Chapter 8

Now I'm Fucked Up, and I'm Missing You


Hair splayed between blades of grass, her arms spread wide beside her, and her fingers sank into the dirt. Eyes closed, she breathed long and deep, in and out. Between breaths, she let everything go. Her worries over the past and the future, her uncertainty, fear, and anger. All of it became distant, and at every inhale and exhale, her sense of self expanded until nature breathed with her, and life itself became tangible.

From the plants to the animals, she could feel a diluted impression of everything nearby, the grass, the moss, the trees, a squirrel dashing through the wood, a bird resting on a branch. Her magic touched all of it. But while the life force of animals was just out of reach, the essence of every plant was at her fingertips. In waves, she poured her magic into them and the woods sighed into growth. The grass grew longer, the leaves became greener, and flowers blossomed on the forest floor until she was too exhausted to continue.

Then slowly, her eyes fluttered opened.

The forest was luminescent and beautiful like a scene out of a fairy tale, and her magic saturated the air like wind.

She stood, brushing her hands together to wipe the dirt from them and began to walk on unsteady feet to the edge of the new growth, measuring her steps. Reaching the area where the forest returned to normal, she was satisfied at how far her powers spread. The radius had grown another two meters to a total of fifteen, a vast improvement from the measly three she'd started with, proving her practice was paying off, and lately she'd been practicing a lot.

After reviving Jeremy, every day she could Bonnie had been out in the woods doing various magical exercises to increase her power and control. This one in particular was one of her favorites for how calming it was, but it was easy to mess up if she wasn't careful. In fact, the first time she did it, she'd used too much magic and accelerated the plant life cycle to the point of death. The next time, however, she managed a small circle of growth that'd only grown since.

In the aftermath though, because this spell stretched out her senses as well as her power, it left her able to feel Damon's presence more strongly despite him being far away searching for Stefan. Since he'd been gone, the pull hadn't necessarily faded, but it was less at the forefront of her mind. This spell, however, made whatever connected them resonate inside her when it was done, and she could pinpoint the exact direction he was in, knowing with each step whether she was closer or farther away from him.

And it made her miss him all the more.

With Damon on her mind, she headed home, the sun already past its apex in the sky. Three hours had passed, and her stomach grumbled in hunger.

Having been practicing in the woods not too far from her neighborhood, it didn't take her long to reach her house on foot, and once inside, she immediately went to the refrigerator, opening it and taking out ingredients to make a quick grilled cheese. She placed them on the counter and reached to open the cabinet above her to pull out a plate. While she did so, her phone, which she'd left on the counter before she headed out, buzzed, and she looked down at it to see she had three missed messages. They were all from Caroline who wanted to know how she was and how she was dealing with her family. Bonnie's fingers flitted across the keyboard as she responded, letting her know that she was good and asking her the same.

While Bonnie made her sandwich, they talked about how Caroline's relationship with her mother was improving. Bonnie was happy for her. Their brief conversation left her in a good mood, and sandwich made, Bonnie plopped down into the living room chair and turned on the TV to watch it while she ate.

There was nothing left to do for the rest of the day aside from practice magic, so she thought maybe she might go out later that night, and she did.


Sullivan's, the little bar two towns over, had become her place of choice, partially because Sean was good to talk to about nothing when she was bored, and Bonnie had met his younger sister who she could see herself actually becoming good friends with if she wasn't trying keep her distance from anyone outside of Mystic Falls.

Her name was Leah, and she was home from college for the summer. It was by chance they met after she'd come to the bar to visit her brother and saw him and Bonnie in conversation. In the beginning, she thought the two of them had something going on, but after Bonnie found herself three drinks deep, she started to spill about her situation with Damon. Of course Bonnie didn't tell her she was a time traveling witch who came back to save her future husband, but she may have mentioned that there was a guy she was in love with who wasn't into her and hung up on his younger brother's girlfriend, her 'best friend', who was also falling for him.

Leah, after hearing that, smiled sympathetically and told her that her life sounded like a TV drama, then told her to just take a leap and tell him how she felt. Bonnie balked at that idea. If she told him, at best he would take it in stride and tease her, at worst he would laugh in her face in disbelief. Undoubtedly, he would be wholly confused at how she, of all people, ended up in love with him.

