AN: Heads up. This chapter is pretty long. I tried to shorten it, but I really liked each scene, so it is what it is. This chapter is focused on the second stage of grief. Anger. I also want to give a massive shout out to everyone reviewing this story. I love ya'll.

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"Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."

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"I called you guys two hours ago and your supervisor Mark told me that you would have a technician out to my place within an hour." Pause. "I don't care if you have a shortage of workers. There is a heat wave and my AC is broken. Am I suppose to sit here and suffer because your company lacks man power?" Bonnie snapped into the phone as she used a wet rag to wipe the sweat off of her face. "I'm sure that you are sorry for the inconvenience but that doesn't change the fact that my house is currently over 93 degrees."

Bonnie didn't bother waiting for a reply before hanging up the phone. If only she knew a spell on how to fix things, she wouldn't be forced to deal with subpar AC maintenance men. Sighing heavily, she opened the window praying that a breeze would come along that would help ease some of her misery. It was hot and sticky and every since the Air conditioner had kicked the bucket last night, Bonnie had been in a state of discomfort and agitation. She would have called Stefan over to look at the unit given the fact that he was a mechanic and was good with his hands and all things technical, but unfortunately for her, he and Val had went on an out of town trip to Kentucky where Val had managed to track down some distant relatives. Speaking of which, Bonnie glared at the blinking envelope icon that showed her that she had a voicemail. Abby had been attempting to call her while she had been on the phone with the AC repair company, and Bonnie had simply ignored the call.

"Hey Bonnie. It's me. Abby. I was calling because it's been awhile and you were on my mind. I am in Pasadena, California and I have to tell you it's pretty nice. Jaime's wedding was gorgeous. I wish you could have met his bride. She is so beautiful and sweet. She kind of reminds me of Liz Forbes daughter...Caroline, right? Anyways, I would love to see you when I get back to the East coast. I know that after everything that has happened between us, you don't own me anything but I would really love it if you gave me a call so we can reconnect." There was a brief moment of awkward silence. "I know that I haven't been the best mother, but I am really trying here Bonnie. If you could meet me half way that would be nice. Anyways, I have to go. Did you know that there is a supernatural version of grub hub for vampires? I just had a meal delivered to my door step and he looks delish..."

Bonnie couldn't bring herself to listen to the rest of the voicemail and tossed the phone onto the coffee table seething quietly. Abby really had some nerve calling her up out of the blue to brag about how good her life was going with her adopted son Jaime while her actual daughter was having a rough go at it.

As she paced across the worn rug that desperately needed to be replaced, questions began to fire through her brain relentlessly. What was it about her that made people constantly want to leave her? Was she too needy? Was she not good enough? Was she not worthy of love? What about her was so horrible that people treated her heart like a revolving door where they could just enter and exit her life whenever it was convenient? Maybe if she was more like doe eyed Elena, she would have people far and wide flocking to her offering truck loads of love. Maybe if she was more like Caroline, she could have her choice of human, vampire, Original and anything in between to love her. She knew that it was wrong and petty to resent the two people she had always consider to be like a sister but in that moment, she couldn't help it.

The more she dwelled on her sad little life and how she always seem to manage to get the short end of the stick, the more pissed off she became and before she knew it she was storming around her small house destroying any and everything she could get her hands on. She grabbed the mug on the coffee table and hurled across the room causing it to shatter while leaving behind a dent in the wall. With a furious wave of her hand, a pulse of magic escaped her body causing furniture to go flying violently around the room. Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed a fire poker and went to swinging at everything that wasn't nailed down and kicking violently at everything that was. When all of her energy was spent, she tossed the fire poker to the side and examined the damaged she caused to her home. She swallowed deeply as her eyes fell on pictures that made her stomach cramp and her breath catch in her throat.

"Incendia," she whispered tearfully.

Seconds later, the pictures on the fire place went up in flames and the smoke alarm began to screech loudly.

For a moment, she ignored the noise as she stared at the multiple pictures burning in the fire place. The faces of Caroline, Matt, Elena, Jeremy, Damon, her father, Abby and other associates were going up in smoke right before her very eyes. She knew that it was an rash and impulsive decision to burn precious memories, but she was tired of being burdened by people of her past. People who were currently living in Dallas raising two beautiful daughters and building a perfect and wholesome family. She was tired of being haunted by memories of both of her best friends who were currently lying in coffins waiting to be reunited like some Great Value version of Romeo and Juliet. She was tired of missing a mother who abandoned her and a father who was murdered in cold blood. She was sick and tired, but most of all, she was just plain tired.

Exhaling deeply, she made a sweeping motion of her hand causing the flames in the fire place to disappear. As the room filled with smoke, she covered her face with her shirt before opening several windows in the house. She was standing on a chair attempting to turn off the smoke alarm when she heard frantic knocking on the door. Sighing heavily, she jumped down and stomped towards the front of the house.

