Not You Again

Chapter 28- Ugly Duckling

I was waiting in the living room for Damon to come back with the verdict when I noticed Elena and Stefan walking out to the terrace."Hi guys," I called out, partially because I wanted to see how Elena would react. Damon had told me that she was upset because Nathalie was favoring me over her and treating me better but I somehow didn't believe that. I didn't think Elena was that petty.

"Hi, Bonnie," Stefan called and Elena didn't even acknowledge me so I knew I had to talk to her. This wasn't the Elena I knew and loved. I had to know what was going on.

"Elena!" I called, before she could slide out of the door. She tore her sunglasses from her eyes and shot me a questioning look. "We need to talk," I told her.

Elena sighed and gestured to Stefan that she would be there before she walked over to me looking unenthusiastic. "Are you breaking up with me, Bonnie?" Elena asked, with the hint of a smile on her lips reminding me of the regular Elena. She pushed her sunglasses up so they were perched on top of her head and stood in front of me, waiting.

I rolled my eyes, "You wish. I just needed to talk to you because you've been acting weird all yesterday and today and you were just ignoring me…" I expressed, "And I was wondering if I did something wrong to hurt your feelings or something?" I shot her a curious look of my own.

Elena just stared, with an unfathomable expression on her face, at me for a second before she sighed again. "You didn't do anything, Bonnie," She said but I could sense a hint of acid in her voice once more.

I shot her an incredulous look, "Then what's wrong? Tell me, Elena. Even Stefan sensed that you've been acting alien. Like, are you feeling okay or did one of us do something?" I pressed. I was honestly getting pretty annoyed that I was going to have to drag this out of her. She was acting like such a prima donna.

When Elena didn't speak, I went on. "Damon says that you're upset that Nathalie is 'favoring' me or whatever," I tried, looking her straight in the eyes, measuring her reaction.

Her brown eyes flinched and she looked uncomfortable. Then she just gazed back at me, looking tired. "That's partially true," Her voice was quiet before she went on, almost hesitantly, "You probably won't understand because you've always been so lovable and everything but I feel that Nathalie and Damon and Stefan's family in general don't like me for some reason yet they love you and that hurts my feelings," She expressed, and I could feel the pain in her voice.

I sighed, "That is not true. They do like you, Elena," I insisted, even though I was just saying that. I didn't actually know if they did or not, I just felt that Nathalie was indeed a bit warmer to me than she was to Elena. But I'd never been lovable before Caroline and Damon came along and changed my personality for the better?

"Oh come off it, Bonnie," Elena looked irritated, as she folded her arms across her chest. "Nathalie adores you, always smiling at you and calling you darling or whatever crap and I'm just the freaking ugly duckling," She went on, "Even when I dropped the pregnancy bomb on her, she acted like it was the best thing ever-"

I interrupted her, irked at her words: "I did not appreciate that, Elena. You can't just go around divulging people's secrets. I didn't want anyone to know… Did you ever think about that?" I asked her, feeling a spark of anger towards the brunette standing in front of me.

Elena narrowed her eyes at me, "What? So you could go on soaking attention from Nathalie and pretending that you and Damon are Hollywood's 'It' couple? Were you afraid that my exposing your pregnancy would ruin that? Because, it didn't so you don't have any right to be mad at me," She shot back at me, running a hand through her smooth, chocolate colored hair.

I glared at her, "We were supposed to be friends. I can't believe you'd do something like that, Elena," I told her, "I know you're upset because apparently Nathalie favors me and she 'hates' you but this jealousy is driving us apart. We used to be best friends, Elena," I felt the hurt flood over me and Elena's eyes started to leak with crystal tears.

She slumped down onto the armchair, tears dripping from her eyes. "I just want Stefan's family to like me…Guiseppe never accepted me and Nathalie was never that nice and then you came along and Nathalie's welcoming you with open arms and God knows how Guiseppe feels but I feel like a failure as a wife to her son. I couldn't conceive a child with him and that makes me feel like crap but it was really rubbing it in my face when she kept on congratulating you and Damon and…" Elena was openly crying by now.

