Chapter 34: Silhouettes – Part II

AN: Wow guys! We've hit 200 reviews on this collection! Thank you all so much for your support and kind words. I have so many ideas still so as long as you are here for it, I'ma keep them coming! I know I promised you a multi chapter fic, and it's coming, but focusing more on these song fics. Thanks again! Love you guys – Vanessa

…

I light the fuse
And I watch it burn
And somewhere deep inside I know there's a lesson to be learned
It's not the crime but the way that we pay for
Feelings unmutual

And you go upstairs
And I hang my head
Somebody said I let myself down as I crawled into bed
I wandered why the hell I'd ever paid for
Feelings unmutual

…

Bonnie looked around at the large gathering of people. It didn't take long for her to figure out how this impromptu bonfire got started. Two words. Damon Salvatore.

Elena came to stand beside her. "This is a bad idea."

Bonnie shrugged. "Probably. But we have to take them out on our terms.". How many more people are going to die if we don't."

"How many people will die tonight if we go through with this? Look at all these people Bonnie." She gestured around her in disbelief. When Stefan told her about the plot to take out the tomb vampires, she had her concerns; she thought it would only be a few people, but when she got here, Elena became worried.

"Damon said he has a plan." She said with a roll of her eyes and a helpless shrug. Not that he shared it with her, but he was letting her help so she didn't push her luck. Her phone rang, and she whipped it out of her pocket. "Hello?"

"Looks like the gangs all here. You ready?"

Bonnie's eyes darted around. "Where are you guys?"

"I'm around. Stefan's by the gazebo." Both girls glanced over at him subtly and Stefan nodded back in response, before pushing off and slinking away into the shadows. "Wait for my signal." Then the line when dead.

It wasn't long before an unfamiliar group started to filter in, slipping between the teenagers stealthily. The hairs on the back of Bonnie's neck stood, as her senses recognized them as vampires. "Stay close." She whispered to Elena, keeping her eyes closely on Caroline, who was completely oblivious to the situation. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Damon and Stefan checking the perimeter on the outskirts of the forest, but unbeknownst to them, one vampire in particular was making his way towards Caroline who had wandered off to a cooler for another drink.

On instinct alone, Bonnie stopped him in his tracks, giving him an aneurysm that brought him to his knees with a painful groan. This drew the attention of some of the party goers and the vampires. When they all snapped their gaze to her, panic started to rise.

"Bonnie…" Elena mumbled nervously, glancing around as they closed in on them.

The witch backed up, pushing Elena behind her. "Get Caroline, and anyone else you can and get out of here." Elena ran off, and along with Alaric, started leading the confused teenagers away from the area.

The ring leader smirked. "You must be the Bennett witch. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment." He closed in on her slowly, stalking his prey. "Where's everybody going? This party was just getting started!" He called out. The vampires jumped into action, attacking what was left of the people and then the screaming began.

Stefan and Damon's heads snapped up at the commotion in the distance. "Well, that's not good." Damon commented dryly, staking the vampire he found creeping through the trees.

They took off in the direction of the clearing and ran into Alaric and Elena as they ushered people out of the area. "What the hell happened?" Stefan immediately ran to Elena taking her in his arms.

"One of the tomb vampires went after Caroline. We managed to get her and most of the others out but I'm worried about Bonnie." She stated frantically looking back over her shoulder. Damon's gaze snapped to her sharply. "She put him down, but she's by herself-"

He didn't waste time waiting for her to continue. Damon sped through the forest and stopped at the scene before him. There were a couple people scrambling away, injured, but still alive, and most of the remaining vampires were writhing on the ground, either clutching their heads in pain, or sputtering up the vervain-tainted blood of their victims. And there was Bonnie, wind blowing around her, eyes filled with fury and her arms stretched out as she incapacitated several vampires at once.

She was a force to be reckoned with, but he could see and smell the blood leaking from her nose profusely. Making eye contact with her, Damon brought his finger to his lips, advising her to not draw attention to him. He sneak-attacked on each vampire one by one, until the last vampire, Fredrick, was the only one left.

Damon crouched down next to him. "Hello Fredrick…man, I've been waiting a long time for this." He taunted. "I never liked you."

Despite his pain, he laughed. "I never liked you either. Neither did Katherine."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "Okay, I'm done." He drove his hand through his chest, and ripped out his heart, rising, and dropping it carelessly to the ground. "You were supposed to wait for my signal." He called out to the witch. As he walked towards her, he noticed her swaying on her feet, and her eyes rolled back. "Bonnie?" He was at her side, catching her before she hit the ground, and he gently laid her out, suddenly feeling this uncomfortable feeling stirring in his gut. He was scared; a feeling he hadn't felt in over a hundred years. "Bonnie? Come on wake up…Damn it!" he swore, ripping his sleeve open and biting down on his wrist, placing it to her mouth. "Drink…you have to drink Bonnie, please." He coaxed her quietly.

