You guys still out there?
Sorry it took so long for me to update but things have gotten really busy for me. But alas! I come bearing a gift.
This chapter is dedicated in part to PerfectlyBamon for helping me realize that although mentioned, Caroline and Elena were nowhere to be found in this story so I've decided to kick myself and rectify that, in part, for now.
So here it is. Hope you enjoy!
She'd fallen asleep on the couch.
Rolling over onto her back, she only has about half a second to register that the sun has risen before the events of last night come crashing down around her.
She groans and pulls the throw blanket up and over her head.
Damon is in love with her. Damon. As in Salvatore.
Those words put together...in that order...in the same sentence sound so foreign to her as they echo in her head. It doesn't even seem real.
How? Why? When?
She'd tried calling him after he'd left and his phone rang to voicemail every time. She cant lie and say she wasn't just a little relieved because what the hell would she have said to him if he had picked up, anyway?
She exhales and peaks her head from under the blanket. Eyes her phone where it sits ominously on the coffee table mocking her.
She just needs to know if he's okay. But how is she supposed to that without opening the whole other thing that she still cant bring herself to say out loud?
She needs to talk to someone. Air this out or she's just gonna sit here and stew over it until it drives her insane.
Elena. What would Elena think if she knew?
Of course she and Stefan are back together and happier than ever, but still. She didn't miss the fact that Elena wasn't entirely grossed out by the idea of Damon flirting with her. Fighting for her affections.
And Elena hadn't exactly told him to back off when he'd been too comfortable inside her personal bubble, close enough to ride the line of inappropriate without it dipping into down right cheating.
She didn't miss the curiosity in Elena's eyes. Or the 'what if' in Elena's voice whenever the subject of Damon was brought to the table for whatever reason.
She'd even seen jealousy in her best friends eyes at times when Damon was occupying himself with his latest flavor of the week and made it a point to flaunt it in Elena's face.
Honestly, Bonnie can't say that she knew exactly what Elena's angle was when it came to Damon.
She's almost certain that if Elena was given a one night only, guilt free pass to just test the waters, that Elena would run to Damon's bed in a heartbeat.
Still. That evidence is all circumstantial. None of it meant that Elena wanted to be in a relationship with Damon. Or that she was secretly in love with him.
But on the same note, it's still like walking on dangerous territory. Girl Code and all.
Bonnie's not exactly saying that she wants Damon either.
But then again, she'd never really let herself entertain the idea.
In her mind. Damon had just been...Damon. Stefan's wreckless, destructive hot head older brother who had been in need of a little taming. Well. A lot of taming.
He'd effectively dropped into Mystic Falls and torn his way through it like the tornado that he is...or that he used to be?...she doesn't even know anymore.
She'd been convinced at first that Damon was one value. What you see is what you get.
But after spending four months alone with him on The Other Side, she'd realized that she couldn't have been more wrong.
Damon is probably one of the most complex, emotionally unstable creatures she'd ever met in her life.
He'd had a tendency to just let people get close enough to see the rough texture of the brick wall he'd built around himself. And before they'd died together, she really hand't cared enough to want to break those walls down. She'd had her own barriers to secure and he'd made that hard enough for her to do all by himself.
Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't believed they would ever get out, but he'd literally taken most of his secrets with him to his grave...or to The Other Side, whatever.
And as the universe has a tendency to have a twisted sense of humor, she'd been chosen to sit with him and all of his secrets.
In their first few weeks on The Other Side, things had been just as expected.
Damon being angry and mad at the world. Mad at her simply because she was the only one available to lash out on.
She hadn't had her powers there, but as the universe would have it, Damon still remained a vampire. Which meant that his temper was a threat to her.
Could she be killed if she was technically already dead?
She had no desire to find out so she'd tried keeping her distance. Staying at Grams' place to keep space between them.
But then she'd found him one night, laying flat on his back in his yard next to the flowers and herbs she'd planted.