"What?" she snapped yanking the door open.

The stranger standing on her porch recoiled at the fury etched on Bonnie's pretty face.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. I just saw the smoke coming from your house and wanted to make sure that you were okay," he stammered awkwardly.

"I'm fine," she mumbled shifting uncomfortably, "I just had a small accident in the kitchen."

"You should probably start ordering in," he teased lamely.

"You should probably get the hell off of my porch," she retaliated evenly.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to be funny. I didn't mean any harm," he said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head and stared down at his feet briefly. "I know what you are thinking, and I can promise you that I'm not some creep. If I was a bad guy, would I have dropped everything to rush over here to make sure that you, a perfect stranger, wasn't being burnt alive?"

Bonnie felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she realized that he had a point. Still, that didn't mean that she trusted him. In fact, she was going to make it a point to keep an eye on him going forward.

"Who are you and what did you say your name was again?" she huffed folding her arms across her chest.

He smiled shyly. "I'm Michael. Michael Ford. I'm new in town and I noticed the smoke coming from your house because I am in the process of moving in a couple of doors down."

"Which house?" she asked curiously.

"The gray house with the red trimming," he started.

"That house belongs to Grace McCoy," she said confused.

"Yes. She is my great aunt. Me and my daughter moved here from Nebraska and she was kind enough to rent us a room while I look for permanent residence," he informed.

Bonnie frowned deeply. She recalled the conversation she had with the elderly woman a month ago and recalled that she had mentioned having her kids and their families come home from the holiday, but she never mentioned a great nephew.

"You never told me what your name was," he smiled.

"Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett," she said before reluctantly shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Bonnie Bennett. I look forward to seeing you around," he grinned giving her hand a firm squeeze before walking off.

"Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don't win, it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, At the old ball game."

Bonnie bounced on the balls of her feet as she listened to the people in the bleachers applaud as the official anthem of American baseball ended and the police and fire department teams took their respective positions on the field. The day was sunny and cloudless and there were smiling faces in the bleachers and laughter and cheering filling the air.

While most people would have been enjoying what appeared to be the ideal perfect afternoon, Bonnie was sitting in the dug out with her arms crossed, her hat turned backwards and a scowl on her face. When Matt invited her to join the police department team in a friendly game of softball with the fire department, Bonnie had thought it would be a good opportunity to find a hot public servant to cozy up with so that she could get laid. When she had arrived, she had been mortified to find that most men on the team were either unattractive, married or gay. It was safe to say that she was going to strike out in the romance department and after coming to that particular realization, Bonnie's mood had gone from hopeful and optimistic, to sour and cynical.

"How's it hanging?" Matt asked plopping down next to her.

"I'm spending a Saturday afternoon being eaten up by sand gnats and watching hot but unavailable firefighters and cops play a sport I could care less about," she said dryly, "This is clearly the peak of my social life."

"You going through a dry spell?" he asked with a crooked smile. "Can't you just Abra Kadabra and poof yourself a boyfriend?"'

"Can't you just kiss the darkest part of my ass?" she replied with a saccharine smile causing him to laugh.

"Hold still. You have something in your hair," he murmured.

"What is it?" she asked nervously.

"It's a lady bug. That means you are lucky," he said with a crooked smile.

Bonnie snorted rolling her eyes. "With my magic on the fritz, my best friend out of the picture, I feel like I'm having a boat loads of luck."

Matt cocked his head to the side. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Bonnie asked confused.

"The sound of a Bennett witch whining," he teased causing here to scowl.

"Is it whining if I'm just stating the obvious when it comes to my complicated and miserable life?" she grumbled swatting at an annoying bug buzzing around her face.

"Well the fact that you alive, breathing and in one piece and in relatively good health shows that your life isn't all that bad," he tried optimistically.

"God, Matt. You couldn't sound any more like a fortune cookie if you tried," she huffed rolling her eyes.

"Switching gears, how are things at work?" he asked trying to approach a more delicate topic.

"Everyday that I don't set Enzo on fire is a small victory," she retorted causing him to laugh.

"I still can't believe you work at that creepy place. Is it a normal job or are you like some supernatural super agent?" he asked.

"I'm no Nick Fury, but I actually like the work."

They chatted about her new employment briefly before Matt suddenly became distracted. Curious, Bonnie followed the blue eyed man's gaze and smirked as she discovered what had stolen her friend's attention. Val and Stefan were currently making their way towards the bleachers, and while Stefan was dressed in his traditional boots, dark jeans and snug navy blue shirt, Val was wearing tight blue jeans, a frilly white tank top and a her strawberry blonde hair was wild and free and blowing in the wind. Most men on the bleachers couldn't help but stare as they watched the beautiful heretic make her way gracefully through the crowd in attempt to find a decent seat.