Her advice had been useless, but it'd been nice to talk semi-openly about her feelings for him with her, and she was looking forward to seeing her again.

Like she said she'd be, Leah was at the bar when Bonnie arrived, and she stood to embrace her. She didn't look particularly done up, but there was an effortless beauty about her. Her dark hair was loose in a twist out that framed her face perfectly, and her make-up was done softly in a way that made her darker skin glow. It was Friday, so the place was packed, but Leah had saved Bonnie the spot beside her at the bar. Her brother, who had one other person working behind the bar with him, served her a drink and they all got caught up in a conversation over a flaky guy Leah was dealing with.

She was complaining about him ghosting her when Bonnie felt it, a pull, stronger than it'd been all day. She'd felt him getting closer earlier, but she assumed he would head straight back to Mystic Falls, not come here.

It'd been two weeks since her run in with him and after seeing him once, she hardly expected him to come back. She wrote off his appearance as a one-off incident, a fluke. They weren't friends. There was no reason for him to come back other than to hunt, and there were plenty of other places to do that.

But she felt him outside the door and sat straighter in her seat, adjusting the thin straps of the skin tight white shirt she wore underneath a thin long dark gray cardigan. Turning her head to watch him come in, she crossed one leg over the other and brought her glass of vodka cranberry to her lips just as the door swung open. He stepped through, and of course his mere presence drew every female's attention.

Since it was Friday, there were more women there than the last time he came. A group of girls at a table in the back whispering and throwing glances in his direction. Another girl on the other side of the bar unabashedly staring. Another girl nudging her friend to look in his direction.

Bonnie had to force herself to appear indifferent.

When they were together, women staring didn't bother her, but at that moment, she itched to stake her claim on him, to walk over and touch him in a way that let everyone in the room know he was hers, that all they could ever do was stare.

Her fingers tightened around her glass and a frown pulled at her lips, though it lessened when he didn't pay them any mind and made a bee line in her direction.

Leah, whose presence Bonnie momentarily forgot, almost startled her when she spoke. "Don't tell me that's…" Her brown eyes darted between the two of them.

Bonnie raised her eyebrows at her and took another sip of her drink.

Leah smirked. "I'll let you two talk, and I'll send you the details about that party I mentioned earlier if you're interested in coming with." Absentmindedly, Bonnie nodded and Leah stood up, taking her drink with her to the other side of the bar.

Damon looked bothered by something as he slipped onto barstool Leah left.

"Here for another drink?" Bonnie asked, a little more buzzed than the last time he was here. She was on her second glass.

He glanced at her, blue eyes scrutinizing. "No. I was just passing through on my way back to Mystic Falls."

"So what are you doing here then?" She leaned her elbow on the bar counter and rested her head on a hand. "Don't tell me you came to check on me."

He turned towards her on the stool. "No, but are you just going to pretend to be MIA for the entire summer?"

"That's the plan."

Sean came back over and Damon ordered his usual drink, a bourbon straight. While he wasn't looking at her, Bonnie's eyes slid over him, lamenting how good he looked in that leather jacket. He was beautiful, really, modelesque with the way he carried himself. Aloof and untouchable with an aura that blatantly hinted at just how dangerous he was. It wasn't a wonder why he garnered so much attention. "Why are you really here? Because this doesn't make any sense."

His question erased her line of thought, and she drank a bit more before she answered. "I'm sure it doesn't. So let's just chalk it up to me going through a rebellious phase." She waved her hand dismissively.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as if he wasn't sure he believed that, but what other explanation was there? Before he was inclined to question her further, she turned the conversation on him.

"So what's wrong? Is it Stefan?"

He tasted a bit of his bourbon as soon as it was placed in front of him, seeming as if he wanted to sigh. "Why do you assume there's something wrong with me?"

Because I know that look on your face. She shrugged. "If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."

She stared at his profile, her eyes drawn to his clean shaven jawline. She missed the stubble, missed the way it felt against her skin whenever he nuzzled her.

"But you know, for all your faults, you are a good brother."

His face scrunched up. "What would you know?"

"I'm not blind. I see what you're doing for him."

He denied the fact. "I just don't like owing him my life."

"You say that, but somehow I don't think that's how you really feel."

