A/N: I had a speech prepared but the Bamon scenes in 7x01, though there were moments I cringed, other times had me melt into fangirl heaven and that's ALL due to Kat and Ian's acting. I'm operating on a millimeter of chill, so enjoy this.

The world could sometimes be a flavorless place. A place without order, meaning, or purpose. A place where people passed from one existence to another with barely a notice. It could be cruel in its complexities, unfavorable, a sweatshop.

But then…

There could be moments like this. Where there was color, life, vibrancy, love. Where fear was uninvited and happiness was the drug of choice.

Oftentimes many were stuck in the middle. They were content, complacent, accepted what they had and didn't try to press for more. They saw the glass as half-empty and half-full, accepted both outcomes with little strain, stress, or struggle. They could roll with the punches or get critical at the punches, but ultimately figured the punches were an inevitable side effect for simply being alive.

At the heart of it all she stood. Her eyes were planted on the nighttime sky marveling at the bright fireworks, but each time they exploded it made her jump. The loud boom of colorful gunpowder was like a substitute form of an arrow and knife though her stomach.

Bonnie Bennett had been back in the swing of things for a month, carefully reintegrating into society. Other than the rave which ended in disaster, the frat party, this was the next big event she was attending. The house was teaming with people; most she's known her entire life while plenty more were virtual strangers. Masked strangers who were laughing, cheering, whistling causing as much noise as the explosion of fireworks up above.

Dizziness overwhelmed Bonnie when she surveyed the crowd. The concrete under her feet disappeared and the lawn stretched until it blurred completely, her body felt weightless. Bonnie blinked rapidly, breathing spastic. Klaus was saying something, but she was spiraling to a place unreachable by anyone who wasn't a licensed mental health professional.

This was a mistake.

Damon, who had been mean mugging her from the moment he recognized her, his face evened out into one of concern.

"Ohmygod, Bonnie?" Elena gasped finally recognizing her friend.

Adrenaline dictated that he trample through the crowd in order to get to the little witch, but decorum stated he should be tactful about this. However, Damon could see Bonnie was in trouble, was on the verge of freaking out.

"She's into hybrids now? Damn…well I guess that's an upgrade from whiny mediums with a steroid problem. But I must say…Bonnie is wearing the fuck out of that dress."

"Stefan?" Elena breathed his name in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Great, Damon groused mentally. This was turning into a smashing night full of bullshit and…he may have concurred with his brother's statement. That was neither here nor there.

"Me passing up the opportunity to party, feed, and fuck? I wouldn't miss this for the world." Stefan boldly ogled Elena and dragged his tongue along his bottom lip.

Elena did what she could to temper having any reaction, but couldn't deny a small spark of…something heated her insides. However, she forwent smiling or encouraging Stefan in any capacity. It wouldn't matter in the state he was in.

By the time Elena pulled her gaze away from him she noticed that her boyfriend was missing and, when she checked the top of the stairs where Bonnie had been poised next to Klaus…she was missing too.

Wind whistled loudly in her ears and she clung to the steel arm braced against her ribs.

His nose led him to the upstairs bedroom Bonnie used to change. He heard Klaus stomping after them, but managed to reach the room and pushed Bonnie inside.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Damon shut the door at the same time as Klaus' arrival.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the hybrid began without preamble.

"Klaus-y poo didn't know you would be here," Damon flashed a hard smile. "Bonnie isn't feeling well. Give her a minute to get herself together."

"She seemed perfectly fine to me, but if she is experiencing any kind of discomfort, as her date it's my responsibility to handle it."

The grin on Damon's face was full of snark. "Or perhaps you as her date are the cause of her distress. Give her a minute, hybrid."

Klaus studied Damon anew. He had never been terribly difficult to read as his intentions were so readily accessible on his sleeve. Yet this was a different side to the eldest Salvatore the Original never thought he'd live long enough to actually witness.

"If this isn't an interesting change," Klaus flicked the end of his nose. "As I'm sure the last I saw you and the Bennett witch you were more than willing to sacrifice her life…"

"There's so much you missed, but none of that is the fucking point. What goes down between me and the witch is our business."

