"Being around humans is so tricky," Vicki said, as she slurped on her blood.
"You didn't want to feed on her though," Damon prompted.
"Nope, I can hear their blood pumping, but bags seem convenient. So that's good behaviour right, can I get a ring now? This daylight thing is a bitch."
Vicki was bored. She watched all the good movies in the house and even flipped through some book covers. Having vampire powers isn't fun when she's stuck in a house with other vampires.
"Vicki, you need to understand you are an impulsive person with a history of drugs, you need to be absolutely in control before we can attempt that," Stefan emphasized. Of course, that's what the boring, brooding brother would say.
She turned to Damon to take her chances. "Yeah, no, I'm good, man. I am fine around Elena, we even have a house guest today. I'm ready to go meet some people, right?"
"Matt is worried about her," Elena added, "And I've been lying to Jeremy all week."
"I can meet Matt and Jeremy at least!"
"Oh no, Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore."
"Oh come on, don't you start. I'm going to see whoever I want to see."
"Even though you could hurt him?"
"I will never hurt Jeremy."
"I know you think that, but I can't take that risk. You're going to have to let Jeremy go."
And just like that, all the control Vicki had been mustering snapped.
"Oh really, and how long have you been preparing the you're-not-good-enough speech. I'm assuming that it predates the whole vampire thing."
"All I'm saying is that Jeremy is not getting involved in all of this. I mean it, Vicki."
"Or what?"
In a flash of a second, she had Elena up against the wall by her neck. Stefan pulled her back a second later, but the look of terror on Elena's face as she choked was worth it.
"Let's get one thing straight, you perky little bitch, you had my brother whipped for fifteen years. Fifteen years! Then you dumped him. When I see you, that is all I can think about. Now you're with another vampire, one that used me as a mule to drug his vampire brother. Before you give me speeches about keeping vampires away from Jeremy, remember that you're dating a vampire. Having him over at your place, Jeremy's place. So I'm going to see him whenever I want to see him. Now, I have some fun new toys to play with and I won't think twice before I rip your little head off. You got it?"
She shrugged Stefan away and gave Elena one last glare before Stefan took her away.
"More blood?" Damon asked her. "The showdown deserves a little reward," he smirked.
"Can I actually see Mattie any time soon?" she asked, her anger melted into pain. Even at the worst binges of her life, she'd never been away from home for a week.
"How about tonight?"
"Really?" she squealed, "you're awesome," she hugged Damon and Cassie in excitement.
"Can I tell him I'm clean too?"
The three settled back at the table.
"Sure," Cassie answered, "you can tell him you're staying at a rehab. Live with us a few more weeks before you can get back to your life."
"I can't believe death is the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's like I'm high all the time, a good high and all the time. Everything is heightened, so bloody amazing."
"Wait till you have sex as a vampire," Damon told her.
"Oh dude, I so can't wait. Am I in control yet?"
"We'll find out. A few outings before some sleepovers, if there are no accidents, you'll get your ring. You're free to sleep with whoever you please. Bon Bon doesn't seem okay," Damon told Cassie.
"I'll go check on her. Do you think..?" Cassie trailed off.
"Yeah, give us a shout if you want us there."
"You guys are like an old couple," Vicki told Damon after Cassie left.
"Whatever," he signalled for her to stay quiet as he listened to the couple talking about her outside.
"Are you alright, Bonnie?"
Bonnie sighed, "Life is never going to be the same, is it?"
"You always had a witch for a grandmother, you grew up on those tales, I don't think your life was ever usual."
"You know what I mean," Bonnie whined. "I'll never be honest with anyone ever. All my friends are going to drift away. All this time, I didn't even realize Elena was lying to me."
"Bonnie, is this about having to lie to people, or having been lied to by people? If so, is this about Elena or your Grams?"
"What's the difference? At the end of the day, I have nothing real with anyone."
"You can't be mad at Sheila, Bonnie. She couldn't have told you before you were 15, at the minimum. It takes emotional stability to control and hone magic. There's no point burdening you before you showed any signs of it. Sometimes magic even skips generations, she wouldn't even know if you were a witch."
"I believed her to be a drunkard, never once took her seriously after a certain age. I could have..." Her throat stuck and tears welled up before she could finish the thought.
"You wish you had adults you could count on."
She shook her head mildly surprised, but mostly embarrassed. She felt arms around her, she only hesitated for a moment before she leaned into them, welcoming the warmth.
"I'm sorry, you had to go through that, Bonnie. It may not be much, but I promise you, as long as I'm around, you will have someone to count on."
"That's why Elena's lying bothered me so much. I only had her and Caroline, now I'm afraid I'll lose them too."
"You won't. Not over this. And even if you do, you've got me, you have Damon, you even have Vicki, if you'd like to be friends with her. Do you know Vicki?"
"Not much, we didn't interact much, I know her because of Matt."
"She's going through a huge transition herself, even if you won't be besties, it'll be good to talk to someone your age, have someone at school you can be open with."
"Yeah, that sounds nice."
