Title: Sacred Geometry

Author: Sky Samuelle

Characters: Bonnie and Damon centric, but Katherine, Jeremy, Elena and Stefan will be nearly as heavily featured. This is probably as close to an ensemble fic as I'll never get.

Pairings: Bonnie/Damon, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Anna

Rating: Mature

Timeline: Post 1.22

Summary: Mystic Falls will be never be the same again after Founders Day. Not with Katherine and Jeremy allying to resurrect Anna and Pearl. Not with Stefan and Elena on the receiving end of Katherine's sick games. And Bonnie and Damon? Well, they are struck at the epicenter of everything. Currently on: Damon and Stefan have an harsh confrontation that springs an unwelcome epiphany on the older Salvatore and spreads Stelena goodness all over my pages. Jeremy's involvement in Katherine's plans gets him progressively more distant from his humanity.

Chapter 3

The morning after, when Stefan returns to the Salvatore residence, there are only ugly, ugly surprises waiting for him.

"Let me see if I can understand this better," the younger Salvatore breathes out, pinching the bridge of his nose with that particular mix of resignation, disgust, and anger that only his brother ever elicits from him, "you were supposed to get the body of Elena's father somewhere other than her house, so you decided to take it to our basement and melt it in acid instead?"

"That's pretty much it," Damon waves the implicit reprimand away, looking studiously bored while he pours himself a glass of gin.

"Has it not occurred to you that this might get Elena even more upset than she already is? I thought you were set on at least pretending you care about her!"

Despite Stefan's resolution to say this calmly, his voice raises several notches by the end of that sentence. It gets Damon to finally look at him, but the amused expression with which his outburst is received does nothing to improve things.

"He was her father for like five seconds before he met the Grim Reaper, and he was her least favorite uncle before that. I loathed John for way longer. Don't I deserve some satisfaction? I even tried offing the guy before Isobel came along with her pesky accidental revelations. Doesn't this say anything to you? I had so much pent-up frustration to work on… "

"You are unbelievable," Stefan growls, rushing vampire-speed up the stairs before his turmoil can entertain his asshole of a brother some more. What was he thinking, trusting Damon could hold his raging psychosis at bay for once?

How is he supposed to explain this to Elena? It's not like she doesn't have enough on her plate as it is…

"A word of advice? You should not tell it to your girlfriend anytime soon!" a sarcastic and unrepentant snicker reaches him from downstairs, "We don't want to traumatize her further, do we?"

Seething, Stefan slams his bedroom's door soundly closed and wonders why he bothered arguing with Bonnie and risking his neck for someone this intent on ruining anything he touches.

It must be some fine form of masochism - there's probably a psychiatric definition for it.

He just wants to lie down a little and reason out the best option, but as soon he has walks up to his bed, he is frowning at a red rose resting elegantly on the pillow.

What game are you playing now, brother?

Stefan can't say what instinct brings him to pull aside the bedspread and upturn the pillow, but as soon he does, he knows he won't like how this day is turning around. The papersheet he unfolds none too patiently is a sketch of Elena's face and upper body, a crooked smile on her lips and a flirtatious light behind her completely unnaturally black eyes.

"Damon!" he snarls, furious and confused, "What the hell does this mean?"

"What are you droning on about now?" his brother chuckles from the edge of the threshold.

"This," Stefan waves the sketch in the other vampire's face, and Damon frowns, his features darkening as he snatches the paper from his hands.

"It's not my doing, genius."

"Oh, really?"

The aggressive sharpness of Stefan's sarcasm, however justified, awakes Damon's appetite for emotional wreckage. That and the scent of sex and Elena that still hangs around his younger sibling.

"Have I mentioned Katherine is back in town?"

Damon's smile as he announces it is nothing short of smoldering, the cool blue-green of his eyes glittering with the light of perverse enjoyment. It's transparently clear he's feeding off the effect of his revelation. The way Stefan's jaw instantly slackens and his forehead wrinkles more than usual gives him a unique, thrilling kind of satisfaction he has quite missed lately.

"What?"

