hi, everyone! heh, let's pretend i updated this in less than a month, shall we? great. i really am sorry about not updating as often, i used to spit out chapters out for my stories in less than a week - i think i'm losing my touch. i wish i could say the more time elapsed between updates means betterly grammared (see what i did there) work, but that would be lying, so please excuse any typos or moments where the flow just doesn't feel right. anyways, enjoy this chapter! :)

CHAPTER 2 - SPARKS

The drive back from the grill was quiet. There was an awkward tension in the air and it made Bonnie want to roll her eyes because she knew why it was there - because the goddamn Salvatore brothers somehow got the memo that they were in charge of her and deserved to know every little detail about her social life.

She looked in the rear view mirror and spotted Damon glaring at her. As if she were in the wrong here. She scoffed and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"What the hell is your problem?" She yelled, turning around to face them.

The brothers exchanged a look and glared back at her.

"You're not children. Use your words!" She hissed.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you tell us that you and Evil Barbie were BFFs now? Don't you think that's something that we - the brothers who are protecting you - should've known?"

"No, it's not something you should've known! It's my life. I don't have to tell you jack shit!"

"Bonnie, she's the enemy. She could have some hidden agenda that you don't know about." Stefan said. His voice was calm but there was a certain bite to it and it made her want to slap his face off.

"She doesn't ." Bonnie replied firmly.

"You don't know that!" Damon growled. He was definitely less calm than Stefan. "She might be friends with you, but her loyalty will always lie with her brothers. If Klaus said to kill you, that's exactly what she'd do."

"Stop acting like she's incapable of making her own decisions." Bonnie scoffed.

There was a tick present in Stefan's jaw when he spoke. "How are we supposed to protect you if you don't tell us things like this? I doubt that Rebekah would've tried to kill you, but if she did, we'd have no way of helping you. You could've been hurt ."

"Oh, please, even if she tries to kill me - which she won't - I'd be able to handle myself. I don't need your protection. I'm not Elena, guys. I'm a freaking Bennett witch! And Stefan, why the hell do you care if she hurts me or not? You hate me!"

Stefan paused.

After a beat, he spoke again."Because, as much as you annoy me, you're a witch. And I need a witch on my side." He replied, but the way he refused to make eye contact with her made Damon's head tilt. Damon knew his brother like the back of his hand, and he could tell when Stefan wasn't being truthful.

Bonnie let out a harsh laugh. She knew that that's what everyone thought of her. That she was nothing more than a fix it witch. But it still stung to hear it out loud. She sighed. "Look, if I were in any real trouble, I would've told you guys. But I'm not. Rebekah and I are friends ."

The Salvatore's looked at each other and sighed in defeat, knowing they wouldn't be able to get any further with this conversation.

•••

After Bonnie dropped them off at the Boarding House, the Salvatore's were left alone in their living room.

Stefan was about to get lost upstairs, but Damon stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. Stefan turned to face his brother, annoyance written all over his face.

"What?" He asked sharply.

Damon's face twisted into it's famous smirk. "You lied to Bonnie."

Stefan internally groaned. He didn't have time for this. "I don't know what you're talking about." He started to walk away.

"Get your ass back here, Stefan." Damon said.

Stefan turned back to his brother with a threatening glare on his face. The look would've probably scared the crap out of anyone else, but Damon wasn't and never would be afraid of his little bro.

"I know you're going through an angsty bad boy stage but I am your older brother. You don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you."

"Watch me." The younger Salvatore said and began to wonder off again.

Damon sped in front of him when he reached the staircase. "Why'd you lie to Bonnie?"

Stefan's face hardened. "I didn't. The only reason I value her life in the slightest is because she's a witch and we need her."

"We both know that's not the truth." Damon taunted. He fought to make eye contact with Stefan, whose eyes were trained sharply on the wall behind Damon. "Why did you lie?"

Stefan was a second away from throwing Damon into a wall and wrapping this conversation up, but he refrained, and just brushed past his brother roughly and sauntered up to his room.

Damon knew he wouldn't get anymore out of Stefan, so he cut his losses and slumped back on the couch, after pouring himself a glass of well deserved bourbon.

Stefan plopped onto his king sized bed, hoping to catch some Z's before going out for his daily fix of blood, but sleep didn't come. He was too busy pondering Damon's question. He wasn't oblivious to himself, he knew that he lied to Bonnie, but the truth was, he didn't know why he lied. He was clueless.

