A/N: Hi y'all. Here is the latest is kind of long and a lot goes on. Sorry, this happens when I have too many ideas in my head fighting for dominance. But nonetheless I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
His irises were so dark that when a patron sitting at the adjacent table struck a match to light up his cigar, the flames resonated in Damon's pupils. It was a startling sight at first, and when he focused on Bonnie her womb tightened and pulsed.
Damon extended his hand and pulled Bonnie to her feet. Keeping their gazes locked on one another, he led her off to a corner of the restaurant and began dancing to Bad Company's "She Brings Me Love". He imprinted his body against Bonnie's, thrusting his lean hips provocatively, letting her know if it weren't for their clothing, he'd be doing something equally sinful to her.
The sounds of the diners' voices began to fade, and all she heard was the music taunting her sensibilities. All she saw was Damon.
Caroline watched, her mouth in the shape of an O. She was well aware of the chemistry Bonnie shared with their mysterious visitor; nevertheless, it was still a shock to see it play out in high definition. As happy as she was that Bonnie was taking full advantage of Damon's affection, she could only feel a little apprehensive because one day, very soon, he would be leaving.
It wasn't something Bonnie discussed after the gala where Damon found what he suspected was a key that could open up inter-dimensional doors, or whatever the heck it was supposed to do. Bonnie had a way of avoiding topics that stressed her out, and though she'd never admit it, having to say good bye to Damon was stressing her out.
"She really has no shame," the other Damon Salvatore criticized and bit into a chicken wing.
Caroline scowled before shifting in her seat to look at him. "Jealous much?"
"I don't get jealous. It causes wrinkles. And it's a freakin' waste of time."
In her head this is what Caroline wanted to say, "So says the man in love with his brother's girlfriend." Two months ago that would have been an accurate statement, yet as Caroline switched her attention from the Damon who was seated next to her at the table, to the one having his wicked way with her best friend, she couldn't be too sure that the former's loyalties still lied with Elena Gilbert.
Sitting across from Caroline was Stefan and Elena who grew noticeably quiet. Caroline had no idea what Stefan might be thinking, because he only voiced his opinion or objection about something when he felt truly passionate about it. Elena on the other hand, as much as she wanted to pretend that blue-eyed Damon was only a friend, she couldn't help but cast a wary look his way.
Caroline kicked her friend under the table and motioned towards the ladies room.
"Ah, I think we're going to the bathroom?" Elena stated as if it were a question. Caroline huffed before slipping out of the booth. Elena followed after her.
Thus, this left the two brothers alone and they had never been prone to engage in idle chit-chat, but Damon was curious about something.
"How's her training coming along? Must not be going well because you're still alive," he smirked.
Stefan shook his head and threw his balled up napkin over his half-finished plate. "She's getting stronger, faster. Her reflexes are through the roof, and her endurance is building. We still have a lot of ground to cover but, Bonnie, she's a quick learner."
"Sounds to me you should up the ante. She needs a real challenge."
Stefan caught on to the underline meaning. "She doesn't want to train with you, Damon. So whatever you're trying to cook up in your head…don't."
In the bathroom the two girls eyed their appearance in the mirror.
"You dragged me in here for a reason, Care, what it is?"
"Has Bonnie talked to you at all about how close she's willing to get with Damon?"
For a second Elena had to silently question which Damon Caroline was talking about. She decided to go with the one Bonnie actually liked.
"I've tried to get her to open up but you know how she is. She keeps things private and plays it close to the vest. If she wants us to know something, she'll tell us."
"See that's just the thing," Caroline went on to argue, "Bonnie spends most of her free time with old black-eyes and when she's around us, she won't say more than two words about him."
"Caroline, what is it you want to know or say?"
"I want to know if she's gonna fuck him. That way if she does, we can prepare her for it."
A toilet at that time chose to flush and out came an elderly woman whose frowning face raked both girls over disapprovingly. Elena and Caroline, red as tomatoes, moved out of the way so she could wash her hands. They held their breath while the old lady dried her hands, fluffed her hair, and headed for the door.
But she stopped and turned toward them. "Who a lady chooses to fuck is no one's business but hers," she sniffed and left the bathroom.
Both girls looked at each before bursting out into laughter.
Bonnie was shamelessly grinding herself against Damon. Sweat began to pepper along her hairline and formed on her upper lip. Had someone raised the temperature? Before she started dancing she was perfectly fine, had actually felt a little chill, but the minute she found herself in Damon's arms it was like she was dipped feet first into a boiling cauldron.
Not exactly a comforting thought considering that was one preferred method of executing a witch.
Someone from behind Damon's shoulders cleared her throat, and the pair reluctantly pulled apart.