"What are they doing here?" Matt asked confused.

"I invited Val," Bonnie answered simply as she eyed the selections of bats propped against the wall.

Matt gave her the side eye. "Since when are you two friends?"

"The only family that she has ever known was wiped out when Lily died and Nora and Mary Louise and Beau was killed. I thought that maybe she could use a friend and as it turns out, she's pretty cool," she said as she plucked a bat that looked worn but reliable out of the selections.

"She's pretty hot too. You think that you might be able to put in a good word for me?"

"Not to be that person, but you and Stefan dated Caroline, Rebecca and Elena. Don't you want to date a girl that hasn't had a Salvatore under her belt?" Bonnie asked flexing her fingers around the bat and giving it an experimental swing.

"First of all, I had Elena and Caroline before Stefan did, so technically he has taken the left overs out of my dating pool," he started.

"Gross," Bonnie groaned.

"Secondly," he continued unbothered as he punched his fist into his catcher's glove, "Val is not from around here and what kind of civil servant would I be if I didn't make her feel at home as Mystic Falls newest residence?"

"You think that you are slick," she sniggered.

"Just a little," he said winking at her. "Now get your ass up and get on your mound. You are next up to bat," he informed giving her a playful shove.

"Why don't you take it down a notch, Donovan? It's a meaningless baseball game, not the World Series," she huffed.

"That isn't a very positive attitude, Bon," Matt chided amused.

Bonnie tapped the mound with her bat before striking the pose waiting for the hunky fireman to pitch to her.

"Strike one."

"Come on, sweetheart. I'm sure you can do better than that," someone heckled on the side line.

"Strike two."

"Not to add too much pressure, doll, but the goal of the game is to actually hit the ball with the bat."

Was this asshole seriously mansplaining baseball to her right now?

Bonnie forced herself to block out the heckler and focus on the third pitch heading in her direction.

"Hey, honey. Think of the one person you hate the most and swing as hard as you can," the heckler coached grinning.

As she pictured Damon's face as the ball, she gritted her teeth and swung with all of her might.

CRACK!

The sound of ball meeting the steel bat echoed through the air and Bonnie's face lit up as she watched the baseball soar into the outfield.

She was rounding third base when a pain in her leg caused her to stumble and face plant into the dirt. Flushing with embarrassment, she quickly scrambled to her feet ignoring the laughter and cat calls coming from both dug outs.

As she limped towards home base, she was immediately approached by Matt who made a scene by checking her over closely.

"I'm fine. It's just a minor case of a Charlie horse," she mumbled.

Matt stared at her in disapproval. "You do realize that you are suppose to stretch before you run right?"

"You do realize that I still have one good leg and can kick your ass, right?" she sneered causing him to throw his hands up in surrender as he backed off.

The two friends made their way away from the field only to be approached by a vampire and heretic, both whom looked concerned.

"Are you alright, Bonnie?" Val asked laying a concerned hand on the witches' shoulder.

"Yep. Nothing a little stretching won't take care of," she said through clenched teeth.

"Are you going to be able to shake back soon? We are going to need you to stay in the game," Matt grouched.

"Can't you get someone to substitute for her?" Stefan asked frowning as his forehead developed wrinkles.

"We can but our substitution's suck. Just do some hocus pocus and eat an orange slice and come on," Matt urged impatiently.

"Why don't I substitute for Bonnie?" Val offered smiling brightly.

"Do you know how to play?" Matt inquired curiously.

"I'm pretty sure you can teach me," she said her voice unintentionally sultry and inviting, "Besides, I'm a quick learner."

Matt's face nearly turned as red as a cherry tomato as he found himself completely flustered by the supernatural beauty.

He cast one last look at Bonnie. "Are you going to be okay without me?"

"I'll survive," she said sardonically.

As Matt and Val headed back towards the dugout, Stefan moved closer to Bonnie to assist her.

"Let's get you off your feet," he offered as he took her arm and placed it around her shoulder while using his own arm to coil around her waist.

Bonnie smiled appreciatively as he helped her limp over to a more private grassy area before helping lower her into a sitting position on the ground.

"I can help you work out that cramp if you don't mind," he offered with a friendly smile.

"I don't mind," she responded shyly.

As Stefan instructed her on what to do, Bonnie took a deep breath before lying on her back and gingerly stretching her injured leg into the air and resting it on his shoulder. Keeping the opposite leg straight on the ground, Bonnie clenched her teeth as Stefan pushed forward on her leg until she could feel it stretching. He quietly counts down from five before easing up and repeating the action.

"How does that feel?" he murmured.

She sighed softly as she laid back and allowed Stefan place her leg on her shoulder ass he leaned forward and helped her stretch it out. An involuntary moan escaped her lips causing him to chuckle lightly.

