A/N: Got a Tumblr. Rosegoldexiletumblrcom (insert dots accordingly)

Link in my profile also. Follow me.

Yep.

Chapter 36: Fire

It had been three days since the last time I'd seen Damon. It felt longer.

And while some part of me, a very small part, wanted to get on a high horse and focus on the fact that I'd achieved what I set out to do, the fact that the one person I wanted more than anything wouldn't even answer the phone trumped any triumph I could've felt. The sun outside was like a mockery to the rest of my feelings. I didn't feel like moving. I'd seen my dad off, he said he had some business to take care of in Boston and would be staying with my Aunt Janine.

At least that had gone right.

I tried everything to get Damon to talk to me. I showed up at his house, I tired summoning him to me. After awhile I had to accept that Damon was a direct person, someone who never left much to the imagination in terms of what they wanted. When he wanted to see me I was the only thing he saw. If he didn't want me to see him, he may as well not exist.

The first day went as expected. I woke up with my head groggy and my body hurting. My powers were exhausted and my stomach hurt. It was the equivalent to having a hangover only I don't think lights flickered and sinks turned on by themselves whenever you had one. I spent the whole morning turning off sinks, closing cabinets and anything else that came undone whenever I passed by it. Getting my magic under control was a task, one that had me in and out of reality all day. I didn't hear anything from Damon.

The second day my magic was calmer, due to lots of meditation, but my emotions were all over the place. Damon was an asshole for not talking to me. I was a bitch for hurting him. Caroline needed to mind her own goddamn business. She was my best friend and I loved her. If Damon loved me, he'd show up and we could talk about it. If I loved him, I would've never done what I did. It wasn't the first time I'd ever been alone, I could go back to it easily. I missed him so much, I ached for him.

Fuck him.

I missed him.

Let him go.

I love him.

He should've understood.

I should've trusted him.

You needed to do it for yourself.

No. I needed him.

The third day I cried. I missed Damon so much I could barely get out of bed. Going to school was out. Getting dressed was out. Practicing magic was out. All I wanted was my boyfriend, if he was even that anymore. There was so much emotion inside of me, it was crippling. I couldn't figure out if it were him or me. His last words to me about me showing him what I really thought had been so wrong and so right that I was questioning everything. My Grams always told me that if two people close to you but have nothing to do with each other tell you the same thing about yourself, maybe it's time for you to listen.

Caroline and Damon had both said the same thing in different ways, but the message was clear.

And even though I thought it had nothing to do with trust, apparently to them it had everything to do with it. I didn't trust Caroline to be my friend. I didn't trust Damon to have my best interest. While I felt Caroline was reaching a little bit, if I third person myself and look at the argument for what it was, I could get it.

School wasn't any better, not where Caroline was concerned. She spoke generally and really didn't look at me. Elena tried to usher me in on conversations and Caroline suddenly had to go get flyers for some event I hadn't been paying attention to. When Elena asked what happened between us, I didn't have an answer for her.

I avoided Jeremy altogether.

But one thing Caroline said that resonated so deep with me was that there was one person, even if I hadn't told her, I was keeping my relationship from. Elena and Caroline may have put me on the backburner a lot of times, but Matt never had. He wasn't like Caroline's exes that only put up with me because I came with the package. Sometimes, when Elena was dancing or off talking to friends at a party, Matt and I would sit for hours and just crack up. He'd never kept anything from me, even when he knew Elena didn't love him, he'd told me.

The situation with Caroline had put me on edge. Now my earlier thoughts of Matt's reaction to what I was going to tell him had taken a turn for the worst. He'd give me the disappointed look. I'd be stupid to him. I would be another girl who fell susceptible to a vampire's charms.

I was still going to be honest with him.

When I texted him to meet me in an empty History classroom, he told me to give him a few minutes. As I sat at a desk in the front of the class, I stared at Damon's name in my phone. I wanted to call him, more than anything I wanted to hear his voice. My finger hovered over the green button, I pressed it softly. I heard the first ring and panic shot through my body. Matt came into the room and closed the door behind him.

I hung up.

"You know the last girl that asked me to talk to her in an empty classroom broke up with me at a party the next day." Matt said. "You aren't breaking up with me are you?"

I looked down. "Actually you might break up with me."

Matt sat in the desk beside me, pushing it closer to me. "Not likely."

I sighed. "I have something to tell you."

He nodded. "Before you do, I want to scratch some options off the list."

I looked at him. "Okay…"

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

"No."

"Gay? Because that's okay if you are. You'll have to explain it to me, but it's okay."

I felt like laughing and crying. "I'm not gay."

He looked at me really serious. "Is this the part where you tell me that you like a guy and want to have sex with him, but when you do you want to be good at it? And the only way for you to be good at it is if you get practice and you don't want to ask Jeremy because he has feelings for you and the only person you-"

"Matt, Matt, Matt!" I stopped him, actually giggling this time. "This isn't the Infernal Plan."

