A/N: Wow, thank you for all of your reviews and to everyone who favorited and followed! I'm kind of overwhelmed, I didn't really expect anyone to be reading this, let alone so many awesome people.

I've also posted a couple chapters of a Bamon story I'm working on, "Tethered to the Devil," if you're into that sort of thing.

Thanks so much! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, there isn't as much Stefan/Bonnie interaction as I'd wanted, but the parallels of the times they aren't together were kind of interesting to me too, I guess. Either way, there'll be more next time!


The sun hung heavy and low in the sky, its ripe glow suffusing the inside of the car with a stifling warmth. He pulled up in front of her house and turned to face her. "Look Bonnie, I…"

She didn't let him finish. "Thanks for the ride home, Stefan. I guess I'll see you around?"

He nodded, his lips set in a thin line. "Give me a call once you're all settled in, and we can hang out or something."

"Sure, definitely."

He got out of the car to help her carry her luggage, but she shook her head and grabbed her bags with both arms. "I'm fine, thanks." She turned and walked towards the house, not looking back.

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The afternoon sun shone through the glass of the front door. Bonnie dumped her bags in the entryway, having noticed a familiar car in the driveway. Her curls bounced wildly as she ran into the kitchen. "Daddy! You're home!"

Mr. Bennett chuckled. "So're you, baby. I thought you were going to be gone for a few more months."

Bonnie gave her father a tight hug and he patted her back affectionately. "Something came up, we figured we'd come home a little early. Besides, I missed you too much."

He released her from her hug. "Now what did I ever do to deserve such a sweet girl?" He clucked his tongue with a sly smile.

She shrugged and gave him a wink.

She was truly surprised to see him there, given how often he was away on his business trips. Anytime he did happen to be home, she tried her best to command as much of his attention as possible, though even when present her father was inattentive at best.

She knew he loved her. At the same time, Bonnie realized that craving the attention of her father was fighting a losing battle. But then so was practically everything else she ever wanted. It seemed fitting, almost. And yet that also made the rare moments that she had with him all the more special, she decided.

His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "So did you and Caroline paint the capitol red?"

She blushed, remembering her lie. She had told him that she and Caroline were taking a year off to travel and research colleges. He'd readily assented, telling her to do what made her happy and offering her his credit card for the expenses of the trip. This was another consequence of having a mostly absent parental figure.

"Oh you know us, Dad. They didn't know what him 'em."

"That's my girl." He smiled, his eyes flicking back to the newspaper on the table.

"We saw Georgetown, it was pretty nice," she started.

He didn't look up again from the paper. "That's great, sweetheart," he said distractedly.

Her lips stretched into a tense smile. "I better go unpack," she muttered, not bothering to wait for his nod before turning around and walking back to the entryway for her bags.

It was for the best that he didn't care, honestly. She and Stefan had only walked through part of Georgetown while looking for an Indian fusion restaurant that had been recommended on Yelp. If her father had asked many questions, she would have found herself quickly stumped.

The truth was that Bonnie couldn't really see the point in researching schools. Her magic was her main focus, and some nagging part of her knew that that focus would cost her the kind of normalcy that she sometimes longed for. Some days she wondered if she could drop the whole Bennett witch thing and just be another nameless student at some university or other. Some days she thought it would be a miracle if she even lived long enough to graduate from college.

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"Are you listening to me, Damon?" Her hands were on her hips and her glare told him that this was a Very Serious Moment.

They'd been having a lot of those, he thought.

"Of course I'm listening. How could I not listen when you're talking about Caroline? You know how much Blondie fascinates me," he drawled with a smirk.

"I'm serious! This is important to me, it should matter to you too."

He sauntered closer to her, sliding his arms around her waist. Her hands moved from her hips and onto his arms. He leaned forward so that his lips brushed her cheek. "You know it matters, Elena. You're the most important thing in the world to me."

He felt her sigh, her warm breath tickling his neck pleasantly. He kissed the corner of her mouth as she spoke again.

"I know you care, Damon. I just wish you could show it as well as you can say it."

And there it is, he thought. She was still trying to turn him into Stefan, trying to transform him into the better man. He knew the road these thoughts would take him down, and he decided to bury them instead.

"Oh, I can show it," he told her. He crashed his lips into hers, and relief flooded through him as she kissed him back.

