AN: I FINALLY got my laptop replace. It was a birthday gift from my wonderful hubby. (I'm a Halloween baby) I think he got tired of seeing me pout about not being able to write lol. I am really grateful for everyone who still reads my stories. I seriously hate leaving you guys hanging.
...
"Am I dead or is this one of those dreams...those horrible dreams that seems like they last forever? If I'm alive, why? Why if there is a god or whatever, something...somewhere...why have I've been abandoned by everyone and I everything I've ever known, ever loved? Stranded. What is the lesson? What is the point? God give me a sign, or I have to give up. I can't do this anymore. Please let me die. Being alive hurts too much."
...
Bonnie Bennett's heart isn't beating.
For a brief moment, Stefan found himself suspended in a state of shock. Some small part of his mind reminds him that if Bonnie was to die, he would gain back everything he had lost. He would get Elena back and Damon would return as well, and his family would be whole again. Having Damon and Elena back was everything that Stefan selfishly wanted, but a bigger part of him needed Bonnie to live. He realized that over the years she had done so much to keep him and the people that she cared about safe while sacrificing those that meant the world to her. He never had the chance to repay her for the time that she had bought him back from the other side or the time she had sent Damon back to him from the Prison World. Bonnie had gone above and beyond to make sure that he and his brother had a second chance at life and Stefan was going to make sure that Bonnie had another chance as well.
Snapping into action, he presses his hands over the center of Bonnie's chest and began performing CPR.
"Come on, Bonnie. Stay with me," Stefan pleads desperately as he attempted to get the Bennett witch's heart to beat again. He silently counts to thirty as he makes chest compressions and when he reaches the end of the count, he presses his lips against hers and releases two rescue breaths into her airway.
As he attempts to breathe life into her, something strange begins to happen. His vision suddenly blurs, and his head is bombarded with memories that doesn't belong to him. It takes him a moment to realize that he had accidently slipped inside of Bonnie's head. As Stefan observes the images, he is stunned and slightly uncomfortable when he discovers he currently has a front row seat to Bonnie's complicated friendship with Damon. He was a spectator to the first time that Damon and Bonnie become reluctant dance partners at a decade dance, the first time she gave Damon an aneurysm, the first time the pair had exchanged a hug, the first time they held hands, the first time they shared a meal together, the first time that Damon had chosen to save Bonnie over Elena, and the first time they shared a kiss. The last image was of the first time that Damon and Bonnie had experienced physical intimacy and the moment was so erotic and personal that it took his breath away.
The images Stefan had borne witness to had painted a painfully beautiful history of Bonnie's relationship with his brother and it left him feeling a profound sense of sadness. He knew that Bonnie and Damon were close. He didn't realize just how intimate of a relationship that the two of them shared and having a front row seat to their past made his heart twist tightly inside of his chest.
Feeling a renewed sense of purpose and determination flow through his veins, Stefan forces the images to the back of his mind so that he could focus on the task in front of him and that was getting Bonnie to breathe again.
As he finishes his third set of compressions, he is preparing to cover her mouth with his when a beautiful sound suddenly hits his ears.
Bonnie's heart is beating again.
Wasting no time, Stefan bites into his wrists and feeds her his blood.
As Bonnie slowly regains consciousness, the first thing that she registers is the fact that something thick and coppery is flowing down her throat. Every fiber of her being wants to reject the blood, but her body is far too weak and damaged to protest. All she can do is lay there and silently cry as her broken bones mends and her torn flesh slowly fuses back together. As she grows stronger, her vision becomes clearer, and she finds herself focused on Stefan whose face is filled with unadulterated relief. As he gently cups the side of her face, Bonnie feels a strange sense of Deja vu settle over her. The last time she had been on her back with Stefan forcing his blood down her throat had been the night where Damon had nearly ripped her throat out. She found it ironic that while it had been Damon Salvatore who had nearly driven her to the brink of death, it was Stefan who had pulled her back. He had saved her life then and he was saving her life now.
Seeing that she was fully recovered, Stefan removes his wrist from her mouth.
As he helps her off the ground, the sound of lightning struck an area nearby causing both Bonnie and Stefan to flinch startled.
What had started off as a light sprinkle of rain had evolved into a full-blown thunderstorm and within a matter of minutes, both vampire and the witch were drenched.
"You are soaking wet. Let me get you out of this storm and somewhere safe and dry."
Moving carefully, Stefan lifts her bridal style before carrying her over to his Porshe. Bonnie wraps her arms around his neck and buries her face into his chest. Stefan can tell from the shaky sounds coming from her mouth that she is crying, and he can't help but hold her a little bit tighter.
Arriving at his car, he gently places her into the passenger side of the vehicle and her arms falls from around his neck as she slumps down into her seat.
Moving carefully, he grabs the seat belt and proceeds to strap her in. While he is in her space, he can't help but be painfully aware of her. He notices everything from his blood that still lingers on her mouth and chin to the way her evening dress had manage to ride up her thighs revealing a sinful amount of skin. Feeling heat creep up the back of his neck, he quickly averts his eyes as he removes himself from her space.
Closing the passenger door, Stefan is making his way to the driver's side of the car her in when he hears the sound of a phone ringing. Realizing that it was Bonnie's mobile device, he retrieves it out of the cabin of the destroyed car and glances at the screen before answering.
"Now is not a good time," he answers gruffly.
"Stefan?! What are you doing with Bonnie's phone?" Matt demands.
"She's been involved in a car accident," Stefan informs as he combed his fingers through his hair in a failed attempt to keep several loose wet strands out of his eyes.
"Is she okay?" Tyler demands snatching the phone from Matt after hearing Stefan's side of the conversation.
"She is going to be fine. I'm taking her home. If you want to help Bonnie, call Enzo and have some people from the Armory to come remove her car from the road. We don't need anyone asking questions about a totaled Prius and a missing driver," he says curtly before hanging up.
Climbing into the Porshe, he hands Bonnie her phone before speeding away from the crash site. Every now and then, he glances in her direction feeling worried about her state of mind. She had just endured something traumatic and yet she wasn't falling apart at the seams or showing any signs of having an emotional break down. Instead, she sits with her head pressed against the window while staring blankly ahead with her eyes filled with exhaustion and unshed tears.
"I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now," Stefan says breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
"This wasn't my first brush with death," she chuckles humorlessly, "I'm sure it won't be my last."
Something in the tone of her voice makes Stefan feel uneasy.
He prepares to say something when he notices that she was shivering.
Switching on the heater, he gently reaches over and takes her hands and places them near the vent.
"Here. This should keep you warm until I get you home," he says softly.
Bonnie slips her hands out of his and stares at him dully. "If you don't mind, can you drop me off at Matt house? He should be home soon and after everything that has happened, I really don't feel like being alone tonight."
"My place is closer. You can crash there if you want," he offers.
"I don't want to impose," she tries.
"Bonnie, you are my friend. You could never be an imposition," he promises firmly.
Bonnie smiles but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.
An hour later, Bonnie finds herself standing in front of a fireplace wrapped in a large fluffy dark blue robe feeling tired and numb. After they arrived at the Boarding House, Stefan had ushered Bonnie upstairs where he allowed her to use his shower to get cleaned up. Not having a lot of women clothes lying around, Stefan managed to find an old robe of Caroline's hanging in the back of his closet.
At first, Bonnie had been hesitant to put it on, but once the robe had engulfed her body, she felt a sense of peace that she hadn't felt in a very long time. It feels as if the blonde's essence is surrounding her, and it makes her realize just how much she truly misses her friend.
Lifting the sleeve to her face, she closes her eyes and inhales the scent deeply feeling a sense of sadness and nostalgia wash over her.
