening the door. "Don't worry about it. I'll call you when I get to her house."
Stefan nodded, although he was still unsure. "Ok, don't forget. Love you, Bo."
"Love you too!" She called back at him as she headed down the steps to her car.
Stefan watched her drive off before closing the door. He headed back up to his room and settling onto his bed when Damon, attired in a new shirt, re-entered.
"Why do you always take that little bitch's side?"
"I don't, and don't fucking call her that," Stefan snapped. He lay with his eyes closed as he spoke. Admittedly, he had missed his brother being around, but he knew dude was an ass when he wanted to be. "What happened with you and Rebekah? Why are you back here, Damon?"
"I missed you, brother."
"Seriously."
"She tried to stab me."
Stefan opened his eyes and sat up. "What?!"
"I came home late and she came at me with a kitchen knife," Damon elaborated. His face was completely passive as he said this, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "She's convinced herself that I'm sleeping with her best friend."
"Who? Haley?"
"Yeah. She's not even my type," Damon said, smugly.
"A hot brunette is exactly your type," Stefan disagreed. He was judging by Damon's previous girlfriends, Rosie and Andie, and a lot of the girls he tended to take home after drunken bar nights. He'd broken the mold with Rebekah Mikaelson, a very pretty, very mean, insanely jealous blonde. He'd dated Rebekah before and during those other two relationships, but for some reason he always ended up back with Rebekah. Even after Stefan told him about the time she drunkenly tried to have revenge sex with him after finding out Damon had hooked up with another girl while they were together. Damon still swore that was the only time he'd ever cheated on her. They made up and moved to New Orleans together, where her family resided. She had a hold on Damon that he just couldn't explain.
"How long are you staying for?" Stefan questioned.
"Indefinitely," Damon stated. "I'm done with Bekah. I'm tired of having to sleep with one eye open." He started to back out of the room. "It's my house too, Stefan. Dad left it to Uncle Zach who gave it to us. Get used to having me back, you need me in your life."
Stefan shook his head and closed his eyes again. He still wasn't convinced Damon was here to stay. It would take something very special for him to leave Bekah for good.
The apartment was quiet when Bonnie entered. She looked around and noticed the mess Tyler had created the night before was all cleaned up. She was still without a phone, which annoyed her to no end, and she wanted to just get her stuff and get out. She headed into the bedroom and grabbed a suitcase from the back of her closet. She'd barely put her first item in when a voice from behind her startled her. She whirled around to see a sad-faced Tyler standing in the doorway of the bedroom with his hands in his pockets.
"What the hell!" She screeched. "You're scared the hell out of me?!"
"I'm sorry, baby."
"Why aren't you at work?" She asked.
"I couldn't go," he confessed, stepping into the room, closer to her. "I knew you might come back to get your stuff. I couldn't stand the thought of coming back to an empty house." Bonnie looked to the floor sadly. "Baby, please don't leave." He took another step toward her, removing his hand from his pocket and reaching out but she stepped back. "I know I fucked up last night, but it will never happen again. I promise." He looked like he was on the verge of tears. This look was what always broke her. "Just stay. We can work on this. You can't leave me, Bonnie. Please."
She shook her head. "I can't do this anymore, Tyler." She went back to the closet and grabbed an armful of her clothes off the rack. Tyler made a grab for it when she tried to stuff them in the suitcase.
"You can't leave me," he said, desperately.
"Give them to me," Bonnie said in a serious tone. She snatched them back and put them in the suitcase, but before she could zip it up he grabbed it off the bed and her clothes spilled onto the floor. She rolled her eyes. This would've been so much easier if he would've just gone to work like he was supposed to, she thought to herself.
"Fine," she said, calmly. "I'll send for my stuff later. Goodbye, Tyler."
"Bonnie, please!" Tyler's voice was cracking as she walked past him out of the room. "Bonnie, I love you! Bonnie!" She didn't respond and he heard the sound of the front door shutting a moment later. He looked around the empty room before furiously kicking the suitcase. He knew he had no one to blame but himself.
Sheila Bennett was not surprised when she opened her front door to reveal her granddaughter on the other side. Bonnie's emerald eyes were brimmed with the tears she was fighting to hold back. "Hi Grams," Bonnie said with a smile that didn't meet her eyes. "Is it okay if I stay with you for a little while?"
"Of course, sweetie." Sheila stepped aside and let her enter.
A/N: I just want to make it clear that Damon wasn't going to actually hit Bonnie, he was just reacting to her trying to shove him. Reviews much appreciated! Love you guys!
