Author's note: It's been a while guys and I'd like to apologise! Life has been ridiculously hectic and I've been on a night shift for a while. I would like to thank you all for your response to this story, you've been wonderful. I hope you like this chapter!

Ps. Someone PM'ed me and asked what the songs at the start were about: they usually set the scene for the chapter and is the music I use to write most of the update. Check them out :)

Halsey - Trouble

Would you lie for me?
Cross your sorry heart and hope to die for me?
Would you pin me to a wall?
Would you beg or would you crawl?
Stick a needle in your hungry eyes for me?

Let's cause a little trouble.
Oh, you make me feel so weak.
I bet you kiss your knuckles.
Right before they touch my cheek.

Flashback -

The wind furiously propelled Bonnie, who stood on the roof of the Mystic Grill forwards. Her heart slammed against her mediastinum and adrenaline rushed through her veins as the paralyzing feeling of fear gripped her. Bonnie considered herself to be many things; a powerful witch, a great friend, a loyal individual, however, fearless she was not. Heights. That had always been her weakness for as long as she could remember thus standing at the top of one of the tallest buildings in her town was quite possibly the most terrifying thing she had ever done. Yes, she would rather go up against a thousand Klaus Mikaelsons' than stand at the edge of a building. Unfortunately, she had made a great error sharing this fear with Damon whilst stuck in the prison world. Standing here had been a consequence of losing a bet with him several nights ago, and she immensely regretted indulging him in the first place. Turned out he could thwart her in a game of scrabble, monopoly and everything else it seemed – of course a hundred year old vampire would have an advantage over her. It had been foolish of her to allow her darn pride to get in the way, and now here she was paying the price.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," she gasped out, her fingers curling into fists at her sides as she concentrated on breathing steadily. The last thing she needed was to have a full blown panic attack. "Do you know how screwed I will be if I get caught? Let's start with criminal charges for breaking and entering, then there's –"

"C'mon Bennett! You're stalling. Today please!" he called back to her, a lace of humor evident in the tone of his voice which merely served to infuriate her further.

'You can do this. You just have to stand at the edge and prove him wrong' she repeated to herself for the millionth time internally as she clenched her jaw and pushed back her hair the wind had blown into a frantic mess. She gingerly walked towards the small safety railing which surrounded the edge of the roof and focused on steadying her breathing. At last she was close enough to the edge to see down to the street below where her eyes located Damon who was sitting on a bench across from the Grill with his legs outstretched in front of him and a bottle of bourbon in his hand. There wasn't a shred of doubt in her mind about the fact that he was enjoying this way more than he should.

"Satisfied?" she barked, her hands crossed across her chest defiantly.

"Hardly. You're standing three feet from the ledge!"

She opened her mouth to fire back at him when a gush of wind surged her further forward than she had intended to go. Unable to silence herself, a shrill shriek escaped her lips and she scrambled back her heart racing and the palms of her hands sweaty. The deserted street was filled with the sound of Damon's jovial laugh which echoed through the silence and she was overcome with a strong desire to punch him in the gut.

"I'm going to kill you," she said simply, the tone of her voice factual and calm.

"If you delay this any longer, you won't have to. I'll desiccate from boredom."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him and flipped him off which merely earned her another hearty chuckle. Gathering herself together, she stalked a little further forward until the tip of her converse trainers was mere inches from the edge. Unable to bring herself to look down, she released a small shaky breath before backing away.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" he asked taking a swig out of his drink, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"Shut up, Damon."

Feeling a small sense of pride, she turned and headed for the door which would lead her back into the Grill. It wasn't until she grabbed the handle that she noticed that the door was firmly shut. A heavy feeling settled at the pit of her stomach as she felt the raising feeling of panic.

"No, no, no!" she murmured desperately tugging at the door, her heartbeat beginning to pick up its pace. With the realization that she was stranded on the roof, she swore and collapsed against the door, shutting her eyes.

"Bonnie?" he called out, and her eyes didn't need to seek him out in order to detect the anxiety in his voice.

