Title: NightLight
By: Jezzi B.
URL: jezzibness. livejournal. com
Fandom: Vampire Diaries (Book & TV)
Pairing: Damon/Bonnie
Rating: M +16
Type: Multi-chapter
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the show, book series or the characters. The writing here in is for no profit and simply a fan work.
Summary:
What if the main characters of Twilight had been Bonnie and Damon?
Notes:
PLEASE do not expect this to go the way Twilight did. I'm just using it as a platform to launch the story. Since Damon and Bonnie are nothing like Bella and Edward, don't expect the same plot structure or flow. Just accept it if I change people's last names to fit the story.
CHAPTER 7
The Lies
***
"We need to talk."
Grams voice startled me from the land of dreams. I bolted up from the tiny twin bed tucked in my grandmother's former sewing room.
"Grams, you scared me half to death!" I moaned tiredly. I tried to turn over to go back to sleep, but I caught a glimpse of the alarm clock. I was already going to be late for school.
"You could have woken me up earlier! I'm going to be late," I began to scramble out of my bed recklessly.
Grams was standing at the side of my bed with her same calculated expression she always carried. She raised a single brow as her lips twitched with disapproval.
"It's important," she continued to press.
I rummaged through my clean clothes to find a suitable outfit and began to sniff myself to determine if I could do without a shower.
"Grams, please don't make me late for school," I tugged my shirt over my head to begin changing. "You know how strict school policy is about tardiness these days. We can talk about it when I get home."
"This is more important than that," Grams was crossing her arms. At least I could tell which side of the family I adopted that gesture from.
I checked my hair in the mirror. It was an unkempt mess, but I'd have to just deal with it. Once I was sure that I was dressed enough to leave the house I turned to face my grandmother. "I'm listening Grams—if it's that important to you—I'm listening. Just make it quick, okay?"
Grams parted her lips to speak, but instead of words there was the loud sound of a car horn. My shock turned quickly to realization as I dived towards the window to see Damon's black convertible waiting at the front of the house.
"Who is that?" Grams asked suspiciously.
"Tyler—" I lied way too quickly as I put my body in front of the window to hide the view.
Grams tried to peer past my shoulder, "Tyler Lockwood?"
"Yeah! We caught up the other day and he was supposed to drive me to school today, I totally forgot. So—I really have to go Grams, we can talk about it tonight when I make dinner!"
I quickly touched my grandmother's shoulder to lean in and kiss her cheek, "I love you, Grams."
"And I love you…" Grams muttered with a hint of grief in her voice.
I grabbed my school bag and rushed outside; I had to get Damon to leave before my Grandmother could catch sight of him. The minute I started to near the vehicle he began to roll down the shiny passenger window to reveal his stunning features.
I signaled for him to roll it back up and began to hiss, "If my Grams sees you here I am dead, Damon."
Damon seemed satisfied by the thought.
"Maybe you should invite me inside so I can put her mind at ease," the rumble of Damon's voice exuded trouble.
I hastily pulled open the car door and jumped into the seat. Once I was certain that I was securely in place I forcefully pressed the button to force the window back up.
"Just drive," I kept eyeing the house miserably. I silently hoped grams wouldn't get curious and peek outside.
Damon shifted the car into gear, flipping down his sunglasses over his eyes, "Be careful what you ask for..." And then he mashed down on the accelerator so hard the car screamed it's way down the street.
As I tugged the seatbelt across my chest, I understood that I actually felt safe inside Damon's car. Looking at his strong physique and the way he commanded the driver's wheel made him appear intimidating for even a human. I knew the truth though, and yet—I wasn't running away.
What was wrong with me?
"Stop it," Damon said curtly.
"What?" I was taken aback.
"Stop thinking so hard," Damon cocked his head to an angle with his collected features. "Your brow furrows when you think too hard. It's going to give you the worst wrinkles some day…"
"It's hard not to think after last night," I defended myself.
"You mean, 'after our date' last night," Damon was boasting.
I hid my smile from his view. God help me, was I actually starting to enjoy being around Damon?
He pulled his convertible next to Stefan's equally dangerously fast-looking vehicle. I realized that I hadn't exactly seen Damon with his family lately. Even when they did show up for school they never shared lunch with Damon anymore.
"Why don't I see you spending time with your family anymore?" I hesitated to unbuckle myself.
Damon's lip twitched a smile, "My family doesn't approve of our relationship, but I can't be bothered to actually care what they disapprove of."
Heat and surprise rushed through my body. I promptly shook my head, "We are not in a relationship, Damon."
"At least I'm not in denial—" Damon leaned close enough to me to make my insides twist. His cool fingertips delicately touched along the side of my face without pause. His mouth mesmerized me as it drew closer towards me. His lips parted as he articulated the next few words. "—and had a shower…"
Embarrassment overwhelmed me. I reflexively jerked away from him and struggled to get out of the car before my shame could ruin me. I turned my back to his vehicle and worked quickly to start walking away from it.
