The three of them turned as one to watch Elena descend. Seeing Elena dressed in his shirt sent a starling thrill of possessiveness through Damon. God, he never wanted her to take it off. Well, maybe sometimes. He grinned. She looked so breathtakingly beautiful, so perfect, so his.
"What the -?" Jeremy tensed, but Bonnie silenced him with a single, soft touch.
"I'm sorry I didn't call last night." Elena smiled as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She casually smoothed her hair. "That was selfish of me. I got a little distracted." She winked at Damon.
Well wasn't this a pleasant surprise? Damon had been expecting Elena to try to hide the fact that they'd spent the night together. He'd thought she would be worried about people's reactions. Apparently he'd been wrong. And judging by the shocked expressions on Jeremy's and Bonnie's faces, he wasn't the only one surprised by Elena's boldness.
"Well okay. Jeremy," Bonnie said quietly. "We see that Elena is okay. Let's go now."
Shaking his head, Jeremy stared as Elena stepped up to Damon and kissed his lips. "Elena, what are you doing? Stefan hasn't even been gone two weeks. This isn't like you. You're not that girl."
Jeremy's implication ignited Damon's need to protect and defend Elena. Instantly he was in Jeremy's face. "One, you do not speak to your sister that way, Jeremy. It is disrespectful. Two, you will not disrespect your sister in my house. I will not tolerate it."
"But it's okay for you to disrespect her by coercing her into sleeping with you to get back at your brother?" Jeremy glared back at Damon.
As Damon stared into Jeremy's challenging gaze he saw a familiar defiance that he knew all too well. This was personal. This kid was spoiling for a fight. With him.
"Damon, please." Elena placed a hand on his arm, gently urging him to step away from Jeremy.
"It's okay Elena." Damon cast a reassuring nod over his shoulder. "It's clear that Jeremy and I need to talk. Why don't you and Bonnie go wait in the living room while we step outside to talk."
"But –"
"It's fine. We're just going to talk, isn't that right Jeremy?" Damon looked at Jeremy, who nodded.
Leading the teenager outside, Damon turned to face him. "What's the deal man? I thought we were cool. What happened?"
Jeremy crossed his arms and scowled at the ground. "Nothing."
A few minutes passed in silence. When it was clear that Jeremy wasn't going to willingly talk, Damon decided that making him angry was the way to go. "Well, Jeremy, I hate to break it to you, but I am not going to stop sleeping with your sister just because it makes you mad. No sir. The sex is too damn good to give up."
"You son of a bitch!"
Although Damon could easily have sidestepped Jeremy's punch he chose not to do so. Instead, the boy's fist connected with Damon's jaw. And then Jeremy had fistfuls of Damon's shirt in his hands, his face inches away from Damon's. And Damon merely stood there.
"Don't talk about her like that! She deserves better than you! It's only a matter of time before your evilness wears off on her! Why can't you just go away before you destroy her like everything else you touch!"
Raising an eyebrow, Damon asked, "And to what do I owe this sudden burst of hatred?"
Turning away from him, Jeremy kicked at the ground in front of him. "You're not good for her Damon. You're putting Elena in danger, and you don't even know it. Or maybe you do and you just don't care because you're too selfish. That's what Anna thinks anyway."
"Anna? Anna is dead Jeremy." Cold dread seeped into Damon's chest, making it difficult for him to catch his breath. What the hell did a dead vampire have to with this?
"Forget I said anything." Jeremy looked at him with panic filled eyes. "Please don't say anything. I don't want Bonnie to know."
Damon reached out and grabbed Jeremy by the shoulders. "Tell me what exactly it is that you don't want Bonnie to know. Jeremy, what is going on with you? And what does your dead ex-girlfriend have to do with it?"
Sighing, Jeremy swallowed nervously. "You have to promise not to say anything to anyone, especially Bonnie and Elena."
"Shit." Damon didn't want to keep anything from Elena. Especially now. But the look on Jeremy's face told him that he was going to have to agree to do so if he wanted to find out what was going on with Jeremy. "Fine."
"Ever since Bonnie brought me back I can see and talk to both Vicki and Anna. And they're both warning me that something bad is coming for Elena. And it somehow involves you."
"You're kidding me, right?" Damon looked into Jeremy's eyes, hoping to see a glimmer of amusement. Because if what Jeremy was saying was true, then Damon's biggest fear was coming true. He was endangering Elena by being with her.
While the guys disappeared outside, Elena and Bonnie went into the living room. They sat on the overstuffed sofa and stared at each other nervously. After a minute they both laughed.