"You read that?" he asked.

"I was on Harry Potter fanfiction before it was cool."

"It was never not cool."

"When do you have time to read it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "During Spanish."

I shook my head. "You're priceless Matt Donovan."

"And we've gotten off subject, Bonnie Bennett."

I let out a deep breath. "Have you ever had something happen to you that…maybe you don't understand it, but it's something you didn't know you were waiting for?"

"That sounds really confusing." He smiled.

"It's very confusing." I said. "What I'm saying is…have you ever found yourself in a situation you never thought you'd be in, but you loved it? Like it's something you can't get away from. Something you don't want to."

He thought about it. "Elena."

I nodded. "You told me once you'd love me no matter what I did."

"And I still stand by that."

"You promise?"

"I've never broken one to you yet."

I closed my eyes. "I'm in love with Damon."

My eyes stayed closed for a few more seconds, and when I opened them, Matt had a shocked look on his face. I thought I was going to start going hyperventilating or something, but one thing Caroline's visit prepared me for today was numbing myself. Damon had killed Matt's sister and ruined his life in more ways than one. All I could do was trust him.

"That's unexpected." He said.

"Tell me about it."

"I figured something was up." Matt went on. "You were too upset about Damon being taken. Hell Stefan wasn't even that bent out of shape."

We sat in more silence.

"Is that what took so long with Jeremy?"

I nodded. "That and he's getting relationship tips from Anna."

"He's what?!"

I told him what I saw.

Matt shook his head. "Guess that worked out then."

I pushed my luck. "Why aren't you angry?"

He looked at me. "Why would I be?"

"You and Damon don't exactly have the best history."

"Which is why we aren't dating. That and I'm straight."

"He killed your sister."

"He's also saved my life." He said. "I went back and forth with it in my head and I came to my own conclusions about it. None of which have anything to do with you."

I shook my head. "I kept this from you."

"Given the circumstances, I could see why you would."

He was being too nice. He was supposed to be yelling. "Why aren't you yelling at me?"

"I'm right next to you, there's no need to yell."

"You're handling this too well."

"How am I supposed to handle it?"

"Caroline and I screamed at each other."

"Explain."

I did.

He shook his head. "She's not mad you didn't tell her, she's mad you didn't trust her to be your friend. She said that."

"I got that, but-"

"Do you?" he asked. "Because you're trying to do the same thing to me, now. You took away our options as your friends. We didn't even get to feel anything, or at least she didn't. You know how upfront Caroline is. Keeping something from her, no matter the size, is treason. She's the only girl I know who gets mad when you throw her a surprise party she doesn't know about."

"It wasn't something I intentionally did. I was with him and that's what it was. I didn't really think about what it would do to you guys."

"Granted, but I can see where Caroline's coming from. All of us have done something our friends didn't approve of or didn't think was a good decision. But we all face each other and have it out because we're friends and respect the other one. You applied Caroline's judgment and my history with Damon and used it to keep yourself away from us. What did you think was going to happen when you told us? Not once in anything that you just told me about you and Caroline yesterday, did she tell you to break up with him. I'm not going to either."

I stopped breathing.

"I think that," he went on. "I think that everyone puts this pressure on you to be the voice of reason or to come through in a clutch. I think that above that, it's one of the things you value the most about who you are. Do I like that you're dating Damon? I think you can do better, but it's not my place to like or dislike it. I'd be a hypocrite to yell at you for dating Damon and Elena's dating Stefan."

Well lately, that's up for debate.

"You're who I care about. You're the one I trust. If Damon Salvatore is the guy you want then honestly nothing I can say or do is going to stop you from being with him. I'm not going to stop loving or being friends with you because you do something that doesn't affect me. The only thing I'm upset about right now is that you took yourself through unnecessary bullshit."

"I'm sorry." I said, looking at him.

"Don't be sorry, Bonnie, just be you. Everyone else around here is doing it, why are you the only one still trying to please everyone?"

I asked the obvious. "So you don't hate me?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, I don't hate you. I think you have weird taste, but you never understood why I liked bologna."

"You don't like it fried." I said. "Fried is the only way you can eat it."

"Don't judge my religion." He said.

I pushed my hair back. "I love you."

"I love you too. Do what makes you happy. As long as you aren't hurting yourself or anyone else, that's all you can do."

The sense of normalcy that set in after telling Matt was so sudden, it was almost jarring. He hadn't yelled at me. He didn't care that I was dating Damon. He only cared about me. On one hand I could understand it, but on the other hand…I don't know. It was all so weird for me.

"Although," Matt said. "I do want to be there when you tell Elena."

I rolled my eyes. "I want to be there when I tell Elena."

Matt reached over and hugged me. "If she pays attention as much as she thinks she does, she's already figured it out."

We both looked at each other and shook our heads.