Bonnie blushed all the way up to her hair follicles when she saw that it was Sheriff Forbes who did not look as if she were stopping by to say hello. Not by the stern expression she flaunted.
Damon instantly turned up the charm. He had a soft spot for women in uniform.
"Hi, Sheriff Forbes," Bonnie greeted and tried to disengage herself from Damon, but he wouldn't allow it. He tightened his hold around her waist.
"Bonnie…Mr. Salvatore," she was still grappling with the fact he looked exactly like Damon. Apart from his eyes, they were twins. "I just came to say that this is a family-owned restaurant and your…dancing is not appropriate. Please try to keep it clean."
Bonnie dropped her eyes to her feet. "Sorry about that, Sheriff Forbes."
The good sheriff nodded but made no move to go. "And," she turned to address Damon, "the age of consent in the Commonwealth of Virginia is eighteen."
Bonnie really wanted to die after hearing that.
Damon smiled charmingly in response, "I am eighteen."
Liz Forbes pressed her lips into a thin line as her hand unconsciously landed on her sidearm. "I might have been born at night, Damon, but not last night. There's no way you're only eighteen, and even if you are she's not."
If she started talking about statutory rape Bonnie was going to find someway to either teleport or liquefy herself to another place. This was so embarrassing.
Yet Bonnie thought, seems you failed to have that talk with your daughter and Elena since they threw their v-cards in the trash a long time ago. Bonnie decided it would be best to bite her tongue. Liz was armed after all.
"Remember," Liz said in closing, "keep it clean."
The pair watched her walk away. Bonnie closed her eyes and crashed her head into Damon's chest.
"Well, she's no fun or has no imagination. In either case there's tons of ways I can bring you to pleasure that doesn't involve penetration."
Oh, geeze, Bonnie thought. "I think I need some water."
"And a fresh pair of panties if what I'm scenting on the air is correct," his grin was practically shit-eating.
Bonnie slapped him on the chest and retreated to the booth where her friends at the last second tried to pretend they weren't just gawking at them.
"What did my mom want?" Caroline interrogated the moment Bonnie reached the table.
Instead of answering Bonnie locked horns with the two vampires and glared at them. Stefan tried to keep a straight face—couldn't. Damon looked equally amused and also a bit smug. She didn't know why.
"She threatened me with gong to jail if I so much as touch Bonnie's…"
The girl in question slapped her hand over his mouth. "She just wanted us to tone down the dancing."
Blue-eyes picked up his shot glass and snickered before tossing it back. "That wasn't the only thing she wanted toned down," he rose from the seat. "That Liz sure is an outstanding cock blocker. I'm gonna go buy her a drink."
"Well, I think that's my cue to go," Bonnie announced and reached for her purse. She went around the table to hug Elena and Caroline goodbye. Dark-eyes rose from his perch, intercepted her hand and led her out of the restaurant.
Once they were seated in his car, there merely stared out the windshield. Damon leaned over the console without warming, grabbed Bonnie lightly by the chin, and began kissing her. Softly at first until aggression took over. He devoured her. Slid his tongue into her mouth and moaned low in his throat as his body, cock in particular engorged.
She couldn't breathe, didn't want to breathe, just massaged his tongue with hers, bit gently on his lower lip, and moaned every now and a then.
When he knew she needed air, Damon pulled away. He hungrily ogled her lips, moist from their kiss, swollen, and inviting. Unable to resist he nipped the corner of her mouth. "It feels like it's been months since the last time I kissed you."
Bonnie could only nod in agreement. She had yet to find her tongue. Her body was wired and she suppressed a whimper at the feel of her hard nipples brushing against the confines of her bra. The want was getting harder to ignore.
"Your place or mine?" Damon asked.
"I've still yet to invite you in."
"My place it is," he cranked the engine but Bonnie's hand on his arm stopped him from putting the car into Drive and speeding away.
"I actually need to go home tonight. My dad…he's back in town."
Damon's lip curled at the mention of her father. For as long as he had been trapped in Mystic Falls he could fit the number of times he saw Thomas Bennett on one hand, two fingers actually if he wanted to be technical about it. When he was growing up, Giuseppe had been no picnic but the louse was always around. He couldn't fathom how a man could allow his beautiful and tempting teenage daughter to practically live alone when there were so many dangerous things out there—like himself. This just didn't make sense to Damon.
"And I know what you're thinking," Bonnie said. "But his job keeps him on the road and that's just how things have been for years now."
"Stop making excuses for him. He's never here and he has nothing set up for your protection."
Bonnie pressed Damon with a peeved look. "I'm not exactly defenseless, you know."
