TVD is returning soon! I originally wanted this story to be over before the next season but that obviously didnt happen. Ive been working on a new bamon story and its been really fun to write so far. I want to have most of the story finished and polished before I start posting though so that I have no longer than a week between each chapter update. Im really excited about it. But Im so far behind of this story, be patient with me

60th bite

"Why do I feel like I'm being kept?" Damon asked, feigning irritation. She had him, and he belonged to her in ways that he couldn't escape now. Spending as much time as he did chasing the women in his life only to end up with the one person he owed the biggest debt to—second to his brother of course. So he'll be the animal to her humanity. He'll protect her and she'll show him what deep affection looks like when it isn't tied up in misery or passionate flames.

"Why can't you just enjoy the service?" Bonnie responded, annoyed. She was doing him a favor after all. Especially since she allowed Damon to drink from her not even 20 minutes ago.

"What are you? My mother? I can cut my own damn hair." Damon considered his words after he spoke them. His mother actually never cut his hair before. Even though he idolized her, he was also a brat. It was never a wonder to him why his parents tried for a second child, one that would live up to their expectations. But bad Damon and good Stefan still fell for the same girl, sealing their fate.

Damon was about to stand when Bonnie's hands forced him back into the chair. "Good boy,"

Damon rolled his eyes. "It's amazing you didn't have boys fawning over you."

Bonnie shook her head at the comment. Her love life wasn't has booming as Elena's or Caroline's and most times she preferred it that way. With words like "epic" and "soulmate" being tossed around her circle of friends with the likes of vampires, she quickly understood that her type of love could never match that. You'll never know for sure who the last love of your life will be until you've reached the end and you're looking right at that persons face. That's when you'll know. That's when you'll thank them for existing, for pulling through to the end, and for never letting go.

"I like to think guys are intimidated by my mighty build."

Damon crackled a smile. "Mighty huh?"

"Yes," she joked.

"Like Mighty Mouse."

"Watch it Damon, my scissors might slip."

Bonnie carefully sipped at Damon's hair with his scissors. His hair was growing out like weeds. It took her two days to convince him to cut it. He argued that he didn't have to look good for her and she disagreed. It was bad enough to be stuck in 1994 with a vampire, she wouldn't be stuck with a vampire that looked like he just came out of a 70s rock band.

Her fingers ran through his hair as she practically eyed every strand. She has actually never cut someone else's hair before and definitely not a man's. If she got this wrong, she'll never hear the end of it.

"I like it shorter in the back."

"You think I don't know how you like your hair?"

"Well you change yours like you change underwear. I don't want to be a victim of some new hair trend."

"But my hair always looks good. So just trust me."

This silenced Damon. Even if she ruined his hair, it's not like they didn't have forever to get it right. He'd look terrible with a buzz cut though. And she'd be the only one to have to suffer through having to look at him and his ugly hair every day.

"Well hurry up then."

Bonnie silently cut more of Damon's hair off. She decided that Damon would look infinitely better with shorter hair. No more of those boy band bangs.

She turned Damon to face her and she leaned over to make sure his hair was placed just right. She smiled. She didn't do a bad job after all.

She held up a mirror so that Damon could wipe that distrustful look in his face. "See? You might actually be a little handsome."

"I remember Caroline telling me that you called me older, sexy, danger guy."

Bonnie bit her lip. The jig was up. "I did. But that was before I knew you. And before you started tormenting me."

"I stalked you a little. You set me on fire. Aren't we even by now?"

"Almost."

"You're so attractive when you're ice cold Bonnie."

"And you're irresistible when you're being a jackass, Damon. I'm struggling just to keep my hands off of you."

"You don't struggle when you're sleeping," Damon winked. "In fact you cling to me all night long."

"What?!" She gasped. "I don't cling to you. And if you hated it you can sleep alone."

"Never said I hated it," he snorted. "Just saying if think your hands haven't been all over this," he gestured toward his body, "then you are mistaken."

Bonnie shot Damon a look but didn't argue. It would be pointless. But in the morning it would be Damon's arms that managed to slink around her protectively, not her clinging to him.

"Don't be gross Damon."

"I'm not gross. I'm older, sexy, danger guy." Damon grinned, cocky. He wouldn't let anything she said get to him as long as he knew that she found him attractive at least once before.

"Fine, older sexy, danger guy, what are we getting from the store?"

Damon swept up the hair from the floor and Bonnie went to get a pen and paper. The routines weren't even routines anymore. Damon and Bonnie were plainly in sync, moving together like ocean waves.

"Eggplant, pasta, tomatoes, feta cheese, and flour."

"That's a nice list Damon. What are you cooking up?"

"That's a surprise, sugar baby."

