Chapter 7

When Bonnie woke up, she was resting on her side, facing the window. A smile graced her lips when she saw that the rain was still falling, cascading down the glass and creating a beautiful and peaceful backdrop to the morning. Occasional rolls of thunder added an oddly comforting effect, and Bonnie sighed and scooted back a little. She stopped when she felt Damon's body behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder and spotted one incredibly blue eye staring back at her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and asked, "who's Andrew?"

She frowned. "What?"

"Who's Andrew? You were mumbling about him in your sleep."

Bonnie had to think for a minute, then she smiled. "Oh, he was this boy I had a crush on when we were in first or second grade. I dreamt about him last night, for some reason." She turned around again, looking out the window, and made no move to leave his arms. "He was this little light-skinned boy with red hair and freckles. He had a big gap in his teeth and his legs were really skinny but, at the time, I thought he was the cutest boy I had ever seen."

"Mmm," Damon hummed against her skin. "You know who my first crush was?"

"Let's see. Betsy Ross?"

Damon threw his head back and laughed. "What? No! How old do you think I am?!"

Bonnie laughed and shrugged. "Old."

"Clearly. Do you have a much less offensive guess?"

"Drawing a blank, sorry."

"Actually, it was Emily."

Bonnie's eyebrow quirked and she looked over her shoulder at him. "Emily Bennett?"

"Yep," he said with a satisfied smile.

"Wow."

"Oh, don't be so surprised. She was very pretty. And smart. And loyal. And powerful. You know I like strong, sassy women. Obviously nothing was going to happen because of the social climate..."

"That's an incredibly nice way to say 'rampant racism and slavery.'"

He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I did have a crush on her."

"Well, look at you. And here I thought you only went for the brunette doppleganger types."

"I go for the hot types, thank you."

It was her turn to roll her eyes, and she settled back into her cuddle position and he did the same. They didn't talk for a while, and she just enjoyed the quiet moments and the rain.

"Thanks for staying with me last night," she said. "I slept well and I don't have a hangover."

"It's been said that my snuggles having healing powers."

She smiled and shook her head, then reluctantly left his embrace.

"I guess I should shower and get ready the for day."

"Any particular plans?" he asked.

"No. I think I'm just going to relax and give myself time to recover. It's been a crazy few months, you know?"

"I do know. And I'm glad you want to relax. I was preparing a speech on why you should sit your ass down somewhere, but since you're doing that voluntarily, I'll save it for another day."

"Wonderful," she said dryly. "Now get out. I need to disrobe."

He put his hands behind his head and wiggled his eyebrows. "Are you sure you don't need me to inspect you and make sure your wounds have healed?"

She picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "Out, pervert."

He held up his hands in surrender and once he was gone, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She felt good, for the first time in a long time. Maybe a night of drinking and Monopoly was all she needed to get her mind in the right place. She hummed to herself and stripped before getting into the shower. She let the steaming water seep into her skin and muscles and she stood underneath the spray until the temperature began to drop. She took her time getting dressed and once she was refreshed and ready for the day, she greeted her friends in the kitchen.

"Good morning," she said cheerily.

Caroline and Elena, who were sitting at the table and speaking lowly to each other, both looked at her and said "morning."

"Fancy meeting you here," Damon said, bumping her with his hip. "Made you some coffee."

"Thanks. No pancakes?"

"I didn't want to make you tired of them."

"Seriously?" she asked, hands on her hips. "We had them every day for months and now suddenly you're worried that I'll get tired of them?"

He smirked. "I'm thoughtful like that."

"You're annoying like that," she corrected, returning his hip check. She slid past him and looked through the cupboards until she settled on oatmeal.

"So, Bonnie," Caroline said, perking up and plastering a big smile on her face, "what's the plan for today?"

"She's relaxing today, Blondie," Damon said.

"Bonnie, is your watch dog going to let me talk to you directly or do I have to make an appointment?"

Bonnie snickered. "I was planning to take it easy, Care. Why, do you have other ideas?"

"We were thinking we could have a girls' day out. It's been forever since we had one and there's a movie theatre and some places to eat about fifteen minutes away."

Bonnie thought about it for a second and although Damon was giving her a look that said he did not approve of the idea, she nodded.

"Okay, that sounds fun."

"Great!" Caroline said. "You want to go after breakfast? They probably have some matinees playing."

"Sure."

