Chapter 8: How Did This Happen?
I remember going down to Bonnie and she was frantically looking for answers when she saw me enter. I remember that the look in my eyes told her we don't have long. She nodded and everyone around her got back to what they were doing. I remember the look on Bonnie's face when she said that she found something. My hopes were so high, and they only grew when she finished chanting. However, that was only for a moment because suddenly Bonnie looked up at him, her eyes filled with horror. Stefan remembers knowing what that look meant, and nothing could make him believe it until they all heard Caroline's scream coming from upstairs. He ran up there as fast as he could. He burst the door open and couldn't believe his eyes. Damon was lying in his bed, fully grown, but he was gray and shriveled up. He was…He was dead.
Stefan recalls the moments when he found out that he'd never hear his brother's "Damon humor" again, the moment when he'd found out he'd never be able hate or love his brother again in a moment of impulsive feelings. He can't bare it, and the worst part is, is that he has to keep his brother's death a secret. The sheriff was Damon's friend as well as the other council members and they'll never know why he will never attend another council meeting. Stefan will have to continue on like nothing ever happened.
"Stefan, would you like to say something?" Alaric asks. They are burying his brother at the old Salvatore estate, so no one else can see them. At least Stefan will know where his brother is, because there will be no gravestone to mark his burial space. It's as if Damon Salvatore will cease to exist in the world. At least they were able to wrap up the body, and have as authentic a funeral as they could.
Stefan nods; he knows he'll regret it if he refuses, but he's not ready. Then again, when will he ever be ready? He steps up to the front of the large hole in the ground, that's about to consume his brother. "My brother was a fighter. Throughout our life as humans he always fought our father's rules, he always wanted to do things his way, and he let feelings consume him, and then we became vampires and his personality became magnified. His temper became more volatile, and his ability to love became stronger, but it was buried under a century and a half of hurt and pain, which he liked to bottle up inside of himself. We only just regained a sense of normalcy with each other, when this happened, and thanks to Caroline, I got to see how my brother truly felt for me before…" Stefan couldn't bring himself to say the words, "I've always wondered what it would be like once Damon died, and sometimes I actually found myself wishing that I'd never forced Damon to drink the blood of the girl, that I'd let him die that fateful night, but if he had I would've never gotten to know him. I never got to apologize to him for forcing him to turn, and some part of me will never know if it was actually him that wanted to die or rather just his impulsive feelings telling him that he should die. Oh, gosh, Damon, why did you leave me? How am I supposed to continue on without you? You promised me an eternity of misery, but I guess you never would've imagined that you would actually truly make me hopeless nearly a century and a half later? Goodbye, Brother." Stefan finishes in a small voice. He completely breaks down. Elena has to help him walk away. No one has ever seen Stefan so broken and sad.
Bonnie just remains motionless and impassive to everything around her, because she let them down. She let Stefan down. Stefan's her friend and he's breaking down in front of her. She wishes she would have found the spell earlier, but in fact it wasn't her that found the spell, it was Pearl. Apparently she had actually seen something like this and did some digging when she first saw Damon, and she was going to come over to tell them how to fix it, when we were attacked. Damon could have been saved, and instead he's dead. She wonders how Stefan's going to fare in all of this. He seemed not just broken, but shattered. She closes her eyes, if only she had been quicker, then her friends wouldn't be mourning and Stefan wouldn't be in shambles. Bonnie knows that if Stefan loses it, Elena will too. She wonders why she hasn't already lost it, since Damon's died, but she understands. Elena's only seen Damon as a friend, and they sort of lost their connection when he killed Jeremy. Of course, Jeremy easily forgave Damon, and he was able to talk his sister into forgiveness as well, but Bonnie knows that she's been hardened towards him.
"Damon was my sire. I never really gave it much it thought until recently. He promised to take me to a dance, and secretly I've been waiting for him to ask me out for a while now. My future with Matt ended when I became a vampire, and Damon showed that to me when he tried to kill me that night at the carnival. He said that I'm already dead, and I didn't want to believe him, but I knew what that meant. Damon, I will miss you, because I will never be able to forget you." Caroline finishes. She's now crying, but unlike Stefan she's doing it audibly.
Alaric now gets up to say something, "Damon, what can I say, you've killed me once, and it couldn't have been more painful, but I know that you've experienced death before, when you were shot and you had to go through transition. I have no idea how we ended up as friends, but I always thought that it would be you speaking at my funeral, not the other way around." Alaric can't bring himself to say more. He doesn't cry, but Bonnie sees something in his eyes, that makes it clear that he's as broken over the loss as Caroline and Stefan are. He awkwardly eyes the grave as he goes to stand near Elena, Stefan, and Caroline.
"I saved you from the fire, so you could live your undead life, not so you could waste it and die!" Bonnie exclaims. She was exhausted after that spell, and Damon had to go and die. Everyone knows that she's hurt over the loss, despite her words. Her tone makes that clear.
