Best friends: they're what's for dinner.
Bonnie didn't take the time to admire her unearthly stealth and speed as she flew through the desolate forest. The way she maneuvered her petite body, careful not to brush against anything or make a sound, it was as if she was afraid that one slip up would slow her down. The burning sensation was building in her throat again but she ignored it for now. Her main goal was to focus. She had to be entirely, definitely, one hundred percent convinced that Damon's dream would not come to fulfillment.
She would never hurt Elena or Meredith or any of her friends. There was just no way! Everyone in her circle of friends was family to her. When Elena was a vampire, there were the sensations of dark thoughts, welcoming fierceness, callousness, and a unquestionable hunger for blood. She wouldn't have hesitated to hurt those who dared to lay a finger on her loved ones. It would have been easy to kill anyone who wasn't a vampire. Bonnie was all too aware of the latter as she remembered the poor little rabbit outside of the cathedral.
I promise to give you a proper burial as soon as I'm finished with what I have to do, Bonnie promised the creature as she found herself standing across the street from the Gilbert-Maxwell household. She didn't even realize how quickly she arrived until she saw with her own eyes. The picturesque neighborhood was serene and quiet and Bonnie spotted a single light coming from Elena's bedroom.
She's home!
Concealed by the shadows, the redhead approached the side of the house but paused. Wait, how exactly was she going to do this? Knock on the front door? What time was it, anyways? She didn't have a phone and she didn't want to alert the rest of the family.
They must have returned from their cross country road trip some time today, she thought as she stared up at the inviting bedroom light above her. Elena, her aunt, uncle, little sister… They even took Stefan with them.
It felt like years since she last saw Elena instead of just a couple of months.
That's how this all started. They went on a family vacation while Meredith went with Alaric to North Carolina to visit Duke University for some get together with his college buddies. Matt went to football camp. Mrs. Flowers was - who knew where she was. So it was just me and Damon when that hunter-slayer came into town without warning…
The bedroom lights went out and Bonnie grew unnerved. Wait! Don't go to sleep yet, Elena!
Impulsively she leaped off the ground and perched herself on Elena's window ledge. Despite looking like an anxious kitty cat wanting to get inside, Bonnie wanted to scream. How did she just do that? She clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making a peep.
Before she could regain her composure, the window was lifted open and she was staring at a very shocked Elena Gilbert.
Elena's sunlit gold hair contrasted against the black skies and her blue eyes were enlarged from the sight of seeing one of her best friends hanging outside of her bedroom window.
"BONNIE!"
"Welcome home, Elena!" the smaller girl greeted cheerfully as she tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, which at that point, was virtually impossible. "Did you and Stefan have fun?"
"What are you doing out here!"
"I was hoping to be the first one to see you when you came back." Nice recovery, she complimented herself. Too bad she was hanging outside of a window like a complete weirdo.
Elena held out her hand. "You're going to hurt yourself! What's gotten into you? Did you get possessed again?"
Bonnie ignored the last question. Just because she happened to be a favorite vessel for ghosts in the past… Tentatively she took a hold of Elena's hand and noticed the network of veins on her wrist. She saw the blood pumping along, teasing her, and eventually disappearing underneath her pale flesh. She couldn't help but lick her lips.
"Bonnie, don't space out on me! Come on!"
She was about to be pulled through the window when she felt something preventing her from going in. It felt like a wall of condensed, impassable air. For a split second she had completely forgotten about the vampire lore of having to be invited inside a human's home. She braced herself outside.
"Elena, I don't think I can do this."
Elena grew frustrated. "Yes you can! All you have to do is just let me pull you in!"
"You mean I can come in?" Fear raced up and down Bonnie's spine like an electric jolt. She knew she had to make sure she wouldn't hurt her friend, that the dream was just in fact, a dream. But since she and Damon had been connected so intimately, her ability over precognition must have slipped into him, if only temporarily. His specific dream of her meant that somewhere along the line, she would screw up. No, she would prevent this vision from unfolding. Yet a small part of her was screaming at her, telling her to back off and return to Damon. He was probably furious with her just up and leaving him like that.
Elena, I have to know if I can be with you without hurting you.
Wow, why am I super thirsty all of a sudden?
Elena's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Of course you can come in! Hurry up before someone sees us!"
With a strong tug, both girls tumbled inside the bedroom and flopped onto the bed.
"Ooof!" Bonnie landed on her backside in a sea of blankets and was staring at the ceiling. "Since when did you move the bed next to the window?"
"Right before we left for the trip," Elena replied as she rolled up to a sitting position and sighed. "Now, care to explain what's going on?"
Bonnie bounced up and threw her arms around Elena, hugging her but careful not to crush her. "I just missed you sooo much, Elena! Did you and Stefan have fun? How did your aunt and uncle treat him? How was Margaret? Did you guys take pictures? I can't wait to see them! Just wait until Meredith and Matt come back because then we can have a little reunion party!"
She gushed on and on as she continued to cling onto a bemused Elena. Inward she was throwing a celebration. Here she was, just like her old, normal self, and nothing bad was happening. This could work out after all!
