A/N: I've been meaning to dedicate one of these chapters to my good friend Wowzersduh, I hope all is well or on the way to being well sweetie. This is for you. Enjoy everyone! This is a long one.
Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
Damon stared up at the ceiling searching for cracks, he told himself.
Bonnie rushed around throwing things left from right on her bed, pushing her curls behind her ears, spinning around and running into her Aunt, laughing nervously as she tried to pack her last remaining odds and ends. She could hear her father yelling from the first floor to hurry up so they could get on the road to Richmond before traffic hit.
"Coming, dad sheesh!" Bonnie replied then shrieked as she dashed into the bathroom. "I forgot to pack my makeup!"
He wasn't sure how long he lied in bed. Damon wasn't one to prolong starting his day in favor of being lazy. He wasn't a home body by any stretch of the word or imagination, but today he just couldn't find the motivation to leave his bed, to leave the house. Besides, staring up, unblinking, at the ceiling gave him plenty to do.
Aunt Vanessa zipped up Bonnie's rolling suitcase and sat it on the floor. "Do you have everything? Your dress is already packed in the truck. Do you have your shoes? Your gloves? The antique jewelry Aunt Bernie loaned you?"
Bonnie vigorously nodded her head as she shouldered her purse and grabbed her pea coat. She looked down at the check list in her hand. All pertinent items had been marked off. However there was one last remaining thing left for her to do. She stared at her cell phone wishing it would ring, wishing she could find the courage to text Damon and inquire one last time if he was coming or not. Intuition told her not to push. But this living in the darkness…she couldn't stand it.
"I'm ready," Bonnie said and then followed Aunt Vanessa out of her bedroom closing the door behind her.
The door to Damon's bedroom, however, flew open and Alaric Saltzman walked in. He sauntered over to Damon's bed and slapped the morning newspaper down on the immortal's chest.
"We have a problem."
Damon didn't move a muscle at first though his ire had been pricked with Alaric's sudden arrival into his abode. Slowly Damon came to a seated position on the bed, using the headboard for support as he picked up the newspaper eyeing it disinterestedly.
"What's wrong now, Ranger Ric?"
The high school history teacher planted his hands on his hips. "There's an interesting article on page seven. I'll save you the trouble of reading it because I know you're illiterate."
Damon smiled and flipped the pages of the newspaper regardless.
Ric continued. "We either have a very cocky or a very sloppy vampire on our hands. But a couple of college kids were attacked after leaving a party all suffering from major blood loss. One of them managed to give police a good description of the assailant. Said he was anywhere between five-nine to five-eleven in height with dark brown or reddish-brown hair, and grayish-green eyes. Sound like someone we know?"
Damon quickly read over the article, cursed softly under his breath as he threw the covers off his body. Alaric immediately looked away unsure if Damon would be wearing pants or not.
Once he was finished reading the article, Damon balled it up and pulled his lips back from his teeth. "My special needs brother," he grumbled already craving his first drink of the day.
"So you think Stefan was behind this?"
Damon flashed Alaric an annoyed look. "Who else could it be? After we were attacked by those wolves, and Bonnie gave Stefan her blood to heal his wounds, he went off his rocker. You saw that when he showed up at Elena's that same night. And instead of dealing with his issues like any other fucked up vampire, Brother Dearest decides to seek out an original vampire to compel him to forget his hunger."
"Hmm," Alaric considered, "so how do you think Stefan broke the compulsion if that's what's happened?"
Damon wasn't sure but he had firsthand knowledge that hunger could overpower almost everything. He headed into his bathroom and turned on the shower. Looks like he won't be loitering in bed for the rest of the day as he had planned. Pity, he was rather looking forward to developing bed sores.
Alaric watched as Damon buzzed around his bedroom. There was a question he wanted to ask the vampire but not at the risk of having his neck snapped. Yet he and Damon had established a rapport where they could tell one another the scathing truth and be brutally honest with each other.
"Sorry to bother you with this, but why aren't you on your way to Richmond?"
Damon halted in pulling out a black T-shirt from his extensive collection. He slammed the drawer shut with more force than necessary jostling the items on top of the dresser. He kept his back to Ric.
"Why would I be heading to Richmond?"
"Don't play dumb, Damon. You know what's happening in Richmond this weekend. I heard Elena talking to Bonnie this morning. She's being presented to society and last I checked you were going as one of her special guests. So why aren't you going?"
Damon didn't need to explain himself to anybody least of all him, and Alaric had better remember that.
He swiftly turned on his bare feet, shouldered past Ric and headed into the bathroom. "Unless you're sticking around to scrub my back I suggest you leave."
Shaking his head, Alaric ducked out of Bela Lugosi's bedroom.
Standing under the shower head, Damon didn't need any helpful albeit needless reminders to what this weekend symbolized. For months he had promised Bonnie that he would be there to witness her big night where she stopped being just a run-of-the-mill teenager though being a witch kind of catapulted her out of that category, into entering society as a respectable young woman ready to tackle on the world and incite change. She was already a pioneer in that regard, but it would be nice to see her being acknowledged for all she's done to help others. Besides, it would have given him an excuse to get out of Mystic Falls and walk around as arm candy for the night.
