Arriving to Mystic Falls high school, he manuvered towards the front, where the jocks had reserved parking. Pulling into his assigned space, some of his teammates approached the car, calling out "Yo, Reece!"
He jumped out of the car & everyone started giving each other "slap-bump" handshakes. Rebekkah sat back and took in all this camaraderie shared with amazement. She also realized, if she was going to be taking his blood, she'd have to be very discreet about the areas she took it from. As she did not want to have to feed him her blood to heal him quicker.
Finally, he went around to her side of the car. He opened the door & gave her his hand to pulled her out. He announced to them "you remember, Rebekkah?"
She smiled & pushed her hand through the crook of his arm.
"You mean, Caroline's, rival?" one of the teammates chortled.
Reece chuckled, "the same one!"
She nudged his side & uttered a tsk sound with her tongue.
He wrapped his arm around her & pulled her close to his side. When they arrived to her locker, he released her & quickly planted a kiss on her lips. "See you later, babe!" and disappeared into the crowd of kids shuffling to their assigned home rooms.
Rebekkah grabbed her books & shut her locker. As she sauntered towards her home room, she made eye contact with Matt. He glared at her, slammed his locker & walked away.
The morning had been uneventful, perhaps because she hadn't seen any of the others. She did manage to reinstate her place among some of the other cheerleaders, even if it was through compelling them. It wasn't till lunch time, when she went into the bathroom to check herself before meeting up with Reece that she ran into Elena. They looked at each other with despise. That's when Elena went at her. But, she was no match for the Original.
Rebekkah soon had her up against the towel dispenser in a chokehold. Elena tried in vain to breakaway. Rebekkh's grip stifled her scream. From one of the stalls emerged Caroline, who pounced on her. Letting Elena drop to the floor, Rebekkah & Caroline went at it. From her slumped position, Elena regained consciousness, got up & resumed her attack against the Original. Before they could do anything, they heard & saw some other girls clamored into the bathroom. At vampire speed they all straightened up, acting as if nothing had taken place. The Original, taking advantage of the opportunity, dashed out through the mass of teenagers in the hall.
As Rebekkah almost made it to the exit doors, she felt someone grab her hand. "Hey," Reece startled her, "where you going?"
She change her demeanor & smiled, "do you want to get out here?"
He looked at her puzzled, "Rebbie, it's the first day of school."
"Exactly, who's going to miss us?" she pleaded, hoping she wouldn't have to compel him to do as she wished.
He smiled, "Alright, but just today. Or else I'll get suspended from practice."
She kissed him sweetly, "just today," as they walked towards his car.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Elena demanded.
"We're going to have to deal with her in a smart way, because not only is she an original, she's old & very powerful!" Caroline interjected.
"How can she just show up after what she did?"
"For now, Elena," Caroline suggested, "we've got to stick together, she can't overpower all of us at the same time!"
"I don't think we should tell Stefan," Elena implored, "you know how he'll react." She looked at Caroline, "Agreed?"
"Agreed." She looked at her, "But, Elena, you're a fledgling. If you're gonna stay safe around Rebekkah, one of us has to be with you, be it Bonnie, me or Stefan."
"Or Damon," Elena added. "Or Damon," Caroline rolled her eyes.
With that they walked to their next class.
(Days later/Salvatore House)
Shutting off the steaming shower he stepped out, grabbed a towel & wrapped it around his narrow waist. Retrieving a smaller towel he dried his hair, getting most of the water out. He threw the towel in the hamper, shook his head & wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror. After somewhat finger combing his hair, he stepped out into his bedroom.
"Morning, Damon," she yawned sweetly, from the leather chair next to his bed.
"More like afternoon. What are you doing here?" opening the top drawer of his dresser to get some underwear.
"Sorry, I didn't think it was a big deal." she responded.
"It is when your boyfriend is down the hall & I'm in a towel!" he said with some sarcasm.
"Now you're being modest?" She looked away as he quickly pulled on some black briefs, "As if I haven't seen you in a towel before. Besides, Stefan's not home."
"Still, you shouldn't be in here!" He growled at her, walking over to his closet to grab a pair of black jeans & a midnight blue shirt.