"And how do I really feel, since you know me so well."

"You love Stefan and Stefan loves you. It's why Stefan did what he did for you and why you're doing what you're doing now. Despite whatever bad blood is between you, when push comes to shove, you'd both fall on a sword for each other."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he grumbled, looking away from her. "I'd push Stefan onto a blade before I fell on it myself. This is out of debt."

"Of course it is," she agreed with a hint of sarcasm. "Either way, the fact that you're doing all of this to save him makes me a bit jealous."

Her statement brought a hint of confusion into his expression. "Why would you be jealous?"

"Because lately it feels like I'm the one who's been putting my life on the line for everyone else, like I'm the one everyone has to rely on. And I can't say no when they need my help because these are people I care about. It's an obligation, an instinct. If I have the power to protect people, I feel the need to do it. And if I don't, there's this unbearable guilt. But I don't want to end up being a martyr. I don't want to sacrifice for anyone else anymore."

There was a brief flicker of understanding, then guilt in his eyes, but it disappeared in less than a second. "You should try not caring for once. It can be liberating." He said it as if it was easy, but for her it was damn near impossible.

Still, a wide, almost wicked smile graced her lips at the thought. "Mmm. Can you imagine me unhinged? Doing whatever the fuck I wanted?"

The look on her face drew him in. "And what is it that you want to do?" Intrigue was in his features as she stared at him over her drink.

Save you. Go back to the future. Live out the rest of our lives like we're supposed to. "That's…a secret."

"I think I've proven I'm good at keeping secrets. I haven't told anyone about you, have I?"

That was true, she supposed. "Why are you suddenly interested in me anyway?"

"Call it a mild curiosity."

She tapped her fingers on the bar, raising her brows. "Hm, for a second I thought you might want to be friends. Friends tell each other secrets, you know."

He stared at her.

"What?"

"I'm trying to figure out what happened to the Bonnie who hated me."

She tilted her head to the side. "I never hated you per se."

"Yet when I offered you a truce a while back, you shut it down instantly."

"I didn't think you deserved a chance."

"And now?"

"You still don't." The corner of his lips slightly dropped. "Not really. Not yet anyway. I know, somewhere in there," she poked at his chest with a manicured finger, "you feel remorse, but you haven't learned how to apologize." He looked as if he wanted to disagree, but she headed off his rebuttal. "And if you're going to talk about the apology you gave Elena, it doesn't really count. You only apologized because you were dying, and I'm sure that if push came to shove you would do it again. But have you apologized to me or to Caroline for that matter?"

Her words left him silent, and he looked away, facing forward.

"And yet," she continued, "despite it all, I want to give you one." His eyes snapped back to hers at that, and she dryly chuckled to herself. "I'm pretty sure I'm already giving you one." They stared at one another and Bonnie blinked. She needed to stop talking, needed to stop being nice to him. "I should go."

Bonnie started to stand, but when her foot hit the ground, she stumbled a little towards Damon, and he caught her arm in case she stumbled further. Balancing herself, her other hand rested on his jean-clad thigh. She looked up at him, slightly embarrassed, knowing the heat was rising to her cheeks. Amused blue eyes stared back at her. "I think I might have drunk more than I thought." She let her hand slip from his thigh, internally yelling at herself to not cop a feel like she so desperately wanted to, and reached into her purse to pull out her wallet.

"I got it."

Bonnie smiled at him. "Thanks." She slipped her wallet, half out of her bag, back into it. Waving her hand in a goodbye, she moved towards the door, looking around to catch Leah before she went, but the other girl was nowhere to be found. She turned back around to find Damon walking up behind her.

"Did you drive?"

She hadn't actually and was getting ready to call a taxi. "Are you offering a ride?"

"I'm headed back anyway." He motioned for her to come with a tilt of his head.

She followed him to his car, walking to the passenger side. Opening the door, she slid into the seat and closed it behind her. Damon got in on the other side and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot.

The car ride was silent. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, questions that might get him to open up to her, that might allow her to at least rebuild the friendship they once had, but she sat there, head against the window frame with her elbow leaning out of it as the cool night wind brushed against her cheeks, and she ignored Damon's furtive glances in her direction.