He hadn't seen her dress. Bonnie had wanted to keep that top secret until it was revealed the night of the cotillion. And a part of him did regret the fact he was still too bitter about her betrayal to be there for her, support her, and see her achieve something that had absolutely nothing to do with casting spells.
Damon's head butted against the glass wall. He missed her. He could stop lying to himself and say that her not being in his life, of not speaking to her everyday or seeing her, was driving him almost to the brink of destruction.
As a consequence to his thoughts he nearly scrubbed his skin off. His flesh was a bright pink when he stepped out of the shower and threw his clothes on. When he marched downstairs he wasn't totally surprised to see that Alaric had helped himself to his liquor. However, he was surprised but then instantly pissed off by the other occupant in the room.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Damon demanded venomously.
Sensing imminent danger, Alaric drained the rest of his whiskey and diplomatically left the house. "I'll catch you later, Damon. I do have classes to teach today."
The two Damon's eyed one another. The one with the blue-eyes was barely containing himself whereas the one with the dark eyes simply looked…light-eyes couldn't exactly name the emotion that was marring his face but it wasn't very pleasant.
Damon's face turned deadly. "Get the hell out of my house if you value what's left of your undead life."
"Look," dark-eyed Damon said tersely. "I don't like this situation anymore than you do, but…Bonnie is not at fault. Not entirely, anyways. I was the one to instigate what could have been an incredible night between us, but she stopped…"
"I heard all of this before," Damon bit out but then laughed humorlessly. "It's funny how she accused me of trying to turn her into a cheater when you two were together, but yet you would be the one to do so."
Dark-eyes stared down at his boots. "Be that as it may, she chose you, Damon."
"That supposed to make me feel better?"
Obsidian eyes stared at Damon—dubiously. "What more do you want from her? I didn't stop by to try to convince you to get over your hurt and forgive Bonnie. I could really give a shit if you do or don't. I just wanted you to know my part in turning her into something neither of us wanted. I love her, and I'll always love her, and I'm always going to fight for her, but it's you she wants."
The two Damon's glowered at one another.
Light-eyes spoke. "So does this mean you're finally giving her up?"
Dark-eyes sighed. "I gave up everything for her, and for what? So she can tell me she prefers someone else," he cleared his throat. "But her choice is what I'm going to have to live with."
"You didn't answer my question."
A corner of Damon's lips curled into a smile. "I can never give her up, but you needn't worry about me. For now."
A light breeze swept past light-eyed Damon and he stood alone in his living room.
Richmond, Virginia
Just three dances to get through, just three dances to get through, Bonnie repeated as a mantra in her head as she was laced into her gown. It was an exact replica of the dress Vivian Leigh wore in the movie Anna Karenina when she attended a Russian ball. The dress in the movie had been black, but since white was the color of the occasion, it was formatted to fit the cotillion's specifications. It swept off her shoulders, had a tight bodice that pulled her waist in and gave Bonnie a definite hourglass shape. The skirt was full with a two foot train. Bonnie felt like a Disney princess. Spiral curls adorned her head; her makeup was tasteful and timeless only hinting at sultriness. Three inch studded Mary-Jane pumps and over the elbow gloves completed her look.
One of Bonnie's cousins was busy snapping pictures. She tried to smile through her nerves and impending devastation because Bonnie just knew that Damon wasn't going to come. She had already been questioned several times about his absence and Bonnie wasn't in the mood to lie or make excuses for him. It was hard for Bonnie not to notice every time her father would sniff and/or grunt whenever someone brought Damon up.
Needless to say his opinion about the man-child, which wasn't all that great to begin with, was surely falling into the gutter.
"You're all done," Aunt Vanessa announced and stepped back to admire her handiwork. It had only taken three hours to transform Bonnie from her girl-next-door self into a young woman of dignity, regality, and grace.
Bonnie was turned to face the mirror. At first she didn't recognize herself. What was reflected back to her wasn't a somewhat introverted girl who preferred jeans over skirts and who used to love playing in the mud. No, what she saw was a young woman about to walk down the aisle on her wedding day.
The hotel suite had gone noticeably quiet and Bonnie turned away from her reflection to stare at the assortment of family members who had convened to celebrate with her. She smiled at them as the bottom of her eyes filled with tears she prayed wouldn't fall and ruin her makeup.
"Thank you," she said gratefully to Aunt Vanessa and embraced the older woman. "And thank you to everyone for being here with me on my big night. I just wish Grams was here, too" Bonnie added on a somber note, she added Damon to that list of people as well.
Thomas stepped up to his daughter, lifting her chin. "You look beautiful, baby. No matter what happens tonight, just know that I'm extremely proud of you, and so is your grandmother."
"Thanks, daddy," Bonnie swiped a finger under her eye.
Aunt Vanessa called for order. She grabbed Bonnie's hands. "You are about to embark on a journey that is going to transform your life, and that many of us have gone down throughout the generations. Embrace it and know that all of us gathered here, and even those of us who couldn't make it are so Godly proud of you, Bonnie. We love you, I love you. Knock 'em dead, girlfriend."
Applause, whistles, and cat calls filled the air and then a flux of activity took place as everyone wanted to snap photos of Bonnie out in the opulent lobby. She hung back for a minute.
"I need to make a quick phone call. I'll meet you all in the lobby."
"Your escort Josh is here," Melanie, one of Bonnie's cousins told her.