"How long should we give them before we go check on them?" Elena asked.
"They'll be fine. Actually, it might do Jeremy some good. He used to look up to Damon before…everything." Bonnie sighed. "Maybe Damon can help him."
Choosing to ignore the disturbing thought of Jeremy looking up to Damon as a big brother figure, Elena decided to focus on the current problem. "Bonnie, what's going on with him?"
Shrugging, Bonnie said, "I'm not sure. He won't talk about it with me. I'm really starting to worry about him. There's been several times that I've heard him talking to someone, but when I go into the room there's no one there. And when I ask him about it, he shuts down."
Frowning, Elena looked at her best friend carefully. She'd known Bonnie almost all of her life and could tell that Bonnie was really worried. And it scared Elena because it was her brother that Bonnie was so worried about.
Elena had been so wrapped up in her own drama with Damon that she'd pretty much ignored the warning signs that her brother was in trouble. What kind of a sister was she? Jeremy had had a hard time after their parents had died. And now Jenna was gone. That meant Jeremy was now Elena's responsibility. And here she'd been too caught up in her own drama to make sure he was okay.
"Do you think it's drugs again?" Elena asked.
Bonnie shook her head. "No. He doesn't seem high or anything. It just seems like he's staying in his own head a lot. It's weird."
Elena reached out to take Bonnie's hand in hers. "Are you guys okay?"
"No." Bonnie's eyes watered. "I don't know what to do Elena. It's like he's angry with me, and I don't know why. I don't know what I did. He just hasn't been the same since I brought him back."
"Do you think the spell might have something to do with it?" Elena asked. It wouldn't be the first time a spell had gone wrong.
"I don't know." Bonnie wiped the tears from her face. "I hope not because then that would mean that I'm responsible for whatever it is that's wrong with him. I don't know if I can handle that. Oh, Elena! I just didn't want him to die!"
Wrapping her arms around Bonnie, Elena hugged her friend tightly. She silently prayed that Bonnie's spell had nothing to do with what was going on with Jeremy.
"Okay." Bonnie pulled away from Elena and gave her a watery smile. "So, enough about me. You and Damon are…" She raised her eyebrows. "better now?"
Laughing, Elena said, "Much better. Bonnie?"
"Yes?"
"What made you change your mind about Damon? I mean. You've never thought is was a good idea for me to be friends with him, not to mention more, but last night you pretty much gave me your blessing. In fact, you seemed to be on Damon's side more than mine."
Shrugging a shoulder, Bonnie said, "Before I thought Damon was just trying to get into your pants to get back at Stefan for the whole Katherine thing. But then, after I got over the shock of seeing you wearing his shirt, I watched his face as you came down the stairs this morning." She smiled. "He grinned. I've never seen Damon Salvatore genuinely grin. You might actually be good for him." She reached out and took Elena's hand in her own. "And even though I still have this nagging feeling that you're playing with fire, I can't help but see how happy you look this morning."
"Really?" Elena's voice cracked. She hadn't realized how much she'd needed Bonnie's support of her relationship with Damon until right this second.
"Yes. I just hope things work out for you. And I still think you should be careful."
Frowning, Elena bit her lip. She knew that Bonnie was worried about what would happen if Stefan came back. And Elena had to admit that she was a little nervous about that herself. She wasn't sure how she'd handle that if it happened. And she wasn't sure what would happen between Damon and Stefan.
"Bonnie, I have to show you something." Elena pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and brought up the video message.
As she watched the video Bonnie's eyes bulged. "You've got to be kidding me! What an asshole! And he sent that to you?"
Shaking her head, Elena said, "It's not his number. Or Katherine's. I don't know who sent it. But they sent it to Damon too."
"Wow." Bonnie's eyes darted to the floor. "Um, don't hate me for asking this, but is the video the reason you decided to sleep with Damon last night?"
"I would be lying if I said the video had nothing to do with my decision." Elena sighed. "I mean it did play a part in it, but it wasn't the only reason." She paused as she searched for the right words. "I think it was just the final push that I needed to see that Stefan isn't the person I thought he was."
"But he's different when he's feeding on human blood Elena. You've seen that first hand before."
Nodding, Elena stood up and began to pace. "I know. But…I just can't explain it, Bonnie. The fact that he chose Katherine to move on with really hurt. It wouldn't have been nearly as devastating if it had been someone – anyone – else. But I didn't turn to Damon to get revenge. You have to believe me."
"Oh my God, Elena. You love him don't you?"
"Yes." Elena stopped pacing and turned to smile at her friend. "I think I always have."