Author's Note: Gold Star to isawyouasaperson. As always, reviews are much loved and appreciated.


CHAPTER SEVEN

The plateau stage is characterized by further increased muscle tension.

"Who is he, and why does he have you smiling like an idiot?"

Bonnie sat across from her cousin, Sabrina Washington in the crowded restaurant Melanie's. Sabrina, daughter of Rachel Hopkins and William Washington, was a Penn State Dickinson Law graduate, with an impeccable sense of style and flawless brown skin. She passed the Bar Exam on her first try. She had spent six months in Lagos, Nigeria. Three months in Lima, Peru. Two months in Holland. One month in Beijing. She can speak seven languages apart from English: Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Italian, Russian and Farsi.

Sabrina was also neurotic, repressed, and prone to living vicariously through Bonnie's 'simple' life.

"How is Aunt Rachel?"

Sabrina's eyes widened at Bonnie evading her line of questioning. She picked up a piece of chicken that was languishing in her Caesar salad, and popped the perfectly seasoned morsel into her mouth with all the grace of a swan.

"Avoiding the question by asking another question? How original. By your non answer I can assume one of two things. One: It's a new relationship. Or two: You don't know how you feel about him yet."

Bonnie had to sense not to have a full mouth while her cousin dissected her love life. She took measured sips on her drink so there was nothing to sputter out when her cousin hit the nail on the head.

"It is new. But I wouldn't say I don't know how I feel about him. I like him. I actually happen to like him a lot."

Sabrina nods as if she understood, "But something is wrong with him. Is he not too bright? Does he lack a sense of humor?" Sabrina placed a comforting hand on Bonnie's wrist and whispered, "Does he have a small dick? There are ways around that, you know."

Bonnie laughed raucously, her sounds drawing attention from the other patrons seated near their table. "It's nothing like that. At all."

"Then what is it?"

Bonnie frowned, not sure if she should share that she knew him when she was a practicing Intimacy Coach. "It's just…I know that he has had a difficult romantic life in the past. I mean who hasn't, right? But I don't want to hold anything against him. And I sort of wish I didn't know his history."

"But then you would be going in blind. Look, I get it. One could say the mystery is gone. But you should think of it as having an advantage. Knowing all there is to know about a person and learning new things along the way make for a meaningful relationship. Or so I'm told."

Bonnie smiled, "You do have a point. I just don't want this to fail, you know. I really do like him."

"That's great, cuz. I didn't think you would get over 'he who shall remain nameless.'"

Bonnie smacked Sabrina's hand, "His name is Sean Avery. You can say it. It doesn't hurt as much." She admitted.

Sabrina paused in her next words, genuinely shocked. "You must really like this new guy if you can stand to say your ex's name. Okay, I have to know who he is. Stop holding out on me."

"I'm not holding out." Bonnie replied, goading her cousin.

"Says the lady who still hasn't produced a name. Is it some online thing? Just make sure you don't get catfished."

"Damon Salvatore." Bonnie blurted, a blush rising to her cheeks at thought of him.

"Damon Salvatore. The Damon Salvatore. Salvatore, as in Salvatore Construction. Shit man! He's loaded. Not that it means anything. But he's loaded. And gorgeous. And not some old creeper. And gorgeous. And rich. Did I mention rich?"

"Yeah. Well, most of the people in this town have some sort of money, either old or new. "

Sabrina paused in her wonderment to agree, "True. He seems to be the perfect package. Which means he's probably really messed up. God, why are the good ones damaged?" Sabrina looked heavenward, and asked sincerely for an answer from up above.

"He's not messed up. There have been some issues in the past. But he's gone to therapy. And he's seems so confident and sure of himself." Bonnie defended.

Which prompted Sabrina to ask, "And he wasn't before?"

"I'm sure Damon is an astute business. He and his brother would have to be, to be where they are now. But there were other areas in his life that he struggled with."

Sabrina leaned over, as if to share something secretly, "That settles it."

Bonnie allowed confusion to play along her face, "Settles what?"

"You must marry him. You must marry him and give Uncle Rudy and Aunt Abby lots of grandbabies."

Bonnie looked at her cousin as if she had grown two heads. "You. Are. Insane."

Sabrina beamed, "Am I? Am I really?"


So it turns out, Damon and Bonnie were both geeks.

They became aware of that fact when Damon suggests that they go to a movie on Saturday. Bonnie protested at first.