She breathed deeply and felt the warmth of her friend's embrace as it was returned. It felt utterly good not wanting to kill her. As Bonnie rested her face against Elena's neck, her eyes drifted to a blue vein throbbing before her.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The delicious, unforgettable smell of blood filled her nostrils. The vein beat faster and faster, louder and louder, until she thought it would burst from the skin. Bonnie abruptly pulled away and plugged her nose. It was no good because the smell filtered through and the vein's dull thuds were becoming unbearable. She pressed her hands over her ears and shrank back, almost falling off the edge of the bed. Suddenly she could hear a car's tires screech somewhere outside. She heard a noisy owl's incessant hooting. Somewhere inside the house someone was talking too loud.
"Not again," she whispered fearfully as she felt her fangs protrude from her mouth, a predator's tool ready to be unleashed. "Please, stop all that noise!"
Alarmed, Elena climbed off of her bed and grabbed her by the upper arms. "Shhh! Bonnie, what is it? You…"
Bonnie witnessed the apprehension and confusion light up in the lapis lazuli eyes. She could hear Elena's heart race wildly inside her ribcage when she saw the unmistakable vampire fangs.
Who did this to you, Bonnie?
Elena's thoughts were mercifully more pleasant than the other sounds and while it was considerably louder, it somehow comforted the redhead more than she could imagine.
It's a long story. I was going to tell you and everyone else. She was prolonging the inevitable as she tried to lightly repel Elena. This was a mistake. Big mistake. I think I better go.
Did Damon do this to you? Did he make you this way?
The way Elena asked those questions didn't sit well with Bonnie. For some reason it sounded offensive. Though Elena had more than enough reason to be weary of Damon, despite the fact that she still loved the older Salvatore brother in her own way, Bonnie couldn't help but think that she had no right to speak to him in such a manner.
In a flash, Bonnie turned and secured a hand over Elena's mouth so that she wouldn't make a sound. She used her other hand to pin her against the wall next to the bed. Despite the height difference, Bonnie easily outmatched Elena.
I won't hurt her, Bonnie swore to herself as she gazed at Elena's soft, exposed neck. She felt the pain flare inside her throat once again. I can't. I won't!
Bonnie, please listen to me.
Elena was reaching out to her in her mind, knowing that she could hear her. She wasn't fighting Bonnie in any sense. She sounded unruffled; at least she was trying to be for both of their sakes.
Oh Elena, I'm so sorry! I can't control myself! The pain just won't stop! The noises are too loud and the only way I make them stop is if… I…
It's okay, Bonnie. I know. Believe me, I know what it's like. How long ago was it when you changed?
Bonnie made an animal-like growl and her eyes burned with hunger. Never the less, Elena couldn't fight her off and she wouldn't. There was never a doubt: Elena wanted to help her even though she could be killed at a moment's notice. Bonnie withdrew her hand and clenched her teeth.
"Just the other day it happened, and like I said it's a long story. I want to feed and I want to feed on animal blood like Stefan. I don't want to hurt anybody for their blood," Bonnie confessed, her fangs painfully pressed against her lips, on the verge of penetrating her own flesh. "But being this close to you was a lot harder than I imagined. Do you know how good your blood smells?"
"Let me call Stefan and he can help you hunt," Elena suggested as she stared helplessly at the smaller girl with an inevitable growing fear. "You know how much he cares about you. We love you so much Bonnie. We all do and we'll do whatever it takes to see you through this. Will you let me go to make that call?"
Bonnie let out a shuddering sigh and she at last loosened her hold over the blonde. Her eyes drifted shut and she took a couple steps back as she rubbed the side of her head with care.
"My skull feels like it's going to explode," she disclosed in a trembling voice as she glanced down at the carpet. "When I first came back, oh, it was horrible, Elena. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt! My psychic powers became much stronger but I couldn't control it. Damon was there and he helped me get better but only because he used his Power to take on that pain for himself. We could call him and have him come by and help me with this pain… Or, yeah, you can call Stefan and we can wait for him to help me…"
Bonnie's memories flashed back to Damon's dream and she saw Elena's body on the worktable, her entire body covered in bite marks, bruises, and blood.
I'm not a killer.
She thought back to the white rabbit who remained lifeless outside of the cathedral.
I killed him because I was so hungry. It didn't help much, though.
Her eyes fixed themselves on Elena who was still against the wall. Her line of sight zeroed in on her throat and she once again noticed the particular vein that refused to stop tormenting her. She inhaled sharply and she could practically smell the mouth-watering blood beckoning her over.
Please God, help me. I can't stand this pain any longer. I messed up! Elena, run, run, RUN!
Bonnie's mind and body clashed in an instant. She was relieved when Elena heard her telepathic pleas and raced to the window which had been left open. All she had to do was jump out and land on her feet; but before she could even make the attempt, Bonnie effortlessly caught up to her and grabbed a fistful of Elena's hair.
With her mouth open wide and her sharp white fangs exposed, Bonnie McCullough was prepared to feast on her best friend's blood.
Author's note: Sorry, no Bamon action here but that should be remedied in the next chapter! Please let me know what you think of my vampy version of Bonnie so far. Oh, and you probably noticed the little brief story telling on Bonnie's part about the hunter-slayer. I plan on writing a one-shot prequel to "No Regrets" and how it will focus on the hunter-slayer and how they meet up with Damon, how they die, and how all this mess became unraveled in the first place. Sheesh, from a one-shot to now seven chapters in. I didn't think it would be possible but thanks to you wonderful readers, this story is expanding like crazy!
