"You nervous, Short Stuff?"
Bonnie looked up from where she was helping Taylor tie her mostly clean, pink and white shoes to watch the little girl chew nervously on her bottom lip. Bonnie was struck with how much the little girl, who had no 'real' relation to her, looked like her in that moment.
She patted her other thigh, motioning for the child to put her other foot there for she could tie the shoe. The child complied, swinging her other foot as she leaned back on the unmade bed and gave her older 'brother' a frowning pout.
"What do you mean, Dayday?"
Damon stood behind Bonnie holding a still sleeping Tubby in a fresh black T-shirt and a new pair of jeans he had received after an awkward visit from his birth mother the afternoon before. Damon hadn't mentioned it but Bonnie was pretty sure the business suite wearing woman playing his mother in this reality was a near double to his real mother. She had deducted as much from the look on Damon's face when she had shown up on their doorstep bearing a guilty expression and gifts.
"Well," Damon shrugged, "you're starting the Big K, the first of many years of boring hell. Kindergarten." Bonnie rolled her eyes at how dramatic he was being. "I mean you gotta make a good impression early or you'll go through your whole school life as one of the loser loner kids. No friends and having to eat school lunch in the bathroom."
The child's nervous expression intensified. "How do I make a good im-imp- that thing you said? What is it?"
"Ignore Damon, Tay." Bonnie shot the dark haired teen a glare. "He's just being Dummy Day." She smiled at the little girl as she finished her shoe and helped her jump off the bed. "You'll do fine and I'm sure you'll make lots of friends." Taylor didn't seem convinced as she grabbed her empty pink backpack off the other bed. Bonnie shot Damon another annoyed look as she took the sleeping baby from him. "Go wait with her outside, Damon. The bus should be coming."
"Yes, oh, sister dear." Damon rolled his eyes as he held out his hand for Taylor and the little girl happily grabbed his hand. "You sure you can handle the she-beast by yourself?" He asked referring to the woman passed-out on the couch in the living room.
Bonnie sighed. "I got this, Damon. I just don't need you and all of your snark there getting us into trouble."
Damon made a face. "Someone has to remind her of how terrible of a mother she is." With those words Damon exited the room with a skipping Taylor beside him.
Before leaving the room herself, Bonnie grabbed a plain black backpack and slung it over one of her shoulders.
Out in the living room, Bonnie stood over Beth face twisted in disdain as she took in the woman sleeping on the couch in only her underwear. Ray hadn't come home last night or the night before that which caused the older woman to go into some sort of depression and drink herself silly and throw things the night before.
"Mom," she called out firmly, cringing a little at having to call Beth 'mom', but she had learned the woman would rant and rave if she called her anything different. The woman continued to snore. "Mom," she called out and nudged the woman's bare leg with her clothed one.
"What?" The woman asked, voice heavy with sleep as she rolled over onto her back.
"I have to go to school and you have to watch Tubby." Bonnie sighed. The woman began to snore again. "Mom," she called out sharply.
"Damn it, girl, I heard you." Beth snapped. "Just hand me my baby and take your little narrow ass to school." She managed enough energy and pushed herself up, holding out her arms for the child with droopy, red eyes.
Bonnie hesitated before handing Tubby over. Mother and child snuggled up together and were asleep in seconds. Bonnie lingered a minute before turning and heading for the door, hoping Tubby would be alright with the woman. She was sure to lock the front door behind her before she made her way down the driveway just as Taylor was climbing onto a bright school bus, head held up and dark brown pig tails bouncing.
Bonnie came to a stop next to Damon and waved at the child as she peered at them through the foggy bus window. They both watched the bus disappear down the road.
Bonnie sighed and glanced at Damon. "Are you ready?"
Damon hummed. "Well, you see, I was thinking I would skip this whole going to school act and just not do that."
Bonnie merely rolled her eyes and started walking in the direction of Mystic Falls High school. Damon caught up to her when the school finally came into sight with a long sigh.
"Bonbon, why was their no breakfast made?" He patted his stomach and cut in front of her and began to walk backwards. She hoped he would fall, she really did, but he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.
"You could of fixed your own bowl of cereal, Damon." She told him dryly. "If you had gotten up when you were suppose too." She eyed him. "How are you planning on actually doing work, this is school you know." She mentioned, meaning his lack of paper or even a pen. His real mother had brought them both backpacks full of school supplies.
Damon shrugged. "I guess I'm not planning on it."
