Next chapter up! Thanks for following along this story with me. It still isn't completed, but I have the ending in sight. Haha! Have fun in the chaos that is the Elena-Damon-Bonnie triangle. :0
In Damon's car, Elena held tight to his hand, tracing the length of his fingers with her free ones. The silent engine revved as Damon passed a slow driver, the force pressing Elena further into the leather seat.
"I'm not mad at you, you know," she began in an understanding tone.
Damon glanced over at her, and sighed heavily, "Elena—"
"No," she continued, "I know that you're struggling, and I don't want to make it any harder on you. So, it's ok. You were scared for her. We all were. Sometimes, emotions get the best of us. I get it."
Damon shook his head as he glanced at her again. She noted the guilt in his stare. "Elena," he began again, "don't do that. Don't make excuses. It's not ok. You're not ok…"
Elena swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'm trying to be."
"Why?"
The lump in her throat swelled then, choking her up as tears began to stream down her face, "Because what choice do I have?! I don't want to be that person! I don't want to be jealous and insecure every time Bonnie walks into the room or you walk out of it!" She paused, sniffling as she cried softly. Taking two fingers, she swiped from the inner corners of her eyes outward, careful not to smear her makeup. "I just…" she went on, lowering her voice, "I want you to be with me. I want you to pick me!"
The trees lining the side of the road grew closer as Damon pulled off to the shoulder of the highway, losing sight of the truck holding the shaken girl he couldn't seem to tear from his brain. Meredith's SUV passed them and she sped forward, keeping track of the truck the way she knew Damon would want someone too. As much as he hated to admit it, Meredith knew him a little too well, and he knew that she knew he still didn't trust Eric. Letting out a small breath he unknowingly held, he set his sights on Elena and felt guiltier than he ever had.
"Elena, I'm sorry for causing you so much pain. I'm trying to give you what you need. I'm trying so damn hard!" his constrained voice wavered.
"I know!" Elena shouted, crying into her hands, "I'm trying to be patient. It's just so hard!"
Damon turned his entire body to face her, "I know, princess. I'm so sorry. I don't mean to put you through this! I'll get better at this, just—please don't give up on me…"
Elena dried the tears lingering on her face as she looked to Damon, twisting her body to face his. She had never heard him so low, at such a loss. She had never heard him beg. She didn't like it. Taking his agonized face into her hands, she attempted to sooth it, running her fingers along the length of his hair gently, "I'm not going anywhere."
Catching her hand in his, Damon turned his mouth into its palm and kissed. Leaning further over the console, Elena met him halfway and pressed her lips against his. She moaned softly as Damon held the back of her head tightly, securing her lips to his like she might disappear at any second. Elena ran her fingers through his thick locks, reveling in the feelings of pleasure he brought out in her as he kissed her breathless. But some tiny inkling in the back of her brain wouldn't stop flashing images of the way he had kissed Bonnie so easily, so naturally only moments ago.
Walking into the house, Elena's hand intertwined with his, he tensed as his eyes landed on Bonnie, cuddled up into Eric's side on the couch. Meredith walked in from the kitchen, holding her new obsession, a charcuterie board with fruits and cheeses stacked up in a pretty display. Damon rolled his eyes at her as she proudly set the board down on the coffee table in front of Bonnie and Eric.
She plopped down on the opposite couch and looked up at Elena and Damon, "You two ok? I saw you stop back there."
Elena squeezed Damon's hand tight, "Yeah, we're good."
Damon let Elena's hand go and she excitedly ran over to the charcuterie board, stealing a grape and chewing on it behind a satisfied smile. She slumped down next to Meredith and reached for another grape. The sharp-eyed brunette's hand came down onto Elena's, smacking it.
"I made this for the wounded one, not you!" Meredith stuck her tongue out at Elena, who spitefully took another grape and popped it into her mouth. The olive-skinned girl couldn't stop the smile that spread on her lips, and she rolled her eyes as she, too, reached for a grape.
Damon took a seat in the velvet armchair fit for a king and turned towards Bonnie. Eric's icy eyes glanced over to him uneasily and Damon wondered what they had talked about on the way home.
Reaching out to the redhead, he pulled out some gauze and medical pads he had snatched from the bathroom so fast that no one had noticed his departure, "Can I redo your bandages? That EMT clearly had no idea what they were doing."