For a place that was supposed to be Hell, the weather was surprisingly mild. Perfect for gardening.
A bottle of bourbon, half full, cradled gently at his side, another two empty bottles at his feet, dangerously close to her Azaleas and he didn't even turn to face her.
She knows he'd heard her come in. Probably heard her stomach growling from down the block but he'd just kept his eyes on the sky.
From her angle she couldn't tell if he was asleep but it would probably be safer to find out from where she's standing.
"Damon?"
His fingers twitch where his hand is resting low on his belly but other than that he doesn't acknowledge her.
She sighs and decides to leave her safe haven in the patio doorway, leaving all her makeshift weapons behind her in the kitchen in the form of steak knives and wrought iron pans as she steps out into the grass.
"Damon?"
Nothing.
She continues forward, blades of grass tickling her bare ankles.
In hindsight, she probably should have worn her sneakers instead of sandals, sneakers being better for, you know, running for your life.
She stops at his feet, kicking lightly at his boot. "Since when are you into star gazing?"
Silence.
She can see his eyes now. Open and skyward, glazed over from drunk.
"What if he's happy?" He mumbles at the sky.
"What?"
And he exhales, fumbling for the bottle at his side. Lifting his head to take a swig and the light catches the streaks of wet on his cheeks and her heart lurches.
She didn't even think Damon had tear ducts.
She moves to stand at his side and leans over him and he drags his hand up to clumsily wipe at his face.
"Damon. What are you talking about?"
He finally looks at her then, and the look in his eyes can only be described as anguish.
"Stefan...what if. What if Stefan is happy that I'm gone?"
Now even she knows that can't be true. Damon has tortured his brother probably longer than she's been alive but there is no way that Stefan isn't ripped open at the fact that Damon's not there with him.
"Where is this coming from? How could you even think that? Stefan loves you."
He drops his hand to rest on his stomach again, his pinky finger resting under his belly button where his shirt has risen.
"You know our father used to beat us?"
And okay, she's gonna have an aneurism trying to keep up with him.
"Damon. What is this about?"
He props himself up on both elbows, lick his lips.
"Sit a spell." He pats the ground with his hand.
She hesitates for a second but decides to indulge him, lowering herself to the ground and crossing her legs in front of her.
He watches her lazily and her skin feels tight as his gaze burns into her and once she settles, he sits all the way up and positions himself so that hes facing her fully, legs stretched out and bracketing her.
"I'm a shitty person, Bonnie." He looks down at his fingers, flexing them. "Somebody told me once that being dead kinda puts things in perspective." He meets her eyes again, the shadow of his lashes making his eyes look grey.
She smirks, remembering their conversation in front of the fireplace.
"Well...you've been dead for 150 years, Damon. You're gonna have to come up with a better explanation as to why you're all over the place right now."
His eyes go soft. "Point taken."
And she'd learned a lot about Damon that night. The fact that when he was human he'd loved animals. Horses were his favorite and he and Stefan would sneak out some nights after their father had gone to bed so that he could teach Stefan how to ride.
She'd almost wished she had a chance to know Damon as a human. She can barely picture him being an ordinary mortal. Although, she highly doubts Damon was ever an ordinary anything.
A few years ago, if somebody had asked her if she could ever see herself falling in love with Damon she'd have burned them to ash off principal alone.
But now.
She doesn't know.
All she knows for sure is that over the past few months Damon has become one of her best friends and thats more than she could have imagined.
But anything more than a best friend? Well. That's something she has to figure out now, apparently.
Her phone buzzes in her hand with an incoming text and she jumps, opens the phone to read it.
Where the hell are you? We're supposed to be meeting at Whitmore to pick out our Freshman courses.
Shit. Caroline. Oh God, what is Caroline gonna say about this new revelation?
Caroline despises Damon, and that's on her good days. And who could blame her? Damon had basically taken her free will and turned her into his own personal sex goddess and blood bag when he'd come to town.
