Before I forget - DISCLAIM! DISCLAIM!
Just want to let you guys know how much I appriciate the reviews I'm getting, and the feedback in general. Thanks all! Also, someone mentioned that they didn't really like the swearing in my fic, so I just want to make this clear 'cause I really don't want to offend anyone: Bonnie swears, or at least my version of her does. In my mind, Bonnie is a fairly regular teenager (minus the whole witch thing) and the majority of teenagers swear on a fairly regular basis. I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable or offends you, that's the last thing I want to do. That's just the way Bonnie talks and thinks, and since this is her POV there may be some curses in the narrative as well. I'll try to keep it to a minimum. P.P.S. - There is a lot of swearing at one point in this chapter, but it's the most there ever will be in this story and I feel it's pretty justified, I think you'll see why. Just wanted to warn you, so you know what you're getting into if you choose to read.
Food for Thought: I believe that Damon's initial attraction to Katherine stemmed from her free spirit, the fact that she didn't fit into the mold of a 'proper lady.' She was good at pretending she did, but I think she could see how trapped Damon felt and allowed him to see a more liberated side of herself. She offered him freedom. But the thing about Katherine is that she's coming from a time period where there were more limitations on people's behavouir than there are now. Enter Bonnie stage right, coming from 2010, who has only half an idea of what would be considered 'proper etiquette' for this time period... Now tell me who seems more attractive?
Emily's room always seemed to be in immaculate shape, it was kind of annoying. Bonnie's little cubby-hole of a room had somehow managed to take on the facade of some kind of post-natural disaster image, which made no sense considering she had virtually no possessions and had only been there little more than a week in total. Emily made no effort to hide her disdain every time she was forced to step foot into her 'room.' One of the many reasons Bonnie chose to spend most of her free time in Emily's room rather than her own.
Not that it was very much bigger than hers, but there was something about it that made it seem more spacious. Perhaps it was the amount of light it got through its fair sized window. Bonnie's room had a window... a dinky little thing no bigger than a shoe-box, so high up she had to stand on her bed to look out of it, which gave off virtually no light. Reason number two. Not to mention the view Emily's window provided. She could see right onto the front lawn and gardens. It was gorgeous.
Bonnie leaned her cheek against the cool wood of the window frame, taking the moment to appreciate the scenery. Out of the corner of her eye she could just make out the Grimoire perched on the edge of the writing table, but she ignored it. Emily had asked her to study it while she went to "attend to Miss Katherine." Bonnie rolled her eyes. She'd like to attend to Miss Katherine... with a nice stake through the heart.
Movement outside brought her back to the present. Squinting, she could make out two figures in the distance. Pressing her forehead against the glass now she picked out a few more details. Dark hair, pale skin, one taller and leaner, the other not stout but definitely more muscular – Damon and Stefan. It looked like they were passing something back and forth between each other until suddenly Damon ran at Stefan tackling him to the ground.
They stayed like that for a moment, rolling around on the grass, fighting for the dominant position. When finally Stefan got the upper hand, having successfully pinned his brother to the ground, he made to get to his feet but Damon lifted his leg swinging it out and knocking him down again. Taking the advantage provided by the surprise, Damon threw himself on top of Stefan and the battle recommenced.
It was like watching puppies play, the way they did everything in their power to get one up on the other without actually hurting them. Damon managed to pull out every dirty trick in the book, and Bonnie was surprised to see that Stefan had a few of his own whenever things leaned too far in his brother's favour. Finally, Damon pinned Stefan awkwardly enough that he called forfeit. Damon shot up, throwing his hands in the air, head back in a cry of victory. Stefan just slumped on the grass, fatigued, laughing so hard his body shook with the reverberations.
It took a moment for Bonnie to realize she was smiling, and even longer to notice the wetness staining her cheeks. It felt like her heart was breaking for something she had never known was lost. They had been brothers once, not just in name, but real brothers. The love between the two was palpable even from this distance. Behind this pane glass window, it filled the room and it filled her. With each breath it tore at her lungs leaving behind a bittersweet ache.
