BONUS STORY

Day One-Hundred and Twenty

"Bonnie, stop walking. Would you just give me a second?"

"I don't have seconds to give," the witch huffed, wincing as she attempted to put most of her weight on her left leg to give her twisted ankle a break.

"You're hurt. Just slow down and talk to me. I've only been looking for you for hours!"

Bonnie and Damon were navigating their way through the woods in the pitch darkness of night. The witch dug her nails into passing trees to keep her balance. Damon was close behind, eyebrows shot to the sky and an arm outreached in the chance she might fall. The moonlight was their only guide back to the boarding house.

"Yes, and I'm sorry about that," she muttered, referring to Damon's comment. "I needed space to work on my magic after what happened this morning."

"And why exactly did that happen this morning?" he replied, worry overtaking his tone.

Bonnie's breath caught in her throat, her heart punching her ribcage.

"How should I know?" she bit back, avoiding his eyes. "I'm a witch, I do magic, and sometimes things go wrong. End of story."

"Bonnie, you weren't practicing your magic when it happened. You were asleep."

The word 'asleep' hit Bonnie harder than a brick and she stopped in her tracks, Damon nearly slamming into her back.

"Yeah," she sniffled, internally kicking herself for getting emotional. "I was asleep."

Damon released a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and pressed his lips in a thin line. He had lived with the witch long enough to know when to take a step back.

"Listen, Bon," he whispered, his fingers itching to touch her. "We don't need to hash everything out right now. Let's go home and put some ice on that ankle."

"Damn it Damon," she exclaimed, whirling on her heel to face him. The witch spun so fast her bad ankle nearly gave out on her, and with Damon's vampire speed, he shot his hands out to take her by the shoulders.

"Damn it, damn you," she continued, her voice going soft. "I don't know if I can do this anymore."

Her dark brown eyes were downcast, she swallowed hard to avoid the magnetic pull of his gaze.

"What do you mean you can't do this anymore? You can't do anymore magic?"

"No, Damon. This," she gestured between them. "This is too much for me. And any day now we're going to be back in Mystic Falls, in present day, with all of our friends and you and I will just…" her voice dropped off, her hand gripping the collar of her shirt.

"You and I will what?" he pressed, massaging circles into her arms. "What are you trying to say?"

Bonnie shoved at his chest, though there was no power behind it.

"I can't be like you, Damon," she cried, her eyes reluctantly meeting his. "I can't just pack all my feelings away and move on. I don't know if it's a vampire thing, or a you thing- but I can't do that. I won't."

Damon's brows were furrowed, his expression set in a state of confusion. Unraveling Bonnie's thoughts was never easy. She stared at him in frustration, as if to send him a telepathic message. After a moment, Damon received said message, and finally it clicked. His jaw went ajar.

"Seriously?" he scoffed, dropping his grip on her. "You think after we go home all those people aren't gonna know how much you mean to me?"

"Will they though?" she snapped, crossing her arms. "Or the minute you see Elena will I cease to exist?"

Damon went stock still, a chill snaking its way from his spine to his entire being.

"Oh my God," he eventually mumbled, his hands covering his face. "Oh my God…"

Bonnie resisted the urge to punch him and simply turned away, sucking in a breath to continue limping along with her lame ankle.

Damon didn't follow her for a few minutes, and Bonnie thought the conversation was over, until she nearly jumped out of her skin when Damon blew past her and stood directly in front of her.

"Christ! You know I hate that," she shrieked, her hand covering her heart.

Damon, ignoring her, crossed his arms.

"I thought we talked about this," he said, his voice even. "Like, a month ago. Remember?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yes, we did. A month ago."

"Your point being?"

"My point," she said, her voice unsteady. "My point is that things have changed for me. I don't know if they have for you but it doesn't matter because you're the master of denial and when we set foot in Mystic Falls you'll just put your mask back on and none of this will have ever happened-''

"My mask?" he exclaimed. "You're using a dumb metaphor to tell me I'm fake?"