She stared at his tight body when he wasn't looking, "You said you'd teach me how to...what did you call it? "Oh yeah, Compel, Snatch, Erase."
"And it has to be now?" he scowled, not looking at her concentrating more on getting dressed.
"You've got something better to do?" She responded crossing her arms.
"Well, as a matter of fact," turning to look at her, he stopped in mid-sentence, eyeing her completely.
She was barefooted, only wearing one of Stefan's long sleeve flannel shirt as her sleepwear that revealed her long tanned legs. Ah Stefan, always the lucky one. Elena was not only beautiful, she was compassionate. Everything Katherine wasn't, even if she did look exactly like her. What was it about this girl? They were just friends, but there was a strange feeling in his heart he didn't comprehend.
"What?" she interrupted his reverie.
"Nevermind," he snapped, " it can wait!"
"Wait? You mean one of your female blood bags?"
"Yup!" Emphasizing on the P, then seeing the look on her face & added, "I'm not hurting them," he growled, "and why should you care?"
"It's not right Damon, every night, all those..."
Cutting her off, "then why the hell are you here?" Glaring at her, "you come to me wanting to learn my technique!"
He marched over to his bedroom door & opened it, "get out with your sanctimonious self!"
She got up to leave, suddenly bursting into uncontrollable tears, which turned into sobs.
He stared at her, backing away not knowing what to do. She continued to sob & he found himself awkwardly wrapping his arms around her shoulders to console her. He knew all this was because of her heightened emotions.
"Sh-h-h-h, okay, okay I'll teach you." He assured her, suddenly feeling her arms go around his waist.
Realizing he was holding her up against his open shirt & chest, he let go, backing away simultaneously.
She looked confused, "What?"
"I don't think baby bro would appreciate me holding his girl in this attire." motioning to his open shirt.
Now, she was totally confused. It was her. Since when did Damon care what Stefan thought. He wasn't even being his usual flirty self or invading her personal space.
She stepped towards him, now invading his.
He looked down at her, confused.
In a flash her hands went onto the shirt covering his chest. She nuzzled her face against his neck. "Damon," she said in a breathy voice, as she planted a kiss on his neck, her hands now flowing down his chest.
He got a tingling sensation & closed his eyes. But then confusion set in. His eyes popped open. Taking her hands off, he pushed her away, "what are you doing?"
In a sensual, but demanding voice, she responded, "What does it look like?"
"Elena, I care about you, but you love Stefan, it'll always be Stefan."
The words stabbed her & she reacted by crying again, "What's happening to me?"
"It's the vampire transition, all your feelings are going haywire. Could be dangerous," he joked "like in this instance," he snarked, but not understanding why he had done so.
"No, seriously, you'll adjust," he responded sincerely. "I'm sure Stefan told you all that."
"Yeah, sort of." she whispered, shaking her head, but not looking at him.
Changing the subject, "so, you up for the task?" he grinned.
"Yes." responding softly.
'First, thing's, first. You need to shower, shampoo & shine! And by that, I mean really get dolled up!" He smiled like a Cheshire cat, "Tonight, I teach you!"
(Elena's bathroom 3 hours later)
Before hitting the shower, Elena had found the essential "little black dress" & black leather ballet flats. She'd placed them on her chair. Over on her dresser, she had laid her hoop earrings & a little cuff bangle bracelet with screw ends.
She had dried her hair completely, but, was still in her bathroom doing the finishing touches on her fishtail braid. She had already done her eye makeup, which brought out her big brown doe eyes.
When she emerged from the bathroom, she found a mid-length, steel blue, glitter & lace, party dress with spaghetti straps, hanging on the full-length mirror. Below the dress was a pair of black peep toe pumps.
There was a note attached to the dress' hanger. "Wear this tonight. Damon."
She sighed, but figured Damon knew where he was taking her & what kind of attire was needed.
She slipped on the dress & shoes & wondered how he knew her exact size. Then remembered she was Katherine's spitting image. How could Damon not know.
