Chapter Two: Demystified


Bonnie Bennet hopped out of her car urgently. Tonight was the night of her dad's office gathering, which meant that she was being sent out to do errands for the event that she wasn't even going to be attending. It was as though both her parents were pushing her into the most logical, boring, sadistic career path there was. Law.

It wasn't that she had a real aversion to law itself. In theory being able to set up guidelines that people followed that kept society functioning was genius, but … when people started finding loopholes and the bad guys manipulated the land of the lawso much that it worked against the good of 'the people,' it was just another necessary evil.

And Bonnie was just not in the mood to be pushed into a law career just because she came from a long line of lawyers, her great-great grandfather being the first African-American to practice law in all of Virginia.

She shook her head angrily at the thought of having to carry on a tradition she felt half-heartedly about. And then there was the fact that starting next week, she'd have first quarter finals and these little head games her parents liked to play were starting to interfere.

But who was she kidding? These were just excuses for the fact that there was a more pressing concern on her mind. Well, two. One, she worried about the Emily situation and if she would ever have power like that and be possessed by a ghost again and two … she worried about Elena.

Telling Bonnie about Stefan and Damian being vampires was something that Elena needed to do, definitely, but it put Bonnie on edge. She was constantly worried about what was going to happen next and if she would be able to protect the ones she loved from being hurt.

It had gotten to the point where if Elena didn't call, like she hadn't today, about anything Bonnie would freak out. And today, feeling generous and overwhelmed and all, Bonnie was going to give Elena two more hours before she went out on a man hunt.

As Bonnie neared the entrance of the gas station, she peered to her left to see Elena's younger brother Jeremy sitting on one of the benches out front. "Jer!"

"Hey Bonnie." He looked up from the book he was holding. Weird. Since when did Jeremy read?

"Hi. I know I'm probably being OCD about this, but … is Elena alright? Did she come back home last night or--"

"She's fine."

"So, you've seen her today then?" Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not exactly. You know if you want to drop by the house and see that she's there, be my guest." He offered, closing the book shut.

"Actually, I think I might just do that. Give me a second." Bonnie rushed into the gas station, smiled at Russell who worked the cash register and placed a few items on the counter, including a couple of bags of ice.

"Anotha reception?"

"Sort of. And my parents think I have nothing better to do than become their personal assistants."

He gave her the change, said something to make her smile, and added, "Will you do me uh fevor?"

"Not the trash again." Bonnie complained, fake rolling her eyes, but she took the bag from behind the counter and headed towards the front door. "You owe me for this one."

"Okey. Next tyme I give you half price."

"Thanks." Bonnie smiled back. Half price on overpriced ice was still overpriced. She handed the items to Jeremy for safe keeping, rounded the corner and then stopped, observing the scene in front of her in awe. A bulky, muscular guy who was obviously dirty and probably homeless was digging through the garbage, trying to find something to eat.

Bonnie took a few steps closer until she could see that he had a ton of snacks from Russell's store in his back pockets.

Everything inside of her was telling her to be scared, to run off, to call the cops but this could be her chance. She'd always wanted to help someone like … this man, but she had never had the chance. Mystic Falls officials had chased all of the beggars and other indigents out of town because they were 'scaring off tourists.'

Now was her chance to help him, take him out of his situation. Bonnie took a few more steps towards him, but hesitated once he turned to look at her and she could clearly see the bright brown eyes that seemed hidden along his face of fur. Even she was astute enough to know that eyes that wide and impressionable couldn't possibly have come from a grown man. No. He was younger … about her age even.


Jacob stood, stunned that he had allowed himself to be caught. He was supposed to be a werewolf, meaning that he could hear people approaching him from miles away, yet once again he'd managed to mess up.

At least this time, he wasn't facing another leech in human form. Jacob started to just ignore the girl, hoping that she'd go away, but she just kept walking closer and closer to her at a slow, irregular pace. He rested his hands on the top of the dumpster and looked at her.

She looked determined, fierce and was easy on the eyes, but no Bella, he reminded himself. Suddenly, he felt embarrassed to be caught doing the things that he was doing and being seen by someone. Jacob could only imagine what he looked like or what he smelled like to this girl yet … she didn't stop her advances.

"May I?" She tossed a trash bag into the dumpster, still eyeing him. By now they were face to face and Jacob was struggling to face her, a far cry from his usual overly-confident self.

"Do you work here?"

"No, but I know the owner and … stealing is a crime."

"If I had the money, then I'd pay." Jacob shot back, preparing for a retreat.

"No worries. I'll pay for you." Bonnie handed him some money out of her pocket, from the change Russell had given her earlier. "Just place it on the counter and he'll--"

"Are you really handing me money?" Jacob asked in disbelief as she nodded, her dark hair moving with her.

"Yes. If you do this, I won't rat on you and I'll take you for a real meal."

"Like what?" He wondered, enticed by the invitation and the inviter who was far from the traditional 'American' beauty, but Jacob always felt that blondes with blue eyes were over-rated, hence Bella.

"Any place around here." Bonnie promised as Jacob took the cash back into the store and came back out, looking for the black girl who'd offered to help him. There he saw her just ahead and fervently arguing with a white guy who looked about Jacob's age.


"You did what? Are you crazy?" Jeremy spat out, his back against one of the unused gas pumps. "Do you realize that this guy could kill you? He's huge."