"Last night I saw her hanging around Gilbert's house as I was leaving. I talked to her, smelled her, and even tasted her. You can thank me for not giving my game away by letting her believe I thought she was Elena as I kissed her long and hard. "

Damon is tempted to pat himself on the back for a well-played lie: now, if Katherine tried to mock his stupidity in front of Stefan and Elena, it would sound less like the truth and more like one of her usual mind-fuckeries.

"You knew Katherine was probably responsible for whatever happened to Jonathan and Jeremy, and you kept it quiet?"

Stefan can feel the anger thrumming hot and hungry in his bloodstream and for one increasingly bloodthirsty minute all he wants is to behead his brother, to stake him, to tear his limbs apart. Not because he has kept a secret, but because he endangered Elena with his fucked up games….

Then it occurs to him that Damon would never let Katherine go so easily, and it's like his veins are suddenly filled with ice. "You can't possibly want her back after the way she humiliated you."

"I want revenge."

"Enough to leave Elena and her family in danger? I don't believe it," Stefan says, more rational now, the bloodlust receding.

"You should," Damon insists, shrugging, because being perceived as evil is still better than being perceived as a fool. Elena will forgive him eventually, as she did for Isobel and Caroline and everything else. Elena's grudges against him last only as long as his actions' consequences, and once Jeremy is returned to her, he'll be able to pursue her again. Perhaps he'll have an extra advantage as well if he plays the pity card well or plays a pivotal role in getting her problematic sibling on the recovery road.

"You thought you were kissing Elena," Stefan guesses, his stomach clenching at the thought. It doesn't make sense because he already knew Damon wanted Elena. If he had no faith in Damon's brotherly loyalty, how could he have the power to disappoint him? "I think you believed it was Elena all along until we found Jonathan dead."

"Please, I'm perfectly able to tell the difference between my vampire ex and your human sweetheart."

Nothing in Damon sounds or looks defensive, but Stefan goes with his gut feeling anyway, regardless of how unpleasant the reality thusly painted is.

"You must be right," Stefan snorts, shaking his head as his lips curl in a thin, bitter smirk, "If you loved anyone but yourself, you would know the difference."

If you truly loved Elena- Stefan holds back from adding- you would never mistake her for anyone else. You would know each and every shifting nuance in her scent when she is angry, scared, sad, and even excited. You would know every movement of her hands, every turn of her lips. You would recognize her walk and the way she carries herself. If you saw a miracle in every gesture of hers, her resemblance to Katherine would be almost nothing. You would know the difference.

There's no sense of victory to be found in having Damon looking silently after him as he walks away since Stefan barely notices.

At least when it was about Katherine, he could blame Damon's ruthless single-mindedness on compulsion at first and on genuine love after.

It's not until he's knocking on Elena's door that the storm brewing inside his mind finally quiets. All it takes is seeing her there, hearing her soft-voiced 'Hey' as she stands aside to let him in.

Just like all it takes for her to see he's troubled is a deeper look into his dark eyes. "What's wrong?"

They sit on her bed, and he tells her everything. With every word he pronounces, the anger and the disappointment slowly burn away to nothing, leaving him empty. But only until her hands are threading through his hair and her arms are folding around his shoulders.

Her body heat envelops him soothingly while his palms run up and down her back, possessively keeping her as close as he can. "We never get a break, do we?" she sighs wistfully in his ear.

"You are not surprised."

"Let's just say that, with your brother, I'm learning to expect getting disappointed."

Elena is almost shocked to hear herself say this because deep down she is so very furious for how callously Damon has disposed of Jonathan and for making everything so much harder than it needs to be, but she also knows it's the truth. Damon is like a sleek, beautiful leopard: he can be mesmerizing to watch and he can like you enough to allow you the thrill of petting him, but you know he may turn on you for whatever reason at some point.

It's easier to diminish her anger when Stefan's hurt is so fresh, and he's in her arms. She hurts for him and his disappointment more than she does for hers.

Elena Gilbert has never been -admittedly- neither the most selfless nor the most selfish soul, but Stefan's pain will always come first for her. It's amazing and new and scary at the same time, but she wouldn't give it up for the world.