"She doesn't have a clue."

"Not at all."

By the time the last bell rang and school let out, I decided I'd give Caroline her space. I sent her a text message telling her that I respected everything she felt and said, and that whenever she was ready we could talk. Throughout the day, Matt pieced together bits of information that he'd otherwise missed.

"When you and Damon left after you saved him," he asked. "Where did you go?"

"The boarding house."

"What happened there?"

"That's a great color on you." I said randomly point at his shirt.

"Sweet Jesus." Was all he said.

When I got home I felt better, but I wasn't a hundred percent by a long shot. Honestly I don't even think I was fifty. I trudged up the stairs and flopped down on my bed, staring at the ceiling of my room. It was weird that it'd always been mine and filled with memories, but now that Damon wasn't here it felt foreign. My pale green walls and dark wood bed frame reminded me of the woods. The woods reminded me of him. He wasn't here.

"I need to redecorate." I said to myself.

As I looked around my room, I noticed that for the first time since the Damon situation that I was actually aware enough to examine the events of the past couple of days. Jonas was dead, heart ripped out and neck snapped although it wasn't needed. I didn't doubt the Originals knew. I now knew what my purpose was for the summer solstice.

The spell Jonas described to me sounded extreme to say the least, but if I had to examine the situation, I could see the logic in it. Having awakened my magic, the very magic I was trying to keep down right now, I was powerful enough to do the spell. Actually, the way I felt in tune with everything, I felt like I could do the spell twice.

I tried not to think about it.

The main thing for me was keeping myself protected. My father was gone, which made things a lot easier for me, but my friends were still weaknesses. If Elena or Caroline got snatched, I'd surrender in a heartbeat and I knew it. Hoping they could keep themselves out of trouble was useless. I didn't have more acacia pedals to cast the protection spell with, and damn if I couldn't-

A horn honked outside.

Normally I wouldn't have paid attention to it, accept it was so close and loud. I got up and went downstairs slowly, remembering the last few visitors I'd had at my house. I summoned my magic and had to force some of it back down. I wanted to defend myself, not blow the front half of my house away.

The horn honked again. I jumped. The vase on the end table shattered.

I sighed and braced myself. I walked to the door and jerked it open.

Damon was sitting in his car with the passenger door open, staring straight ahead. His sunglasses were on, his face was blank, Trent Reznor's voice blared through the speakers. I stood there shocked as I tried to grasp the scene in front of me. I hadn't seen him in three days and here he was looking like a fifties teenage dream.

He pressed down hard on the horn.

The door closed and locked itself as I stepped out of it, walking slowly towards what I was sure was bad news. He'd come here to tell me that it was over. I'd get in his passenger seat and wouldn't be able to close the door before he stopped me and told me he didn't want to see me anymore. He was sick of me and my bullshit. He was going to travel the world and I could have a great life. It was great while it lasted or something like that.

I stopped outside of the car and stood there. If I didn't get in he couldn't do any of those things.

Damon turned down the music. "Get in the car."

It was the first time I'd heard his voice in what felt like forever. God, I'd missed him.

I looked in the backseat and saw my bags, the ones he'd packed for me a whole lifetime ago. I could see Melissa's spellbook in the backseat as well, sitting on top of his own bag. I fought to keep from smiling, telling myself it wasn't what I thought it was. Whatever it was gave me enough optimism to get into the car and close the door. Damon took off at mach speed.

The music was back up before I could say anything, driving that wedge between us. I could feel Damon in my head, but the only thing I could get out of it was that he didn't want to talk. I'd been expecting to listen to Nine Inch Nails the whole ride, but instead I heard other bands as well. Some I knew, some I didn't. Damon's lips moved to the words and my eyes followed them. Sitting next to him was a gift and a curse. I was in the one place I wanted with the one person I wanted, but I may as well have been alone. It was bittersweet to say the least.

I want to say it got better, but it didn't. I didn't realize how much I liked Damon's comments and conversation until I didn't have them anymore. The ride went on forever, I was alarmingly aware of everything. I was caught between bored and anxious. I opened my mouth to say something and closed it. I repeated the action eight more times. I fidgeted. I changed positions in my seat.

Damon kept singing along.

Charm City appeared in the distance, all lights since the sun was down, and I couldn't decide if I was happy to be there or relieved to be approaching some kind of end result. Being on the highway with Damon showed me just how much I needed to fix things. The silent treatment couldn't go on any longer. I was in the wrong and I needed to apologize. When he'd hurt me, he did what he had to. I turned down his music.

"I'm sorry." I said softly as he turned a corner. "I shouldn't have done that to you. I shouldn't have done any of it."

Silence.

I went on nervously. "I was just…I saw my father try to kill himself. I felt like I had to do something."

Nothing.

"And going to Jonas was probably the dumbest thing I could've done. He had answers, but I never considered a trap or anything. I should've talked to you about what I was feeling. I love you and I'm so sorry, Damon." It all came out rushed.