The sound of heavy boots walking across the hard wood floors in the living room snaps Bonnie out of her thoughts.
"Caroline always smelled like vanilla and cherry blossoms," she murmurs before turning around to face Stefan.
"She once told me that she wore those perfumes because they reminded her of Elena and her mother," Stefan reveals with a half-smile as he hands her a ceramic black mug. "I made you some Camomile tea. I added a little Burbon because I figured after the night that you had, you could use something strong to take the edge off."
"Thank you," she smiles appreciatively as she accepts the beverage.
They stand together in silence for a long moment. Stefan takes a small sip of the AB blood in his cup before clearing his throat softly.
"May I ask you a personal question?" he asks quietly.
"Sure," Bonnie answers smiling nervously.
"Were you in love with my brother?"
Her smile slips from her face, and she sits her tea down on the coffee table trying not to appear flustered.
"Why would you ask me that?" she inquires very quietly as she folds her arms across her chest.
"Earlier when I was giving you CPR, I accidently saw some things inside of your head. Things involving you and Damon," he admits watching her carefully, "Do you love him?"
"I'm sorry," was her only admission as she struggles to hide the shame and tears that were threatening to consume her.
"What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked quietly.
She stares down at her feet afraid to look at him.
"Your brother would still be here if I hadn't fallen in love with him," she whispers emotionally.
Her guilt pulled at his heart strings, and he places his glass of blood on the coffee table next to hers before gently cupping her face in his hands.
"You don't have to apologize for what happened between you and Damon. You did nothing wrong," he insists firmly.
She wrapped her arms around her small frame and chuckled softly.
"It would have been so much easier with you."
"What would have been easier?" Stefan inquired curiously.
"If I had ended up stuck with you instead of Damon in the Prison world," she took a deep breath before continuing, "You were the one who saved me from him all of those years ago. We should have been the ones to become great friends. It should have been you to get close to me, because I know that you would have never hurt me the way he did."
Stefan blinked surprised and had no clue how to respond, so he did the only could and he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
Thinking back on their past, Stefan realized that a bond should have formed between the two of them the night that Damon had assaulted her in the woods, but Bonnie wasn't very trusting, and Stefan's sole focus had been on Elena. It was ironic that two people who were very much alike and had plenty of things in common had been so distant from one another. There were multiple reasons why Stefan had kept Bonnie at arm's length, but the main reason had been because he never wanted her to end up like a pawn in a game between him and Damon. Stefan had always known that the moment he shown just a hint of interest of building a friendship with Bonnie, Damon would have swooped down and tainted their friendship and so for the sake of Bonnie and her wellbeing, Stefan had remained a bit cold and aloof. Now that Damon was gone, things were different, and Stefan didn't have to take his brother's idiotic behavior into consideration.
"For what it's worth, I'm so sorry that Damon hurt you," he apologizes after releasing her from his embrace, "And I'm sorry for the pain that I caused you in the past."
"I think it's a couple of years too late for an apology," she said stiffly.
Stefan could sense that she was upset, and he felt frustrated because he didn't know how to make things right. Bonnie had a point. The time for him to apologize for the thoughtless way he handled her life as well as her mother's had come and gone. Instead of doing the right thing and begging for her forgiveness after everything had gone down, he had faded away in the shadows and had been perfectly content with her hating him. He had effectively destroyed their friendship to protect Elena and not once had he ever showed his remorse for his actions. No wonder Bonnie felt the way she did. The fact that he made her feel expendable made his self-loathing increase another notch.
Seeing the pained look on Stefan's face made Bonnie's heart soften a bit. Even though she didn't regret being honest with him, she knew that she should have soften the blow a little bit. After all, he did just save her life.
Bonnie never got the chance to apologize because the door of the Boarding House flew open killing the conversation.
"Bonnie!"
Tyler's murderous growl causes Bonnie to eyes to widen apprehensively.
"Tyler," Bonnie breathes clutching her chest, "What are you doing here?"
"Did you really think that you I wouldn't come and check on you after I hear that you got in an accident and almost died?" he demands before marching up to her and inspecting her from head to toe.
"I told you that she was fine," Stefan reminds him through clenched teeth.
"Well, forgive me for not taking your word for it. I needed to see for myself," Tyler growls glaring at the brooding vampire.
Before Stefan can responds, Tyler's attention was already back on Bonnie who was looking more than a little nervous.
"What the hell happened back at the club? Why did you lose it like that?" he questions with a worried edge in his voice.
"I'm sorry. I had a little too much to drink," she lies quickly. "Please just drop it."
"That's not going to happen," Tyler says bluntly.
"What is he talking about, Bonnie?" Stefan presses concerned.
"Nothing. It was nothing," she mumbles uncomfortably.
Tyler eyes widen in surprise.
"She didn't tell you?" he exclaims starring at Stefan in confusion.
"No, because there is nothing to tell," she hisses evenly.
"If you don't want to tell him, I will," Tyler warns stiffly.
"Don't," she pleads with a desperate look in her large green eyes.
Tyler hesitates because Bonnie looked so fearful, but his hesitation disappears when he realizes that something bad was happening with Bonnie and everyone who was in their social circle needed to be aware of the fact. He clears his throat and pulls his gaze from the witch's sad face and addresses Stefan.
"Earlier tonight, Bonnie completely flipped out on me," he starts.
Stefan bristled and frowns confused.
"What did you do to make her flip out on you?" he asks suspiciously.
"He kissed me," Bonnie blurts out before Tyler has the chance to respond.
Stefan balks. "Why did you kiss her and more importantly, why did you think that she would let you?"
"Because she didn't exactly mind the first time it happened," Tyler smirks causing Bonnie face to burn in humiliation.
"The first time?" Stefan echoes baffled.
Bonnie didn't think it was possible for Stefan's forehead to wrinkle more than it already had.
Tyler ignores the tensions that his confession birthed and continues with his story. "Anyways, after we kissed, she flew off the rails and start accusing me of being like your idiotic brother. There was a point where she addressed him as if he was actually on the rooftop with us. Before I could question her about it, she dropped me with her magic and took off."
Stefan eyebrows nearly kisses his hairline as he turns towards the Bennett witch who looks scared, confused and lost.
"Bonnie," he starts slowly as he walked over to her and rested his hand on her arm, "If there is something going on with you, you know you can tell me, right?"
Bonnie wants to walk away and avoid this whole conversation, but she knows that Stefan and Tyler are too stubborn to just let it go, so the only option was for her to come clean.
"I need to tell you guys something, but I need you to promise not to get mad," she begins nervously.
Stefan and Tyler both nods tentatively.
Bonnie exhales deeply before quietly filling them on the hallucinations of Damon that she had been dealing with for the past couple of the weeks.
A long moment of silence follows Bonnie's strained confession.
Tyler is the first to respond.
"God damnit, Bonnie!" he snaps angrily.
Bonnie lets out an undignified squeak as she quickly backs away from Tyler who is seething.
"You promised not to get mad!"
"My bad! I lied, just like you have been lying to me and all of your friends for the past month," he explodes, his brown eyes glittering with fury.
"I didn't want anyone to know. I thought I could deal with it on my own," she cries desperately.
"Handling it on your own nearly got you killed tonight. You are supposed to be the smart one in the group. What you did was reckless and stupid!" he barks jabbing a finger inches away from her face.
"That's enough," Stefan warns shoving the hybrid out of Bonnie's personal space. "Can't you see that she already feels bad enough?"
"She and I need to talk in private. You can coddle her all you want once I'm done with her," Tyler barks before grabbing Bonnie's arm and attempting to guide her out of the room.
