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Chapter 4

How dare she! Damon silently seethed in the far corner of the living room where they all gathered. Didn't she know he was Damon effing Salvatore and no one trifled with his feelings and lived to tell the tale?

Only once before had he been publically humiliated before this group and that was right after Elena's return when she was a floating, mute spirit-like creature, and Bonnie had been pumped full of resin and he had been the one to save her. Unfortunately instead of being showered with praise for his innovative and heroic attempt, he was thrown out on his ass because Bonnie blabbered he sat there and watched as the trees attacked Matt's car.

Okay, so they didn't know he was possessed at the time and all was forgiven afterwards, but Damon had made a promise to himself never to be made a fool of again in front of humans. What were they to him other than cattle?

Yeah he made a rookie mistake by falling head over heels in love with one. His reason for that never changed. Elena had always been more human than human; her blood sang to immortals from across the board. She had been chosen just when she was a child to join an illustrious rank of supernatural beings that would guard and look over other dimensions. She was destined for greatness, as was he, so it only made since they be together.

Funny how life did not work out that way.

There were detours along the way. His brother's disappearance that he had an inadvertent part in. The destruction that fell upon Fells Church orchestrated by one whacked out granny and a pair of foxes. Meredith's secret life. Bonnie.

Bonnie, his eyes darted back to her. She had long since removed her leather jacket revealing a plain black t-shirt that hugged her frame and contrasted greatly against her alabaster skin. She was lovely some vague part of his mind said, and Damon growled at it in return. She embarrassed him and if it were not for his brother's prudence, quickly ushering everyone inside before he did something irreversible, Damon had to contend himself with licking his wounds in silence.

Elena had tried to reach out and probe his mind; he promptly slammed the door in her face.

The old woman, Ms. Flowers had made another pot of coffee along with finger sandwiches, cookies, and apple pie. Really, what was this woman's obsession with food? Damon figured he'd never understand.

Declining every and anything the old hag sent his way, Damon quietly sat away from the group and tuned out the chatter. Instead he focused only a small part of his Power on breaking through Bonnie's mental barriers. He had to know if she was thinking about him despite her rebuff.

As he concentrated, he saw Bonnie stiffen and look around absently. Damon was sure he had been discreet, but when the redhead looked right at him—eyes narrowing infinitesimally—Damon quickly aborted the mission.

Her barriers were strong. Strong enough to feel even the most minute penetration. (He was sure if he said that aloud it wouldn't sound right)

For a moment he wondered how she learned to block so effectively and to sense when an outside source was trying to read her. He'd ask her later. She might have denied him a private audience before she boarded that plane to Scotland, she would not be doing it again. If he had to threaten the lives of one of her friends, Mutt was always fun to play around with, he'd do it.

The sound of Bonnie's voice caught his attention again and he stopped his brooding to listen to what she was saying.

So far it wasn't as painful as Bonnie thought it might be, being under the same roof with all her friends but especially Elena and Damon. She wasn't entirely sure if they were together or not, but from what she saw of their interaction—there had been very little—and the way Elena sat nowhere near Stefan, Bonnie was curious about the state of their relationship.

But for a second she could have sworn she felt someone try to read her thoughts. Elena's ability to do so had diminished considerably after she was stripped of her Power and wings. Stefan was too much of a gentleman to invade her thoughts without asking first, so that left only one possible suspect.

Damon.

So she summoned her psychic ability and projected a thought for his "ears" only. She might have used too much force that were he a mortal she could've given him a headache.

Damon!

You rang? His tone was haughty.

If you try to get in my head again without my expressed permission consider your brain Play-Dough for my dogs!

Is that a threat or a promise?

Test me again and you'll find out.

He chuckled in response, the sound deep and husky. Bonnie gulped and promptly closed the pathway to their thoughts.

Ah, yes his little red bird did have bite when she needed to.

"As I was saying," Bonnie resumed her conversation without missing a beat. "I came back because there's something I need to share with you." Her eyes looked pointedly at everyone, Damon included. Bonnie took a deep breath.

Meredith could sense rather than see the tension that was coiling in Bonnie. That was definitely not good.

"Sage came to see me when I was in Scotland."

A chorus of noise rang out at the mention of the other immortal who had been a great help to them in escaping the dark dimension. Bonnie held up her hands to silence everyone. But Elena of course pressed for news of him.

"How is he? We were never sure of what happened to him after he helped us gather that treasure."

"He's fine for the most part. From what he shared, his traveling has been restricted. That's why he wasn't able to deliver Lady Ulma's message to you himself and came to see me instead."

Elena's eyes widened in alarm. "To Me?" Had their little miss-adventures caused Lady Ulma's estate to get ransacked? Or worse had her freedom been overturned and she was back to being a slave again? Already she began formulating Plan A.