He probably thought she wasn't aware of the way his focus split from driving to glancing at her every so often, but she was. He'd been quiet since they left, and she had no idea what was running through his mind. She didn't address it either, content to just stare out into the dark night and daydream about their future together.


Days later, after another session of meditation in the forest, Bonnie sat in her room, leisurely reading a novel when the urge to call Caroline crossed her mind. She could just check in with her, see how she was doing. She didn't have to tell her she was still in town, though at the same time, she was running through the possibilities of what might happen if she did. Brushing off her worries, Bonnie called her anyway, but the line rang until it prompted her to leave a voice mail, and Bonnie hung up.

Bonnie began to think about where she might be, and a slow horrible realization came over her as she remembered that, around this time, Caroline was probably being tortured by her father.

Bonnie's gut sank to the floor. Caroline had told her what happened to her this summer. She had described some of the things her father had done to her. The sun torture, the vervain.

Bonnie wouldn't wish that on any of the people she loved. But it was supposed to happen. She was supposed to let it happen.

The guilt creeped up inside her again. She had already let people die without doing anything to try to stop it, but it was unrealistic wasn't it? It was unrealistic for her to expect everything to be exactly the same when her memory already wasn't perfect. And she had been selfish with Damon, talking with him when she wasn't supposed to because she missed him. Who knows what that's changed? So it shouldn't matter if she stopped this one thing from happening, right?

Caroline hadn't mentioned it to her directly, but she'd talked about seeing someone new. Bonnie could put the pieces together from her own memory and figure out that it was Tyler, so he was the first person she called. She asked if he knew where Caroline was.

He told her what happened and how his mother and Liz were trying to get Bill to give up the location.

"I can help. Let me do a locator spell." She had a sweater she'd borrowed from Caroline a while ago, and while Tyler waited on the phone, she quickly pulled out a map and used the sweater do the spell. As she did, she received a vision of Caroline locked away in a cell beneath the old town jail.

She picked up the phone and told Tyler as much. At the same time, she was grabbing her coat to head out the door and meet up with him.

She hadn't seen Caroline the first time around because she'd been away, but when they met up at the location and Bonnie trailed behind Liz and Tyler into the cellar, Caroline's appearance almost made her eyes water.

There were welts on her skin from being burned and starved of blood. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, and she looked utterly exhausted and out of it.

Tyler cradled her, giving her a blood bag until she was able to stand better on two feet. After she drank some and her wounds had fully healed, Caroline moved to hug her, and Bonnie barely held in her tears.

"I'm sorry." The words tumbled from her mouth.

Caroline pulled back with a confused expression. "Why are you apologizing? And why do you look like you're about to cry? This isn't your fault."

But she could have stopped it sooner if she'd been paying attention, if she hadn't been just letting things happen simply because they were supposed to.

"Bonnie?" Caroline was worried. A frown was on her face.

Bonnie blinked back the tears. "I'm fine…it's just no one should have to go through that."

It was all too much. And later, when she was in her empty home, pouring herself a drink, she decided that maybe she could get away with changing some of the little things so long as they don't tangentially involve anything that might affect Damon. This was about him, after all. But traveling back was an opportunity. She could use this opportunity to make things at least a little bit better for the people around her. Couldn't she?


Later that week, Bonnie, against her better judgment, ended up going to that party Leah invited her to. The party was at her brother's friend's house. He was a Whitmore student, and the idea of going to a college party made her nostalgic for her college days which was part of the reason why she agreed to go. The other part was because she wanted to take her mind off things.

Intervening to help rescue Caroline from being tortured forced her to think about another vampire who was probably being tortured right that second. It wasn't as if she'd forgotten about him. She just didn't consider rescuing him an option, and now, she was considering it. His rescue, however, would prove to be a far bigger issue in terms of keeping the timeline on track.

While Caroline would've inevitably been rescued only a few days later. Enzo wouldn't get away from the Whitmore Society for more than year yet, and he'd been being tortured since the fifties. If she went to help him, what he might do after would be a problem, especially if he went looking for Damon who'd abandoned him. Surely, he'd want revenge, and even if he didn't, he'd likely latch himself onto Damon the same way he did before and insert himself into Mystic Falls' paranormal problems.