So why does she feel guilt flaring up in a dark, remote corner of her heart?

Stefan's parting words stay with Damon longer than anyone of them might have supposed because in following days he keeps dreaming about the night he thought he was kissing Elena.

Sometimes in his dreams, he knows it's Katherine right away: he rips her heart out of her chest after kissing her hello. Or fucks her roughly against the door before cradling her beautiful head in his hands and tearing it off her neck, with one swift and violent tug.

Other times it's really Elena, sidestepping his kiss and sternly warning she loves Stefan : he cuts off her reprimands by snapping her neck in one furious, practiced motion. Or Elena gives in, looks at him with guilty longing in her eyes and kisses him back languidly…she'll beg him to bite her next, and he'll feel her go sweetly in his firm hold, rebelling only feebly.

It always ends with death, with him awaking hard and throbbing and full of angry appetite. Any search for Jeremy and Katherine he and Stefan have conducted has turned out fruitless so far, and this only makes his sleep more and more troubled.

Damon likes pretending he doesn't understand why, but he knows very well that there's only so long he will be able to deny himself the truth.

Obsession is not love.

Jeremy learns something new about being vampire every day, and with each passing day it seems more and more like his life from before is enveloped in a fog, like a dream or a nightmare so very distant from his present.

There are times he feels so numb that he even wonders if he is real. He wonders if he really loved Anna or if she was just convenient, questions whether she's worth staying with Katherine instead of simply leaving Mystic Falls behind once and for all. But then he remembers how Anna was the first real friend he has ever had, how she held on to him as the device hurt her, how girly she could be when she wasn't trying to act badass.

Anna made him feel connected to the living world for the first time since his parents had died, whereas everything with Vicky had felt magnified and surreal like a hallucination induced by acid.

He's certain that, at the very least, he loved –still loves- Anna as a cherished friend, and he remembers he had a fascination with the delicate, graceful curves of her body, the snow-like paleness of her skin. Had he not read somewhere that 'Love is just friendship set on fire'?

Jeremy wants to be Anna's hero, the first face her eyes see when she awakens to life again. He wants to see the joyful gratitude on her face as he tells her that he has given her mother back to her too. That's what drives him to go on, and perhaps once he is done Anna will connect him to the world once more.

Until that day comes, the next best thing seems to be stalking Bonnie. Jeremy isn't entirely sure why the action gave him such a reprieve, but since the night he and Katherine started his new habit (she had been teaching him the finer points of trailing and ambushing a prey), he has developed a fixation on it. It occasionally disturbs him how much he enjoys executing Katherine's bidding, playing surveillance on Bonnie while remaining unseen, basking in her scent.

The witch wears the skin of his sister's best friend, but he no longer sees her like that. The only thing Jeremy sees as he looks at her is a prey, and the more he follows her around, the more he sees her struggling with the feeling of being spied on, the more he longs for a kill. He pictures drinking her blood until the last drop, fangs aching to tear at her flesh, and he imagines it would be the last line to cross in destroying the boy he used to be.

It's not compassion or remorse stopping him every time, but the knowledge that he needs Bonnie for whatever necromantic hocus pocus will return Anna to his kisses and hands.

Bonnie met Samuel Garwain at her grandmother's funeral when he introduced himself as one of her top students and assistant. They've kept in touch via email since then, and they've occasionally seen each other for lunch or coffee since she came back to Mystic Falls. He has long hair of the darkest brown, a tall and lean figure, and eyes dark and penetrating enough to rival Stefan's; the coolest winged snake tattoo around his forearm, and he looks sexy without even trying. Yet her favorite thing about him is that their casual coffee dates are the one secret she can keep for herself, separated from the drama that touches the rest of her life. Seeing Sam is helping her redefine her version of 'normal', which might sound strange to anyone else, considering Sam is a druid with a weird interest for manga and Ufology. Yet having him to talk to has been providential in a time of her life she when she lost the one person who could guide her through her rediscovery of life as a witch. It doesn't hurt that, given Sam's older college student status, they can flirt a bit without aiming to make their friendship into something more. It's like enjoying the best part of dating without the stress and the responsibilities that come with it. And at the same time, it's stark evidence that having magical powers doesn't mean being cut off from ordinary reality, but rather being privy to an extraordinary world.