"I know what I did is … unorthodox, but you should've seen him. He has no food and probably no place to go."

"So I assume that you'll be inviting him to stay at your place." Jeremy scoffed.

"Actually … I was thinking that you could take him to your house. I know it's a lot to ask and if it wasn't for this thing my parents are doing tonight, I'd have snuck him in and found out his deal."

"So … how did I get roped into this again?"

"Remember." Bonnie breathed suddenly, "If anything happens, you can take him. We're going to get some take out and if you feel threatened, even just a little bit tell me but in code. Ask me about my grandma."

"This is really stupid, you know that?"

"I know." Bonnie answered back.

"And if he attacks you?"

"You'll be a witness."

"And if he chops your body into little pieces?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Bonnie walked back over to Jacob who had been eavesdropping in on everything. "Hi umm … this is Jeremy and I'm Bonnie. I'm sorry. I didn't get your name back there."

"It's Jacob. Jacob Black."


Caroline couldn't rationalize it, but things didn't always have to make sense, did they? Like Bonnie being a witch and Damon with his biting fetishes. It was illogical, but not as nonsensical as her being where she was at this moment.

She tightened her grip on his body for a second as the hammock continued to sway and he kept his eyes closed. Matt. Elena's Matt. It didn't make sense.

He wasn't charming or witty, tall and muscular, funny or a heartthrob. In fact, Mattcould be quite dull sometimes. His constant brooding over Elena was pathetic, especially since she'd moved on over three months ago.

Whatever qualities he lacked, he made up for simply because he was here. Unlike Damon, who just used her for all she had and the previous guys who just wanted to have a good time, Matt was consistent. Consistently there.

He held her when she needed and gave her her space at school. The secret thing wasn't really in Caroline's vocabulary, but she loved to have something that was all hers. And it felt good to have a guy stay for once.

"I wish this didn't have to change."

"It doesn't." Matt whispered, opening his eyes suddenly. He was just as lonely as she was, maybe even more so.

"We both know that things are always changing. And just like this started, it could end."

"Nonsense. Let's just relax and enjoy it."


The fact that there was another vampire out there waiting bothered Damon, a lot. He probably already knew about them, meaning that he had the upper hand, meaning that Damon could no longer be the town villain.

He was probably just overreacting, but the thought of having competition for the most notorious creature in Mystic Falls was enticing. Too bad had the advantage, but Damon had always been good at finding out what he wanted, and fast.

Now that was a skill that he had learned while he was human and perfected during his many years as an immortal.

"Where is she?" Stefan appeared in the woods, destroying Damon's newest ploy, anything to deter his thoughts from going back to Elena.

"What?"

"I know you did something to her or said something." Stefan neared his brother, ready for a fight.

"Oh, not this again." Damon rolled his eyes and continued walking through the forest. Something was different here. Something just wasn't … right.

"Elena. She was there at my house. Everything was fine and then she ran off in the middle of the night. Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what? Haven't you told her everything already?" Damon wondered. Then he lifted his eyebrows, thinking about the one secret Stefan would never purposely tell. "Oooh … that one. See that is good."

"What is--"

"She knows that she's a dead ringer for Katherine. Maybe even her reincarnate." Damon continued with a smirk, eyeing the expression of his brother. Watch it. Watch it…

"Don't you say that!" Stefan snarled, hurling his brother into the air and against one of the trees.

"Now that … wasn't nice." Damon stood as though he hadn't been touched. "But … fortunately for you, I've got something more important to do than engage in a tet e tet with my overly angsty brother." He patted Stefan on the back smugly. "Oh, and if you're looking for your sweetheart, I'd check the remnants of her car…"


"They have the best burgers, tacos, pizza … everything in town. I kid you not." Bonnie stated freely with a very dirty Jacob at her side. "Like I said, you can have whatever you like. I won't force you to go there."

"No, that's fine." Jacob smiled, making sure to keep his mouth closed. It had been a while since he cared about what he looked like or had even see a mirror, and smiling could be the very thing that could scare everyone off.

"Okay. Jer can you get like burgers, tacos … everything I just listed and a veggie platter?"

"Why do I have to do it?" Jeremy whined as Bonnie gave him a look and reached past Jacob into the change drawer she had in her car.

"Because I'm paying." She handed him the cash as Jeremy gave her a look of disapproval.

"Aren't you scared that…" He made a quick head gesture towards Jacob.

"I can take him." Bonnie smiled, turning to Jacob as soon as Jeremy left. "So … I don't know a thing about you except that you like to steal."

"I'm not normally like that. I just got hungry…"

"So you're homeless? Or a runaway?"

"I'm not running away, but just looking for something …" Jacob's eyebrows darkened as Bonnie examined him more closely.

"If it's adventure that you want, Mystic Falls isn't the place you want to be." Bonnie smiled.

"I'm actually trying to find a more slow-paced town. So…" Jacob explained as Bonnie nodded. So he was going to be staying around. One more person for her to worry about falling victim to another 'animal attack.'

"So, you're obviously planning to stay here. Where are you staying … if you don't know the answer to that question, then don't worry. I've got something temporary for you, if you need it and call me if you need anything…"


(A/N: I was supposed to get this story going before the second part of the season aired, but I was trying to wait until I finished chapter three. Review. Luv. --NL)