A/N: Thank you for your reviews! I hope you will not lose interest:)

Chapter six

Forgive-me-not

'That's ancient history.'

She shouldn't care. She shouldn't be surprised. And truth be told, she wasn't even surprised. She was hurt. And angry.

Mostly, Bonnie was angry with herself. She spent the last half hour trying to forget what Lucy had shown her. So Damon was going to trade her life like that, no surprise here. They were never, ever friends. They had made attempts to kill each other. And she would gladly die to protect Elena, so why blame Damon?

Because it wasn't his choice to make!

"You want some?"

Bonnie flinched and looked up. Yuichi was offering her a box of cherry drops.

"Um, no, thanks."

"They're good."

"Keep your eyes on the road," Lucy told without looking at him.

He scoffed at her.

"Why? Damon is driving."

Bonnie smiled at him and decided to take the box. She even ate one drop but didn't really feel the taste. Yuichi made an attempt to turn on a car stereo but Damon gave him a death glare that was better than words.

Bonnie was partly grateful that it was Lucy's friend sitting there, next to driver's seat. Lucy was sitting next to her but she turned her face to the window. So Bonnie could keep thinking about Damon and his choices. His choice. The one and only.

Bonnie's eyes were fixed on her own clenched hands. Elena was always the center of attention. She was like the sun. There was something about her that made you love her. And Bonnie was always good with that. Because Elena was her best friend, her sister.

But right now Bonnie could understand Caroline's almost vanished feelings. Not because Bonnie wanted attention Elena had. She just felt suddenly that she was really nothing compared to Elena.

Her hands were pressed together so hard they were hurting now.

'No. I won't feel like a minor character. I will fight this fog and... everything. I will not feel lonely. 'Cause I'm not.'

Bonnie turned her head a little aside and caught Damon's eye in the rearview mirror. She looked away quickly.

'Why do I feel so bitter?'

She closed her eyes trying to breathe slowly. Another question came into her mind, 'Why does he want my trust?'

Elena again? Yes, it was believable. Bonnie and Elena were close; maybe Damon wanted a BFF's support.

The car stopped and Damon announced, "We're here."

He and Yuichi got out. Lucy glanced at Bonnie and said quietly, "Get yourself together."

Without answering Bonnie opened the car door, stepped out and slammed the door with all her might. Maybe she should set Damon's lovely car on fire.

"Wow," Yuichi whispered.

Bonnie followed his gaze and saw that the whole cemetery was covered with fog.

"What are we gonna look for?" Damon asked shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Anything unusual," Lucy answered. "Witch's circles. Witch's sanctuary..."

"I guess we'll need the lamps," Damon muttered and went to open the trunk.

Bonnie came closer to the mist. It looked thick, almost solid.

"You know what it is?' Yuichi asked stepping closer to her.

"Yes. Some kind of a depressing fog."

"Not exactly. This fog is the proof that the spell wasn't perfected. When the witch's powers are being wasted something like this condensation occurs. "

"She's wasting her powers? Good."

"Bonnie, think a little bit. I've seen this fog everywhere in this town. Do you have any idea how powerful the bitch is? It's almost impossible for a one witch to have such power. And still, she's acting like an amateur," he finished, bewildered.

Bonnie cleared her throat.

"Look, have you ever heard about the power source?"

"Yeah, of course. Not stable connection. Dangerous for the source. It's wrong, a witch should take her energy from nature."

"Can we just break the curse? Lucy, you and me together."

"Only after we find her. Let's track her from here."

"How?" Bonnie asked confused.

Yuichi looked at her oddly and Bonnie for the first time saw his serious face.

"What do you mean how? You do feel the energy and where it's leading, right?"

"I don't understand..."

"I feel," Lucy said, looking in the fog with disgust.

Bonnie made a fierce attempt to concentrate but felt nothing.

"Looks, like someone's losing the title of the greatest witch," Damon said teasingly.