Bonnie barely had time to protest because Stefan none too gently pries Tyler's hand off her person hood and pulls her behind him acting as her shield.
"Keep your hands to yourself or you and I are going to have a problem," Stefan instructs coldly with violence in his eyes.
Bonnie gulps as she watched Tyler's eyes go from brown to tawny gold. She knows that if she doesn't intervene, Tyler was going to attempt to tear Stefan apart.
"Tyler, stop," she implores pressing a hand against his chest. He feels incredibly hard and hot, and it takes everything in Bonnie's power not to pull her hand away. Her intuition to connect with him physically pays off because his eyes returned back to their normal color and the tension that was in his body slowly begins to melt away.
"How could you keep something this serious from me?" Tyler asks sounding hurt.
Bonnie removes her hand from his chest and turns away from him.
"I felt like if I told anyone, they would either think that I was pathetic or I was going crazy," she reveals quietly.
"We are your friends, Bonnie!" Tyler reminds her sternly as he rests his hands on her shoulder and gently turns her around so that she was facing him again, "If you would have told us, we would have helped you, not judge you."
"Tyler's right," Stefan agrees gently.
Bonnie feels tears burn the corner of her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she whispers her voice thick with exhaustion and sadness.
Stefan can see that she is overwhelmed, so he takes her by the hand and leads her over to the couch where she makes herself comfortable.
Stefan retrieves her glass of Burbon and tea off the coffee table and places it in her hands.
"You don't need to apologize. We are going to get to the bottom of this," Stefan reassures her with a steely look on his handsome face, "I promise."
"Thank you, Stefan," she breathes feeling relieved.
The smile that Bonnie gives the Salvatore vampire is so genuinely sweet that it makes Tyler's teeth hurt and it takes everything inside of him not to roll his eyes.
"How long after Damon left did the hallucinations begin?" Tyler asks gruffly breaking the spell that appeared to have fallen over the vampire and witch.
"Two weeks," Bonnie answers after taking a sip of her lukewarm beverage, "That's also around the time when my magic started to become unstable."
"Can you think of anything that happened prior to that which would have affected your magic?" Stefan inquires curiously.
Bonnie's brow furrowed as she reflects quietly.
"The only thing I can think of is the night at the armory. Enzo fed me some weird magic pill that left me vulnerable to Tyler's attack," she muses.
Tyler has the decency to look guilty.
"Do you think the hallucinations are a side effect of the pill?" the hybrid asks.
"It could be or...," she trails off.
"Or it could be the side effect of being marked by a werewolf," Stefan finishes for her with a grave look in his forest green eyes.
A blanket of silence slowly settles over the room.
"If this is my fault, I'm going to find a way to fix it," Tyler promises, his handsome face filled with determination.
Stefan narrows his eyes at the hybrid warily. "How are you going to do that?'
Tyler walks over and squats in front of Bonnie with a serious look in his dark brown eyes.
"Come with me to Montana. I have elders in the pack who might have knowledge of what happens when a werewolf marks a witch," he suggests sounding hopefully.
His suggestion leaves Bonnie speechless. Fortunately, Stefan has plenty to say.
"That's not a good idea. Bringing Bonnie around your pack when she is unstable is going to make her a liability. If they see her as a threat, they may hurt her or worse," he points out.
Tyler's eyes flashes dangerously. "I would never let anyone from my pack lay a finger on her. I'm their Alpha and she will be under my protection."
Bonnie could feel the waves of possession radiating from Tyler and it both confuses and intrigues her.
"Be that as it may, I think it's best if you stay here," Stefan tells Bonnie softly.
"Given everything that has happened, I don't feel right leaving you here," Tyler interjects frustrated.
"Don't worry. She'll be in good hands. I'll be watching over her. I won't let anything happen to her," Stefan vows rising from the couch.
"Bonnie isn't safe with anyone with your last name," he snarls viciously as he stands up as well.
Tyler and Stefan glares daggers at each other causing Bonnie to shift uncomfortably between them.
"Tyler, you should go to Montana. I have friends here in Mystic Falls. If I need anything, I will reach out to them. Trust me. I'll be fine," she confirms calmly.
Tyler looked like he was preparing to argue but the look of stubbornness on Bonnie's face showed that his plea would fall on deaf ears, so he relents.
"Fine. I'll go," he sighs heavily.
Bonnie smiles and stands up so she could hug him goodbye.
"Hallucinations or no hallucinations...If you ever hide anything that life threatening again, I will make that night at the Armory look like child's play," Tyler whispers fiercely against her ear causing her to shudder involuntarily. "Do you understand me?"
Bonnie knows that his threat has no teeth, but she can feel that he was genuinely concerned for her.
"I understand, Tyler. It won't happen again. I promise," she mumbles as she pulls away from him.
Tyler gives her one last smile before turning towards Stefan.
"Take care of Bonnie, or else," he warns before walking out of the Boarding House.
Bonnie flops back down on the couch and fails miserably when she tries to stifle a yawn.
Stefan glances at her worried. "You look exhausted. You should get some rest."
"You're probably right," she concedes with a small smile. "Do you mind sitting with me until I fall asleep? If I start hallucinating again, I don't want to be alone."
"Of course, I don't mind," he smiles. "I'll go get one of the guest rooms ready for you."
"The couch is fine. I think it's best if I stay as far away as possible from Damon's bedroom," she replies quietly.
Stefan nods understanding her reluctance to go upstairs.
"I'll go get you a pillow a blanket."
Stefan returns minutes later with a spare black comforter and a fluffy pillow only to find that Bonnie had already fallen fast asleep. Moving carefully, he maneuvers the pillow under her head before draping the comforter over her body.
As he tucks her in, he can't help but notice how young the witch looked when she was at her most vulnerable. Her face was relaxed, her lips were pulled into a slight smile and her nosed twitched every so often.
Retrieving his glass of AB blood, Stefan sits in the chair opposite of the couch Bonnie is sprawled out on and sips his drink quietly as he watches her sleep.
The days after Bonnie's near death car accident are blurred by countless crying spells, booze filled mornings and sleepless nights. She was barely eating, and her only form of hygiene was occasionally brushing her teeth when her tongue felt heavy and stale from all the drinking and taking whore baths in the sink when she found her pits becoming a little too ripe to bare. She knew that she needed to take better care of herself, but she couldn't find the energy or motivation to give a damn. Her friends had tried calling and stopping by to check on her, but she avoided them by turning off her phone and putting up wards around her house so that no one could enter without her permission. Although he was hurt by her not-so-subtle rejection, Matt had decided to respect her wishes and give her space and time to herself. Unfortunately for Bonnie, Stefan and Valarie hadn't been able to take the hint. Valarie would drop by every other day knocking the door hoping to speak to her, and Stefan would spend his nights outside of her bedroom in the shadows watching over her while she tossed and turned in her sleep.
It was on a late Wednesday afternoon when Bonnie's self-imposed exile finally came to an abrupt end.
"Rise and shine!"
Bonnie cringes as warm sunlight flooded the inside of her bedroom.
"Val?" Bonnie croaks licking her dry, cracked lips, "How did you get in here?"
"I walk through the front door, silly," the heretic smiles innocently.
"Don't play dumb. You know that I put up magical barriers to keep you out," Bonnie growls evenly.
Val shrugs casually. "Those wards were a deference to your human and vampire friends, but for a witch like me, it was child play."
"Go away," Bonnie grumbles pulling the blankets over her head.
"That's no way to talk to someone who is here to help you," Val pouts.
"You can't help me, Val. No one can," she whines.
"Self-pity is not a good look on you," Val tsks as she snatches the covers away from Bonnie.