Bonnie knew enough about Elena to recognize the signs of when she was thinking of a plan. Part of her wanted to smile at her friend's never-ending do-gooderness but at the same time she just wanted to shake her head. Elena's great plans for helping others always kind of ran hand-in-hand with trouble.

"Is she in trouble?" Elena asked.

"No," Bonnie answered and watched as Elena sat back against her chair sighing in relief. "She's fine. In fact," Bonnie pulled the bag towards her, opened it up and pulled out a photo album. "She wants you to have this."

Bonnie slid the book towards Elena. Tears glistened in the bottom of the blonde's eyes. Mrs. Flowers had already pressed a handkerchief in Elena's hand.

What was left in the bag could ruin everything. And because of what it was she stood to lose Damon again. A phantom pain went through Bonnie. She sighed.

She was over it, him, them, everything. She had moved on with her life leaving her adolescence in the dust. And she had come too far to let an old grudge rob her of all she had gained. It was time to toss up the cards and see where they landed. The was her new motto.

Elena flipped through the pages and smiled. It was photos of Lady Ulma, her husband, and her little girl who looked to be a teenager.

"What I forgot to mention was that Sage took me to the dark dimension so Lady Ulma could deliver her message to me to give to you in person."

Now that caught everyone's attention.

Damon's teeth clamped down on top of one another. Was Sage insane! The dark dimension had proven to be no place for someone as fragile as Bonnie, but…he threw up his hands—inwardly—that didn't seem to matter for she had survived a third trip to one of hell's circle. He was impressed.

"He did what?" Meredith bellowed.

"It's okay, Merry," Bonnie said using her rarely used nickname. "As you can see I'm perfectly fine. Sage was able to conceal my presence very well from the Guardians and smuggled me to Lady Ulma's estate with no trouble."

Bonnie stopped abruptly and faced Damon. He didn't move a single muscle.

"Jessalyn? Remember her? She's been tearing up the dark dimension looking for you by the way."

"Good for her," was Damon's brute reply.

The others looked on in confusion as to who Bonnie was talking about yet neither she nor Damon elaborated.

"Anyways, Lady Ulma is in no danger and she and her family are in perfect health. Her daughter is absolutely beautiful. They chose to name her Illyana which I think is very fitting. What Lady Ulma shared with me is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around myself. But according to her, about three months after we left, the kitsune, the one who gave Stefan the flower of humanity, he showed up one day at her estate with a star ball. When Lady Ulma touched it at first nothing happened, but a few days later, it began glowing and when she touched it again, she was alarmed by what she saw."

Bonnie rummaged around in the bag and pulled out a star ball just like all the ones they handled in the dark dimension. The blue and gold fluid inside swirled around like a storm trapped in a glass sphere. Everyone's eyes were rapt on it but Bonnie was specifically gauging the vampires' reaction to it.

Without either brother aware of it, they had slid to the edge of their seats trying to get closer to the glowing orb. Elena too, stared at the star ball as if lost in a trance, while Ms. Flowers sat with a hand on her chest, quietly sighing. Meredith appeared neutral to what was going on, but her crossed arms fell to her sides. Alaric stared at the object as if he had discovered the missing city Atlantis.

"What's inside?" Stefan asked at last.

"Believe it or not it's Elena's star ball containing all her spirit powers."

\You could hear a mouse fart.

"Oh, my God," Elena stretched out her hand towards the star ball and watched as its glow intensified.

Meredith being the sensible, logical one asked: "How the hell is that possible?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. That was an unanswerable question.

Bonnie continued. "The kitsune got it from the Guardians' throne room. How he was able to get it, well he wasn't talking. And how he knew to give it to Lady Ulma is again a mystery. But when she saw Elena's image she felt compelled to return it to its rightful owner, but…you know what this means?"

It meant everything could go back to the way it was.

The brothers would be at each other's throats. Hell monsters would be after Elena putting everyone close to her in danger. The city might implode. Fells Church was already a theme park for supernatural's but with a Powerful Elena in it, it wouldn't stand a chance. There were so many risks attached to Elena using the powers contained in that star ball. She'd return to being the epicenter to everything, but at the end of the day it would be her decision to make.

The Salvatore brothers looked at one another, each thinking along the same wavelength for the first time. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. Damon had been after power and position since he was born whereas Stefan only wanted to lead a quiet and happy life with the girl he loved. It would appear that yet again neither brother was going to get his wish.

But…Damon's thoughts took a swift trajectory to another person in this very room.

Her fiery red hair and pale skin and heart-melting brown eyes called to him like a pot on slow simmer. He just hadn't exactly made up his mind on if he wanted to answer it or not.