On the dresser, her jewelry had been pushed aside. In its place was a little black case. She opened it & found a set of blue diamond stud earrings, a necklace with a single blue diamond & a delicate bracelet. The jewelry was exquisite. There was another little note, "These are on loan, take care of them."
When she finished dressing, she applied a little rose colored lip gloss & went down to the living room.
She found Damon nursing a glass of bourbon. He was wearing a slim fit Hugo Boss dark-grey suit that brought out the blue in his eyes even more. A second glass sat waiting for her.
He eyed her quickly, "You look, stunning!" he smiled.
She reached for the glass & took a sip of the amber liquid. "You didn't trust my choice?" she asked.
"For a high school dance, sure, not for where we're going." he snarled.
Crossing her arms she asked, "So where are we going?"
"Somewhere, we're not known." drinking the last of his drink.
"You're not going to tell me, are you" she rolled her eyes at him.
He smirked as he headed towards the front door. She followed him out to his Camaro. He held the door open as she slid in to the front seat. . She watched as he went around to his side of the car. He looked gorgeous, she thought. He got in, gave her a crooked smile & started the car.
They had been on the road for a while.
"So, if you're not going to tell me where we're going," she laced her fingers onto her lap, "can you at least tell me what it is?"
"A club." he answered nonchalantly.
"A club?!" she felt her face flush with anger.
"Before you get all flustered, let me explain."
He turned into a hotel parking garage & quickly found a spot to park the car.
"Alright," taking her seat belt off, she turned her entire self to look at him, "explain."
"For one, we can drink all we want, which as you know takes the edge off." He got out of the car & went over to hers to open the door.
"And?" she demanded.
Holding his hand out to help her out of the car, "And second, you'll be able to do my technique. You'll choose your blood source, spend a little time talking, dancing." He smirked, "then bang, dinner."
"On the dance floor?" she questioned.
"You could," he responded, leading her towards the elevator.
"How?" she probed.
"Like you did earlier," he reminded her.
A puzzled look covered her face. There was the ping of the elevator door opening up.
Rolling his eyes, he stepped into the elevator with her in tow, "when you nuzzled my neck."
She flushed, "oh, right," pulling her hand from him.
"Compel during a slow dance, then, take your fill," he explained.
All his responses were nonchalant. He was different. Any other time, Damon, would have flirted with her. Especially, in a lonely elevator.
"I don't know, Damon," she shook her head.
"Come on, Elena," he said reassuringly. "You drank from the quarterback."
She knitted her eyebrows in a little frown.
"Just follow my lead," he ordered.
They entered the club & Damon immediately scanned the area to see what type of crowd was there.
"You've been to your school dances," he stated. "A club is like a School dance with a bar." he smirked.
"Yes Damon, a School dance with a bar, I get it!" she snapped.
He chuckled, "O-kay, Miss Snippy."
"Give me a little more credit, I'm not oblivious to the world!" she emphasized.
"Great," he smirked, "this little lesson won't take long & I can get on with my life!"
She felt the sting, "Am I that much of a burden to you? I thought you wanted to teach me?"
He stared at her, not understanding why she was getting so upset.
"Let's get you situated at the bar," ignoring her question.
They walked over & she slid onto one of the barstools. He walked over by the bartender, placed an order, motioning to give the 2nd drink to Elena. The bartender placed the martini in front of Elena. She looked up to where Damon had situated himself. She was puzzled, she whispered, knowing he could hear her, "why are you sitting so far?"
"Well, if I sit with you, it'll be construed that we're a couple." he answered.
"But why can't you be just a few seats away?" taking a bite of the olive in her drink.
"Well, the action for me, is sitting right behind." he responded with satisfaction.
Elena looked over & saw 3 blondes sitting at a very small round table. They were looking & whispering about Damon.
He turned his attention to them, raising his glass in a toast. The women smiled and giggled.
Turning back, he grinned & whispered for her ears only, "I'm set.
Elena's face flushed with a little anger. Then interrupted by a voice. "Not much for crowds, are you?"
Looking closer at the voice's owner, who appeared to be in his mid-20's. Light brown hair & eyes to match, with olive skin.
"Excuse me?"
"I notice you're sitting alone," he smiled.