"So there's a you and the witch now, is it?"

Damon understood he was being baited and typically rose to the occasion, but this time he wasn't going there. On the other side of the door, Bonnie was in her head and he needed to get her out of it before she did something that would leave a lovely mess to clean up. Not that he cared if any of Klaus' shit got destroyed.

Neither handsomely dressed immortal backed down or looked away from the other. Forewent calling a ceasefire when they heard the soft tap of heels on the marble floor.

"Hey…what's going on?" Elena inquired. "What happened to Bonnie?"

"That's what I'm trying to get to the bottom of," Klaus answered and shifted to face her. "That's a beautiful dress, Elena. A little plain and ordinary but matches its owner perfectly."

Elena frowned at the backhanded compliment. "Klaus…that suit goes well with the bridge you climbed out from under."

Klaus laughed boisterously. "I bet it took you months to come up with that. Bravo," he winked and redirected back to Damon. "Step aside."

"No," Damon shook his head. "Both of you leave. I got this."

Elena opened her mouth to protest, "If something is wrong with Bonnie…I should be the one to talk to her."

"Look, I don't have time to debate this," Damon finalized. He knew Klaus didn't really care either way and just wanted to be an ass. Elena…her heart might often be in the right place, but she had a talent for making everything into something about her. He wasn't so in love with her not to see her faults. Besides, that wasn't what Bonnie needed. They weren't what Bonnie needed.

Like a phantom Damon fled inside the bedroom locking the door after him.

Bonnie sat perched on the edge of the bed, shoulders drawn, gaze averted to the window adjacent to the headboard. She released a shaky breath, "I should be used to loud noises…and crowds of people by now."

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Damon crossed the room. "You can't rush recovery, Bonnie. It's something that you have to deal with day by day. There'll be days where you're fine and days where it feels like you're right back where you started…or worse."

The air was punctuated by silence until Bonnie spoke again, gaze still averted. "How am I going to be ready to fight Kai, if it ever comes down to that, if I can't handle fireworks?" a depreciating laugh escaped her lips. She used the back of her hand to wipe away a tear.

Standing in front of her, Damon briefly got lost in the pool of fabric bunched around her designer heels, and Bonnie's exposed left leg. It was just so curvy. Damon lowered on his haunches, clearing his throat. His large hands gathered her smaller ones. It took another minute of pained silence before she could manage to look him straight in the eye.

The tip of Damon's tongue moistened the seam of his lips, "First, stop hinging your ability to fight on how you feel. Your emotions will have you forfeiting before you even start. You're doing much better than you think you are, Bonnie."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not!"

Damon braced himself for something dramatic to happen like the window shattering, or a fire erupting in the hearth, or himself being thrust into a wall. Instead, Bonnie unintentionally sank her nails into his hands. The sharp pain, he could handle. The pain written on her face was another story.

Bonnie swallowed, "I didn't tell you…later that morning after you compelled Hayden and when he and I"—Damon noticed her cheeks reddened—"I hallucinated it was Kai on top of me," she breathed shallowly, "and I blitzed on Hayden. I didn't hurt him or anything. I had a panic attack and tried to leave but he talked me into staying, didn't trust I could drive safely. If I'm not feeling like I have to save everyone, if I'm not feeling scared and defeated, then I'm feeling like I'm going to lose my mind. It's just," Bonnie wiggled one of her hands free and touched her chest, "I feel like something in me is so broken that even if I managed to kill Kai it wouldn't be fixed."

Damon understood what Bonnie meant and wished he had an answer for her that would magically make her problems vanish. Consequently, he had a feeling that whatever was broken in Bonnie he had been instrumental in making the first crack.

His unoccupied hand dropped to his thigh before unconsciously smoothing up Bonnie's calf who didn't seem to notice. It vaguely occurred to the vampire her skin was like silk.

"I'd like to say you're not broken, Bonnie, but I'm not you and I can't speak on how you feel. I can only listen to you and…try to help you not feel broken."

"How? How are you going to swing that?"

"I don't know," Damon guffawed sheepishly. "I'm sure I'll think of something. Although you know I'm several cards short of a full deck."