"You were fake," she interjected. "Before all this. You were always so afraid of showing emotion or letting anyone in. That isn't you anymore, in this world. I'm just worried that when everything goes back to normal it's like a clock will reset or something."

Damon rubbed his face again, almost so hard Bonnie thought he would rearrange his features.

"Bonnie, I-"

"Please, don't," she said. "I'm done. I think I'll just move into that old house across the street I tried living in the first week here. We need to start spending more time apart."

"Why?" Damon yelled as Bonnie knocked him in the shoulder as she fled.

"You know why! Don't make me say it."

"Bonnie, I never asked you to shove your feelings aside and move on. You don't have to. We just-''

"And you?" she interrupted, glancing over her shoulder. "What are you going to do? I guess if you never had any feelings in the first place then there's nothing to talk about."

"Is that would you decided?" he huffed. In lightning speed, Damon was walking side by side with the witch in under a second.

"What else am I to assume?" she growled, clenching her teeth as pain now radiated from her ankle up her calf. "Any time I try to talk seriously with you, you just shut me out!"

Damon was silent as he pondered his next words carefully.

"Bonnie, what happened this morning?"

She could feel her nails dig into her palm before she knew she was making a fist.

"Nothing."

"Now who's being fake?" Damon sighed, a hand combing through his hair.

"It's complicated, okay?" she replied, her tone defeated.

"If you're moving out and ditching me I think I deserve more explanation."

Bonnie let out a shaky breath and nodded.

"I know. You're right. I think we should sit down first."

Damon raised a brow, surprised she gave in so easily. Without further hesitation he assisted her to help her sit on a nearby log. He himself leaned against a tree.

"Just promise me you won't judge me after you hear everything, please."

"Bonnie…"

"Promise me?"

"Fine. I promise."

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself like a safety blanket. Bonnie's mind drifted to earlier that morning and the night before, and the scenes began to play back like a tape rewinding itself.

20 hours earlier…

Bonnie and Damon had their first kiss one month ago. It wasn't anything mystifying or profound, but it was something- it was real. He hadn't kissed her out of passion but more of need. Bonnie had been drowning in her nightmares again and the sound of her sobs was enough to send the vampire over the edge. It was unbearable. He thought the kiss would be a cure for her sorrow but it only spun everything slowly and quietly out of control. The pair both decided that night that even though a line had been crossed, it was still possible for them to remain friends. After all, had they decided to go their separate ways, existing by yourself in a prison world wouldn't be ideal. Working together to find a solution was the only tactical way to get out of there. But as a week passed, working as a team proved more difficult than either of them thought. Then as more weeks passed, their usual picnic dinners began to feel more like a date and when Bonnie would climb in his bed every night, Damon was chagrined to wake up and find himself spooning her. Their effortless routine they had concocted many nights ago was beginning to get too comfortable. Had they shared another kiss? No. Had they slept together other than sleeping next to each other? No. Yet, every time Damon would lay a hand on her back or Bonnie would touch his leg while she laughed, the element of unfaithfulness weaved itself through the tension in the air. Even now, as the witch and the vampire laid face to face in Damon's California King, there was a distant ache in the pit of his stomach. Bonnie shared a similar feeling, but currently the blush rushing to her cheeks distracted her for the moment.

"What?" he chuckled, shoving a pillow under his head. The dim glow from the candelabras on his dressers made shadows dance across his face.

"What do you mean?" she giggled. Bonnie could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks and knew if the room wasn't darkened he could have seen the scarlet color.

"I don't know, Bennett. You were just looking at me sort of funny," he shrugged, pulling the sheets to cover his chest.

"Uh huh. What exactly does that mean?" she replied, eyes mischievous.

"Well, it sort of reminds me of the look you get when you drink too much wine."

"So you're saying my eyes were conveying while sober, I am somehow drunk?" Bonnie let out a belly laugh and tossed a pillow at him. "That's totally believable Damon."

