I figured since its going to be at least a week till my next chapter is posted, I might as well post up this one for all you who have been so patient with me as I prepare these stories. I thank you all for your words and comments, and as promised, the Bamon scenes are starting to get more interesting. After seeing that most of you like the action in these chapters, I went ahead and added a bit more action to this particular chapter. Also...this will be the chapter that will set up the romance between our favorite couple. So don't worry...the hate is starting to sizzle away. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 9 - Tit For Tat
Silence…
For 5 straight minutes since Bonnie had allowed herself to jump in the car with Damon Salvatore, there had been nothing but utter silence. And for once it was like a moment of pure bliss. No smart-ass remarks to upset her, or physical threats to keep her on the defensive. No grunts or growls that made her cringe uncomfortably, or constant nagging about mistrust and hate. For the first time ever Bonnie was tolerable of Damon's actions. Sure this was a rare occasion (one she'd make sure to mark down on her calendar) but it was damn well worth the wait. Looking out her windshield, Bonnie noticed raindrops starting to fall steadily on the glass.
Great.
If there was one thing Bonnie was most frightened of, it was getting caught in a rainstorm while driving. Statistics showed that those type of scenarios usually ended badly for the person driving, and since the occupant in her car was already dead her chances were looking slim to none. As the rain began to drop more ferociously on top of the blue Hybrid, the young woman started to slow her driving acceleration to an agonizing crawl which caught the attention of a sulking Damon Salvatore. He had leaned his head back on the cushion of his seat, staring up at the roof for the past 5 minutes, only taking a couple moments to glance out of the window whenever he wanted to see just how much closer they were to Bonnie's house.
"Why are we slowing down?" Damon asked irritated, his eyes still staring up at the roof and releasing a heavy sigh. 'So much for silence,' Bonnie thought as she continued to drive without responding back to the man. The vampire only perched his lips as he ran his hands over his face, hearing the increasing rhythm of rain hitting against the car's frame. "I asked," Damon tried again, "Why are we slowing down?" Still, the young woman did not respond as she inhaled deeply and focused all her attention on the road ahead of her. Damon rolled his head to the side to stare at the witch, furrowing his eyes in irritation. "You know its moments like these that I hate you the most." The man was know just trying to get a rise out of the woman, but alas, Bonnie would not take the bait. She only clutched the steering wheel tighter while flipping her bangs out of her eyes. Damon could see that today would obviously not end with the two of them going down each others throats, so he rolled his head back up towards the roof and rolled his blue eyes. "Whatever."
Time seemed to pass by slowly as Bonnie realized she still had another fifteen minutes to go until she got home. She wanted to just pull over and kick Damon out of her car…at least that would be something the couple could agree would be the wiser choice. Nonetheless, Bonnie was still frightened at the fact that that hooded woman in the woods seemed to know her, and worst yet was the cause of so many killings going around. What the hell could she possibly want with Bonnie? All she'd ever done was mingle with vampires as they constantly asked her to do random favors for them. Then again, that might have been the sole reasoning to the mystery woman's knowledge.
Turning on her windshield wipers, Bonnie began to squint as she stared at the now rain-sheeted open stretch of road in front of her. At this rate she would never get home.
"Are you always this bitchy with people, or is that right reserved just for me?" Damon's voice broke all traces of concentration the woman may have once had. Bonnie merely scoffed as she turned her head away from the man for a moment, still not sure why the man was so adamant about driving her insane with his stupidity.
"Let's do something different, eh?" The woman began as she scaled the road ahead of her, stopping at a STOP sign and taking the time to turn and look over at the man. "Why don't we just not say anything to each other and hope to God that this trip is over soon." The vampire scratched the side of his head while giving a dubious look.
"Yeah…not gonna happen," he said. "I may have taken up Stefan's little suggestion of riding in the car with you home only because it benefits me in the long run, but I'll be damned if I start taking orders from you." Bonnie felt herself growing more and more irate with the man sitting beside her. Everything he said to her had the power of drastically changing her perspective on everything she believed in; Not a second ago she was terrified at the fact of driving home alone, but right now she'd kill for the opportunity. The angered witch made a sharp turn towards the curb and slammed on the brakes. Pressing a button on her steering wheel, all the doors unlocked within seconds, but most notably Damon's.
"Get out." Bonnie said as calmly as possible. The emotionless command only struck up a chuckle from the vampire as he sat up straight to look the witch over dubiously.
"I thought I just told you; I'm not taking orders from you." Damon placed his hands over the back of his head defiantly as he gave the woman as mischievous smile. Bonnie couldn't help but feel her eye twitch as the urge to use her magic to make the man's head explode seemed like the only solution to her problem.