Quiet.

"Damon, I-" I reached for him.

He pulled away.

I didn't try anymore after that.

By the time we got to Roman's, I felt like crawling in a hole and hiding for the rest of my life. Damon wasn't talking to me, he didn't want to talk to me, and it didn't seem like anything was changing that. The magic in the air didn't faze me anymore. Charm City was amazing and everything, especially since the sun was down, but I couldn't get into it. On the elevator, I took deep breaths to keep from breaking down. In the hall, I tried to think happier thoughts. None of it worked.

When we got to Roman's place he wasn't there, but Damon had a key. He let us in and went to the back with our bags. I sat on the couch in the living room and tried not to think about the last time I'd been on it. So much had changed since then. I'd been conflicted and timid and unsure. Damon and I had sort of leapt into everything. It was one of the best times in my life, second only to losing my virginity.

Damon came out from the back and headed for the door. "Be ready at nine."

I looked at my phone. It was six thirty. "Okay. Where are you go-"

The door closed, cutting off my question.

I blinked and exhaled.

In the back I wandered into the guest room and saw the outfit Damon had put on the bed for me. It was a black, faux leather, cutout mini dress with black heels resting beside it. I laid down on the bed beside it and ran my fingers over the dress. It was cute, I'd give him that, though I don't remember Roman getting it for me the last time I was here. Actually, I didn't remember a lot of what Roman got for me the last time I was here, but I didn't focus on it.

Damon hated me.

As dramatic as it sounded, it was the only thing I could come up with. If it was one thing Elena had told me got under Damon's skin it was being played. Going behind his back was actually a surefire way for disaster to come in, and it wasn't necessarily from Damon. The last time Stefan and Elena had done it, things had gotten out of hand. I don't know what I'd been thinking.

In a life where a sibling forces you into vampirism, a lover lies to you and loves your brother, and you do the best you can for the people you don't always hate, the last thing Damon needed was another person he couldn't trust. There was this overwhelming sadness that crept over me, crippling me and causing tears to fall. I didn't want to shower or do my hair or put on some skin tight dress. I didn't want the heels or whatever nightlife we were getting into.

You know I've had a long list of people fuck me over, Bonnie.

I felt like shit.

This shit you pulled tonight showed me just how much you think of me and everything I try to do for you.

By the time nine rolled around I was showered, hair flat ironed, and dressed in what had to be the miniest of dresses. As a matter of fact, it was probably just as short as the mini skirt I wore the last time. I remember when my legs being out like this used to bother me, but now I couldn't care less. My heels clicked on the floor of the bathroom as I put on the dangling silver earrings. I'd cried in the shower, hated myself, and pulled myself together in the span of an hour. The lights flickered with my emotions and the sink turned on whenever I felt like crying.

Inhale. Exhale. You'll be fine.

When I stepped out of the bathroom there was a pink haired vampire dressed in a black mesh shirt and leather pants. He smiled when he saw me.

"If I told you my first instinct was to kidnap you and take you far far away, what would you say?"

"Give me an hour to cast a mass memory spell on Mystic Falls and you have a deal."

"Fuck, I've missed you." He sped over to me.

And I was twirling. Roman may have been as thin as a rail, but the vampire strength was still there. I laughed in his ear as he held me and for a second, just one, I felt a hundred percent again. His mood was contagious.

He put me down. "You don't smell like innocence anymore."

"It's the mango body wash."

He shook his head. "I only smell fire."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Never." He winked and looked me over. "Give the boy a task and he excels."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Damon picked out your dress." Roman said. "I told him to make sure you looked amazing."

"Given how mad he is at me, I'm surprised this is what I got."

"Damon's always mad." Roman replied. "It's a rule. He can't be that good looking and be a happy person. The world would collapse on itself."

I gave a small smile. "I screwed up big this time."

Roman shrugged. "You're talking to a guy who once killed a human and his friends because he stood me up."

I stared in shock.

"I was waiting for two hours. Bastard could've called."

"His friends?" I asked.

"My humanity was off."

I found myself shrugging too.

"What'd you do to piss him off?" Roman smiled. "Ask him to wear something other than black and a scowl."

"He smirks sometimes."

"When he's an asshole or someone's naked."

I sighed. "I lied to him."

"He lies to everyone given the circumstance."

"I went behind his back."

"He doesn't tell anyone anything."

"I cast a spell on him so he would fall asleep while I stole his car and drove to see the witch who tried to kill him."

Roman stared at me for a second, then he burst out laughing.

I shifted uncomfortably and continued. "My sleeping spell didn't work. He found me, killed the witch, and avoided me for three days."

"I'll be damned." Roman said, his laughter never faltering. "Leave it to you to do it."

I was confused. "What did I do?"

"You pulled a bloody Damon on Damon Salvatore!" Roman said with a chuckle. "What you just described is classic him."

