Bonnie laid content in her clearing in the woods. It's been five days since she discovered she was a witch and suddenly, everything seemed to fall in place. Magic was exhausting, but she always felt refreshed and content when she was dead tired. Today was one of those days.
"It's 7.30 already, Bonnie, you need to go to school, Bonnie," Cassie called out from the book she was reading.
This was their routine now, they ran together, meditated together, and then Bonnie channelled magic while Cassie was on stand by. Bonnie liked to stay in the clearing longer, so Cassie began to get her books.
"But I don't want to go to school. Why don't we learn more magic today? You know I'm a responsible student, my grades are okay, school is so boring after knowing magic. Grams won't mind either, she's super happy I'm showing interest."
"Fine, let's go do something Grams would disapprove of."
"Really? What?"
"I'll tell you when we get there. But if you keep lounging here all morning, I'll have to bring myself breakfast too."
"As if you'll have breakfast before a shower," Bonnie pulled her leg. Cassie was an oldie set in her ways when it came to things like that."
"Forgive me for my hygiene," Cassie shot back as she offered her hand to Bonnie.
"Admit it, you're an oldie."
"Wait until you get to your mid-twenties, kid."
They made their way to Damon's blue Camaro parked on the closest road.
"So, where are we going?"
"The Boarding House. Buckle up"
The engine started with the smooth purr Bonnie was beginning to appreciate.
"So how is spirit magic different from ancestral magic?"
"Ancestral magic is a way of harvesting magic of the dead by consecrating them. The process is necessary and ancestral magic is tied to the place where the dead were consecrated. Spirit magic, on the other hand, is wider. Every dead witch becomes a spirit whether or not they're tied to this realm or physically manifesting. There are usually more dead witches than there are consecrated dead witches."
"So spirit magic is more powerful?"
"Not necessarily. While some family lines are more powerful than others. The number of witches in the line also factors into it."
"How long is the Bennett line?"
"All the way back to Salem in 1692, so generations of witches from over 200 years."
"That's a lot."
"It could be traced back further too if we get our hands on the right books. Both my father's and mother's side of the family can be traced back to at least the thirteenth century."
"Both your parents were witched?"
"My father would be called a wizard, but yes, they were both magical."
Bonnie hesitated just a moment before asking her next question, "They're not alive?"
She felt a flare that dissipated before she could identify the emotion.
"Something like that."
Bonnie fell silent. It may have been momentary, but she could pick the fluctuation in aura from the witch. She could do so with her Grams too.
Bonnie berated herself for her lack of tact. Cassie had been open to every doubt and question she had, but she shouldn't have assumed it would extend to her family. Even if it did, asking if someone's parents were dead was too blunt even for Caroline.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," she apologized as they pulled up in front of the garage.
Cassie turned to her, "You didn't upset me, Bon. It's been a while since I thought about them and it caught me off guard, that's all. My father is alive, my mother has been missing for a long time. I was doing some research about local history and myths and I just realized I should have looked into my mother's side. I'm glad you helped, unintentional as it may be. Let's go."
Bonnie itched to ask about the research but she figured she already crossed the line once today, so instead settled for, "If you're looking into Mystic Falls history, the journals of the founding families are at the town archive. Elena has some at her home too."
"Interesting, Lockwoods and Gilberts are both founding families, right?"
"Yeah, the Salvatores too."
"Can this Salvatore help?" Damon opened the door and leaned against it.
"Bonnie is our guest this morning," Cassie pushed Damon in, opening the door to Bonnie.
"Hi, Damon," Bonnie greeted awkwardly.
Damon looked from Bonnie to Cassie, as if connecting dots, making Bonnie wonder if Damon knew Cassie was a witch. She wondered why she never questioned it before. She wondered if she could only date witches or witch friendly people from now on. She should have started dating sooner, but in her defence, she had no way of knowing her life would take this turn.
Damon snapped his fingers in her face, and Bonnie realized she zoned out again. It was another side effect of knowing a whole new world existed.
"I know I'm pretty, but take a picture Bennett," Damon smirked at her. Her face heated up in embarrassment.
"I was not staring at you, I zoned out and you were in my line of sight," her explanation was painful even to her own ears and her face heated up further.
Damon just made a face at her and Cassie and sauntered in. Bonnie took the opportunity to look at the bookshelves lining the living room.
"Is she up?" she heard Cassie ask.
"Nah, too early for her, another hour or two. I didn't know we were doing a bring your pet to breakfast theme."
"Lame one, Damon," Cassie retorted before Bonnie could. "Don't mind him, Bonnie, he's a cranky person."
She turned back to Damon, "We'll freshen up, can you get the breakfast going?"
"Pancakes?"
"Works for me. Is that alright, Bonnie?"
"Yeah, sure, anything. Sorry to be a bother," she told Damon.
"Please, you're always welcome here, Bennett," Damon pointed her to the stairs.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them sat down at the kitchen table and Damon handed them each a plate stacked with pancakes.
"I should probably go without juice," he made a face at Cassie.
"That'll be ideal, we want to be gentle."
"I don't know, maybe she could handle rough."
"Damon, she's sixteen, stop being inappropriate, you sound like a wannabe but miserably failing fun uncle."
"I'm plenty fun, you don't have enough fun." He turned to Bonnie, "She isn't very fun upstairs either," he complained to her in a mock whisper. Cassie rolled her eyes and threw a berry at him.