With a quick gulp of the grape she was chewing on, Bonnie hesitated for just a second as she deliberated what the action might look like to Eric. But Damon was only trying to help her. It was harmless, she decided as she placed her hand in Damon's, admiring how large his hand was in comparison to hers. Damon pulled her gently over as she stood from the couch, supporting part of her weight with zero effort as she leaned into his hold. Limping closer, Damon casually pulled her down onto his lap and Bonnie tried to hide the enormous blush that blossomed on her cheeks. Inwardly, she panicked, wondering if Eric was going to freak out and praying that Elena wouldn't yell at her. She didn't dare peak at either of them. So she settled on Meredith, who gave her a warning look. And she knew she better be careful; whether or not they were making it known with drifting glances, Damon had put them under Eric and Elena's microscope.
Reaching around her, Damon began working quickly with gentle fingers as he unwrapped the gauze around Bonnie's wrist and examined the swollen skin.
"When I hit the car in front of me, it kinda jolted me forwards and my hand slipped from the wheel. My wrist hit the dash and bent in." she explained, trying to get everyone's attention off of the fact that Damon had her in his lap.
"I'm sorry that happened, Bonnie." Elena said and Bonnie found the courage to look at her. Surprise rose in her as she noted the look in Elena's eyes was not angry or solemn, but kind and genuine. Bonnie smiled at her friend, thankful for her understanding.
"I'm glad I could be there for you." Eric said across from Elena. Bonnie's gaze darted to his to find it, not upset or jealous, but honest and caring. Briefly, she wondered how she had gotten so lucky. But as her eyes fell back onto Meredith's she knew not to let her guard down.
"I'm glad you were there." She smiled sweetly.
Their locked eyes broke as Damon's hands went down to the leg of her sprained ankle and tugged it upwards. She yelped, falling backwards into him. Damon ignored her, resituating her sideways in his lap and propping her foot up onto the chair's arm. The girls giggled at Bonnie as Damon stayed focused, quickly working his ways on the second bandage. Eric tried to keep the smile on his face as he watched this man he just met take care of the girl he had no business touching.
With a perfectly dressed ankle, Bonnie thanked Damon as he helped her stand from his lap. Eric took over as she limped closer, holding her steady as she sat back down beside him.
"Where's the bathroom?" Eric asked her. Bonnie twisted around, pointing behind them down a lengthy hallway.
"It's through there, around the corner. It'll be the third door on your right." She answered with a sweet smile.
As Eric headed for the bathroom, she turned back to the room slowly filling with some sort of unsettling tension. Everyone was silent except for the crunching of fresh grapes by Elena and Meredith.
Meredith swallowed her grape quickly and scooted to the edge of her seat. "So," she began looking around at each one of them, "differences aside, can we all agree that Bonnie needs to be healed?"
Her green orbs lingered on Elena, gaze faltering as it fell solemnly to her lap. Meredith's sights settled on Damon then, looking troubled as he furrowed his dark brow. Eyes passing over Bonnie, she noticed the pink in her cheeks glowing bright.
"You're right, Meredith" Elena began, shocking the room.
"She is?!" Bonnie nearly choked as she snapped her head up towards Elena.
"I don't want to see you limping around for weeks when you could be better tomorrow. So yes, I agree with Meredith on this one," the blonde beauty replied confidently.
"No! Absolutely not!" Damon interjected, and all heads snapped in his direction. "I'm the one that will have to do this, so it's my decision to make, not any of yours. So, no. It's out of the question."
"You want to leave her all banged up?!" Meredith exclaimed incredulously, sticking a flattened hand out towards Bonnie.
"Of course not!" Damon growled at the brunette digging into his last nerve.
"Then why—"
"Because it's not that easy, Meredith!" Damon cut her off with a stern stare in her direction. "This may shock you, but humans don't handle ingesting blood well. And just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean my blood magically tastes like a three-layer cake."
Meredith's face went serious as her usual, quick-witted comebacks hid in the muted sections of her brain.
"Often times, people spit it back out, they gag, they vomit. They just can't keep it down long enough for it to work. The human body rejects it." Damon continued.
"Well why don't you just give her a little and see?" Elena jumped in.
Damon sighed and slumped back into his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"It's ok, Damon," came Bonnie's soft voice, "you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
Damon groaned inwardly and let his head fall to the right, turning obsidian orbs on her, "What do you want me to do?"
Bonnie shrugged, "I'd like to try. Not having to limp around would be nice."
"Then it's settled. You'll give her blood later. End of discussion." Elena snapped, popping another grape into her mouth and letting her back hit the sofa cushions. As she pulverized the grape between her teeth, she huffed through her nose, beating the jealousy within herself down. This was for Bonnie's health, nothing more. Nothing more.