"True."

"I didn't need an amen on that."

Bonnie giggled a little.

"Seriously, Bon if you need to talk, vent, break some laws you know I'm here for you."

"I know," Bonnie dried her eyes. "Thank you."

Damon made one of his signature faces, "I don't need any thanks. In this fucked up story of ours, you're the true hero, Bon. So thank you."

The center of Bonnie's chest warmed yet she downplayed the sensation. "A sincere thank you from Damon Salvatore. I'm sure someone out in the universe just lost a bet."

"Shaddup," he tickled her ribs.

Bonnie squirmed and almost kneed Damon in the chest. "Stop it!" she howled, laughing.

Damon didn't, naturally, until he was good and ready. He stopped when it began to register just how warm her skin was. How good she smelled. Damon drew his hands back as his mind began to cloud with things they shouldn't. He waited as Bonnie composed herself. Much to his dismay she flared out the skirt to her gown covering up that awe-inspiring leg of hers.

"Now," he pulled at his bowtie, "are you ready to explain to me why you're here as Klaus' date, and why you omitted he would be here to start with?"

"Before we get into that…do I look nice?"

Damon blinked rapidly a few times. "Hun?"

"Stop acting like you have a hearing problem. Do I look nice?" Bonnie pushed him away a little so she could stand. Damon followed suit.

Air rushed out of Damon's nostrils as he absorbed the picture his best friend made. Her svelte, caramel body draped in dark purple diaphanous fabric, the flawless makeup that made her most stunning features leap forward like 3-D, her dark hair swept off her neck which his fingers itched to unravel. It came to Damon several seconds too late he shouldn't be studying Bonnie the way he was.

She wanted him to tell her if she looked nice? Nice was reserved for those who tried too hard and still missed the mark. Nice is what you called something or someone when nothing more positive came to mind. Bonnie didn't look nice. She looked nice in a ratty pair of pajamas. And that dress certainly wasn't a pair of ratty pajamas.

Bonnie waited for Damon to say something. His silence was making her insecurities stir. Maybe he thought she looked trashy and was trying to find the best way to tell her without downright insulting or hurting her feelings. Bonnie fought not to stare at her feet, to shrink away. She kept her orbs locked with Damon's, a defiant glaze altering the color of her irises.

"If I tell you how you look in that dress…by some's standards it could be construed as cheating," Damon nervously scratched his neck with his thumbnail.

"What are you saying?"

The old him would have closed the gap between them, bent his knees a bit so he could whisper in her ear that she was the sexiest fucking woman at this ball, and he'd beg for a chance to see what was underneath that dress. But he couldn't say that because it was Bonnie and he was a committed man. He could look but not touch. Tasting and swallowing weren't permitted under any regulations as well.

Instead Damon revealed, "I'm saying, Bonnie that I should keep my thoughts and…other parts to myself," his jaw hardened. "You're stunning."

Bonnie beamed in pleasure.

"But…that still doesn't excuse the fact you're here acting as Klaus' date. I thought we agreed not to keep secrets."

"We did," Bonnie cleared her throat finding herself inexplicably affected by Damon's words and proximity.

It was bad enough he could make a simple outfit look like he was strutting around in a tailored suit. Seeing him in a tux was criminal, upsetting her ability to remain detached, indifferent to his preternatural looks. It made dealing with Damon bearable when she didn't look at him how other women did. Hoping he might spare them a glance, gift them with a smile that could make toes curl. Yet here she was finding herself susceptible. Bonnie didn't want to think about how good he smelled, or how curious she was about what was under the suit. Those thoughts were forbidden because he was with her best friend, and they were friends and that would just lead to a road of trouble.

"So why didn't you tell me?" Damon persisted, fingering her chandelier earring. "I came through on my end proving I can be trusted."

"Maybe I didn't tell you because… Look," Bonnie straightened his bowtie. "Klaus has provided me with grimoires and connected me to a witch who's going to help me get stronger. Being his date is the least I could do to pay him back. He didn't have to help me."

