The next morning Bonnie woke up in an unfamiliar place in an empty bed. She sat up and looked at her surroundings and slowly remembered everything that happened last night, mainly the fact that she had let her walls down around Damon. The same Damon that is basically a crazy murderer who only cares about himself. She can't believe how stupid she must have been to let her guard down around him. Who knows what could have happened. 'But then again he had been very kind and protective yesterday so maybe he's different than I thought he was.' Thought Bonnie as she got up and walked downstairs.
She made it downstairs to the Salvatore kitchen only to find Damon standing over a skillet making pancakes, pancakes that smelled and looked delicious. Damon noticed her come in and looked up as she was watching him. Their eyes met and a small smile graced his lips at the electrifying feeling he got from her gaze.
"Good morning Bennet." Damon said cheerfully putting on his signature smirk. He put some pancakes on a plate and set it on the table, making a gesture with his hands for her to sit.
"These smell amazing, thank you Damon." Bonnie said in a small voice as she started cutting into the pancakes.
"Everything I make smells amazing. I'm just that awesome." Damon stated smugly as he sat down across from her.
"And let's not forget humble." Bonnie said sarcastically, earning a smile from Damon.
She ate her food in silence as Damon watched her from across the table. Although she had been cleaned up and all the blood was washed off her there were still some cuts and bruises on her body and when Damon noticed them he was slightly shocked by the large pulse of anger that overtook him. Bonnie noticed how his body seemed to tense up and to calm him she decided to speak. "I should probably go home after I finish eating." He unclenched his fist and brought his eyes to meet hers. "Yeah of course." He said hopelessly failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. Bonnie was slightly shocked that he seemed upset to have her leave but at the same time she couldn't help but not want to leave either, she had been enjoying being able to see the nicer, softer side of Damon. "Would you mind driving me though?" Bonnie bursted out suddenly. "I mean I just don't… I'm not sure how well I'll be able to drive because I'm still pretty shaken up."
"Yeah of course I'll drive you whenever you're ready."
They arrived at Bonnie's home a little while later and after Damon pulled into the driveway he quickly got out of his seat to help bonnie get out of hers. He stuck out a hand for her to take and she pulled herself out of the car but stumbled as she took her first step. Damon's arms instantly jolted out to steady her and Bonnie found herself face to face with the gorgeous blue eyed vampire. They stared into each other's eyes; their faces only inches apart and Bonnie felt butterflies run through her stomach. Damon's eyes quickly darted to look at Bonnies lushes lips before quickly moving back to her eyes and it took all his strength to restrain himself to not take her right there on the driveway. He pulled away and steadied Bonnie before removing his arms completely and turning around. "You should probably head in." Bonnie was still shocked at the intense moment that just passed through them and slightly irritated that Damon just chose to ignore it but after letting out a deep sigh she started walking past him and into the house. She opened the door and went inside but before shutting it she turned around and looked Damon directly in the eye.
"Thank you Damon, for everything." She said sincerely.
"Anytime." He replied giving her one of his playful smirks but the look in his eyes told her he was dead serious. She gave a small smile before turning around and walking completely into the house shutting the door behind her. Damon turned and ran a hand through his hair as he walked back to his car. "Shit." He thought as he pulled out of her driveway. "Since when did I have the hots for Bonnie fucking Bennet?"
Later that day Elena and Caroline called Bonnie asking if she wanted to hang out at the Grille, they felt guilty about leaving her last night and wanted to make it up to her. Secretly, Bonnie was afraid to go back to the Grille so suddenly after what had happened. In all honesty ever since Damon dropped her off she'd felt scared and venerable and didn't even want to go out in public, which she knew was ridicules because she was a witch and has been through much worse but this particular event made her wary. She didn't want to tell her friends what happened just yet, she knew they would freak and she wasn't ready for that, and they would be offended if she declined so she said she would meet them around 6 for dinner, hoping that she was blowing it out of proportion and it wouldn't be all that scary. That's where she went wrong.