Bonnie nodded. All the debutantes were given appointed escorts or beaus as they were referred to. Bonnie's escort was a senior at private high school from Woodbridge, Virginia. He was sweet, smart, and very easy on the eyes, but he had a girlfriend. However, that didn't necessarily stop him from trying to flirt with Bonnie every opportunity he got. Bonnie waved at him and muttered to herself that he was rocking the hell out his all white Hugo Boss tuxedo.
The minute she was alone, Bonnie dug around in her purse for her cell. She had several text messages from her friends wishing her luck and congratulations. But her heart sank when she didn't spot a single message from the one person she had been dying to hear from since Thursday. It was now Saturday.
Sucking in a massive amount of air, Bonnie hit the speed dial button that would connect her to Damon's phone.
Standing still was impossible so Bonnie began to pace around the room, nibbling on her glove covered finger. To her dismay and disappointment he didn't pick up.
This is Damon. The bad news is I'm not available to take your call. The good news is I might return your call if I'm in the mood. Leave it, don't leave it, it's up to…
The corresponding beep sounded in her ear. Bonnie froze. She swiped her tongue over her gloss covered lip. "Hi, it's me…again. I should probably stop calling at this point and just wait for you to call me, but I really…I know its selfish of me to ask you to be here knowing I have no right…but if you're coming I'm going to leave your name with the maitre'd, and if not…" Bonnie sighed heavily, "I miss you, Damon. I really hope you come."
She hung up the phone feeling her throat tighten and her eyes swell with tears. Bonnie stared at her phone despondently for a moment before gripping it in her hand and leaving the hotel room to join her escort and family downstairs.
Damon pressed the END button on his phone after listening to Bonnie's message. The longing and hurt in her voice was palatable, and he tried with everything in him not to let it affect him.
He was losing.
He didn't need her victimized shit right now. If he showed up it would say what? That she still had power and authority over him? That she could still summon him with a single plea, look, snap of her fingers? That he still wanted to make her happy? Yet if he didn't show that would make him out to be the bad guy, the asshole. Nope, he wasn't falling for any of it.
Besides, he was busy. He needed to track down this victim who was able to give the police a pretty accurate description of his incompetent brother. This was a first for Damon, cleaning up Stefan's mess and he couldn't exactly relish it. As he thought about it, this wasn't his first time having to step in because Stefan went off the rails. He, Elena, and yes Bonnie had caught Stefan feeding on Amber at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. Bonnie had been the one to stop Stefan that night and then went along with the lie Damon told to Liz about them not seeing who or what attacked Amber.
That hadn't been Damon's first time seeing Stefan unadulterated and unhinged, but it brought back those memories of when they were first turned and Stefan quite literally was trying to turn himself into a walking billboard of vampire mischief. Damon had to leave because nothing he said or did could penetrate his brother's thick skull. And he had done so despite Stefan's pleas not to go because he didn't want to be without his brother.
It would appear they weren't moving at all but merely going around in circles. Repeating history no matter what they did to alter it.
Nevertheless that was all gray matter to Damon because he found himself listening to Bonnie's voice mail again.
People might accuse him of being dense and not seeing the fact that Bonnie, in her own misguided way, had lived up to the promise she made him. She told him that it would always be him.
Damon wanted to take that confession and run with it but part of him just couldn't accept her words at face value. She hurt him. Broke his heart. Plain and simple. Words were words and if they weren't followed up with a corresponding action then they meant nothing. Bonnie and everyone else could tell him until they were blue in the face that she loved him, but Damon had to look at her actions, and her actions said otherwise.
He slipped on his new leather jacket, grabbed his keys, and headed out the house. He had work to do.
Mt. Vernon, Virginia
Elijah made his way up the small incline marveling at the changing leaves on the trees, breathing in the crisp mountain air. There was a man standing on the precipice overlooking the forest. He didn't speak until he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Finn."
The older Original didn't spare Elijah a single look, not even one filled with contempt. "Say your peace and then leave."
Elijah sighed sadly. At one point his brother didn't used to be so serious or standoffish. There was a time where Finn's boisterous laughter actually had the power to shake the ground, but those days were long gone. He was a bitter, old fool who wanted everyone to suffer just because he was so damned unhappy.
"I'll get right to it then. You were working with the Martins and other witches to resurrect our mother…why, Finn?"
The vampire in question snorted derisively. "I've told you why. We're unnatural, Elijah. How many times and in how many languages am I going to have to say that to you in order for you to understand? And I see that you put Rebekah up to her old tricks. I know she was the one to rig the plane to explode once it became airborne," Finn snapped his head in Elijah's direction. "And don't try to deny it."
Elijah pulled his lips back from his teeth. "I gave her no such orders. Yet I wouldn't put it past her. Or Kol. Just answer me this, brother, why do you wish to condemn us all to death—permanently?"
Finn shook his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I would expect you of all people to understand my plight, Elijah. For what's the purpose in being immortal…living forever if you can't be with the one you love?"
Ah, ha Elijah thought yet he didn't speak a word, merely examined Finn's puckered and disappointed face that his ingenious plan to go behind the family's back and wake up their mother only to have her vanquish their entire existence—failed.
"You mean Sage?" Elijah asked rhetorically.