Tonight Bonnie and Sam are meeting by the 'Moonshine,' a downtown pub owned by his cousins, Gwen and Rowan. Bonnie feels like she's stepping on a whole other planet every time she gets past the door. Witches hang frequently about the Moonshine both because it's owned by witches and because Rowan sells mandrake roots and other rare magical ingredients under the counter, so the pub gives off a very homely vibe to her.

It's a place where she might start a conversation like this one without feeling self-conscious:

"I think someone's been stalking me."

Sam puts down his beer and looks no less impassive than usual. "Do you still feel like you are being watched?"

Bonnie nods, cringing a little "It's been getting worse. It's like an itch I can't scratch, and incidentally I get that feeling only at night."

Sam's cringe mirrors hers. "You are thinking about vampires."

"Someone I used to know has been turned recently."

"It sucks to be you, then." Rowan pops up from behind them, gracelessly laying the tray with Bonnie' s ordered cider down. Her waist-long blond hair, streaked with purple locks almost hit Bonnie' s face as the other witch decides to sit beside her, but the interruption is more amusing than bothering. The girl is such a hurricane of brute energy that it's hard holding it against her.

"Ever heard of respecting your customer's privacy?" Sam reproaches his cousin with a low, dark tone.

It hardly dents Rowan's over-board perkiness. "I own a bar, doofus. People come here so their privacy can be invaded while I serve them massive quantities of alcohol. I probably know the darkest secrets of half the town."

"Now, that's a scary thought," Bonnie chuckles. "All of that unsavory knowledge in your sneaky, freakishly-little hands."

"Funny, Bennett," Rowan snickers, rolling her eyes, "but if a bloodsucker has taken a shine to you, you better do something fast. Longer it goes on, worse the risk to your safety. It excites their predatory instinct, and a cocked up, fang-y maniac is a pain in the ass. Don't wait until the leeches decide to draw the hunt closed: they get more unpredictable and sadistic, and you will get antsy. Draw the beast out and set it on fire before it gets it in its head to play with you."

However Bonnie appreciates Rowan's experience-proof advice and however little she likes vampires in general, it disturbs her more than a little that the older witch refers to them as 'it'. There are a lot of negative comments she might bring up in reference to her history with vampires, but she wouldn't accuse them of being 'things'.

Not wanting to give Jeremy's identity away, she chooses her next words with particular attention: "What if my blood is not what it wants?"

"All more of a reason to strike first," Rowan's cerulean eyes are stormy as she leans toward her friend, "you let one of them exploit your powers, it won't be long before others follow the example. You would never know any peace."

"She's right," Sam cuts in, the grim calmness in his warning making it harsher, "the last thing you need at this stage of your preparation is developing a reputation for associating with their kind."

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind." Bonnie nods and forces a smile. "Let's talk about something else now. I need to be cheered up."

The druid smirks a little at that request and points with a tilt of his head at the pixie-ish, rail-thin blonde behind the counter, transparently flirting with a customer. "Just let Rowan spill the beans on Gwen's latest accident in potion-making."

Poor Gwen has a twisted, relentless passion for inventing potion recipes for basically anything that pops in her brain. The sad consequence is that she is continuously involved in very colorful experiments. The story Sam is hinting at must be good because Rowan's expression loses every trace of belligerence at its mention.

"Hasn't my cousin told you anything yet? I almost died! I swear that girl is a menace!"

Bonnie's good mood over her night expires somewhere between the moment she gets out of the Moonshine and the moment she reaches her car in the parking lot.

Somehow she has managed to put aside the vampire drama that comes with being Elena's best friend for one hour or so, dancing with her friends and laughing at Gwen's stories and Sam's dry jokes and Rowan's rough handling of a drunk customer who just would not stop hitting on her.

She felt so relaxed, for the first time in a whole week. Then as soon she is out and the foreboding sensation of being watched swoops on her again, she is tempted to simply dismiss it.