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Her scent was everywhere. He stood on the front stoop, and she surrounded him before he'd even opened the door. He remembered the scent with a visceral tug, his mind instantly conjuring the sensation of the last time he nuzzled against the crook of her neck.

When he finally opened the door, he saw more evidence of her presence. Her jacket was thrown over the arm of one of the chairs in the foyer. Her keys lay splayed across the top of the credenza. Two glasses of blood sat on the table in the parlor.

"Mmm, Damon..."

The moan was muffled, but his vampiric hearing had no trouble discerning every syllable. He couldn't do this.

He strode back out the front door, allowing it to slam behind him.

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She startled in his arms, hearing the front door close as loudly as if she'd been standing before it. "Did you hear that? Are you expecting someone?"

He captured her lips against his again. Of course he'd heard that, but he was not interested in the encyclopedia salesmen or Jehovah's witnesses or girl scouts or whoever else was stupid enough to stand at his doorstep at that moment.

She pushed out of his arms, her head cocked as she listened intently. "Who was that?"

He groaned, trying to pull her back to him but finding her grip firm. Damn vampire strength, it was way more convenient when he was the only one who had it.

"It's probably just Caroline, here for your latest lesson in bloodsucking," he finally sighed.

Her eyes flashed angrily and she shoved him away. "You have got to be kidding me!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "What'd I do now?"

"If you'd been paying any attention at all, Damon, you'd have known that Caroline told me today that our lessons weren't working out." She began gathering her discarded blouse and jacket, slipping them on as Damon winced.

"I'm still completely terrible at this vampire thing, and now I'm losing my friends over it. It's just so nice to have your support in this difficult time," she said bitterly, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

He said nothing as she stormed out.

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He sat in Damon's spot at the bar of the Grill, slouched over and staring morosely into his glass. He hadn't meant to sit in his brother's usual seat, but it seemed appropriate once he realized that he had. If his brother was going to take over his life, he might as well return the favor.

He didn't want to think about Elena or Damon or Elena and Damon. Especially not the last one.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Bonnie's number. After ringing for what seemed an eternity, it finally went to voicemail. He hung up.

He hadn't meant to kiss her. Part of him didn't regret that he did, not even a little, but the rest of him was being pulled down by undertow.

He remembered the sound of Elena's voice at the boardinghouse, ragged and lusty. Why shouldn't he be moving on when she so clearly had? And wouldn't it be some sort of poetic justice really if he moved on with her best friend, her sister, if she was fucking his brother?

His rage was palpable, an unforgiving knot clenching at the base of his throat.

But that was reason enough to regret his actions with Bonnie. Bonnie deserved better than some guy who was hung up on her best friend and putting moves on her out of spite. He messed up, and now she was avoiding him.

He gulped down his drink and slammed the tumbler down on the bar.

"Easy on the glassware there, buddy," a voice called out affably. Matt stood on the other side of the bar with a smile. Stefan was taken slightly aback as he looked up at him. The once hale quarterback appeared to be wan and tired, his pale blue eyes sunken into his drawn face.

Stefan gave him a tense smile. "Hey, Matt. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Matt grinned, his mirth seeming entirely out of place on his pallid features. "Yeah, how was DC? Caroline said you guys were having a good time."

"It was great, yeah." A sincere smile crossed his face then. "It was good to get away, but you've got to come home sometime, right?

"That sounds about right." Matt was still grinning as he wiped down the bar.

"So how're things with you, Matt?"

"Well you know how it is, everything changes but everything stays the same around here. I'm just glad the football scholarship panned out." He leaned against the bar with a modest grin.

"Caroline told Bonnie and Bonnie told me. UVA, right? That's awesome, Matt, congrats." Stefan swirled his glass, causing the chunks of ice within to spin dizzily.

"Yeah man, thanks. I don't know what Elena will do once I move in the fall, though." His voice grew tense as he finished the sentence and realized what he'd said.

"What do you mean?" Stefan was careful to sound nonchalant.

Matt was glad that Stefan seemed alright with talking about her. "Well she's still drinking my blood, she can't keep the other stuff down, remember?"

"Still?" Stefan frowned as Matt nodded, and a familiar pang of worry filtered through his mind. Maybe he could compel someone else to be willing to provide blood for her after Matt left.

He shook his head, almost laughing at how easily he was able to fall back into Save Elena mode. Let Damon take care of that then, he thought bitterly.

"Hey, I'm sorry to ask this, but is there any chance I could crash at your place? The boardinghouse is a little… crowded." Stefan smiled sheepishly as he changed the subject.