He thought she was the most annoying little enchantress the world had ever seen, and sometimes when she spoke he wanted to vomit, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind every time he said he hated her. Something in the back of his mind that knew that that wasn't true . That he felt something for her, whether it was platonic or otherwise…

Ew, feelings, he thought to himself. I'm not traveling down that road tonight, so help me god.

He hopped out of his bed. He wasn't thinking clearly. He needed some blood.

•••

Bonnie hadn't been home for ten minutes when she got a call from Rebekah. She shook her head and smirked when she answered the phone.

"Miss me?" Bonnie asked into the speaker. "Looks like somebody's developing attachment issues. We were together less than an hour ago."

"You're funny, Pumpkin." Rebekah said dryly. "But you're also right. I do miss you."

Bonnie giggled. "Yeah, I miss you too." She admitted.

"Come over?" Rebekah invited.

Bonnie thought for a moment. She didn't have anything else to do, and she loved spending time with Rebekah, but spending time at Rebekah's house was a different story. At the infamous Mikaelson mansion lived the rest of the Mikaelson family, and Bonnie had had her fix of them for the day.

But she supposed that she should give Rebekah's family another chance. They didn't seem to have bad intentions, and if she could trust and care for Rebekah so easily, who's to say she couldn't potentially, in the far, far future be distant acquaintances with Rebekah's brothers?

Making up her mind but knowing she'd regret it later, the Bennett witch sighed. "Okay, sure. I'll be over in ten."

Rebekah squealed. "See you then, Pumpkin."

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up the call. Bonnie eyed her car keys which were splayed out on the counter in front of her.

Here goes nothing. She thought to herself and grabbed the keys.

•••

She stood on the front porch of the mansion after going through the complicated security system that the Mikaelsons felt they had to set up, even though they were thousand year old vampires who knew how to defend themselves.

She rang the doorbell and in less than a second, Rebekah was opening the door with a beam plastered on her beautiful face.

"Come in, darling." She said, grabbing Bonnie's arm and yanking her into the house. Bonnie giggled at her friend but all words were caught in her throat when she looked around the large foyer.

The floor and stairs were polished white marble and the walls were painted white as well. Everything looked clean and freshly dusted, a giant crystal skylight lit the room up, along with three huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Two enormous staircases lead up to the second floor, but Bonnie guessed that there were much more than just two floors to this casa.

When Rebekah tried to drag Bonnie up to her room, they were stopped by none other than Kol Mikaelson emerging from a hallway on the right side of the foyer.

"Rebekah, what did I say about not telling me when you bring beautiful women home?" He asked with a wink and charming grin towards Bonnie.

Rebekah sounded bored and irritated. "You've never said anything like that, Kol, considering how weirdly specific it is."

"Details." He dismissed, keeping his eyes trained on the Bennett witch whose arms were folded and eyebrows were shot to her forehead.

"Don't you have someone else to bother? Or perhaps a mirror to look in? That always seems to distract you. Bonnie and I are going to my room, get lost." Rebekah scowled at her brother.

Kol merely chuckled in response and traveled back to whatever hole he came from.

"Sorry about that. Let's go paint our nails."

They made their way up the stairs, making sure not to run into any other brothers on the way.

Bonnie's jaw dropped like a hot potato when she saw Rebekah's bedroom. It was beautiful. It looked like somewhere a princess would sleep, or something out of a doll house. The canopy king sized bed was painted sky blue, and so were the walls.

Fuzzy white carpeting coated the floors. Bonnie looked over at the walk-in closet, flat screen TV, private bathroom, balcony and giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling and almost fainted.

"Rebekah, your room is beautiful!" Bonnie boomed, collapsing onto her blonde friend's fluffy bed. She felt like she was on a cloud.

"Of course it is, darling, I was the one who designed it after all." Rebekah said casually, joining Bonnie on the bed.

Bonnie didn't have enough in her to roll her eyes at Rebekah's smug attitude, that bed was comfortable and she was fading fast.

Before Bonnie could fall asleep, Rebekah smacked her arm. "We have work to do. You can sleep later." Her stern expression turned giddy. "I'm so excited that you're here!"

Rebekah hopped up from the bed, a goofy smile still in place. "I want to try something. Be right back." She skipped out of the room with a wave.

Not a minute later, the cracked open door widened a bit more and in stepped the one and only Klaus Mikaelson.