"I can say the same thing about that hideous blouse," the Bennett witch retorts nastily.
Val ignores Bonnie's blatant dig and flopped down on the arm on the couch.
"When you stop feeling sorry for yourself, I would like to test a theory."
"Theory? What theory?" Bonnie sighs annoyed.
"After talking to Stefan, I met up with Enzo and examined the magic pills that he fed you that dreadful night at the Armory," Val informs," Unfortunately, I wasn't able to arrive at the conclusion that the pills were not responsible for your hallucinations, so I'm simply going to assume that Tyler's little love nibble is what caused them. Werewolf venom is basically poison and once the poison was introduced into your blood stream, the chemicals began to warp your mind."
"So, what is your solution?" Bonnie sighs feeling dejected.
Val suddenly falls quiet and the uneasy look on her face made Bonnie wary.
Bonnie sits up in bed and glares at her. "Val, if you know a way to help me with my hallucinations, tell me."
"I think that if you were deprived of your magic, the hallucinations would go away," Val's eyes are trained on Bonnie waiting for a violent response to her suggestion.
Instead, the caramel skinned witch's shoulders slumps as she comes to terms with Valarie's remedy.
"You want to siphon my magic," she mumbles unhappily.
"My theory is that as long your magic is dormant, the toxins from Tyler's bite can't poison your mind," the heretic tries to explain as gently as possible.
Val expects Bonnie to downright refuse this solution and even brace herself for an attack. What she doesn't expect is Bonnie's defeated reaction.
"Fine. Do it," Bonnie consents tiredly.
Val smiles approvingly before placing her hands on Bonnie's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, but this may hurt a little," she apologizes.
Bonnie chuckles bitterly as she recalls her past with Kai Parker. "I'm aware."
As Val begins to pull the magic from Bonnie's vessel, the heretic feels guilty when she hears the sounds of the painful whimpers escaping the Bennet witch's lips.
"Hold on, Bonnie," she coaxes soothingly, "I'm almost done."
Bonnie feels tears slide down her cheeks as she feels weak and overcome with pain.
When Bonnie opens her eyes and looks around, Damon was nowhere to be found.
"It worked," she rejoices weakly.
Val gives her a hug but quickly releases her when Bonnie squeaks in pain.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes sheepishly. "I recommend we do this therapy once every week."
Bonnie nods numbly.
"Now that we have that out of the way, why don't you jump in the shower, and I will go make you some lunch?" Val offers with a bright smile.
"I'm not hungry," Bonnie protests.
"You need to eat," she insists seriously, "And bathe."
Bonnie opens her mouth to argue but Val held up her hand silencing her.
"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way," she warned.
"What's the hard way?" Bonnie glares at her defiantly.
"I can call Matt and Stefan and have them come over and we both know that all it's going to take is for them to take one look and whiff of you and they are going to go into protective mode. They are going to be in your space twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, they will hover over you, and you won't get a single moment of peace of quiet or privacy," she bites back a smile as she watches the look of horror flash across Bonnie's face, "Or I can leave Matt and Stefan out of this, and your condition can stay just between us girls."
"I guess I don't really have that much of a choice," Bonnie relents glumly as she reluctantly climbed out of bed and heading towards her bathroom.
"Don't forget to wash behind your ears, darling," Val called after her.
Bonnie flashes her the middle finger before slamming the door shut.
As Bonnie's depression takes a turn for the worse, so does her ability to sleep peacefully at night. Insomnia begins to become a part of her daily life and the bags beneath her eyes grows heavier and darker with each passing day. One particular night, Bonnie was halfway through a marathon of the First 48 when she decides that she needs to get some fresh air. Slipping on her tan ballet flats, she pushes herself off the couch and grabs her keys before exiting her house. She wanders aimlessly and before she knows it, she finds herself in the middle of the woods. Bonnie knows that being in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night is reckless. She is both a woman and a witch without her magic and she is completely vulnerable to a wayward vampire or a sexual deviant both looking for easy prey, but she doesn't care. Self-preservation wasn't exactly a high priority on her list at the moment.
After walking for a long period of time, Bonnie finally comes to a stop at her destination. She smiles sadly as she approaches the stump that contains a rusty lifeguard whistle, faded cheerleading pom poms, weathered feathers and a grimoire. Running her fingers across each item, she remembers how she had watched as her friends mourned her once they had found about her death. Out of all the reactions that she remembered the most, it was Damon's that had really surprised her. He had remained stoic and expressionless, but it was what lied beneath the surface of his cold blue eyes that revealed the truth. Her death had pained him a way that was completely unrelated to Elena. Her death had hurt her him not because the gang had lost their resident witch, it was because Damon had lost Bonnie.
The irony that she was now at her former grave mourning Damon the same way he mourned her was not lost on her.
As she slumps against the stump, she feels tears fall down her cheeks as the last moment she had spent with Damon plays through her mind.
"You were supposed to be the moral and self-righteous one out of the two of us.
"I was on my way to being a better man, but you screwed that all up by opening your legs for me!"
The pain she had felt at the disgust, guilt and regret that had dripped from his words had cut her so deeply that she didn't think that any other pain would never be able to measure up to it.
She is so lost in her misery that she doesn't realizes that she is no longer alone.
"You really shouldn't be out here alone, love."
Bonnie rubs her eyes tiredly and finds Enzo leaning against a tree less than five feet away from her.
"Considering how the only person who is capable of hurting me is lying in a coffin, I think I'm relatively safe," she chuckles bitterly, "What are you doing here?"
"I just so happened to be in the area," he lies easily.
The vampire can tell by the expression on Bonnie's face that she doesn't believe him, but much to his relief, she doesn't push the issue.
When Enzo sits next to her, she does her best to try not to express her annoyance.
"I've tried reaching out to you, but you have been ignoring my calls," he starts.
"I've been busy," she fibs.
If Enzo wanted to lie about stalking her, she was more than okay with lying about avoiding him.
"Fair enough," Enzo shrugs and hums noncommittedly, "I would imagine dealing with the fact that you constantly see the ghost of your former best friend is enough to keep you occupied."
Bonnie gasps as she turns her head and stares at him stunned.
"How did you know about that?" she chokes out.
Enzo smiles sheepishly.
"I overheard the conversation you had with the heretic when she penetrated your wards the other day," he confesses.
Bonnie wants to be angry with him, but she is too tired to lash out, so she remains quiet.
"I'm sorry," Enzo apologizes somberly, "That night when you told me that you saw Damon on the mission where the barn caught fire, I should have taken you seriously. If I would have, things wouldn't have gotten this far."
"It's okay," she tries.
"It's not okay. You almost died," he frowns deeply.
"Would that have been so bad?" she whispers brokenly.
Enzo recoiled stunned speechless. He felt a cold dread settle over him as a dark realization suddenly hit him.
"That night that you crashed on the bridge...you wanted to die," he accused her in horror as he felt a lump forming in his throat.
Her sadness and hopeless chokes the air between them and Enzo could feel his undead heart breaking for her.
They sit in silence for several minutes before Enzo begins to speak softly.
"Just because Damon decided to give up doesn't mean that you should follow in his footsteps."
"No offense, but you just don't understand how I feel," she grumbles unhappily.
"I tried eating a bullet once."
Bonnie didn't know what to say in response to his confession, so she kept silent.
"It happened shortly after I had escaped from the Augustine experiments," Enzo's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he continued. "I was so disgusted and ashamed of what had happened to me that I put a gun in my mouth, and I pulled the trigger hoping that maybe if I blew my brains out, I would be free from the horrible things that I had done." He paused so that he could turn slightly and look at Bonnie. "I have been right where you are right now. Abandoned, betrayed and left behind. When Damon walked out of my life, I would have given anything to have someone swoop down and offer me a shoulder to cry on. Even if it was for the briefest of moments, I would have killed to have someone to show up for me to numb some of that loneliness that imprisoned me for years."