"That's not what I meant," he said, tossing the pillow right back. "You just look sort of…giddy. Like a school girl."

"What reason would I have to look like such a thing?" she asked, propping her head on her hand.

"I don't know, why would you?" he asked, mirroring her position, a knuckle against his ear.

Bonnie bit her lip, shaking her head with a sigh. They've played this game with each other time and time again. Sometimes she imagined he was her crush, a single man with no attachments to any other women. She liked it better that way. She didn't have to remember Elena fit in to this equation.

Bonnie must have remained silent longer than she realized because Damon brought her out of her revelry, lightly poking her on the forehead.

"Yoo-hoo, Bonnie Bennett," he sang, his mouth in a smirk. "Hello, is the most powerful bad-ass witch somewhere in there?"

"Who's asking?" she grinned, her head plopping down on her pillow as she laughed.

He couldn't help but grin unabashedly back at her. Damon inched his way closer until they were nearly sharing the same pillow. Bonnie's smile slightly fell as her eyes studied him then melded into his, their breath mingling between their faces.

"Me," he whispered. His tone was unusually quiet and husky, no humor to be found.

Bonnie gulped, her heart rate suddenly off to the races. She nearly blushed again at the thought that Damon could always hear the changes in her heart beat.

Bonnie had one single thought crossing through her mind on an endless loop and she knew if she didn't look away there would be no other choice.

Resignedly, she quickly turned her back to him and brought the sheets up to cover her face.

"We should really get some sleep. I've been making major progress with my magic and I need the rest."

She heard Damon clear his throat, the spell between them broken.

"Of course. You're right, we should," he said, almost awkwardly. "No more pillow talk tonight, huh?"

"Right," she nodded, her legs climbing their way to her chest. "Good night, Damon."

She could feel Damon adjusting his weight as the bed shifted.

"Good night, Bon."

It took longer than usual for Bonnie to fall asleep that night, but when she did, the same dream she'd been having off and on for a month invaded her mind. And almost as if it were a vision, it was so vivid she swore she were awake and on another planet. It was her and Damon, and they were finally home. Mystic Falls was bustling with people and the pair was standing in the middle of a street, staring back at each other. Bonnie had seen and lived this dream enough times to know what was going to happen next. She braced for it, willingly, as Damon leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. She couldn't help but smile as he kissed her, her arms automatically looping around his neck. As the kiss deepened, her heart began to soar. She felt like her feet were floating off the ground. Then she waited for the next step of the dream, when he would take her hand and lead her to one of her favorite picnic spots. But this time something was different, she stayed suspended in air with him, and her temperature felt like it was rising. "Bonnie? What's wrong?" he asked her. She tried to open her mouth to speak but nothing would come out. She stood suspended in air, helplessly holding his face with no words to explain.

Suddenly, she dropped from the sky like a deadweight, and she kept falling. She couldn't scream, but heard a voice in the distance. The voice called to her and she strained to listen, until it became clearer by the second.

"Bonnie! Holy shit, Bonnie! Wake up!"

"What? What's happening?" she mumbled. Bonnie sleepily rubbed her eyes and awoke to find herself where she had fallen asleep, in Damon's bed. Except, she was floating, and on fire.

"Oh my God! Oh no!" she screeched, glancing at the bed underneath her and quickly examining her limbs that were in flames.

"Can you stop it? Does it hurt?" Damon hollered, standing by her side clad in nothing but shorts, eyes wide in horror.

"No, I'm not in pain," she shakily responded, wiggling her fingers that had flames flicking from her fingertips.

"Okay, just calm down and get down from there," he instructed. "Should I get a bucket of water?"

"I don't know, Damon!" Bonnie exclaimed. "This hasn't happened before I don't know what to do!"

"Just take a deep breath and let go," he calmly replied, stepping closer to her. "I don't care if you burn this entire house down just shut your eyes and let go. I'm right here."