Releasing a breath, she pulled away from the door and trudged back to the railing – feeling a little less intimidated by the height. Cursing for allowing herself to go along with his ridiculous plan when she knew it would end up in a disaster, she crossed her arms across her chest and glowered at him.

"What's wrong pouty?" he asked innocently, a grin on his features and his blue eyes dancing.

"The door is locked."

He threw his head back and chortled and despite everything, she found herself joining him. Later, she would most certainly make him pay – however in this moment, the hilarity of the situation did not escape her.

"Stop laughing and–" she began, but fell silent when she heard the distant sound of the siren.

"Damon!" she gasped her eyes wide, horror and panic setting in. "Someone must have alerted the police!"

To her absolute dismay, he appeared calm and unaffected, if not mildly amused.

"Come and open the damn door!" she screeched, her voice raising as the sound of the siren grew closer with every passing minute.

"Jump down," he suggested.

"Ha ha – you're hilarious!"

"I'm serious. I'll catch you."

With a sinking feeling, she realized he wasn't taunting her.

"In case you haven't noticed – I'm still human. I like my life and I don't intend to put it in jeopardy," she hissed, attempting to control her frustration and not alert the neighbors further.

He snorted and pulled himself off the bench before strolling to stand directly underneath the roof where he was in an ideal position to catch her fall.

"Any minute now, they'll be here," he warned his eyes scanning the road ahead.

"No!" she protested stubbornly.

It was then that he rolled his eyes and began making clucking noises.

"Fine. I'm a chicken, but do you know what? At least I'll be alive," she argued back, unable to stop the cold shiver which ran down her spine every time she looked down. "For all I know, this is a sick twisted plot to kill me and get Elena back," she continued.

"Fine. Stay up there all night and explain to the authorities how you got in," he shrugged before turning and starting to walk away, car keys in his hands and whistling to himself pleasantly.

"You leave me up here and I swear to god I'll give you a migraine of a lifetime!" she called after him sternly.

"Bonnie Bennett, you say the sweetest things," he spun around to face her. "Now, are you going to jump or not?"

The sirens now sounded dangerously nearby, and although she knew he'd never truly allow her to get into any serious trouble, she made the decision to take the plunge. Seeing no alternative, she lifted her legs over the railing, refusing to allow the feeling of fear to manifest itself in her as she perched herself on the edge. She felt as if her heart was in her stomach and her breathing was non-existent and yet somehow, it was exhilarating.

"If you don't catch me…so help me god…"

"If I don't catch you, you'll be dead," he chuckled shoving the keys into his pocket. "I won't miss, Bon," he added sincerely, seeing all the blood drain from her features.

Oh, what the hell! That was her final thought as she closed her eyes tightly and bit down on her tongue in order to prevent herself from screaming. Feeling a sudden surge of recklessness and spontaneity, she pushed herself off the edge and found herself unable to bite back a loud shriek when she felt the rush of air around her as she catapulted towards the ground. Her arms flailed involuntarily and despite the knowledge that Damon was standing below to catch her, a part of her awaited for her body to crash against the concrete with a sickening crunch. Within seconds, her body slammed into a hard, solid wall and she yelped not realizing she was in Damon's arms. The arms which surrounded her made her feel safe and she found herself relax as she remained anchored against him.

"You can open your eyes now," he told her softly, placing her down so that she stood on her shaky legs.

Opening her eyes, her breath hitched as she found his face inches from her own with those piercing blue eyes of his fixated on hers. The expression on his features darkened for a brief second, his gaze flickering to her lips and she held her breath, stepping backwards, desperate to put distance between them. After a beat, the expression passed as quickly as it came, so swiftly that for a brief second, she found herself questioning whether she had imagined it. It wasn't long until the deafening sound of the siren finally reached them and two police cars pulled up to the curb. It was time to bolt.

"Let's go," he said simply, stuffing one hand deep into the pocket of the leather jacket he wore and grabbing her hand with the other before heading towards the direction of her car.

Present Day

The sound of Bonnie's laughter ricocheted off the walls of the car as she threw her head back and giggled wholeheartedly. It was difficult to remember the last time she had genuinely laughed. Jamie was good for her, he was the perfect gentlemen and she found him funny – most of all, whilst she was with him, she felt like a normal girl.