"Don't worry about pushing me too hard. I'm pretty bendy," she assured him.

Stefan smiled knowingly. Back in high school when he had been on the football team, he along with the other players would enjoy watching the cheerleaders help stretch each other out. Back then, Stefan's focus had been mainly on Elena, but just because he was dead didn't mean he was blind. He had taken notice at how Bonnie had been the most flexible and pliable girl on the team. Keeping that in mind, he was still careful as he leaned forward causing her straightened leg to move towards her head. He was so close that their noses were almost touching.

"Does that hurt?" he asked softly.

"No. It's actually starting to feel a little better," she admitted.

"Good," he murmured.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Matt about your little problem. So that weird thing with your magic is still going on?" he asked trying to make conversation to avoid focusing on how close his body was to hers.

Bonnie nibbled on the inside of her cheek feeling slightly embarrassed that Stefan had knowledge of her magical issues.

"I've been trying to get a handle on it, but nothing seems to be working," she said frustrated, "I think it has something to do with my emotions being on the fritz."

"You should probably engage in activities that will help you relax. Maybe a spa day would be helpful," he suggested.

"I don't think getting a Swedish massage is going to help kickstart my powers," she sighed heavily.

"Why don't you ask Caroline for advice about your problem?" he inquired, "She usually has the answer for everything."

"Yeah, well her answer wasn't helpful considering she wants me to relieve my stress through sex," she snorted as she arched her back slightly as the stretching became a little more intense.

Bonnie eyes narrowed as she watched Stefan struggle not to smile.

"Let me guess. You happen to think she is right."

"Actually, I have to disagree with her. Using sex as an outlet to channel your emotions isn't very healthy," he said sagely.

"So what do you suggest?" she prodded as Stefan continued to stretch her hamstring out.

"Maybe you just need to find an outlet to distract you. I find that journaling works wonders," he said as he leaned a little closer to her causing her to grunt as she felt her hamstring tense slightly.

At the thought of keeping a journal, Bonnie made a face.

Bonnie massaged her forehead as she tapped into her internal struggle and debate. She had considered going to therapy in the past, but at the last minute, she always chickened out. She didn't see the point of speaking with a therapist when she couldn't be honest? They would ask her all the cliché questions and she couldn't exactly be honest about everything. If they asked her about her abandonment issues, she would have to admit her mom left her as a child, came back only to be turned into a vampire and leave again. Daddy issues? Oh he was distant and emotionally unavailable and she never got closure due to the fact that his throat was slit by her some immortal psychopath? Don't get her started on her comatose best friend that was under a sleeping spell, and her many different encounters with death and the after life. She would be medicated and thrown in a stray jacket before the hour of therapy was up.

"I don't think journaling is my thing. I considered going to therapy, but I don't think that would work," she sighed heavily.

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to commit to therapy when you can't be transparent and open," he said as if he had read her mind.

"I forget how insightful you could be," she said with a small smile.

"Well if you can't talk to a stranger about your issues, you can always talk to a friend," he grunted as he leaned into her deeper.

"Yeah right. Caroline is busy with her kids, Matt is busy with his job and Elena is in a magical coma," she moaned happily as she felt the cramp in her leg disappear.

"I was talking about me," he smirked as he removed her leg from his shoulder and sat a comfortable distance across from her.

"I'm pretty sure that you don't want me to get drunk and spend hours talking about your brother and I how I hate him."

"As long as the liquor is top shelf, we can take turns on the topic," he grinned causing her to laugh.

As she continued to vent about Damon and all the different ways she wanted to kill him, Stefan found himself slightly tuning in and out as he found himself noticing things about Bonnie that he had never noticed before. He observed how her eyes seemed to change colors depending on her mood. When she was quiet and calmed, they were a moss green but when she was expressive and animated like she was now, they seem to glow like emeralds. As his eyes moved from her pretty orbs down to her mouth, he noticed that for someone who wasn't wearing lip gloss or lipstick, her mouth was plump and pouty. He had always known that Bonnie was a pretty girl, but being this close to her made him appreciate her beauty a little more than he had in the past.

As he tuned into her rant once more, his eyes narrowed at the fact that every other word that came out of her mouth was his brother's name. He still couldn't believe Damon had done the unthinkable. Who hooks up with their best friend before turning around and leaving them high and dry with a broken heart. There were times Stefan had found himself drawn sexually to Lexie when she was alive, but he never allowed himself to cross that line with her because he would happily take off his day ring and dance in the sun before he took a chance at hurting her.

"Stefan? Stefan!"

The vampire in question was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Bonnie calling his name.

"Were you listening to me?" she asked sounding vaguely annoyed.