Bonnie nodded, shutting her eyes as he suggested. She walked herself through some breathing exercises until nearly two minutes had elapsed. When she opened them she was nestled securely on top of the sheets on the bed, a pillow cradling her neck. The flames had entirely vanished with no scorch marks or ash left behind. No burns on the skin. Damon was sitting on his side of the bed, leant over to brush her hair out of her eyes. He smiled.

"There you are."

Bonnie frowned. "I don't know what happened, I'm so sorry."

"Looks like your powers are almost back to 100%, huh?"

"I guess so," she shrugged, slowly sitting up. "I knew I was making headway but this is a little much."

"As long as you're alright then that's all that matters."

"Do you know what was happening before I- I uh," she stammered.

"Lifted in the air and caught on fire?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Did you wake up and find me like this or did you see it happen?"

"I was getting up for the day and you were fast asleep, rolled up in a ball as usual," he smirked. "I went to take a shower and came back to find you like that. It was really freaky, Bon."

"Oh," she said. "I didn't say anything in my sleep, right? I don't talk in my sleep do I?"

Damon grinned. "I don't know…"

"Damon!"

"Kidding, I'm kidding! You didn't say anything. I've heard some mumblings before but nothing intelligible. I swear."

"Thank God," Bonnie sighed, dabbing sweat from her forehead.

"Do you need something to drink? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Bonnie kicked the sheets away from her and slid out of bed, hurriedly grabbing her robe she left on a chair. Slipping it on, she worriedly scratched at her cheek as she shuffled to the door.

"Well, once you get yourself together, do you want some breakfast?" he called, examining a couple different shirts that were candidates for his outfit today.

"Don't I always?" she responded, attempting her voice to sound playful. Instead, it came out nervous.

"Mhm," Damon nodded, his eyes narrowly inspecting her as she retreated to her own room.

In the confines of her room, Bonnie shut the door and slapped a hand to her face. She knew if she was about to spiral, Damon would hear every syllable, so she hurried to her bathroom and threw on the lever to the shower. The water had a powerful cascading 'whooshing' sound that would give her all the privacy she needed to digest what had just transpired.

"What the hell do I do now," she sighed, shucking off her robe and the remainder of her clothes. She knew these reoccurring dreams of Damon were sending her on a collision course, but now she had no choice but to address them.

"I've had this dream a thousand times but now I decide to float in the air and catch on fire? Why?"

The water pressure hit her back like a reassuring massage as she stepped into the shower, and she couldn't help but lay her head against the wall as she pondered.

Somehow, Bonnie knew that her heart and her mind were in a heated conflict she hadn't fully grasped until now. Her mind was telling her urgently that they needed to buckle down and get out of there, that Damon was with Elena, and more importantly it was nonsense to think she could ever have a chance with him. She shouldn't want to be with him. He was juvenile, and rude, and too comical for her taste. He should stay six feet away from her and be her friend, nothing more.

Her body, on the other hand, craved the feeling of his fingers on her flesh. His hand in hers when they danced. His lips brushing across her skin. She loved the way the frame of shoulders pressed against her back when in his sleep, he turned over to unknowingly cuddle her.

Her fingers flitted across her lips and she felt guilty that she had wanted to kiss him last night before they went to bed. Her body had decided that it was requiring more and more to be satisfied, and that was a problem, now apparently showing itself in actual flames and levitation. Her feelings were on fire and could no longer be ignored. Bonnie wasn't exactly sure what to label it, but there was feelings there, feelings for the last person on earth she ever thought she would have them for- Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie decided it was best to not ask him if he felt the same. It was too dangerous of a question. If they had any chance to finally get out of the place they now called home, she needed him focused. More importantly, she didn't have room for rejection right now. If either of them got thrown off their game, dire results could occur. After they shared breakfast this morning, Bonnie was going to pack some things and go off to practice her magic without any distractions.

"Hey there," Damon called as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. He tipped a glass of juice to his mouth as he gestured toward a plate of food. "I thought we could take a break from all the carbs and try eggs this time."

"What? None of your famous pancakes today?" she smiled, gratefully taking the plate.