"Why do I feel like you're not taking this as serious as I am?"

"Well I smoked about fifteen minutes before I ran here, if that counts for anything." Roman said. "But the other thing is that it's just fucking gold."

I shook my head. "He's pissed, Roman."

"He should be!" Roman exclaimed through giggles. "Damon's snapped every neck he's ever come into contact with at some point or another. He had it coming."

I shook my head. "It's not funny."

"Oh I agree, it's very serious." Roman nodded emphatically. "But I think he's more upset that it was you more so than what you did."

"I figured that much." I said, looking off.

"Don't you go pouting." Roman said. "That dress isn't made for it. What you did was wrong, yes, but Damon didn't expect something from you and you did it. You one upped Damon fucking Salvatore. The last person who did that with no other consequence outside of his anger was Katherine."

My heart fell to the bottom of my feet. "That wasn't the best comparison."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Roman said. "You're a million times better and infinitely prettier. Like I told you last time, love, Damon isn't mad at you. He's hurt, if anything. Another life lesson you should take with you wherever you go. Mad, nor any variation of it, never lasts this long. Someone can enrage you and elate you in the same instant, but pain is something that takes time. The sting, especially from someone close, doesn't ever fade as quickly as we'd like. I know you're new to it all, but I thought you knew that."

"I knew I hurt him." I said. "I know what hurt is, he's hurt me."

"Granted, but Damon's is a lot more…you said it yourself he has internalization issues. Why are you surprised?"

"I'm not, I just…" I folded my arms. "I love him. I miss him."

Roman smiled. "Finally happened, I see."

"A lot's happened." I confessed.

"I'll let you in on something. Sensitive people, like our lover, don't ever actually blame the people who hurt them, they blame themselves. Tell me, what was the last thing Damon said to you before he stopped talking to you?"

" But this shit you pulled tonight showed me just how much you think of me and everything I try to do for you." I said softly.

"Which really translates to 'I thought I was doing everything right' and sends him on the path to self loathing."

"Damon told me once I shouldn't blame myself for someone else's actions." I said.

"Because he's the king of it." Roman replied smoothly. "You told me Katherine wasn't in the tomb. I didn't need to be anywhere near that afterthought of a town to know exactly how he took that. When I met Damon, he was always trying to come first. He'd been in competition with his brother. The girl he loved lied to him. Not to mention when she came back, I'm assuming it wasn't everything he thought it'd be. After awhile he, much like anyone else, stops looking at the things happening and starts looking at the person it happens to. Damon isn't seeing what you did, he's seeing all the reasons why you felt like you had to do it. Some of them come from you. Most of them don't."

My vision blurred from tears. I fought them off. "I apologized. I tried to. I told him I loved him. That I shouldn't have done that."

Roman pulled me close and looked me right in the eye. "You can't apologize for someone's insecurities."

And just like that, I got it.

Caroline's anger at me wasn't because I was with Damon, and even though she said it was because I didn't treat her like a friend, it had still confused me. With that being said, everything Roman had said made perfect sense. Caroline was hurt because I'd focused on a negative quality and showed her what I really thought about her. I treated her like a garden variety gossip instead of the friend I'd known all my life. I had never really seen gossiping as an insecurity for Caroline, but I guess if the right person points it out, it becomes one.

Damon was something else entirely.

He had given me everything and I still hadn't trusted him. I'd made him feel just as inadequate as everyone else had. I'd given him every right not to talk to me, every reason in the book to never want to do it again. I'd hurt him in so many ways from one extreme lapse of judgment and shown him the same mirror everyone else held up to him.

I really wasn't any better than Katherine.

Roman sighed. "You don't particularly feel like going out anymore do you?"

"Not really, no."

He looked down, then brightened. "Tough shit, we've got things to do!"

I want to say that I had time to stay shrouded in my feelings, but things like that didn't happen with Roman. As we walked, anytime I felt the urge to cry it was immediately whisked away by something random that he said.

"So what's sex like with Damon?"

I stopped walking. "Roman!"

"What?" he stuck out his bottom lip. "I'll never get the chance."

"I shouldn't find it cute that you're upset about that."

He kicked a can on the street and shoved his hands in his pockets.

I shook my head and smiled. "It's not like I have much to compare it to."

"You know if you've had bad sex." Roman said.

"How? I mean, not saying that I have, but how?"

"Well, you instantly start realizing all the things you could've been doing other than that." Roman said. "Doing the dishes, cleaning your room, swallowing vervain."

I covered my face and shook my head.

Roman led me into an alleyway, the dark kind that screamed "mug me", and went up to a door I would've missed if I hadn't been paying attention. The fact that I almost missed a steel door that was clearly in plain sight bothered me. Roman smiled and knocked on the door twice, then three more times.

"Secret knock?" I asked.

"This place isn't for humans." Roman said. "Well, unless they come with a vampire or witch."