He rolled his eyes and ran a hand over the steering wheel. "I know that, but he doesn't, and a man's first priority should be the safety of his woman."
He was so old-school it was cute, but a bit annoying, Bonnie mused. "Thanks for worrying about me, but my dad's stuck in his ways and I don't think anything is going to change that."
Hmm, Damon would see about that.
"Have you decided when you'll start looking for the door the key will open?" she asked.
"I'm in no rush to get back. Besides there's too much for me to do," and with that he winked, gunned the engine, and tore out of the parking lot.
Katherine was feeling neglected. And when she felt neglected people died. She had been quiet for too long and she was steadily growing impatient with the lack of mayhem her sudden arrival into Mystic Falls had caused. She had expected Damon to act like a bumbling idiot in trying to convince her that he was the brother who was the most loyal and loved her more than anything. She had expected Stefan to ditch Elena and come chasing after her.
Well, none of the sort happened.
Now it was time for her to implement Plan B.
And Plan B consisted of starting a little rivalry between old friends.
She cornered Matt as he was exiting his house on his way to school like the wholesome, apple pie little boy that he was. She grinned at him as he came up short not expecting to see "Elena" so early in the morning.
Matt slowed his steps as he closed the distance separating them. "Hey, Elena. What's up?"
Katherine draped an arm over his shoulder, "I need you to do something for me," she stared directly into his blue eyes, feeling herself melt just a tiny bit before remembering herself. "I need you to start a fight with Tyler and don't stop. Not until he kills you. What is it you have to do today, Matt?"
Like a zombie he muttered, "Start a fight with Tyler and don't stop until he kills me."
Katherine grinned and when she couldn't resist it she kissed him full on the mouth. He had soft lips to boot.
"Well, I guess that's the only good thing I can say about Elena. She has good taste in men."
Katherine distanced herself from Matt, ending the compulsion and disappearing. On to the next one.
Elena flopped on her side in her nice comfy bed and felt a body pressing up against her. A smile bloomed across her face. Rolling over she nearly fell out of her bed when she saw it was Damon and not Stefan lying next to her.
She pushed him but naturally he didn't budge. "What the hell are you doing in my room, Damon? In my bed?" she tried to get him to move, but he merely laid there stretched out with his arms crossed behind his head.
"I feel like I've been neglecting you."
"Trust me when I say I didn't mind." Since he wasn't making any move to get out of her bed, Elena did, and grabbed her robe because she was dressed in a tiny pair of shorts and an even smaller T-shirt. She threw the robe over herself and tied a knot in the belt. She glared at him and he smirked in return.
"I need you to go," she attempted to sound stern while ignoring her rapidly beating heart. Damon was a hard man to ignore especially when the sun was bathing him in light making his blue eyes seem unreal.
"Come on, Elena…we're friends. I'm not allowed to stop by and see my friends?"
"Not at six o'clock in the morning and especially when said 'friend'," she used air quotation marks to illustrate her point, "didn't invite you in. You've abused that open-door policy enough."
"Do you have any idea what you're boyfriend is doing right now? He's with Bonnie. They're doing spells," he said it in a manner to make it suggest that were filming a porno.
Elena shrugged. "And? What's so shocking about that?"
"Admittedly nothing, but it's just they've been spending an awful lot of time together, being physical with one another. I just have to say I commend you for sharing your boyfriend with your best friend. Not many girls your age could handle that maturely."
Elena snorted. She knew what Damon was trying to do; he was attempting to blow something that was completely innocent out of proportion and she wasn't about to fall for that trap, and start acting like a raging jealous girlfriend.
"All right, you've said your piece now get out."
Damon stared at her for a second. Even without a stitch of makeup and the fact her hair looked like she tussled with squirrels, she was still undeniably beautiful.
Yet that punched-in-the-gut feeling he used to experience whenever he was alone with Elena had kind of dissolved. He still had the hots for her but it wasn't as extreme as it used to be.
Odd. What changed?
Damon groaned and lifted himself off her bed. He approached Elena, taking her by surprise and merely stared into her eyes. She held his gaze but without challenge but with something else.
He smirked and leaned forward as if he were going to kiss her. Elena turned her head.
"Stop it, Damon. Your brother means everything to me. I need you to remember that."
"I remember. Doesn't mean I respect it." Cupping her cheek Damon walked around her and left her bedroom.
Salvatore Boardinghouse
"I'm not sure but I think that's supposed to be a G, no probably a B, or maybe an E. What do you think?"
Stefan examined the faded words on the ancient paper and shook his head. He had no idea what the heck the word was supposed to say. It was Latin and he wasn't exactly fluent.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I should go grab a magnifying glass. Maybe that'll help."