"I'm sorry you had to face all that alone," she says softly before reaching over and slipping her hand inside of his and squeezing his fingers gently.
Enzo looks at her and smiles warmly.
"Here's the thing, love. You don't have to suffer the way that I did. I had no one. You have your friends. It's okay to admit that you aren't okay. It's okay for you to lean on other people for support," he advises gently.
She gives him a tiny smile and he is pleased when she rests her head on his shoulder.
"I don't like feeling like a burden," she exhales heavily.
"The people who care about you don't mind, and those who do mind don't matter," he reassures her.
"I'm so tired of feeling this pain, Enzo," she forces herself not to cry.
"Pain isn't the only option, love," the brown eyed vampire said quietly as he uses his free hand to reach over and brush tears off her wet cheeks.
Bonnie stares at him feeling completely and utterly helpless. "What else is there?"
It's nearing the end of the month and Bonnie finds herself at the Boarding House recovering after a particularly brutal siphoning session with Val. Feeling her magic being violently ripped out of her was a terrible feeling and while she hated it, she knew it was the only thing that would keep her hallucinations at bay, so she mentally encouraged herself to suck it up and just deal with the crummy side effects. While Bonnie was happy that the hallucinations were being expelled, she was concerned that her magic seem to take longer to return every time Val drained it away.
Splashing water on her face, she uses a wash rag to pat her skin dry before emerging from the bathroom. She knows that she is too weak to drive home, so she decides to get a glass of juice and chill in the living room until she feels strong enough to leave.
Unfortunately for Bonnie, she decides that juice wasn't cutting it and decided to exchange her glass of orange juice for a glass of Burbon. She can't find any of the good stuff in the wet bar in the living room, so she decides to go search for it in the only place she knew that it would be.
Walking into the self-proclaimed eternal stud's bedroom, she feels her stomach tightened as she catches a very faint scent of his cologne and something that was uniquely Damon. Ignoring the feeling of nostalgia and sadness that is slowly creeping up inside of her, she marches across the room and yanks the door of his closet open. Standing on her toes, she beams happily as she spots an unopen bottle Michter's Burbon. It was a twenty-year-old bottle that was obviously meant to be opened and consumed on a special occasion. She hesitates briefly thinking about how Damon would react if he knew that she was about to drink his precious and rare Burbon from a red solo cup. Her conscience quickly clears as she cracked the bottle open and poured a healthy dose in her cup. She takes a small sip and is silently grateful that she has juice as a mixture. The stuff is extremely strong.
Bonnie finds the remote to the television and begin to scroll through his apps. She pauses on Spotify and types in the artist Meshell Ndegeocello.
Bonnie sings along softly as she rummages through Damon's closet and finds a familiar red and black flannel shirt lurking in the back. Snatching it off the hanger, she puts the piece of clothing around her body only allowing two buttons to hold the piece of fabric together.
Taking another swig of the high-priced Burbon, she lays on her back and closes her eyes.
"I can't keep having this conversation with you, Caroline. We tried to make it work and it didn't so we both just need to do each other a favor and move on."
Stefan had been in the middle of searching his bedroom for his journal when Caroline had called him. For some reason, his blonde ex felt that it was necessary to have a heavy conversation about their relationship that, for some reason, couldn't wait.
"I don't want to move on, Stefan. I want you," her shrill voice causes him to wince. "Is there someone else?"
"No there isn't anyone else, Caroline," Stefan answers truthfully as he began to search underneath his bed, "You have this life where you have everything that you want. I'm just trying to find that for myself."
"Are you trying to find that with Valarie?" she demands in an accusatory tone.
Stefan grits his teeth as he abandons his search and walks across the room and proceeds to stare out the window.
"Why do you keep bringing up Valarie? She is just a friend," he tries to reassure her.
"How am I supposed to feel, Stefan? I moved across the country to keep my daughters safe and instead of coming with me, you stay behind with your ex-girlfriend who just happens to be the first love of your life," she exclaims unhappily. "Do you even love me anymore?"
"How can you even ask me that? Of course, I still love you,' He insists desperately.
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose as he listens to his blonde ex rant about all of the sacrifices that she had made to be with him and how she couldn't believe he was refusing to try to make things work between them.
"Caroline, stop. I don't want to fight with you," he pleads interrupting her emotional tirade.
"That's the problem, Stefan. You are refusing to fight to make things work between us. Damon is gone and he isn't coming back anytime soon. There is literally no reason for you to stay in Mystic Falls so what is the real reason that you refuse to move here to Dallas to be with me?" she asks sadly.
"Caroline, listen to me. You are my best friend and if you ever needed anything, I wouldn't hesitate to drop everything and be there for you, but right now your priority are those beautiful little girls and I feel like if I was in the picture, I would only be in the way and that's the last thing I would ever want," Stefan pauses so that he could keep his emotions in check, "Maybe somewhere down the line when the twins get older and things aren't so complicated, we can pick up where we left off, but I feel like now is not the right time."
"It always complicated with you, Stefan," she huffs bitterly, "Just call me when you get your shit figured out and hopefully it's sooner than later because I won't wait around for you forever"
Stefan stares at his phone several seconds after Caroline had ended the call. The conversation leaves him feeling frustrated. Caroline chose to leave. Caroline had a family. Caroline is happy, so why is it that she was making him to be the bad guy simply because he refuses to relocate to Dallas to give their relationship a second chance? The more he thinks about their heated conversation, the angrier and irritated he becomes, and he suddenly feels the urge to rip something or someone apart.
Grabbing his car keys off his writer's desk, Stefan makes his way towards the staircase, when he hears music pouring from a room down the hall.
I remember when you filled my heart with joy
Was I blind to the truth just there to fill the space
Cuz now you have no interest in anything that I have to say
I've allowed you to make me feel I feel so dumb
What kind of fool am I you so easily set me aside
It doesn't take him long to pinpoint that the music was coming from Damon's bedroom, and the sound of a familiar human heartbeat tells him exactly who it is that is currently inside of the room. Cracking open the bedroom door, he finds Bonnie humming softly as she lays in the center of his brother's massive California King sized bed.
You made a fool of me tell me why
You say that you don't care but we made love tell me why
You made a fool of me
You made a fool of me
Not wanting to startle her, Stefan drums his knuckles on the door lightly before entering the room. He quickly becomes concerned when he spots the bottle of alcohol clutched tightly in her hands indicating that she had been drinking. Heavily.
"Stefan," she greets him quietly without looking up.
"Hey. How are you feeling today?" he asks treading carefully.
"I can't eat, and I can't sleep. I'm not doing well in terms of being a functional human, you know?"
"Ned Vizzini," Stefan notes surprised as he recognizes the quote.
"He's quite talented. He nearly succeeded in boring me to death," she snorts causing Stefan to chuckle softly.
"So how is the, uh, treatment going?" he inquires clearing his throat as he slowly inches towards her.
"It's like having a root canal, a spinal tap and a killer migraine all at the same time," she explains with a bitter smile warping her pretty face, "Being siphoned has actually made me miss the pain I use to endure when I was the Anchor."
Stefan doesn't know how to respond to that, so he simply keeps his mouth shut and gives her a sincere look of sympathy.
Feeling awkward, Bonnie sits up in bed and takes a small swig out of the bottle.
"Can we talk about something else? Talking about having my magic ripped out of me is kind of a drag," she confesses with a slight tremor in her voice.