"Rebekah, I think I finally found something up to your standards-" He began to speak, but was cut off when he saw Bonnie lounging on Rebekah's bed instead of his sister. "What are you doing here?" He asked with more bite in his tone than he intended.

Bonnie stopped a scoff at his tone. "Rebekah invited me."

He nodded in understanding. "Apologies for barging in. When Rebekah comes back from wherever the little nutter's run off to, give her these books." He held up three paperback chapter books. They looked old.

Bonnie tilted her head. "What are those?"

"Books. Obviously." Klaus said with a smirk.

"Wow, what a charmer." Bonnie derided.

"That's what they call me." He winked and tossed her the books. She caught them and looked at the cover of the first one. The Hobbit. "Rebekah's on a quest to consume all of the media she missed when she was daggered. I'm sure you've realized that with all the movie nights I've been hearing about - and she asked me to find books for her to read that were made while she was… resting. I suppose it's the least I can do since I am the one who… y'know.."

In his voice there was a hint of sadness. Guilt? Maybe he truly felt bad for what he did to Rebekah and trying to find her a perfect book was his way of making it up to her without actually having to apologize?

Stop trying to do that, Bonnie. He's Klaus. He's bad.

Bonnie looked at the book again and chuckled dryly. "And you picked The Hobbit? "

"I don't know what she expects of me. Apparently, I'm not that good at book recommendations. Either that or I just don't know Rebekah at all. At this point I'm just picking things randomly from the library." He said with that hint of sadness again. He sighed. "Make sure she gets those." He pointed to the books in her hand.

"Wait! Klaus!" Her voice interrupted his leave.

"What?" He turned around so that his head was peaking into the room to see Bonnie.

"She's not going to like these books."

Klaus looked for one part amused at her bluntness and another part upset. Probably upset at himself.

"Try something like… Charlotte's Web . Something sweet and heartwarming that won't make her want to pull her hair out." Bonnie recommended.

"What's wrong with The Hobbit? " Klaus challenged, leaning against the door frame.

"Nothing's wrong with it, but it's not exactly 'first book of the modern day' material. Maybe she can work her way up to it." Bonnie replied.

Klaus chuckled but sobered and nodded his head thankfully. "Thank you, Bonnie. I… I do hope you'll be attending the homecoming ball my family is hosting." He said.

Bonnie was so shocked at the genuinity of his 'thank you', that the comment about a ball flew over her head.

"Pumpkin, look what I - Oh, shoo, Klaus! This is me and Bonnie's time, no creepy brothers allowed!" Rebekah tried to swat Klaus away like a fly.

He put his hands up in surrender and left the room.

"Sorry about him. I hope he wasn't bothering you." Rebekah said, sitting beside Bonnie once again.

"No, he was just here to drop off some books for you."

Rebekah frowned when she saw the three books he left on her bed. "These aren't quite what I'm looking for." She said solemnly. "Does he really not know me at all?"

Bonnie felt sorry for her friend. She could tell that Rebekah and Klaus' relationship was suffering, and by asking Klaus to bring her book, Bex was probably trying to see if Klaus even wanted to repair their relationship. From Bonnie's short conversation with Klaus, she could tell that Klaus was putting in the effort to get back on good terms with Rebekah, but he just didn't know her like he used to. Ninety years in a coffin can change a person.

Looking at her friend's disappointed expression, Bonnie made it her mission to help Rebekah and Klaus repair their relationship. She wasn't doing it for Klaus, but for Bex.

Rebekah sighed. "Anyways…" She held up a copy of Mario Kart Wii . "Video games! The most modern day thing you can do!"

Bonnie smirked. "Ha! Bex, I'm a boss at this game." Her voice lowered to a pretty accurate Inigo Montoya impression. "Be prepared to die!"

"Game on, Bennett." Rebekah's face took on a determined expression.

Before they started playing, Bonnie's mind drifted to something that Klaus had said. "Wait, Rebekah, what was your brother saying about a ball?"

"Oh, right!" Rebekah exclaimed excitedly. "We're hosting a ball to celebrate mother coming home and family and all that - I plan to seduce half of the town while I'm there. I picked out a perfect dress… you just have to see it! Your formal invitation should come in the mail sometime soon. Be expecting that! You will be attending, right?"

Bonnie thought for a second and then smiled at her friend. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

•••

When people said that Stefan and Damon had switched personalities in the past few months, Damon waved them off dismissively, but now, as he was sitting on the boarding house couch and brooding , he could see what they were talking about.