"Mother didn't approve of her and that may have been the one time I defied her. Sage was everything to me, but then…" Finn shook his head unable to deal with the gauntlet of emotions and memories assaulting him. He had wanted to make a life with Sage, but Esther had other plans for her oldest child and they didn't necessarily include matrimony and children. Though Finn did all he could to convince Esther that he belonged with Sage, the woman refused to budge, refused to give her blessing, and Finn couldn't operate without his mother's blessing.
Perhaps that's why he envied and hated his siblings. None of them cared if their parents approved of their chosen lifestyles or not. They did whatever they wanted and apologized to no one for it. Finn was bound by duty as being the elder, the heir, the firstborn. His life was what his parents said it was and that was the end of the discussion. There was no room for negotiation. So when Esther said that his dalliance with Sage had to come to an end, Finn had no choice but to let her go.
Only he couldn't and turned Sage. He thought she would hate him for what he did to her, but Sage had taken to the vampire lifestyle better than he did, had taken to it too good and it drove them apart. She had changed so much that she was barely recognizable to him.
So he mourned the woman he lost and despised his own weakness and inability to let her go, and had instead, condemned her. That's why he wanted to die. Because of what he did to Sage.
"We can't change the past," Elijah counseled Finn. "You can only move forward. And the thing you thought you may have lost forever, well there's only one way for you to find out."
Finn stared at Elijah suspiciously yet hissed when he felt another immortal approaching. Finn quickly spun around and then gawked.
Her red hair floated around her shoulders as her sparkling blue eyes warmed his cold, dead heart. Finn blinked once, a second, and third time still unable to process the woman he was seeing.
"Sage," he whispered her name like a prayer. He expected her to go mad and attack him but he was greeted with that beguiling smile that made him feel like a besotted page boy.
"Finn," Sage held open her arms and in less than a tenth of a second, she was swept off her feet.
Elijah observed them for a moment before leaving, giving them time alone. Hopefully Sage would be able to convince his brother he had something to live for.
Richmond, Virginia
Thomas Bennett bowed before his daughter once they took their places on the dance floor. The crooning voice of Sam Cooke belting out "Nothing Can Change This Love" streamed from the speakers as he led Bonnie though the father/daughter Viennese waltz. It was time to see what three months of rigorous practice under a Russian slave driver could do.
Flashing lights from digital cameras constantly snapped capturing every single moment as the evening unfolded. Several people, mainly women, dabbed their eyes and sniffled as they listened to the lyrics while they watched fathers dance with their daughters in the elegantly decorated conference room of the hotel.
Bonnie's concentration volleyed between her steps and the fact she desperately tried to peer out into the audience to see if she could spot a lily white face amongst so many different shades of brown. She kept her smile in place although on the inside she was wailing like a neglected child.
Once the song came to a close, Bonnie curtsied in her heavy dress towards her father as the crowd erupted into applause. Placing her hand on top of her father's Bonnie was led back to her table where her escort pulled out her chair.
They were preparing for another round of speeches from various prominent people in the Richmond African American community reminding them what an honor it was to represent their families in such a manner. Bonnie sat ramrod straight in her seat remembering those lovely etiquette lessons she had to endure. No elbows on the table, no slouching, don't talk with your mouth full, hold your glass by the stem, take dainty sips, and always remember to use the appropriate utensil for the right course.
A few of her table mates told racy and colorful jokes to keep everyone awake. Bonnie snickered into her napkin and then drew her attention back to the stage where the boy and girl who exceeded all expectations of the program were honored.
More clapping and fake smiling ensued. Now it was time for Bonnie and her escort to cut another jig on the dance floor for the first group number.
This time around Bonnie and the others would be doing a more Americanized waltz where a few lifts had been incorporated. Bonnie was mildly worried about being dropped only because the bodice of her dress was satin and Josh's hands turned sweaty when he was nervous.
She stood in front of him and waited for him to bow. Once he did, she curtsied and then they took their dance positions.
"Hold Your Dream" began playing and Bonnie was swept across the floor. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry but that stupid song always got to her because it was about believing in yourself and not giving up on your dreams.
It was exactly what she needed and didn't need to hear right now.
By the time it was over, she was thankful and bowed once again as a majority of the crowd stood on their feet.
This time around she only had to listen to one additional speech before the cotillion participants were dismissed to go change for the last and final group number of the night. Bonnie was exceptionally nervous because they would be performing a contemporary jazz routine.
Aunt Vanessa and Melanie helped Bonnie change out of her dress and into a specially designed pant suit. Bonnie carefully slid the top hat on her head taking care not to crush her curls in the process.
Of course her eyes journeyed to her cell phone and it didn't so much as light up while she changed. Resigning herself to the fact that Damon wasn't going to show, it was time for Bonnie to head back down and get the rest of the night over with.
And so she did. Dancing until all of her muscles felt like they were going to explode out of her body. Changing back into her dress; receiving her certificate of completion, sampling the delectable food that had been prepared by some of the best chefs money could buy; meeting her fellow debutantes' parents and making possible connections, smiling for pictures.
By the end of the exhausting yet wonderful night, Bonnie was rubbing her sore and stiff back ready to get out and stay out of her dress. Her party of seven persons followed her back to the two bedroom suite in a loud raucous to which she tried her best to participate but really her heart wasn't into it. She had been invited to an after party and though two of her cousins showed interest in attending, Bonnie just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep.