That made her blood boil.

"Sorry, if I'm useless," she said, forcing a smile.

Damon looked at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"That's not what I said."

"Bonnie, are you sure you can't feel it?" Yuichi asked intently, and Bonnie was surprised to see the worry in his eyes.

"Yes," she answered sharper than she intended.

"Ok," Yuichi whispered. "It's ok, you just follow us now, we'll deal with it later."

'Deal with what?'

"It's not that far," Lucy said. "You think, she's there now?"

"I seriously doubt that," Yuichi answered. "But we'll take our chance. Damon, can you call your brother? He'd better come here, just in case."

"Three witches and the vampire are not enough?" Damon sneered.

"I have a bad feeling."

"You're just a coward, Yoda."

"It may be dangerous but we'll handle it," Bonnie spoke. Though she was now really unsure of her powers.

Damon sighed.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie... Always so ready to die."

'He's just asking for it.'

"Enough talking, let's go," Lucy said, frowning.

"Wait, we are gonna walk?" Damon made an impatient sound. "I'm not leaving my car here."

"Then stay here," Bonnie said quietly.

Damon glared at her.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Damon, we're wasting time," Yuichi said. "Are you going or not?"

"Fine," he said, displeased.

"And call your brother."

"Fine!"

Bonnie didn't know where Yuichi and Lucy were leading her. She didn't really care. She was trying too hard to avoid Damon. Of course, Damon didn't like to be ignored. He watched her suspiciously and had made it quite clear that he wanted an explanation. Since the moment she gave him his jacket back on the porch of her house he felt that something was wrong. She knew it, but what could she say?

'You treat me like I'm nothing. You wanted me dead. Consider me dead.'

These words were creepy and stupid, even in her mind.

"This place looks familiar," Damon's voice sounded right next to her ear.

She jerked away and saw him frowning.

"Why are you mad?" he whispered.

"I'm not mad," she whispered back.

'I'm effing furious.'

"Guys!" she called. Both Lucy and Yuichi turned around to look at her. "I know the place. This road leads to the house where witches were burned."

"And you know that thanks to me, remember?" Damon said, barely moving his lips.

"Damon, I promise, I'll never forget everything you did for me," she replied quietly.

He had a puzzled look on his face and Bonnie suddenly felt better. There, back to the hatred and everyday fights. And no more small talks.

"Stef," Damon said suddenly.

Bonnie realized that the younger Salvatore was behind their backs.

"There you are," he looked at Bonnie. "Elena is worried. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "And your brother is fine. No one is going to die.'

Stefan exchanged looks with Damon.

"Bonnie, are you sure that everything is okay?" Stefan said slowly.

Bonnie nodded, smiling.

"Thanks for coming, Stefan. What's new in the town?"

"Well, people are scared. They are barricading themselves in their own homes."

"Humans," Damon said in a slighting tone. "Always one step away from paranoia."

"We are going inside," Bonnie said, looking at silent Lucy and Yuichi who stood aloof. "You better not come in."

"Okay," Stefan nodded.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Damon said.

Bonnie grinned at him.

"Aw. You are worried about me. No need; I'm not gonna die on you."

Something flickered in his eyes. Before she could stop him he grabbed her head with one hand and whispered in her ear, "When you come out we're so going to talk. And I wanna talk to Dr. Jekyll, you got it?"

"Damon, let her go!" Stefan demanded.

"Damon, be gentle!" Yuichi mocked.

Bonnie broke free and rushed to her cousin.

'I hate him!'

Lucy wasn't pleased either but she held back from scolding. Yuichi as always didn't notice an awkward context.

"He is into you," he said to Bonnie, smiling.

"Zip it," Lucy said glumly.

They entered the house and Bonnie felt the familiar presence of the spirits. Today they were really quiet, though.

"God, this is terrible," Lucy whispered. "I can still feel their pain."

Yuichi knelt down, staring at the floor intently.