He nods before leaning against the bed post and folding his arms across his chest.
"I just got off the phone with Caroline," he informs dryly.
Bonnie perked up as she gives him her full attention.
"How is she doing? How are the twins?" she asks her green eyes bright glazed over with Burbon and curiosity.
Stefan forces a smile. "She's fine. Everyone is fine."
"Am I sensing a June wedding around the corner?" she teases wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Not anytime soon," he says scowling.
"Ouch!" Bonnie winces sympathetically as she hands him the bottle which he accepts reluctantly.
"Caroline deserves to be happy and she has that now. She has a family, she has Ric, a house with a white picket fence. She doesn't need someone like me screwing things up for her."
Bonnie stares at Stefan and she feels a twinge of sadness and sympathy wash over her as hears the self-deprecation inside of Stefan's voice.
"You and your brother should come with a warning label," she mutters, "Soul crushing Salvatores."
Stefan inhales sharply before putting the bottle to his lips and taking a long and punishing swig that causes his eyes to water and burn.
"Can I ask you something?" he asks licking droplets of liquor off his lips.
Bonnie nodded as she stood up from the bed and stretched the aching muscles in her lower back.
"What is so special about my brother that makes smart women with good judgment throw everything away for him," he huffs frustrated.
"You wouldn't get it," she mumbled.
"Try me," he insisted through clenched teeth.
Bonnie swallowed back a lump of tears before looking up at him sadly.
"You may not think very highly of your brother, but there was a time that he was the only person who actually cared enough to bring me back to life not only once, but twice," she smiled fondly. "We may have fought like cats and dogs, but in the end, he was the one and only person that showed that he actually cared about me, even when he had absolutely no reason to."
"You don't think I care about you?" he asked sounding genuinely hurt.
"I think that you feel obligated to care about me because of your relationship with Elena and Caroline. Let's be real. If some new big bad rolled in town tomorrow and he posed a threat to Caroline and the only way for you to neutralize that threat was to snap my neck, you wouldn't hesitate to throw me or anyone that I care about under the bus."
"That's not true," he protests.
"Did you or did you not seek me out only when it was convenient for you to use my magic because Damon, Caroline or Elena was in trouble?"
"Bonnie..." he tries but she cut him off abruptly.
"Did you did you not twist my arm to help you when you stupidly decided to steal the Original vampire's coffins just so you can screw with Klaus? Did you or did you not flip a coin to determine whether it would be you or Damon that would kill me or my mother?" she asks bluntly.
"I get it. I've should have treated you better and maybe you are right. We are not friends in the conventional sense of the word, but to tell me that I don't care about you is complete and utter bullshit," he says hotly.
She snorts and rolls her eyes, and it is clear that she doesn't believe him.
Bonnie attempts to leave the room, but gasps when she finds Stefan hands on her shoulders and her back against the door.
The look in Stefan's eyes would have put the fear of God in even the most wicked of people's hearts, but strangely Bonnie felt...calm. While she knew that Stefan was capable of hurting her, a part of her was certain that he wouldn't kill her. He still had his humanity and despite the fact that he was wearing a mask of a violent psychopath, she could still see that he held a healthy amount of self-restraint in his dark forest green eyes. Unfortunately, Bonnie was a little too drunk to listen to the voice inside of her head that was warning her to get the hell out of dodge.
"Do you know how hungry I am right now?" he asked her, his voice very quiet and calm, "It's taking everything inside of me to not feed right now."
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, her voice a mixture of fear and suspicion.
"Because if I didn't care about you, I would have drained you dry the moment I walked into the room."
Bonnie licks her lips nervously feeling awestruck by the intensity in his eyes.
"I need to go," he informs her abruptly as he reaches for the doorknob.
Bonnie grabs his wrist preventing him from leaving.
"You are in no condition to leave the Boarding House," she states worriedly.
He gently pulls away from her.
"If I stay here, there is a good chance I might do something I will regret," he confesses brokenly. "The last thing I would ever want do is hurt you, Bonnie. I'm not my brother."
"I know that you aren't Damon, and I know you wouldn't hurt me," she states staring at him seriously before inhaling sharply, "I trust you which is why I want to help you."
Stefan narrows his eyes at her confused.
"Help me how?" he asks hoarsely.
"Use me. Feed from me. Take what you want," she offers him with a smile that is so heartbreakingly genuine that it makes Stefan want to die.
"No. Absolutely not," he said as his jaw clenches tightly causing it to tick in frustration.
"If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for the innocent people of Mystic Falls. We both know what is going to happen if you walk out this house, and I know that you really don't want to hurt anyone. Saving people is the one thing that I know how to do best, so let me save some poor innocent soccer mom from being your next victim. Let me save you from adding another person to your high body count," she mumbles drunkenly.
She wasn't appealing to the vampire who had once saved her from being sacrificed by a coven of Silas hating witches. She was appealing to the vampire who needed blood just as much as a junkie needed their next fix. Even though alcohol was clearly clouding her judgement, there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind warning her that what she was doing was not only wrong, but dangerous, but she ignored the annoying alarm bells. She would deal would the guilt and the consequences for her actions at a later time.
"What you are asking me to do is dangerous," he warns with a sinister edge in his voice.
Bonnie studies his face closely. Here she was offering Stefan her blood practically on a silver platter, and he was hesitating. Suddenly she gets an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Be honest with me, Stefan. The reason why you don't want to feed from me is the same reason why Damon didn't stick around," she smiles sadly, "I have nothing that either of you actually wants."
"That's not true," he growls.
"Prove it," she challenges him tearfully.
"Bonnie, I can't," he starts with a tremor in his voice and guilt in his forest green eyes."
"It's fine, Stefan. I know how to take rejection," she says sadly as she stares down at the ground.
Stefan knows Bonnie is drunk and isn't thinking clearly, but he's hungry and determined to prove her wrong.
He ignores her surprised gasp as he grabs her into his arms and buries his face into the crook of her neck.
When he bit into her, there was a tiny prick of pain, but the suction of his lips made the pain fade away and she found herself feeling weightless. When Damon had given Bonnie her first vampire kiss, it had been violent and traumatizing. What she was currently experiencing with Stefan was the exact opposite. Stefan was showing her the other side of the coin, and boy, was it incredible. He was gentle and tender, and ironically it was far more terrifying than the thought of having her throat ripped out. Stefan fed from her with such tender precision that in that moment, Bonnie could see why Elena and Caroline had eagerly thrown caution in the wind and pulled down their panties for him. He was doing this unique thing with his tongue and mouth against her neck that made her eyes cross. A complete feeling of euphoria washed over, and she had to bite down on her lip to keep sinful sounds from escaping her mouth.
Hearing the sounds that are coming from her mouth causes something inside of Stefan to snap like a rubber band.
Keeping her neck tucked firmly inside of his mouth, he bent down to grab her behind her knees lifting her off her feet before stumbling towards the bed where they crashed down onto the mattress with Bonnie pinned beneath him. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and trembled as he continued to feed from her while sliding his large hand up the back of her shirt, his fingers stroking her soothingly. She hummed appreciatively enjoying the feel of his cold palm against her warm flushed skin. She withered beneath him as her blood flowed from her neck wound and drenched Damon's sheets causing the virginal white sheets to turn an angry crimson red. In both of their minds, they realize what they were doing was perverse. Damon's bed being soiled by the blood of his best friend that was being consumed by his brother was the very definition of betrayal.
"Oh god," she whispered as she gripped tuffs of his hair tightly between her trembling fingers.
An involuntary whimper escapes her lips as her back arches slightly as feels his hard body pressed against her soft curves. Her hands drop from his shoulders, and he reaches down and intertwine her fingers with his own. Bonnie is effectively pinned against the mattress and his rock-hard body.
