Sorry I'm taking so long to update these days, but thanks to anyone who's stuck by it :)
If you have a spare minute - and I know I don't deserve it, the lousy updater I've been! - could you let me know what you think of this one?
I took a long time to write and by no means is it perfect, I'd just like some feedback on how the story is going so far. Thanks :) - Iris x
Chapter Fourteen: The Ties that Bind
"Elena… you're starting to scare me."
Bonnie heard the door snap shut behind her as Damon stepped out from the shadows. The sight of him made her shiver and his blue eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. Damon smiled, devilishly. He seemed to know exactly how he made Bonnie feel… and he revelled in it. He stepped closer, so close Bonnie could feel his breath on the back of her neck.
"Damon," warned Elena.
Damon held up his hands in defeat… but the triumphant smirk on his face was enough to know he'd got what he wanted.
Bonnie swallowed and pulled her cardigan tighter around her.
"Elena…" whispered Bonnie, her eyes planted on Damon's retreating figure. "What is this?"
With a deep breath, Elena ran her hands through her hair. She hated this. She was about to put her friend in a very difficult position. About to drag Bonnie down into her lies. After all, there was nothing she could do but lie… Stefan could never know what she and Damon had done…
So Elena would have to close her eyes and do it. She had to deceive the man she loved for the sake of his brother. It made her feel dirty, just thinking about what had happened. Tears of shame were already starting to collect under her lashes and she hadn't even breathed a word yet…
"Bonnie, we think… well, we know we've been cursed." There was a sickening silence as Bonnie let it sink in, eyes widening with shock.
"Cursed? Who would want to curse you?"
"Your little brat of a cousin, that's who." Spat Damon, his smug smile faded.
"Beatrice? She doesn't know magic!"
"Yeah, well she did a pretty good impression. The nose bleed was a stroke of genius."
"Nose bleed?!" gasped the witch. "Oh my god, is she OK?!"
"She's fine, Bonnie." soothed Elena, reassuringly.
"But we're not. We need you to fix it, pronto." Added the Salvatore.
"I don't exist to fix your messes, Damon."
"Oh," gasped Damon, "You didn't think we keep you around because we like you, did you?"
"Bonnie, please. It's really important." Added Elena, trying – and failing – to ignore him.
Bonnie's eyes flicked between her two friends – if she could call Damon that. Elena's desperate, teary eyes made Bonnie want to cry herself… and even Damon's expression held a hint of worry. She nodded to herself.
"I'll do it." She announced, "But not for you, understand?" She added, for Damon's benefit.
"Thank you, Bonnie." gushed Elena, rushing to hug her friend.
"Or for you, Elena." Were the words that stopped the brunette harshly in her tracks. "I'm doing this for Stefan."
"Of course, the precious Saint Stefan." Scoffed Damon, shaking his head.
"Bonnie, you know Stefan can never find out about this."
"What do you mean Elena?" said Bonnie, her eyes narrowing.
"She means keep it buttoned, Broom-Hilda, or nose bleeds will be the least of your cousin's problems." Said Damon, folding his arms.
"Why can't Stefan know?"
"Because… Bea cursed us for a reason, Bonnie." Elena watched as her friend stiffened. The witch's eyes automatically trained on Damon.
"Tell me what you did, and tell me fast."
"We shared blood." Answered Damon, nonchalantly. Both girls stared at him in shock. "What? She said tell her fast!"
"ELENA, HOW COULD YOU?" cried Bonnie. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing.
"Zip it, Bonnie." Damon said as he flashed over to her. "We don't want Stefan overhearing, do we?"
"TOO DAMN RIGHT YOU DON'T, DAMON! Does Elena even know what it means?"
Damon's hand caught Bonnie's wrist in a flash. Pain streaked across the witch's face as his iron grip tightened. He repeated himself, voice dangerously soft:
"I said: Keep it down, Bonnie. I'm not in the mood to be messed with." Fear rippled through her. She wasn't afraid of Damon, for all his pride and his recklessness. There was just something in those words…
Bonnie swallowed the anger writhing in her throat and ripped her arm from his grasp.