Then Rowan's warning replays in her head, and she remains standing beside her car, fingers playing with her keys as her inner senses reach out to locate the threat. After all, if she has to confront her stalker, there's probably no better place than outside of a pub swarming with other witches.

"I know you are here somewhere," she raises her voice tentatively, sounding tougher than she feels, "I can sense you"

The only response she receives is a faint echo of her voice in the empty parking lot, and for one full minute she keeps standing still and feeling extremely silly, if a little relieved. Then a familiar frame emerges from the shadows to swagger toward her.

Jeremy's face, when she's finally able to get a good look at it, is utterly emotionless.

"Hello, Jer. We've been looking for you everywhere."

"I know. I didn't want to be found."

"Jenna and Elena are out of their minds with worry," Bonnie half-cajoles and half-reproaches.

It seems to elicit a humorless grin from Jeremy's pale lips. "Ah, Jenna. I noticed that Alaric is doing wonders to comfort her. Those two should be thanking me. If I had not turned, who knows how long dear auntie would be lied to? It kind of makes her look stupid when the entire family lives in a world she suspects nothing of. "

Swallowing her uneasiness down, Bonnie wants to suggest that he goes over to the Salvatores, or to defend Elena's past secrecy concerning her vampires, but some misgiving she can't pinpoint stops her. "Why have you been watching me?" is all she demands.

Jeremy's eyelids droop half-closed as he focuses on her accelerating heartbeat, the hunger inside him spiking so high he can almost taste the blood in his mouth. "Out of everyone I knew, you feel the most different to me now."

"That's not an answer."

The boy's grin becomes thinner, feral. "No, it's not."

"Are you hunting me?" she can't avoid sounding slightly incredulous. This is supposed to be the same Jeremy who intruded on hers and Elena's chick-flick nights, so how is it possible that she has become just food to him?

"I don't know, but," Jeremy drifts off and shakes his head, confused, hungry beyond belief. That edge of fear in between her heartbeats is intoxicating, addictive. He suddenly needs to have more of it.

"I know you may think this is the only life you can have, but there are other ways to be a vampire. Better ways that would allow keeping your family, a resemblance of normality. Stefan would be glad to help you."

"I bet," he chuckles, "but he cannot give me what I want. I wanted this for myself, and I don't regret it."

"It was a very hard year for you," the witch speaks gently, keeping her tones low and soothing like she is trying to calm a wild horse because the way Jeremy is coming forward has something subtly threatening about it, "but you always had a kind heart. You might have chosen to become a vampire, but you would have never chosen to be murderer."

"It's not like I see it anymore," he shrugs and tilts his head aside and leans against her car, seemingly enjoying how their nearness makes her increasingly jittery. "You like your meat, and you don't feel guilty about all the chickens and cows whose life was cut short."

"It's different."

"It's not, but it's a typically human trait to get hypocritical only because you are not on the top of the alimentary chain."

"Death can be easy for the people who go," Bonnie interjects, striving to stay collected and to not provoke him with any sudden movements while ready to react if he attacked her, "but you should know it's not as easy for those who stay. Every person you kill had a family, friends, coworkers. Ending a life will never be like cutting short a string. It sows a pain you should know better than anyone else."

"Shut up!" Jeremy snarls, eyes flashing black, "My life is not material for a motivational speech!"

"You're only angry because you know I'm right. Think about-"

That's when he jumps forward, ready to latch on her, but Bonnie is more than prepared for it. His body meets an invisible obstacle right away in a telekinetic force that pushes him backwards hard, deflecting his impetus so he glides through the air and falls a few feet away.

Bonnie gets inside her car and speeds promptly away.

AN: You can picture my Original Guest Star Sam Garwain as a long-haired Jason Bher, and rest assured that no Sam/Bonnie romance is in the works. I hope you like him as much I do. Also, I imagine Rowan as Kristen Bell and her little sister Gwen as Taylor Momsen.

Also,I'm not sure i should be posting this freakishly long chapter so soon, after getting so few reviews on last one, but couldn't resist. Make it up to me, pretty please?