"Maybe I'm not in it for the socializing," she responded.
"So why are you here?" he continued, "Do you mind?" She shook her head no. He slid into the bar stool next to her & ordered a drink.
"Maybe I needed a timeout from my life." she half smiled.
"That bad, huh?"
"Not worth talking about," she answered. "What about you?"
"Just here for a good time." He smiled, "I'm Marco."
"Elena," she responded, as she looked over to where Damon was sitting.
Damon nodded approvingly to go on with the encounter.
Elena proceeded to make small talk with Marco.
The music was playing in the background & people were starting to get up & engage in rhythmical movements with each other.
Damon, turned to check on his trio who continued to giggle & smiled his way. He motioned to the bartender for another bourbon & a round, for the girls. They were served & smiled appreciatively his way. He could hear them arguing over which one he was interested in.
Damon grinned & turned his attention back to where Elena was.
He watched as she continued to make the guy more comfortable . Finally, he whispered for her ears only, "get him on the dance floor & I'll grab a Barbie."
She looked his way & nodded slightly so Marco wouldn't notice.
Damon watched as Elena lead him onto the dance floor. The music was loud, but, Elena had been taught how to adjust the decibals down so it wouldn't hurt.
From where he sat, he observed how the rhythm of their bodies flowed with the music. He could hear the thunder of their hearts beating. Taking the last swig of amber fluid, he pushed himself from the bar.
Sashaying over to the trio, he held out his hand for one of them to dance with him. Instantly, the more daring one took his hand & they floated onto the dance floor. Carefully, he made sure to stay close enough to Elena.
Elena acknowledged his presence & he whispered to wait for the slow song. The lights would be dimmed lower to make the room darker & more romantic. It would be the opportune time for them to take what they needed.
Elena whispered back that she was very anxious & afraid she would not do it right. Damon instructed her to observe.
After several cardio working songs the tone of the music changed into a soft mellow beat. And just as he had told her, the lights dimmed for a slow song. Damon let the music flow into his body changing his rhythm. He wrapped his arms around the girl, looking deeply into her eyes.
From Marco's arms, Elena watched & heard Damon as he spoke softly into the girl's ear. He compelled her to relax & disregard the bite, just remember the kiss. He pulled her into a closer embrace, as he swayed to the music. His lips parted, as did hers & he leaned in for the kiss. The kiss became a little more intense. Engaging her sensually, his lips traveled down to her neck. Elena flushed but kept watching Damon as he bit down softly, but with enough force to break through to the carotid artery. With ease he took the sweet fluid. The girl was still enthralled in what she thought was a sensual kiss. He released her gently & Elena could see the bite appear more like a deep hickey. He covered the area with the girls long hair & told her to keep it there all night. Damon returned the girl to her friends & offered a second one a shot to dance. Eagerly, the girl accepted. The whole process started again, fast dancing for a while. Then, the dimming of the lights for the slow dance to again allow him to take his fill. As he released his bite on the second girl, he pulled her to his chest & continued the slow dance. He looked to Elena & motioned her to follow suit.
Elena looked at Marco & a flood of anxious feelings hit her. She didn't know if she could do it. Guilt is what she felt & she started to retreat from him.
Damon glided swiftly to where the two were dancing, with Barbie 2 in tow. He motioned more forcefully for Elena to compel Marco. Reluctantly she did so. He took the blonde back into his arms & whispered to Elena to pull the boy down towards her face. Once she had to kiss his cheek & work her way down to the side of his neck. He reminded her how she had nuzzled him in his room earlier, which was the exact location of the intended target.
Elena wrapped her arms around Marco's neck and positioned her face next to his cheek. She held his ears in both hands & pulled him down so she was near the spot. Marco pulled her close as he felt her sensual kisses along his neck. He went to pull her mouth up towards his own, but Elena disengaged his fingers from her chin. Then, without hesitation, she brushed her lips against the crook of his neck where the blood source lay. Swiftly, she struck, attaching herself firmly to his neck.
At first, his reaction was like that of the Barbies Damon had fed on. He was in a sensual trance. But as she fed, she became enthralled with the taste & it's quenching of her undying thirst. He started to shake uncontrollably in her arms.