Just thinking about what that might change this early gave her anxiety, and not saving him weighed on her conscience. She and Enzo may have split about a year after the whole huntress debacle, but she still cared for him. Knowing he was being tortured every day more brutally than Caroline had been ate at her. So admittedly, she was using this party as distraction.

Bonnie took another sip of her cup, trying not to think of Enzo or even Damon.

They arrived pretty late, long after the party was in full swing. Leah had introduced her to a few people she knew, and they'd all been off in a corner talking. Bonnie had been quiet for most of the conversation, but the guy next to Leah couldn't keep his eyes off her. He'd been staring since they joined them, and it took a moment for him to work up the courage to lean over and ask her to dance. Politely, Bonnie declined. Already on her third cup of tequila, she was tempted, but she didn't want to give him the wrong idea.

She excused herself from the group, and easily enough she found herself in the kitchen pouring more Casamigos into her red solo cup. It was a party after all, and while bourbon made her loosen up, tequila made her turn up. She wasn't nearly drunk enough though, so Bonnie downed another cup like a shot before pouring herself some more.

Adequately buzzed, she moved back through the crowd, pushing past people to get back to the group. Leah grinned at her and they tapped their cups together before taking a drink. They continued to talk with the others, and Bonnie avoided more personal questions as best as she could, but after another ten minutes, with her fifth cup of tequila running through her system, Bonnie was sick of talking to random strangers and all she wanted to do was dance.

Another girl joined her, introducing herself and calling Bonnie pretty. Bonnie returned the compliment. They danced together for a while until Bonnie grew tired, went to fill her cup again, and found a seat on a nearby couch.

Being here was strange for her. She was too old for this. Going to a bar was one thing, but a house party full of college students was another thing entirely. She didn't feel like herself, but then again, she didn't want to. Being Bonnie Bennett was a burden at the moment, an exhausting collision of identities beneath a thin facade, and she wanted to forget every version for a little while. The forty-six year old, the seventeen year old, and the forty-six year old trapped in a seventeen year old's body. But even after drinking as much as she did, there was still this ache in her heart.

If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear his voice, and she imagined what the Damon she knew might say if he'd seen her here at this party. He'd probably love it. Hell, he'd probably turn it into a game. Damon enjoyed a change of pace every one in a while, and she never failed to indulge him in his role-play fantasies nor did he hers.

She could see it now. Him approaching her from across the room after they'd been eyeing each other for a few minutes. Have we met before? He'd probably ask.

I don't think we have. She'd play along.

He'd offer his hand. She'd grab it. He'd pull her to the dance floor, and she'd let him get a little handsy, but not too much. She'd be a tease, and eventually, she'd lead him off somewhere and they'd have sex.

And God, she missed having sex with that man. She pressed her thighs together and forcefully cut off her thoughts before they could head down that road.

This was why she tried not to fantasize about him. Thinking about Damon and sex was always a slippery slope into horny land and her fingers were never enough.

She took another long swig of her drink to cool herself and pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket. Scrolling through the contacts, she paused to stare at Damon's name. She wondered what he was doing at that very moment. How mad would he be if she called him? Would he respond if she texted? She rolled the idea of messaging him over in her mind, but decided she wasn't desperate enough. Just as she put her phone away, a guy sat next to her on the couch with dark hair and blue eyes, making her think of Damon again. He proceeded to hit on her, but she turned him down, noticing how her words were starting to slur as she did. But even after she turned him down, he tried to continue the conversation with her, asking her whether she went to Whitmore and what classes she was taking. He seemed nice, and she tried to keep up with him, but nature was calling and she hastily excused herself.

Stumbling through the crowd of people and almost tripping over someone's discarded cup on the floor, she asked some girl where the bathroom was and headed down a hallway, opening the second door on the right. Inside, she used the toilet and washed her hands, taking a moment to stare at herself in the mirror. Her face shined with a thin sheen of sweat, her hair was a little messy, and her lipstick had faded quite a bit, but it didn't look too bad, so she didn't bother to fix it. Smoothing down her little black dress, she went back outside and was about to go find Leah when she heard a thud come from a room further down the hallway.