"I'm going to freshen up, then."

"I'll join you," Elena said, not really making eye contact with either Bonnie or Damon. Once the two of them left, Damon leaned against the fridge and eyed Bonnie while she heated up her oatmeal.

"You're supposed to be resting," he reminded her.

"I know, but Caroline is right. We haven't had a girls' day in so long that I can't even remember the last one."

"Listening to Caroline talk your head off isn't my idea of letting your body will recover. Your brain will probably explode from all her yapping."

"Maybe I like her yapping."

"You like mine more," he said. "Stay here with me today. We'll play Monopoly and take a nap."

"Wow, you sound like you're 90," she teased.

"I'm just looking out for you," he said in a sing-song voice.

"I know, I know. And I appreciate it. I promise that once we get back from our girls' time, I'll sit on the couch and not move a muscle. You can be my personal errand boy and take care of me. Okay?"

He frowned but nodded. "Fine."

They stood around the table, eating oatmeal and sipping coffee and talking, until Caroline and Elena reappeared and rushed Bonnie off with them. The rain had stopped, and Damon followed them out to the car and frowned the entire time.

"Don't stay out all day," he said.

"Yes, honey," she said sarcastically.

He folded his arms and scowled as Caroline pulled away. Bonnie looked at him out of the back window and chuckled when they were out of his line of vision. They were barely three minutes away when he texted her.

i'm hungry. bring me back some food

"Oh my God," she said lowly before she typed back a response of "get your own food."

"What?" Caroline asked.

"Damon," she said with a smirk and a shake of her head.

"He texted you already?" Elena asked, speaking up for the first time. "We just left."

"I know."

please?

"Remind me to get Damon something to eat from wherever we go," she said. She shoved her phone into her pocket and shut her eyes to enjoy the ride. They didn't talk much until they arrived at the movie theater. Caroline drove up to the side so they could see what was playing and they all agreed on a chick flick. As the three of them walked up to the box office, Bonnie could feel a sort of friction between them that she blamed on the many months of separation. Even before that, it wasn't like they just had time to be themselves or hang out and be young women.

The frostiness between them bothered her as they bought their tickets, got snacks and found their way to their seats in the very back row. Bonnie sat in the middle, with Elena to her left and Caroline to her right. They were the only ones in the theater and she reached over and took Elena's hand in one and Caroline's in the other. They each looked at her in confusion.

"I love you guys, you know?" she said. "Something weird is going on between us and I don't like it. I'm happy to be back home and I want my friends back, without all this weirdness."

She saw Caroline and Elena visibly relax and Elena was the first to squeeze her hand.

"I'm sorry, Bon," she said.

"Me too, Bonnie," Caroline said, her shoulders slumping. "I'm so happy you're back."

"I am, too."

"Good," she smiled. "Then let's start over from right now, okay?"

"Okay," they both said.

And just like that, the tension was gone. They enjoyed the movie, laughed loudly and awwed at the sweet parts. By the time they left, they were giggling and bumping shoulders with each other like old times. They walked through the quaint little streets and entered a pub to have lunch. When the waiter took their orders, Bonnie went last.

"I'll have a margarita to drink," she said. "And the flatbread pizza to eat."

"Sure thing," he said with a cute smile. He almost walked away when Bonnie called him back.

"Oh! And could I go ahead and place a to-go order?"

"Of course. What'll you have?"

"A double bacon cheeseburger with some barbecue sauce on the side. And sweet potato fries, if you have them."

"Yes ma'am, I'll place that when you guys finish up your food."

"Thanks," she smiled. But the smile fell off her face when she returned her attention to her friends and the tension was there again. "Okay, what is going on? You guys are looking weird again."

"It's nothing," Elena said but the look on her face betrayed her.

"I think I know you well enough to know when you're lying."

"It's you and Damon," Caroline blurted out.

Bonnie frowned. "Me and Damon? What about us?"

Caroline's eyes flitted to Elena, who was staring at the table. Bonnie waited for someone to say something but nobody did.

"What about me and Damon?" she asked a little more forcefully.

"Look, Bonnie, you don't have to pretend," Elena said. "I know that you're probably worried about how I feel about it, but the truth is that I chose to erase Damon from my memory and I really can't be mad."

"Mad about what?" she asked, still completely confused.

"I know that you guys are together," Elena said in a breath.