"There was a blood here," he said, his voice serious. "A sacrifice."

"Well, the witches were burned here."

"No. The sacrifice was not too long ago."

Bonnie's chest was aching. She tried to ignore it but the pain was getting worse. It looked like the witches were not pleased with her.

Yuichi straightened up slowly.

"Let's get out of here."

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked.

"I want you to leave this place. Let's go."

She huffed.

"You really remind of Yoda. What are you hiding?"

"I can ask you the same question," he said calmly.

"What do you — "

"Bonnie!" Stefan called from outside. "You may want to come out."

She frowned but went out of the house without asking questions. Damon and Stefan weren't alone now. Bonnie stopped dead but the next second she was smiling; Jeremy was standing in front of her.

"Jeremy! You are okay, good..."

She wanted to hug him but decided against that. Jeremy smiled at her but didn't make an attempt to come closer either.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked coolly. "Shouldn't you be in Richmond?"

"You know what's going on, right?" Bonnie said, ignoring Damon.

"Yes. You need to be careful. I'm worried about you."

He looked different, older. But he was still Jeremy. Bonnie's heart warmed, she felt relieved to see him again.

"Get away from her."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. It wasn't Damon who spoke, it was her new warlock friend.

"Yuichi, it's okay. He is —"

"I'm pretty aware of who he is. I feel the dark magic all over him."

"What?" Bonnie exclaimed, amused. "Don't be crazy! It's Jeremy —"

"Bonnie," Jeremy said. "You have to stop. You are wasting your powers and it's killing you."

"You really want to talk about wasting her powers?" Yuichi said coming closer. Bonnie was surprised to see him angry. He didn't look like himself. Suddenly everything felt wrong. She looked at Jeremy hopefully but he didn't look at her.

"When people love each other..." they heard an unfamiliar voice. "They have to share."

Like in slow motion Bonnie saw a slim blonde woman coming out of the dark. She was young and really beautiful with her ice blue eyes and high cheekbones.

"Elsa," Stefan whispered.

She smiled at him brightly.

"Aw, our little lovely tame vampire. Klaus sends his love."

Bonnie had never seen Stefan so angry. His face was the mask of a pure hatred now. In the blink of an eye Stefan advanced towards the blonde witch but something unexpected happened. Jeremy raised his hand and Stefan fell down as if he had hit an invisible wall.

Bonnie gasped.

"Jeremy!"

"Hey, Bonnie," Elsa said. She was talking with a slight accent. "Klaus is interested in you. Why don't you come with us?"

Furious Bonnie clenched her fists.

"What have you done with him?"

"Who?"

"Jeremy!"

Elsa gave a small melodic laugh.

"Don't pretend that you still don't understand. Should I refresh your memory? Emily, help me! I love him! You've made your connection magical. And it's incredible. You are incredible."

That was a terrible lie. It must be. Bonnie felt nauseated. She looked at Jeremy again but he was still looking aside.

Elsa shrugged.

"You both got what you wanted. You wanted him to live. He wanted to be special. And it was the right thing to do, Bonnie. Come with us now, you don't belong here. Jeremy told me everything; they were always using you, they thought you were just a tool, they — "

"That's it, enough brainwashing."

Yuichi raised his hand and the next moment the earth shook. Even Bonnie forgot everything when she saw the warlock casting the spell. It was nothing like her own magic. And it didn't look like Yuichi was having problems with controlling his power. On the contrary, he was incredibly calm.

"I can control your heartbeat," he said evenly. "You both are — "

"No!" Bonnie grabbed his hand. "You can't kill him!"

Yuichi made a movement to shake her hand off, but Bonnie could be clingy if she wanted to.

"You do understand that he is a caster? " he asked quietly.

"You can't hurt him!" Bonnie shouted. "Please, let me fix everything!"