"Come on," Melanie whined. "You have to go. Everyone is expecting you to be there. Especially your escort but doesn't he have a girlfriend?"
Bonnie smiled as she took her earrings out. "He does which gives me all the more reason to stay in. She couldn't make it so he expects me to take up her slack."
"Well," Melanie hedged as she played with one of the decorative pillows that lined the queen sized bed. "Josh is easy enough on the eyes that you can pretend you're single."
Turning from the mirror, Bonnie propped a hand on her hip. "Mel, I'm not going there."
"Where's Damon, Bonnie?" Melanie watched as her cousin stiffened and turned back around to finish disrobing. "Has he called? I saw you checking your phone at least two dozen times tonight. And for months you wouldn't shut up about how excited you were for him to be here tonight. So, where is he?"
"He had to work. Couldn't get out of it."
Melanie pursed her lips. She was sure Damon didn't have a job and he didn't exactly look like the nine to five type either.
"Try again, boo. For someone who's been in nothing but fucked up relationships, I can tell when the honeymoon period is over and things are heading towards disaster. And Damon is your shadow. When you move, he moves. So him not being here says there's trouble in paradise. So…who messed up?"
Bonnie nibbled a corner of her lip. She dragged her carcass over to the bed and sat down in her underwear. "I did."
Melanie made a noise in the back of her throat. "Let me guess, with Damon's distant cousin from Italy that's really his twin?"
Bonnie nodded.
"I feel for you, girl. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the will power to tell him no neither."
"We didn't have sex," Bonnie was quick to refute.
"So…what happened? You got a lil freaky with one another…?"
"And I stopped it before anything could happen. Mel, I love Damon, my shadow," Bonnie added hastily. "Cheating on him was the absolute worst thing I could have done, but it just happened. We're…not in a good place right now, and I was hoping he would come tonight as a show that he's ready to patch things up, give me another chance, but I think I hurt him too bad and he's not going to forgive me."
Melanie eyed her cousin before scooting across the bed to sit beside her. She wrapped one arm over Bonnie's shoulders as their heads rested against each others.
"I've been cheated on and I've done my share of cheating, and yeah it sucks, and some people can never recover from that. But if it's the real deal, and something tells me that what you have with Damon is, he'll be able to forgive you one day. Because something tells me that him living without you is unacceptable. So let him be hurt and get all his frustrations out. And things aren't magically going to get better overnight simply because you want them to."
Bonnie sniffled. "I know that, Mel…and I keep telling myself it's only been three weeks, and to give it more time, but…everyday that passes I just feel like I'm losing him."
"You sound like you're ready to throw in the towel. Are you?"
Bonnie shook her head.
"Then you stay in there, Bonnie," Mel advised. "I know Damon's not your husband and everything, but if you honestly want to be with him, you're going to have to wait him out. I heard that it's hard for a man to accept the fact his girl stepped out because when a woman cheats she does so from an emotional standpoint. When a man cheats it's just about sex. I won't say I agree with that a hundred percent because listening to those women at the pleasure parties Aunt Dee throws, there are some sex-crazed hoochies in the world who simply love dick, the whole dick, and nothing but the dick, and that's all they want."
Bonnie chuckled and Melanie joined.
"And from what I've seen Damon loves you and needs you like I've never seen any man need or love a woman, and you shouldn't doubt that. Just give it time. Okay?"
Bonnie wiped at a lone tear that ran down her cheek. "Okay."
Mel pulled away and observed her cousin, "Get your cry out and then put on that party dress because we are going out tonight whether you want to or not."
"Mel," now it was Bonnie's turn to whine.
"I don't want to hear it. You might be going through relationship woes but that's no excuse to stop living. Change those clothes, girly before I summon my mama in here."
"Fine," Bonnie pouted.
Mystic Falls, Virginia
Stefan walked out of his private bathroom running a thick towel over his wet hair. He came to a stop when he saw something lying in the middle of his bed.
Picking up the newspaper, he quickly examined it before tossing it negligently aside.
"You have nothing to say about your handiwork?"
Rolling his eyes, Stefan put on his brooding face before turning to acknowledge his nosy brother. "You think I had something to do with that?"
Damon leaned against the doorframe with both muscled arms folded over his chest. "You tell me, brother. You have been going out more than usual."
Stefan ignored his accusation by shrugging and strolling over to his armoire to select a fresh shirt to throw on. Tonight he was forcing himself to make an appearance at the Gilbert's because yeah he had been a little sloppy and was too high on blood to properly compel the small retinue of college sophomore girls he decided to have a dinner party with. He had every intention of doing away with the one who blabbed to the police tonight.
"Don't worry," Damon said when the silence stretched thin like a comb over. "I took care of it. Cleaned up your mess like a big brother is supposed to do."
"So what do you want a cookie?" Snatching a flannel shirt out of the armoire and quickly slipping it on, Stefan glowered at Damon. "I had nothing to do with those girls being attacked and I wished you'd collect a little more evidence before accusing me of anything."
Damon smiled. "Enough with the lies, Stefan. Your ass has been binging. Deny it all you want but I know you like the back of my hand, and I will use the back of my hand to put you down if you blow our cover."