"If that's all it takes to get a smile out of you then I would have," he winked, taking a seat at the table.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and took a seat directly across from him.

"So what's the agenda for the day?" he asked, stuffing some eggs in his mouth.

"I'm going to town. I'm gonna find a place to hang out and work on my magic."

"Oh, yeah? You haven't done that before. What's wrong with here? I can step out for a run or-"

"No! No, please don't bother. I'll only be a couple hours."

"Are you sure? I can help if you want," he smirked.

"Help me how? Target practice?" Bonnie couldn't stop herself from grinning.

"Okay Witchy, I get the picture."

The pair finished their meal and Bonnie rose to her feet with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Don't go getting some crazy idea and hunt me down out there," Bonnie warned, finger pointed. "I need some time alone and I'll be a couple hours. No need for a search party."

"You have to admit, your track record with the whole 'couple hours' thing, sucks," he shrugged, gathering the plates.

"Okay, a few hours. Does that settle you down?"

"It helps," he smiled, dumping the plates in the sink. "Be careful, Bennett. I'll see you later."

Bonnie felt her heart tug at the words 'be careful'. Such a common, basic pairing of words, but over the past months have taken on a new meaning between them. She hadn't noticed it until much later, but she found herself telling Damon 'be careful!' every time he left for the grocery store, or an errand run. He caught on to the term and started doing it himself. She smiled internally as she turned her back and headed for the front door. Bonnie didn't know what the rest of the day had in store, but she was more determined than ever to get her mind and body back on track. With a skip in her step, she exited the boarding house and took off for a quiet place she could use to practice.

…

Bonnie found a house with a sizeable sunroom on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, and dumped her backpack out in the corner of the room. She retrieved some candles, feathers, and crystals and gathered them in the center of the floor. Then, she placed the candles in the form of a large circle and lit them one by one. She took the rest of her materials with her as she sat in the center of the circle. She laid the various crystals in front of her alongside the feathers. Bonnie's magic had really been making progress in the last couple weeks and she was getting better at spells by the day. However, after the unexpected incident that occurred this morning, she thought she might start with simple incantations instead of going full force like she had been.

Bonnie spent a good hour lifting and dropping the feathers, lifting a couple feathers and only setting one ablaze, and then suspending the crystals and feathers in air simultaneously while using her other hand to snuff out each wick on the candles. She nodded with satisfaction. If she spent another twenty minutes or so doing the same thing, she may feel comfortable to moving on to more advanced things to test out.

Bonnie was glad nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She decided to take a break and have a snack to regain some of her energy. While she did so, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. Even though the man in question wasn't even in the room, or even near the premises, that didn't stop the thought of him from materializing in thin air. Maybe the only way to temporarily get him out of her mind, was to come out here by herself and do these exercises every day. Plus, creating space could ice her body in some sense. It could possibly create the healthiest relationship between them until their departure from this place. Bonnie was so absorbed in developing this plan she hadn't realized she dropped the granola bar from her hands.

"Oops," she said, reaching down to grab it. However, Bonnie felt nothing. She felt air.

Gasping, Bonnie peered down and saw that she had levitated as high as the ceiling, which was a considerable length. Uncrossing her legs, she dangled suspended in air like a rag doll. Bonnie held her breath as she assessed her body, which was slightly glowing but not in flames.

"Oh my God," she mumbled, as if she raised her voice she would fall. "Yeah, Bonnie. I think you have a problem."

The question that remained was how Bonnie could get herself down without hurting herself. Her mind flashed back to this morning when Damon was attempting to coach her. She remembered she had shut her eyes and tried breathing exercises. In determination, Bonnie did the same thing. After a couple minutes she opened one eye and to her dismay saw that nothing had changed.

"Why didn't that work? That should have worked," she grumbled, biting her lip. This indeed was a tricky situation.

Bonnie repeatedly tried the breathing exercises to no avail. After about thirty minutes into her anti-gravity experience, she was starting to lose her patience.