In the distance, he could hear the sirens getting closer, and Stefan and Elena ran up. "Damon, we have to get out of here before Liz shows up." Stefan warned his brother with concern.

"Just give her a minute." He snapped.

"We don't have a minute! The Sheriff can't see us here like this; we'll blow our cover. We have to get out of here." Elena was clinging to Stefan, her hand covering her mouth as she stared down at her friend.

With a disgruntled groan, Damon scooped Bonnie up in his arms, and he sped off through the forest, with Stefan and Elena following behind.

…

Damon stood in front of the fireplace, a drink in one hand and the other leaning on the mantle as he stared down into the flames. After getting Bonnie back to the boarding house last night, he spent a long time sitting silently, listening for her even breathing. She had finally taken his blood, but was in and out of consciousness for hours; weak and drained of energy and magic.

He never should have allowed her to get involved. The whole thing had been weighing heavy on him; racking him with guilt. There were too many emotions flowing through him, including anger that she would jump into the fight alone, and relief that she survived it.

Damon's phone rang for the hundredth time that day – the Sheriff checking in after last nights blood bath. Reluctantly, he answered. "Hi Liz."

"Damon, thank God, I was worried. Are you okay?"

Damon sipped his bourbon. "It's been a bit of a rough night. Sorry about the mess."

"That we can deal with. I don't know how you did it…but thank you."

He saw Bonnie walking gingerly into the room and he straightened. "Liz, I'm gonna have to call you back." He hung up without another word, and tucked his phone in his back pocket. "You look better." He chanced a small smile.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself. "I am. I guess I have you to thank for that."

He swallowed, but his voice still came out strained. "Don't mention it."

She let out a nervous laugh, averting her eyes. "You saved my life, Damon. I think it's worth mentioning." She stepped further into the room. "I got all those people hurt. If you didn't show up when you did…"

Damon shook his head. "People were bound to get hurt. I was counting on it." She shot him a disbelieving glare. "I spiked their drinks with vervain. There was no way we were making it out alive if it turned into fight. It was a set up and they fell for it." He tossed back the rest of his drink and turned to refill. "Now they're dead."

"I can't believe you! People could have died! How could you just risk their lives like that?!" she demanded.

He turned back in incredulity. "Because I knew it was going to work! And why are you so surprised, Bonnie? I'm a vampire! I do what I want, when I want! I don't care about anyone or anything, remember?" He argued back spitefully, recalling her words.

She scoffed a cynical laugh. "Just when I thought there was something redeemable in you, you have to go and prove me wrong."

Damon raised his glass and quirked a bitter smirk. "Sorry to disappoint."

She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight on her hips. "Are you?" His brows pulled together. "Sorry. Are you sorry that you allowed innocent people to get hurt for your own benefit?"

His face pinched incredulously. "My benefit!? Last I checked, those tomb vampires were out for the blood of you and your friends. I could have just as easily let them." He grumbled, wishing it were true.

"Don't act like this whole thing wasn't a ploy to get in good with the council."

"Okay, yeah that's a bonus…but Liz asked me to help and I promised her I would." He shot back defensively. "You didn't see the look on her face." He added reflectively, recalling the crumbled expression of a worried mother. For some reason it pulled on his heart strings and he felt obligated to do something about it. Liz reminded him of his own mother. When he glanced back up from his drink, Bonnie was looking at him with narrowed eyes; not with anger or venom, but curiously, like she was studying him…reading him like he was a complex text that was layered with deeper meanings. He felt uncomfortable under her intense scrutiny. "What?" he snapped.

She shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure you out. You say you don't care but…" she trailed off with a shake of her head, trying to make it all make sense. "Elena told me when you found out I was in trouble you came for me. You didn't even hesitate." Damon averted his eyes. He had been so concerned in that moment; he didn't think there was one thing that would have stopped him for going to her. "Show me that guy. Show me that you are capable of caring about someone or something other than yourself, and maybe I can allow myself to trust you."

She held his gaze for a moment longer before walking to the kitchen, leaving Damon alone with his thoughts. He was torn; torn between proving to her that he can be someone worthy of her trust, and pushing her as far away from him as humanly possible. The latter was currently the one winning.

…

The days following, were strained in the boarding house. Bonnie was actively avoiding Damon, and it was bothering him more than he cared to admit. He was in the shower when his senses picked up on her voice from her room.

"I don't know…maybe I'm crazy but I feel like it's all a façade."

Damon let the water wash over his face, listening intently to her phone conversation.

"No, I saw him, Elena. In my room. I think he stayed there all night, like he was watching over me. Why would he do that, if he didn't honestly care?"

His head shot up. The night he brought her back to the boarding house, he sat in the chair in the corner of her room making sure she was okay. He must have fallen asleep at some point, and he cursed himself for being so careless.