His mind lingered on his conversation with Stefan hours after they had it.

The conclusion he'd come up with after dwelling on it for a while, was that Stefan was in love with Bonnie.

Now, it sounded outlandish - anyone who'd been in a room with Stefan and Bonnie for even a minute could easily sense how much they hated each other. They were always either arguing or glaring. Before they started working on the coffins together Stefan and Bonnie got along pretty well, but after spending that much time together their relationship soured, and Damon could easily say that he was Bonnie's favorite brother.

That didn't happen very much.

So yes, Bonnie hated Stefan, but from what he collected from Stefan earlier that day, he didn't reciprocate those feelings. Maybe he thought he did, but he cared for her.

Maybe when they were working on the coffins, Stefan developed feelings for Bonnie but since he was compelled not to feel anything (or at least not to feel anything other than hate, annoyance, lust, boredom and of course hunger), when Stefan began to develop feelings for Bonnie he flipped his love into hate?

Okay, well love is a strong word , Damon reasoned with himself. He didn't know if Stefan was in love with Bonnie, in fact, he doubted that he was, but Stef definitely cared for her. Earlier today proved that much.

Damon's plan was simple. He would set Stefan and Bonnie up and Stefan would love the little witch so much that his switch would flip back to 'on' and all would be right in the world.

And you'll have a path straight to Elena, a little voice in the back of his head said.

Of course that thought passed through his mind, and of course he wouldn't be opposed to that happening… but for once he was focusing on Stefan above himself. He was the reason Stefan was in this mess. If Stefan risked the most important thing to him - his humanity - for Damon, then Damon would do anything to help him get it back.

If the brothers were going to switch personalities they would do it right, and there was nothing more Stefan than helping someone who doesn't know they need it.

•••

Esther Mikaelson watched Rebekah and Bonnie race at some driving video game with all the concentration in the world. Truth be told, video games were one of the many things that Esther just didn't understand about the modern age, but the girls in front of her seemed to be so enamored with her that they didn't even notice her presence.

She had been standing there for what felt like years and the girls still hadn't spotted her in the door frame of Rebekah's bedroom.

After a good ten minutes of standing, she cleared her throat. They didn't hear. She tried again, and finally caught their attention.

"Oh, hello, mother." Rebekah greeted, reluctantly looking away from the screen.

"Oh, hello, daughter." Esther mimicked Rebekah's unenthusiastic welcome. "If I'm not interrupting any time wasting, I'd like to speak with Bonnie privately."

Bonnie looked surprised, but nodded and got up from her spot on the bed. Her legs felt like jelly - she and Rebekah had been playing Mario Kart for close to two hours.

Rebekah pouted as Bonnie left her. "I'll be practicing, Pumpkin. When you get back, you'll be defeated."

Bonnie scoffed. "I doubt it." In the hours that they had been playing, Rebekah had only beaten Bonnie three times, and in two of the three she was caught cheating.

Esther rolled her eyes. "Right this way, darling."

She led Bonnie down a few long, confusing corridors and they stopped at what looked like an office. "Sit down, Bonnie, make yourself comfortable." Esther said, putting her hand on Bonnie's back and guided her to a red leather couch.

Bonnie plopped onto the couch quietly and looked around the room. Esther had only been awakened from her coffin for a week, so how did she manage to make the room so messy? There were papers and grimoires stacked onto each other everywhere. There was a massive desk in the middle with a dimly lit lamp, but you could hardly tell it was a desk with all the paper/books on it. Mugs that most likely formerly housed tea and coffee were littered around the room and there was a giant shelf on the wall filled with framed pictures and drawings of the Mikaelson clan.

Bonnie awed at one drawing that was framed. It was of Rebekah, and it had to have been drawn with charcoal like… a thousand years before? It was mind boggling.

Esther gracefully stepped over the piles of trash on the floor, making her way around the mess smoothly. Bonnie was impressed.

Esther sat in an identical red leather couch across from Bonnie and sighed, taking a sip from a random mug with tea in it, scrunching up her face distastefully after it went down her throat. "That's old, that's old." She mumbled, tossing the now empty mug behind her. It landed somewhere in a grimoire pile.

A second later, the door opened again and Finn Mikaelson stumbled in, tripping over something unknown on the floor. "Excuse me." He said quietly and made his way to sit next to his mother on the couch across from Bonnie.