On seeing this Damon let go of the girl. He tore Elena away from the boy, before she got close to draining the life out of him. Grabbing both Elena & Marco, he whisked them out of the club & away before anyone noticed.
As they stood outside in the hallway of the club, Damon compelled Marco to go home, telling him he had drank too much & needed to sleep it off.
Marco stumbled out of the nightclub & onto the street. People who saw him didn't suspect anything other than he had obviously drank a little too much.
"I almost killed him," she said with tears in her eyes. "I almost killed him because I could only think of his blood!" now sobbing.
Damon grabbed her firmly & stared into her eyes, "Listen to me, it's my fault you lost control. You weren't ready to do the task by yourself."
"I hate myself, I hate myself!" she shook her head & tried to break away from Damon.
"Stop!" he shouted, shaking her so she would look at him. He saw the tears as she became detached.
"Elena, we're going to do this together, I'll be alongside you, alright?"
She looked at him and nodded yes.
"Come on," he held out the crook of his arm offering it for her to hook arm in.
They rode the elevator down in silence. Elena just stared at the lit number on the face of the elevator control panel.
She was brought back to reality when the elevator pinged & the doors opened.
Damon looked at her, "let's go."
"Where, Damon? To another victim I'm going to hurt or kill?" she said disgusted with herself.
"I told you, we'll do it together," opening the car door for her till she slid. He closed it & ran around to his side, jumping in.
"I have another place," he smiled. "It's a little more low-key, intimate even."
"I don't know, Damon," she sighed. "Maybe, I should just try Stefan's animal diet."
His voice filled with anger, "So you can get sick all over again? No, Elena, I'm going to teach you how!"
With that he started the car & peeled out of the garage.
They had traveled for about 20 minutes, when he rolled up in front of a smaller nightclub.
She could hear the music coming from inside. The door opened & a young couple strolled out laughing & hugging.
Damon looked at Elena & gave her a light grin
Before they entered he handed Elena a bag. Elena looked inside, then at him puzzled.
"I try to think ahead." he responded to the look.
"So, I'm supposed to change here?" she demanded.
"I am," then adding, "you change in the back seat & I in the front.
"She took the bag & jumped in the back. Inside was her little black dress & flats. The black case was there for her to put away the blue diamond jewelry, which she did.
They both proceeded to change into their more casual attire.
Elena caught herself looking at the back of Damon's body as he squirmed in and out of the suit & into his signature black jeans. The rear view mirror was angled towards Damon, but she still caught portions of his chest & his beautifully handsome face.
"You ready?" he questioned as he opened his door.
"Yeah," she responded,
fishing out her hoops & bracelet from the bag.
She got out of the backseat & slid her shoes on.
They walked into the bar & Elena noticed how dim the lighting was.
"How are we going to," knitting her eyebrows, "you know take someone?" "No dance floor."
"Different game plan," Damon answered.
"Like?" she probed.
"Well, if you notice, it's like the Mystic Grill, with a pool table, dartboard & karaoke at the farside."
"Uh-huh. You still haven't told me how we're gonna do this." she insisted.
"Shoot some pool. See who it attracts. You, will need to get your flirt on."
She scowled at the suggestion.
"You did agree to the lesson," he grinned.
"Ok, so what do I do?" she asked reluctantly.
"Like I said, get your flirt on."
"What does that mean?"
"Flirt, to behave or act amorously without emotional commitment; toy or play with another's affections." he quoted.
"I know what a flirt is, I'm standing right in front of one." she snapped.
He smiled at her, "You've seen me in action."
She rolled her eyes & remembered how often he did flirt with her, just not lately, which was odd. Actually, his whole demeanor towards her had changed. It wasn't till she asked him to teach her did he come around to her. This had been going on for a few days now & it might sound like a short while, but this was long, when it involved Damon.
They walked to the bar where he compelled the bartender to serve them drinks. They then headed tro the pool table & he proceeded to rack it up.
A voice said, "interested in teaming against us two?"
He was average height on the stocky side, with buzz-cut blonde hair. His companion, a girl, was on the slim side, with short red hair.