"Of course. You said that if you had the chance, you would defang Damon before dropping him into a pit of acid," he repeated dryly, "That's very graphic by the way."

Bonnie smiled sheepishly as she sat up and placed her elbow on her knee before propping her cheek against her fist.

"Here is a tip. Whenever I would feel restless, agitated or vengeful, Lexi taught me relaxation techniques that would help curb my hunger and rage. I'll be happy to walk you through some of them," he offered.

"You think chanting in the lotus position is going to fix my issues?" she asked skeptically.

"Don't knock it until you try it," he advised amused.

After they finished talkin, Stefan helped Bonnie off of the ground and they made there way back towards the field. Bonnie couldn't hide her smirk as she watched Donovan perched behind Val appearing to innocently teach her the correct way to swing a bat. Bonnie glanced at Stefan out of the corner of her eye to see if she could detect a trace of jealousy, but the vampire was channeling his inner Lady Gaga and sporting a perfect Poker Face. Before she could come up with a diplomatic way to inquire about the status of his relationship with his ex girlfriend, a commotion taking place on the field drew her attention.

"Way to knock it out of the park, darlin'," a guy with grey eyes and a southern drawl complimented her right before he lightly smacked her on the ass.

The girls looked absolutely mortified.

"Did you really just do that?" she demanded.

"Relax, babe. It's all fun and games. No harm, no foul," he said jovially.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes as she watched the creep high five other cops before making his way on to the field with a bat. She clenched her teeth as she realized that the same man who had just sexually assaulted the woman was the man who had been heckling her other.

She was glaring at the creep so hard that she didn't notice that her magic was pulsating through her body and dancing at her fingertips. As he moved to swing the bat, Bonnie twirled her index finger unconsciously causing the baseball to go off its path and instead of heading towards the bat, it slammed straight into the ass grabbing douche bag's face.

A loud gasp came over the crowd as the injured man fell motionless to the ground.

"Is everyone out here accident prone?" Matt exclaimed as he stood over grey eyes who was knocked out cold.

As the stand by medics rushed to examine grey eyes, Stefan folded his arms across his chest and continued to observe the Bennett witch with a disapproving look on his face.

Bonnie toed her sneaker into the dirt before smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah so about those relaxation techniques..."

A couple of weeks passed since Stefan had introduced Bonnie to the art of meditation and for awhile it seemed like his form of therapy appeared to do the trick. Her emotions began to become somewhat stable and with a lot of practice and focus, she had managed to get her magic under control. Things had appeared to be all sunshine and rainbows until she had accidently stumbled over one half of the matching shades that she had lifted from the super market when she and Damon had been stuck in the prison world. The pair of eye wear had triggered the anger that she had thought she had locked away and no amount of meditating, chanting or channeling of Zen had been able to calm her.

Her magic had broke free from her restraints and had provoked a low level earthquake that caused the entire block of her neighborhood to lose power and left the meteorologists scratching their heads in confusion at the unexplainable geology activity in the area. Feeling spooked and freaked out by her loss of control, she had fled to the woods where she ended up at a cliff overlooking the bluffs that contained three separate small, but powerful waterfalls.

As she felt the water splash across her face, she closed her eyes and felt her throat tighten as she was overcome with yet another memory of her and Damon Salvatore.

"With all that power, is there any way to increase your odds?"

"Be careful Damon, I might start to think you actually care."

"We wouldn't want that.

That was the first time that she had willingly allowed him into her personal space and danced with him at the decade's dance. She didn't really hate him at that point, but she was nowhere close to liking him and respecting him. That night, something had shifted between them. He had helped her formulate a plan that prevented Klaus from outright killing her. It was the first time that Damon showed a hint of concern for her. It was the first time that she suspected that he might genuinely care.

Feeling agitated, Bonnie picked up a fairly large rock and hurled it over the cliff trying to relieve some of the frustration she was feeling.

She would seriously consider a lobotomy if it meant getting the smirking blue eyed vampire out of her head. She had done everything she could think of to try to get over him and move on. She had tried journaling, working out, getting a job, focusing on her magic, hanging out with her friends...hell, she had even tried dating and nothing seemed to work. No matter what she would do, Damon's ghost would haunt her reminding her that she wasn't good enough to stick around and that he believed spending decades desiccated in a coffin next to Elena was far more better than spending decades being by her side as a friend.

His betrayal had left her feeling so abandoned, so angry that she was slowly losing control of her emotions and while many things didn't scare Bonnie Bennett, becoming unstable and volatile did. She always prided herself on control, but to have one man unravel that control made her feel more vulnerable and more lost than she had in a long time and she knew that someway and somehow, she was going to have to find a way to fix what he had broken or she would snap and hurt someone.

She was snapped out of her internally musings when the smell of smoke caught her attention.