"She did make quite the impact in the dark dimension," Damon spoke for the first time. "The Guardians may have been foolish in their initial planning of getting Elena on their side and for that they underestimated her. That kind of power you just don't throw it away or hide it under a rock. You keep it for yourself."

"Unfortunately my brother is right," Stefan resisted saying. "So is this an omen or a blessing?"

Again that needed to be placed on the unanswerable list. Yet Bonnie felt something on the inside of her whispering the truth of the matter.

"Something might be coming," she said. "What? We won't know until it gets here or…it could just be a nice gift from a kind fox." Bonnie stared at Elena. "It's your decision on what to do with it."

"Bonnie..?"

The woman in question gathered her coat.

"You're not leaving right now are you?" asked Meredith. "You just got here."

Bonnie smiled. "I promised my mom I'd have dinner with the family tonight being it's my first night back, and I have missed them. I'll be in town for a while so no worries."

Elena shot out of her chair, took Bonnie by the hand and propelled them outside. Everyone else knew not to intervene.

Damon was a little surprised Elena beat him to the punch of getting to the little redhead first.

"Damon," Stefan addressed his older brother. "Leave it."

Ignoring his little brother always worked best for him and he didn't see a need to change it now. Damon stood up from his chair, stretched, and said, "I think I'll go for a walk. All that talking made my legs stiff."

Not two seconds later he vanished from the room.

Outside Bonnie calmly slipped her arms into her coat. The sun was falling behind the horizon but there was just enough daylight out to where everything was still visible.

"Bonnie I feel like I have so much to say to you, explain to you. Please just allow me the opportunity to tell you my side of the story."

"No, Elena," Bonnie shook her head. "It doesn't matter what's going on between you and Damon; it's none of my business. I don't care anymore and I really do wish each of you happiness."

Elena sucked her teeth and grabbed Bonnie by the arm. Anger flashed through Bonnie for a second but she banked it before she lashed out with her own brand of power.

"I know you still care about Damon, that you've always cared about Damon. And what he and I had…we thought it was love."

Bonnie's eyes rolled. "Look I know I was naïve back then and thought dying young and beautiful was romantic, but don't insult my intelligence by telling me that the connection you and Damon shared wasn't love. Elena you practically almost committed suicide when Damon died on that moon. A love like that doesn't disappear overnight. So instead of trying to convince me of your story why don't you start with telling yourself the truth. I've dealt with my feelings about Damon. Have you?"

"I have," Elena felt like stomping her foot against the ground. Color had rushed to her cheeks, she felt the air around her pop and crackle.

"Yeah right," Bonnie snorted.

"It's true. Damon and I…we never…we're not together."

Now that Bonnie found astonishing. "Because you're with Stefan?" Bonnie asked for clarification.

Elena's chin quivered. This wasn't how her talk with Bonnie was supposed to go. Out the corner of her eye she saw a large black crow flap its wings in a nearby tree.

"We're taking time apart."

"What does that mean? You're on a break?"

Elena wove her arms over her chest feeling defensive. "If that's what you want to call it. He and I have decided to just take some time away from each other, become friends again, so that's what we've been doing."

"The whole time I've been living in Scotland?" Bonnie did some quick calculations in her head.

Elena only nodded hers.

For a fraction of a second she felt bad for Elena. Bonnie could only imagine what the strain of loving two people could do to someone.

"If you use your star ball…you'd be putting yourself back in the middle again."

Elena laughed humorlessly. "From day one I've been in the middle. This is actually a nice reprieve."

Bonnie snorted quietly. "Well then the decision should be easy for you since you're so used to being loved by everyone with a penis."

Elena gasped and when Bonnie realized what she said her eyes widened in horror. "That didn't come out right."

"No, it's okay," Elena said softly. "It's the truth," she admitted.

By this time Bonnie had nothing else to say and feared she had said too much.

"I'm running late. I should go."

"Bonnie we still have so much to talk about."

"My family, Elena I want to see them. I came straight here from the airport."

The young women stared at one another before Bonnie pivoted on her heels leading in the direction of her car.

Elena could only watch as her best friend strutted to her rental, and got in without tossing her one backwards glance.

Who was that girl impersonating as her best friend? Where was the soft Bonnie? The angelic Bonnie? The Bonnie who forgave any and all infractions without hesitation? Elena honestly missed that person. But at the same time, if she were to be honest with herself, she'd realized she had used that person. She had used Bonnie's forgiving heart against her and had hoped to use it again to get their friendship back on track.

Watching Bonnie drive away from the boardinghouse, Elena wondered if she allowed her chance to reconcile with Bonnie drive away also.

Chapter end.

A/N: Thank you all for reading. And I'd like to give a special shout-out to IllusiveButterfly.