As usual, I have to thank all of you out there that have been just simply amazing during the time I started writing this story. It means a lot to know that you're all enjoying yourselves with this story. Thank you for all the comments and all the positive words you had to share with me the last time I was on here...your words were very reassuring. Well the story is coming to a close everyone. With 2-3 more chapters, "Rose In A Concrete World" will be over. But maybe, just perhaps, I'll sneak a sequel up on the likes of you all. We'll see xD Enjoy
Chapter 21 - The Moonstone
Stefan stood from his place next to Mr. Bennett whom was situated on the couch, sharing the same expression while observing both Damon and Bonnie. The blue-eyed vampire and brunette witch stood on the opposite side of the room with one another, holding each others' hands and finding it difficult to make eye contact with Stefan and Mr. Bennett. It was hard for both Bennetts to learn that the witch causing all the drama in Mystic Falls was indeed a member of their own immediate family. The young Bennett witch couldn't understand how her mother could be the cause of so much that had transpired, and why it had to come to this? Tyler Lockwood was too busy sulking in the nearby kitchen, still unable to wrap his head around the fact that he had killed his mother a mere hour ago. Truth be told, the young teenager would have handed himself over to the police if it wasn't for Damon talking him out of the entire ordeal. Quite honestly it didn't take much to pursue the young boy to listen to reason, especially when it involved Bonnie's well-being in the mix.
Simple methods the Salvatore man used to get what he wanted.
Granted, they weren't methods that he himself completely created. No - Stefan was more present in molding Damon into the man that he was today…but apparently none of that mattered now. All the youngest sibling had to do was develop some sort of epiphany and change his evil ways, thus allowing him the privilege to have anything (and anyone) he wanted. That was complete bullshit. Damon had long since played the good guy and had always put his feelings on the back-burner for others, even after he had been transformed into a vampire. But did that allow him any special privileges? Did people treat him with respect or gave him the benefit of the doubt?
Hell no.
Nobody cared about Damon; his father, Katherine, holier-than-thou Stefan…even Elena. Whether he was a "good" guy or a "bad" guy, nobody every wanted to give Damon Salvatore his due. Thus over the years his bitterness towards the world grew, his hate for his brother became more of a boring hobby to help past the time in eternity, and the obsession he once carried for Katherine was nothing more than a desperate attempt in finding true love that was never really there. And Elena…well…Elena was suppose to substitute the love he harbored for Katherine, but as usual nothing he hoped for came to fruition. So instead of devoting so much time and energy in the world, he instead began to fight against it; using every excuse he could find to justify all of his disgraceful actions and relieving himself of any emotion he had hidden away in the darkened heart behind his hard chest. But as it turned out, the minute he turned his back on society (both human and vampire alike), Damon came across a completely mind-altering playing field that caught him off guard.
Bonnie Bennett.
There was no real reason for him to say that he loved her or that he even liked her. Sure he could blame it on the uncontrollable heightened emotions that a vampire inhabits, or the need to pick the first girl who he may show a bit of interest to…but even Damon could not trick himself into believing that what he was feeling for the Bennett witch was nothing more than a mere crush. As stated before by the man, he falls in love quickly, and he believed that he had fallen in love with Bonnie Bennett. Maybe it was the time they spent together and the shared near-death experiences that drew them closer in a way that anybody could have fallen in love? Or perhaps it was the realization that both he and the mocha colored woman shared so much in common though their stories of reason differed extremely? Or just maybe it was the fact that they were made for each other in a way that nobody would be able to comprehend…nobody but them? And to be completely honest, that was good enough for the vampire. He didn't need permission to love who he wanted, and he believed he loved Bonnie.
At that moment a knock on the door prompted Stefan to rush over to open it, revealing a worrisome Elena. The black haired woman looked over at her emerald-eyed friend and let out a gasp of relief, rushing past Stefan to wrap her arms tightly around Bonnie.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Elena stated loudly which brought out a small smile from Bonnie. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." Embracing each other for some time, Mr. Bennett decided it best to take leave into the kitchen and check up on Tyler while leaving Stefan, Damon, Bonnie and Elena alone in the living room. "How did you know to be here, I thought you'd come and get me from class so we could ride together at your home?" Bonnie was silent as she loosened herself from the warm embrace of her friend.
"I…uh…I wasn't at school today." Bonnie admitted rather shyly. Taking a couple steps back towards Damon and reaching behind with her hand, she waited until those electric fingers that brought a chill to her securely gripped her own hand firmly. The look of concern that was once on Elena's face was quickly replaced with a look of shock (and a bit of horror). "I was with Damon…we're sort of…we're kind of…"
"You're together?" Elena asked with her tone taking on the voice of somebody that was painfully confused. Damon couldn't help but smirk at the woman, finding it hilarious how it took him being with somebody else for Elena to recognize jut exactly what it was she was missing. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. "But you two hate each other…I don't understand."
"Well it like this, Elena," Damon said, squeezing the grip around Bonnie's hand and looking up at the ceiling as if though he were in deep thought. "When two people really care about each other, and they want to showcase that affection…"
"Damon." Bonnie whispered the man's name softly, urging him to stop antagonizing her friend. The slender man made a sour face but obeyed the woman's small command. "Elena…it's kind of hard to explain. I didn't expect any of this to happen, but it did."