Damon, looked up from the table, "sure," then quickly at Elena.
They played a few games & Damon made sure the alcohol kept coming. In between,
he kept Elena informed on what, when, where they were going to cash in on their blood.
It was last call, and the four had been at the bar for a while now.
Damon observed the condition of the 2 humans. The guy was pretty gone & the girl was a little more alert.
"How're you gettin' home?" Elena asked. But, neither responded.
She tried again, "do you need a ride?"
The girl looked at her & nodded.
"Ok, we'll take you," Damon added.
People from the bar had spilled into the street, getting into cars or walking on the street.
Damon had made sure they were the last people to leave the bar.
As they walked to the car, Damon instructed Elena to sit in back with the guy,. This is where she was going to try feed off . Damon opened the door & helped him get in. Elena slid in beside him. The girl sat in the seat next to Damon.
The girl had told him where she & her roommate lived, but Damon did not go there.
"Where you taking us?" she asked suddenly sobering up.
Damon turned, his blue eyes piercing into her brown ones & proceeded to compel her to relax, not think about where they were going.
She relaxed & Damon parked in a dark alley.
"Damon!" Elena called from behind, "he's gonna hurl!"
"Not in my car!" Damon opened his door & swooped him out, taking him by a dumpster where he proceeded to up chuck everything he had eaten today & the day before!
After the guy finished, Damon settled him down, propped up against the wall.
Elena looked at Damon, "I am not touching that!"
"Not a problem," he grinned, "we still have a second option!" looking over to where the girl was standing over her friend.
Elena looked at him puzzled, as Damon walked pass her & over to the girl.
He hovered over the girl. Pulling her up, he whispered something in her ear. She nodded & took Damon's hand as they walked towards Elena.
Damon looked around & saw the alley was dark. He motioned Elena to come to him. He took the girl in his arms & proceeded to kiss her. This stopped Elena dead in her tracks.
"What the hell?" she said in a low voice.
In between kisses he mouthed for her to come to where they were.
Elena was close enough, when he turned the girl completely around.
Taking her face he turned it to face his from behind. He engaged her in another kiss. Wrapping his loose arm around the girls waist, he pulled her closer. Briefly letting go of her face, he extended that hand towards Elena.
Confused she took his hand. He released it draping it on the girls neck. The spot, where nourishment flowed.
She looked into his eyes. He in turn looked down towards the girl's neck.
Elena understood. Gently placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, she bared her fangs. And Damon engaged her in a longer kiss.
Elena pierced through the tissue surrounding the precious artery, pushing through till she hit the artery. Once there she drew the blood & drank.
She felt something tingley in her brain. It was electrifying. It was Damon. His mind, intertwining with hers. Guiding her, telling her what signs to watch out for as she extracted the girl's sweet essence. Telling her to feel, listen to the flutter of heartbeats. He warned any change in the heartbeats meant she had to let go.
Elena slowed her drinking. Doing as Damon said, Listening, feeling the rhythm of the heartbeat.
She became mesmerized with the taste of the blood. With what her body was feeling.
Suddenly, she was shocked out of the moment. She heard Damon in her mind telling her to stop. To let the girl go & she did.
They had dropped off the pair at their apartment & were now at the Salvatore house & Damon parked in the back .
He closed the trunk & handed the bag with the fancy clothes to her, "You did well!"
"Thanks to you," she smiled.
His face was serious now, "you should go in."
"Aren't you coming?" she asked.
"I will...later." She watched as he got in his car & drove away.
It was the day after she & Damon had gone to the clubs.
That morning Elena dressed in her black Fila sport suit. Stefan asked if she was going out for a run, or hunting in the woods. She was told him, to Bonnie's. He had
asked where she had been the previous night, especially since, her latest mood, was somewhat agitated. She assured him she was fine, just trying to adjust to the whole vampire thing & yes, she would be running over to Bonnie's house. She did not disclose where she had been the previous night.