And Bonnie guesses that if she'd never had the chance to spend that time with Damon alone on the other side, she'd probably still despise Damon too.
But she did spend that time with him. And she doesn't despise him. She acutually cares for him dearly.
But how do you explain that to someone?
How does Bonnie ask Caroline not to look at Damon as a self serving asshole with no redeeming qualities when all he's shown her is that very thing?
She sends a quick reply to Caroline telling her she's on her way and peels herself off the couch to shower.
She'd tried her best to be as excited as Caroline was to be standing in long lines around hundreds of people she didn't know, or care to know for that matter, to pick out college courses that she'd probably flunk out of since her life was a complete mess.
But she had to give it to the girl though. Caroline has the effortless talent of making everything seem like its the most magical thing on the planet, no matter how trivial it is.
If she's being honest with herself, she has to say that she actually did have fun with Caroline today. Actually forgot about the six words she'd heard last night that rocked her universe.
I'm kinda in love with you.
They're sitting at The Grill now, properly registered for fall semester, and she still can't make the words make sense in her head.
"What is with you today?" Caroline asks, eyeing her while sipping on her Tequila Sunrise.
Bonnie fakes innocence, frowning at her best friend. "What do you mean?"
Caroline gives her a look, letting her know that she sees right through her.
"Seriously Bonnie? You've been spacing all day. You basically let me pick all of your classes for you. And you didn't even give the tour guide a second look, even though he was obviously into you."
Bonnie takes a sip of her bourbon, relishing in the burn as it makes its way down to her belly to spread and settle like lava.
"I dunno. I guess with everything going on...I'm just trying to get back in the swing of life." She exhales, running her finger through the water ring her glass left on the table. "It all seems so weird. Surreal, you know? I was dead a handful of months ago and now I'm getting ready for Freshman year of college.
She sets her drink aside, taking a glance around the bar.
"I honestly don't know how you do it, Caroline. I mean, how do you ignore the chaos?"
Caroline gives her friend a small smile.
"I guess I don't so much as ignore the chaos, rather I distract myself from it. I mean, come on. Why do you think I was on every planning committee in high school, huh? Why do you think I was so eager to go pick out our classes and tour the campus and the dorms?"
Bonnie raises her eyebrows. "Honestly?"
Caroline glares at her hard and Bonnie smiles.
"We'd all just assumed you were a crazy, neurotic control freak."
She tries to disguise her chuckle by taking another sip of her bourbon when Caroline's mouth drops open and she playfully kicks at her friends feet under the table and Bonnie can't hold back her laugh any more.
"Truth hurts, buddy." Bonnie shrugs and Caroline rolls her eyes.
"Oh hush. You guys loved it."
Bonnie reaches for her hand where it rests on top of their table across from her. "No, we love you." She squeezes her hand before releasing it to grab her glass again. "And yes. You've kept us all very...organized."
They both laugh.
Bonnie had missed this the most when she was stuck on The Other Side.
Being able to just call up her friends and hang out and talk and gossip and just...be happy. And when she'd come back they'd all, Caroline, Elena, and her, just hugged and cried and talked for hours.
And Caroline, especially, had decided to attach herself to Bonnie's hip in the first month and it had been nice to have that again.
She's eased up a bit since then but her death had definitely brought them closer and strengthened the already unbreakable bond they all shared.
"You wanna split a basket of fries or something?"
And Bonnie barely registered what her friend was saying because she'd felt that familiar tingle run down her spine, making the hairs on her neck stand on end letting her know that she was being watched.
She dips her head to rub at her neck and tries covertly to scan the crowd and as she turns toward the bar her eyes immediately crash into a sea of icy blue, a startled inhale nearly chokes her.
He's too far away for her to even try reading his mood and he looks away as soon as their eyes meet. The bartender sits three shot glasses in front of him on the bar and Damon swallows all three quickly before hopping off the barstool and heading for the exit.