"Thank you for tonight. I had an amazing time," she said an earnest smile still playing on her lips.

He parked up the car, and turned in his seat to face her – his hazel eyes watching her appreciatively which served to make her blush. This was the part she hated about dating, the awkward goodbye moment where both parties debated whether or not they should go in for the kiss.

"Enough to warrant a second date?" he asked shamelessly. He was flirting with her, that much was obvious.

"Maybe…"

He laughed then, taking her chin into his hand and using his thumb to stroke across her cheeks.

He was most definitely going in for a kiss.

"Well let me convince you," he breathed.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the steady sound of her heart drumming in her chest. This was good, she told herself. This was normal. Fluttering her eyes open, she saw Jamie inches from her when a loud knock sounded, causing them to jolt apart.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, squinting in the dark as she tried to make out the dark figure outside the car.

One glimpse of the startling blue eyes told her everything she needed to know, and before she could react, he was at the passenger side pulling the door open. The juxtaposing feeling of anger and relief at the knowledge that he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere coursed through her.

"What the hell?!" Jamie repeated from beside her, a threatening edge entering his voice.

"It's okay. I know him," she explained resting a hand on Jamie's shoulder to still him. The last thing she wanted was for him to get into a fight he could never win.

"Sorry to gate-crash your date, but c'mon! 'Let me convince you?' You've got to do better than that my brother!" Damon said jovially, his eyes alight with mischief, fueling Bonnie's anger further.

"I'll call you tomorrow Jamie," she told him, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. The mood was gone and she was under no desire to be kissing anyone.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. I'll be okay. Call you tomorrow," she replied firmly, leaning to place a peck on his cheek before jumping out of the car.

After a little convincing that Damon wasn't a psychopathic stalker, he reluctantly drove off leaving her alone with the person she wanted to see least in the world. A heavy silence settled between them, a thousand unspoken words weighing between them as they stood a shoulder width apart on the sidewalk. It perplexed her how quickly things changed since it was only several weeks ago that she felt closer to him than she had ever been with any other person. Yet now, as the memory of their last conversation played out in her mind for the hundredth time, a feeling of anger and hate consumed her and she struggled to see the people they had once been. The atmosphere in the air had changed and had become charged with so much electricity, it was an effort for her to breathe. If there was one feeling she could use to summarise what it felt to be around Damon this would be it – the intensity.

"It didn't take a lot to scare your new boyfriend away," he commented after a beat, arrogance dripping from the tone of his voice and she certainly didn't need to look at him to know that he was smirking.

Bonnie clenched her jaw with the irritation which pulsated through her, turned and punched him square in the face with all the strength that she could muster. The impact of her hand with his face caused his head to snap to the right, and despite the instantaneous shot of searing pain which shot through her entire arm, she felt satisfied, glorious in fact. Biting back a scream which threatened to escape as a result of the throbbing anguish she felt in her right hand, she found herself panting and releasing small shallow breaths in order to control herself. Damon on the other hand grabbed his own jaw and worked it as his eyes which were wide with surprise found hers. Without giving him a second glance back, she clicked her tongue in disgust, turned her heel and began walking briskly towards her dorm. It took her everything within her to not cradle her fist until she had turned the corner and was no longer in his view. Entering the building, she weaved her way through the crowd of students who lingered in the entry-way of the hall and forced a smile as she greeted familiar faces. Unable to stop the spark of jealousy that she felt whenever she saw the normalcy her peers lived with, she swallowed hard and made her way to the stairway.

Finally making it to the fourth floor, she walked towards her room when Damon appeared. He shot forwards using his supernatural speed in order to place his body in front of her, essentially blocking her from entering her room. Surprised by his swift appearance, her body recoiled slightly, causing him to watch her with an infuriating smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so you hate me," he regarded her levelly, still working his jaw.

"Get out of my way, Damon."

"No."

She sighed, bemused. If her hand wasn't in agony, she would have considered punching him again. The first thing she noticed was the way his dark hair which could give midnight a run for its money was tousled and out of place. A clear indication that he had been running his hand through it repeatedly – a nervous tick of his. The second, was the smell of bourbon which radiated off his body – he had most certainly been out drinking tonight.