Bonnie watched as several leaves burned a fiery path towards the lake as a familiar hybrid made his way closer to her.

"Only you can prevent forest fires," Tyler said mockingly.

Bonnie barely could resist the urge to roll her eyes at Tyler's horrible Smokey the bear impression.

"You shouldn't be here," she said coldly.

"It's a good thing that I showed up or you would have lit the entire woods on fire," he said his voice rough and hard.

"Why are you out here in the woods in the middle of the night?" she asked suspiciously.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was just out for a casual stroll in the woods?" he asked innocently

"No I wouldn't so cut the crap and tell me the truth," she said curtly.

"I've followed you. I felt like someone needs to be keeping an eye on you," he said narrowing his eyes at her.

"I have known you to be a lot of things, Tyler, but I never thought you would stoop so low and become a stalker," she hissed. "How long have you've been following me?"

"Long enough to know that you have a serious anger problem," he said smirking as he folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not the only one watching you when you aren't looking," he said defensively as he moved closer to her. "Do you know that Matt sends a patrol car by your house every night right after you go to bed? Did you know that Val has compelled an intern to serve as a buffer between you and Enzo and to watch your back?" He paused before chuckling quietly. "I bet you didn't even know that Stefan hangs outside your house sometimes in the middle of the night just to make sure you are okay."

Bonnie knew that she should be flattered that she had people looking out for her, but in that moment, all she could feel was frustrated.

"Maybe you guys should spend less time spying on me and focus more on your own lives," she said evenly.

"We are worried about you," he tried. "Your magic is causing power outrages and earthquakes. You are clearly not in control."

Bonnie head snapped towards him as she frowned deeply.

"This is rich coming from someone who couldn't even spell control much less practice it when we were in high school," she sneered.

There was a noticeable tick in Tyler's jaw, but he forced himself to keep his temper in check. It was one thing to have a witch out of control, but throwing in a pissed off hybrid was a recipe for a huge disaster.

"Deflect all you want, but we both know that you are just one mood swing away from unraveling and you need to pull it together before that happens and you expose not only yourself, but all of us."

"So you looking out for me for me is really about self preservation and keeping the identity of the people in my little supernatural circle under wraps. That is more plausible than believing you actually give a damn about me."

"I do give a damn about you so drop the fucking attitude," he growled.

"You are so full of crap," she mumbled.

Tyler's right eye twitched. "Care to run that by me again?"

"Damon claimed to care about me and he is no where to be found, so forgive me if I think you are full of crap."

"I'm not Damon and if you stopped acting like some heart broken pathetic groupie, you might be able to appreciate the fact that I'm trying to look out for you."

Bonnie right hand met the side of Tyler's face slapping him with all the strength that she had.

"Is that all you got, Bennett?" Tyler laughed mockingly as he turned his head to spit out out a wad of blood. "Who taught you how to fight? Damon? No wonder you hit like a little bitch."

Feeling the rage inside of her increase tenfold, she found herself screaming like a banshee as she threw herself at Tyler knocking him down to the ground.

Before he could recover from her surprise attack, she was on top of him slamming her fist into his face repeatedly. Bam. His bottom lip split open causing blood to spray across her face. Bam. Tyler groaned and swore explicitly feeling quite certain that his nose was broken. Bam. Her right knuckles landed in his left eyes causing him to briefly see stars. He didn't want to fight Bonnie, but he wasn't about to lay there and just let her kick his ass either.

After a particularly vicious blow to the side of his head, Tyler roared loudly maneuvering his body so that Bonnie was thrown violently on her back and he was pinning her down. Her mouth was moving, and judging by the way her face was twisted into fury, he was pretty sure she was cursing him all the way out, but he couldn't hear what she was saying due to the incessant ringing in his ears.

"Stop trying to fight me, Bonnie. I don't want to hurt you," he warned as he scrambled off top of her putting distance between them. "I get that you are angry, but you are taking it out on the wrong person."

The logical part of Bonnie's mind knew that Tyler had a point, but the emotional part to her wanted to tear him apart.

"Phasmatos Ossox."

Tyler grunted in pain as he felt his knee cap fracture.

"Alright, Bennett. If you want to use magic, then the gloves are coming off," he snarled clenching his fists.

"Fine with me," she breathed hotly as she sprung to her feet ready to fight.

She cricked her neck and stood in a defensive position as he snatched his jacket off and bared his fangs threateningly.

"Motus"

Bonnie growled the incantation and stretched her hand out to throw Tyler backwards, but what she didn't expect was for him to lunge forward to grab her wrist forcing her off balance. The interrupted momentum caused them both to go flying over the edge of the cliff where he plummeted down into the raging waters below.

Bonnie gasped loudly as she broke through the surface of the water gulping in a mouth full of oxygen that had been deprived from her lungs as she had swam through the lake.