No, Klaus didn't. However, Damon knew strings, twisted and dark ones were always attached to any favor Klaus doled out. It went without saying Bonnie's debt repayment wouldn't just begin and end with being arm candy for the night. That wasn't insidious enough for the hybrid's taste.

"How long is he going to be in town?"

"I don't know," Bonnie answered, skirted around Damon to check her appearance in the mirror. She snatched a tissue and dabbed her face.

Damon watched, gaze affixed on the birthmark on her shoulder. "And this witch…what's her name? What's she like?"

The fucking twenty questions, Bonnie thought sardonically, yet answered promptly.

"Her name is Dahlia and she's frightening in the way you don't want to cross her to find out what she'd do."

"Sounds like a dream."

Just then, loud, persistent banging interrupted their moment. Bonnie jumped; Damon scowled.

"You've hogged her long enough, Salvatore. I've enough ratchetness in me to break this door down."

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie unlocked the door, glowering at Klaus whose brows were drawn together in consternation.

He held out his arm. "Shall we?"

Seeing her plight as unavoidable, Bonnie looped her hand around Klaus' bicep. They took two steps before her other was captured by Damon whom she stared up at in shock. He silently dared Klaus to make a scene or use force to get him to drop his hold on Bonnie, but the Original snorted and proceeded down the hall and finally out to the backyard once more.

All eyes were on them.

"Ready?" Klaus inquired.

A sea of faces gawked, some lifted their masks for a better look; the rest seemed to be mesmerized like children watching an illusion unfold. Holding on to her…date(s) Bonnie slowly descended the steps.

"Hot damn," one man exclaimed. A blush converged on Bonnie's cheeks.

Another was bolder, presented Bonnie with a bouquet of flamingo pink rhododendron flowers. The attention and flattery she was unused to, but she smiled shyly anyways knowing it was inevitable mainly because of the dress she was wearing. It was easy enough to move in but was more provocative than she preferred.

Once their feet hit the grass, Damon turned, kissed her knuckles and threw a warning glare at Klaus to behave himself before searching for his own date.

Klaus took the bouquet out of Bonnie's hand examining them.

"Do you mind?"

"They are pretty but carry a significant meaning." Bonnie waited for Klaus to cough up the details. He tossed the bouquet in one of the roaring tripods. "Beware," he said ominously.

"Beware?" she questioned and craned her neck to see if she could locate the person who gave her those flowers.

Klaus' insistent tugging to the center of the dance floor cancelled her search. Stage fright shackled onto Bonnie's nerves. She highly thought about dematerializing into vapor. Heat stung her face.

"Don't focus on them. Focus on me, love," Klaus encouraged.

"I don't want to look at you, either."

Klaus bit back a smile, pulled Bonnie closer, his hand flattened along the small of her back. His touch slightly unnerving and weirdly comforting. He led them into a Viennese waltz.

Bonnie stumbled because ballroom dancing was not her thing. Forget about the numerous galas she attended. Once the dancing commenced she hung around the sidelines. This was way out of her comfort zone and expertise.

"Eyes on me, Bonnie."

Inwardly she growled but finally gave the Original her undivided attention. Did his regard have to be so direct and intense? But as Bonnie continued to hold his penetrating stare, her feet moved, whisking over the floor as if they were born to do just this. Like they were natural partners leading and following wordlessly, making adjustments without crunching toes or bumping knees. It was disconcerting how in sync they could be.

Klaus spun her around, dipped Bonnie amid applause.

"I heard most of your conversation with Damon," Klaus shared.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I'm not surprised. You can be worse than a middle schooler with a piece of gossip."

Dimples on display, Klaus twirled his date around and pulled her into his chest. "Our history being what it is I can still respect you, Bonnie. Respect you for your power, even for your humanity. Yet there's something on the inside blocking you, and if you want to get to the root cause of it…well you might want to start airing out your dirty laundry with those in your life."

"Pardon me? Since when do you give anyone advice that doesn't lead straight to their death?"

Klaus was thinking of all the psycho-babble he endured in spending time with Camille O'Connor. Apparently some of her methods to cure him of his madness slithered past his obstinacy. Much to his chagrin.