In the corner of her mind, playing like an old black-and-white movie, Bonnie recalled the Founder's Day Parade. When Stefan had been so quick to risk his life in order to rescue Damon she hadn't been able to process why.
"The fire will take you out." Bonnie emphasized, closing the distance between them.
He turned to her then, exhaling deeply before replying, "He's my brother, Bonnie," as if that explained everything. Without further hesitation he raced into the inferno.
Now at least, she finally understood.
Bonnie took great care not to knock off the glass vase as she dusted the areas surrounding it. It would be a blessing when her arm finally healed, just so that she wouldn't have to dust anymore. Though she really shouldn't be complaining. She had it easy compared to what she saw some of the other people doing. Dusting may be monotonous, but at least it wasn't back-breaking.
Her eyes slipped around the upstairs hallway with mild interest and modest trepidation. Being up here made her feel trapped for some reason she couldn't identify. She eyed the door to her immediate right and felt her anxiety grow, forming a tight ball in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was because she was more familiar with the downstairs' ground plan. Over the past week and a half Bonnie had learned, through trial and error, what rooms were where. She was comfortable downstairs, but up here she felt oddly exposed.
"I submitted my application to the University of Virginia earlier today." Stefan's voice echoed up the stairs as he began to ascend them. "If all goes well I should hear from them in a fortnight."
"My brother, the lawyer." Damon's voice followed.
Bonnie's back went ram-rod straight, her duster striking the vase at an angle that sent it off balance. Her heart beat outside of her chest as her hand came up just in time to grab it before it fell off the stand. Gently, she set it back down before she allowed herself to breathe again. Holy crap, that was close.
"Not yet," Stefan countered, "but, God willing, soon."
"Always so modest, Stefan. Modesty will get you nowhere. What have I always told you?"
Oh god. Why did they have to be coming upstairs now? She really did not feel like having another stiltedly awkward conversation with Damon Salvatore. She glanced around the hallway for an escape route.
"Several things. Many of which are too obscene to repeat."
All she could see were doors. None of which she knew what lay behind. With her luck she'd probably end up in Damon's room, which would be counterproductive.
"All the best advice is. One day you will come to appreciate my wisdom."
"If you say so."
The only possible escape route available was the stairwell, and that wasn't even a possibility since the person she was trying to avoid was coming up it. What a crappy hallway.
"I do."
She looked over towards the staircase just in time to see the brothers take the last step and round the bend of the railing. Blue clashed with green before she had a chance to look away. She could feel her eyes widen while the words 'do something, DO SOMETHING!' rang over and over again in her head.
Reaching out blindly, her hand came in contact with the door closest to her. She barely managed to wrap her hand around the metal of the handle before she had it open and was inside.
Closing the door behind her, she used it to support herself as her muscles relaxed into liquid. Leaning her head back, she allowed her eyes to fall shut as her heartbeat slowly evened out.
"What are you doing in here?"
Shooting up and away from the door, Bonnie's eyes snapped open to meet Katherine's stern glance. God, this was so much worse than Damon's room.
"Nothing! I – I'm sorry. I didn't realize – I took a wrong turn, I guess. I'm – I'm new." She fumbled out, the words tripping over her tongue awkwardly.
Immediately Katherine's features softened out to something that would appear inviting to anyone who wasn't aware of her true nature. "I understand... Well, I'm certain you know the way out. I won't keep you."
"Right! I'll just..." Bonnie opened the door and slid out of the room faster than she had entered it.
Two sets of eyes had honed in on her entrance. One looking both confused and disappointed, while the other could not be more amused. Though his face gave nothing away, a perfectly blank mask, if not for the slightest upturn to the corner of his lips and the miniscule raise in his eyebrows; his eyes did nothing to hide the spark of laughter he was reigning in. It was infuriating!
What was even more infuriating was the fact that she couldn't do anything about it! He knew she had been trying to avoid him. He had to! What else would he find so damn funny? If she didn't leave now, she was bound to say or do something she'd regret.
Bowing her head slightly, mainly for an excuse to not look at him, she managed, "Mr. Salvatores." Turning stiffly, she then made her way to the stairwell and began to descend, the sound of Damon's laughter finally being released following her all the way down.