"Fine." She gave in, "But don't think I'll forget this, Damon. Elena might not know what it means but I do."
"Quit the dramatics, Bonnie, we didn't run away to Vegas."
"No, what you did is worse than that, Damon, and you know it." Spat Bonnie, defiantly.
Elena's head spun. What was going on? She knew Stefan wouldn't like the idea of Damon and her sharing blood but… did it really mean something more? Damon wouldn't use her like that. He wouldn't…
Funny, the more she tried to convince herself Damon wasn't like that, the more doubts started to creep in.
"Well, if you want me to lift this curse you have to tell me what it does."
"You better handle this, Elena. I'm dangerously close to ripping out a few magical veins." Muttered Damon, darkly, stepping back to his girl.
"Well? Elena?" demanded Bonnie, impatiently.
"Don't judge us, Bonnie-"
"Bonnie? Judge someone? Don't be ridiculous!" gasped Damon, sarcastically. Bonnie shot him the most hateful glare she could muster but Elena just rolled her eyes.
"Look… we, er, share dreams." She finished.
"Share dreams? How do you mean?"
"Every time I close my eyes… it's like he's waiting for me. We can literally have a conversation and both remember it when we wake up." Explained Elena.
"Oh… I see how this could get… sensitive for Stefan," Bonnie thought, biting her lip.
"Which is exactly why you should get this pain in the ass out of my head before things get messy." Added Damon with a smirk.
"Yeah…" mumbled the witch, "But it's not that simple. Damon, I don't know if I can help."
"Oh really, Bonnie?" spat Damon, his eyes narrowing. "What's the point in me tapping a vein every time you get a splinter if you can't lift a poxy curse when I need you to?"
"You need Bea to lift this kind of curse. Like it or not, I can't do anything."
Elena and Bonnie made their way back up the flight of stairs to the ground floor of the Lake house. Both of them were unusually quiet. Both had a lot on her mind.
"Elena," said Bonnie, breaking the silence.
"Yes?" replied her friend, pausing on the steps.
"I think there's something more. More than just the dreams going on." Elena's whole body stiffened.
"Go on," prompted the brunette, through gritted teeth.
"For something like telepathic dreams to occur… there has to be something more than just a simple curse, Elena. I have a theory… but I don't think you're going to like it."
Butterflies swam into Elena's stomach. This day just got better and better…
"I think that you and Damon… I mean, your life and Damon's life… You've been bound together."
"But… what?"
"An unbreakable bond. But you see… the thing is, for a bond to exist there has to be a mutual desire. The deepest desire, Elena. That means that you and Damon-"
"I get it." Elena gasped as the words left her mouth, she hadn't meant to snap but… just the idea of it.
"But do you get it, Elena?" pressed Bonnie. "Magic is to preserve the balance of nature, right? Suppressing your feelings isn't keeping the balance."
"What are you trying to say, here Bonnie?" Anger started to build at the front of Elena's mind.
"I'm not saying anything, Elena. I'm just… entertaining the idea that this curse might actually be what you and Damon need."
Elena shook her head – she couldn't believe this! She took two, heavy steps away before Bonnie pulled her back. "Elena, you need to listen to me. The only way to break this curse is to set things on their natural course. You're in love with him, Elena. You're in love with Damon. Why is it you're the only person who can't see that?" Bonnie urged, her hands planted on her friend's shoulders. "Or why is it you won't let yourself see that?"
"I love Stefan, Bonnie." She insisted. Bonnie sighed in defeat.
"I'm not denying it, but you love Da-"
"I care about Damon, but its... its not love." Explained the brunette, stubbornly.
"Well, don't expect me to lift this curse until you've sorted your heart out, Elena." Snapped the witch, who turned on her heel and left.
She'd finally had enough of watching Damon pour his heart into that girl only to have her deny she even felt anything. I mean, don't get her wrong… Damon wasn't exactly her first choice when it came to Elena… heck; he wasn't even in the top 10! But nevertheless, Bonnie knew no one deserved this constant heartbreak, and for that – and the restoration of nature's intention – Bonnie would stand.