Bonnie paused, sobering a bit when she heard a girl's voice telling someone to get off of her and the sounds of a struggle. Brow furrowing, Bonnie made her way to the room, listening outside the door to the muffled sounds of a girl in distress. Her eyes widened and she tried to open the door. Discovering it was locked, she clumsily used her magic to force the knob.

Door open, she rushed over to the guy, pulling him by the collar of his polo shirt, trying to get him off the other girl, but he was taller and bulkier. He easily pushed Bonnie's smaller frame to the ground, telling her to mind her business. That pissed Bonnie off and she unleashed her magic. She propelled him backwards roughly, too roughly, slamming him into a nearby bookcase. He hit the back of his head on the edge of it and while Bonnie comforted the girl, her attacker was on the ground, slowly bleeding out.

"Shit."

She had accidentally killed him. Bonnie could tell with one look that he was dead, and she confirmed as much when she told the other girl to stay on the room's sofa and checked his pulse with two fingers at his neck. The other girl asked if he was alright and Bonnie lied, saying he would be okay. She was still shaking, legs curled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, and Bonnie walked back over to her. She intended to help her, to ask her if she had a friend at the party or if there was someone she could call to come get her, but unfortunately she asked Bonnie what she had done to him, how she had gotten him off of her, and how he had flown across the room like that.

Cursing again, with a short spell that took her two tries to say correctly, Bonnie put the girl to sleep and locked the door shut with magic. She sat down on the sofa beside the girl, trying to figure out how she should handle this because she had to deal with the dead body and a girl who'd seen her do magic. She cursed again at her carelessness.

Getting the body out was the biggest problem. She couldn't use her magic. It got volatile when she was drunk and she was certain carrying his weight and using an invisibility spell was not something she could do with her level of control, so that left calling a vampire.

There was no way she could explain any of this to Caroline. She would have so many questions, and Bonnie already had to lie to her about why she'd been in town to help rescue her, so that left one person. She'd been looking for an excuse to call him and here it was. Her finger hovered over his name in her phone, and she pressed the button, hoping he was around.

The phone rang three times, then he answered and she let out a sigh of relief. "What is it?"

"Damon," she tried her hardest not to sound like she'd been drinking. "Are you in town?"

"Yeah."

Her teeth gnawed into her lip. "I need your help with something."

"Something being?"

She glanced at the body on the floor. "I...I may have killed someone."


After twenty minutes or so there was a knock at the door. "It's me," she heard on the other side of it and she released the magic keeping it closed. He strolled in, closing the door behind him as he took in the scene, tsking at her. "Judgey, judgey, judgey, you've made quite the mess." The lilt in his voice suggested he was secretly delighted at having caught her like this, and she blew out an annoyed breath. Of course he would tease her. "To think you were once a picture of perfect morals. It's hard to believe you've gone from drinking to getting wasted at college parties and now all the way to murder." He shook his head. "Don't you think you might've skipped a few steps in your rebellious phase?"

"Are you going to help me or lecture me?" She nodded over to the girl's body on the couch. When she looked back at him, his eyes were taking in what she was wearing, lingering on where the hem of her dress stopped at mid-thigh. Her earlier thoughts spilled into her mind and what she wouldn't give to know what he was thinking. She folded her arms across her chest, and his eyes raised to hers, dark in the dim lighting and suddenly unreadable.

"Wake her up so I can compel her." He was all business now.

Bonnie walked over to the girl and plopped down beside her, resting her palm against her head. She woke up and Damon sped in front of her, his eyes dilating as he commanded her to forget what happened in that room and told her that she had fun at the party, but it was time for her to go home. She walked out of the room like a zombie and Damon turned to Bonnie who somehow resisted the urge to fidget under his stare.

"Do you need me to help with anything?" She asked, trying to stand up and almost falling back down as she did.

"I've got it covered." Ordering her to go wait in his car, he tossed her the keys, which she dropped and had to stoop down to pick up. Glaring at him while he watched her struggle with a half-amused smirk, she walked out the room, still swaying on her feet a bit while Damon took care of her mess.

She turned the corner, walking down the hall back into the midst of people. There was a crowd hyping up some guy who was chugging a bunch of beers, and Bonnie walked past them, eyes wandering around the room until she found Leah over in the kitchen. Before she left, she figured she should at least say goodbye.