"How long has this been going on?" Elena asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"A day. Two maybe?"
"Two days?"
"Maybe." The room went silent as all eyes were focused in on Elena and the many expressions she tried to keep hidden to herself. "Look," Bonnie released her grip from Damon as she went to take hold of her friend's pale hand, "I know this is probably a lot for you to take in, and it's the only reason I kept what I was feeling for Damon a secret for so long."
"Bonnie, I…"
"Elena, I know. But I knew you had enough on your own plate to deal with before you started to worry about my problems. Besides, Damon and I needed the time alone to actually come to terms with this; realize just what the hate we harbored for one another really instituted as."
"Love?"
Bonnie was silent at Elena's question. Despite the fact she blurted out she loved the blue-eyed vampire, she knew it was mainly out of a fit of frustration. Damon, on the other hand, could care less from then on out if the woman never said she loved him again. He just needed that one moment to prove that she did share the same feelings he had for her, and that nothing else forth mattered.
"I think it's something they need to find out from each other," Stefan interrupted in the conversation as he steered his comment towards Elena, seeing how difficult it was for Bonnie to answer the girl's question. "They need to see where they stand as a couple, much like we did. Considering everything they've done for us…we owe 'em that much."
"You're not concerned?" Damon asked aloud, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. It wasn't like Stefan to completely support anything that the eldest Salvatore brother proposed…so the suspicious man had his doubts about just how genuine his brother's words were. "Aren't you going to bring up some mention of my tragic past or how much of a mess I'll make of this all?" Stefan looked over at his brother and gave a sad smile.
"I heard the conversation you and Bonnie had in the bathroom. For the first time in centuries I recognized my brother; the human side of him." Damon's face went to stone. He hadn't realized the words he spoke to the young witch until Stefan brought the conversation back up. "That side of you I unintentionally destroyed so many, many, many generations ago…and it has pained me to see you go down such a destructive path because I wasn't there to help you. But when I heard you talk to Bonnie the way you did, and when I realized just what kind of journey it must have taken to get to that point - realized the monster inside of you was momentarily gone. You were no longer a vampire…you were my brother, Damon. The brother that deserved love more than I did."
The oldest Salvatore brother merely looked at his brother, speechless at the words that were spoken to him. He didn't know how to respond, and honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to. For generations Damon had grown immune to hating his brother and making his life a living hell…but that was to ease the pain of a lifestyle that he never wanted. However his perspective of things started to change; Bonnie brought out a human element in him, Elena was no longer the apple of affection, and Stefan was no longer an enemy.
No, he was a brother. A brother that saw the errors of his ways and put up with Damon's torture to better appease the tarnished affection that was between them. All of this in the span of a couple of weeks. All of this because of Bonnie.
"We're getting off track…we need to focus on this Moonstone," Damon said, trying to change the subject and avoid any heart-to-heart moment with Stefan. The youngest Salvatore brother gave a somewhat disappointed glance, but none the less opened his ears for listening. "Now that we know where it is, how are we going to be sure that Bonnie's mother won't be there to try and take full control of it once it's released from it's spell?"
"Wait, you found the Moonstone?" Elena asked. "Where?"
"Just past my Grams's grave," Bonnie answered. "Mason said something about it being protected by magic and a Bennett witch being the only person able to retrieve it."
"Which is exactly why Katherine has been so adamant about getting her hands on Bonnie," Stefan said.
Damon uncrossed his arms from over his chest and instead placed his hands upon his hips before speaking up, "None of this still makes any sense. What would she want with the Moonstone, and how did she lose it in the first place?"
"She didn't lose it." Mr. Bennett's voice boomed from the kitchen entrance which caught the attention of the two teenage girls and two male vampires. "My mother, Sheila, took it." Bonnie gave a surprised look as she turned her eyes to stare down her father.
"What?" she questioned.
"I guess I forgot to let you know how the Moonstone got placed in your Grams's hand to begin with. Got too…distracted with other subjects, I guess." Mr. Bennett made his way into the room further with Tyler trailing not too far behind him. "When your mother stripped my abilities away, I was visiting your Grams at the time. Neither one of us could prepare for the onslaught of furry she brought, however your mother couldn't prepare to be facing your Grams. So when everything was said and done your Grams took matters into her own hands. I was too weak to notice completely, but near the end of the confrontation she had possession of the Moonstone once again and was preparing to give me back my powers." Taking a seat on his favorite couch, the bald man glanced around the room at all the different people he never imagined would work together in a million years; vampire, witch, werewolf, and human all united. "But at the last minute I made up my mind about my powers. I didn't want them anymore…I never really did. Instead I told her to hide the Moonstone and keep it in a place where nobody, supernatural or human, could get to. Clearly I see now that she only left the spell open for Bennett witches to tamper with…figures she'd find a loophole around what I had asked."
Bonnie walked closer to her father as she keeled down to his eye level, "So Grams never gave you your powers back even though she had the power to?"
"If I had known that this future would come to pass, I wouldn't have been so selfish. I would have taken back my powers with no argument if it meant protecting my baby girl." Bonnie felt herself getting misty eyed as she wrapped her arms around her father tightly, never realizing how much he had sacrificed of himself to ensure that she would have as normal a life as he could provide. Still she only wished that he wouldn't be so damn demanding from time to time. Nearby, Tyler let out a small cough to let everybody know that he planned on speaking.