"I don't have time for this," she sighed, flailing her legs. "This is a nightmare! Just put me down! I want to be down, now!"

The second the last phrase left her mouth, Bonnie's eyes widened as she had a sickly feeling what was going to happen next.

Bonnie screamed as she dead-dropped to the ground, landing painfully lopsided on her right ankle as she tumbled backwards and smacked her head on the floor.

Her eyes fluttered shut as her body called out in protest. The last thing she remembered was touching the back of her head as everything went dark.

…

When Bonnie awoke, she knew she was in for trouble. She had a splitting headache, her ankle was twice its usual size, and the sun was sinking behind the hills. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, but she knew it was long enough to start to worry Damon. She slowly sat herself into a sitting position, and hissed as she touched her head.

"Wow," she mumbled. "This is a whole new low."

Bonnie knew there was no possible way to contact Damon to let her know where she was, and she was certain there wasn't a chance she could safely walk home from this distance with a bum ankle. In other words, she was screwed. The only thing she could do was slide herself to her backpack and drink some water while she waited until she was okay enough to stand up.

"And face Damon's wrath, of course."

There was no way in hell he would ever let her off on her own again. This entire plan was a bust and the witch knew it. The whole point of this outing was to show herself she could be okay without him, and to quell her thoughts. This was supposed to be a confidence boost, but turned into the exact opposite. Not only did he take up most of her thoughts, but now she was randomly levitating and bursting into flame!

With her list of problems compiling, Bonnie decided to dismiss them and settle herself in for a long night of drinking water and trying to sleep without anything bad happening. Except, she couldn't sleep. As the sun finally disappeared, she snapped her fingers and lit the candles she brought with her. Luckily, she was stuck in the sunroom that was full of windows, so the moon was on full display. It was as bright as the sun and almost comforting, like a friend watching over her. When her bottle of water was empty, she chucked it to the side and huddled up against a wall, careful not to put any pressure on the back of her head. It was so quiet, the only sounds she could hear was her own breathing and crickets chirping. She had almost nodded off, when a commotion jolted her awake.

"What the-''

"Bonnie! Oh my God, Bonnie!" a voice boomed in the darkness.

A smile hit her lips before he even came into focus.

Damon slid on his knees and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"How did this happen? I knew I shouldn't have let you go out here, are you hurt? What's going on?"

"Shush, Damon," she replied, pushing him away. "Yes, I got hurt. I twisted my ankle and hit my head. That's why I couldn't make my way back earlier. I was going to try to make my way home when I felt better. I'm sorry. How did you find me?"

"Simple tracking techniques. Being old has its advantages. But hold on, you hit your head?" he gasped, holding her face between his hands as he tilted her head around to inspect it closely. "What kind of ninja magic were you doing out here, exactly?"

"Nothing exciting," she groaned disappointedly. "I had a mishap."

"Okay," he nodded, letting go of her head. "Care to define this 'mishap'?"

"No," she stated, gripping his shoulder to aid her in standing. Bonnie winced when she tried to apply weight to her right ankle and decided against it, hoisting herself up to stand fully on her left leg.

"Hold on there, buddy," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You're not going anywhere until you drink some of my blood."

Bonnie scowled. "I don't want your blood, Damon. I'll walk it off."

Bonnie attempted to yank away from him, but he only followed alongside her, holding her close.

"You can't walk off a concussion," he sighed.

"I just want to go home and worry about all this then."

"I know you're in pain, but you're also kind of in a mood. What's up?"

"Listen, there's a lot going on in my head right now and I don't want to talk about it right now. Okay? Please?"

Bonnie successfully pushed him away and limped off across the front yard of the house. She knew pushing a vampire away wasn't an easy feat, and Damon had obviously let her go.

Damon was silent until they entered the woods.

"Bonnie, stop walking. Would you just give me a second?"