Bonnie shrugged.
Stefan's cell rang. He stared at the incoming number, didn't recognize it but answered anyways. "Hello?" he said tentatively.
"Stefan, we need to talk."
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you want, Katherine?"
Bonnie's arched brows lifted.
"Meet me on the edge of the old Lockwood property in twenty minutes or I'll have my little witch friend put the whammy on your little witch friend again, and no amount of vampire blood will be able to revive her."
Stefan snapped around toward Bonnie who stared at him questioningly. "Fine," he agreed on a low growl and ended the call. "Look, Katherine wants to see me. Please, just stay here."
"Stefan I don't think you should go by yourself."
"I'll be fine. Can you let Elena know I'll probably be late picking her up for school?"
"All right."
"And please don't tell her where I'm going. I don't want her to worry."
Yeah, just leave it up to me to worry, Bonnie thought. "Call me when you leave. If I don't hear from you, I'm coming to look for you."
"No, just stay out of it. I don't know what Katherine has planned and no one else needs to get hurt. Please. I'll call you once I leave."
He was gone before she could offer up anymore protests.
Bonnie wasn't alone for five minutes prior to the front door opening again. She rushed to the atrium, saw it was only Damon, and her relief turned into dread again.
"You look like you were expecting to see someone else."
Bonnie folded her arms over her chest. Would it be a smart thing to tell Damon that Stefan had gone off to meet with Katherine? Stefan could handle himself, but with the three of them together could only spell disaster.
"I was," she admitted.
"The other me?" his grin was sardonic as he brushed past her.
Bonnie followed him into the living room, "No, your brother."
"Did he step out?"
"In a manner of speaking…he got a phone call from Katherine. He went to go meet up with her."
Damon, who was busy pouring himself a drink, paused and looked at Bonnie over his shoulder. "Katherine's back?"
"Or she never left."
"Do you have any idea where he was going?"
"I think she might have said the old Lockwood property. Stefan didn't exactly have his speaker phone on, but I caught the gist of that."
Damon cursed and headed for the door. Bonnie was right on his heels and caught him by the sleeve of his jacket.
"Damon, please don't do anything to piss her off."
"I'm not," he said a little too innocently. "I'm just going to give her the proper welcome back I should have given her when she first flew into town on her broom—a stake through the heart."
With those heartfelt words, Damon offered up his customary sarcastic smile and left the boardinghouse.
This whore, Stefan fumed as he stood there and listened to Katherine sprout out every outrageous and insulting reason he should be kissing her feet and thanking the universe for her existence. What really got his goat were the multiple threats she made against Elena in just a five-minute time span. Stefan's fists were balled so tightly his knuckles had gone white whereas his jugular bulged vulgarly from the side of his neck as he barely contained his rage.
"Are you done?" he growled. "Because I'm tired of listening to this shit."
Fire erupted in her dark brown orbs at Stefan's crass interruption. Katherine halted her soliloquy, chest rising a little higher with each inhale and exhale. "You know that expression don't bite the hand that feeds you? Don't interrupt the woman who holds your life in her hands."
"Enough with the threats, Katherine! I'm not breaking up with Elena. I don't give a shit what you have to say because it amounts to nothing but lies and garbage."
"Come now, brother, her mouth is only good at one thing and I think we both know what that is."
Katherine, peeved, slapped a hand on her hip and swung to face Damon as he approached. "Ah, so good of you to join us, Damon. I'm equally glad you were able to tear yourself away from Elena's bedroom."
Stefan's jaw twitched as he looked at his brother. "You were at Elena's?"
Damon shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.
"Not only was he there lying in her bed, I might add, he also helped her pick out her outfit for the day. So gentlemanly of you, Damon. I remember when we used to play dress up, or more to the matter raced to see who could get undressed the fastest."
"Or as I liked to refer to it as Pimp and Hoe," Damon replied and glanced at his brother. From the state of his forehead Damon knew he was in store for a very boring lecture the minute they wrapped things up here. Joy.
Katherine regarded Stefan once more delighting that he was boiling and seething. Damon might consider himself the edgier of the two, and in many respects he was, but there was no denying that a pissed off Stefan was undeniably panty melting. She unconsciously drew her tongue across her bottom lip, but got back on track. "Don't be too angry with Damon. Besides he wasn't the only one spending time with a girl who's not his girlfriend."
How is it that she knows everyone's business, Damon thought.
Katherine approached the first man who made her feel like a silly girl in love, placed her hands on his shoulders, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Stefan jerked his head away, glaring. Katherine smirked though on the inside his rejection stung.