Bonnie could be considered charming and social, but truly she didn't know how to have a conversation if another person didn't make the first move. Apparently Esther and Finn were the same way, because they all sat in silence for around two minutes until Esther cleared her throat.

"So, Bonnie." She started, "I'm sure you're confused as to why I asked to speak with you."

Bonnie shrugged. She was sure it was something witchy related.

Esther continued. "You're here, because I knew your ancestor. Ayanna Bennett." She pointed to one of the framed charcoal drawings on the shelf. "She was my dearest friend. And my mentor. Of course, she didn't approve of my decision to turn my children into vampires… after I did, we grew distant." Her face became melancholy. "My biggest regret was losing my friendship with Ayanna. And my way of making it up to her is by mentoring her last and potentially most powerful direct descendant. If you'll let me, of course."

Bonnie processed this. "You want to mentor me?"

"I want to teach you all that I can about magic. And after all, I'm not a vampire. I've begun aging again, and one day I will grow old and die. None of my children practice magic anymore, and I couldn't think of anyone better to teach my secrets to before I pass. Ayanna was practically part of the family. And I know you are a completely different person than her, so you may not even want to be considered part of our clan, but you are always welcome with us."

Bonnie was speechless. Esther and Finn exchanged a look, silently deciding to let her think about this for a moment. Bonnie wanted to say yes. Esther was very powerful, and this would be a once in a lifetime experience. But that annoying voice in her head reminded her of the way her friends would act.

Bonnie was aware of the power Elena held over her. She was aware that their friendship was completely lopsided, and that if Elena said jump, that's exactly what she would do.

It took having a friend like Rebekah for Bonnie to realize that friendship is supposed to be equal. You give some and you get some. And Bonnie gave so much to Elena and received so little in return, that their relationship was turned into some sort of employment where you just don't get paid. Like a bad, bad internship or something.

Bonnie knew this, but when someone has been a constant in your life since you were four years old, it's a little hard to leave them behind.

And Bonnie was having a hard time not caring about what Elena and Co. would think about her being mentored by Esther.

She knew Elena, Caroline, Matt and others well enough to know that they wouldn't like Bonnie agreeing to Esther's deal, and in a way, if Bonnie took the deal knowing that her childhood friends wouldn't want her to, she'd feel like she was picking the Mikaelsons over them.

It was completely unreasonable, but that's how she would feel.

So she was going to separate herself from those feelings, and see if underneath that massive martyr complex, she wanted to do this.

If Bonnie figured that she did, then she would accept the offer.

But that's not something you can figure out in a crowded little office while you're being put on the spot by the Original witch and an Original vampire.

"I'm gonna need some time." She said, her voice hoarse.

"Of course," Esther smiled. She had a feeling that Bonnie would say yes. "Thank you for your time, Bonnie. You may go back to Rebekah now. Finn will lead you out."

Finn stood up from his spot on the couch and offered Bonnie his arm. She held her breath and took it. He led her silently down the halls of the mansion.

"Ms. Bennett, I mean this politely, but if you keep holding your breath your head might fly off of your neck." Finn said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

She didn't realize she hadn't been breathing. She let out the breath and noticed how much better she felt.

"Sorry. I just- sorry." She apologized sheepishly.

He smiled. "No need to apologize. It's just that I would hate to have to clean up the exploded head on the walls."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I see how that wouldn't be ideal."

He hummed. "Nevertheless, you do not have to be afraid of me." He reassured her.

"I'm not afraid of you." She replied quickly, maybe a bit too defensively.

"You seem to have misunderstood," He said apologetically, "I wouldn't, in any way, doubt your power. You're a Bennett witch for goodness' sake. But… I can sense that you're a bit uncomfortable. You must understand, Ms. Bennett, I'm not like my siblings at all."

"You don't like being a vampire?" Bonnie guessed. She could feel his apprehension about vampirism from a mile away.

"Yes."

"Why not?" Bonnie inquired. She was interested to hear his perspective.

Finn looked at her strangely.

"What?" She asked.

"Nobody's ever asked me that before." He answered softly.

Bonnie felt her cheeks grow hot at the look he was giving her and turned her eyes to the floor. Before either one of them said anything else, they reached Rebekah's room.

Rebekah popped out of the room. "There you are, Bons!" She exclaimed. "I've practiced and I think I can beat you. Time for a match?" She grabbed her friend's hand and they reentered the room.

"Thanks, Finn." Bonnie smiled at the Mikaelson who was standing outside of the room.

He nodded his head courteously in response.