"So I take it this isn't like the rave we went to?"

Roman shrugged. "It has a dance floor, but it's not as fun."

The door opened and we went inside.

Roman and I walked into a small lounge are that he led me past until we got to a flight of stairs. Once we got up those, we were in a much bigger room with a dance floor filled with people, but I could immediately see what he meant by it not being as fun. The music was okay, but it was just louder versions of what you already heard on the radio. The people were dressed in dressier clothing, which made me appreciate Roman's mesh top even more.

The room itself, despite the dance floor, was even bigger than what I thought. There were sections above the floor roped off with people dressed even fancier sitting in them. As we made our way up there, I noticed the people weren't humans, but vampires and witches. The glasses held red liquid, the bottles floated. Some of the women looked me over and a vampire hooked his finger at me and winked.

I kept walking.

Roman walked us over to a section where a man was waiting. He had dark blonde hair in a neat haircut, navy blue suit, and brown eyes that lit up the second he saw Roman. Although physicallythe man looked about five years older than Roman, I knew better. What surprised me the most was that he was human, despite the fact Roman said one couldn't get in here without some form of the supernatural.

When I looked to the left, I saw how he got in.

Damon was sitting in the corner dressed in all black, but honestly he didn't need to wear anything else. The suit he was wearing was one of those GQ numbers with the tailored blazer and pants made just for him. The slim tie did wonders for the whole look and the loafers he was wearing brought the whole things full circle. His skin gleamed even in the dimness of the club. His hair was perfect and messy at the same time.

His smile broadened at the girl sitting next to him.

Pretty, blonde, blue cocktail dress. Legs long as the eye could see and sky high heels. Her hand rested just above his knee and she threw her head back when she laughed. She leaned in whenever she had something to say to Damon, his lips moved slow when he replied.

He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw me.

He went back to the conversation.

"Bonnie," Roman said my name, pulling me out of it. "This is Daniel Craven, Professor of Mythology at the University of Baltimore."

I looked at the man and tried to pay attention. "Nice to meet you."

He nodded. "I've never met a Bennett witch before."

"I didn't I was somebody to meet." I said honestly.

Roman shook his head. "Those legs and she still doesn't get it."

Daniel smiled. "Part of the research I do is geared towards witch bloodlines. The Arch Witch funds the research so that we can find more witches and bring them into the city. The last Bennett witch I'd contacted was a Shelia Bennett."

"My grandmother." I smiled hearing her name.

The blonde laughed again.

The lights flickered.

Daniel looked ecstatic. "I would love to sit down with you two! It's been years since I've sat down with two women of a line that goes back millennia."

"Grams passed awhile back." I said and I stopped him when his eyes got soft. "It's fine."

Damon and the blonde laughed again.

"Damon," Roman said, head snapping in their direction. "Who's your loud friend?"

We all looked at them. Daniel made introductions.

"This is Adrianna Grange." He said, moving over to her and taking her hand. "She's a friend of mine I met while studying the interlocking covens in Charm City."

Roman didn't look fazed. Neither did I.

"Adrianna, this is Roman and Bonnie. They're Damon's friends."

She smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you both."

"Likewise." Roman said.

I didn't say anything.

Instead I looked at Damon. "This where you sped off to?"

He shrugged. "Someone had to get David in."

As if the bitch in the dress couldn't have done it. "That was nice of you."

"I do what I can."

Daniel asked us all to sit.

I glared at Damon, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he went back to engaging Adrianna in further conversation. Her hand went back to his knee and he let her put it there, although this time I felt something shift through the bond.

My magic flared with my emotions.

Daniel was talking about something and for the life of me I couldn't pay attention to it. Was this what Damon had ditched me for earlier? Was this his idea of showing me what I'd done? Granted I'd done something screwed up myself, but it had never gone this far. The fucking nerve of him letting her touch him like that, especially in front of me.

The music in the club switched and the speakers boomed. Suddenly I couldn't hear anything Daniel was saying and from the look on his face he didn't want to keep talking anymore. Actually, from the way he grabbed Roman and shouted "I love this song" I could tell the conversation was over. Roman stood up with Daniel and let him move him to the floor, but not before he looked at me.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'll be fine."

Roman glared at Damon, who promptly ignored him, and went onto the dance floor.

Adriana waved a hand the music got lower inside of the section we were in. when I looked out at the club, everything was still in full swing. The lights flashed. People danced. I could see Roman and Daniel dancing on the floor. I tried to focus on something else other than my boyfriend flirting with some bitch across from me.

"So what brings you to Charm City?" She asked Damon.

He smiled, the winning kind that touched his eyes. "Roman's my friend, I'm visiting."

"Just visiting?" she said. "That's unfortunate."

What would be unfortunate would be me hexing this bitch bald.