"Your friends are going to ask about us…" Damon called to me.
I spun fast enough for my hair to curl around my lower lips, "And what do you want me to say to them, Damon?"
"I'll be listening for the answer to that," Damon lifted his index finger to gesture to his ear. "Remember, I'm always listening..."
***
I didn't forget Damon's final words. I kept thinking of them repeatedly. He could hear the comment I made my very first day of school, and—somehow—he heard me scream last night. I wondered how many more abilities Damon was keeping a secret from me.
"So—you and Damon?" Caroline quizzed me the moment I took a seat in the classroom.
I smiled at her, straining out my words, "I guess."
"Do you like him?" Caroline grinned like a pixie.
I felt tense when I realized that Damon was most-likely listening to our conversation. "Well—he is rude and controlling. He never listens to what I say. He's also tactless and terrible!"
My voice had raised; a few students turned to look at me.
Caroline kept her eyes on me, silently waiting for me to answer her question.
I felt hot with anger, "Yes…"
"Poor you—" Caroline sniffed with sympathy as she turned her nose away from me. "—did you shower?"
***
I looked forward to lunch. School was helping me to retain my sanity. These routine acts of normalcy made my life feel less out of control.
I dragged my tray along the lunch-line with Matt close at my side.
"Caroline told me that you're dating Damon," his voice was apprehensive.
"Leave it to Caroline to tell the whole school," I complained.
"So you're not denying it. Bonnie—he's no good for you. He's not what you need," Matt kept following behind me.
I placed a hand to Matt's shoulder to cease him from following me, "Matt, you have no idea what I need. I know all the risks involved with associating with Damon, but—I don't care. I'm going through some difficult things in my life right now, and what I need is for you to let me go and focus on Caroline."
"Bonnie—" Matt started, but went silent.
I thought I had stunned Matt into silence, but it wasn't my doing at all. An arm was slipping across my shoulders from behind me and then around my neck.
I knew his touch.
Damon was showing off how close he could physically touch me to simply taunt Matt. Damon's fingers smoothed over the skin of my collarbone suggestively.
"Oh, am I interrupting?" Damon knew he was. The bastard.
Matt narrowed his gaze and stormed away furiously.
"He hates you," I was glaring too.
"I love that," Damon seemed to drink up negativity like soda.
"What do you want?" I asked breathlessly.
"You—to spend lunch with me," Damon's smile was mind-blowing.
My first instinct was to protest, but instead I whispered out something that faintly sounded like, "Okay…"
***
Damon wasn't shy about sitting close to me at the small table we had all to ourselves. I became very sensitive to his arm gently brushing against mine. Trying to eat was difficult to do when I could smell Damon's shower gel still fresh off his skin. Being around Damon made everything felt more—alive somehow.
"So you find me tactless and terrible?" Damon fixed his eyes on me.
I felt like a rabbit facing a wolf. I tried my best to seem resistant, "That's what you get for eavesdropping."
"I like when you talk about me with such passionate loathing—" Damon leaned towards me to nudge his nose against the rim of my ear. "—I like to think it reflects how energetic you'd be in bed…"
I didn't recoil from him. I began to tilt my cheek closer to his mouth. I couldn't stop the slow, stirring attraction that besieged me.
I could only speak quietly, "You're not getting me in bed, Damon."
Damon's lips grazed over the skin of my cheek. I could feel his cool breaths on my skin and the tightening of the muscles in his arms and legs. He was practically shaking with a devastating desire he forced himself to swallow down.
"No bed then—we'll use this table," he was smiling wickedly against me.
Damon may have not cared that the entire cafeteria was witnessing, but I didn't want strangers knowing the intimate details between us.
I was barely breathing, "You can't do that. Everyone is watching."
Damon wasn't the least bit discouraged, "Mm, I do love an audience…"
"You always were a show off," A female voice spoke.
I hastily turned all attention away from Damon and saw Elena standing with her palms against the table surface. How long had she been there? Did I even want the answer to that?
Damon didn't bother to even look at Elena when he spoke crossly, "Elena, I'm in the middle of something here."
Elena smiled at me with a timeless, delicate beauty. I could tell she was used to Damon's rude behavior; she paid it no mind and extended a wave to me. "Hi Bonnie, I'm Elena. I've heard a lot about you lately. Hopefully we'll have more chances to talk in the future."
I was grateful for the distraction. Damon was too powerful to resist.
"Nice to meet you, Elena," I didn't expect her to be so friendly. I thought Damon had said his family didn't approve.
"Great, you've both met, everyone's all happy. Now—Elena—what do you want?" Damon's words might have been courteous, but he spoke with such frustration from Elena's interruption.
Elena's smile dropped, "Damon, we need to talk."