Matt looked apologetic. "Sorry Stefan, I'm actually living at the Gilberts' house right now."

Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Jeremy's been having weird nightmares about killing vampires. About killing Elena, I guess… so we figured I could keep an eye on him while she stays at your place."

"My place, right," Stefan nodded absentmindedly.

"Sorry, man. I could ask Jeremy if he'd mind if you crashed with us, but then we're back at square one with the whole vampire living with a vampire killer thing." The blond gave him a weak smile.

"No, that's okay. Thanks though, Matt."

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Her father left that evening for his latest business trip, kissing her on the cheek and promising to call every weekend.

She wasn't surprised, not really.

She stared at the small stuffed penguin as it sat motionless on a shelf on the other side of the room. Its beady eyes seemed almost to be laughing at her.

"Wow, I'm really losing it." She rubbed her eyes.

Stefan had bought the plush for her on their final trip to the National Zoo, slipping into the gift shop when she wasn't paying attention and surprising her with it as they walked back to their apartment.

Her fingertips brushed her lips as she remembered the night they'd kissed.

She was horrified when she considered what she'd done. She knew how emotionally volatile Stefan had been, and she knew that Elena would be hurt if she ever found out. There was really no reasoning that could make her actions acceptable.

And yet a part of her missed it. Missed him.

That part of her knew that it was unfair of her to avoid him now. She was still his friend, and he still surely needed her help.

Still, she feared what would happen if she slipped up again. Her mind felt like it was running on an endless loop, spinning in frantic circles around the confusing tangle of emotions he conjured in her now.

She picked up her phone and saw his missed call. She wondered if she should call him back. Or maybe she should call Elena, she still needed to let her know they were back in town.

She called Caroline instead.

The blonde vampire answered with an effusive, wordless shrill. "Bonnie! You're home, I'm so glad you're home!"

The witch couldn't help but smile. She and her friend had been in touch while Bonnie had been in DC, but Caroline still wanted a rundown of anything she'd missed. Bonnie briefly considered spilling the secret of the kiss, but she didn't. She didn't really want to talk about it, and that's all Caroline would want to do if she caught wind of it.

Caroline for her part needed to vent about the argument she and Elena had had that morning.

"I swear half the time she'd keep the blood bag stuff down just fine if she'd stop working herself up with worry."

Bonnie frowned into the phone. "She still can't drink from the bags?"

"No that's the thing, right?" Caroline huffed on the other end of the line. "She freaks out every time and can't keep it down. She's still feeding on Matt every day. Poor guy's looking pretty much terrible lately, but she's just that sure that there's no other way."

Bonnie made a mental note to check in on Matt as soon as she could.

Caroline was still talking. "And then there was the time they compelled him, don't even get me started on that one."

Bonnie felt her breath catch in her throat. "They what?

"Yeah, seriously, that's exactly what I said when I heard. Apparently Elena lost control and Damon had to pull her off of him. And he was freaking out so she was freaking out, and Damon just compelled him to forget about it and go home and be cool with being her human blood bag again until the end of time."

Bonnie shook her head. "I can't believe that."

"Well I'm paraphrasing, Bonnie. But you get the gist."

Bonnie sighed. "I'll look in the grimoire tonight to see if there's anything that could help. It's a long shot, but this isn't sustainable. I can't believe they haven't worked something else out by now."

Caroline was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke again, Bonnie could hear the smile in her words. "I'm really glad you're back, Bons."

Bonnie rubbed her neck. "I missed you too, Care." The doorbell rang. "Look, I have to go. Talk to you later?"

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Bonnie saw a familiar face on the other side of the front door as she stepped into the entryway. Her heart leapt into her throat, where she felt it flutter like a trapped bird.

She opened the door. His duffel bag lay beside his feet on the dusty floorboards of the front porch.

"Hey, Stefan."

He gave her a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. She saw the worry that furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"When we were in DC, you told me once that people like us have to cling to our bliss. That it comes along so rarely that we have to clutch it close when it does."

She was silent, her emerald eyes soft as she watched him.

"I don't have anywhere else to go, Bonnie. You're my best friend, and you're the only good thing I have right now to hold on to."

She exhaled gently, releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "We can't kiss anymore."

He shook his head. "You're right, it was a mistake."

She barely flinched at his words, but it went unnoticed as she bowed her head and stepped aside, allowing Stefan in.

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