"Wouldn't you find me even more boorish that after a thousand years of living and there was still not a shred of depth to me? I understand far more than anyone will ever know, and what I reveal to others will always be at my discretion. You and I are alike in that way."

Bonnie made a face. She didn't want to have anything in common with Klaus.

"But you know what I enjoy?" he asked. "Telling my enemies and even my family exactly what I think of them. You leave that bottled in and it makes it so easy for people to take advantage of you. And I think that's one of your fears, Bonnie. Being taken advantage of. So root out who makes you feel that way and deal with them. You'll feel all the better for it."

She smiled icily. "I remember telling you that you bothered me, and you still do."

Klaus grinned in return. "I thought you were merely flirting with me."

Sooner than anticipated the waltz morphed into a rumba. The Original and Bonnie transitioned easily.

"I would tell you to start with Salvatore but you already have him wrapped around your finger," Klaus whispered in her ear.

A small smile slithered across Bonnie's impassive borders. Of their own volition, her olive irises went over to Damon easily spotting him in a crowd. He stood among his brother and Elena looking the antithesis of happy.

She wiggled uncomfortably in her off the shoulder cocktail dress. Lily Salvatore tightened her silk wrap around her shoulders and moved quietly through the corridors of the Mikaelson estate in awe of the modern architecture mixed in with old world furnishings.

Tonight brought back memories of being laced into hand stitched gowns, the prick of painfully sharp hair pins stabbing her scalp while her hair was styled in a ridiculously towering do that caused her neck to ache on end for hours. Lily remembered slipping into her gloves, pearls, her silk high-heeled slippers, and walking through gilded and candlelit halls before being twirled around the grand ballroom dancing to live orchestra music.

The spaces beneath her eyes superheated and her gums itched. Humans walked past her ignorant of the threat she posed. Lily found herself ensnared, staring at their beautiful, breakable skin, inhaled their mouth-watering scents—which the people of this time smelled far better than those during the 19th and 20th century—her ears twitched with every beat of their hearts that it was all she could hear or think about.

Lily swallowed and her throat burned. Since being here she held fast to her regime of only having a few drops of blood a day. Lily didn't trust herself to consume an entire blood bag, deftly afraid if she indulged she wouldn't stop indulging. Without her family—her true family there to make sure she never tipped over the edge, she couldn't risk it. And that's why it was imperative she speak with the Bonnie girl and get her to see her plight. Understand the ramifications of what would happen to the people of this town, the world over if she was without her family any longer.

Right now though, Lily needed air. She abandoned the warm halls of the residence and traveled outside to the backyard. With her impeccable eyesight, Lily easily spotted her eldest son. He seemed to be transfixed with someone and it wasn't the waif standing next to him. Turning her head, Lily found the answer to her own riddle.

It was Bonnie…in a dress only a courtesan of her time would be brazen enough to wear. Instead of blushing in embarrassment for the girl, Lily felt…an odd sense of pride for Bonnie's boldness and audacity. She didn't strike the type to be comfortable with wearing something that exposed so much, but Lily conceded she knew next to nothing about the young witch to start with. What was incontrovertible was Bonnie being invaluable to Damon. He liked—no he loved her and wanted to protect her, which spoke volumes.

Now standing among the group, Lily looked between her sons. "Boys."

Stefan stared at her blankly. "Mother."

Damon said nothing. He was too busy stealing peeks at Bonnie from the corner of his eye. Elena perked up at seeing Lily.

"Mrs. Salvatore…wow you look amazing."

Lily smiled wanly at the compliment. She eyed Elena who did her best to remain standing tall. "Thank you. I see there's one thing you know how to do well. Be a well-dressed doll." Lily addressed Stefan next, "I'm surprised to see you here. Out and about in society."

"I don't know why you're surprised. Society is, after all, my buffet."

"Perhaps tonight you might think it appropriate to go on a fast."

Stefan snorted derisively. "From one ripper to another you'll excuse me if I call your advice bullshit. Excuse me."

Lily wasn't hurt or affected by Stefan's words. She didn't have the energy to reach him, and curing him of his inhumanity wasn't her endgame. If he fed on a human or two what was it to her? She hadn't been his mother in well over a hundred years. Lily saw little point in starting now.