"But you're the one who told her about the pregnancy. And I thought that you were over the whole me being pregnant thing or so you said," I told her, my mind swimming with a hundred questions. I thought we were over this whole jealousy over me being pregnant thing. I guessed it had hurt her deeper than I thought and she wasn't able to let it go that easily. I understood why she was so wounded but what was I supposed to do about it? It wasn't my fault.

"I tried to be over it," She rubbed her red-rimmed eyes so viciously I thought she'd tear them out, "I tried so so hard… but I couldn't get over it. It's been nagging at me ever since I found out and the fact that I'll never make Nathalie like me because of the pregnancy thing kills me,"

"She does not hate you because you can't have a baby," I put in firmly, shooting her a disbelieving look. Because nobody could be that shallow or mean. But then again, I didn't really know Nathalie. Who knew what she was like behind all the smiles and hugs? It did seem a little bit unrealistic for someone to be so kind all of the time.

"She does," Elena insisted, and then she sighed, "But I was wrong about taking my anger and frustration out on you, Bonnie. You're right. We were tight in Harvard and we need to go back to being like that. It's not your fault that Nathalie favors you or that you're pregnant and…I'm not. I just need to get over things and stop being childish," She ran a hand through her hair and looked up at me through big, shiny brown eyes.

"You're not being childish, Elena. I know how much you want to be pregnant and be a mother and all that so I understand. I was just a little confused as to why you were acting weird but now I get it.." I trailed off, putting my arms around her. She hugged me back, and cried into my chest.

"Elena, you need to tell Stefan what you're feeling. He's concerned," I told her, a few seconds later.

Her watery eyes met my own, "I'm sick of bringing him down with me every single time. He deserves happiness and not me moping around all the time….sometimes, I wonder if he'd be better off without me," She spoke and I felt immediately very sorry for her.

I rubbed her back, "Don't ever say that. He's crazy about you, Elena. You need to communicate with him if you want this relationship to work. Tell him," I was saying when Damon rushed into the room, a slight smile on his face.

The smile disappeared as soon as he saw us."What's going on here?" He asked, a concerned look on his face. "Elena, are you okay?"

Elena looked up, sniffling and wiping her eyes. I offered her a tissue and she dabbed at her chestnut brown orbs. "Yes, I'm fine," She said, smiling and sounding more like her usual self. "I was just being silly and now I'm going for a walk with Stefan,"

"If you want, I can stay and we can hang out here," I suggested but Elena shook her head violently, shooting me a tiny smile.

"No! Go out for dinner and have fun. I'll see you when you get back," She assured me, and I leaned towards her, whispering, "Tell Stefan," into her ear.

She nodded once more, "I'm okay… I feel better now that I've let it all out," She insisted, before she hugged me one last time and hurried out of the door onto the terrace. I hoped she was going to tell all to her husband because he needed to know these things about her. I knew he was worried about how strange she was acting and he had the right to know what was going on with her.

I turned back towards Damon who shot me a questioning look.

"Baby drama," I responded, "That and you were right about the Nathalie thing,"

Damon looked like he understood. He stared at the terrace that Elena had just exited from. "But everything's cool between you guys now?" He asked.

"I guess. We've talked things out so I suppose things will get back to normal," I muttered, biting my lip and hoping that that was true and that things indeed would go back to how they were before we came here.

"That's great," Damon reached forward and nuzzled my neck, causing me to giggle.

"So did you ask Nathalie about the huge Lunch/Dinner dilemma?" I questioned , a second later.

"Yeah. She says we're leaving in an hour and to dress casual and bring a swimsuit," He told me.

"What?" I was surprised because I'd assumed we'd be going out to a fancy restaurant and not whatever Nathalie had planned. "Swimsuit?" I scrunched my eyebrows up, "I'm not sure I packed one,"

"Well then you can just swim in your birthday suit," Damon winked at me, "I'd like that much better anyway,"

I smacked his arm, "I'm sure Nathalie wouldn't approve. Or the other guests," I replied, rolling my eyes at his suggestion.