"You two have a lot to talk about so I'm going to leave you to it. Don't forget our discussion, Stefan. It won't be pretty if you continue to ignore me."
Katherine slithered over to Damon before departing. "Look at it this way, if Stefan caves and gives me what I want that would leave the door open to Elena. We both know how much you like to rub one out while thinking about her," she grinned and kissed his cheek.
She left the brothers to deal with one another.
Stefan folded his arms, "You were at Elena's? I thought we had agreed you'd keep your distance from her.
Damon snorted. "When did we decide that?"
"Oh, I don't know. How about the day after John was stabbed and Elena told me you thought you kissed her!"
"We already went over that, Stefan and I ain't in the mood to rehash it. I kissed Katherine and your precious Elena isn't a backstabbing slut who likes fucking brothers."
Stefan sneered. "Could you be anymore of an asshole? Look, this chick has barely been in town for five minutes and she already has us bickering like old ladies in a knitting circle."
"What were you two talking about?" Damon changed the subject.
"Doesn't matter because she's not going to get what she wants." Stefan turned to walk away.
"Let me guess that that is…She wants you."
Stefan didn't stop walking.
"Everyone wants Stefan!" Damon shouted to the air which terrified a few birds.
REL Gymnasium
Months had gone by since the last time Bonnie stepped into her crimson and black cheerleading uniform. Her father had been riding her back about resuming the extracurricular activities she dropped when stuff hit the supernatural fan, and she had to learn years of spells in days to counterattack the madness around her.
This was a nice reprieve although her body felt like it was on display for the whole world to see. It was the first official basketball game of the season and for some reason her uniform seemed skimpier. Her hiatus hadn't been that long, but her skirt seemed as if it lost three inches off the hem which had hit her about mid-thigh during football season. Right now it tickled the underside of her butt. If she so much as bent over, yep the world would know exactly what her mama gave her.
The top wasn't so bad. It was a long-sleeved mid-drift that thankfully didn't expose any cleavage but everyone saw her impressive six pack.
Bonnie sat off to the side doing her stretches. Caroline was there helping one fellow varsity member with her ponytail. Surprisingly the squad had welcomed Bonnie back with open arms. She was sure that after leaving the "sisterhood" they would give her the stink eye but so far everyone had been positive about her return.
She sat down on the floor to work on her butterfly stretch. She wondered if Fell's Church Damon would show up. She had told him about the game, and he looked severely disinterested yet when she mentioned she'd be cheering, he perked up a bit and said he'd stop by around half-time.
The gym was semi-packed but they were expecting a full house. Sports and pageants were big events in a small town like Mystic Falls.
Up in the stands she spotted Elena and Stefan. Both of them waved whereas Elena looked giddy like a child. Bonnie waved back and got to her feet since the girls were about to have a quick team meeting.
She hustled over to the circle and listened to Caroline's upbeat yet threatening speech. If you messed up because you were nervous she'd forgive you of the first infraction, but after that, it would be your ass.
They said their chant, slapped their hands on top of one another, and then shouted a girl power war cry. Several boys had crowded the end of the bleachers where the cheerleaders would be positioned. Bonnie had forgotten about those pervs and tried her best to ignore them and their overly loud commentary as she picked up her pom-poms and strolled to the center of the court to usher in the home team.
The music started, the emcee got the crowd hype while the cheerleaders did their dance routine.
Heading back to their designated spot on the court, Bonnie looked out into the crowd again and spotted Damon—the one she was slowly beginning to tolerate.
He wiggled his fingers at her to which she pointedly didn't return a single friendly gesture; merely brought her attention back to the activity taking place on the court.
The two captains of the team stood in the center of the court and waited for the referee to throw the ball up in the air.
Matt lunged for the ball and was able to capture it for the Timberwolves. Caroline took that as her cue to lead the first cheer of the night.
At first nothing really interesting happened. Both teams played hard defense that they matched one another point for point. Sneakers squeaked against the floor, sweat poured down faces while the ball pounded the court like a hammer before whizzing through the air.
For Bonnie it had been an easy transition from being just a spectator to being part of a unit that helped keep the crowd energized. Because she knew how to tumble, when one of their guys got fouled and were at the free throw line, if they made the shot, Bonnie would run from one end of the court and execute a somersault followed by a back hand spring or a standing back tuck.
"Who knew Judgey was so flexible?" Damon said as he titled his head for a better view.
Things were going more than well, but then Tyler and Matt for some reason began fighting over the ball.
"Matt, what the hell is your problem?" Tyler grunted as he attempted to rip the ball from Matt.
"You're my problem," he said and to prove his point, slugged him in the head.