She was about to do a particularly nasty pain inducing spell on him when the hybrid made his way in front of her and pinned her arms by her side by encasing her in a tight bear hug.

"Don't do it."

"Phasmastos," she started.

"I'm warning you.'

"Incen-"

Before she could finish the incantation, Tyler slammed his mouth against hers in a bruising kiss that effectively silenced her. Tyler was kissing her with such violence and passion that it made her feel grounded. It made her feel like she wasn't alone in her own anger because she could practically taste his own rage on her tongue. The taste of blood, booze and saliva mingled together as there tongues collided battling for legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her out of the water and made his way back onto land without breaking the came a point where her lungs demanded oxygen, so she pulled away expecting whatever just happened between them to end. What she didn't expect was Tyler's mouth to attached to her neck where he began to nip and suckle at a patch of skin causing a soft moan to escape her lips.

With one fluid motion, he fell to his knees and lowered her to the ground placing her on her back as he continued to devour her mouth hungrily. Bonnie whimpered as Tyler roughly pinned her arms above her head as he sunk deeper between her legs devouring her mouth hungrily. Bonnie was still angry, probably even more pissed that she was earlier due to the fact that Tyler was tonguing her down, but the anger she had felt before had been rooted in pain whereas the anger she felt now was blossoming into unexpected pleasure and she didn't know how to feel about that. The last person who had kissed her had kissed her with reverence and tenderness, and what Tyler was currently doing to her mouth was the exact opposite of that. This was dirty, hot and alarm bells in her head was telling her this was all kinds of wrong and that she had no business touching, kissing or even thinking about Tyler in a sexual way. Friends don't kiss friends. Didn't she learn her lesson with Damon? Logically she knew that Tyler wasn't Damon, but she couldn't afford to let down her guard.

Feeling her common sense over rule her emotion of desire, she braced her hands on his broad shoulders and she shoved him back causing their lips to separate.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded breathlessly.

"I was trying to keep you from setting me and half of Mystic Falls on fire," he growled.

"You thought you could accomplish that by kissing me?" she squeaked flustered as she tried to dodge the droplets of water dripping from his soaked strands of hair plastered on his forehead.

"There were two ways for me to keep you from finishing your nasty little spell. Option one was kissing you. Option two was punching you in the mouth," he huffed annoyed. "I didn't want to hurt you so I went with option one." Pause. "You're welcome by the way."

Bonnie stared up at him incredulously.

"You think I should be thanking you for putting your filthy lips on me?" she hissed. "You had no right to do that without my consent."

"Well you didn't have consent to assault me so consider us even," he retorted haughtily.

Something about the way he was smirking and leering at her reminded her of Damon and she felt her rage surge to a level that was over 9000.

Tyler reached down and wrapped his fingers around the side of her thigh where he had marked and he squeezed non too gently causing her to wince uncomfortably.

Bonnie didn't know how long they were in that position but the longer Tyler's thumb pressed against her scar, the more calmer she felt. It was like Tyler's touch had muted the barely contained rage that had been swirling around inside of her for weeks.

"Stop trying to manipulate me," she protested hoarsely.

"I will once you calm the fuck down," he growled.

Her eyebrows nearly kissed her hair line as she felt Tyler began to project a sense of calmness that made her body relax noticeably and her heart rate began to slow to a normal tried to maintain his cool and keep the physical interactions between them as platonic as he could, but the wolf inside of him sensed that the girl was distressed and he was desperate to comfort her. In a move that surprised both the hybrid and the witch, he lowered his face into the crook of her neck and began to nuzzle her gently. Bonnie was too stunned and still recovering from her explosion of anger to stop him or push him away, so she just stood there with Tyler using one hand to pin her hands over her head, while he gently massaged her mark while staring into her eyes.

"How do you feel?" he asked gruffly.

"Better," she murmured with a small smile.

Feeling satisfied, Tyler rolled off top of her and laid on his back next to her and joined her in starring up at the starless night sky.

A moment of silence passed before he cleared his throat softly.

"I'm sorry if you felt like I violated you. I was only trying to help."

"I should be the one apologizing. You were only trying to help me and I responded violently," she said looking deeply ashamed.

"You are a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. I would be a pussy if I managed to let you get the best of me," he teased earning him a dirty look.

Bonnie tried her best to smile, but failed miserably as she felt tears burning the corners of her eyes.

Tyler saw that Bonnie was on the verge of crying and immediately grew alarmed.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. Please don't cry." Tyler hated when girls cried. It made him feel helpless and uncomfortable, two emotions that he despised.

"I didn't mean to lose control and attack you like I did. It's just that ever since Damon decided to walk out of my life, I've been kind of spiraling," she admitted choking back tears. "He was my best friend and he just walked away like I didn't even matter. It feels like he just ripped my heart out and I don't...I don't...how am I suppose to get passed this?"