"I…um…I think it's time I get going," the young teen said. Everybody, especially the brown skinned witch, gave a curious look to Tyler.
"No…you can't go," Bonnie urged. "Not with everything that has happened and the Moonstone and…"
"That's exactly why he has to go," Stefan said. "We don't know if your mother is aware of Katherine's betrayal, therefore she'll assume immediately that if Mason was apart of it then Tyler must have been also. Not only that but if Katherine gets wind of what has happened, she'll no doubt come after Tyler, too. He's better off taking leave somewhere that Katherine won't find him. Don't worry…he'll be protected on his way to where he needs to go." Bonnie listened to Stefan's explanation and couldn't help but feel herself grow numb. She wasn't entirely sure as to why, but she knew that she didn't want to see the Lockwood teen go…not this way. Not yet.
"Isn't there some other way?" the woman asked as she stood straight up, exchanging glances between Stefan and Tyler, trying her hardest not to notice the hard expression on Damon's face. The olive skinned Lockwood boy approached Bonnie but stopped short in front of her, afraid that any close quarter contact would set Damon ablaze with jealous anger; it wasn't difficult to see that the Salvatore vampire looked at the Bennett witch as his and his alone. He didn't share…not anything or anyone.
"I have to do this Bonnie," Tyler said, "there's nothing else here for me in Mystic Falls. Well…nothing at the present moment I guess." He shifted his eyes quickly in Damon's direction before going over to the front door and picking up a brown backpack to sling over his shoulder. The Bennett girl wiped her eyes of the tear streaks that she knew were evident on her face.
"But what about your mom and everything?"
"Stefan and I took care of that," Damon spoke up this time.
"How?" she asked curiously. "How do you explain a dead body that belonged to the council, not to mention explaining it to the sheriff who is a member of said council?"
"There will be no dead body present, thus nothing left to explain." Seeing as to how the young witch was still giving a dumbfounded look, Damon proceeded to continue explaining further. "As far as the town, but most importantly the sheriff, is concerned, Miss Lockwood abandons her duties as mother out of grief, depression, and fear of being a single mother. Once that rumor starts circulating around, news of Tyler's runaway becomes more believable and less suspicious. Granted it would be odd to have the family of the late Mayor suddenly disappear, but its better than having a murder charge pinned on the boy and having evidence lead back to all of us." The young Bennett witch didn't want to accept what was, but knew there was really no other way. She hated herself for not seeing sooner that all the cries of help Tyler was sharing with her were real - every single cry.
"I'm so sorry I didn't help you sooner," Bonnie muttered aloud with a weak sounding voice. Tyler merely smirked as he held his head down to the ground.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't honest to begin with. Maybe none of this would have escalated to the point it did if I were just open with you from the start?" The room was silent, with nothing but the growing sound of wind outside intensifying with very second that passed.
"He'll be alright," Stefan assured the woman. "Damon and I made sure he'd be financially secure on his own for the next couple full moons." Looking over at the man, Stefan gave a slight nod. "You should probably get going." Tyler nodded his head in agreement, but not before both Elena and Bonnie ran up to the young man with arms spread wide. The three teens embraced each other tightly, finding it hard to let go of what could be their last meeting together.
"Please keep in contact as soon as possible," Elena murmured with her face planted in the man's shoulder.
"I will," Tyler responded lightly before having to pull himself off of the two teens and reach out for the front doorknob. He looked over at Damon and gave a somewhat serious expression. "You take care of her," he warned the cocky vampire. "Cause I will be back…and I will find out." The two men stared each other down for what felt like eternity before the Lockwood boy made his exit out of the Bennett residence. As everybody stood where they were, it went without saying that the time for action was indeed needed at that point. Having knowledge of the Moonstone, knowing the enemies they would soon face, and growing confident in the plan they had…the endgame had now approached.
Damon, Bonnie, and Mr. Bennett drove in the vampire's black Chevy ahead of Stefan and Elena who were situated in Mr. Bennett's car. The couple was silent as they listened to the roar of the car engine and the whistling sound of the wind outside. Keeping his eyes focused on the blackened street ahead of him, the man looked at the troubled young witch through his peripheral vision. For a moment, it seemed as if though nobody would say anything, until Mr. Bennett found it necessary to say the things he wanted to ask.
"Y'know," he started, "I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't concerned about the fact my daughter has taken an interest in a vampire. A Salvatore none the less." Damon clenched his jaw as he lifted his eyes up to the review mirror that showcased the tall man's disapproving expression. Bonnie was silent as usual, not wanting to start in on another unnecessary argument with her father (especially since they had just made up with one another).
"Well you shouldn't worry yourself," Damon responded with a forced smile that vanished almost as fast as it came. "Besides neither of us are going to be persuaded out of this relationship we've made with one another…so another long winded conversation about it will just be a waste of time."
"Oh, I figured as much." Mr. Bennett said with a nod of his head. "That's why I've come to a decision that once we get a hold of the Moonstone…Bonnie is going to help me get my powers back." The statement forced Bonnie to turn her head around and glance at her father in what could only be described as joy. Deep inside she had hoped to meet a witch like herself, one up to par with her Grams; who better than her own father.