(Bonnie's house)
Bonnie opened the door saw it was Elena. "Hi Bonnie," she greeted her longtime friend. But as she started to go inside the house, there was an invisible wall preventing her from entering. She quickly looked at her friend with a puzzled face. Bonnie took in a deep breath, looking Elena over. "Bonnie?" she implored. "It's me! Bonnie lowered her eyes. "Bonnie, you've known me all your life!"
"You're a vampire now!" Bonnie respond.
This hit her hard & Elena started to walk away. "Wait!" the command stopped her in her tracks, "you can come in."
Elena turned around, "you're sure?" the hurt evident in her voice.
"Yes, Elena," Bonnie smiled, "I'm sure."
Stepping through the door, she immediately noticed the change, "what happened to your living room?"
Bonnie shrugged.
"Your Grimoires? Elena continued, "Where are they?"
Bonnie motioned with her face, "in there," at the new chest serving as a center table.
Elena looked at Bonnie & nodded, "oh."
"I can't get reminded of what I am every day and all that has happened to us!" her voice cracked.
Elena went to hug Bonnie. All emotions broke through the surface as both started to cry.
They had made tea & gone to Bonnie's bedroom. Elena, found herself pacing back & forth in front of Bonnie who was still in her jammies & sitting on her bed.
"Something's wrong with Damon." she shook her head.
Bonnie sat up straighter, "What do you mean something's wrong?"
"He's not his...you know his usual charming, flirty self," quickly adding, "at least with me."
"Well, you chose Stefan. Damon's accepted you can only be friends.
"This is Damon we're talking about, "she responded sarcastically.
"And?" she looked her friend. "What's so wrong with you & Damon being just friends?" she demanded.
"Nothing, but it's like how I'm "just" friends with Tyler," she snapped.
"Isn't that how it should be? Between you & Damon? "she argued.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly that, your friendship should be like Tyler's," she responded.
"But our friendship has always been close, like you, me & Caroline's. It's different this time, he's never been like this." she peered at her, noticing her indifference. "Do you know something?"
Bonnie hesitated momentarily, "Yes."
"Did you do something to Damon?" She demanded.
Again she hesitated, finally responding, "I did what he asked me to do."
"Which was?" she probed.
"Remove any enamoured feelings for you," she said with satisfaction. "He and Stefan made an agreement," she looked at Elena, "whoever you chose, decided which brother had to leave Mystic Falls ."
Elena was visibly upset, "Leave? But, why?"
Bonnie continued, "You've been sending him mixed signals all this time, because clearly the feelings aren't one-sided."
"But why would they agree for one of them to leave?" she persisted.
"I don't know Elena," she frowned. "Actually, I do, neither would have been able to stand seeing the other as the victor. That is when you were human & actually had a life expectancy."
"But he's not even acting like the Damon I first met, it's like I'm just an acquaintance." her voice cracked.
"Because the spell I did removed any recollection of the feelings he had for you & any memories of your feelings for him."
Elena frowned, but kept quiet.
"It was his decision, Elena."
She got up from her bed & stood in front of her friend, "Don't you see? Now you & Stefan can be together without Damon interfering or confusing you, right?"
Elena stood there trying to comprehend.
"Right?" Bonnie questioned her again.
'No!" Shaking her head, "no, it's not right!"
"I thought this would have made you happy," looking at Elena. "You chose Stefan," raising her voice, "so explain to me, why isn't it right?"
Elena looked at Bonnie, "you have to remove the spell Bonnie."
"Damon wanted this Elena. You live in his house. You co-habitate with his brother." She frowned, "Damon's was in love with you! It wasn't easy seeing you with Stefan together for what is going to last...what? Forever?
Elena didn't respond.
"You CHOSE Stefan! Just like Katherine CHOSE Stefan! Don't you understand? Damon begged me to make him immune to those feelings so he could move on."
"And he couldn't 'move on' without you casting a spell on him?
"No, Elena, even you know, that a vampires emotions are amplified 1000 fold."
'Right," she said softly. Anger took over, "So why don't you just wipe away my feelings for him, too?"
With that she darted out the front door, slamming it as she exited.
She commenced to run, all feelings surging through her being.
Anger, sadness. Tears rolled out but were quickly wiped away from the momentum of her running.
