A/N: Thanks for all of the initial reviews!
Standing next to a glass house is just as risky as living in one.
Chapter Two
Bonnie is only mildly surprised to find that in the morning, her father has not yet left for work.
He has a look on his face; the type of look that parental units get when they are going to tell you something that is either really awesome or really terrible.
Bonnie was betting on terrible.
"You got in pretty late last night," he says.
Bonnie didn't think her father would notice. She informed him of the fundraiser so he knew where she had gone. But Bonnie has always known her father to go to bed early. She didn't think he would wait for her.
"Um, did I wake you up, or...?"
"No. no, you didn't disturb me." He puts his hands on her shoulders and smiles at the woman who once was his little girl, "Bonnie, you know that I trust your judgment ―"
"But?" Bonnie interrupts. She would rather he'd spit it out instead of softening her up first.
"Damon. I know you are dating him again and I know that before I didn't have a problem with it. But he seems...dangerous, somehow. I can't put my finger on it but it is how I feel. When you two had broken up, I caught him sneaking though your window. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want to alarm you. I just want you to be careful."
"Dad, I...I understand where you're coming from. But Damon isn't really as bad as you think he is."
In reality, Damon was worse than her father can imagine. However, Bonnie was not going to tell him that any time soon.
"I just want you to be able to come to me for any reason, if things get too tough for you..." her father trails off, obviously wanting to say more, but anxious at the thought of offending her.
Bonnie senses his hesitation, "What is it?"
"You'd tell me if Damon were pushing drugs, wouldn't you?"
"Pushing drugs?," Bonnie repeats in an effort to clarify what she just heard.
"Yes," he says, nodding solemnly.
"Damon's not a drug dealer."
Her father doesn't push the issue, taking Bonnie's word for it. He sighs with relief, "Good, good. Well, I have to go. And, uh, I'll cook dinner tonight so don't worry about that. I'll see you later, sweetheart."
He kisses Bonnie on the forehead and offers a bright smile as he heads out the door, pleased that he's done his fatherly duty.
"My father thinks you're a drug dealer."
No kiss. No hug. Barely a greeting as she walks into Damon's bedroom and throws her bag on his bed.
"Where would he get an idea like that?" Damon asks, not bothered in the least by the idea. He has been accused of worse crimes.
"I don't know. I'm guessing it is the fact that you have loads of money, fancy clothes, nice cars, without a job to support it all. Not to mention the fact that you hang out with teenagers. That screams 'Drug Dealer.'"
"Your father doesn't like me very much," Damon rightly assumes.
"Probably. I don't get it, though. He liked Jeremy."
Instead of responding, Damon plows ahead with his own agenda. He hands Bonnie a book.
"What's this?," She asks.
"It's Ric's. See if there's anything in there that would help with Klaus. Can't you do a spell to keep him away from you?"
"Some spells are complicated. If I wanted to keep a specific vampire from me, there is a chance it could keep all vampires away, which would be unfortunate for you. I think we should let him come to us. The more he talks, it gives us chance that we could figure out what he's up to."
"Klaus doesn't come to us. He comes to you. And to Stefan, for some reason."
"He's in our territory. He's here where we can keep tabs on him," Bonnie argues.
"So what? Are we supposed to let him run around?"
"We let you run around."
Damon's taken aback, her words echoing across the room, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Bonnie shifts uncomfortably, "I meant that there have been dangers in Mystic Falls that we didn't extinguish right away. Katherine, being one of them."
"And me being the other," Damon extends.
"You have killed a lot of people here, I'm not going to pretend that hasn't happened. But Klaus killed Jenna. He tried to destroy what little there was left of the Gilbert family. I want to get him, but I want to be smart about it. Even Elena feels that we shouldn't be so aggressive."
Damon scoffs, eyes squinting, which usually indicates that he is about to say something mean. "Elena's stupid."
Bingo.
"To be fair, you think anyone who doesn't agree with you is stupid."
Damon shrugs as if to say it's true.
"I don't like the idea of him...talking to you," Damon confesses, in case Bonnie doesn't comprehend how uneasy he is with Klaus being in Mystic Falls.
"I know. I don't like it either," Bonnie concedes.
The conversation reaches an impasse.
"Well, now that it's settled, do you want to make-out or something," Damon suggests rather causally which belies the fact that he would really, really like to touch her.
Early in the afternoon, Caroline lets herself into the boardinghouse.
She has spent the bulk of her days there but she likes being a part of the action. It's like they are members of some secret, supernatural, crime fighting team.
"Caroline," Stefan says, walking into the living room.
"Oh!," Caroline exclaims, a bit in surprise, "Hi!" Caroline responds, instantly hating that her voice is so cheery. She should sound more adult, more serious.
"How are you?," Stefan asks, the sincerity that Caroline has missed infused into the one question.
Since Stefan's return, Caroline's encounters with him had been atypical and frightening. Everyone says he's better but she has been dawdling at the prospect of seeing so for herself.
"I'm good. Are you okay?" Caroline responds.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," he states
Stefan stares at her, unexpectedly nervous. "I'm sorry," he says because anything else is just not good enough.
"That's...it's fine," Caroline dismisses, offering a weary smile.