"Fix?" Jeremy repeated and Bonnie felt like something exploded in her soul. "What are you gonna fix? You still don't understand. I thought you knew what it's like to be lonely. To lose someone! My parents, Jenna, Vickie, Anna — they shouldn't have died!"

"That's not right, Jer, you know it!" she stepped forward, she so wanted to reach him.

"Bonnie, look at us! We can change everything! We have the powers to do it. If the vampires can live why all people we love can't? That's not fair!"

"Jeremy you need to calm down and listen to us," Stefan said. "You are under compulsion. You have to fight it — "

"Why?" Elsa asked lazily. "Is it okay to do anything to save your brother but not someone else?"

"Shut up!" Stefan roared.

"Jeremy, please, I'll do everything to make you happy!" Bonnie whispered. "Just stop it."

"Jeremy, we need to retreat now," Elsa said. "She doesn't understand it but she will."

He nodded and turned around. Bonnie jerked forward but Lucy caught at her hand.

"We can't stop them without hurting him. Let them go now."

Bonnie didn't listen. She was trying to break free.

"JEREMY! Jeremy, wait! Please! Jeremy!"

She was still calling his name, even after he disappeared into the darkness. It was Yuichi's voice that broke her from her stupor.

"You were right about the power source. This source is you. You've been fighting with yourself all along."

"What have you done?" Lucy asked evenly.

"I didn't..." Bonnie was shaking furiously. "I don't know."

"He's using your power. A boy with non-magical heritage. How is it possible?"

Bonnie covered her face with her hands.

"He was dying!" she said through her sobs. "And I was trying to save him..."

"He was dying... Or he was dead?"

"Lucy, enough," Stefan said calmly.

"You have crossed the line, Bonnie!"

"Stefan's right, that's enough," Yuichi said.

Bonnie felt someone's hands on her wrists. Then she heard Stefan's voice, "Bonnie, look at me. Look at me. We are gonna fix this, do you hear me? You are not alone. And Klaus is not winning this time. Do you believe me?"

Her hands slid down her cheeks. She looked at Stefan's kind face and swallowed her tears.

"Yes."

"We'll take you home," Yuichi said. "Stefan, are you coming with us?"

"No, Elena's at my place... I need to talk to her. See you guys later."

Bonnie watched Stefan go and then turned around to see Damon. The air left her lungs.

She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to talk to him. Her own guilt and her anger at him mixed together wouldn't go well. For a long time it was Elena linking them. Now everything had changed.

Damon was watching her closely but he didn't trust himself to speak. He felt like he had suddenly learnt a lot about himself and about Bonnie. And probably about life in general.

She can't love Jeremy that much, can she?

Finally, he spoke, "You've done the stupidest thing ever."

"I will fix it," she said monotonically.

"Care to elaborate, how?"

"I'll kill Klaus and I'll bring Jeremy home."

"Are you out of your mind?" Damon snapped. "You will die!"

"So? That's a chance you were always willing to take."

His face didn't betray his emotions.

"Where did that come from?" he said slowly.

"I'm going home," Bonnie said and looked away.

"Damon will drive us, I think," Yuichi said but she shook her head.

"I'm going alone."

She turned away from Damon and heard his voice again, "Have you ever wondered... I mean isn't it a great coincidence that he fell in love with you after he knew your little secret?"

Bonnie said nothing; she just walked away without looking back.

"That was harsh, man," Yuichi said to Damon.

"Shut the fuck up."

"You are the one who could've cut her some slack. You can understand her, given your obsession with Katherine."

"It's Elena now," Lucy corrected.

"Elena, Katherine or Audrey Hepburn — I don't care. I just wanted to make the point. Okay, I'm going to check on Bonnie. Maybe, she'll date me..."

Yuichi left and Damon turned to Lucy.

"You have some explaining to do, sweetheart."

Like many 'Big City children' Yuichi wasn't keen on forests. He didn't like anything that could damage his clothes or shoes. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

'Poor Bonnie. She was so unhappy. Well, she was unhappy but she sure run fast... Where's she?'