Stefan's spine stiffened, but it wasn't the only part of his anatomy that had hardened. Bonnie was lying beneath him feeling completely vulnerable and at ease and it would be so easy to take his blood lust to the next level. While Stefan wasn't a stranger to sleeping with the women he fed from, he knew that Bonnie was the exception to the rule. If he was a lesser man, he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of her and give into his urges and fuck her until she was crying his name, but he was noble and he was respectful and he would rather take a stake to the face before he ever hurt or disrespected Bonnie in any manner.
He retracted his fangs and licked the wound closed making sure to savor the unique taste of sweat, alcohol, and blood off her skin.
"You don't know how much I needed that. " Stefan pulls back breathing sharply and Bonnie notices that his eyes are returning to their normal color and the dark veins that had been transparent was slowly fading away.
Bonnie felt chills at the sound of want and neediness dripping from Stefan's words. It's been so long since she had the ability to help someone that she forgot how good and gratifying it felt.
"Thank you," she murmurs drowsily.
Stefan thick eyebrows nearly touches his hair line as he stares down at her with clear confusion etched deeply in his handsome face.
"For what?" he asks softly.
He is caught off guard when she wraps her fingers around the nape of his neck before pulling his face down towards her so that her lips were practically touching his ears.
"For letting me help you," she says in a whisper as if she was confessing something deeply personal.
Her response sparked something inside of him and before he could ponder the consequences of his actions, he turns his face and brushes his lips against hers. It was chaste, no tongue and not passion behind it, but it was a kiss, nonetheless. They both are intoxicated, Bonnie from booze and Stefan from blood. If they were sober none of this would be taking place. Bonnie would have been far too smart to go this route and Stefan would have been way too protective to let her. Bonnie parts her lips as Stefan applies pressure to her mouth causing her breathing to grow shallow as his tongue slowly traces the seam of her bottom lip.
They are seconds away from taking it a step too far when the door to Damon's bedroom suddenly opens.
"Oh my god!"
Valarie's cry of horror snapped Stefan out of his slight trance, and he could tell by her expression that she was assuming that the worse had happened.
He makes his way out of the bed quickly and used a shaky hand to wipe the blood off the back of his mouth.
"I can explain," he tried hoarsely, but was cut off when Val harshly whispered an unfortunate phrase in Latin.
Stefan releases a sharp cry of agony and backs away holding the sides of his head as his knees buckle.
Bonnie is confused as to what was happening, but when she sits up and sess Val marching towards Stefan with her arm stretched out and fury written all over her face, it quickly becomes clear.
"Val, stop," Bonnie pleads weakly as she scrambled off the mattress and stumbled towards the heretic.
Val obeys and casts one last look of haughty disapproval in Stefan's direction before tending to Bonnie.
She mumbles a healing spell and the gaping hole in Bonnie's neck immediately closed.
"I'm so sorry, Bonnie. I knew that he had trouble controlling his blood lust, but I never thought he would turn on you," she says apologetically as her eyes filled with tears.
"Val, it's okay. He didn't do anything that I didn't want, "Bonnie reassures her quietly.
Val bottom lip trembles dangerously as confusion reflects in her cornflower blue eyes.
"This was consensual," Val realizes with a look of horror on her face.
Knowing that Bonnie willingly let Stefan feed from Bonnie was somehow worse than Val assuming that he had forced himself on the Bennett witch. In her mind it was worse because Bonnie knew that Stefan had a horrible addiction to blood and for her to just offer up a vein to feed his habit didn't sit right with the fuming heretic.
"Stefan was hungry and I was sad, and one thing led to another. He wasn't hurting me. We were trying to help one another," Bonnie explains weakly.
"Stefan is a blood addict! You don't give addicts their poison just to make yourself feel better. If you are sad, go watch a cheeky play at the theatre. Go play with puppies. Hell, go down your sorrows in a tub of that disgusting ice cream that you like so much. There are a million things you can do to make yourself feel better but jeopardizing the recovery of someone you claim is your friend is not one of them," she repimands the Bennett witch severely. "You may be fine with sinking to your lowest point, but that doesn't mean that you have to drag him down with you."
Bonnie begins to feel the weight of what she had done crush her and she began to feel sick to her stomach.
"I'm so sorry, Stefan," she whispered tearfully before fleeing from the house.
Stefan made a move to go after her, but Val stopped him.
"Let her go. You two are not in the right head space to be around one another."
""She needs me," he sputters as Bonnie's blood continue to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
Val felt her heart twist in her chest as she stared down at her first love. He was so lost and broken that a part of her wondered if putting him out of his misery would be considered an act of mercy and kindness.
"What Bonnie needs is for you to leave her alone. You are not her guardian. She is not some damsel in distress that you are supposed to save. If you continue to try to save her, you are going to become codependent on her, and I don't need to remind you what happened the last time you clung to a girl you became obsessed with saving." "
"You need to stop being a martyr and focus on getting well. If I wasn't here, how far would the two of you had gone?" she asked bluntly with her arms folded across her chest.
"Damon crossed that line with her and you saw what that did to her. Are you willing to risk hurting her the same way that he did?" she demanded clenching her fist tightly at her side.
Stefan stumbled back with a shell shocked on his face.
"I couldn't...I would never," he stammered weakly.
"So, are you going to stand there and tell me that you weren't even a little tempted to see how far you could take things?" she asked skeptically.
Stefan opened his mouth to respond but guilt and the truth hit him like a two-piece combo hit to the gut.
Val was right. Stefan had been very tempted, and that fact made him feel like the lowest piece of scum walking the earth. He literally had a front row seat to witness how badly his brother had hurt Bonnie, and in the midst of his blood lust, he had come close to doing the same. What had transpired between him, and Bonnie had been so far over the line that it was taking everything inside of him not to chase after her and apologize profusely. Not only did he feed from her, but he had also looked at her in a way that was far from friendly. There was a moment that he hadn't seen Bonnie as his friend or someone who he had become his ally over the past few years. He saw her as a meal and a person that he wanted to take his rage out on by feeding and fucking and that was unforgivable.
"Bonnie is in trouble and she needs help."
"I agree, but that help can't come from you. At least not while you are in this state of mind."
Stefan sat on the edge of the bed and stabbed the heels of his palms in his eye sockets as he struggled to find a solution to the problem. Bonnie was struggling and needed someone who she could lean on, and while Stefan wanted so desperately to believe that he could be that friend for her, the last couple of moments proved that he couldn't be trusted around her. As he mentally rand down the list of people he could call to help the struggling witch, he felt somber as he realized the list was extremely small. Damon and Elena were both locked away in coffins, Tyler was still handling pack business in Montana, Caroline was raising her daughters in Dallas, and Matt was busy with his job as a Sheriff. He considered Val, but Bonnie needed someone that had a deeper connection to her.
"Hello?" a light female voice answer pleasantly.
"Hey, it's Stefan," he managed to say when he found his voice again, "Stefan Salvatore. I know it's been a while since we last spoke."
There was a long pause.
"You have five seconds to tell me why the hell you are calling me, or I will hang up," she threatens sounding hostile.
Stefan scrubs his hand across his face and exhales wearily.
"Bonnie is in trouble and I think that you might be the only person that can help her."
"Last call for alcohol!"