As Bonnie drove into the Grille parking lot her hands started shaking in fear. She did all she could to avoid looking at the dark alley way she had been abused in yesterday and as she walked into the Grille. She subconsciously rubbed her hands across the bruises she had covered with make-up. She quickly noticed how full the bar was and was filled with a feeling of panic until she spotted Caroline and Elena sitting at a table. She quickly walked over to them and sat down letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Bonnie was shocked by how much fear she felt just by walking into the restaurant. For crying out loud I've been through worse why can't I just forget about the incident! Bonnie thought to herself quietly. She was broken out of her thoughts when Caroline started up a conversation. For a while Bonnie started to feel fine although she was still tense and would look slightly scared every once in a while, which didn't go unnoticed by Caroline and Elena, but then Stefan showed up. He came in and greeted Elena with a kiss before sliding into the seat next to Elena and Bonnie was somewhat surprised by the rush of fear that ran through her body. She knew she could trust Stefan and that he would never hurt her but for some reason her mind was instantly filled with fear, all she could remember was the attack last night and shockingly she thought that he might attack her in the same way. With all these fears running through her mind Bonnie abruptly stood up knocking her chair over.
"Bonnie what-"Elena started but was cut off by the smooth voice of Bonnie's savior.
"What's going on here?" Damon said playfully, looking around the table, although his voice carried a sense of amusement when he looked Bonnie in the eye she could have sworn she saw concern. The second there eyes met Bonnie felt her body relax and although she was still weary of Stefan, she felt safe because Damon was there, but she didn't know why. Just a day ago she would have been upset and probably even more afraid when Damon showed up, but now all she wanted to do was cling to him and never let go. She tore her eyes away from his and sat back down.
"Sorry…there was a bug." She quickly lied to answer the confused glances her friends were giving her. They nodded but Elena and Caroline gave her weird looks and she was sure they'd question her more later. Damon sat down with them and chatted for a short while before getting up and going to the bar, giving Bonnie an almost longing look before leaving the table. She instantly found herself wishing he stayed. However, it wasn't because she was afraid still, Damon's presence had calmed her down long enough so she could realize she Stefan would never hurt her, but because she because the second he got up Bonnie couldn't help but miss him. Confused by her feelings and starting to get tired, Bonnie got up and told her friends that she was going to go home to work on a homework assignment due that Monday. They said goodbye and Bonnie began to quickly walk to the door but unfortunately ran into someone on accident.
She stumbled forwards slightly but the stranger caught her before she could fall. She looked up to find that it was a boy from her school. His name was Trey Pratt and he was a year older than Bonnie. He was on the football team and although he was popular he was a complete jerk. "Well hello there." He said in a flirty voice not removing his arms from around her body. Bonnie instantly tensed up and froze with fear, she couldn't help but be reminded of the night before as these unwanted arms wrapped around her. She tried to remove his arms from around her but although he loosened his grip he didn't let go of her.
"Aw come on now, why don't we go get a drink or something gorgeous." Bonnie knew the guy probably didn't mean any harm, or at least not in the way that the vampire from last night had, but she couldn't stop the overwhelming fear that coursed through her body. Suddenly, she felt another hand on her shoulder and an icy voice came from behind her.
"I'm going to ask you nicely, Get your hands off her." It was Damon.
"Whoa. Sorry man I didn't mean any harm." Trey said quickly removing his arms and walking away. Damon walked in front of Bonnie, careful to keep his arms off her since he had noticed her caution towards men. Bonnie relaxed under his gaze letting out a breath of relief, however her body was trembling. She looked into his eyes and nodded but implying that she was ok but he knew she really wasn't. He cautiously took her hand and gently pulled her outside. Once they made it out the door he let her have a moment before questioning her.
"What happened in there Bonnie? You seemed as if you were afraid of everyone." He asked quietly. She looked at the ground.
"I know it's stupid, I just feel like every guy is going to do the same thing that man did to me. I didn't feel safe I felt completely vulnerable, like it could happen again at any second." Damon's eyes soften.
"It's not stupid Bonnie, after what you went through you're allowed to be scared." She raised her gaze to meet his eyes. She didn't say anything so he continued "And you know I wouldn't ever let anyone hurt you, touch you like that ever again. I promise you that I will keep you safe." He didn't know why but he felt very protective of his little witch.