Tyler stumbled and grabbed his cheek. His nostrils flared as disbelief and cold, white-hot rage filtered through his bloodstream. For a second the picture in front of Tyler went completely black, and when he came to he had buried his fist in Matt's stomach.
The crowd gasped. A hush fell. You could hear a fly's wings flapping that's how quiet it got. The cheerleaders glanced around, brow puckering in confusion. Some turned to Caroline for guidance but she was just as clueless. Something happened. A flip was switched or a signal was given. The lid to Pandora's Box was ripped open and people in the crowd began fighting.
Friends turned on friends and fists were flying. Two cheerleaders began cursing and accusing one another of making moves on someone's boyfriend. Hair was pulled out; nails were dug into flesh and left nice long welts in their wake. Even a few teachers got in on the violence, picked up chairs and threw them on the court unmindful of who they might hit.
Caroline and Bonnie stood frozen for a minute but got into action when people began to diverge on the basketball court like locusts.
"We need to get out of here!" Caroline screeched, reached for Bonnie's hand. The two of them took off running into the safety of the night.
"Wait! Elena!" Bonnie remembered perhaps at the last second.
"Stefan's with her!" and as far as Caroline was concerned she was all right.
However, the minute the girls and a few dozen people fled the gymnasium out into the parking lot, several guys wearing skeleton face masks were armed with Molotov cocktails. Caroline and Bonnie came to an abrupt stop. Had they just entered into a dystopian or a Stephen King novel? Caroline squeezed Bonnie's hand tighter preparing to run.
The guys in the masks chucked the burning bottles at cars.
Boom! Boom! Boom! the bottles exploded in a fiery mix of glass and gasoline. The sound rang in Bonnie and Caroline's ears as heat from the fires licked against their skin, and the acrid scent of gas slithered up their nose and stung their eyes.
"What the hell is going on?" Caroline said and was subsequently pushed from behind. Her arms pinwheeled as she grappled for anything to slow her momentum. But she couldn't fight against gravity and landed hard against the pavement, her head taking the brunt of her fall. She was knocked out cold.
Bonnie screamed her name and fell down next to her, and got stepped on in the process, receiving blows to her head and torso from peoples' kneecaps.
Stefan materialized out of nowhere and snatched Caroline off the ground. "Follow me!"
Bonnie took exactly two steps before she saw Katherine standing in the distance watching the show. Bonnie changed direction and headed right for her.
Summoning her magic she felt it coming from the earth, rushing through the soles of her feet, using her bones as a gateway. Thrusting out both hands she sent a pulse of energy towards the meddling twat that slammed into Katherine knocking her backwards some twenty feet into the windshield of a car.
Katherine pushed her long hair out of her face and stared at the diminutive witch with a new respect, however, she wasn't going to let the bitch getaway with that.
In one heartbeat she was adhered to the car and in the next she had her pale white hand wrapped around Bonnie's warm throat.
"That was impressive but very stupid," Katherine wrenched her mouth open, fangs bared. Just when she was about to tear into Bonnie, a heavy hand crushed her shoulder and threw her to the ground with enough force to crack a rib. She cried out and rolled but managed to stop herself. Katherine dug her nails into the road so hard she broke three nails. Sprawled o the ground like a lizard, she rotated her neck until it cracked.
Bonnie heaved and tried to get some air into her lungs, but the smoke from the fires was too thick. She briefly acknowledged good ole' blue eyes before he was brutally pushed into a fire that burned some five feet away.
Damon gave an undignified cry and quickly catapulted out of the flames. Unfortunately his pants were already lit as well as the sleeves to his leather jacket.
Katherine admired her handiwork before uttering, "Oops."
With her distracted, Bonnie jumped on Katherine's back, held on as tightly as possible and began to channel the curly-haired succubus. She stretched out one hand towards Damon who was doing a piss poor job of putting himself out. As Bonnie concentrated the fires began to dim, but she made sure to put Damon out entirely. Smoke rose from his clothes.
Katherine groaned in irritation at feeling her reserves weakening. The witch was using her as conduit. No matter. She wrenched Bonnie by the arm and bit clean through it.
She screamed at the top of her lungs and ungraciously fell on her ass. Free of the witch, Katherine instantly took off into the night.
Adrenaline waning, Bonnie examined her bite wound, squeezing the area above it, hissing quietly. It oozed blood. Moaning caught her ear and she crawled over to Damon who was propping himself up on his elbow. He saw that she was two seconds from passing out, so he grabbed and settled Bonnie on his lap.
They blinked owlishly at one another. He scented her blood and saw the bite wound. Without question he bit into his wrist and offered it to Bonnie who weakly shook her head.