"Why are you making this more difficult than it needs to be?" Bonnie asked with a rising tone. "I'm trying to save us both the trouble of sharing the same air, and what do you do? You go against everything you claim to stand for just to irritate me even more." The young woman watched as Damon's face grew more serious now. It was obvious that he hated when people tried to psychoanalyze him as if though he were some sort of patient.
"What can I say?" Damon began to respond snidely, "I'm a complicated individual." Bonnie just looked at the man in disgust. How anything so vile and heartless could waltz their way into her life was beyond her. It didn't make sense how she was allowing so much dysfunction to interfere with her life. Surely it was tough enough having to learn to be the Bennett witch her Grams had always wanted her to be, but now she had to deal with the Lockwoods, Katherine, and a couple of hooded killers with supernatural abilities. Throw Damon on top of all that drama and you've got yourself a mental breakdown in the works.
Bonnie turned her eyes back towards the road before slowly accelerating forward, "I hate you."
"Consider the feeling mutual," Damon retorted lazily. The woman scoffed as she shook her head and quickly took a gander at the man slouched in the seat next to her.
"You hate me?" The question came out humorless though Bonnie carried it with a laugh. Damon rolled his eyes as he knew that his one comment would lead to more nagging on the witch's part. "I've done nothing as severe as you have to grant you the privilege to hate me." Now it was Damon who gave a humorless laugh.
"Are you suffering from short term memory loss right now?" he asked. "You deactivated the Gilbert device which nearly killed me and my brother, you keep giving me those massive headaches, and you've set me on fire. I think I've earned more than just the privilege of hating you…I have a right to." Bonnie perched her lips as she drove silently through the pouring rain. It was easy for Damon to take those said situations and make himself look like the victim in each of them.
"I should have never got involved with all of this," she whispered to herself though she was pretty sure the man next to her heard every word spoken. "The less I knew, the better off I probably would have been."
"Yeah well, now you're in the same shit as the rest of us…so suck it up and stop whining about it."
"Only if you stop whining about Katherine." The car was silent. Bonnie knew that what she said had struck a nerve to the man and the tense atmosphere proved that. A small smirk grew on her face as a means to celebrate the small victory she had temporarily taken from the vampire.
"You can wipe that smirk off your face, witch." Damon's eyes were narrowed and focused on the rain in front of him. "Because if I did as much whining about Katherine as you did about your Grams, I'd have more tears to offer than this rainstorm." The smirk on Bonnie's face immediately vanished from her face. Why did the man always used Grams' death as ammo?
"You know, Damon, that doesn't hurt me anymore," Bonnie started to say, biting her bottom lip to keep from blurting out curse words that would make sailor's blush. "It would be so much easier for me to set your ass on fire and come to the conclusion that I've sought my revenge in reference to Grams' death…but I'd be lying to myself. Cause I'm just as responsible for her death as you are. Granted my reasons were not as selfish as yours, but I pushed her into a corner that she couldn't escape." Damon cut his eyes in the woman's direction, not exactly sure what the woman was driving at.
"What's the point of this story?" Damon asked turning his head to look at the woman. Bonnie was silent as she came to another Stop sign, putting her car into park as she looked over at the man beside her.
"Grams set a spell on that tomb, making it so that any vampire that was inside would not be able to come out…ever. In other words, Grams planned on trapping you and Stefan in that tomb with the rest of those vampires." The vampire's reaction was a surprising one. One that neither he or Bonnie saw coming as it didn't seem to fit the moment.
He laughed…and he laughed hard.
For a second a moment Bonnie was scared out of her mind, thinking that perhaps her revelation was the straw that broke the camel's back; that maybe learning of another attempt on his life would send him over the edge. Damon was not one to showcase such emotions (amusement included) but here he was laughing up a storm. Quite honestly it was a frightening sight to behold. Turning his head over to give the woman a disappointed look, he also shook his head in the process.
The man growled as he leaned in closer to the woman with his next couple of words, "Does that family tree of yours consist of nothing but fucking traitors?" Damon couldn't help but to feel like the sole purpose of the Bennett witches was to make his life a living hell. First Emily, than Grams, and now Bonnie. If he had to go one more generation with lying, conniving, treacherous witches, he would most certainly do his own brand of witch hunting. "Y'know you're little guilt trip is only making you more unlikable…"
"I saved you!" Bonnie proclaimed with narrow eyes. They both sat there staring at one another, unsure exactly why and how this conversation got to where it did. "Grams wanted you and Stefan in that tomb but I talked her out of it. I had no reason to…but I did. Just like I saved you at the Founder's Day parade. I'm not looking for you to like me or even find me tolerable, but I do need you to know that for every time that I've tried to kill you, I've also saved your ass. Even when my Grams had ever reason in the book to leave you and Stefan in that tomb, I went against it only to have her die….saving you." It was silent for a moment. "So maybe you wanna think about that before you decided whether I'm expendable or not, because sooner or later I'm going to stop caring." Bonnie temporarily stopped talking as she narrowed her eyes. The man just stared down at her, his anger slightly subsided but still obviously present. He didn't necessarily feel sorry for her, and he didn't let her attempted guilt trip get to him either. No - the man was only concerned about one thing and one thing only.