"I wasn't scared when you were there. I don't know why but I felt… safer once you arrived." Bonnie admitted quietly. His eyes slightly widened, somewhat shocked to hear that she felt safe around him. Then he noticed that Bonnie was still shaking and he slowly pulled her to him staring into her eyes so he could pull away if he saw fear in them but he never did. He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around him burying her face in the crook of his neck. He soothingly stroked her hair and they stood like that for what seemed like hours, relishing in the relief of being in each other's arms, before Damon finally pulled away looking into her green orbs. "You should probably head home now." She nodded "I'll drive you." He stated and then walked her to her car.
When they arrived at Bonnie's home the house was completely dark. Damon pulled into the driveway and noticed that Bonnie had begun to shake again, whether it was from the cold or fear he didn't know. He got out of the car and used his vampire speed to get to her door and open it. She stepped out and he walked her to the door.
"Well I guess I better go." Damon said although he didn't turn around to leave. The second the words passed through his lips he noticed a wave of fear flash through Bonnie's eyes. The look only lasted for a second but he still saw it and he couldn't help but wish he could make all her fears disappear. "Is your dad home?" He asked quietly, he knew that Bonnie was on her own a lot and he didn't feel too comfortable with leaving her all alone.
"No, he had some business thing in California to go to; he won't be back for a while, so I got the house all to myself." She said it with a smile but Damon saw right through it.
"If you want… you could come back to the Boardinghouse." Damon started cautiously. "That way you won't have to be alone and I could use the company, maybe we could play strip poker." She smiled at that part; leave it to Damon to make a joke out of everything. But she knew his offer was serious. She could tell he was reluctant to leave alone and in all honestly she didn't want to be alone, or to be away from Damon. As much as she hated to admit it she knew that the second the blue-eyed vampire left she would miss him. Suddenly, Damon's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Stefan won't be there tonight, so no one needs to know if that's what you're worried about." She hadn't realized how long she had taken to think and he had grown worried that he said the wrong thing; maybe she just wanted to be alone.
"Your right I don't want to be alone." 'or without you.' "So… I think I'll take you up on your offer." He smiled at her response and walked back to her car, gesturing for her to follow. When they were both seated Damon started the engine and drove off to his house.
When the two finally arrived at the Boardinghouse Damon took Bonnie straight up to his bedroom. Bonnie realized she hadn't brought any comfortable clothes to sleep in but Damon was one step ahead of her.
"Here." Damon said handing her a pair of his sweats and a t-shirt "You can take a shower or whatever and then change into these. I'll be downstairs if you need me." With that he walked out of the room shutting the door to give her privacy.
Now that she was alone Bonnie took some time to look around the room. Although she had been in here once before, this was the first time she was aware enough to focus on the fact that this was Damon Salvatore's bedroom. It wasn't what she had expected at all. Accepted for the giant ass bed that sat against the wall. But everything else seemed so… un-Damon like. His room was fairly modern and it danced with dull colors of gray, white, and blue. He had many bookcases against his walls. To be honest Bonnie always pictured his room to be black with a coffin in the corner, just like the stereotypical vampires in the movies. She knew that was very unlikely but she had at least expected his room to be black and dreary. Instead it felt warm and comfortable. She found herself enjoying his room. It smelt like him and it made her feel safe.
She realized she was supposed to be cleaning herself up and getting ready for bed so she made her way to the bathroom. She decided not to take a shower, she had taken one before she went to the Grille, and she went straight to changing into Damon's clothes. She reveled in the feeling of the soft fabric against her smooth skin and took a moment to enjoy being wrapped up in Damon's scent. She washed her face and then headed downstairs to find Damon.
She found him sitting in front of the fire, bourbon in hand, staring into nothing. He heard her come in and turned to greet her. A wave of possessiveness and want coursed through his veins when he saw Bonnie in his clothes. She looked adorably sexy and it took everything in him to restrain himself from acting out the little fantasy he currently had playing in his head. He took a deep breath, trying to rid his mind of all his dirty thoughts about Bonnie before speaking.