"Bonnie?"
And her eyes snap back to Carolines, who's squinting at her with a sneaking suspicion in her eyes.
"What was that?" She asks
"Huh? What are you talking about?" And she takes another sip of bourbon just so she'd have an excuse to look away.
She hears Caroline huff while she nearly downs her drink in full, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and grimacing.
"Bonnie." And she sounds exasperated. "Vampire, remember? Your heart skipped, like, fifty beats and it's currently playing a drum solo in your chest. So I'll ask again. What. Is. Up?" She exhales, her expression goes sad. "I mean, since when do we keep secrets?"
And if she didn't feel bad before, she certainly does now. Caroline may be animated and insecure at times and over the top, but all of that pales in comparison to the size of her heart and the sheer, unwavering loyalty that she has to her friends.
Caroline may not agree with their decisions all the time, and she lets them know when when they're being idiots. But she also never judges them for making their own choices. She stands by her friends by any means.
And Bonnie realizes that she's not afraid to tell Caroline about Damon because of what Caroline might think of her. She's afraid of what she might think of herself if she admits her feelings out loud.
She exhales and shakes her head. Here goes nothing.
"Caroline...I. I have to tell you something."
She sees her friends eyes go wide for a split second before she readjusts, puts on her supportive face.
"Okay...should we...like. Order the fries first, though? Because, you know, I can get a little over the top if I'm not properly fed."
God, she loves Caroline.
She smiles at her friend. "Yeah. Get us some fries."
And Caroline does the little giddy, hyper, hand clappy thing she does when she gets excited.
"With chili on top...and extra cheese." Bonnie adds as Caroline stands to head to the ordering station.
"Oh, Bonnie. This tea must be hot." She raises an eyebrow before she retreats to put in their order.
Bonnie rubs her sweaty hands against the rough denim of her jeans before fishing her cell from her purse on the seat beside her.
She glances up at Caroline to make sure she's still distracted with the waiter before she opens her phone and scrolls to Damon's number.
We need to talk.
She hits the button to send the text and tosses the phone back inside her purse when she sees Caroline heading back toward their table.
"Fries are on the way. And I got us free refills on our drinks." Caroline smiles as she reclaims her seat across from Bonnie. Leaning forward and crossing her arms in front of her on the table. "Now spill."
Bonnie looks her friend in the eyes, worries on the corner of her lip with her teeth. Exhales.
"Okay. So."
And she wishes she had another drink right now. She glances over at the bar, willing the bartender to hurry up.
Caroline shifts impatiently in her chair and Bonnie refocuses her attention, her best friend eying her, brows raised.
She rolls her eyes and continues. "Okay. So...You know I was trapped on the other side with Damon for months, right?"
Carolines eyebrows scrunch. "Um, yeah?"
"Well. So. Sometimes when. When certain people spend time. When they're forced to spend time together...certain things happen. Things, or feelings...may, you know, float to the surface. And so Damon and I. Well..we sorta-"
Caroline leans back in her seat. Her startled intake of breath cutting Bonnie short, and she lets her arms slide off the table to fall limp in her lap.
"You had sex with Damon."
And Bonnie nearly chokes. "Wait, what? Caroline no!" She leans forward, lowers her voice. "I did not have sex with Damon."
Caroline squints at her all skeptical, eyes raking over her face. "Are you sure? Because you and Damon have been acting real shifty around each other ever since you got back"
And it is at that point that the waiter decides to show. Placing a heaping basket of steaming, loaded fries between them, their drinks following.
Bonnie waits until the waiter has retreated. Watches as Caroline is momentarily distracted with getting the perfect chili/cheese ratio on her fry and popping it into her mouth.
And she's reminded of that time on The Other Side when she and Damon stayed up all night eating junk and drinking and Damon had even talked her into playing Truth or Dare.
How had she forgotten about that?