Stefan said nothing but sucked on his elongating canine.
Damon winked. "Tell the Gilbert's I said hello." He didn't make it down two steps before he heard his brother's voice.
"You want me to extend your greeting to Bonnie? She's supposed to be there."
A tick immediately began to pound in Damon's jaw. He said nothing as he made his way back to his room where he promptly slammed the door.
Finding his concentration was nearly impossible after hearing that tidbit of information. Damon tried reading. Tried immersing himself in the world of Real Housewives of whatever county, state, jurisdiction that aired non-stop on Bravo. He tried rearranging the furniture in his bedroom but only put things back where they were.
Sighing, Damon slapped his hands on his legs. "Fuck it," he said and was once again off.
Gilbert Residence
The sounds of laughter could be heard long before Damon pulled up alongside the curb of the Gilbert pad. He let the engine idle for a moment as he stared first at the house before bringing his cyan eyes to Bonnie's Prius. Killing the engine and the lights, he didn't immediately jump out of his vehicle. He weighed over his options of trying to sit through a night knowing that he was still very much pissed about what happened and his encounter with the other Damon earlier this weekend hadn't improved his attitude or lease on life. Still, there was a very tiny part of Damon, which he didn't want to acknowledge, was a little excited to see Bonnie. Mainly so he could rejoice in her pain that he never showed up to the cotillion even after giving his word that he would be there. But that feeling was instantly replaced with guilt and regret.
Of all the people he had broken his word to, Bonnie hadn't been one of those people. Constantly Damon told himself he no longer owed her any kind of allegiance. She quite literally almost slept with the enemy, and so for him to show up in support for something she was participating in almost made Damon feel as if he were excusing her behavior, letting her off the hook.
Yet deeper still he had to admit that it felt good she was putting in so much effort to win him back. No one had ever done that for him in this entire life: mortal or immortal. With the constant text messages, phone calls, leaving him the invitation, the leather jacket, Damon couldn't doubt that she loved him; however, he still had doubts that she was only doing it out of a sense of obligation.
Reaching for the bottle of wine sitting on the passenger seat, Damon climbed out of his car, and was standing on the Gilbert porch in a nanosecond. Since he had an all access pass to the house he could stroll in whenever the mood struck him, but tonight he decided to be decent and ring the doorbell.
Jenna answered and from her widened eyes it was clear to see he hadn't been expected.
"Ah…Damon…w-what are you doing here?"
The vampire in question held up the bottle. "I came bearing wine."
Jenna scratched the side of her head, quickly looked over her shoulder, before bringing her eyes back to him. "That's so sweet but now is kind of a bad time."
Damon visibly pouted. "Are you guys about to sacrifice a goat or something?"
Nervous laughter ensued from Jenna and she exhaled in relief when Elena joined her at the door. "Hey, Damon what are you doing here?"
Now he was getting impatient with the redundancy of that question, and was about two seconds from barricading his way inside. Why was he being treated like a pariah when he was the one who was cheated on?
"Look, I know she's here and if you think I showed up to cause trouble…you won't be entirely wrong but I do know how to behave myself. So what do you say? Let a friend in for old times sake."
Elena stared at him wordlessly for a moment before stepping aside. "All right," but then she grabbed him by the arm halting his forward progress. "She just got back from Richmond not even an hour ago so if you're planning on rubbing something in her face I suggest you check that at the door or leave."
Damon snatched his arm out of Elena's hold and strolled through the living room making his way to the kitchen.
The usual rascals were there: Alaric, Caroline, Jeremy, Stefan visibly trying not to eat anyone, but Bonnie was absent. Damon listened for a moment and heard her moving around upstairs, more specifically in Elena's bedroom.
He passed the bottle of wine over to Jenna before backtracking. "I need to go wash my hands." He was gone before anyone could suggest he use the kitchen sink.
Upstairs Bonnie rotated her neck and yawned. She really should have stayed home instead of agreeing to hang out once getting back into town. She and her cousins stayed out way too late Saturday night knowing they had to check out of the hotel by ten in the morning. They didn't get in until five a.m. which meant she got less than four hours of sleep. Once she made it back to her humble abode Bonnie dumped her bags and before she knew it, was on her way to Elena's to tell everyone how the cotillion went.
Truth of the matter was, she wanted to be alone yet at the same time she didn't.
Her eyes were burning and her limbs felt as if she had twenty pound weights attached to them. Her bed was calling and she desperately wanted to answer. But she merely splashed water on her face in a poor attempt to clear the sand out of her eyes and the fogginess from her brain. Drying her face, Bonnie stared at her reflection for a moment before opening the door and shutting off the bathroom light.
She nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw Damon sitting on Elena's bed.
The two feuding lovers stared at one another for what seemed like hours until Bonnie lowered her eyes to the floor, but then she got rid of her timidity and made eye contact with Damon again.
"Hi."
"Bonnie."
Back to that, she thought and took another step into the bedroom. "Didn't know you were coming."
Damon shrugged. "Didn't know I needed a special invite to visit a friend."
He raked his eyes over her and noticed her hair was in tight spiral curls and she had donned one of his old button down shirts that she paired with low rise jeans. As plain as she looked she was still beautiful to him. Damon cursed inside his head and looked away.