"I don't have seconds to give…"

Present time…

The playback in Bonnie's mind had stopped several minutes ago before she finally came clean to Damon and explained exactly what had happened. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but she felt like she owed him an explanation if they were really going their separate ways. He didn't say anything as she explained the reoccurring dream which caused her spontaneous combustion, he didn't say anything as she explained why she thought she needed to focus on her magic alone and move out. He didn't run away either. He stood there, strong and silent, nodding as she continued. When she was done he didn't speak immediately.

"Now I hope you can understand why I can't do this anymore," she whispered. "When we go back I'll resume being your friend Bonnie, and Elena will be back at your side. Sleeping in your bed every night isn't a good idea. Those picnics we have aren't a good idea, truthfully…"

Damon again said nothing, only nodded.

"So you're in agreement?" she said, her chest tightening uncomfortably. "Perfect. Great. I guess I'll just start moving my stuff out tomorrow then-''

"You're afraid," he stated, a hand stuffing itself in his pocket.

"Uh- excuse me?" Bonnie stuttered, nervously adjusting her posture.

"You're afraid I'm going to reject you and you're running away. Sound about right?"

"Damon, what are you talking about?" she exclaimed, pushing herself to a standing position. "You're in love with Elena! There's nothing to even reject!"

"What if we never get out of here, huh Bonnie? What then?" he mused, casually walking up to her. "Are you going to keep saying I'm in love with Elena for the rest of our miserable lives?"

"Damon, don't be ridiculous," she scoffed, leaning away from him. "Of course we're getting out of here. We're going home one day and Elena will be there and I have to watch you be with her."

Saying those words out loud was like a knife to the heart. Bonnie shuddered.

"You don't get to make those decisions for me, Bonnie Bennett," he replied, his tone challenging. "Why do you think you get to control everything in the universe? I hate to tell you but it's not your job! It's not mine either."

"Oh yeah, so this whole thing is going to be left up to fate? Gee, that's reassuring. How poetic."

"Do you expect me to just choose?" he yelled, stepping painfully close. "Just like a snap of a finger? That's not how this works. We have to let the chips fall where they fall."

Bonnie nodded, her smile bitter.

"I know where they're going to fall. Where they always fall. I, however, am going to remove myself from the process."

Bonnie drug her right leg behind her as she hurriedly walked away from him.

"You can't tell me not to wear a mask when you have one on," he called.

Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks.

"Pardon me?" she whispered, not turning around.

"You heard me," he said. "You go on and on about how I run from emotions and don't let anyone in but you're just the same. Don't you see what you're doing?"

"I'm protecting myself, Damon," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I know how I feel. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't want to hurt me, or you, or my best friend. Yet it happened. I'll deal with the consequences."

Bonnie meandered aimlessly in the dark, her resolve crumbling by the second. Her head was swimming with sadness. She was so caught in emotion she wasn't prepared when Damon blocked her path once more, taking her face into his hands. His eyes were the bluest she'd ever seen them.

"You talk too much, Bennett," he whispered, voice low. "You never let me get in a word."

Bonnie gulped, her knees buckling.

"Then what do you have to say?"

"You're right, Elena is back at home waiting for me." Bonnie dropped her eyes and he lifted her chin to meet his eye-line again. "But that doesn't mean there's no chance for you. For us. I do have feelings for you. I do. And I think you already knew that."

Bonnie blushed. "I didn't really know, for sure," she said, a small smile gracing her lips. "All you've said is that you like me."

"Yeah," he smirked. "I like you a lot. And I know this whole being dead thing and coming back to life thing isn't easy. We've been through a lot already as it is. I don't want us to go our separate ways now."

"But what do we do?" she asked, a wrinkle forming between her brows. "We can't go back in time and undo what we've done."

"No, we can't. We shouldn't. Do you regret all the time we spent together?"

"God, no. Of course not." Bonnie shook her head.

"Good. I don't regret a thing."

"Anything?" Bonnie questioned, her eyes falling to his lips.

Damon noticed, licking his own lips in response.

"Anything," he smiled.

"So, what are you saying, exactly?"