Bonnie continued to frown, and she looked from Elena to Caroline, hoping that the latter might shed some light on the situation. When she only shrugged, Bonnie ran the words over in her head and narrowed her eyes.

"Together?" she asked. "You think Damon and I are...together? Like, romantically?"

"Well, yeah," Elena said, suddenly unsure.

"We're not together."

"But you act all couple-y."

"Yeah, and Damon has been acting like he's your personal protector," Caroline added. "He acted like a crazy person the entire time you were gone and he won't let you out of his sight now."

"And you slept with him," Elena mumbled.

"That's all we did. We slept," Bonnie said emphatically. "You have to understand that we went through a lot together. And then I went through a lot on my own. The only person who understands is Damon. I know it probably seems strange for you guys to see us be close or whatever, but the fact is that we're friends now. Really good friends. Maybe even best friends," she said, the last part a little softer than the rest. "There's nothing going on between us other than that."

Elena sighed in relief, but a quick glance at Caroline told Bonnie that she wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure that's all?" Elena asked.

Bonnie reached over the table and took her friend's hands. "I'm sure," she said with a smile. "Damon loves you. He always has."

Elena nodded and then asked, "do you think I should get my memories back?"

The question surprised Bonnie but she took a moment to think before she answered.

"I wasn't here when you decided to erase him," she said. "I don't know what thought when into that or why you ultimately decided that was what you wanted to do. But even if I was here and I saw how you were doing, I'm not the right person to tell you that. You have to decide for yourself how you want to proceed with Damon."

"He's just so...different...with you. He's different from what I remember."

"He is different. He's made some mistakes. Many mistakes. But he's not a bad guy. If he loves you, he's loyal to a fault. And he does love you, Elena."

Elena nodded as she took her friend's words under advisement. Bonnie looked to Caroline to add something, but the blonde just smiled and nodded.

"The drinks are here," she announced as the waiter passed them around to the right person. "Enough about Damon."

They didn't talk about him again for the rest of their time out. The girls had a good time talking and drinking and laughing. When it was time to go, Bonnie took Damon's food and they headed back to the house. He was just leaving the barn when they pulled up, and he opened the back door and helped Bonnie out.

"Food, as requested," she said, handing him his to-go box.

"Mm, smells good. And bacon-y."

"I know what you like," she said with a wink.

He put his arm around her and they walked to the house together, ahead of Elena and Caroline.

"How was the outing?" he asked.

"Good," she said with a nod. She added in a very low whisper, "weird."

He raised an eyebrow and she shook her head slightly, letting him know they would talk about it later. She joined him in the kitchen while he ate his food and eventually the other two joined, as well. Small talk ruled the conversation until Damon sighed and rubbed his stomach.

"That was good. The only thing that would make it better is a little blood," he said with a grin.

"There are blood bags in the fridge," Caroline told him.

"Yeah, but I could use something a little...fresher."

Bonnie narrowed his eyes at him. "Damon," she warned.

"I've been a good boy," he said. "The whole time I've been here, I've been on blood bags. I think I deserve just one bite fresh from the source. It'll be a quick eat and snatch and I won't hurt anyone."

She stared at him like she was unimpressed, then rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"I'll be back," he said. "Then you owe me a completed Monopoly game."

He stood up from the table, and Elena surprised everyone when she stood up too.

"I'll come with you," she said.

He looked uncertain, but then shrugged and said, "okay."

They left together, with Bonnie and Caroline still at the table, and once they heard the two vampires run off, Bonnie sat back in her seat and folded her arms.

"So," she said.

"So," Caroline said, mirroring her position.

"Are you going to tell me what's been eating you all day?"

"Are you going to tell the truth about you and Damon?"

"I did tell the truth, Caroline. There's nothing going on between us."

"Bonnie, Elena may not be very observant but I am. When you were giving your little speech about how you two are just friends, you left out a huge part of the explanation. You said that he loves Elena."

"He does."

"You never said anything about your feelings for him."

"I didn't realize that I needed to state the obvious but here it is: I don't feel that way about him."

"Oh please!" Caroline shouted. "You should see yourself when he comes into the room! Your entire face lights up! You find every excuse to touch him and be near him and flirt with him! You slept in the same bed as he did, Bonnie!"

"So what?" she shouted back. "It's not like we had sex. We slept. That's it. Why are you making such a big deal of it? You slept with Stefan!"