"I think I'll go speak with Miss Bonnie," Lily gathered the ends of her dress so she wouldn't trip, but then realized it stopped right below her calves. Her ankles were showing which made her feel naked.

Lily grimaced and moved to walk away but Damon caught her by the arm.

"I could have sworn we already had this discussion about you not going anywhere near Bonnie. I suggest you remember that."

"And I could have sworn I spelled it out what would happen if you tried to interfere. As your brother said…your advice is bullshit."

Hearing his mother curse inspired chuckles to come out of Damon, but he hadn't relinquished her pale white limb.

"Damon," Elena called hoping to diffuse a possible scene. "Stop."

"Listen to the waif, son. We wouldn't want to out certain secrets in this gathering, would we?" Lily raised a challenging brow.

Damon called her bluff. "You wouldn't."

Red veins overtook the whites of her eyes, and when Lily parted her lips her fangs were visible. Someone walking by gawked.

"I haven't fed all day."

Defiantly, Damon held on a little longer but finally gave in, let his mother go. Her face returned to normal and she flitted elsewhere.

"I need a drink," Damon tugged down the end of his jacket. "Excuse me."

"I'll come with you."

"No, stay here and keep an eye on things."

Twenty minutes later, hunger and thirst dictated that Bonnie abandon her dance partner. She weaved her way through the condensed crowd over to a refreshments table and snagged a glass of bubbly and a small crab cake she popped in her mouth. Her taste buds exploded, and she helped herself to another before meandering to a table to rest her feet. Bonnie wasn't alone for five minutes before her solitude was interrupted.

"Mind if I sit?"

Her eyes crashed into russet orbs. "No, help yourself."

Elena smiled as she pulled out the chair next to Bonnie and dumped her butt on it.

This was their first time seeing each other and to say it was awkward would be an understatement.

"I didn't get to tell you this before but you look really amazing, Bonnie."

"Thank you. You do, too."

They grew silent again.

"So," Elena exaggerated the word, "you're Klaus' date? I didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I."

It had been surreal for Elena to see two men on Bonnie's arms, granted one of those men happened to be her boyfriend and the other their enemy; they were men nonetheless. It almost triggered a memory in Elena that never quite came to fruition as if she were experiencing mental constipation. Seeing her friend so fierce and sexy it made Elena kind of recognize for the first time Bonnie was coming out of the shadows and coming into her own, and if you weren't prepared for that you were going to be left behind.

For Bonnie things were bittersweet. The strain between herself and Elena had never been this bad before. They had hit rough patches sure, but went right back to being giggling, naïve girls who thought they had the world figured out. Now, too much had happened for them to rebuild what they had and at this point Bonnie was too mentally exhausted to try. Intrinsically it wasn't Klaus Elena was so interested in hearing about, Bonnie knew. She could tell that Elena was looking for the most tactful way to question her friendship with Damon but didn't want to come off rude, insensitive, or jealous.

The man of the hour flitted past their table dancing with the newest anchorwoman. Elena lifted a brow whereas Bonnie snickered a bit especially when Damon had to reach behind him to stop the woman's hand from grabbing his ass.

"I swear I can't take him anywhere," Elena remarked dryly.

"No, you can't."

"This is strange. Being at one of these things and no one's life is in danger."

"Well the nights still young."

Elena shifted on the padded chair, "Are you feeling okay, Bonnie?"

She sipped her champagne before replying, "Are you really interested in my answer?"

The implication that she may not care piqued Elena. "Of course. I know I've been preoccupied lately, but that doesn't mean I don't care about what's going on with you."

"But what is going on with me, Elena?"

The doppelgänger fidgeted, unsure. "I can only assume that you're still adjusting to being home, and I know Lily wants to talk to you about freeing her family. Anything else...I can't say. In all fairness you haven't been opening up to me, either.

"You never question why I don't."

"Why you don't confide in me? I…don't know."

Bonnie snorted. "It never crossed your mind to question why I suddenly went from telling you everything about my life, to hardly letting you in beyond the front door?"