The sweet smell of hay mixed with horse manure was sure to cling to Bonnie's senses far longer than she wanted to think about. A tall beauty of a mare rustled to her left and she couldn't help but watch it. There was something incredibly majestic about horses that even in the best of movies couldn't quite be captured. She had never seen a horse up close before. It was mesmerizing. This mare in particular seemed to captivate her with her long lashes, sleek white and grey spotted felt and this amazingly blond mane.
Her eyes were these huge brown orbs, pulling her in, inviting her to come closer. Bonnie placed the basket of herbs she had been collecting for Emily down by one of the posts that held the oil lamps before slowly inching closer. Her feet seemed to root themselves into the ground right before the mare's gate and they simply watched each other for a moment, sizing each other up almost. Curiosity getting the better of her, as it so often did, she slowly raised her hand and brought it closer to the mare's snout.
"Careful. She bites." A voice spoke over her shoulder.
Bonnie screamed, jumping away from the gate and right into a post. Or more accurately her broken arm slammed into the post. That's when all hell broke loose.
Pain seemed to be shooting from every inch of her body, though logically she knew that wasn't what was happening. Her knees crashed against the hay strewn ground as she cradled her arm, rocking back and forth. Tears burned their way down her cheeks, obstructing her view, though whether she would have been able to see through the pain made it a moot point. Vaguely she could hear the horses creating a cacophony of noise, but her own voice rose above it as a fountain of profanities spilled from her lips.
"Son of a BITCH! Oh God, fuck me!... Holy shit. This is un-fucking-believable!... Ahhhhhaaa! Motherfucking HORSESHIT! ... God, God, God..." On and on and on it went until measure by measure the pain began to dull and she felt she could form coherent thoughts again.
Wiping her eyes in hopes of stemming the tears, she looked up to see a very disgruntled Damon Salvatore alternating between attempting to calm the horses and apologizing profusely in her general direction. "Shh. There, it's fine. Everything is fine." He stroked the mare's snout and crest, and gradually under his ministrations all the horses began to calm.
Turning to her then, he offered her his hand, which she promptly pretended not to see as she got to her feet on her own. His hand hung there for a moment before he lowered it back to his side. "I truly am sorry. I had no intention of scaring you. Is your arm -?"
"That's what you get for sneaking up on people." Bonnie snapped before she could stop herself. She hated it when he did that.
His cheeks darkened to a very flattering rose that seemed to heighten the already sinful blue of his eyes: eyes that had narrowed suddenly, something shifting about the way he looked at her, like he'd come to some sort of decision. "Forgive me. I didn't realize you scared so easily. Now I know."
Her jaw slackened at the obvious jab and she stepped into him, making sure to maintain eye contact. "You can't scare me, Damon. I was surprised: that's all."
His eyebrow rose in obvious disbelief, but he didn't comment. They stayed like that for a moment, staring each other down, waiting for the other to back off. His eyes slipped to her lips and then back so quickly she might have imagined it.
"So it's Damon now, is it?"
Sighing, she berated herself for managing to slip up yet again. She took in the lack of distance between the two of them and took a large step back, as if she could build some kind of invisible wall to block him out.
"I meant Mr. Salvatore."
Frowning, he looked away from her mumbling something that sounded vaguely like, "Of course you did."
Silence seemed to follow them like a trail on a wedding dress. It was always just out of sight waiting for its moment to fill the space.
Bonnie eyed the basket of herbs and hoped Emily wasn't wondering what was taking her so long. She really shouldn't have stopped in at the stables, but... Horses! Real horses! How could she resist? She looked back up at Damon to see him rather lost in his own thoughts. Maybe if she moved slowly enough, she could grab her herbs and get out of there without him even noticing.
Like he could hear her thoughts he turned to her, his teeth peeking at her as he smirked widely. "Were you a sailor in a past life, by any chance?"
Bonnie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was he talking about now? "I'm sorry, what?"
"I have never heard anyone swear quite the way you do. I was unaware women could be so vulgar until I met you."
Right, the swearing. She really had to try and stop doing that. She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and tried for nonchalance, ignoring the throbbing the movement seemed to cause in her injured arm. "I guess I'm a product of where I'm from."