"What do you want?" she asked, her usual fire and feistiness absent, replaced by the exhaustion which was evident in her features.

"Money, power and personal satisfaction. Oh wait, I have all of that."

He was trying to make her laugh, and under other circumstances, perhaps that would have earned him a small smile.

"Is everything a joke to you?" she snapped, her brows furrowed and annoyance clear in her tone.

Noticing her demeanor, Damon shifted his feet and pinned her down with a stare. His expression however was unreadable and she hated the fact that she could rarely see what he was thinking. She was only able to see what he allowed her to see whereas she felt like an open book.

"No. Not everything," was all he murmured, his eyes softening and the humor leaving his voice.

Another beat of silence. They stood face to face, a turmoil of emotions surging through both of them. Beginning to feel uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze, she broke out of the daze with a roll of her eyes and tried to dodge him, however he moved swiftly with her and blocked her path to the door yet again.

"What do you want Damon?" she repeated her hand falling limply to her side.

"I came to apologize."

She wasn't a fool, she could hear the sincerity in his voice and could see it in his eyes, he was truly sorry. Sure, he probably regretted every word he had said but pride refused to allow her to forgive him that easily.

"Great. Now get out of my way," she replied, ducking and successfully maneuvering around him to make it to her door.

With a shaking, painful hand, she was thankful to find that it didn't take long to fish her keys out of her handbag and unlock her door. However, she was no fool, she knew it would take a whole lot more than words to get rid of Damon Salvatore. Slipping into the room, she tried to close the door and wasn't surprised when he used his boot to block her attempt. Releasing the door with a grunt, she dropped her bag to the ground and turned to face him, her face contorted into an expression of rage.

Unaffected by her anger, he walked in after her and snapped the door shut with the heel of his boot. Whilst she searched for the colorful words she could hurl at him, he strolled past her coolly to the corner of the room where she kept her mini fridge. She watched curiously as he started to shift through all the food she had stashed in there and raised an eyebrow when he pulled out a frozen pack of peas. Straightening up, he took two long strides to close the distance between them and cautiously took her hand into his own, turning it over delicately as he examined it. Hissing, she winced as pain radiated up her arm and despite the small voice which screamed at her to rip her hand out of his grasp, she found herself rooted to the spot, holding her breath. He paralyzed her.

"It's not broken, just badly bruised. Here," he told her finally, after what felt like hours as he placed the bag of peas on her hand, instantly relieving some of her pain. "Not a bad right hook Bon," he added with a small crooked smirk.

Breaking out of the trance he had temporarily placed her in, she grabbed the peas with her own hand and stepped away from him – unable to stop her lips from curling into an expression of distaste.

"You can go now," she instructed, her eyes cold and vacant.

An expression of surprise mixed with hurt flashed through his eyes. She knew that her coldness and distance caught him off guard, and deep down, she knew that she did want to hurt him. She wanted to make him feel the way he had made her feel. Most of all, she was angry at herself for allowing him to get under her skin, she was frustrated that he was capable of hurting her with a few words.

Damon shoved his hand roughly through his hair in exasperation, a conflicted expression on his features whilst his chest rose and fell rapidly. His brows were furrowed; an appearance he wore whenever he was in deep thought. The silence between them stretched out, and Bonnie stood several steps away watching him apprehensively. When his eyes found hers again, the conflicted look had dissipated and was replaced by one of determination – whatever it had been that he was considering, he had made a choice. He made a move towards her and she instantly stepped back.

"Don't," she warned her arm shooting out to stop him – she didn't want his touch. It was the one thing that would send her brain into a frenzy. In order to stay level headed, she had to keep a distance between them.

"I screwed up! I know, allright! Bonnie, I know but in case you haven't noticed, I have a tendency to do that!" he shouted, his entire body language screaming with frustration.

"That makes it okay then," she laughed bitterly. "You ask – heck no, you scream at me to give up on you, blame me for Elena's death and wish that it was me who died and I'm supposed to be okay with that? Screw you!" she shot back, her voice equally raising as her body trembled with rage.