"I…" Elena moistened her lips and if she were still human her temperature would be steadily rising. "All I remember is…after Grams died you told me not to force you to choose, and so I took it to mean there were certain things you didn't want to discuss."

The witch adjusted in her seat facing her head on. "But even after I got over my vampire bias…the communication between us, Elena always remained one-sided where a majority of the time was spent talking about your problems and trying to save your life. It felt like…if I weren't a witch I wouldn't have mattered to you at all."

"Bonnie, that's not true! How could…okay…I can see why you'd think you didn't matter to me, but I was…"

"I don't need any excuses."

Hot air rushed through Elena's nostrils. She really had no idea where any of this was coming from and why now. Bonnie had been visibly upset earlier, and as a friend Elena wanted to check to see if she were all right. It never crossed her mind that she might be part of whatever was bothering Bonnie.

"Then what do you need, Bonnie because I don't know where any of this is coming from or what you want from me? I just know there were times where I asked you if you were doing okay, and you told me you were fine and I didn't want to push because you had so much on your plate to deal with. I do apologize for not being there for you like you've always been there for me, but that's in the past and we can't go back and change it. All we can do is move forward."

Bonnie smiled sadly, finished off her champagne, and got to her feet. "It's so easy for you to move forward when you don't remember what happened in the past. Not all of us have the luxury of taking the easy way out, or having our problems handled for us. Excuse me," she wandered off to another area of the backyard.

This party is gotdamn boring, Stefan lamented killing another bottle of champagne. He had done away with drinking out of a glass long ago. His mother was here—the old hag—trying not to look too bright-eyed and out of her element. He snorted before giving his attention to his brother who finally managed to pry that anchorwoman's hands off of him. She was no Andie Starr but he'd fuck her. Next he spied Elena taking in periodic gulps of air. Aww, was she trying not to cry about something.

The old him probably would have seized that as his golden opportunity to throw subtle shade that Elena had made the wrong choice in brother since he knew how to appeal to her falsely bleeding heart. Now, he didn't give a flying fig what bothered her or the source of her angst. The more in misery the merrier.

Finally, Stefan brought his gaze to Bonnie and Klaus. He was curious if Klaus had any intentions of introducing Bonnie's stomach to a flat surface in the near future while lining up behind her. Stefan doubted it as Bonnie was even more of wet mop than his "good boy" persona, and Klaus fancied himself carrying a torch for a certain blonde who—come to think of it—hadn't made an appearance.

Tossing the bottle, Stefan made tracks inside of the house. He was ready to feed now, and the alcohol a few of the ladies had been drinking should have kicked in by this point. Not that he needed inhibitions to be lowered to get the sustenance his physiology craved, but it didn't hurt.

Standing in a corner, donned in a simple black gown that swept the floor, Stefan found his next meal. Blue veins visible under her translucently pale skin, wheat colored hair, smiling cerulean eyes. Something about her was oddly familiar and as the ripper continued to look it dawned on him why his taste buds were firing in remembrance. Not many survived after coming across his fangs, but this one had, years ago. It was Amber, the missing contestant from the Miss Mystic Falls pageant three years later.

Stefan watched as Amber laughed at some joke the woman in front of her made. His eyes darkened when she said she had to step away for a minute. He trailed behind her through the crowd, staying far enough away to avoid suspicion. How would he play with her tonight? Stefan hadn't decided.

Amber turned a corner and five seconds later, Stefan turned as well. Just as he was closing the distance, his arm was yanked and he was hauled in a completely different direction.

No party was complete without her presence. Dressed in flowy blood-orange chiffon, Caroline found ivory and ebony seated at a table having a tête-à-tête about prior transgressions or whatever. She didn't stick around to listen. Caroline left them to it in search of some other game that wouldn't put her to sleep. She knew Klaus was here somewhere and though a part of her wanted to cross paths, for the moment that was one skeleton in her closet that could remain there. Luckily for her she came across Stefan. He sure did know how to wear Brioni.

Without a word, Caroline marched up to Stefan, grabbed, and tried to haul him into the nearest room she could find. He swung around, vampiric mask in place, but laughed seeing it was her.