"But why do you want your powers now all of sudden?" she asked.
Damon merely scoffed as he thought it best to open his mouth to respond., "He needs something more concrete than words to threaten me with. What better way to keep me in check than to have him gain his powers back." Bonnie looked shocked and appalled at her father for his reasoning for wanting his powers back.
"I can't believe you," Bonnie said, still turned towards her father. "After everything Damon has done to protect you and I, you still can't find it in yourself to give him a chance?"
"I'm not naive, Bonnie," Bonnie's father responded with a confident smile. "Truth of the matter is witches, especially us Bennett witches, have an atrocious history with vampires. The minute we lay trust in them is the minute we've given up our right to be free. They haven't changed for centuries…why would they change now?"
"Because one of these vampires loves me…and I love him." Though the words didn't come out as confidently as the young witch had hoped they would, she knew simply uttering them would help increase her father's anger in her.
"I told you before…it's not love that you're feeling. Just because this vampire can't compel you doesn't mean he doesn't have other ways of manipulation."
"Yet here we are arguing over the same thing again, and Damon has still not given me one reason why I shouldn't trust him - why I shouldn't invest something into this relationship I've gained with him."
Once Bonnie stopped speaking to her father and turned around in her seat, silence fell over the car like an empty abyss. Surprisingly the strong-willed and unconventional vampire was silent for most of the conversation, not uttering one word in defense for himself. It took the young female some time to realize it herself after a couple idle seconds passed by, causing her to turn her head slightly over and examine the chiseled faced man riving beside her.
"Are you alright?" she asked silently, though she was pretty sure that her father would be able to hear the words she uttered aloud. Damon merely shrugged his shoulder. The young witch gave a somewhat perplexed look, expecting the man to respond with a snarky remark about her father or give one of his signature smiles that was usually complimented with the overly expressive blue eyes of his. "What's wrong? Why are you so quiet?" At that moment Bonnie felt herself beginning to grow worried. "Damon?" The woman's tone was urgent as she placed warm fingers upon the cold hand of the pale vampire.
That brought a smile out of him.
"So you do love me?" he finally asked after the car began to come to a crawling halt in the graveyard parking lot. Bonnie felt herself growing red, still slightly embarrassed about expressing her intimate feelings of Damon in front of her father. "Y'know that's twice that you've told me you love me in the span of what - a day since we made this official?" The woman held her head down, allowing strains of her hair to fall over her face and cover the light blush under her caramel cheeks. Taking off his seatbelt and setting his car in park, Damon leaned over to Bonnie and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Please…" Mr. Bennett scoffed under his breath as he crossed his arms and turned to look out the window. The vampire finally couldn't hold his tongue anymore, snapping his head back towards the bald man with dark black eyes and veins covering most of his face. The retracted fangs made it more difficult for Damon to speak, but his words were still audible even to the hardest hearer.
"Listen you," the angry vampire spit out angrily, clutching the car seats so tightly they looked like they would implode any second, "I've tried playing the nice guy to you long enough, but quite honestly you're starting to piss me off. Now I love your daughter, and whether or not you believe it is none of your concern."
"She's a seventeen year old child…she's more than just my concern," Mr. Bennett retorted back boldy.
"She's a seventeen year old witch that has been carrying the weight of an entire town and a supernatural relic on her shoulders while you do nothing but criticize and bitch at her."
"You don't tell me…"
"I'll tell you exactly what you need to be told!" Damon screamed out, causing both Bennett's in the car to flinch in fear. Bonnie placed a hand on the man's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down some. Usually she'd scold the vampire for resorting to such measures while speaking with her father…but even she couldn't argue that her father had it coming. "Whether you want to see it or not, me and Bonnie have something special between us. So while you plot and plan how you're going to kill me and all this other bullshit I know you're thinking about right now, why don't you take an unselfish moment to think how that may affect Bonnie. How once again her father took something away from her that was important because he felt he was doing the right thing." Mr. Bennett was silent as he watched the human features in Damon's face slowly transition back.
"I'm only doing what's best for Bonnie," The Bennett man uttered aloud. "If you truly love her, than you wouldn't deny her the normal life that supernaturals are not permitted." Damon clenched his jaw as he listened to the man speak, hating that he was making a point right after he gave such a great speech. "Sooner or later you're both are going to have to realize that forever is not possible because we want it to be. Love is not just an emotion we feed off of, but it's an act of being and an act of doing." The young woman merely chuckled aloud as she unhinged her seatbelt and prepared herself to exit the car with the Grimoire held against her chest.
"Then I guess I'll have to prove you wrong," the woman clarified out loud. "Because even if I have to deny you your powers back to keep Damon safe…I will." Both men in the car looked at Bonnie with a expression of shock. Exiting the car and following his daughter who was making her way around to the blue-eyed vampire, Mr. Bennett grabbed the witch by the arm and turned her around to face him.
"Bonnie, you would deny your father the right to his power?" Mr. Bennett's question was met with a stone faced Bonnie.