Leah was pouring herself another drink and looked surprised to see Bonnie when she walked in. She thought she'd already left after looking for her earlier, and the slightly taller girl draped her arms over Bonnie in a hug. Leah was just as drunk as she was and started talking about how glad she was that she met Bonnie and how they should hang out more often. Bonnie, meanwhile, figured it would be rude if she just left then and courtesy of Leah, had another drink in her hand.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Damon found her, but she'd had her cup refilled again and was still chattering with Leah in the kitchen. He looked irritated with her as he snatched the cup from her hand, and Leah looked ready to kill, though when she saw Damon's face, she simmered down, seeming to recognize him from the bar.

"I thought I told you to wait in the car." He poured her drink down the sink, and placed the cup on the counter beside it.

"Damon," Bonnie dragged his name out unintentionally and slid her hand into his, relishing in the warmth that spread through her palms as she pulled him forward. "Don't be rude. This is my friend." She hazily realized her mistake a second too late. She shouldn't've grabbed his hand or smiled at him the way she did, but oh well. She'd already done it.

"Hi Bonnie's friend. Bye Bonnie's friend. We're leaving." He pulled Bonnie away from Leah by their intertwined hands and she stumbled back into him, her shoulder bumping into his. Letting go, he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter where Bonnie had unknowingly left them. "Let's go."

His hand was hot on her waist as, with a frown, she let him manhandle her out the house. It felt good to be close to him though, to feel his hand slipping from waist to her lower back as he guided her forward. Outside, she finally asked him about the body. "Did you take care of it?" she leaned onto his shoulder and half whispered even though she didn't need to.

"I did. Lucky for you, it turns out he wasn't dead yet. There was just a lot of blood."

"Oh," she furrowed her brow. "Maybe I didn't need to call you."

He walked her to his car, opening the passenger door. "Get in," he said, and she almost tripped on the curb in trying to reach the seat. Teetering again, Damon's hand slid back around her waist to steady her and Bonnie thanked him with a smile, but his face had turned stoic. He closed the door behind her and got into the driver's seat, pulling off in silence. He was on the verge of saying something though. Even drunk, Bonnie could see it in his face, in the tension in his shoulders, in the way his fingers gripped the wheel. He wasn't the slightest bit amused anymore.

"What's going on with you?" He was asking seriously. She could hear the tinge of worry in his voice, but she wasn't the type to spill her own secrets under the influence.

"Nothing…"

His jaw twitched at the obvious lie, but he didn't push the subject further.

She bit her lip. "Are you mad at me?"

Damon glanced at her, and the lines in his face smoothed a bit. "No."

And that was the end of that.

In the silence, Bonnie fell asleep, and the next time she awoke, she was being pulled into Damon's arms. Her own arms wound around his neck as he carried her, and she snuggled closer to him, her nose brushing against his skin, the scent of him relaxing her.

"Mmm, where are we," she mumbled, eyes closed and still half asleep.

"At the boarding house."

She heard a door close behind him, and he began to climb the steps. "I'm sorry for bothering you." She spoke softly, and the corner of her lips brushed against his collar bone.

"You owe me another favor for this," he grumbled, but shifted the hand holding her thigh, his thumb brushing against her skin in a way that could be misconstrued as affectionate.

"I'm sure I can make it up to you somehow." She smiled drowsily, tightening her arms around his neck just a little, greedy to feel him even closer. He was always so good to her even when he was annoyed, and she loved him for it.

Sleep tugged at her senses again, and the next thing she knew he was placing her on a soft comforter, though the last thing she wanted was to leave his arms.

But full of gratitude, she dutifully unwrapped her arms from around his neck and, forgetting when she was, thoughtlessly raised her head to press a soft kiss against his cheek. "Thanks, honey," she said, her voice low and full of a deep warmth that made Damon freeze against her, but Bonnie barely noticed. "Love you," was on the tip of her tongue, but she fell back onto the bed and passed out, unable to see the way he stood there, a deep line forming along his forehead before he left the room, closing the door behind him.


A/N:

Hey there beautiful readers, I'm back! Struggled with this chapter as I do with every chapter lol, but I hope y'all enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, and next time we're gonna get into Damon's POV on everything so far!

Chapter title from "Never Be Like You" by Flume ft. Kai