"Why do you care?" Damon questioned with narrow eyes, his own confusion leading him to believe that maybe he was looking too much into it. Damon simply didn't buy into the whole emotions thing. The vampire shifted his eyes away from Bonnie, his lips twisting uncomfortably in the silence that was now between them. "I guess you're looking for me to thank you for all those times you've saved my life, huh?" Bonnie turned her head away as she sat there in the car unsure exactly what she wanted from the man. The engine still roared above the sound of rain falling heavily from the sky.
"I don't know what I want from you, Damon," Bonnie admitted with a slight scoff, "You claim you hate me but none of your reasons are justified. You make a point of ruining everything good in my life yet you always seem to expect me to do you favors. I'm not necessarily looking for a fresh start…but something has got change. If we're going to expect to take down Katherine and those hooded folks than-"
"We need to work together," Damon finished the woman's sentence, still keeping his face forward.
"I've kept this town safe as long as I possibly could keep it, but I can't do it alone. So if I look to you for a little assistance, the least you could do is stop trying to tarnish whatever trust I may have left for you. Like threatening to kill my father for instance." For once Damon didn't give a snide smile as he sat there in the car, looking out the window with serious eyes.
"So are we proclaiming some type of truce or something?" Damon asked with shifty eyes.
"For the time being…yes." It was silent between the two of them for a moment as neither of them knew how to look at one another. The atmosphere wasn't as heavy as before but it was still uncommonly uncomfortable. The young woman had prepared to open her mouth to say something else, but Damon's head popped up and his face was immediately on the window in front of him.
"They're here." The man announced with a whisper. Bonnie shot her green eyes in the same direction as Damon and tried to see if she could catch sight of what the vampire was seeing. When she didn't see what he had spotted she couldn't help but to ask what it was that the man had seen. "Your hooded friends," he informed, "Or at least one of them." Bonnie sat there nervously looking from one window in the car to the other, the rain blurring her vision outside.
"What are we going to do?" she asked in a whisper.
"We are doing nothing. You are driving straight to the mansion and meeting up with Stefan."
"What about you?" Damon shifted his blue eyes in the woman's direction but only for a brief moment. Before opening his door and jumping out into the storm he gave her a slight smirk of assurance. Bonnie watched in anticipation as his blurry black figure disappeared in the wilderness beside her blue Hybrid. She once again turned her attention towards the glossy windows of her car as she snapped her head from one direction to the next, not sure if her imagination had her seeing blurry images of hooded figures moving from one side to side.
Taking her car out of Park and back into Drive, Bonnie more hurriedly began to drive in the direction of the Salvatore mansion in the hopes that she would be out of the clearing should those hooded figures indeed be after her. She did have to admit that even after her discussion with Damon, she had half hoped that those murderers where looking for Damon instead of her. She really wasn't in the position to fight some overpowered…whatever the hell they were. Narrowing her eyes and keeping her focus on the road, Bonnie noticed something dark in the distance growing larger and larger with each inch the car got closer. It took her a moment to decipher exactly what was positioned stagnant in front of her, but when she saw exactly what it was she didn't have time to catch her breath.
Bonnie slammed her foot down on the brakes below her (the first mistake) that caused her to lose control. The car immediately started to spin uncontrollably despite the fact her hands gripped the steering wheel with the jaws of life. Spinning at tremendous speeds, the car went straight for the dark figure in the rain sheeted street. But as the car came closer to striking the dark figure down violently it suddenly leapt out of view. After what felt like forever spinning in her car, the small blue Hybrid finally crashed into a nearby ditch high above a cliff that lead down to a small river. The tire immediately blew out and her engine began to smoke.
Talk about a close call.
Despite the quick whiplash that involved Bonnie's forehead meeting with the sternness of her steering wheel and the belt strap that yanked most of the air out of her, the young witch was just glad to still be alive and responsive. Placing her hand to the top of her head which sustained a small cut, Bonnie slowly began to undue the seat-belt around her while making her way out of the blue vehicle. Stumbling out into the pouring rain, unable to tell the difference between her left and her right, the witch held herself close before going to investigate the damage caused by the ditch near the cliff. Leaning over to take a quick gander at the roaring waters below, the woman turned her attention back to the car which was beginning to smoke more intensely from the engine. For once the woman wished that Damon was here to help move her car out of the ditch, or just keep her closely protected from that hooded couple. Either way…she was screwed.