"No, Bon! You're not supposed to be okay with it," he started whilst walking towards her, his hands reaching for her.

"Don't." she repeated quietly using her good hand to grasp at his leather jacket and shove him away as he walked her backwards until she came up against the wall, his black boots against the toe of her heels. Dropping the bag of peas, her arms fell limply to her sides and her breath came in short burst, her chest raising and falling rapidly as she leaned against the wall. Their proximity was dangerous, suffocating and electrifying all at once. Whatever this was, it was unexplainable. There weren't any words to describe the way she felt whenever she was within his vicinity. She felt high, drunk even, and it was addictive. She was addicted.

"You're not supposed to be okay with it," he repeated quietly, his eyes fixated on hers. "But you're not supposed to hate me either," and despite the fact that she had averted her gaze so that it was locked on the floor, she could feel his eyes burning into her.

Hearing those words, hearing how deflated and hurt he sounded, she found herself seeking out the eyes she usually avoided. Struggling to breathe, to think, to exist once they had locked eyes, she swallowed hard.

"I don't," she managed to breathe out. "…hate you."

"Good," he murmured. "Because I can't lose you too."

Bonnie's eyes widened with the small realization that Damon felt the same – of course he did. Why else was he here, why else was he watching her with a painful expression of desire which ignited her body and awakened a part of herself she had barricaded away a very long time ago. He swept a piece of stray hair off her face and searched her eyes for what felt like an eternity. The way he looked at her was captivating, and she knew that if one of them didn't break the spell they were under, they would do something they would later regret. In an instant, his hand snagged the small belt around her waist and tugged her towards him so that her chest was against his. Stop the small voice in the back of her head roared and yet, she still found herself standing still, holding her breath as she remained suspended between the wall and his hard chest. Being this close to him, she was aware of every movement, every muscle twitch, aware of the way his arms flexed when his hands rested on the small of her back. His familiar scent which tonight was mixed with a little bourbon became mixed with hers, it was intoxicating.

"Damon." She breathed finally, her stomach alive with what felt like a million butterflies. She had never truly understood what the description of having 'butterflies' meant until this very moment.

Still fixated on her, he pressed against her and she found her hands curling into his shirt as her eyes fell to his lips. He lifted her chin slightly, his head dipping down when her eyes fluttered shut in expectation of the kiss.

At the very last minute, her hand shot forwards and pressed against his chest – stilling him.

"Damon," she repeated her eyes still close. "What are we doing? Elena."

With that very last sentence, that one name – the spell between them broke instantly. He stepped back, blinking as if returning from a daze and the eyes that had been watching her so tenderly turned vacant. Breathing heavily, she could practically see his walls building back up again, she could already feel the guilt and shame that would consume the both of them. They hadn't done anything, but it didn't matter. They may as well have.

"Da–" she began when he disappeared, leaving her standing in the middle of the room alone and breathing frantically.

Placing a hand on her chest, she focused on stilling her beating heart. For the past week, she had convinced herself that she had imagined what she'd felt when Damon had carried her in his arms, she had even settled on the ideology that she had a silly little crush. She had been determined to push it down and pretend that it had never happened, that the feeling didn't exist. However, tonight came the realization that the feelings she was harboring was not one she could quiet, it wasn't a crush – what she felt was explosive. It would eat her up, chew her up and spit her back out and it demanded to be heard. The normalcy she had longed for whilst she was with Jamie had been a façade. Deep down, Bonnie Bennett knew that she did not want to settle for 'normal'. She didn't want to be kissed by the man that she loved and for her heart to simply flutter in response. What she wanted was fire, explosive, intensity, complicated. What she wanted was Damon, the one man on the planet who was forbidden. Go figure. Dropping onto the floor of her bedroom, she sat with her back against the wall, closed her eyes and sent a silent apology to her best friend.

Author's note: A long update and hopefully the next one won't take me so long! Eeep! Please, please, pleeease leave me a review and let me know what you think. Don't you worry, we will explore what the old witch told Damon soon, this was more of an emotive chapter about the head-space these two shattered souls are in (see what I did there) ;)

Anyhow, do let me know what you think. Until next time!