"Exactly," she said with a scoff. "And you know why that doesn't help your case at all? Because I'm in love with Stefan."

Bonnie had already opened her mouth to refute whatever Caroline said, but she was stopped cold by that admission. Caroline sighed and shook her head.

"Stefan found out how I felt and he didn't return my feelings. Now I feel like I've lost my best friend and it sucks. I don't want the same thing to happen to you. I see how close you and Damon are. I know you care about each other but I can also see that it's more than that. You love him."

"As a friend," Bonnie refuted.

"As more than a friend, Bonnie. I've only ever seen you look that way with one other person and that was Jeremy. I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but you've been through so much already and I don't want you to get hurt." She patted Bonnie's hand and said in her softest voice, "Damon loves Elena. Stefan loves Elena. They always will."

Bonnie let the words sink in, but she ignored the way they hurt and stung because she couldn't bring herself to admit that maybe Caroline was right.

"Thank you for worrying about me," she said. "But I won't get hurt. Because I don't like him that way."

Caroline smiled sympathetically. Bonnie could tell that she wanted to say something else, but she only said, "okay."

And that was that. They didn't talk about it again. They moved on to other things, like the fact that Alaric, Jo and Lucy were coming over to see Bonnie and figure out what to do with Kai. Damon and Elena eventually returned and appeared less awkward around each other than they had before. Elena was smiling in a flirtatious way and Damon wasn't shooting her down.

Bonnie's stomach twisted in knots.

Still, Damon turned his attention to Bonnie and he nodded towards the door. "Walk with me?" he asked. She took his hand and they walked outside, passing the barn and going into the open space, away from the house. Once they were out of earshot, Damon nudged her with his shoulder.

"So, do you think I'd be a complete idiot to consider taking Elena back?" he asked.

A spike of discomfort shot up her body, but she ignored it and shrugged noncommittally.

"Not a complete idiot, no," she said.

"Just a partial one?" he smiled.

"Not an idiot at all, if that's what you want to do. Who am I to tell you how to manage your love life?"

"Well, I trust you," he said simply. "You know me. You know Elena. As judgey as you are, your judgments are usually pretty good. So do me a favor and actually judge a situation for me for once."

Bonnie wanted to laugh and tease him right back but her heart just wasn't in it. Caroline's words were buzzing around her head like an annoying swarm of bees and she couldn't stop the feelings of jealousy from growing out of every cell in her body. She tried to tell herself that she was only jealous because she didn't want to have to give up Damon's undivided attention. She knew that once Elena was back on the scene, everyone else would be expendable. And she just couldn't go from being important to him to not mattering at all. Not everything they'd been through together.

"Bon-Bon?" he asked.

"I don't know, Damon," she said in a rushed breath. "It's your call."

He stopped walking. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, something. What is it?"

"Maybe I just don't want to play Matchmaker for everyone as soon as I wake up from a coma," she snapped.

Damon's hands went up and he backed away.

"Wow. Okay."

She sighed and ran her hands along her face.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean that."

"You meant it. But it's okay. You're right. I shouldn't have asked you that."

He started walking again with her next to him and the silence became uncomfortable. Bonnie glanced at him a few times but he looked straight ahead.

"Don't be mad at me," she sighed.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I told you that you'd be my priority but instead of helping you rest, I'm asking you stupid questions about me and Elena. I won't ask you anything like that again."

"No, do ask me," she said, taking hold of his arm and tugging until he looked at her. "I like when you ask my opinion."

"Then why did you yell at me like that?"

"Because. I don't want to fall back into that trap of being good old dependable Bonnie that people only rely on to fix their problems. Elena already asked me what I thought of your relationship and it irritated me. That's all."

"Is that why you said the day was weird?"

"Kind of," she said. She dropped his arm and continued to walk.

"So are you going to tell me more or make me guess?" he asked.

"It's stupid," she said.

"Then share with me so we can laugh together about how stupid it is."

She looked at him and his smirky face and her heart leapt at the idea of telling him that Elena and Caroline thought they were romantically involved. What if he laughed like it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard? What if he didn't laugh at all and only asked her what was so funny or stupid about that? She couldn't decide which was worse.

"Caroline and Elena thought that you and I were together," she said. She figured that putting it out there was the best way to go. If he laughed, she would laugh. If he didn't, she'd figure out how to respond.

"Together," he said.

"Yeah."