It had been maybe a week or two after she'd found him all sprawled out and sad in his back yard and she'd decided that Damon needed a lot more supervision than she'd originally thought. So she'd been staying with him at the Boarding House most nights. It was big enough where she could still have a sense of privacy while also staying close enough to catch him in case he decided to put a chair leg through his own chest.
She'd been lounging on her bed in one of the spare rooms Damon had made up for her, scribbling away in her journal when AC/DC "Back in Black" suddenly rattled the whole house, effectively breaking her concentration.
She rolled her eyes, marking her page before shutting her journal and tossing it to the foot of the bed.
She'd eventually come to realize that 80's rock music was Damon's good mood music so at least she'd be spared another life saving mission.
She hopped down from her bed to slide her feet into the goofy witch slippers Damon bought her as a gag, but she actually liked them. The gangly witch stitched on the top kinda reminded her of the hero witch in some old Z-List black and white movie she used to watch at her Grams' as a child.
As she made her way down the long staircase, she saw Damon standing on his coffee table, strumming an imaginary air guitar with his head thrown back, eyes closed and she couldn't help the smile that had spread across her lips.
She'd never seen Damon let loose and be free and ever since they'd gotten trapped in that Hell dimension with him, ever since she'd decided to stay with him, she had been peeling back more and more layers of him.
It was sorta beautiful.
She continued her descent to the first floor and Damon finally noticed he'd had an audience, hopping off the table and coming toward her, huge grin on his lips, his eyes bright and glassy.
So she'd get Drunk and Happy Damon, apparently.
"Oh, Bon, you're still up, good." He grabs her wrist and drags her over to the sofa. "Sit."
"Damon. What?.."
And he pushes her gently to the sofa and turns to disappear into the kitchen before she can get out another word.
When he returns to the living room he's carrying a pizza box, two brown paper bags on top, and his best bottle of bourbon.
"Damon. It's after midnight, you can not expect me to have a pizza party with you right now."
He deposits all the items on the table in front of her before making his way around the other side to sit next to her on the couch. "Actually, Bon. Thats exactly what I was expecting."
He flashes her a grin before he leans forward to pull the pizza box closer.
"Now. This isn't just any pizza party, Bon. This..." and he flips the box open, waves of steam and pepperoni goodness float toward her nose. "This is the best damn pizza party of your undead life."
She eyes him, then the pizza, then back to him. Smiles. "Okay. That does look pretty good."
His eyes go wide. "Pretty good? Pretty good? Bon, this here is Gino's Pizza. Brooklyn's finest, most orgasmic pizza, how dare you."
He picks up a slice that looks to be about the size of her head and she can feel the saliva start to pool in her mouth as she watches the cheese stretch and pull as he lifts the slice from the box.
"This...is mouth sex." He says as he folds the slice in half, cupping his other hand underneath to catch the dripping grease as he brings the slice to her mouth.
She stares at him like she's waiting for the punchline and he gives nothing away.
"Open up."
Her stomach rumbles violently and a knowing grin spreads on his lips.
She chuckles. "Fine."
She leans forward, parting her lips and he slides the tip into her mouth and it feels like velvet as it slides across her tongue. She bites down and tears off a piece, her hand coming up to grab at the strings of cheese dangling from her lips.
He watches her intensely as she chews slowly, humming and moaning. "Oh my God."
"See?" He says and takes his own bite out of her slice.
"You drove all the way to New York for Pizza?" She asks when her mouth is finally empty.
"Don't be silly, Bon. I got something for you too."
He sets his slice down before grabbing the paper bags and depositing them in her lap. She grabs them and peers inside, giggles when she identifies the contents.
"Chili fries and cheesecake, Damon? How did you know these were my favorite."
He's got a look on his face, all self satisfied. "I listen." And thats all he offers up before finishing off their slice of pizza.