"Come on you need it. You don't want to catch rabies, do you?"
Bonnie huffed a laugh. "Just pour it on the wound."
Damon hesitated before doing as she said. "You saved me again. You keep this up and I'll start to think you like me. Hell, you might even love me," he joked.
Instead of laughing she began to cough violently.
Sirens could be heard growing closer to the mayhem. Whatever had caused people to wig the hell out had ended with Katherine's disappearance. Some people looked around in confusion, others in anger, many more in disillusion.
Damon scooped Bonnie up bridal style and "made" an EMT assist her and also feed her some oxygen.
Fifteen minutes later Bonnie was a little less light-headed and more herself. She climbed out of the ambulance, against the advice of the EMT who urged her to head to the hospital to be checked out.
Finding her friends, she was relieved to see Caroline was up on her two feet despite the fact the left side of her hairline was caked with blood.
"Caroline!" Bonnie said and hugged her friend. "You're okay."
"Yeah, Stefan…helped me."
Bonnie nodded in understanding then moved over to hug Elena who managed to remain unscathed.
Katherine could see her car parked deep in the woods and was two seconds from smiling in victory when suddenly she was tackled from behind, thrown to the ground, and pinned.
She tried to wrench herself free and was a little surprised to find she couldn't break this vampire's hold.
"Damon, get off me," she wiggled against his grip.
He smiled and leaned down until their noses were almost touching. "I'm not who you think I am."
Katherine ceased her squirming and really looked at Damon. His eyes were the wrong color. She frowned. "What the—?"
"You picked the wrong time to have a bonfire. Katherine Pierce I presume."
Now she was equally confused. Why was Damon pretending not to know her? And what the hell was going on with his eyes? Had her stunt really pushed him over the edge that he turned into a…hell she didn't know what.
"I don't know what kind of game you're trying to run but you have exactly two seconds to get the fuck off me before I get nasty."
"From what I heard you have the lock on that patent. Go after Bonnie and her little friends again and this," he produced a stake and slowly dragged the tip down the center of her chest to the end of her sternum, and like a needle plunged it in her midsection. Katherine gasped wildly for air and groaned in pain. "Will land in a place more permanent," he kissed her forehead and rose to his feet. He glared down at her.
"And for the record I am Damon Salvatore…but not the spineless version you know," and with that he vanished.
Back at ground zero Bonnie began searching the crowd for one person in particular. She spotted Matt sitting down on the sidewalk with an EMT wrapping his hand in a gauze bandage. She heard him say over and over again was, "I don't know what happened. I don't know how this happened."
Compulsion, more than likely, Bonnie figured. She rushed over Tyler after spotting him being carted away by his mother.
She ducked in front of him blocking his path of escape. "What the hell happened, Tyler?"
Fury clouded his face. "Why the hell are you asking me? Go ask Matt! He was the one who threw the first punch. He's lucky I didn't kill him after the stunt he pulled."
Carol Lockwood decided to intervene, "All right, Tyler that's enough. Let's go."
Tyler attempted to shoulder his way past Bonnie put she placed her hand on his chest and jumped. One, because his eyes changed color when he glared at her, and two his chest was scorching hot.
When he attempted to move forward again, Bonnie did not stop him.
Dumbfounded Bonnie turned around and saw Damon standing there like a misplaced statue. He was naturally composed and clean as a whistle in comparison to everyone else.
She approached him.
"So is this how all basketball games turn out? Nearly being burned alive and/or trampled to death?"
"Only during homecoming," she quipped.
He smiled and pulled her to his chest. "I see now what my purpose is, Bonnie. I wasn't just dumped here as some cruel joke by fate. I was placed here to help you kill that woman."
"Katherine?"
"Yes."
"Good. She's gotta go."
"My sentiments exactly. Let's get you home."
Across the parking lot, the other Damon watched Bonnie leave with her perpetual shadow. A soft hand touched his arm and he found himself reluctantly staring down at Elena. Damon had stopped two girls from double teaming her after she was separated from Stefan during the melee.
"We're leaving."
"I drove myself so…I'll see you later."
He stood silent as she sauntered off and joined hands with his brother. Damon waited for that small or sometimes huge twinge of envy. Nothing happened. Yet he certainly felt something clawing at his insides when he saw Bonnie riding shotgun in his nemesis' car.
The Salvatore Boardinghouse
Damon entered the premises feeling several levels of pissed. He began to check off the things that irritated him about today. One, being dismissed like he was nothing by Elena. Two, his encounter with Katherine and Stefan in the woods. Three, once again feeling underappreciated for everything he had done.