"You deserve better than that prick. You deserve someone who respects you, values you, cares about you would have never left. I get it, Bonnie. You are so angry that you can hardly see straight and nothing anyone can do or say can take away from the fact that you were betrayed by the one person who was suppose to always be there for you," he growled in her face. "I get how it feels to be hurt and betrayed by people that you would happily give your life for." A beat. "The girl I was in love with sold out my friend and ended up sleeping with the man who murdered my mother and terrorized people that I cared about. After all that had happened, it was a long time before I could bring myself to actually let my guard down and trust anyone, but I did. If I can get to that point of getting over my trust issues, I believe that you will too."

Silenced stretched between them.

"Look at me," he commanded gently.

She obeyed and found him gazing down at her with an intensity in his eyes that made her shiver involuntarily.

"I'm not Damon. I may be a prick, but I would never stab you in the back and hurt you like he did," he vowed vehemently, "You have my word."

"I wish I could believe you, but every time I allow myself to trust someone, they let me down. I'm tired of being hurt and if I was to let you get close to me and hurt me...I don't think that I would be able to survive that," she said numbly.

"You have survived so many things, Bonnie. Death, curses, immortal psychopaths, being marked by a hybrid jerk that you don't even really like," Tyler murmured causing Bonnie to crack a small smile, "Trust me when I say this. You will survive being abandoned by Damon Salvatore. I am here for you and no matter how much you try to push me away, I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks, Tyler. That means a lot and I appreciate you for not making a big deal over everything that has happened tonight," she smiled gratefully, "But there is one thing that I need you to know."

"What's that?" he asked.

"If you ever kiss me again, I will gut you like a fish."

"Duly noted."

"Come on. It's getting late. Let's get you home," he bent over slightly, "Hop on."

"Seriously?" she snorted.

"You have short legs and I don't want you to have to struggle to keep up with me," he smirked.

Bonnie rolled her eyes but realized he had a point. She was tired and trekking through the dark woods back to her house didn't' exactly sound appealing. Sighing softly, she hopped up on the hybrid's back trying to ignore how muscular his back felt pressed against her chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck securely and tightening her legs around his waist, she braced herself as he took off through the woods. A small giggle escaped her lips as she felt the wind in her face and her heart do cartwheels in her chest. It felt like she was flying and the sensation was terrifying yet exhilarating. Ten minutes later, they came to a stop outside of her house and Bonnie gracefully detached herself from her back and landed lightly on her feet.

"Thanks for the lift, Ty," she murmured as he turned around to face her.

"If you ever need someone to help you with that rage you have been feeling or if you ever just want to talk, I want you to know that I'm here for you. I don't care if you want to jump my bones, kick my ass or both."

She snorted before shaking her head in amusement.

"Can I give you a little piece of advice?" he asked.

"Go for it," she sighed folding her arms across her chest.

"I have gone down the road that you are on now. Anger management is something that I have always struggled with, but there was one thing that always help me deal with my rage," he stated somberly.

"Yeah and what was that?" she asked curiously.

"I found an outlet," he said, "I found something to invest in that was bigger than myself. In my case, I found my pack. I think you need to find a community that will help you guide you to a higher purpose," he advised gently.

"Maybe you're right," she murmured.

"It wouldn't be the first time that someone said that to me," he grinned.

"Good night Tyler."

"Goodnight, Bonnie."

Bonnie kept her eyes on his retreating figure momentarily, before whirling on her heels and making her way back into the house. Looking around at the destruction, she felt a sense of regret and frustration settle over her. She knew that if she continued to sit around the house and dwell on Damon and his bullshit, she would go stir crazy. She needed something to distract her from the red hot rage that kept creeping up inside of her whenever she thought about her blue eyed, smirking ex best friend. She needed to have a purpose, a reason to get out of the bed in the morning. She wanted to do something meaningful with her life

Steeling her spine, she marched up the stairs into her bedroom and grabbed the business card sitting on the night stand. Punching the number in the cell, she put the phone to her ear and waited patiently for the person on the other end of the line to pick. After three rings, a woman's voice answered cheerfully.

"Thank you for calling the Armory, this is Alex St. Johns speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hey, Alex. It's me. Bonnie. You told me to give you a call when I made a decision about the job offer?" Pause. "When can I start?"

A/N: So initially I was going to have Bonnie and Tyler have hate sex or an angry fuck in the last scene, but I felt it would be too rushed and it would come across as Tyler taking advantage of Bonnie in such a vulnerable state, so I nixed it. The OC character Michael is NOT, and I repeat NOT a love interest for Bonnie, but this civilian plays an important role in her story so please don't brush him off. Also he looks like Elliot aka Christian Kane from Leverage.