Eric's footsteps startled the group from their supernatural subject and they collectively dropped it. The girls reached forward, grabbing fruits and cheese cubes from the charcuterie board as the dirty blonde boy waltzed back into the room. Sitting down stiffly next to Bonnie, he remained silent, sensing the awkwardness in the room.
"What kind of pizza do you like, Eric? On me." Meredith pulled her cellphone from her pocket and gave him a big smile, sensing his tension.
Eric smiled goofily, "Um, the works!"
"You got it!" Meredith answered, clicking away on her phone's screen. Elena and Bonnie gave their orders next.
After the large pizza boxes were dropped off the tension in the house had eased quite a bit as everyone talked and laughed with one another. Meredith walked into the living room, holding a stack of four cardboard pizza boxes and sat it down in the center of the coffee table where the charcuterie board had been earlier.
The girls dug in alongside Eric as Damon looked on, studying the scene, overanalyzing the situation at hand. He couldn't figure out why Elena had pushed him to heal Bonnie. What was she trying to prove? He pondered, staring off into the distance, drowning out the light conversation.
"You don't like pizza?" Eric's scratchy voice tore him from his thoughts in the most vexing way possible.
Damon slowly turned to the intruder casually eating free pizza in his house, a slow smirk spread across his lips, "Not my thing."
"Are you like, vegetarian or something?" Eric asked casually, attempting to make conversation.
Bonnie gulped, biting harder into her pizza as her wide orbs darted back and forth between Damon and the oblivious boy playing with incognito fire.
Damon laughed heartily, "I couldn't be further from it."
"Ah, so you're one of those protein enthusiasts. You seem like a gym type of guy." Eric said, trying his best to understand the mysterious man that the cute redhead had an unfortunate bond with.
Damon's smirk never waned as he looked over the pathetic blonde shoving pizza into his mouth like he hadn't seen food in months. What did Bonnie really see in this guy?
"Right, well, enough about me. Tell me about you. Bonnie barely talks about you, but somehow I feel like we've met before," Damon grinned, flashing his human teeth that somehow looked more ominous than his fangs in that moment.
Bonnie glared at him. Damon glanced over at her, the sinful smirk never leaving his lips as he winked, sending unwanted sparks throughout her body.
Eric gave a short laugh that sounded more like a snort, "Ironic. Because I only learned today that you two knew each other better than I thought."
"Is that so?" Damon faked surprise, causing Bonnie to slide deeper into her seat. "Pray tell, what did Miss McCullough have to say?"
Eric looked over to Bonnie, crunched up in her seat and seeming more uncomfortable than he had ever seen her. He chose his words carefully, "Nothing much, honestly. Just that she's known you for a while. Mostly she talked about how you and Elena have a thing going on and, uh…that's pretty much it."
Damon's gaze lingered on Bonnie for a moment too long before he spoke, "Hm. We have known each other a while. Mainly because she's roomed here with Elena and Meredith since they moved in together."
Eric scratched his head in some sort of daze and bobbed a pointed finger up and down in revelation, "Yeah, yeah. I vaguely remember this conversation. Bonnie must've told me at some point. You and your brother own this place, right?"
"Yep!" Damon said, popping the 'P.'
"So do you like, rent it out to students, or…?"
Damon shook his head slowly, "I can't imagine anything more dreadful."
Eric gave a breathy laugh, "Damn. Maybe I could get a room here too…" he half joked.
Meredith and Elena halted in their chewing of fruit then, both looking towards a very rigid Damon. His dark chuckle brought uneasy shivers down Elena's spine and Meredith looked as if she were bracing to referee a fight.
"I'm going to get a drink!" Bonnie announced, popping up from her seat.
Eric stood from the couch, "Let me help yo—"
"No!" she shouted accidentally, then quieted herself, "No…I'll be fine."
Eric sat slowly back down into his seat like a scorned child. Bonnie got halfway towards the kitchen when she stopped and twisted back towards them.
"Actually, Damon, can I talk to you please?" she pointed a stern finger towards the kitchen.
With a roll of his dark eyes, Damon shot from his chair and stormed passed Bonnie and into the kitchen. Elena stiffened beside Meredith and then felt the familiar soothing touch of her motherly friend. Meredith squeezed her leg and gave her an assuring nod. Elena took a deep breath, she had to be strong, she had to let them talk. Just talk. That was all.