There had been only one highlight of the day. Bonnie had saved him from being turned into a burnt offering, but she turned around and ran off with the guy who showed up for two seconds. Did he get a thank you? Did he get a look of adoration or even gratitude?
Un-freaking-believable and un-fucking-acceptable.
His clothes reeked. His ass hurt, and he was craving blood and whiskey in that order. Damon threw what was left of his leather jacket on to the nearest chair then froze.
Sitting innocently on the leather sectional was the bane of his existence. He snorted humorlessly.
"It isn't good to pout for a woman of your age," he said and went to the bar.
"Why are you always trying to hurt my feelings, Damon? Is it because you wasted a hundred and forty-seven years looking for me? You have no one to blame for that but yourself," pause. "I met someone tonight."
"I'm not surprised," he muttered dryly.
"Seems like I'm not the only one who has a doppelganger."
Damon looked at her. "He's not my doppelganger and I'm not his. He's from another dimension."
The only indication Katherine gave that she found this astounding was the lifting of her perfectly arched brows.
"Well, whoever he is, he's strong, powerful, and stuck on the witch."
Yeah, Damon didn't need any helpful reminders of that.
"Think he might be interested in a threesome? It's been a long time since I was thrown around like that."
This chick was perpetually in heat. Instead of it exciting him, it sickened him. Katherine rolled her eyes at seeing that he wasn't going to take the bait.
Damon sipped his drink and wasn't surprised to see his once upon a time fantasy standing in front of him when he turned around.
"I came to say goodbye, Damon."
"Yeah, right. You just don't start a war and leave without collecting the spoils."
"I think you do know me as well as you claim. However I've caused enough damage that I believe my point has been made," she smirked.
Damon did not trust that smirk.
"So say good bye."
"I will after I drive a stake through your gotdamn heart."
"Go ahead," Katherine brushed her long wavy hair off her shoulders, revealing more of her skin in the black tank top she was wearing. "But before you do I'm sure there's something you want first. A kiss. So kill me or kiss me, Damon. The decision is up to you."
She was standing so close and looking so good, but it wasn't Katherine he was picturing in his head right now.
Damon dropped his glass, reached for her and pummeled her lips in a bruising kiss. He deserved something after the crap he went through today.
His back was slammed up against the wall, but he gained control and pushed Katherine to the ground. Their hands ran all over each other, clutching, pinching, squeezing. Damon grabbed the fabric of her shirt and ripped it revealing the black lacy bra underneath, and the olive globes of flesh nearly spilling out. He might hate Katherine for playing him but she had a body built for sin, and Damon was just mad enough to fall into her poison again.
Licking a trail from her clavicle up to her jaw, Damon took her lips unleashing a century and a half of longing, loneliness, and crippling frustration. Katherine shot up from the floor, taking Damon with her and pinned him up against the wall where she returned the favor and ripped apart what was left of his shirt.
He bit her neck, tried to unbutton her jeans but then he stopped. Lust receded and logic came forward. Damon needed to know something first and the answer to his question could either make or break him.
For all her bravado Katherine behaved like a heartless bitch, but her feelings were easily hurt just like a human's. And if that were so then it also meant she was capable of love.
She stared at him quizzically for a moment. "Why'd you stop?" she demanded.
"I need to know something first…At any time you and I were together…did you love me?"
Katherine pursed her lips together and glowered at him.
"You owe me that much."
She wanted to fuck. She didn't want to talk about feelings. Hearing this from supposed bad-ass Damon Salvatore left a rotten taste in her mouth. "You don't want to know the truth. That would ruin the fantasy."
"Stop playing me for a fool and be real with me, Katherine, for once!"
"Fine," she swallowed and said nothing for a full minute, heightening the suspense for the simple fact she could and Damon had always clung to her every word. For a second he was that self-conscious human boy who so wanted to please her. But that image evaporated, decomposed like flesh. "Damon, when you were human you were barely a man and you're even less of one now," she smirked evilly. "And why don't I plunge the knife a little deeper and twist it a little harder and say I never loved you or respected you. I mean how could I? when you're a bigger pussy than the one between my legs."
Twitch. All Damon could envision was backhanding that bitch across the room, watch as her body flew in a graceful arc before she landed face first into the blazing fireplace.
"I came back for Stefan. He's the only Salvatore I ever loved. Does that answer your question?"
She strolled past him, bra showing and all and never looked back.
A/N: After the disaster that was 3x15 I didn't want to write any more chapters in my current fics because I felt like it would be a disservice to Bonnie, but I've finally made my peace with it and here is the finished result. A lot still has to happen in terms of development with this story, but I don't believe any more chapters will be as complicated as this one-maybe, more than likely, we'll see. But thanks so much for reading! Love you guys!