"I tried! But I can't read him; he just gets so hostile."

Of course, he did! Because, slowly she was chipping away at the hard shell he usually encased himself in and one part of him found himself wanting to let her in, while the other part was dead set on keeping her out.

"Yeah…okay, I'll see you later."

Damon turned the water off, deep in thought as he dried off and got dressed. What would be the worst that could happen if he allowed her to see that guy? He walked over to her room slowly, seeing her packing a back on the bed. "You leaving?"

She looked up, catching his gaze from the other side of the room. "Yeah. Tomb vampires are gone so I'm going home." There was a shortness in her tone that told him, she was still angry with him.

He couldn't argue with that, but the thought of her leaving made this house feel a lot emptier. "Bonnie…" he started sucking in a breath. "I am…sorry." His words were strained and uncomfortable. Apologizing wasn't something he was used to doing. "I'm sorry that people got hurt, but if I'm honest the only person I was worried about that night was you. And…I do care about some things." He finished slowly, awkwardly rocking on his heels. Something about her eyes made him feel like a bumbling teenager.

Her face softened from the tense scowl into a gentler expression, a twinge of a smile quirking her lips. "So honest Damon resurfaces." She stopped packing, resting her hands on her duffel bag. "You were worried about me." It was more of a statement than a question, but he nodded anyway. "Is that why you stayed in my room; to make sure I was okay?"

"Yes." He admitted lowly, keeping his eyes trained on a spot on the floor. His gaze darted up, and he tried to read her expression. In an effort to sound aloof, he continued. "Look a hundred and fifty years ago, I made a promise to Emily Bennett that I would protect her descendants in exchange for a favor." He offered a careless shrug.

Bonnie's brows raised high on her forehead. "That must have been a pretty big favor. So that's what this is all about…you're just keeping your promise to my dead ancestor?" The bite in her tone indicated that she didn't fully believe him.

"Yep."

"So what was it?" She fired back.

"What was what?"

She rolled her eyes. "What was the favor?"

"She knew they would have her burned at the stake for her allegiance to the vampires, so she promised to seal Katherine in the tomb to save her and the others, so long as I made sure to protect her lineage." He explained nonchalantly.

Her eyes shifted to the side. "But…Katherine wasn't even in the tomb, Damon. She lied to you. She cheated you out of her end of the deal, so why?" She planted her hands on her hips.

"I don't know…old habits die hard I guess." He quirked a causal smirk to play off the tension behind it. Both she and Stefan were too observing for their own good.

"Bullshit."

She was angry, that was evident. "Why do I get the impression you're pissed about this."

She threw her arms in the air. "Because you're lying! What I don't understand is why."

"What do you want me to say, Bonnie?!" he exclaimed.

"The truth!"

His eyes widened heatedly. "That's not something I can share right now!"

"And why not?!"

"Because you're not ready to hear it!" he snapped back.

Her head reeled back and her lips pursed with attitude. "I'm not ready to hear it or you're not ready to say it?"

Damon stared at her intensely, exhaling heavily through his nose. She matched his stare challengingly, waiting for him speak. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I'll see you around, Bonnie." His words signaled the end of the conversation, and he turned to leave the room.

Her voice stopped him. "So that's it? You're just going to walk away?"

"It appears that way." He said over his shoulder, before heading to his room.

He heard the door slam behind her ten minutes later, and Damon watched her pull out of the driveway from his window. With a frustrated sigh, he turned and there was Stefan in his doorway. "What do you want, Stefan?" he asked tiredly.

"It's Bonnie." He seemed astounded. "Here I thought that it would be Elena, but it's Bonnie."

Damon busied himself with grabbing his phone off the dresser, avoiding his brother's stare. "What are you talking about?" He shrugged into his leather jacket.

"Do you have feelings for her, Damon?" Damon rolled his eyes and attempted to push passed him, but Stefan's hand in the middle of his chest stopped him. "Do you love her?" His brows pulled together as he tried to understand his brother's true motives.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? I mean it makes sense. Why you invited her here, why you were so adamant about keeping her out of the fight…how worried you were about her. You care about her, Damon; admit it." He pressed.

Smacking Stefan's hand off his chest, Damon glared at him. "Yes, I care about Bonnie. But she doesn't need to know that, nor do I want her to."

"Why not?"

"Because she deserves better, and I know the feeling is not mutual." Damon sighed, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "Let it go, Stef. It ain't gonna happen." He resigned with a dejected smile. "I'll see you later."

Stefan was left standing shell shocked. He was having a hard time believing that Damon, of all people was willing to let it go. He pinned after the same woman for a hundred plus years, but for some reason, he was just going to admit defeat and move on? No…there was more to it that that, and Stefan was going to get to the bottom of it.

…

AN: Hey! Thanks for waiting for this update, I know it took me a while! Stay tuned for part 3! - Vanessa