"Rest in peace, Damon." Katherine says. Bonnie looks over at her, and studies her. The vampire doesn't notice her, because she's staring at the grave with a mixture of awe, hurt, confusion, and wonder. Katherine has found a way to escape every single death threat that has come her way, so of course the grave would seem surreal to her, heck it's Damon that's in the grave. Damon's found a way to wheedle or be wheedled out of every threat and every near death experience, either with his brother or by himself. If this could happen to Damon, then who's to say that any of them are safe.
Bonnie glances over at Jeremy and sees his hands interlace with Anna's. They both don't say anything, but they stare at the grave with hardened expressions. Bonnie can, for some reason understand Jeremy's feelings, but it's Anna's feelings that she doesn't seem to get. Damon and Anna, as Bonnie understands it, had a sort of agreement and respect for each other. Damon also respected Pearl a little as well. Bonnie looks over at Pearl, and sees her indifferent expression. Bonnie doesn't expect her to feel anything, especially because as far as she knew Damon and Stefan had died that night in the Battle of Willow Creek. She wakes up from desiccation and finds a century and a half older world and a very vampire Damon and Stefan Salvatore. She didn't get to know Damon that well, and Bonnie commends her for even being here. She's offering support, where it's needed and that's what a good person does.
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Bonnie doesn't know what to say. They have buried the body and now they are at the boarding house in tense silence, eating and drinking tea. She looks up at Stefan and all she sees is a shell. Stefan's eyes look dry and red, and his shoulders are hunched in on himself. He just simply stares at the ground not bothering to blink or move or make any noise at all. Bonnie doesn't know what to do so she keeps silent. Elena however, is trying to get any sort of response out of Stefan. She's rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings to him, while still trying to hold back her own tears. Bonnie can't bring herself to tell her naively hopeful friend that Stefan is gone, he died with his brother.
Caroline walks over to Bonnie and sits down next her. Caroline brings her knees up to her chest as she sinks back against the couch. "How are you faring, Caroline?" Bonnie asks.
Caroline looks at her with a pained expression, "He's gone, Bonnie." She's only able to say that, but that speaks volumes. Her voice is hoarse from the crying and her eyes are covered in tearstains. It seems that everyone who's going to cry over Damon's loss has already done so, and now they only need to cope with the loss and the new future that is before them.
"Annabelle, perhaps we should go home." Pearl says as she stands up. Her daughter nods in solemn agreement and she exits the house with Pearl. They all feel a whoosh go by them and they look around already knowing that Katherine wouldn't be there anymore.
Alaric decides to go home to Jenna to make up some lie as to why Jeremy and Elena will appear so broken. Jeremy and Elena reluctantly follow Ric as he exits the house. They hear a car pull out of the driveway and head onto the road.
"Good night, Stefan." Caroline says simply as she stands up and exits the room.
Bonnie is the last to leave, but before she does, she decides to say something to the dejected Salvatore. "Stefan?"
She sees him close his eyes at her voice and his breathing becomes labored, but he doesn't cry and doesn't respond.
"I'm so, so sorry. I failed you, and I wish that I had gotten the spell earlier, I really do." Bonnie says as she pats Stefan's shoulder and she stands up. She's about to walk out of the door.
"Bonnie." She hears Stefan's voice. She looks over at him, and she can't help but tear up at the sight of his red, swollen, tearstained face. "It wasn't your fault. My brother's gone."
She frowns and leaves. She pulls out of the driveway and is headed home. Suddenly she stops when she sees a person limply lying on the road. She stops the car and gets out and rushes over to the person. He groans softly in pain when she flips his dirty form over to see who it is. She's about to ask if he's alright, when her eyes want to bug out of their sockets. "Oh, my gosh!" She swallows hard in realization, and she frowns. Is this a dream? She asks herself stupidly. This can't be real, unless she…did it. Everything's going to be okay, now, and Bonnie can't help but smile inwardly and let her insides warm up from the newfound hope that's building up inside her.
She didn't want to see Stefan in a ripper phase, and she certainly did not want to see her best friends lose it in their own ways trying to cope with the loss and help Stefan in the meantime, and now she doesn't have to, because it's going to be alright. He's going to be alright, and Bonnie isn't sure who she's talking about, but one thing's for sure, she's got to act fast.
The End?
AN: Okay, so I'm writing a sequel. It may or may not be a one-shot. I haven't thought that deeply into it yet, but stay tuned. The third story to be posted on my profile, will be the sequel, so don't worry I will finish this story up. Please review and let me know what you think. I thought that going into everyone's relationship with Damon was interesting, and I enjoyed writing it from Bonnie's perspective on those parts, because I thought her character would be the best to do that from. Oh, and by the way, cscscs…means change scene, numerous times. I thought I should do that, since I've noticed that my large parts in between those different scenes aren't showing on the site. Just thought I should clarify that. Okay, so this is the last Chapter to Oh, Brother, let me know what you think. Who did Bonnie find on the side of the road? I think it's really obvious though. I certainly hope that you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I can't wait to read your reviews and criticisms. Remember stay tuned, because the sequel should be up and on the site by next Monday night.
~Thank you for reading all the story, all my author's notes, and most of all for those of you who did, thanks for reviewing. :)