"Saturday night is so busy. There are just too many people." Of course, she related this fact while eating Kung Pao Chicken.

Bonnie brought Damon Chinese food for lunch since Damon could not get away from the office. Damon was pleasantly surprised. None of the women he had dated ever offer to feed him. Food, that is, much less visit him at work. The women he attracted where interested in his bank account, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But the women were rarely interested in the goings-on at Salvatore Construction. They didn't take an interests in him beyond the Salvatore surname.

After a taking Bonnie on brief tour, Bonnie and Damon wound up in his office eating lunch. He had promised to take her on one of the sites they were developing. Stefan had gone a bit earlier, loving the walk-throughs and the opportunity to wear a hardhat.

"We don't have to go at night. Haven't you heard of matinee?" Damon grimaced even as he said the words. Elena laughed at him when he had suggested to her. He didn't think Bonnie would do something like that, but he thought she might find it corny.

"That is definitely more my speed." Bonnie put down her boxed food and her chopsticks. She rummaged in her purse and pulled out a card that looked startlingly familiar.

Damon felt his heart speed up when he read 'Criterion Collection Member' near her name. "You're a member?" Damon asked, quietly.

"Yeah. I know, I know. But I love matinees. I love old films. Pretty silly huh?"

Damon swallowed his rice. He next movements seemed slow and deliberate as he reached into his wallet.

He held up his own membership card.


Bonnie was confronted with loud music before she even opened up her door. She regretted coming home. How horrible was that? To regret being home. She regretted leaving Damon. His warm lips. His arms around her. His snarky comments about James Dean.

The two had made good on their plans to take in a Saturday matinee. They watched Rebel Without a Cause and Splendor in the Grass. It seemed to be a Natalie Wood marathon, which suited Bonnie just fine. She loved the actress. Damon and Bonnie even stayed for the third feature, Love with the Proper Stranger, another Wood film, but this time she was paired with Steve McQueen.

Bonnie had swooned over James Dean and had been perversely attracted to Warren Beatty's aloofness, but Steve McQueen did things to her. It was his ruggedness. How strong he seemed. She enjoyed Dean's vulnerability, but McQueen looked like he could survive anything, and kiss the hell out of you while doing it.

Damon would have been jealous if he didn't comfort himself with the morbid fact that these guys were dead. Well, not Beatty, but two out of three wasn't bad.

Damon and Bonnie had gorged on hot dogs, popcorn and candy. Damon couldn't remember a time when he was so carefree. He knew his personal trainer was going to kill him but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

And after.

They had drove around Fairfax Stone Park, the grass just a pretty as anything, even at night. When Damon stopped and turned off the ignition, Bonnie slipped her lithe body in the backseat and beckoned a stunned Damon.

His mind and body quickly got with the program.

As he kissed and touched her, he started to wonder all types of things. Stupid things really. Like how he ever lived without this. Like how in the world did he get so lucky.

"Do you have protection? "Bonnie mumbled against the skin of his neck.

Damon let out a quiet chuckle, fumbling in his pants pocket, laughing with the packet slipped out of his fingers, "Why do I feel like I am fifteen again?"

Bonnie pulled away a bit to look at his face, "Is that when you lost your virginity?"

"Yep. Good old Missy Corcklin. She was our babysitter, you know."

"What?" Bonnie responded in alarm.

Damon shushed her, a finger to his own mouth, "Don't worry. I told Brikham all about it. I completely understand that Missy took advantage of me. I also understand that I shouldn't blame myself, nor glorify the relationship in any meaningful way beyond how fucked up it was." Damon regarded Bonnie, hoping to have assuaged her concern, "Have I completely ruined the moment?"

"Here I was thinking that I knew too much about you for us to work. I haven't even scratched the surface, have I?"

"Oh, there are levels to my madness. Levels upon levels."

"I'm sure. I still want you by the way. Strangely enough, I want to undo any horrible experience you may have had Mr. Salvatore. Show you the right way, between consenting adults. Why aren't you naked?"

Damon finished unbuttoning his half undone shirt, and had one request, "Please. Be gentle."

And that is how Damon and Bonnie ended up being interrupted by a park ranger who issued them a stern warning.

The ranger was even nice enough to overlook their nude bodies, or Damon's shouting about how much money the Salvatores give to preserve "this Godforsaken hellhole." Bonnie thought the park was absolutely lovely, and informed the ranger of that promptly.