"I've tried and tried to reason with you…and I've tried and tried to convince you to let me carry on with my relationship with Damon. But you've just proven that despite all the feelings I poured out and all the emotions I shared with you, you still feel it necessary to take away a part of my life that I need; a part of my life that will be empty and hollow and without reason." The young witch pulled herself away from her father. "You made the decision to give up you powers, but now I hold the decision on whether or not I should give them back. And unless I feel like you're going to start trusting me and allowing me to make my own decisions…then I'll just develop the same attitude you do; control the important aspects of your life without your say. Then you'll know how it feels to be betrayed and hurt by someone who claims they love you."
Mr. Bennett was silent as his eyes shifted towards the ground, feeling like he was powerless to fight against Bonnie's demand. Sure he could always kill Damon the moment he convinced the young witch to give him his powers back…but did he really want to risk losing the only child he had dedicated his heart and soul to? Was it worth trying to make a point by demolishing the trust he was slowly trying to regain? In the end…would it really be worth it? Leaving her father to think where he was standing, the female witch went to Damon's side, held him by the hand and met up with Stefan and Elena next to them.
"Lets go," Bonnie urged the small group as they made way towards the Moonstone several miles ahead.
The setting sun only reminded the lot of them that daylight would soon be no longer on their side and they would have to work twice a fast to get the Moonstone before Katherine and the hooded couple found out. The sight of the unusually thick fog up ahead at the graveyard made the creep factor of the place increase even more so. Trees hung over the site with branches that looked as if though they were moments away from breaking off, especially with the wind blowing and howling like the banshees. Crows cawed in every direction and the overwhelming feeling of anxiety fell over the group simultaneously. Slowly but surely, they each approached Shelia Bennett's grave with Mr. Bennett trailing slowly behind them; he did not want to see his mother's headstone again.
Too painful the first time…even more-so the second.
"This is Sheila's grave…" Damon said, finding it difficult to stand in front of the headstone with Bonnie next to him. Even for Bonnie it was a bit awkward to be holding hands with the man who was partially responsible for her grandmother's death. But then she had to remind herself that what was past was past, and she had forgiven Damon a long time ago about the whole tomb situation. Despite how uncomfortable the sight may have been for the two of them…it wasn't going to jeopardize what they were trying to accomplish now. Clutching his hand tighter around the witch's hand, Damon released a loud sigh and started forward towards to the Moonstone location.
"We gotta keep moving forward," he said softly to the group. It was at that very moment that he realized telling Mr. Bennett the true nature behind Sheila Bennett's death would not be in his best interest. Perhaps in a future where Bonnie and Damon were no longer a couple and leaving the vampire the luxury to unleash painful secrets just to be spiteful…but for now…no.
The group of five inched closer and closer to the Moonstone's resting area, noticing a large brick well that seemed to be free of any fog surrounding it. Green vines wrapped themselves around the brick structure while the faint sound of rustling water echoed from within the hole. As opposed to all the dead browning grass that overtook the cemetery, the well was encircled by a unusually fresh coat of vibrant green grass. But what caught immediate attention was the still body laying lifeless nearby the well - the familiar "Mc" sigh with the red halo above the hand of the victim was as present.
"That's it," Stefan uttered aloud as he let go of Elena's hand to step forward towards the well. "And from the looks of it, we're not alone." Damon followed suite by letting his grip go of Bonnie and walking alongside his brother. The two females instantly intertwined fingers while the cautious witch took note of her surroundings, readying herself should the need to read a spell from the Grimoire occur.
"You two stay clear back there while me and Stefan go and investigate," Damon commanded. Both women complied with nods. Watching the men ahead, Elena decided to speak up to her friend while the boys were up ahead investigating the dead body that was obviously the work of the McCullough witch, Bonnie's mother.
"Bon, I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I hit you with an overload of questions when you told me what was going on between you and Damon earlier," Elena inquired silently to her friend, though she was sure the two vampires ahead of them could hear every word being spoken. "I guess I…I just…"
"I know Elena," Bonnie chimed in pleasantly though her expression was a bit stone. It was no secret that her friend probably did harbor some form of affection for the older Salvatore brother…she just wasn't prepared to address the issue head on. Elena could see that her words were only going to make things more awkward for Bonnie and her new boyfriend. "If there's anything I know more, it's my best friend. I guess it should have been expected…I'm not really…"
"Are you happy?" Elena interrupted the woman hesitantly, almost as if though the words were forced out of her. Her brown eyes met with her friend's emerald pools for an answer. The witch merely shrugged her shoulders before shifting under her light jacket uncomfortably. There was not reason for Bonnie to be so incredibly insecure around her friend about this subject.
"If I have to answer that question on the spot right now…then the answer is yes." The black haired woman nodded her head in response to her friend. "Why?"
"If you're happy than I'm happy."
"As much as I want to believe that, I know the torch he held for you…probably still does." The woman gave a worried expression. "And to be honest, I don't expect him to just give up everything for me. I'm nothing special." The Gilbert teen furrowed her eyes to give Bonnie a scolding look, surprise that she would refer to herself as 'nothing'.
"Bonnie…if anything you're more special than the entire town of Mystic Falls. You've been able to do things that most witches need years of training to do. At least, from what I've read."
"You're just saying that, Elena. But facts are facts - I'm only needed when my powers are involved. Nobody wants me, Bonnie Bennett."