"You do know that sugar babies are what sugar daddies have right?"

Damon smirked. "I can be your sugar daddy."

"You're definitely old enough to be one."

"And the claws come out. Mee-ow!"

They laughed together.

It was surprising how much they were openly getting along these days. It wasn't unusual to find Bonnie and Damon shamelessly laughing together and even less surprising to find them arguing. It was who they were now. This was their prison.

It wasn't until Bonnie began to suspect they weren't alone that the arguing picked up. She was frustrated and he was hopeless so it was bound to happen. The crossword puzzle, Damon's car, pork rinds, nothing but reasons for Bonnie's head to jump to conclusions.

"We're never getting out," he said in a wrecked voice. He had already decided to assume that the both of them had lost their minds or at least was beginning to.

Bonnie looked up at Damon's face and said, "Gimme your ring."

"What?"

Bonnie grabbed Damon's hand and was set on taking his daylight ring off his finger herself. Damon tried to pull his hand back but Bonnie only held on tighter.

"All I've heard you say is that you have no hope," Bonnie raised her voice. "And that this is your hell!" She was still pulling on his hand. "So if it so bad why don't you just end it!"

Damon shoved her away from him.

"Hope is the only thing keeping me going, Damon, so if you're really done, if you have none, then be done!" She punched his shoulder. "Cause this isn't helping!" She turned her heel and stomped away, her short hair bounced with every step she took.

Damon watched her walk away from him and decided not to go after her. They weren't going to suddenly agree on whether or not to have hope of escaping this hell. And Damon was tired of the topic entirely. He needed to cool down and he needed her to cool down. He especially needed a drink.

He settled on getting drunk and staying drunk until he found the nerve to see Bonnie again. He went back to the grocery store to steal a bottle for himself when he heard the sound of someone eating through the music playing overhead. He put the alcohol back on the self and stepped forward until another guy came into view.

He was sitting in a lawn chair eating pork grinds.

The man—or more specially—the young man looked up at him. "Rough day huh, Damon?" Damon looked him up and down but said nothing. "Sorry—manners—I'm Kai. Nice to meet you." He tipped his bag of pork grind toward the vampire. "Pork grind?"

Kai continued to eat the pork grinds. The sound of it grated Damon's ears. "That's gonna have to stop."

"Oh, you think this is annoying? Try listening to you and Bonnie bicker every 5 minutes."

"So you've been following us."

"Of course I have. You two are the closest thing I have to a TV," Kai had with a chuckle. "I mean, you're no Baywatch but… remember Baywatch?"

"No, I do not," Damon answered in a flat tone. There was something completely off putting about this guy.

"Oh, oh man, you gotta watch it. You like lifeguards, like, hot ones?"

"This has been a monumentally bad day in a sea of bad days so I'm going to need to know who you are, what you're doing here, and how it relates to me or I'm gonna rip your throat out.

"You're temper's going to get you in trouble, Damon. That's why you've driven Bonnie away how many times? Oh, oh, oh! Oh wait, I know. 13!"

"You think my tempers bad with her? I like her. You, not so much." Damon flashed forward and grabbed Kai by his collar, holding him up several inched off the ground.

"Ok! Ok, sorry," Kai said fearfully. "Seriously, I'm just kinda rusty on the face to face type human interactions." Damon watched him for a moment and then let him go. He was in no mood for whatever it was that Kai was on.

"Answers, now," He growled. He turned around to go back for the bottle he left behind on the self.

"Maybe you should have a drink… that usually calms you down." Kai said, prompting Damon to turn to him and give him a look that was in equal parts annoyance and disgust.

"Thanks?"

"It makes you angry, then sad, then calm again, and it's a weird cycle," Kai sounded truly fascinated. Damon thought it better to focus on the drink he desperately needed at that point. "And look if you really want to know the reason I'm following you it's because I want to kill you."

Instead of the burn and much need taste of alcohol going down his throat, Damon felt the fiery sensation of vervain. He spit it out and fell to his knees; the herb scorched his entire face. Blood stained Damon's mouth and he continued to cough up the liquid.

Standing over him, Kai laughed, "Vervain in your bourbon... Who didn't see that one coming?" Damon didn't have the strength to get to get up from the floor and Kai continued to speak. "Who buys patio furniture from a grocery store? I mean, somebody must otherwise it wouldn't be here." Kai picked up a patio umbrella. "Now, I'm a little unfamiliar with vampires," He broke the umbrella in half with his knee. "But from what I've gathered a stake in the heart should do it, right?"

Kai's here. And yes there will be actual romance in this story lol. Though I did consider not having any, so I could play it a little closer to the actual TVD storyline but thats not happening. Thanks for reading!