Bonnie thought they were fortunate that that ranger had interrupted their second round and not their first. Damon would have probably imploded.

Bonnie contemplated turning right around and leaving her precious home to it's obvious doom now that her brother was an occupant.

She sucked air into her lungs, and let herself in. The music only seemed to get louder now that there was no barrier once the front door was opened.

"Hey sis. Doesn't this stereo sound awesome? Simonon's bass sounds like thunder, doesn't it?"

Bonnie walked over to her stereo, and looked in curiosity at her little used vinyl player. "How did you get London Calling on vinyl? I hope you didn't use my credit card?"

"Why would I use your credit card?" Rick asked, exasperated that she was harshing his vibe.

A figure steps out of the kitchen, stopping any retort from the siblings. "It's my fault. I thought it would be a nice gesture." Sean Avery raised his hands in surrender, knowing how dangerous it can be, getting in the middle of a fight between Rick and Bonnie.

"Sean." Bonnie wasn't aware that she whispered the name, her eyes unmoved from the vinyl as Joe Strummer croaks 'Won't you give me a smile?'

Bonnie chanced a glance toward her brother, Rick, who stood quiet. Rick, who looked guilty. Rick, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Look whose here, Bon? He just dropped by, you know, to say hello." Rick feigned a yawn "I am going to go to my room now. Sort of tired." Rick regarded Sean, "Thanks for the record man."

Rick wasted nary a minute hightailing it out of the room.

"You look good Bonnie. You look really good." Sean felt it was pointless to state the obvious. Even when everything had gone bad, Bonnie always managed to look more than good.

The last time Bonnie was face to face with Sean, they were sitting in some fancy Italian restaurant. He had held her hand as he told her that he has been accepted at Sibley Memorial Hospital's Pharmacy Residency Program. She was so proud of him. She felt so much joy on his behalf. But his own smile didn't reach his eyes.

She thought that it had been the strain of the distance on their relationship. At first considerations, Washington, DC did not seem so far away from West Virginia. But five hour drives were no joke. And weekends were spent more apart than together.

He told her that they should take a break. He told her that he needed to focus. He told her that she should focus, that she should figure out what she wanted to do. Bonnie knew what she wanted to do. Too bad Sean never took anything she had done seriously.

It wasn't until a mutual friend of theirs got married. The weekend of the wedding was when Bonnie found out what Sean really meant by taking a break. Jennifer Collins was damn near perfect. With perfect peach skin and perfect blond hair. She happened to be doing a residency at Sibley as well.

Bonnie fell ill and couldn't attend the festivities. The wedding pictures came out beautiful though.

"How's Jennifer?" Bonnie didn't want to hear how good she looked or anything else from Sean. But if she must be burdened with dealing with him then she will control the conversation.

"Jen is great. We're-we just brought a new place. A fixer-upper sort of thing."

Bonnie scoffed, "What did you say when I first moved in here? How it would be a big waste of time and I should sell it and let someone else worry about it."

Sean had respect enough to look shamefaced, "I was wrong. This place looks amazing. Sheila would be really happy. This is all she wanted for you – "

"Can you not talk about my grandmother. If she were alive I doubt she would have even let you in." Bonnie brushed past Sean to head into her kitchen.

"She knew how to hold a grudge that's for sure."

Bonnie ignored Sean. She grabbed an empty glass and filled it with tap water. She was so happy just moments ago.

"Bonnie." Sean called, following her into the kitchen. "Bonnie, I know you're hurting. I know I hurt you. But you are my best friend and I don't know how to move on and live my life without having you in it somehow."

Bonnie turned her body to face Sean, her movements sharp and quick. She was angry. She was so angry that she contemplated throwing the glass in her hand. She prayed it would miss Sean entirely. She prayed it would hit him right in the face. God help her because she didn't know what to do right now.

"I can't do this with you. I can't. I don't want to. I want you to leave. I want you to go back to Washington. I want you to forget about me. Because I am trying to forget you."

Sean stepped closer to her, defiant almost. "I don't believe that. You don't forget four years."

"You seemed to. You seem to get over our four years just fine." Bonnie didn't want to cry. Not because she thought it would make her weak, but because she cried enough over Sean.

"Okay maybe it's too soon. Maybe I should have called instead. But two years is long enough don't you think? Shouldn't we move past this."