"Damon seems to want you." The caramel skinned woman nudged her friend lightly before revealing a small smile. "He seems to care greatly for you. And honey that should be proof enough that you're important. Most of all you're important to me…not as just a friend, but like a sister."
Bonnie felt herself getting emotional at Elena's words, finding comfort in the fact that there was no tension between them and everything seemed to be copasetic.
"I must admit though…you and Damon certainly have gone from mortal enemies to lovers rather strangely. I mean, sure me and Stefan had a rough start to our relationship, but I never tried to kill the man. And to the best of my knowledge Stefan never tried to kill me."
"It's like my Grams use to say, 'You can look to the past and to the future for answers all you want, but if you ignore your present self then you're missing out on the opportunity for a fresh start'."
"Sounds like something from a fortune cookie," Damon blurted out suddenly from ahead of the two young girls. Bonnie and Elena gave the man a disapproving look, upset that he was intentionally listening in on their conversation.
"Way to be discreet, Damon," the witch said with an arched eyebrow. The vampire merely scoffed as he continued to look around the well.
"Whatever, just come here and check this out." Making way towards the well with Elena at her side, the Bennett witch turned her head quickly to see how her father was holding up. He looked distraught, depressed even - obviously re-mourning the death of Sheila Bennett. When Bonnie finally made it towards the well, she was immediately introduced to a feeling that seemed to compel her to take a step back against her will.
"I don't know why, but I feel like this force keeps pushing me away from the well," Bonnie uttered aloud, letting go of Elena and opening her Grimoire for some type of answer.
"That's exactly what we me and Damon have been feeling…under no circumstance are able to fill in those last few inches of the well. It's obviously what's keeping Katherine and your mother from entering themselves. I think now is as good a time than ever to break this invisible barrier." Without saying a word, Bonnie nodded her head and flipped the pages of her Grimoire until she came across a counter magic-barrier spell. With the wind blowing at top speed, the Bennett witch uttered the Latin words aloud with her eyes half closed and her body tensed. She wasn't sure why, but she could feel something heavy being lifted from the well…something extremely heavy. For a split second, the woman stopped with the incantation and instead released a huge gasp, finding it difficult to follow through with the spell. But it was encouragement of a her father that helped to give her that bunt of confidence.
"You can do it, baby girl." Mr. Bennett uttered aloud, still feet away from the rest of the group. "Remember, you're a Bennett witch. Nothing is too small or too large for you to handle."
The words of confidence helped the young female witch to channel the correct energy to the magical barrier. Within mere seconds, the spell Sheila had cast was broken for Bonnie to enter the well and retrieve the Moonstone. Feeling light headed she found herself stumbling over until Damon rushed to her side to break her fall. The small traces of blood that made it's way down her nostril may have been a concern for everybody else, but for Bonnie it was a reminder that despite how much blood she shed…she could still press forth.
"You should probably rest for a bit," Stefan suggested, "We don't want to risk you getting hurt and…"
"I'm going shimmy down this rope and get the Moonstone," Bonnie exclaimed, wasting no time to climb into the hole that ran deep and dark. "The longer we wait to get possession of this rock, the more we have to worry about running into Katherine and my mother. I don't want that." Stefan said nothing in response but instead nodded in head in understanding.
"Just be careful," he added.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," the witch said.
The actual depth to the well ran somewhere between 20 to 25 feet deep and spanning a huge enough width for at least three people to fit into. Though because nobody outside was able to even get close enough to help secure the rope that was tied around the outside of the well, Bonnie could only pray that the rope would not break as she made her way down. Lowering herself further down into the hole, the young girl finally started to feel some moisture hit her shoes. Without hesitation she let go of the rope dropped hard on the surface that was surrounded with water which was elevated about five feet. Entering into the water Bonnie looked up at the giant hole that would be twice as difficult to get through.
"I made it in the well!" she screamed out to everybody outside. " I'm looking for the Moonstone right now." Turning her attention to the dark water surrounding her, the emerald eyed beauty reached down with her hands, trying to feel for anything solid and round. The tips of her hair dipped in the water as her clothes were drenched instantly. She could barely feel the sharp rocks at the surface of the well slicing her fingertips which did not hurt tremendously.
"Bonnie…why are you bleeding?" Damon called out worriedly as the smell of the woman's blood reached the vampire's scent.
"It's nothing!" she called back, still searching for the Moonstone. The vampire was not entirely accepting of the answer given to him which prompted him to question even more.
"Are you sure Bonnie! You need to be careful…we have no way of helping you out if you get stuck in that damn well!"
"Yeah, I know!"
"So hurry up and find the Moonstone already!"
"That's the plan!"
"We can't afford to lose it at this point, Bonnie!"
"Well then stop distracting me!"
"Love you, too!"
The young witch took a moment to let the man's words sink in, unable to keep from chuckling at his sarcastic (yet truthful) response.
At that moment, something smooth made it's way past Bonnie's fingers. It was solid, round shaped and carried a sufficient amount of weight to it. Lifting it from the water, the Bennett witch looked to see that she had indeed grabbed possession of the vibrant white (yet somewhat transparent) Moonstone. Overwhelmed with excitement she couldn't help but jump up with excitement, splashing water all around her.