Damon laughed. "I think the male guests would and some of the females too," He grinned naughtily and I smacked him once more on the arm.

"Damon!"

"Fine, fine. You can't blame a guy for trying," He muttered, "I think there's a mall on the way, we can pick one up on our way there but we have to leave early though,"

"That's fine by me," I told him, "I just need to go and freshen up before we leave,"

Damon nodded, "Okay. I'll go tell Mother what we're doing and I'll be right behind you," He explained, hurrying back in the direction of her room. I chuckled because I'd never imagined that Damon was this much of a Mommy's boy. It was adorable.

I turned on my heel and started up the steps to my room, nodding at Michael and Jacob on the way. Once at my room, I opened the door and jumped down onto the bed for a few moments of rest. Sitting up, I decided to give Klaus a ring because I felt incredibly guilty about everything with Damon. I hadn't even been thinking about Klaus at all which came to show how much I loved him truly.

I picked up my phone and dialed Klaus's number but there was no reply. I felt kind of relieved as I stashed my phone back into my purse because I felt our conversation would be strained and awkward. Sure, I'd talk about Nathalie and Guiseppe and maybe the Elena drama but there was only so much I could tell him. There was way more that I had to hide from him.

I remembered my pregnancy meds as I was putting my phone back so I pulled them out of my purse and gulped them down with a glass of water that someone had so kindly left next on my bedside table. I needed to thank Jacob or Michael for that later.

Afterwards, I hurried into the bathroom and gave my face a refreshing wash before I touched up my make-up, smacking some more red lipstick onto my lips and then smoothing my lips together. I walked over to my wardrobe and searched for a swimsuit but as I suspected, I couldn't find one. I hadn't really expected that I'd use a swimsuit, so I hadn't packed my bikini or tankini.

I shut the wardrobe and trudged back to my purse, pondering whether to change my clothes or not before I decided to switch my red sun dress for a dressier navy blue one that hugged my curves and showed a little bit of cleavage. I fixed my make-up to match and slid on sparkly silver sandals before I brushed my hair so it tumbled in easy waves down my back, my natural look.

I heard a knock on the door so I hurried out with my purse and found Damon standing there, looking breathtaking in some dark jeans, a gray shirt and some black-mirror like Ray Bans on his eyes. I pulled them off so I could see his dazzling blue eyes and he looked down appreciatively at my outfit. "You look nice, Bonnie," He complimented.

"So do you," I returned the compliment, "I like your glasses," I handed them back to him and he slid them back over his crystal blue orbs. I liked him better without them but they were pretty cool, I had to admit.

"Yeah, I feel like sexy, danger guy in them," He chuckled and my breath caught in my chest.

"Sexy, danger guy suits you," I responded, sliding my purse onto my shoulder and closing the door behind us so we were chin to chin.

"It does, does it?" Damon whispered, his breath warm in my face.

I nodded, then slid by him towards the stairs. "Come on. We still need to stop by the mall for a swimsuit. Do you have yours?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I brought one just in case," He told me, "I have to warn you though…when I put it on; all eyes will be on me… just a pleasant warning,"

I rolled my eyes, "You're so full of it," I scoffed as we rushed down the stairs together.

"And you like it…" Damon trailed off, shooting me a suggestive look.

I didn't reply as we approached Nathalie who was standing by the door, waiting patiently. Her azure colored eyes lit up as she saw us and I made a mental note to talk to her about Elena if I remembered to see why she didn't like her or so Elena said.

"Mes cheries," She exclaimed, "You both look amazing. Did you find your swimsuit, Bonnie?"

I shook my head, "Damon says there's a mall on the way so maybe we can stop there. Or maybe I don't need a swimsuit, after all," I added, as I followed Nathalie and Damon out of the house.