And again, the girls got lost in the marvelous world of Mario Kart. Rebekah was convinced that with her practicing, she would win, but Bonnie stole first place from her every time. Bonnie had a lot of practice, playing against Tyler and Matt her whole childhood solidified her fake driving skills.

It was when the sun started to set that Bonnie and Rebekah decided that it was time to say goodbye.

"Thanks for coming." Rebekah mumbled into Bonnie's hair as they embraced in a warm farewell hug.

"Thanks for having me." Bonnie replied, squeezing Rebekah tighter.

The blonde pulled away. "No, really." She said, looking into Bonnie's hazel eyes to add more honesty to her statement. "I know that Klaus and Elijah have made your life a living hell. The fact that you would come to our home despite that… It means a lot to me."

Bonnie looked at Rebekah fondly. She didn't want to leave her. "Of course. You're a really good friend Rebekah. That's more important to me than my dislike for your brothers."

Rebekah beamed. "See you tomorrow at school."

"See you."

Bonnie closed the door behind her but her mind was clouded with so much happiness from her conversation with Bex that she wasn't watching where she was going. She collided with a hard chest and almost ping ponged back onto the floor because of the force.

She put the palm of her hand on her forehead. "Is your chest made of steel or something?"

But then she looked up and saw who she bumped into. Elijah Mikaelson.

These damned brothers are everywhere!

"My apologies, Ms. Bennett." Elijah said, putting an arm on Bonnie to steady her.

"Yeah, yeah," His steadying was actually helpful, but she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that. Although he probably caught on when she toppled over.

She fell onto her butt and he quickly crouched beside her.

"Are you alright?" He questioned, placing his hand on her back. There he goes again with the touching.

"I'm fine. I'm great." She mumbled, wiping her hand over her face. How embarrassing.

"You don't seem like it." He said as she started walking to her car again.

"And you don't seem like you'd have a chest made out of friggin rocks, so I guess we're all learning something new!" She quipped, walking faster.

He sped in front of her, blocking her path. "Ms. Bennett."

"Mr. Promise-breaker." She tried to trudge past him, but he got in the way again.

"You must know how sincerely sorry I am for my part in what happened on the night of the sacrifice. It was not my intention to break my promise to you, but I simply could not let my brother die."

She looked at him for a second. Really looked at him. When she saw no trace of a lie, she shrugged. She would forgive him, but forgiveness and trust were two different things. "Apology accepted."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yep. Now get out of my way."

He stared at her for a second, he looked like he was waiting for her to say 'syke', but when her expression didn't waver, he chuckled ruefully.

"As you wish." He stepped aside.

"Bye, Elijah."

"Goodbye, Bonnie." He said as he watched her leave.

He shook his head bemusedly and went inside.

•••

Bonnie had made herself instant ramen and put on reruns of Gilmore Girls , ready to veg out for the night.

She rarely ever had time to herself like this, and she was enjoying the peace and quiet of her house.

Knock, knock, knock.

Loud bangs at her door snapped her out of her relaxation.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't catch a break today.

Pausing the TV, she swung the door open and standing on the doorstep was Damon, dressed from head to toe in black.

"What is up with you people?" Bonnie hissed. "You just can't get enough of me today. I talked to you not ten hours ago. What could you possibly need?"

"Hey, I missed you. I was feeling severely unjudged."

She scoffed. "Are we going to a funeral?" She asked, eyeing his attire.

"Mm, not tonight. I'm here because I need your help." His voice was serious.

Bonnie grew annoyed. "Of course you do. Whatever you need, whatever spell you need to be cast, I'm sure it can wait until the morning."

He stopped her from slamming the door with his hand. "Actually, Bonnie, it's not a spell. And I think you're going to want to hear it."

"There's absolutely nothing that could come out of your mouth right now that I would be interested in. Goodnight, Damon." She quipped.

"I think I know how to get Stefan's humanity to turn back on." He said, making Bonnie pause.

She turned to him and didn't speak until they were making direct eye contact. "How the hell do you think you can do that?" She asked.

He smirked.

"Can I come inside?"

She sighed.

"Fine."

if anyone's wondering how klaus' compulsion factors into damon's whole 'set stefonnie up' plan, i'm planning something for that, so the compulsion won't be completely ignored! which of the pairings are your favs? i tried to feature all of them in this chapter (katherine won't be appearing until later, though), but some got more time than others. i'll try to be quick with this next update! thanks for reading and i hope you have a good day!