Bonnie limped her way into the kitchen and fumed at a grimacing Damon leaning against one of the counters.
"Why are you being so rude?!" she exclaimed, walking closer to him.
Damon looked at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about, "I think I was being perfectly polite!"
"Oh stop! I know you! You're making fun of him, you're being hostile!" she accused.
Damon held up a fist, flicking his fingers up one by one, "He's in my house, he's sitting on my furniture, he's eating for free…" he threw his arms into the air, letting them slap down at his sides, "What more do you want?"
"For you to be nice!" Bonnie answered, arms crossed over her chest.
Damon scoffed, "Not likely, sweetheart."
Bonnie pouted at him, crimson brows furrowed over irate chocolate pools.
Unwavering, Damon leaned down towards her, speaking just above a whisper, "Consider yourself lucky I haven't compelled his sorry ass off my fucking couch."
Bonnie pushed him back, face scrunched up in anger, "Don't bother healing me tonight. I don't want it!"
Damon smiled down at her, coal eyes darkening as they swirled with devilish intent, "Wasn't planning on it anyway."
Tears built in Bonnie's eyes, a frustrated whimper trickling from her lips as she inhaled shaky breaths. Her hands itched to slap the arrogance from his face just as much as they wished to drag his mouth down to hers. She fought with herself for a moment, unable to fulfil her desires but unable to bring herself to hit him just the same. And he just stood there watching her intently, blank eyes denying her entrance as they stared back coldly. She blinked, releasing the tears from their barriers along her glassy eyes. Warm droplets tumbling down flushed cheeks, she cried softly.
"Don't look at me like that." Her voice teetered on the edge of a breakdown.
She watched his jaw clench through watery vision.
"Like what?" he rasped, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.
"Like you don't care. Like nothing ever happened between us." She cried.
"Isn't that what you told Eric?" Damon's strained voice fell from tight lips as he gave a short nod towards the living room.
Bonnie's lashes fluttered, feeling as if she had just been punched in the chest as she limped backwards into the drawers beneath the granite countertop. Head bowing, she dropped her eyes to the tile flooring, a mix of brown and gray.
"I—" the words caught in her throat as she wrung her nervous fingers. "I told him we had a fling."
A dark snicker left his breath, "Is that all it was?"
"Well…wasn't it?" she sniffed, voice going hoarse as she stared at her clammy fingers, "I mean, isn't that what you told Elena?"
Silence hung around them and Bonnie looked up from her shaky fingers. "Did you tell Elena anything?" the words fell slowly from her lips.
Damon sucked in a breath, "She knows we kissed."
"Obviously…" Bonnie mumbled.
Damon couldn't stop the slight roll of his eyes, "You know which time I'm talking about."
The door creaked open and they both turned their eyes to see a wary blonde halfway into the kitchen.
"Everything ok in here?" she asked hesitantly, but something in her posture relaxed, as if she were relieved.
"We were just about to rejoin you guys actually." Damon announced, pushing from the counter and walking over to his princess.
Bonnie averted her eyes, looking down to her fingers curling up into her palms.
"I think Eric's trying to head out." Elena told her.
Limping, Bonnie pushed passed the couple and strode back into the living room.
"You're leaving?" she asked him, hurt in her eyes.
"Yeah, I just—there's a lot going on and I don't want to get in the way."
Reentering the living room, Elena smacked Damon's arm as she noticed his mouth opening to give a snarky response.
"Ow." He feigned injury, holding his bicep and looking at her reprimanding crystals.
"Ok," Bonnie said easily and wrapped her arms around Eric's slim figure for a hug. The lanky boy returned the gesture and swung his arms around her, pulling her in tight.
"See you next time, Eric." Meredith's friendly smile beamed as she stood to give him a quick hug.
"Thanks for the pizza!" he said gratefully as he pulled the brunette in for an appreciative embrace.
Elena waved as Eric departed, "Bye!" she called as Damon grumbled beside her, remaining silent.
"Alright, well, that's enough drama for me today." Meredith announced and walked up the stairs to her room.
Bonnie turned, heading for the stairs when Elena's voice halted her, "Wait! Bonnie, Damon needs to heal you."
The small girl swiveled around to face them, one hand on the railing of the steps. Her amber gaze shifted to Damon, waiting…
"Later." He stated. And she knew what that really meant as she shifted back to the stairs and slowly made her way up, limp by limp.
You're gonna wanna be here for the next chapter…just sayyyin…;)