Bonnie didn't understand who this person was in front of her. "I have such deep feeling of...I don't know if it's disillusionment or disappointment or both. You ended things with me because you couldn't tell me that you found someone else. You made me think it was everything other than you wanting someone else. The distance, my work at the clinic, my work at Lakehouse. You made it seem like it was me failing to be the girlfriend you needed."

"Well were you? Were you really the girlfriend I needed? I put up with your work with Birkham, although I know a hell of a lot of guys would not want their girlfriends sleeping with other people for the sake of therapy."

"It wasn't like that!" Bonnie shouted. "It was never like that. It was never this…this thing you made it out to be. And instead of asking me, you just assumed the worst. You became angry. I've never had intercourse with any of my clients. I've barely saw half of them undressed. Most of these individual had partners already so it was mostly me demonstrating – " Bonnie cut herself off. "You know what? No. I don't have to explain myself to you. I don't have to excuse myself anymore."

"No because Bonnie Bennett is too stubborn to see someone else's pain outside of herself."

"I understood your pain when I forgave you for cheating on me. I understood your pain when I helped you with your tuition. With my money. You can berate me for a lot of things. You can even resent me for not being doormat any longer. But when you come to me now with your hand extended in friendship as if I am supposed to fall on my sword again for you, then you are wasting your time. I really don't wish you any ill will. Really, I don't. But you can't be here. Not now. Go home Sean."


"Maybe you should invite her over? We'll have a proper introduction."

Stefan sipped his beer, the dark brew creating a tingle as it went down. "This is good."

Damon smirked, "Didn't I tell you it was a good idea to invest in Mystic?"

"Actually, it was my idea." Stefan contended.

Mystic Bar & Grill had been a staple in The Falls for more than fifty years. Some variation of the neighborhood hangout had existed for all that time. Recently, the place had fallen on hard times. Matt, Stefan and Damon had decided to buy it off of the owner's hands.

Matt had called it a parting gift as he went back to New York. At least it gave him an excuse to come back to Mystic Falls more often.

The three didn't have to go into the venture together. Each could have easily acquired it on his own. But it seemed right to in together.

Stefan stood behind the bar, drinking a homegrown brew from a local brewery that he planned on using at Mystic. He knew this would go over well with the patrons.

Damon and Stefan were committing some time to renovating the place, and breathing new life into it.

"Did you look at the new grill menu yet? I don't think I'm going to be eating dinner at home anymore." Damon responded in jest.

"Nonsense. I'm sure you wouldn't mind a home cooked meal as long as you don't have to lift a finger to help. Now on to the suggestion that you so carefully avoided. Bonnie. At the Boardinghouse. Proper dinner and everything. I promise I won't embarrass you." Stefan assured.

Damon squinted before responding, "See usually, when someone sees that pretty boy grin and those twinkling eyes, they would believe you walked on water. As your big brother, I know differently. But as a sign of good faith, I will call Bonnie right now and invite her over. Thursday night sound good to you?" Damon asked as he tapped her name in his phone.

"Thursday is perfectly fine." Stefan agreed amiably.

"Good." Damon shifted his attention to Bonnie's answering voice on the end of the line, "Hey Bon." Damon greeted warming.

"Hey Damon," Bonnie responded.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked, not liking the sullen tone of her voice.

Bonnie contemplated lying and saying she was fine. But she thought the better of it. "Nothing I want to talk about right now."

"Okay. We can talk about whatever it is when you are ready. How about dinner at my place on Thursday night? My brother and I will be cooking a feast. It will totally bring you out of the funk you are in."

Bonnie laughs a bit, "That sounds wonderful. So it will be teo Salvatores and one Bennett. Maybe I should bring a Washington to even the score."

"A Washington?" Damon inquired.

"My cousin. Sabrina Washington." Bonnie explained.

"Sure bring her along. Should be fun."

"Okay. Well goodnight Damon."

"Goodnight Bonnie."

Damon hung up, already knowing that he will be calling her back to talk to her privately.

"She's bringing her cousin."

Stefan smirked, "If she's as hot as Bonnie, then I predict a delightful evening."


References:

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)

London Calling (The Clash , 1979)

Casting Note:

Sabrina Washington looks likeAja Naomi King

Sean Avery looks like Jesse Williams

Jennifer Collins looks like Margot Robbie