"I'm busy," Damon accentuated.
"I'm the only one in the family who supports you, Damon. Please come talk with me?" Elena was asking earnestly.
I thought about how I saw Elena at the hospital on the day of my accident. She had been speaking to Professor Alaric with the same expression she was giving to Damon now. I wondered if she was the peacekeeper in the Saltzman's abnormal family.
"It's really okay! You two talk, please," I rose from my seat and in turn, so did Damon.
Our eyes met once more. Damon's stare seemed to tell me that this intimate moment wasn't over. My sassy smile responded back that it—most definitely—was over.
***
I wasn't expecting there to be a black Sudan in front of Grams house when I arrived home…
After Elena had spoken to Damon during lunch he vanished from school for the rest of the day. His absence gave Caroline an excuse to rope me into helping her do Trig homework. Once I remembered that Grams had something of importance to tell me I rushed home.
I wasn't left to wonder the ownership of the Sudan for long. Quickly, I could spot Tyler Lockwood sitting outside near the front door. I felt relieved to see him. I enjoyed spending time with him; it was nice to be around someone who didn't send my mind reeling.
"Tyler!" I ran towards him enthusiastically, "What are you doing here?"
Tyler greeted me with just as much excitement in his eyes as mine, "You won't like it when I tell you."
My zeal turned into concern, "That's never a good way to start a conversation…"
"Your Grams called my mom and asked her if I had given you a ride to school. She asked if I drove a black convertible. I told my mom that only Damon had a car fitting that description and she went all weird on me and asked me to give her a ride here."
The color drained from my face completely, "No, no, no! Tyler, please don't tell me that you think your mom told my Grams about Damon…"
Tyler tucked his hands into his pockets, "Possibly? Probably. Is that a bad thing?"
I knew that if Tyler was aware of the superstition surrounding the Saltzman's that Tyler's mother definitely had to believe it. I couldn't manage an answer for Tyler, I tried to get into the house to explain things and redeem myself.
As I touched the doorknob to walk in, Mrs. Lockwood was walking out.
Mrs. Lockwood was a woman who dressed in expensive business-casual clothing with a pearl necklace against her blouse. Her face was an exquisiteness that lacked any kindness to it. She flipped up her sunglasses to get a better look at my face.
"Hello Mrs. Lockwood," I said lamely.
Mrs. Lockwood reached out her hand to touch my untidy hair, mentally judging me for it.
She pursed her bright-red lips, "Sweetie, you could do so much better."
Was she talking about my hair, or about Damon?
"Mom, lets go now," Tyler seemed to sense how uneasy I was.
Mrs. Lockwood slowly placed her sunglasses back against her nose. She stared at me for a good ten seconds before turning to follow Tyler.
I would have to explain things to Tyler later. I slipped into the house and began searching the rooms for Grams.
"Grams? I'm home!" I called out.
No response.
I checked the living room first, eyeing my grams favorite couch for any sign of her. There was no one. I decided to check the kitchen to see if Grams was making soup. There was no one there either.
I darted up the staircase until I could see a flickering light coming from the sewing room. There was a steady buzzing sound coming from the same location.
"Grams?" I called once more just to be sure before stepping slowly down the hallway closer to the sewing room.
I stepped into the room and immediately could see the lit candles around the windowsill. The buzzing sound was coming from my grandmother's sewing machine, and there she was, working aggressively on a long quilt.
She stuffed a pocket of the quilt with a plant I'd never seen before, and then sewed it shut.
"Grams, I've been calling you—"
"You lied to me," she cut me off without even looking at me.
Guilt filled me. "I don't think you'd understand if I explained it to you."
"No, the problem is that you don't understand how serious this is—" Grams stuffed more plants into the next quilt patch. "—and until you do, I forbid you to leave this house this weekend."
I was supposed to go to Norfolk with Damon, and I felt that he was equally as stubborn about me going as my grandmother was about me not going.
"You're being unreasonable, Grams!" I disputed.
"You are being stupid!" Grams snapped at me.
I stared wide-eyed at my grandmother. I'd never seen her so angry in all my life. Mixed-emotions began coursing through me. I felt like apologizing and complaining at the same time.
I swallowed back whatever tears wanted to come to my eyes, "Grams—what are you doing?"
Grams turned over a pattern and continued to sew, "It's a vervain quilt. You're going to need it when they come for you."
I felt my heart beat faster with uneasiness, "When who comes?"
"The vampires—" Grams lowered her chin, diligently working hard on the quilt.
My legs felt weak; I began to drop to my knees, watching my grandmother who apparently knew all along everything I had just discovered.
"You mean the Saltzman's?" I couldn't believe I was saying this to her.
"Listen to me child. You are a witch—just like me—but unlike me, you are destined for something very dangerous," Grams cast her eyes darkly on me. "And because of that, all of the vampires are going to come for you…"