He's leaning back against the couch cushions now, full of pizza and half of Bonnie's cheesecake. His legs splayed and his third...fourth glass of bourbon? resting in the space between them.
Bonnie's next to him, her legs folded under her, knees brushing against the fabric of his jeans at his thigh and they just enjoy the lazy buzz of alcohol and being well fed.
"Truth or Dare." He says.
She looks at him. His head is resting against the back of the couch and his eyes are low, the alcohol making his cheeks bright red.
"What?"
He turns to look at her, wetting his lips with his tongue. "Truth. Or. Dare." He repeats. His eyes going wide, making him look slightly off kilter.
She's been going along with this charade all night anyway. Why stop now?
She exhales, resettles so she's sitting more comforably, their shoulders touching now.
"Truth." She says.
He rolls his eyes. "Prude."
And she bumps his shoulder with her own. "Shut up."
He chuckles before continuing. "Is it true that...you were a virgin before Jeremy?"
She groans. "I am not answering that, Damon."
She feels him shrug. "Fine. You don't answer, you gotta strip."
"Damon. That is not how you play Truth or Dare." She says, taking another sip of her drink.
He turns his head toward her, lazy eyes catching her own. Their faces mere inches apart.
"It's how I play."
She feels his cool breath brushing against the skin on her face and she shivers, a warm swooping feeling in the bottom of her stomach. "Not at all surprising." she whispers, her voice sounding raspy in her ears.
"So. What's it gonna be, Bon? Talk or strip."
She exhales, looks down, playing with the glass tumbler between her fingers. "Yeah." She admits. "He was my first."
She hears Damon hum low next to her. "Pretty...um...anti-climactic, huh?"
She feels her body go hot because, yeah. The whole Jeremy relationship was complicated at best. And while he'd been so sweet and gentle with her, they just didn't...click. And it showed. In their day to day. And in the bedroom.
Either way though, that was none of Damon's business.
"You had your turn, Damon. Now it's my turn. "Truth or Dare."
He grins. "Truth."
She scoffs. "And I'm the prude?" She swallows the last of her drink before she leans forward to grab the bottle for a refill. "Okay. Why did you hate me so much when we first met?"
She doesn't know how to process the way he's looking at her when she glances at him but she doesn't comment. She stays quiet while he thinks over his answer.
He holds his glass out toward her, a silent request for his own refill and she tips the bottle into his glass, filling it up before putting the bottle back on the table and resettling on the couch next to him.
"I never hated you, Bonnie." And his face goes serious. "Actually, I'd assumed you hated me. You made me want to rebel. You were constantly hounding me."
"Hounding you?" She cuts him off. "You mean calling you on your shit?"
He waves his hand. "Tomato, Tomahto...anyway, I guess it had been a while since I'd had somebody forcing me to own my transgressions." He looked at her then. "You know, Bonnie. You're a hell of a woman. I think you rival Katherine in my top ten list of women I'd like to sink my teeth into. If only to shut you up."
Ignoring the disturbing vision of his teeth tearing into her neck, she actually gets it.
"I am a tough one."
He downs his drink and leans forward for another. "Understatement."
She smiles.
"Okay. My turn. Truth or Dare?"
Maybe its the alcohol. Maybe its the fact that she just doesn't care about the consequences but she takes a chance. "Dare."
His eyes flash, surprise and mischief shining, he's got a nasty grin pulling at his lips and her stomach bottoms out.
He sits back. Settles against the couch cushions with no space between them. He lets his gaze rake her body before his eyes meet hers again, he wets his lips. "Kiss me."
And his voice is filthy, rumbling against her skin like thunder.
"What? You're not serious." And she leans forward to put her half empty glass on the table.
"Look at me, Bon." And she does. "I'm dead serious."
Maybe he didn't believe she'd actually do it. Maybe he wanted to push her buttons, make her slap him and storm up to her room.
Maybe he really did want it. Who knows?