"I've got the stone!" she screamed out, placing the heavy stone in her pocket and steadily making her way back up to the top of the well. But it seemed climbing up the rope of the well seemed more of a challenge than lowering down from it. With her body mass increased by soaked clothes and shoes finding no firm support against the brick…Bonnie felt herself beginning to panic. "Guys, I can't climb the rope…the water is weighing me down and I keep slipping off the bricks."
"Hold on Bonnie, we'll get you out of there!" Mr. Bennett's voice boomed with urgency. Thus Bonnie stood as calmly as possible in the freezing water, waiting for anybody on higher ground to think up a way to get her up from the well. "Bonnie?" Mr. Bennett's voice called out to the young woman once more.
"Yes, dad?"
"Okay…have you tried climbing the rope again."
"Yes dad - my arms are tired, my fingers are bleeding and quite honestly I'm not built for this sort of stuff. Not to mention I'm starting to freak out a bit here." Bonnie looked round the well noticing how much darker it had become inside on account of the setting sun. Soon the sun would be completely void of any sunlight, and darkness would be her only ally.
"Alright, alright…now the first thing you want to do is not freak out, okay?" The female witch merely inhaled deeply and exhaled just as hard, hoping to ease her own nervousness. Even in the somewhat dark, Bonnie felt like she could see the bricks around her beginning to close in inch by inch. "Okay, Bonnie?" Mr. Bennett called out again.
"Yes, dad?"
"Okay…now are you familiar with levitation spells?" It was silent for a moment.
"…yeah."
"Good - I want you to use the knowledge you have on levitation and apply it to yourself."
"Wait - what?"
"Honey, we can't get any closer to the well to help you out of there. Now the only other option I see fit is if you used you powers to literally lift yourself from where you are." Bonnie gave a somewhat worried expression as she looked around the dark well, finding no other option but to obey the command given to her. Closing her eyes and focusing on her own energy and body, the Bennett witch began to mumble the incantation she would usually use against her enemies (e.g. Katherine, Mason). Though it was extremely uncomfortable, Bonnie did not anticipate her body to rapidly lift itself out of the well the way it did; shooting out of the hole with water splashing everywhere in site among the group outside. Thankfully Damon caught hold of the falling woman before she could crash on the brown ground below her. Helping her back on her feet again, Bonnie wasted no time in wrapping her arms around the man, shaking in fear.
"What was that?" Mr. Bennett asked dubiously. "I told you to use a levitation spell. That spell you used thrusted your body way too violently through that well…the fall could've killed you if nobody was here to catch you beforehand"
"Yet I did catch her," Damon reminded the man rather sternly. "So why don't you be grateful for that much?" Mr. Bennett was silent as he stared at the vampire with a look of complete disdain.
"Did you get the Moonstone?" Stefan asked with wide eyes, hoping to put an end to all the drama. Bonnie, having Damon relieve her eyes of the wet strains of hair in her face by parting them to the side, reached into her pocket and pulled out the giant stone.
"I got the Moonstone," Bonnie said between chattering teeth. The blistering wind mixed with her wet clothes did not make for a comforting temperature amongst her skin.
"Alright, lets just take this back to the mansion and get this all over with," Elena suggested.
"My thoughts exactly," Elena's voiced echoed in the background. Everybody stopped to stare at the young woman in confusion, not sure as to why she would respond to her own comment. But it didn't take long for them all to realize just who it was that really spoke the words aloud to the group. From the shadows, a curly haired, all-black wearing vampire emerged from the trees softly and silently among the fog with a red haired beauty with emerald eyes and caramel skin alongside her. Bonnie and Mr. Bennett looked on at the hooded woman longer than they looked at Katherine.
"Mom." Bonnie uttered out as she clutched Damon close to her, her body still shivering from the cold.
"Nicole?" Mr. Bennett uttered his wife's name aloud for the first time in years, making the insides his stomach turn and twist uncontrollably.
"Bonnie…Noah," Nicole responded back.
"I think you have something that belongs to us," Katherine said with a small smile. The five individuals stood there ground in front of the two dangerous women. The female vampire looked on at each respective couple after letting out a sarcastic cooing, especially after setting her sights on Stefan and Elena. Nicole on the other hand had her sights on Damon and Bonnie.
"I didn't want to believe it was you…but I should have known better," Noah said aloud to his ex-wife, giving a look of pure hatred. "You're not getting the Moonstone, Nikki."
"Silly Noah," the woman responded back with a smirk. "Even without the ability to fully harness your powers you still try so desperately to control every little thing I do." The older woman looked to her daughter next, tilting her head at the sight of Damon clutching her tightly. It was a sight that disgusted her so. "Damon Salvatore…I know someone who is desperately in need of killing you." The vampire looked on at the woman perplexed, not entirely sure if he had seen her before.
"Trying to psych me out is not going to work," Damon retorted back harshly, "So you either get out of our way and let us destroy this piece of rock…or I'll have to kill you and your hooded partner in crime. Regardless, I'm sure I'll result with the latter soon enough." At that moment Nicole narrowed her eyes and focused her offensive attack to the man who immediately fell to the ground in agonizing pain. The vampire soon grasped his head with his hands, screaming out in relentless pain with nothing but the frantic aid of Bonnie's covering his limp body.