Bonnie was fully prepared to leave the room yet her feet were inexplicably glued to the floor. There was so much she wanted to say to him but couldn't find the words. Bonnie stared down at her attire and grimaced. Something told her to put a little more effort into her appearance but she opted to go with comfort. She felt homely, looked homely compared to Damon who resembled an air brushed model.
The tension between them was beginning to annoy him yet Damon felt it wasn't his job to alleviate it. This was all Bonnie's doing and if she was going to act weird around him, he had no problems throwing it right back at her.
"How was your weekend?" Bonnie asked lamely.
"I had a very good time reacquainting myself with who I used to be before I allowed myself to get tied down. I really have no idea why I was so pressed to be in a relationship. Too much duty and responsibility, but not only that putting your trust in someone only for them to stab you in the back. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" he glared at her.
Bonnie bobbed her head. "So this is how it's going to be? I'm going to be your punching bag? Okay fine. Let it out. Call me a conniving, manipulative bitch that doesn't deserve you. I'll whimper and plead my case and you'll brush me off and belittle me like you've learned to do so well in our earlier days. I'll remember that you are a cold, heartless bastard and you'll remember I'm a judgmental bitch who stood in the way of the girl you were really after and loved. We'll break up, make our friends uncomfortable every single time we're forced to be in a room together; but then there'll always be that undercurrent of lust between us that'll hiccup at the most inopportune times. We'll fight it, deny its existence until one day it boils over, and we give in."
The whole time Bonnie was talking she had been walking closer to Damon, holding him prisoner with her sharp and direct gaze rendering him immobile.
"We'll say it didn't mean anything, go about our business only for it to happen again, and again. Then it'll become a pattern: fuss, fight, and fuck."
Damon's dick twitched.
"You'll flirt with other women when you know I'm watching, and I'll accept dates from guys I could really care less about. You'll act hurt, betrayed, and possessive, and I'll be annoyed, irritated, yet also pleased that you still care, that you still want me. Yet we'll never say we want to be together because we're stubborn like that. That's how this is going to go, right Damon?"
She was standing right between his legs and if he lifted his hands he could touch the back of her thighs and draw her closer.
He stared up at Bonnie as if she were a queen and he was a peasant demanding he kiss her boots, and he was so close to giving in that he abruptly rose from the bed, pushing Bonnie away from him.
He kept his back to her as he tried to get his simmering blood under control.
"I'm not going anywhere, Damon. You can be mad at me, curse the day I was born, curse the day you fell in love with me, the day we fell in love with each other, attempt to push me away, but I can say this with confidence and then we can keep our contact with one another to the bare minimum," Bonnie approached him despite the fact he hadn't turned around to face her.
"You can't let me go. I'm in your blood, just like you're in mine."
Bonnie waited for Damon to deny her words, rebut them, but he didn't. She stepped away from him even though she wanted to lean forward and inhale his scent.
"Have a good night," Bonnie said with all sincerity.
Damon didn't move a muscle. He listened as Bonnie made her apologies for ending the night abruptly and promised everyone that they would see her in school the following day. He remained planted in Elena's bedroom as he heard Bonnie walk to her car, start the engine and drive off. Well, this didn't exactly go according to plan. The plan was to rattle her cage, make her uncomfortable and the complete and total opposite happened.
When enough time passed, Damon made his way downstairs where two vampires averted their eyes and everyone else stood around trying not to address the pink elephant in the room. Grabbing the bottle of wine he brought, Damon opened it, took a huge swallow, and then promptly left the Gilbert household.
He must have driven around for hours only to end up outside of Bonnie's. It was a little after midnight. He shouldn't be here, Damon repeatedly told himself but there were a key string of words Bonnie said that he hadn't been able to dislodge out of his brain.
Fuss, fight, and fuck.
If they never sat down and agreed to work on their relationship, Damon could very well see their love deteriorating to that. And he also didn't want to give credence to her claim that he couldn't let her go. The presumptuous strumpet; he could let her go anytime he pleased.
But with him standing next to her bed watching her sleep, it was apparent this little slip of a girl still had a very strong hold on him. The thought of Bonnie dating other guys did make the possessive jerk that resided inside of him come roaring to the surface. Just the implication she could move on made him…made him what? Damon asked himself. Made him see red? Made him reconsider being so hard on her that he inadvertently drove her away.
Bonnie rolled over in bed, facing him. She was a very heavy sleeper, he knew that. Yet that still made him stiffen with apprehension of being caught. His hand lifted to brush one of her curls off her cheek, but he let it fall back to his side.
Blowing air out of his lungs, Damon left.
Salvatore Boardinghouse
More time passed and nothing seemed to change, Damon thought as he slugged into his family home. Stefan was being shady and he would have to expose his crazy brother soon and do something about his blood issues. People around him were being stupid and petty for no gotdamn reason, and Damon just wanted a vacation from the joke that was his life.
He skittered to a stop when he saw there were rose petals leading from the front door, through the foyer, into the living room, all the way out to the patio. Curiosity was going to lead to his downfall one of these days, Damon admonished himself but that didn't stop him following the trail.
Once he made it out back he gulped as he eyed Bonnie dressed in a ball gown that immediately had him tumbling back in time to the late 1800's. Candles and blood red rose petals decorated the brick laid patio as she remained with her back to him, staring up at the sky.