But she's been so over the good girl persona that all of her friends have labeled her as. She'd died for them. She'd actually given her life for them and maybe she deserved a little rebellion.
She licked her lips and felt a thrill run through her when she saw his lips part just slightly, noticed his hand clench into a fist where it rested on the arm of the couch.
"Okay." She says, scooting impossibly closer to him, practically in his lap now."
"Okay?" He repeats.
And she's done with the talking portion of the game.
She lifts her hand. Slides it into the hair at the back of his neck, closes it into a tight fist so that the thick strands of his hair are trapped between her fingers and she feels him shiver as she guides him toward her.
"Bonnie..." and that's all he has a chance to say before her lips touch his.
She feels his breath hitch as she teases his lips with her tongue, forcing him to open for her and when he gives her access, she devours him.
She searches his mouth thoroughly, tasting bourbon and hints of the cherries he'd stolen off her cheesecake.
She hears him moan. She feels his hand where its sliding slowly up her thigh to rest low on her hip and she's not letting up.
She eats hungrily at his lips and swallows the desperate noises tumbling from his throat and when her lungs scream for air she leans back slightly. He's breathing heavy and his hand is squeezing her hip just this side of painful.
"Shit," He breathes and it's like he's reading her mind. "What...?"
"That was-"
"Bonnie?"
Carolines voice startles her and she's back at the grill. She shakes her head trying to make the memory disappear as she struggles to remember what they were talking about.
"Bonnie. Did you sleep with him?"
And oh, yeah. That's what they were talking about.
"No, Caroline. Damon and I did not have sex on the other side."
She grabs a fry and drops it into her mouth trying to mask the the fact that she suddenly thinks she can still feel the ghost of his tongue invading her mouth.
"Okay. So? What is it then?"
And its obviously not any worse than what Caroline had been assuming anyway, so.
"Damon's in love with me." She blurts, grabbing another cheesy fry.
And Caroline. Well. Caroline doesn't look the least bit surprised and Bonnie is kinda underwhelmed.
"You've got nothing to say about that?"
Caroline shrugs, takes a sip of her drink. "Like I said, Bonnie. You two have been acting really weird. I just figured you'd had sex. But love? Yeah, thats not too hard to believe either."
Bonnie thinks that maybe she'd underestimated her friend just a tad because while she'd been completely clueless to this entire thing, Caroline has been mapping it all out quietly in her head.
"Well? Why didn't you say anything, Caroline? You aren't upset? Mildly grossed out? Nothing?"
She reaches for Bonnie, grabbing her hand where it rests on the table. "Of course I'm disgusted, Bonnie." And she squeezes her hand, smiles. "But, I'm also kinda intrigued."
Bonnie frowns. "Intrigued?"
Caroline takes another soggy fry off their dwindling pile. "I mean...I don't know...I guess, while still trying to sort out my very...disdainful feelings toward Damon, I couldn't help notice how much he's changed since you guys came back...how much you've changed, even."
"Me?"
"Come on, Bonnie. You know you've been different ever since you came back. More confident. Happier. And I can't be upset about that."
She smiles. "Really?"
Caroline nods. "Really." Then she frowns. "Damon's still on my shit list though. He's not getting off that easy. But still...whatever he did to give you that extra glow...I can't be mad at that." She tilts her head. "Plus. It doesn't matter where he is on my list. Where is he on yours?"
She drops her eyes to their hands tangled together on the table top. Feels all the stress and anxiety melt away because her best friend is here. Has her back. And she's no longer afraid to admit out loud what her heart knew a long time ago.
"I..." she smiles, looking her friend in the eyes. "I think I'm kinda in love with him."
It's like a boulder has been lifted off her shoulders and she exhales, Caroline squeezing her fingers gently and when she looks at her she doesn't see a hint of judgement.
"Does he know that?"
Bonnie shakes her head slowly.
"Well...don't you think you should go tell him that?"
Yes. Yes she does.