"Stop it!" Bonnie screamed out at the woman. Nicole did not comply as she only increased the intensity of the pain in the vampire's head, causing his ears to begin bleeding from inside out. "Stop it, please!" The witch did not want to hurt her mother, however nor was she going to stand around crying while Damon screamed out in pain.
"What do you want?" Stefan hollered out at the red haired witch. Suddenly Nicole stopped using the infamous aneurism spell on Damon, forcing him to roll around on the ground in excruciating discomfort and pain.
"What I want is the Moonstone to fix a problem that I should have settled with years ago," Nicole responded back. "And I'm not leaving without it."
"Go to hell," Bonnie said through gritted teeth.
"Is that any way to speak to your mother?"
"You may have birthed me…but that does not make you my mother."
"Oh? Then what does it make me…an enemy?" Nicole took a step closer to the witch, prompting Stefan to stay on his guard should he have to attack.
"What happened to you?" Bonnie asked the woman, giving a look of disbelief. "You were never like this, not what I remember." The small smirk on Nicole's face slowly began to diminish as a more hurtful expression overlapped.
"I was never this way…not until that day your Grams decided that I should be punished for binding your father's powers. Since then I had no choice but to be the monster she made me into."
"…what did she do to you?"
"Practically turned me into a vampire is what she did." Everyone was silent as they stared at the woman in the thick darkness of the ever present night. "Your Grams was a clever thing, that woman. She always had a loophole for everything she did. Take the prospect of spell casting; who would have thought that with every spell I cast would drain me of my own life force ten times faster than any normal witch, increasing the chances of me dying." Noah was emotionless as he listened in on the woman's explanation. "I'm sure she figured I'd be dead by this point…but I have a couple of loopholes myself. Who knew that draining life from humans would be so easy yet so fun?"
"The dead bodies," Damon mustered aloud as he struggled to stand back up with Bonnie's assistance. "That's why they look the way they do - you drained them of their energy, of their life force. Like the corpse in the woods and that corpse by the well."
"You catch on quick, don't you?" The red head sneered. "Either way, with the Moonstone I can break this irritating curse off of me, even without the aid of a Bennett witch. Then, maybe if you all cooperate, I'll only kill Damon in the process."
"Don't forget our other deal," Katherine muttered aloud in which Nicole merely nodded her head.
"I'm surprised you didn't tell Nicole about your other deal, Katherine," Bonnie blurted out at the two women. The McCullough witch made a face as she went to look at Katherine who at that moment deliberately avoided making eye contact.
"What is she talking about, Kat?" Nicole asked.
"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Bonnie teased. "Apparently she and Mason were in cahoots with each other from the start, planning to take the Moonstone for themselves."
"That's a lie," Katherine urged rather forcefully.
"Is it?" The Bennett girl took a bold step forward. "I mean right before we killed Mason, he was all too willing to let us in on the location of the stone itself. Not to mention what we needed to do in order to obtain it."
"You don't know what you're talking about…Mason loves me unconditionally. He told me so himself yesterday."
"I thought you said you killed Mason days ago?" The old witch asked the curly haired vampire. "And what about Tyler…is he still roaming around?"
"Free as a dog," Damon chimed in which only caused Katherine's nostrils to flare in anger and her eyes to grow darker.
"I knew I should have tried harder to kill you Damon," Katherine said angrily. "Now we're all in danger."
The male vampire gave a confused looked before he saw Katherine being tossed to the side by an invisible force that Nicole conjured up. It wasn't long before the angered witch began to levitate off of the ground and stare down at the group below her.
"I've had enough play," she said in a shrill voice, the wind beginning to blow harder and more chill. "Give me the Moonstone and Bonnie…or all of you die where you stand."
"Elena, you and Mr. Bennett get out of here, now!" Stefan ordered the woman who was hesitant to move at all, but ultimately saw it best to comply with the demand. Stefan, Damon and Bonnie all stepped forward towards the levitated witch, ready to take her on. But from the corners of the woods, figures began to emerge from the darkness which caused Damon to smile amongst himself.
"It's about time," Damon said to a cautious looking Caroline who kept her eyes on the red haired witch.
"Sorry we're late," the blond vampire responded over the loud wind. "Alaric, Jeremy and I had to make sure that Tyler got on his bus safely without the possibility of Katherine interfering. Lucky for us she was here the whole time."
"Where is Jeremy?" Stefan asked.
"He's going to wait by the car with Elena and Mr. Bennett. Make sure their protected…don't worry, he's armed to the T."
"Then it's settled," Bonnie said aloud as she stood her ground with Damon, Stefan, Caroline, and Alaric - all in a straight line facing the red haired vampire.
"You're making a big mistake daughter," Nicole reminded the young witch, her hands beginning to glow a luminous orange color.
"I'm not your daughter anymore."
"You can't change the past, Bonnie!"
"But she can change the future," Damon interrupted, "and I will make sure that you're nowhere fucking in it..."
As you can all see, these chapters are getting longer and longer and longer...lol. But it's all been lead up to this. With the gang all together ready to take on Nicole, and Katherine knocked out cold, things could get pretty interesting. Lets see how this all turns out. Hope you all enjoyed this read of my longest post yet, peace :)