I'm kind of sorta in love with all of you.

Thank you for the tremendous response to this story. We're on the downturn. One more update to go. This time, we get a little of Bonnie's side of the story.

III. The Reveal

"I can't do this."

Those were the words Bonnie whispered to herself when she closed, locked, and barricaded the storage room door. She took a deep breath, trying to the steady the emphatic rhythm of her heart. It was impossible, her ribs ached from the arduous beats and she was growing dizzier by the minute.

"Perfect." She groaned. It was just what she needed, a front page news story about the almost bride of twenty - five who died in a windowless room during her rehearsal dinner. Outside her father kissed the ground his future son - in - law walked on, her best friends, Caroline and Elena, planned baby showers for children that hadn't even been planted in her womb, and the love of her fucking life walked through the door to send it all to hell.

When she shut her eyes and began to recite anything, spells, song lyrics, her ABCs, icy blue eyes filled her mind and the reaction started all over again. This was her when he was around. It hadn't always been this way; just here and now, because denial was a powerful enemy, and she was fighting a futile battle. She exhaled and allowed her eyes to navigate the dark room. For the moment she was safe and sound, away from warring emotions and hostile murmurs. She just needed some time to gather her head. She slid to the floor and there amidst the boxes of decorations for her big day, Bonnie Bennett began to cry.

At least seven years had passed since the last time she laid eyes on Damon Salvatore. Four of those years were spent keeping her head above water while she double majored in History and Sociology. The rest of her time divided between activities for the pink and green, university choir, and the man she was going to marry in less than forty - eight hours. She stayed busy. Occupying her mind so she couldn't think of his laugh, the cool contours of his pale chest, or the way his lips knew every inch of her body.

They had no future. "I don't want to be a vampire Stepford wife." That was what she had said.

Her argument had amused him but when he asked her to make a real choice, her only response was to turn her back and walk away. Every single day she regretted that decision. She had failed not only him, but her self. Seven years of phony smiles and half hearted attempts at making a relationship work. She still couldn't tell Jeremy that she loved him with conviction. It was impossible, because those words had been reserved for someone else.

"Bonnie."

Damon's voice was like finely spun silk on the other side of the door.

"I can't do this."

The words dripped from her lips.

"Yes you can," He'd heard her, he always listened, "Just open the door."

Sooner or later Bonnie had to face him. She wiggled a finger and the fortress of boxes scattered. She heard the lock disintegrate under the force of his strength. Light from the hall flooded her hiding place and she had never been happier to see a blood thirsty vampire in all her life.

~`~b~`~d~`~d~`~b~`~

Late Summer 2011

"I haven't heard from you."

The box flew from Bonnie's hands and landed on the ground beside her father's SUV. She hadn't felt a breeze or heard a footstep, but he was there.

Her eyes never met his as she consumed herself with moving boxes and bags into the back of the vehicle.

"I've been a little...you know...busy." She allowed her voice to take a hardened edge. "Living, you know it's what people who breathe do."

His hand reached for her and she nearly crumbled. He was right, she was purposely avoiding him. She continued the dance. He didn't, opting to help her load her things.

"Damon, what do you want?"

For the first time since his arrival, she buckled and stared into his eyes.

"You."

She turned her back and headed for the house.

"So he crawls back to you...he cries...he apologizes...we're over."

"There is no we!" Completely exasperated she threw her hands in the air, when she spun around she saw her Damon; the vulnerable man who only wanted someone to love him. Instead she tried to break him, "Is that so hard for you to understand."

Her hair circled her face, with the gush of wind that preceded and followed his speedy movement.

"I understand that for four months, I've done things to you," His eyes cascaded down her body in a lascivious manner as he snaked a finger around a loose curl, "that there is no amount of penance in this world to cover."

She took a breath, her body responding to the images his words provoked. Nights she discovered new ways to please him with the use of her lips and tongue. The various positions years of dancing and tumbling aided their bedroom adventures. He'd ruined her for anyone else and that was obvious the first night she spent reunited with her ex.

"I know that you love me, that some deep part of you," His knuckles brushed against the curve of her jaw before drifting down the column of her neck, "hates Jeremy for his self righteous dick - like move to honor the wishes of two heartless ghost bitches."

She tried to walk away, but his fingers lingered on the faded spot where his fangs had pricked her vein numerous times. Speaking was a formality but there had been too many exchanges between them, a bond had formed, and words were unnecessary. She knew how he felt.

The weight that resided in his chest...

The pain that burdened his blackened heart...

She shared it all.

"You listen to me Bonnie. You give me hell when I fuck shit up." She tried to look away, but he held her face in place with a gentle hand, "Why?"

She knew what he was asking. The question she had refused to answer since the dynamics of their friendship changed.

Jeremy had pleaded between thoughtfully placed kisses. He'd encouraged with fingers that traveled up her thigh. She had said no.

It wasn't a broken heart or revenge that caused her to offer her innocence the monster that had once tried to kill her.

"I wanted you to always be a part of me."

His hand fell from her face.

"That was then and this is now." Even as the tears filled her eyes, "There's no future with you. No happily ever after...no wedding...no babies...just..."

"Death."

He finished her statement and she nodded.

It was her turn to comfort him; she wrapped her hands around his waist and pulled him closer. She kissed him, softly, sweetly, and for a period of time that was longer than she intended.

Then Bonnie delivered her fatal blow, "You didn't ask for this life, someone else decided for you, and now you're asking me to choose." She paused, "I can't do that."

~`~d~`~b~`~b~`~d~`~

Neither one of them made a move, unless you counted sealing the door, to drown out the rest of the world.

"You can't marry him." Damon folded his arms across his chest and in that second she realized how much she missed the sound and smell of leather, "You don't love him."

"I do." His eyes stretched with the revelation, "But not like I love you."

The space between them was erased literally and figuratively.

Bonnie didn't fight when Damon's arms wrapped around her and lifted her off the ground. She bit into her bottom lip and watched as his eyes turned black and beautiful veins adorned his face. A kiss that resembled a battle more than a moment of affection, followed, and she knew that was only the beginning.

I wanted you to always be a part of me.

Seven years had passed and he still was embedded in every fiber of her being. She thought of him when sipped an aged cognac on cold days. His name lingered on her tongue when the man who shared her bed took her from behind. She could feel his presence on the edge of her consciousness. She knew when he was happy, sad, afraid, and just plain lonely.

He had feelings...

The fortified wall that encased his human nature had been destroyed.

He was there fighting for her and she didn't have the strength to walk away again.

She had never been that powerful.