Damon cleared his throat.
Bonnie turned around, the swish of her skirt making the only noise between them.
Seeing a full frontal view of her was the equivalent of being knocked stupid with an anvil. She was breathtaking.
"What are you doing here?" Damon questioned despite the frog clogging his throat. He disregarded the fact his blood was beginning to pump maddeningly through his body.
"Since you couldn't make it to the cotillion, and we didn't get the chance to have our one dance I figured why not make up for a missed opportunity."
Damon watched as Bonnie picked up a blazer, walked behind him and replaced his leather jacket with it. Once it was on she came to stand before him and buttoned his jacket. She stared up at him and then grabbed his hand pulling him farther out on the patio.
Damon urged himself to object and lie and claim to be too tired for her nonsense, but he couldn't. Bonnie was doing a bang up job of imbedding herself deeper into his heart that the only way to remove her would be through a transplant. If she really didn't love him, if she really didn't want to be with him then she wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble. Obligation only took a person so far or motivated them to do so much, and her actions tonight, her speeches and lectures could only add up to one thing:
She really did want to be with him.
Bonnie placed his left hand on her waist while she held his right. Music started playing and Damon caught Elena's scent. Should have known she had help.
"I know its kind of late to ask, but can I have this dance, Mr. Salvatore?"
Damon nodded his ascent. And took the lead.
There is something that I see
In the way you look at me
There's a smile, there's a truth in your eyes
But an unexpected way
On this unexpected day
Could it mean this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along
Their bodies which had been so tuned together moved as one unit across the patio. Bonnie stared boldly up into Damon's eyes hoping to convey that she didn't randomly pick this song, but that it was an inner reflection of how she felt about him and their love. His face; however, was nothing but stone.
It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along
There were times I ran to hide
Afraid to show the other side
Alone in the night without you
But now I know just who you are
And I know you hold my heart
Finally this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along
Damon spun Bonnie out and brought her close to his body again. He made sure to keep his face completely impassive. He couldn't very well let the cat out of the bag that this was the sweetest and also most romantic thing a woman had ever done for him. Things like this didn't happen to guys like him. Self-proclaimed bad boys with family issues. He didn't get asked to school dances, and no one ever stuffed a Valentine's in his desk at school. Maybe he was an insecure seventeen year old girl at heart, he thought sarcastically.
It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along
Over and over
I'm filled with emotion
Your love, it rushes through my veins
And I am filled
With the sweetest devotion
As I, I look into your perfect face
It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved
It is you I have loved
It is you I have loved all along
As much as Damon wanted to harden his heart like Ramses did against Moses, and resist her charm with every reinforced bone in his body, he couldn't stop his hand from cupping her cheek, nor his thumb from tracing her full bottom lip.
Her mouth twitched and Bonnie waited patiently for Damon to make a move. His eyes were dark and hooded. Damon's head lowered and Bonnie stood up on her toes to meet him halfway.
"I want to try," he said halting his progression.
Bonnie fell back and stared up at him curiously.
"I want to try to move past what happened, and get us back on track."
"Okay," Bonnie voiced quietly.
"Thank you for the dance, Miss Bennett. Goodnight," Damon kissed her forehead and then simply walked away.
Bonnie stared at him in disbelief before picking up her skirts and charging after him. She stomped loudly up the stairs and then ran down the hall to catch up to him.
But then her foot got caught in her skirt and she went tumbling to the ground. Damon spun around after hearing her undignified squeal and subsequent kissing of the floor. Bonnie rolled over laughing at her own folly.
"That's not exactly how I imagined this night panning out."
Damon approached and reached for her hands. He pulled her to her feet. Bonnie's cheeks were a bright red, and he tried his best not to laugh.
"Did you hurt yourself?" he asked and chuckled.
"Stop laughing at me," she couldn't contain her giggles. "I'm fine."
Both of them sobered and were unable to look away from one another. "I miss that," she said.
"What?"
"The sound of your laughter. I miss you so much, Damon." Bonnie stared at him and caught sight of his Adam's apple bobbing. Finally he lowered the concrete wall he was hiding behind and she saw nothing but raw emotion reflected through his eyes.
Tension descended on them drawing them closer together. They both noticed they were still holding hands. It was now or never.
"Come on," Damon motioned with his head and pulled her in the direction of his bedroom. Bonnie followed and then…
His door closed softly once they were inside.
Chapter end.
A/N: The song Bonnie and Damon were dancing to is called "It Is You" by Dana Glover just in case you were curious. And I wanted to end this chapter on a more light-hearted note, just like last chapter because if you can't laugh at yourself then you are the main person who should be laughing at yourself. Sorry there wasn't much Book Damon in these last few chapters, you will see more of him in upcoming chapters, but my focus has just been on TV Bamon. Things will come to a head with Ripper Stefan which I love him, and I'm adding an additional chapter to address Bonnie's power. I know in my last A/N that I said there were only three chapters left. I'm trying to pace things carefully and wrap up my loose ends so hopefully things don't appear rushed. I could have gone into more detail on the cotillion but then again, I could have left it out and given an honorable mention to it through Bonnie. I want to thank NYOFACE, once again for the insight into the cotillion world. And thank you to everyone for leaving me your thoughts and sticking with this monster of a story. Until next time, love you guys!