"Where is that exactly? You never did say."
She stiffened as her mind went into overdrive to think of something plausible. Uh... "Canada." Oh my God, what? What did she just say?
"Really?" He asked, sounding completely bemused. She nodded, not knowing what else to do. "I had no idea Canadians were so liberal."
"Yeah, we're very... progressive."
"Huh. I think I should like to go to Canada one day."
A noise at the front of the stables near the entrance grabbed their attention. A boy, no older than 12 and carrying grooming supplies, stepped into the light, stopping when he noticed them. He looked confused to see them there, not really doing anything, just standing as if waiting for something to happen. Eventually he dragged his attention away from them and made his way to the nearest stall to begin his work.
Bonnie glanced over at Damon, trying to take her cue from him, only to find him frowning over at the boy. Slowly, she watched as a thought began to form in his head. She could see the little cogs turning behind his eyes. She had seen this look before on 2010 Damon, and it usually meant trouble.
"Boy?" He called and the boy stood suddenly, stepping back out of the stall and into the light.
"Sir?"
"The horses need to be feed and watered. Go to the well, bring a bucket with you and be sure to fill the troughs... and if you cannot do it, find someone who can."
"I –" the boy began, looking a little confused, but quickly stopped himself. "Yes, sir." Dipping his head respectfully he made his way out of the stables.
Satisfied with his handiwork he turned his attention back to Bonnie, but the smug look on his face faded into confusion once he noticed her glaring at him. "What is it?"
Frustration coursed through her veins as she struggled to bite her tongue. She had to remind herself that he was as much a product of his time as she was hers. He didn't even realize how he had spoken to that boy. Letting out a long breath, she shook her head tiredly.
"You wouldn't understand." She moved past him to pick up her discarded basket. "I should go."
"You're leaving so soon?"
"I have things I need to do." She continued, not bothering to even look over her shoulder to toss the words at him.
"Oh." His voice sounding surprisingly small. He cleared his throat abruptly and his voice came out clearer. "That's unfortunate. I was going to introduce you to Lenore."
That made her pause. She hesitated a moment before turning back to him. "Who?"
He gestured casually to the mare. "Lenore. You seemed quite taken with her."
"Her name is Lenore?"
"I like Edgar Allen Poe." He answered, sounding almost shy, his eyes focused on the horse.
Bonnie felt her brow furrow slightly as she tried to make the connection. It didn't take her long to recall the poem he was referencing. She had chosen to study Edgar Allen Poe for an English assignment last year. His work was morbid, but strangely beautiful, and she had ended up really enjoying some of it. "A dirge for her, the doubly dead in that she died so young."
Surprised, he studied her as if seeing her for the first time, his mouth curving into a smile. "Precisely."
She nodded absently to herself. She had gotten an A on that assignment. It was pretty awesome.
"Meet me tonight."
Her eyes felt like they were about to pop out of her head they were so wide. "What?" She must have misheard because what she thought he just said is absurd.
"Meet me here tonight. I'll let you ride her."
Nope. She'd heard him right. "Are you insane?" She moved to stand directly in front of him, as if that would help her get her point across better. "Do you have any idea what would happen to us if we got caught? It's bad enough I continue to talk to you."
He waved his hand to dismiss the idea and rolled his eyes. "We are not going to get caught."
"Well I for one, don't plan on taking that chance. I'm not going to meet you illicitly, just so I can ride your horse."
"Oh, Bonnie. Live a little." His eyes were doing that weird widening thing they did sometimes, making him looking a little less than completely sane.
"I don't have a problem with living. It's the dying that I don't agree with and I will be killed if anyone sees us."
"You will not be killed. Nothing bad will happen to you. Trust me."
Her head shook from side to side of its own accord. " No... NO. This is crazy. We are not having this conversation. I'm not talking to you about this! In fact, I'm leaving now and I'm going to pretend neither of us were ever here. And if you could just stop speaking to me altogether, that would be great." She turned away from him and began to make her way to the entrance.
"Bonnie." He called after her, but she continued forward her head still shaking. "Bonnie!... Fine then, I suppose we shall just meet back here at say... 11? Yes?"
"No!"