"I must say Bonnie, you look even more ravishing in my clothes than I do, and that's saying something." He smirked as she blushed from his words. "Do you wanna do something." He asked "It's only about 8:30 but if you're tired I'll let you sleep."
"I'm not that tired, what did you have in mind."
"We could watch a movie, Elena always brings a bunch to watch with Stefan and leaves them here so you could pick from one of those. Although knowing Elena, I doubt any of them are very good, probably all lovey-dovey and shit but I'd be willing to suffer through it just for you."
"Oh how very brave of you Damon." Bonnie replied with a grin. "Watching a movie sounds great though, very relaxing." Damon showed her where the movies were and sat down on the couch as she picked one.
"Hmmmm what should we watch? Twilight or The Hangover." Bonnie said trying to sound serious although she was holding back laughter as a look of panic swept over Damon's face. "I heard the Hangover was funny but I gotta say, Twilights looking very tempting."
"Please dear got don't make me watch that shit again. I've already seen it way more times than I should have."
"What happened to being willing to suffer through it for me scaredy cat."
"Oh come on Bonnie it's Twilight. Twilight!"
"Exactly, I have no idea why you wouldn't want to watch it."
"I'm begging you Bonnie-"She cut off his pleads.
"Oh shut-up you wimp, I was never gonna make you watch it in the first place. Your right the movie sucks. I just like seeing you suffer." She concluded with a smug smile on her face as she went to put the Hangover in the DVD player.
"Your cruel Bennet, you know that?" Damon said as he grabbed the remote and started the movie. Bonnie didn't respond she just turned around with a smile on her face and walked over to the couch sitting behind her.
Throughout the movie the two found themselves moving closer and closer to each other and soon Damon found himself having a hard time concentrating on the movie. He looked over at the witch next to him whose eyes were trained on the T.V. as she laughed at a funny scene in the movie. He couldn't take his eyes off her as her beauty stunned him. She seemed so carefree and relaxed at the moment. He couldn't help but causally throw his arm around her shoulder, watching her from the corner of his eye to see how he reacted. He was glad to see that it didn't make her uncomfortable. In fact, he was pretty sure her smile had widened and he was glad because he had no intention of moving it. He wanted to hold her and let's face it he always got what he want, but it made him happy to see that Bonnie probably wanted it too. She slowly leaned into his body and relaxed against him and he pulled her closer.
When the movie was finally over Bonnie had fallen asleep, her head now resting on Damon's shoulder. He spent a moment to study her peaceful face before getting off the couch and picking her up in his strong arms. He carried her to his bedroom and placed him underneath his covers. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before turning to leave but he stopped as he felt a hand grab his wrist.
"Stay." He turned to look at her and was met with two beautiful green eyes looking up at him hopefully. She blushed under his intense gaze. "Please." He couldn't say no to her. Hell, he didn't want to say no to her. So he walked around the bed and crawled into his bed being sure to keep some distance between them as he lied straight up staring at the ceiling. She turned to look at him and out of the corner of his eyes he could have sworn he saw disappointment in them. He ignored the thought as Bonnie turned back around her back facing him. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, he wanted to hold her but he knew he shouldn't. He was Damon fucking Salvatore. He couldn't, wouldn't, let himself start becoming some kind of softie. He didn't do these kinds of things. Never once in his entire life had he slept in the same bed as a beautiful woman just to sleep. Most of the time he didn't even spend the night with the random girls he hooked up with. But Bonnie Bennet wasn't just some random girl he picked up at a bar. She was a girl who had somehow managed to worm his way into his heart. As much as he wanted to deny it, he cared about the girl lying next to him. And that's why without a seconds hesitation he turned on his side and pulled her body against his, draping one arm over her to rest on her stomach. She gasped at the sudden movement and turned her head to look at him. He watched her, waiting for her to protest and pull away but instead she just smiled and turned her head back around sighing contently as she drifted back to sleep. For the second night in a row Damon and Bonnie fell asleep in each other's arms, and they couldn't have been more content