"Like...?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

He squinted his eyes a little bit and Bonnie wasn't sure what to make of that. He didn't say anything for an excruciatingly long time and she only spoke again to fill the silence.

"They said we act couple-y or something like that," she said, waving her hand in dismissal.

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do act kind of couple-y."

She still didn't know what to make of his response. He was neither outraged nor in agreement. The neutrality was probably worse than any reaction she could have imagined.

"Sooo...you don't think that's stupid?" she asked.

He poked out his lips and shook his head. "No."

Her heart raced.

"Oh," was her response.

"I mean, what's stupid about it? You're hot. And smart. And powerful. You know I like sassy witches."

Her heart almost beat out of her chest.

"But you'd never put up with me," he said like it was a foregone conclusion. She opened her mouth to refute that, to tell him that he wasn't so bad and sometimes he was even fun and cute. But he spoke again and said, "but despite that, if I wasn't still trying to figure out this thing with Elena, I'd totally pursue you, Judgey."

He winked and smiled, and she forced a smile in return even though he had no idea how much he had just crushed her. It was kind of insane to think that earlier in the day, this conversation wouldn't have bothered her in the slightest. She would have even found it amusing and flattering. But now, knowing that Caroline was right, it hurt like hell.

She was quiet and mostly numb as they continued to walk. Damon talked about something or other but she was too busy replaying every moment of the last several months. How long had she been in love with him, she wondered. Had it happened at some random moment while he was cooking her those disgusting pancakes? Maybe during a late-night chat or a game of poker? Or maybe it hadn't really happened until he was gone and she was missing him in a way she had never missed anyone before.

Suddenly, she was hyper aware of everything. She could feel his hand as it swung a few inches away from hers. She could smell him and the scent of his leather jacket. His proximity made her hair stand on end. His voice made her heart lurch. When he smiled, she wanted that smile only for her. She wanted his jokes to only be for her. She wanted his zealous loyalty, every ounce of it, for her.

They walked until the sun went down and she only somewhat noticed when he told her that they should go back. He put his arm around her again and she had to fight the urge to push him off of her. She didn't want his embrace if it didn't come with his heart. That was crazy and she knew it, but it was true. They made it back to the house, where a few more cars were parked, and Bonnie disentangled herself from him long enough to open the door. As soon as she did, she saw Lucy.

"There she is," Lucy said with a big smile. "Glad to see you back in the land of the living, cousin. Even though you look like you've seen a ghost," she laughed.

Bonnie tried to smile, but her eyes landed on Caroline. They didn't have to communicate verbally. She knew that Caroline knew from the way the blonde half-smiled and nodded, like she understood what it was like to be so close to the guy you loved but so incredibly far away.

"Where's Ric?" Damon asked.

As if on cue, there was a blood-curdling scream from outside. Everyone's head snapped around and Damon rushed out, followed by everyone else. Bonnie stood on the porch, where she could see Ric crawling out of the barn, injured. They all ran to him and once Damon flung the barn doors open, he saw that Kai was gone.

"What happened?" he asked, as he helped Ric up. He had a stake in his chest, just a few inches from his heart. Damon ripped it out and Ric yelled.

"He's gone," Ric grunted. "Jo got close to him, he grabbed her. It all happened so fast. He took her."

"Great," Damon said sarcastically. "Looks like we've gotta find him and kill him for real this time. Time for a road trip."

"I'm coming," Ric said.

"Me too," Elena offered.

"Me too," Caroline said.

"Not me," Lucy laughed. "I've done my part. You guys figure out the rest."

"Fine, you stay behind and look after Bonnie," Damon directed.

"I'm coming with you," Bonnie said.

"What? No. You need to rest. You've been through a lot and this isn't the time to play Superwoman."

"He's right, Bonnie," Lucy said.

"I'm coming, Damon," she said assertively. "And you can't stop me."

He rolled his eyes. "We can handle him on our own."

"Maybe you can and maybe you can't. Either way, I'll be there."

She knew he wanted to ask her why she was so damn stubborn. She also knew that she should stay behind and let them handle a dangerous situation without her, for once. But she also knew that if he left, she would sit around and wonder what was happening between him and Elena and she'd only worry herself to death. Might as well do something productive with her time. When she folded her arms across her chest and dug her heels in, Damon sighed.

"Fine. Everybody get ready. We're going to kill us a psycho."