And she wasn't the only one. I understood Damon being mad at me, but this was low even for him. Considering the fact that he'd gotten pissed off at Elena and snapped Jeremy's neck, that was saying something. I sent thoughts and everything through the familiar bond at him. I still got nothing. He didn't even flinch. My patience was waning.

"Not really," he said. "A lot can get done in a visit."

She smiled back. "Is that so? And what all do you plan on getting done here?"

Damon's smile went to a smirk. "I like to see sights. There's a lot to explore here. I never get to see all of Charm City when I'm here."

"Maybe I should show you all of it." Adriana said.

"Maybe you should."

I was up and out of the section so fast, a breeze went with me.

Every section I passed, something shattered. Glasses, bottles, light bulbs. A witch was knocked backwards out of my path and a vampire fell to the floor in pain. My magic was feeding on my anger and basking in my pain. My vision got sharper then returned to normal. My hearing increased then went deaf. Everything was pulsing, there was so much going on. I wanted out. I needed to leave.

Roman was coming towards me. I blocked him from getting closer.

I saw an exit sign and moved towards it. I moved through the crowd fluidly, using the beat and the poorly coordinated witches in front of me to guide me. I sidestepped a drunk witch and waved my hand, sending one flying out of my way. A witch tried to grab me and jerked his hand back in pain. My tears were streaming down my face in burning rivulets. I'd had it.

I was done.

I pushed through the exit and stumbled into a dark alley. A trashcan exploded to my right as I passed it, heading towards the street. Damon and I were over, I could see that now. All of the anger I felt, all of the sadness I felt, all of it was for nothing. He'd made his choice and now the both of us were sticking with it. I didn't want to find out anything else about the originals, not here anyway. I was the witch. I was the one with the magic. If getting rid of them required it, I would do it alone.

The street was getting closer. I had about ten more-

I was grabbed and snatched upward in the same second. There was a blur, the sound of me gasping, and suddenly I was closer to the sky than I was a second ago. By the time I processed that I was on a roof, Damon was stepping away from me.

He shook his head and chuckled. "You know the funny thing about you, Bonnie? You fuck up and this is still my fault."

I watched him as he raked his fingers through his hair and tried to get a handle on himself. My magic was pounding through me. From the veins and color of his eyes, it was pounding through him too.

"You lie to me," he went on. "You use magic on me, you go behind my back and still somehow, I'm the fucking bad guy. I'm the one feeling guilty. You get to walk away, you get to decide what you aren't going to do anymore. Fuck you!"

"No fuck you!" I screamed. The wind picked up and whipped my hair at my face. "I apologized, I tried to talk to you, I did everything and you pull this? I don't want to hear it. I'm not going to. Get me the hell off this roof or I swear-"

"You did this!" He screamed at me. "You fucked up, you did this to us!"

"So you get back at me by flirting with someone else?" I shot back. "I can accept a consequence Damon, and I can accept the fact that I screwed up, but I won't accept is punishment!"

"You punished me for a week and a half. You shut me out, you blocked me off and so what? Just because I'm in your face doing the same shit you did to me, that makes you a fucking saint?"

"I never did-"

"The day I summoned you outside, before you got home." he cut me off. "I followed you after school. You went to Elena's and went right up to Jeremy!"

"That was nothing!" the wind howled. "I didn't do anything with him. I didn't make him any promises, I didn't throw myself at him. I didn't do anything but try not to think about you!"

"And what the fuck do you think I'm doing? All of this moping and anger and shit! Half of it's not even mine!"

I'd been wondering if he could feel me through the bond. I had my answer.

"You don't get to act innocent here!" He continued.

"I never said I was! I know what I did, Damon, but the difference between me and you is what I did wasn't to spite you. It had nothing to do with you-"

"It had everything to do with me! I told you I would help you figure something out. I told you to trust me and you said you did. Instead you went behind my back to the same asshole that kept me in a goddamn room for days and tortured me. You could trust him for an answer, but you couldn't trust me. You trusted an enemy before you trusted me."

"I never trusted Jonas!" I shouted. "And let's not get away from the shit you pulled tonight! That's all you came to Charm City for? You've got things to do?"

Damon's face settled into this look. "At least I was honest."

I shook my head and turned on my heel.

By the time I'd found a spell that would possibly get me down, Damon was in front of me, crushing his lips on mine. I shoved him away from me and tried to slap him. He knocked my hands out of the way and kissed me again. The way his mouth moved against mine, frenzied and rough, I felt myself being consumed. I raised my hands to push him away from me, but somehow ended up ripping his blazer open. He slung it off without breaking the kiss and reached behind me, tearing the zipper of the dress.

He was still dressed.

I swiped at his shirt and it flung open, magically. Damon moved fast and my back was against something solid. His face buried into my neck as he growled and ripped away my underwear, tearing it down my leg and tossing it somewhere. I felt his hand between us and heard the clink of his belt hit the roof. He positioned himself between my thighs, entering me fast and hard.