"No it's not. You don't have to excuse me from what I've done. Caroline, you're my friend and I'm sorry."
"You're my friend, too." Caroline realizes that alternatively, she should have said that she forgives him or something of the like.
When Stefan puts his arms around her, Caroline stiffens, her body going rigid at the contact.
Nothing bad happens, and Stefan is just Stefan. She relaxes into the hug, smiling contently.
The renovation process for Mystic Grill is slow and the nearest bar is serious about not selling minors alcohol.
Damon watches as kid after kid is prompted for an I.D.
"I have conflicted feelings about the man who inhabited my body. I feel like, on some strange, primitive level, I understand him. But I mostly want to kill him," Alaric says, his speech slurred.
Grabbing Damon's arm, Alaric pulls him closer, "You have to help me kill him. For Jenna, you have to help me. You liked her, didn't you? She was fun, and warm, and she could hold a grudge forever if you let her, but I miss her, Damon. Sometimes, I really miss her," Alaric laments.
Damon takes a moment to regard his friend, "You're drunker than I am."
"That's very likely," Alaric acknowledges. "I'm going to the bathroom, then I'm going to go home and sleep it off."
"That is a plan," Damon encourages.
Alaric staggers away from his seat and Damon chuckles into his drink. His giddiness is short-lived.
"I thought you would be off by now, with a stake in your hand promising my demise," Klaus states, slinking into the seat Alaric had vacated.
Damon's jaw tightens, but he manages a broad plastic grin on his face, "I was starting to worry. You don't call, you don't write. Our last night together was so special."
"I'm beginning to think you don't need me. The history teacher is doing such a fine job of keeping you company," Klaus responds, playing along, "Although I doubt he's as entertaining as Bonnie is."
Klaus' comment has a sobering effect on Damon, "Stay away from Bonnie."
Klaus raises an eyebrow, "And how will stop me?"
"I will kill you," Damon assures, an affirmation that he will do everything within his power to see Klaus' death come to fruition.
"Find me when you figure out a way to do that," Klaus advises, unshakable mirth in his eyes.
After her father goes to bed, Bonnie lights candles; the scent of the melting wax integrating with the wet grass and the breeze that only circulates in the night.
Bonnie meditates, tries to find the center of her being; feeling at peace once she's found it.
She doesn't know how long she meditates, but afterwards, the disconnect leaves her a bit disoriented. She bumps against a table, the lamp tipping over.
When her hand shoots out to steady it, she encounters cool skin along with the ceramic base of the lamp.
Her breath catches.
"That' a nice sound, your heart speeding up," Klaus remarks as if its a compliment.
Bonnie removes her fingers as if she's been burned.
"You lied to your boyfriend today. You could keep me away from you if you wanted," Klaus states, stepping closer to Bonnie.
It's pointless to tell him to leave, to get out of her home, but she will try regardless. "You're bored with your existence, I get it. But unless there is a reason for you to be here, you should go."
"I could hurt you," Klaus reminds, as if she's forgotten.
To that response, Bonnie follows a script that would allow her possibility of escaping unscathed.
Rule Number One: Psychopathic Vampires are always right: "I'm sure you could."
Rule Number Two: Call Psychopathic Vampire's bluff: "So do it, what's stopping you?"
Rule Number Three: Let Psychopathic Vampire know that only one solution is viable: "If you're done, I would really like you to leave.
Klaus considers her for a long moment, "You're still afraid of me but something's changed."
"What are you talking about? Nothing has changed," Bonnie denies.
Klaus doesn't focus on the things that she's saying. He stares at her mouth and then the frown in the middle of her brows. After the brief excursion, his gaze returns to her mouth.
Klaus backs away from her, startled by the desire that slams through him.
Bonnie takes the opportunity to inhale and exhale, closing her eyes for mere seconds.
When she opens her eyes, Klaus is gone. She pinches herself only to realize it wasn't a dream.
"He's such a weirdo," Bonnie states the next day in the company of Elena and Caroline.
"I don't get it. He comes back to town to do nothing. It's not like I want him to wreak havoc on my life , but it is frustrating not knowing what he's going to do," Elena adds.
Joining in, Caroline states, "And there's been no luck finding Elijah's body."
The three sit in the Gilbert kitchen, eating sandwiches that taste like sawdust in result of the topic of conversation.
"Damon is driving Stefan crazy. He's up all night, coming up with strategies. The study has been converted into his own personal war-room," Elena complains.
"I didn't notice a difference," Caroline responds.
"That's because it's still the same, it's just where he goes to talk to Alaric," Bonnie informs.
"Well, with any luck we'll all be dead before the school year starts so we won't have to deal with this or senior prom," Caroline says with all seriousness.
The girls look at each other and burst into laughter.
"What do you want me to put on the card, Mr. ―"
"It doesn't have to be signed. She'll know who it's from."
"This is such a lovely gesture," the salesgirl gushes, making sure the box is securely wrapped, "Is it you're anniversary or something?"
Klaus leans against the counter, "No. It's rather...new."
"How nice. Someone from our store will personally deliver it to her by 6 tonight."
Assured of the delivery, Klaus walks out of the store hungry, almost peckish.
He wanders in search of his next meal.