"And I know loads of witches I can connect you with, so does Grams."
"Maybe not right away. I don't want to feel like I'm giving up on normal life yet."
"Of course. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of Elena, but that's because I have no patience for self-important teenagers trying to butt into my business. That's the thing, she's a teenager who stumbled upon a dark and dangerous secret. I wish she didn't know either but I can appreciate her attempts to shield you. That doesn't make her a bad person."
"It doesn't?"
"No. Just like it won't make you a bad person to lie to her. You are also trying to protect her from your secrets."
"Protect from what?"
"For starters, people who are in the know are forced to pick sides, mundanes like themselves or you. They have to lie to their near and dear on your behalf, which usually strains relationships for everyone. If they stand by you after people find out, they're opening themselves to danger too."
"You said, for starters, that's not all."
"There may be times when being a witch can put you in danger. You have magic to protect yourself, your loved ones won't, they'll be collateral. Again, you're a baby witch who can't levitate a feather, do I wouldn't worry about enemies for another decade or five."
"Hey, I can levitate a feather."
"Yeah, let's make it three."
Cassie made dozens of feathers appear on the bed and signalled for her to start.
Bonnie had about six feathers floating when Damon and Vicki came in.
"Woaaah, can I do that?"
Bonnie lost focus for a second and the feathers dropped to the bed. Her eyes immediately caught Damon's looking at her intensely.
"She's a witch, not a vampire," Damon told her. "You're a delight to watch, Bonnie Bennett," he told her. Her cheeks turned red and she broke eye contact immediately and looked down to her feathers. She was hyper-aware of him settling at the end of the bed next to Cassie.
"Obviously, this is a secret from the rest of the Mystic Falls," Cassie added.
"Hey, I'm just happy to be included in something. I'll keep your secret, especially since I know and that bitch she calls friend doesn't." Vicki sat half way between them at the closest edge.
"I'll translate," Damon raised his hand like a school kid, "Elena made Vicki's turning into her own relationship problem."
"Alright, no more talking. Bonnie, want to show off?"
Bonnie nodded and closed her eyes, channelling all her nervousness and awkward energy into levitating the feathers.
"Bonnie, this is amazing, you have to see this," Cassie half-whispered. She opened her eyes to see hundreds of feathers floating in the room.
"I did this," she grinned.
"Of course, you did," Cassie grinned back.
"Magic is beautiful," Vicki joined.
Bonnie felt Damon's eyes on her the rest of the afternoon. It didn't scare her or weird her out, even though she knew it was supposed to. Being around him felt as safe as being with Grams, the same comfort she developed with Cassie. But with Damon, it was already there.
Looking at him from time to time, she felt as if he knew something about it too. She wasn't sure if she should ask Cassie or Grams. Her Grams didn't like vampires on principle, and she couldn't imagine asking Cassie about some strange magical feeling she felt towards her fiance.
After days of boredom in the house of Salvatore, Vicki Donovan was about to be released. Temporarily, but still.
Stefan did not return after she scared Elena away. The day had passed relatively quickly with most of the attention on Bennett. Damon and Cassie didn't keep track of how much blood she was having, because they were caught up with the witch or because she was going to meet her human brother. All in all, she was in a good buzz.
Damon was going to pretend to be her sponsor, Cassie was coming along because she had met Matt a couple of times.
When the car pulled in front of her house, she almost ran in at super speed. Damon caught her before she could.
"Remember, your brother is a fragile human. Don't get emotional. No anger, no sadness. Stay away from his body altogether. Got it?"
"Yeah, man. I won't hurt, Matty. Let's go!"
Five minutes and a few lies later, they were all in the living room.
"What the hell, Vick. Couldn't you at least leave a message? I was worried sick. Jeremy and I were going to start a search any day now."
"I'm sorry, Matt. I was not happy with how life was going, I got an opportunity to make a difference and I took it. The first few days were really difficult."
"Couldn't one of you tell me, at least?"
Matt had this effect on people, making them feel guilty or sorry. She didn't like to be on the receiving end, but it was always a surprise to see it in action.
"Sorry, Matt. We're new to town, she didn't seem to be in a good shape. The hospital contacted your mother but she was not reachable. I realize I should have asked Caroline."
"Never mind, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. There were a few animal attacks in the last few days, and Vicki partied in the woods sometimes. I was out of my head. So you're really clean right now?"
"Yeah, no drugs for over five days now."
"I'm so excited, Vick. And so proud of you."
It was probably the first time she heard him say it. She was ashamed of that.
"Matt. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you had to take care of me, feel responsible for me. I promise, you don't have to anymore. I'll take care of both of us."
She didn't know how she'd do that, but with all the cool tricks in her pocket, she was sure she could figure it out.
Matt gathered her in for a hug. With her head on his shoulder, the scent of blood immediately hit her like thunder, she felt her fangs elongate.
Mid-week surprise!
The three chapters-parts with the title are out and I still haven't managed to bring Tyler into the mix. Should I just call it quits and change the chapter name or give the not-yet-werewolf some screen time?
What do you think?