Damon had one arm around my waist and the other one against the wall as he thrust into me, the both of us moaning. My ankles locked around him and I bit my lip, trying to keep myself together. Damon's tongue touched my neck at the same time he went deeper and I lost all sense of myself. It had been so long since I'd had him. I regretted and thanked everything at the same time.

I picked the most random time to remember something.

I opened the bond between us and gave him access to my mind. Damon told me once it was great during sex and there was no time like the present to try it. He slid to his haunches and grabbed my hips, lifting me and sliding me down until I caught his rhythm. I'd never been on top before, but I caught onto it quick. Damon pushed up whenever came down and caught my breath every time he did. His eyes were still black, fangs lowered, but I could feel the pleasure he was feeling and he could feel mine. I could feel my magic bouncing between us, bringing us closer.

He pressed his forehead to mine as I rode him, trapping my lip between his teeth and holding me close to him. We were both nothing but hips now, him thrusting and me rotating. I dug my fingers into his hair as we went from hard and fast to slow and meaningful. I could feel his touch get softer as his fingers trailed up my back and he kissed me along my jaw line. In his mind I could feel that he liked me riding him, even though he knew I never had before. I pushed at his shoulders for him to lay back. When he did, I gripped them and braced my knees on either side of him.

I tossed my head back and moaned, letting the pleasure creep over my skin. He reached up and tore away my bra, leaving me completely naked except for my shoes. His hands went up to my breasts and I remembered the morning in Roman's room he asked me to sit on top of him. If I had known then, this was what he had in mind I'd have done it sooner.

His hands went to my hips, he rubbed them in soft circles.

And I could feel the pleasure building in a way I never had before. I didn't know if it was the new position or that our minds were linked, but everything was so much more intense. I could feel it building in him too, the fire the both of us were making. My eyes opened and I watched his go from black to the blue I loved. His hands touched me like he missed me. In his mind I could see that he did.

I came moaning into the sky above, tingling and exploding on top of Damon. A few seconds later so did he.

I closed the bond between us, pulling my magic back into myself. I was sweating and naked and naked and I felt amazing. There was this second of sitting on top of him where I didn't know what would happen next. The wind had more chill to it up here suddenly. The fire between us had died down some. The both of us were breathing heavily.

I said the only words I could think of. "I'm sorry."

He stared at me and trailed his thumb over my lip. "Me too."

"I shouldn't have done that to you. I won't do it again."

"What's her face in the club meant nothing."

"I…" I said nervously. "I'm still yours if you want me."

"I don't remember a break up." he said softly.

I bit my lip. "Do you forgive me?"

"Don't make me regret it." He smirked, I could feel the sincerity through the bond.

He was kissing me again, softly. It was then that I realized that all we'd done lately was fight. I didn't want to do it anymore. I had way more useful things to do with him than fight. I had way more ideas of ways I could get him yell.

"I love you." I said against his lips.

He pulled me closer and kissed me deeper, exploring my mouth with his tongue.

"Show me." he said.

I did.

A/N: Finally, a happy ending. I feel kind of…well, let me know what you think.

I realized that they fought a lot. I hate when Bamon has serious fights. It's like nooo, you guys are so perfect together, stop it.

A lot has happened. Not really, but still.

The first is that after this chapter, things are going to get real again. The next chapter is an action chapter, and…well…it's two surprises happening. And I'm sure, if you're still with the story, that you'll love it when you see it.

The next chapter is also going to give a hint as to what bonnie has to do for the Summer Solstice and, if you pay attention to it, how she may or may not get rid of the Originals. I can't wait for this to happen, the explanation is going to be killer.

Was that sex scene hot or not?

I tried to get directly to the drama, and mainly this chapter was an eye opener for Bonnie in the sense that just because she has a lot of her friends and loved ones figured out, she can still be kind of oblivious to what's going on around her. Being smart and observant doesn't mean things don't fall through the cracks.

Judgey, Judgey, Bonnie B.

Also, I have a tumblr now. It's RoseGoldExiletumblrcom (Insert the dots accordingly)

Follow me, I'll follow back. It's shit now, I know, but I'm hoping it'll give you guys a chance to talk to me more directly than to have to hear through Lapis (who has been a MAJOR HELP) every so often. Usher me into the bamon tumblr community kthanks.

I'm super stoked for Coil. That moment when I find out just what the hell is going to happen kicked in yesterday. Hot damn it's gonna be sweet.

You're not reading Coil? You can't sit with us.

Okay you can, but seriously read it.

I read somewhere that a girl named Tracey was going through something and so while I don't know her and she probably doesn't read this story, I dedicate this to her. I hope more than anything you're okay, and if you are, I'm glad you are. I mean it. Bamon shippers are family. You guys are like that one cousin you never see until family reunions and the only one you talk to the entire time.

You know the one.

Love you guys!

Read, review, review, review