"Wow, insult the chef and then hit the chef. You're not getting breakfast again, Miss Black."
Bonnie dug into her breakfast in silence closely following the couple's conversation, it was both funny and nauseating at the same time.
"So what's the plan today?" she interrupted before they started again.
Cassie threw up what she now recognized to be silencing wards.
"I think it's time for Supernatural 101, little witch," Damon answered
She looked from Damon to Cassie to see if she'd refute the statement.
"Damon knows about witches," Cassie clarified for her. "And we can trust him with this."
"Because I have a secret of my own," Damon winked. "I'm a vampire."
"This is a prank right?" She waited for them to laugh it off.
"Wait, twilight is real?"
"Twilight gets a lot of things wrong, except vampires exist."
"Show her, Damon."
Damon opened his mouth and she saw fangs appear out of nowhere. Thick red veins stood out around his eyes, as his eyes turned blood red. It was a sight to behold, the transition.
"This is real," she asked Cassie
"Very much so," Cassie answered.
"You don't sparkle in sun."
"No one does," Damon scoffed.
"Garlic is okay?"
"Yes, Van Helsing isn't accurate either."
"Holy water?"
"Safe to swim in."
"So, you drink blood."
"That's how it works. Honestly, I expected more of a reaction, little witch."
"I just got to know I'm a witch and magic exists, nothing trumps that," Bonnie explained as a half-apology.
"Don't pout. You get to dazzle her with your skills," Cassie laughed pouring two glasses of juice.
Damon put up a finger, "I'll be back," he told them.
"Damon heard someone coming" she gave as an explanation. "It is unusual for you to be at the Boarding House. We don't want anyone to find out you know about vampires."
"Wait, is Stefan also a vampire?"
"He is."
"Does Elena know too?"
"She does."
"Can't she know about witches too?"
"Bonnie, what have I told you about magical secrets?"
"That they stay secrets."
"Stefan might tell her because he thinks they're serious. That's his call. But for now, it's best for you to keep about magic to yourself. Besides, Elena didn't tell you she knows about vampires" she told her pointedly. "Vicki is a vampire too, by the way, she doesn't know about witches. Stefan knows about witches, can guess you are one, but doesn't know about me, he thinks I'm some kind of living vampire."
"Does Matt know Vicki is a vampire?"
"No."
"This is confusing."
"It can be."
Damon walked in. "Little Miss Gilbert is on a mission."
"Now what?"
"No clue. She skipped school too. Does every one of you skip school, little witch?" he asked Bonnie.
She just shrugged noncommittally. "School isn't that great."
"Here I thought you were two goody shoes."
Cassie dismantled the wards with the same ease. Elena and Stefan joined them soon after and the atmosphere tensed up. They looked surprised to see her, Elena asked, "Bonnie, what are you doing here?"
"She was unwell, Sheila had to go to college, I offered to look after her, Cassie answered smoothly"
"Bonnie, you can't be here, let's go. You can stay at my place."
"I'm fine here, Elena. It's cool." Bonnie ended the discussion with a stubborn look of her own. Her friends were both extremely bossy, she usually goes along with it. But sometimes she put her foot down and never budged.
"You thought it was safe for her here?" Elena questioned Cassie.
The temperature dropped a little. Cassie answered, "I don't know, Elena, why are you here if you thought it wasn't safe?"
"Stefan will take care of me."
"But Damon and I together can't take care of Bonnie?"
"Elena, let's not antagonize them," Stefan tried to calm her.
Vicki's entry cut the argument short.
"Wow, I didn't know we were having a party. Are we having a party?" Vicki asked Damon.
"Not today, darling." He handed her a glass. Bonnie was disgusted about the blood, but it was someone else's food, so she didn't think it was right to think so.
Stefan didn't seem to have the same reservation though. "I thought we agreed to let her try my diet."
"Vicki is detoxing," Elena told needlessly. "Stefan has been taking care of her."
"I told you, Stefan, she's new at this, she needs proper nutrition," Damon told Stefan.
"Yeah, I want the human stuff," Vicki agreed.
The sheer number of secrets in the room boggled Bonnie. No one really knows about the other, except Cassie, and to an extent, her and Damon. Lying never came easy to her, especially with friends, but it stung her a little to know Elena had been keeping secrets from her too. She swayed slightly, her magic slipping. Cassie held her, grounding her before anything could happen.
"I think I'll go sleep," she excused herself before she got overwhelmed enough to lose control. She didn't want to accidentally light up the place like she had been doing at Gram's place.
The last chapter was supposed to start Bonnie's character growth, but there was too much information and too many things happening. So I tried to remedy that here.
So, some build up on Cassie x Bonnie (strictly platonic) and Bamon dynamics (but nothing sold any time soon, cos that's inappropriate. And at this point, it'll be grooming really). They'll be friends and partners in crime (or against crime) and then it will lead to more. Bamon is the end game, but there'll be Cassie x Damon for a while.
Also, about Elena bashing... I'm really trying to keep it down but it seems compulsive at this point. I'm watching TVD again as I write this and I hate how annoying her character is chalked out to be. I'm showing that she's a little controlling, nosy and bossy. And then slight manipulation-flirtation she had going with Damon. But she grows out of all those because she realizes she's way over her head. It'll happen. But tell me if I'm going overboard on bashing in the meantime.
Next up: Vicki's POV
Folks, I really need reviews to keep going. Do you like the story, do you want me to keep going? Am I treating the characters okay? Feedback, please.