He heard a noise behind him and turned around hoping to see little witch. But, surprisingly, it was Elena. She changed her clothes and even curled her hair.

"Hey. Stefan was going to talk to you. Nice hair."

'I mean if you have time for playing with a curling iron when everyone is so unhappy.'

She smiled.

"Thank you."

Yuichi stepped back slowly. She was watching him as if he was an ice-cream or something like that.

"Are you ok? It's not the best time to play a Little Red Riding Hood. Elena..."

"I'm not Elena. Guess again?"

Yuichi pinched his eyebrows.

"Are you... her long lost twin sister?"

She moved forward and Yuichi felt her fingers gripping his throat. And the next second she felt a stake pressed to her chest.

"I have a trick up my sleeve. Literally. I will drive a stake through your heart. Do you have a heart, Katherine?"

She smiled again.

"Okay. Let's play nice."

She let go of him and stepped back.

"If you're looking for Damon, he's there," Yuichi pointed behind him.

"Actually I was looking for you."

"Why?" he was genuinely surprised. "I don't even know you. I mean, I know that you are a bi... A really extraordinary woman."

"You think you are funny?"

"You think you are scary? I can take you, Katherine. I'm not one of your sweet boys. And you were using Lucy. So..."

"Lucy has made her own choice," Katherine sneered. "I saved her life. And she betrayed me."

"Ok. Let the past stay in the past. And let me pass, please."

"I said, I need to talk to you. I came into this town because I've heard what's going on. But I don't intend to stay here."

"Good. Have a safe trip."

Katherine vamped out.

"You are arrogant!"

Yuichi chuckled, he was actually having fun.

"I can allow myself to be arrogant. I'm stronger than you. And I don't need anything from you."

She was watching him angrily and a gentleman in him took over.

"Sorry. That ain't no way to treat a woman. How can I help you?"

"I know who you are," Katherine said smugly. "Isn't it amazing, considering how hard you were trying to keep your secrets?"

"I never kept secrets."

"You are a soul breaker."

"I prefer a Master of Dream."

"You know who are you facing?"

"You mean this Klaus guy?"

"You have any idea how dange—"

"Yes, I was told. So?"

"I want you to kill him."

Yuichi stared at her in disbelief. Women. They think if they are beautiful they can demand all they want.

"Okay... You be a good girl and behave and maybe your wish will come true."

"I'm not joking."

"Are you out of your mind?" he finally snapped. "I don't have a death wish. It's not even my fight."

"But you can do it, right?"

"I can try and I can die trying. No, no fucking way. I so love my life."

"You coward."

"Excuse me!" Yuichi cried indignantly. "Maybe we'll talk about how you've been spending the last five hundred years? You hypocrite."

"I want you to kill him!"

'I seriously doubt Damon's taste in women.'

"Katherine, I'm not going to fuck with the Original," he said calmly. "I don't want to die."

"You do this," she said coming closer. "And I'll give you something you want."

He gave a forced laugh.

"Sorry, you are not my type."

She bent closer and whispered something in his ear. Yuichi rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you vampires and your Mephisto's temptations..."

Bonnie felt worth than ever. Jeremy was in great danger. If something happened to him Elena would never forgive her. That meant losing Stefan's friendship. And Lucy was so disappointed in her. Damon had already made his point. And once again Bonnie realized that no matter what happened, the witch was always on her own.

Bonnie was near her home now. When she came closer she saw Elena standing on the porch. Stefan was there as well. Bonnie didn't move. She wasn't ready to look at her friend's eyes. She didn't want to see her anger and pain. Bonnie felt so bad, she was ready to escape.

But Elena lifted her head and saw her. Bonnie didn't know how it happened but the next moment she was in her friend's arms.

"It's okay, it's okay..." Elena whispered. "We will fix it..."

Bonnie closed her eyes crying silently.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

TBC