"I didn't know getting you away from that vampire would be that easy," a deep, husky voice resonated from behind the woman which brought out a slight shriek. Bonnie widened her eyes and tried to get a clear view of the hooded assailant in front of her. She took a step back, being careful not to slip and fall off the cliff into the treacherous waters. "So…you're the infamous Bonnie Bennett?" The man's face was covered with a black mask - no expression or sign of human features present on the object. The only relevance of life that came from the mask were two holes that were used to showcase the man's deep chocolate eyes. His black jeans and black boots only made the attire appear more modern, but still creepy and menacing.
"Who are you?" Bonnie asked, finding herself shivering. "What do you want?"
"No time for questions." The man's response was almost immediate as he took a step closer prompting the witch to take a step back. "You're coming with me…now." Bonnie's eyes narrowed as she prepared to use her ability to send a massive headache the stranger's way, but a forceful blur rushed past Bonnie and tackled the hooded man down. Unfortunately the blur caused Bonnie to jump back which made her trip backwards off the cliff. Wailing her arms to the side of her, Bonnie screamed as she fell back into the violent river below. The rough impact nearly shoved the remaining air she had out of her lungs.
Nothing was visible under water and her control to swim to the top was even more of a challenge. Though when she did finally reach the top gasping out for air, the woman flailed her hands wildly in search for the nearest land. The rain made it difficult for her to see anything, and the waves bounced her around from one end to the other, making her perception of left and right completely screwed. Fighting to keep her head above water, the woman could do only one thing she thought would be possibly effective. She did the one thing that made sense at that very moment and probably would never happen again:
"DAMON! HELP ME!"
The woman's pleading cry was the only ideal thing to do in that desperate time. Feeling herself sinking lower and lower into the water, Bonnie Bennett was already preparing herself for the impending death that came with this kind of scenario. Tragically for her this would not be the best time for her to die; her strained relationship with Elena, her unnerving attitude towards Caroline, and her hatred for all things supernatural made her probably the most unlikable individual within her small circle of associates. Just the same, if death meant that she could see Grams again and they could live happily together in the afterlife…so be it. However there was always her father to think about, but then again would he really notice? It wasn't like he'd be home to realize his daughter was dead, though none of that seemed to matter at the moment. Bonnie would die, and there was nobody to save her.
Or at least she thought.
A firm grip wrapped around the woman's wrist, pulling her rapidly through the water. Reaction caused her to scream at the realization of somebody taking hold of her, but it was familiarity that brought on a sense of security. Even through the pouring rain, splashing waves and blurred movement of her companion, Bonnie knew that Damon was the one pulling her out of the water at neck breaking speeds. When the vampire finally got the two of them to a sandy shore, the young woman began to cough violently as the water caused her chest to burn in immense pain. Her body grew weak and all the excitement was just about to force her to pass out, however she held on to her consciousness a bit longer.
"Is it that hard to drive a one road street?" the man questioned as he looked down at Bonnie who had strains of hair covering her face. The woman was too focused on keeping her breathing steady and her vision clear to notice both her hair and Damon's comment. It had appeared as if though things were getting too hazy for the woman to handle.
"How'd you….find…me…?" Bonnie whispered out as she struggled to stand up only to fall to the ground again. Damon looked on at the scene before him and was hesitant to do anything beyond his act of pulling her from the deadly waters. But he knew that if he wasted more time the hooded man would surely come looking for them again. So without second thought, the vampire rushed over to Bonnie side so that he could pick her up and carry her off the small shore. It took the woman a minute to realize what had happened, but when she did finally see, her body immediately tensed up. The man must have felt her reaction because he gave a grim expression. Regardless, he decided to answer her question none the less.
"I heard you." he simply said, turning his head from side to side frequently to make sure no hooded couple was following him.
"And…you came?" Bonnie was still in doubt that Damon would do something so noble, especially for her. It wasn't too long ago that the two were about to tare into each other, and now he was carrying her in his strong arms all the way to his home.
"Would you rather I didn't?" he asked irritated before he moved more hurriedly when reaching the woods. "Besides…if you had die I'd never hear the end of it."
"I guess you're looking for a 'Thank You', huh?" Bonnie's question brought out a genuine chuckle from the man. He shook his head as he slowed down a bit, not sure where the bit of unexpected humor came from.
"I guess I did just save your life."
"Yeah…you did..." It was almost hard for the woman to admit. "…thank you." Damon merely grinned at his small victory of gaining some form of gratitude from the woman. Quite honestly he was sure he wouldn't get that much out of her.
"Y'know, there are other ways of thanking me…"
"Don't push it, Damon." Bonnie's expression went serious for a moment as Damon's grin turned into a mischievous smile. The man merely shrugged his shoulders as he rushed through the pouring rain with Bonnie clutched to his soaked body.
"Fair enough."
So there ya go...the beginning of the (somewhat) lovefest begins. I can't wait to take this story to a whole new dimension. Let me know what you thought. Thnx 4 reading! :)