"I want you to stay. Stay with me. We can be afraid together. What do ya say?"

"Damon, you know it isn't a good idea-''

Against his better judgment, Damon quickly closed the distance between their mouths and pressed his lips to hers, his hands still in her hair. Bonnie's eyes shot open in shock, but soon closed, a content hum escaping her. She could feel Damon smiling as he pulled away and gave another quick peck on the corner of her mouth.

"I'm full of bad decisions," he joked, his tongue sliding over his teeth.

"I can see that," Bonnie replied, her face lighting up.

"So, did that seal the deal? Will you stay? Will you let the universe do its work?"

"Yes! God, okay. Yes. Just stop talking." Bonnie tucked her hair behind her ear with a smile. "I'll let go and let whatever happens, happen. I never wanted anything serious, or final. I just wanted you to know how I felt. That's it. Doesn't mean I'm not scared anymore."

"I know," he nodded, taking her hand. "Me too. I know where we stand with each other now. You don't have to keep everything to yourself and accidentally light yourself on fire anymore."

"Wow, what a relief," she giggled. "The boarding house is safe!"

"I'm glad you're staying. I won't wake up in the morning and find you changed your mind and are living in that old persons home will I?"

"Hope not," she winked, lightly hitting his arm.

Bonnie let Damon scoop her up and speed them back home in record time. She even pacified him by drinking some of his blood so she could recover by morning.

The pair quickly whipped together some grilled cheese sandwiches and plopped down on the sofa. Like usual, Damon lifted his arm for Bonnie to snuggle in as she clicked on the movie.

"And what have you chose for tonight's feature?" he asked, laying his head on hers.

She grinned. "The Bodyguard."

"Really?" he mused with a chuckle. "We haven't watched this one in a while."

"It's the first movie we ever watched together. I'm being nostalgic. It's our favorite, isn't it?"

"I thought we decided Casablanca was our favorite?"

"No way," she laughed. "You're the one who stays up to watch it alone."

"Bonnie, it's a classic."

"I know," she smiled, glancing up at him.

Damon and Bonnie stared at each other so long they forgot where they were, much less if a movie was playing.

"Hey, I never told you what happened today," she laughed. "The mishap."

"Oh, yeah. You didn't. Somehow I think it involves your new party trick?"

Bonnie pinched his arm. "You're so funny. Yes. That's what happened. Strangely, I wasn't asleep though."

"What do you think caused it then?"

"Same thing that triggered me this morning. You," a smile tugged at her lips.

"You're telling me every time I get on your nerves you're going to burst into flames? Geez, that's dramatic," he smirked.

"I don't think I will anymore. I think the problem itself was pushing you away. It was fear."

"Fear will do that," he nodded. "I know first-hand."

Bonnie wanted to throw a joke back at him, but she noticed his brows drawn together, and that his tone had gone serious. Instead, she popped the rest of the sandwich in her mouth and turned her body into him, pressing her cheek into his chest. In silent acknowledgment, Damon gathered her closer.

"I hope we never stop doing this," she whispered, pressing firmly into his side.

Damon squeezed her tighter, his chin on her head.

"Yeah, Bon. Me either."

They both knew they weren't talking about the movie.

POST A/N:

Well this was unexpected. I was just reminiscing reading this story again and suddenly I realized this story needed one last new entry! This being fanfic and all, I skewed the timeline just a little bit to fit the plotline for this series. Like I said before, Bamon was in the prison world together roughly four months (before poor Bonnie was on her own) and this situation is going to reflect some of their last few days together. I'm going to ignore other plot twists (such as Kai) and leave this a purely Damon/Bonnie fic down to its essence. I'm hoping this conclusion finally answers the "what really happened?" question. I hope you all found this a believable instance that could connect to the show in some way if there was an alternate ending! I left this particular ending open for interpretation. How could I resist wrapping this up with a Bamon movie scene? I just can't seem to get these two out of my head… please leave me a review! Thank you all so very much, and thank you Bamon. I love you. - Katie. xx