Stefan tore himself free, adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. "What are you doing?"

Caroline snorted. "Has it really been that long you need it spelled out?"

No," Stefan swiped imaginary wrinkles off the front of his tuxedo jacket. "I might not have the best standards right now, but I'll always dictate when I become a piece of meat, and right now it's not yours that I want."

"Who cares?"

"You do," Stefan soon became distracted as Amber stepped out of the bathroom.

He didn't excuse himself as he went after her leaving Caroline in the dust. Well, if he wasn't going to help her liven things up, like with most things, she'd have to do it herself.

"You know, witchy something occurred to me."

Damon snuck up on her in the midst of stuffing her mouth. Covering her orifice with a hand, Bonnie stared at him questionably. "What occurred to you?" she talked around partially chewed crab. "This party sucks?"

"That as well," Damon plucked Bonnie's fork out of her hand and helped himself to a portion of her food. His lips wrapped around buttery crab. He nodded and hummed in approval and right when he was about to dig in for another bite, the fork disappeared from his hand. "Umm, I was eating."

"Right, exactly. Get your own plate and stop siphoning off mine. I've had enough of that," Bonnie mumbled under her breath.

Chagrined, Damon swallowed and got things back on track. "I realized that you and I haven't cut a rug since the sixties dance."

Bonnie thought about it and came to the conclusion she saw no lies. She sliced through her slab of sweet potato pie. "In all fairness, I didn't like you enough to want to dance with you any time following that particular dance."

"And I'm sure somewhere in there the feeling was mutual. But we like each other now."

Bonnie raised a brow.

Damon absorbed her look of skepticism. "You can deny it all you want, but the thought of losing me…terrifies you," he dramatically widened his eyes.

"Is this your long-winded way of asking me to dance?"

"Why Bonnie I'd love to," Damon grabbed the plate and fork out of her hand, dumping them on a table.

For the second time Bonnie was being dragged to the dance floor. After talking with Elena who had since made herself scarce, Bonnie had been toted around by Klaus who introduced her to literally everyone here. The names and faces ran together that Bonnie stopped paying attention. One of the people she had hoped to avoid, Lily Salvatore, Bonnie saw in passing. Yet she knew it'd be a matter of time before the Salvatore matriarch cornered her.

Now she was about to dance with the woman's son.

Bonnie looked up at Damon—waiting.

His polished shoes shuffled closer. One hand wound around Bonnie's waist, fingers brushing the areas of exposed skin that he felt pickle in response. The other clasped her proffered hand, which he gazed at. Damon stared down into feline, chartreuse eyes and pulled Bonnie closer, so close she felt every inch between his abs and thighs. Slowly they began moving from side to side.

Damon led her across the floor, taking command of her body that made her feel ultra- feminine and tiny. He even lifted Bonnie a time or two, his arms locked underneath her bottom, her hands poised on his shoulders as he held her suspended. He tossed her and being an experienced flyer when she was cheerleader, Bonnie twisted her body and landed bridal style in Damon's arms. She giggled as she was placed back on her feet.

That's how Elena found them. Seeing Bonnie and Damon together made something in her lower gut, knot. The feeling wasn't alleviated by the goofy half-smirk on her boyfriend's face.

"My, don't they look cozy together."

Elena cringed at the sound of Caroline's voice. She didn't comment or waste time asking what she was doing here. This would be the second time Elena was seeing Bonnie and Damon exhibiting more than platonic chemistry. She didn't want to be that girl who automatically jumped to conclusions and throw out bogus accusations, but what she had learned or rather relearned about Damon was…he didn't have friendships with women. He had a weird albeit special bond with Sheriff Forbes, but other than her, Damon really only interacted with Elena and...Bonnie. And he certainly never looked at Liz the way he was doing to Bonnie.

"Don't look so constipated, Elena. They aren't fucking."

"Shut the hell up," the doppelganger snapped.

Caroline shrugged insouciantly. "I'll leave you with this…one of them sure as hell wants to. Can you guess which one?"

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please leave me some feedback to survive off on until the muse strikes again.