Bonnie barely hears the bartender's warning over the loud musing blaring from the DJ booth. Beads of sweat formed on the nape of her neck as she continues to grind against her dance partner who was doing his best to keep up with her. Bonnie was feeling good, and it's been so long since she really had felt this way and she was determined to hold on to the sensation for as long as humanly possible. The hallucinations haven't returned, she was no longer a blubbering mess every time she saw anyone with dark hair and blue eyes, and more importantly, she no longer felt the need to curl up into the fetal position and die. The truth was that she was sick and tired of being sick and tired. She wanted to feel like the girl she use to be before she had her heart stomped on by Damon Salvatore, so when she woke up that morning, she made herself a promise. She would not shed another tear over a man that didn't want her, and she would go out into the world and find a man who did.
The incident with Stefan had been a wake up call for her. She couldn't believe that she allowed her to sink so low as to let Stefan feed from her just so that some sad little part of her would feel like her existence was validated. The morning after it happened, Bonnie had sobered up and decided that it was time to get her life back. She was tired of being s i
After engaging in a much-needed self-care routine that consisted of a bubble bath, a mud mask, and a manicure and pedicure, Bonnie found the skimpiest dress in her closet and headed out to the local watering hole. That's where she had met her current dance partner. Shawn was a junior at Whitmore college who as a corner back on the football team which mean that he was tall, solid and had biceps almost the size of her head. She had spent most of the night chatting him up and not only was he handsome, but he was funny, smart and was very generous when it came to buying her top shelf drinks.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for this night to end. What do you say we get out of here and have a little fun?" Shawn suggests as the bar lights flashed on indicating it was time to go.
"Sure. Your place or mine?" Bonnie asks coyly as she allows him to take her hand and lead her off the dance floor and towards the bar.
"I have roommates and its late and I don't want all of the screaming to disturb them," he starts.
Bonnie snorts amused.
"You really think you have what it takes to make me scream?" she asks arching an eyebrow inquisitively.
"I was actually talking about myself. Once you get to know me, you will learn that I am quite the screamer," he confides causing Bonnie to burst into a fit of giggles.
After paying their tab, Bonnie and Caleb leaves the bar in her car where she proceeded to drive to her house.
They are in a middle of a spirited argument about music when Bonnie's phone began to vibrate in the cupholder.
"Your phone has been blowing up all night," Caleb frowns, "It must be important if they are calling you this late.
Bonnie rolls her eyes as she scrolled through her phone. She had ten missed calls from Stefan, eight missed calls from Enzo and five from Valarie. A part of her was worried about the fact that they were so desperate to get in contact with her. Did something bad happen? Did someone die? Had a new villain emerged out of nowhere? Was she needed for her magic? Bonnie wanted to ignore the calls, but she knew that if she didn't get back to at least one of her friends, they would end up showing up at her place and that would completely ruin her attempt at a one-night stand. Mulling over her choices carefully, she grabbed her phone and decided to call Valarie back. Val was a woman and so she knew that if she told her that she needed a little alone time with her new friend, the heretic would more than likely get Enzo and Stefan off her back.
After a couple of rings, Valarie answers the phone.
"Where the hell have you been?" the heretic demands sounding irritated.
"Uh oh. Sounds like I'm in trouble," Bonnie says mockingly.
Val sucks her teeth loudly. "Don't take that tone with me, Bennett. You missed your appointment today. I was worried sick about you."
Bonnie curses softly. She had forgotten that she was supposed to meet up with Val earlier that day for siphon therapy.
"It kind of slipped my mind," she admits apologetically.
"I'll yell at you later. I'll come over so I can get you squared away," Val sighs tiredly.
"I'm actually a little occupied right now. Can we get together tomorrow?" Bonnie asks hopefully.
Pause.
"Bonnie, I don't mean to be harsh, but your condition is serious. If you don't get treatment immediately, you may risk seeing Damon again," Val warns as gently as she could.
"Who is Damon?" Caleb inquires curiously.
Bonnie fails to suppress an annoyed groan. Of course, Caleb would overhear that part of the conversation.
"He isn't anyone that you need to worry about," she promises with a sweet smile, "Trust me."
"Are you sure? I just want to hook up. I didn't sign up to deal with some angry and jealous boyfriend popping up on us." He sounds uneasy.
"I promise you that there is absolutely no possibility of you seeing Damon tonight," she confirms.
"Okay. Good."
"Bonnie? Are you still there?" Val chirps worriedly.
"Yeah. Sorry. I'll give you a call tomorrow, okay?"
Val pauses before exhaling deeply.
"Alright. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Click. The call ended.
"What was that about?" Caleb asks nosily.
"My friend was just checking on me. Everything's all good," she reassures him as she turned her blinker on and maneuvered her vehicle into her neighborhood.
Caleb decides not to push the issue and turned the radio up where he proceeded to sing off key causing Bonnie to laugh.
They arrive at her house five minutes later and they had barely made it through the door before Caleb is attacking her mouth with hungry kisses and pulling off her clothes.
He quickly removes her shirt and tosses it over his shoulder where it lands on the lamp shade on the end table near the couch. Bonnie responds by fumbling with his belt and flinging it to the floor before reaching for his zipper.
"I see that you made a new friend."
Realizing that they were not alone, Bonnie and Caleb jump apart startled.
Feeling flustered, Bonnie scans the room and finds Stefan standing in the corner stoically with his arms folded across his chest. She notices that he is wearing dark jeans, black boots and a grey t-shirt. This was the outfit that he typically wore when he went hunting in the woods, so it concerns her that she doesn't know if he had just finished feeding or if he still had an appetite. The stony look on his face did nothing to give her the answers to the questions flooding through her head, but the fact that his forest green eyes are darker than usual did not do much to put Bonnie at ease.
"I didn't know you have a roommate," Caleb says awkwardly.
"I don't," she corrects him pointedly before glaring at Stefan.
A palpable tension suddenly fell over the room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Bonnie growls.
"You haven't been answering my phone calls. I was worried about you," Stefan says gruffly as he pushes himself off the wall and slowly advances towards her.
"I'm fine," she says before moving closer to Caleb, "Actually, I am more than fine, so why don't you go home so I can enjoy the rest of my night."
"You expect me to believe you are fine when you are bringing home a man that you barely know from a bar?" he scoffs not bothering to hide the judgement in his tone.
"You've been following me?" she hisses trying to contain her anger and outrage.
"I didn't have to. I have a keen sense of smell. Remember?" he reminds her with a slight smirk.
"What I am doing is none of your business," she growled through clenched teeth.
"What you are doing isn't safe," he warns, his voice quiet and full of concern.
"He's relatively safe compared to you," she retorts coldly. "In fact, I'm curious as to whether or not you had a nice and healthy meal today."
Stefan left eye twitches slightly, but otherwise, he gave no indication that her statement had cut him deeply.
"We need to talk in private. You can make your friend leave, or I will," he states with a hint of threat laced in his voice.
"He's not going anywhere," Bonnie rebels defiantly.
Stefan narrows his eyes dangerously before taking a step towards the pair.
Caleb lifts a beefy hand and plants in the middle of Stefan's chest preventing the vampire from advancing any further.
"Dude, I don't know what your problem is, but you need to back off. It's clear that you aren't all too happy about me being here, but she is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. She doesn't have to listen to you. You're not her father," he said sizing Stefan up with a hint of violence in his eyes.
"He may not be Bonnie's father, but I am her mother."
Bonnie feels her blood run cold as she whirls around and watches as the last person that she expects to see enter the room.
"Hello, Bonnie. You and I need to talk."
AN: Mama Bennett has entered the chat. This is not about to be pretty, lol. I know there was no Tonnie in this chapter, but our sexy ass Tyler will be making his return in the next chapter. Also, I know this is a Tonnie centric story, but Bonnie will be forming unique relationships with other men so if you are turned off by the thought of multi ships, this story probably isn't for you. If you don't mind Bonnie having and exploring different options, then carry on!