"No, you need one," Nathalie grinned at me, "We're going to a special place. I doubt you've gone anywhere like it before,"

"I doubt it too. I've never gone to a place where you need to wear a swimsuit for dinner," I admitted, breezily.

"It's pretty awesome," Damon said, from beside me. He slid his arm around my shoulder and I left it there, liking the sense of security I felt because of his proximity. The sense that everything was okay and that nothing would ever hurt me while I was in his embrace.

"Have you been there before?" I asked, as Nathalie slid into the passenger seat of the car next to the Chauffeur while Damon and I got into the back.

"Yep, when I came to visit Stefan for his bachelor night, we went there, after the party," He explained and I tried to imagine such a place but my mind couldn't come up with an image. I guessed I'd just have to wait and see.

"But not everyone who goes there goes for a bachelor party. Some people just go to have a calm, peaceful night, or at least that's what I did last time," Nathalie said, pleasantly. She turned to the Chauffeur. "We'll stop at the mall before we reach 'Hacienda'," She ordered and the guy in the front seat nodded and started speeding down the road in the correct direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No way," I told Damon for about the hundredth time as he handed me a strip of cloth that was supposed to be a swimming suit. "I can find a swimsuit all by myself. I don't get why you couldn't just wait in the car,"

"I like swimsuit shopping and besides, if I leave you here alone you'll get some grannykini," Damon complained, putting the swimsuit he'd just offered me back on the rack with a huff.

I laughed, "Grannykini? Where do you come up with this stuff? Damon's dictionary of awesome words?" I asked, as I picked up a pretty gray tankini that had some flower patterns on it. I held it up to Damon, "What do you think?"

"In Damon's dictionary of awesome words, that would qualify as a Momkini," He teased, before he reached into the rack and pulled out a highlighter yellow bikini top and a multicolored bikini bottom that I had to admit was rather cute. I put back the 'momkini' and took the bikini Damon had offered me.

"That's not bad actually," I told him, as I checked the bra size, finding it incorrect and pulling out the right one. "It's a little bold but…"

"You need bold, Bonnie! You've been living on the bland side of life for TOO long. You need to take a dive off the deep end," He urged, "No pun intended,"

I giggled nonetheless and held it up. "I guess I'll take it then. I'm sick of playing it safe. And besides, I should work this bod before I get a baby bump,"

"It's one hot bod," Damon agreed, smirking up at me in that Damon way of his.

I blushed, "So let's go pay so we can get back to your Mom," I told him and Damon nodded.

"Fine," He said, and we started towards the check-out. "She really likes you, you know,"

"Who?"

"Mom. She told me so…She says that you're the most amazing girl I've ever dated," Damon informed me.

"We're not dating though," I put in.

"Yes, I know that," Damon told me, "But she admires the 'spark' in you,"

I handed my bikini to the salesperson who scanned it, "Did Aurelia not have a spark?" I asked, with a sly smile.

"I don't know why you're obsessed with Aurelia Robinson," Damon stated, raising his dark eyebrows.

"I'm just a little intimidated by how perfect she is," I admitted, as I handed the money over for my bikini. The salesperson handed me my item in a plastic bag and we walked out of the store together.

"Do you want to know something?" Damon asked, once we were outside the store.

"What?"

"She was always intimidated by you too, saying you were flawless,"


A/N: So here's chapter 28. Wow, I can't believe we've gotten this far. When I started this story, I never imagined I'd get so immersed in it. So much has changed from my original plan but this one, which has been edited by you guys, is WAY better than the first map I placed for the story.

Well, I just wanted to say that you guys ROCK! I can't believe the response I get to this story and I want to say that I read EVERY single review and appreciate it. I'm just too much of a lazyass to reply to every single one so I apologize….

Anyways, I'm going away for a week on Holiday but I will try to type some stuff up while I'm there and post it when I get back : )

I love y'all! Thanks for making me smile every single day : D

Lily

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. The characters are the sole property of L.J Smith and The CW.