Bonnie came to a sudden stop, her blood running cold as her eyes landed on a familiar back, standing next to a small, silver sports car in the school's parking lot. It couldn't be. Damon didn't seem to notice as he continued to walk backwards.
"You don't have to look so surprised, Bonbon. You already knew I was going to bed the baddest boy Mystic Falls has ever seen."
Bonnie was to slow to warn him as Damon walked right into the long haired brunette, somehow entangling his legs around hers, causing only him to fall however. The girl barely moved an inch and merely re-caught her balance while Damon hit the ground hard.
A few students laughed loudly, but Bonnie was too focused on the taller girl's face which was now slightly visible as she turned and stared down worriedly at Damon.
"Elena?" Damon's choked out surprised voice mirrored the voice in her head that realized the same thing.
'Elena' frowned. "Do I know you?" She asked. Seeming to feel Bonnie's gaze on her, the girl's eyes darted to her, causing another chill which raced down Bonnie's spine with more intensity now. She knew that feeling. Vampire. There was a vampire around and their was only one logical choice, this, whoever this was, was a vampire. She wasn't sure how she could sense that without her powers but she could.
The Elena look a-like gaze darted back to Damon, frown still firmly in place. She held out a hand to Damon who was still frozen in shock. "Are you okay?"
Before Damon could even think about taking the hand, Bonnie came out of her stupor and rushed forward, yanking him onto his feet.
"Uh, he's really clumsy," she quickly said, laughing awkwardly, "born without his little toe. Sorry," She quickly pulled the human Damon away from the vampire.
"Wait," Elena called out but Bonnie kept on moving, dragging Damon with her.
"That was," Damon began slowly.
"I know, shut up, she can still hear you," Bonnie whispered harshly, chancing a glance over her shoulder at Elena who was still staring at them.
"Smooth move, Salvatore." A voice full of amusement said right as they were about to enter the school.
Bonnie blinked and suddenly Jeremy Gilbert was standing in front of them. "Of course you would be the one to embarrass yourself in front of the new hot girl." He smirked at Damon.
"Shut up, freshmen." Matt also suddenly appeared, eyes over both Damon and Bonnie's shoulders, likely on the vampire still burning holes in their backs.
"This freshmen can still beat that ugly mug of yours in, Matt." Jeremy snapped.
Matt ignored him. "Who is that, anyway?" He nodded towards who Bonnie guessed was Elena still.
"Her name is Elena and apparently she's my distant cousin or something," Jeremy said. "She showed up a couple of weeks ago and my parents is letting her finish school here."
Matt made a face. "You called your cousin hot."
"She's my distant cousin, asshole, I've never even seen her before a couple of weeks ago and I'm not planning on dating her."
Matt crossed his arms. "Still," he trailed off, finally pulling his gaze away from Elena to land on Damon. "Man, you were suppose to be at practice."
Damon and Bonnie shared a look, obviously both still processing what was going on. "Sorry?" He halfheartedly apologized.
Somehow they found themselves being led into the school by Matt. Bonnie stiffened when Jeremy swung his arm over her shoulder but was relieved when she realized it was in a purely friendly way. He went on and on about some video game that he enjoyed and apparently she enjoyed to.
"Your brother was there," Bonnie overheard Matt say, pulling her attention to the conversation Damon and Matt were having.
"My brother?" Damon voiced her confusion.
"Yeah, its a dick move by couch letting a freshmen on varsity. I don't even think he's that good."
"You're really hung up on this freshmen thing, Matt." Jeremy cut in. "You do realize you were a freshmen just three months ago, right?"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Jeremy." Matt turned back to Damon. "Are you two still getting along? I hope that's not why you flaked on practice."
"Stefan and I are fine," Damon said when it was obvious Matt actually wanted him to say something this time. Matt gave him a disbelieving look before turning his attention to Bonnie.
"Do you need any help finding your classes, Bons? Damon doesn't show up to school enough to know where anything is." He joked.
Bonnie wasn't expecting to be asked a question and was still caught up on trying to catch up with what was going on. She stared.
"I'll show my sister to her classes." Damon seemed to find himself. "You should show, baby Gilbert around."
Matt glared at Jeremy who glared right back. "Come on, kid. I don't want to be late. See you guys later."
"I'm six months younger than you, Matt." Jeremy ranted as he and the blonde walked away. "Don't call me kid."
"This Elena is a vampire." Bonnie blurted as the moved aimlessly down the hall.
"I figured as much when you nearly ripped my arm out of socket to get away from her." Damon rubbed his arm. "It seems like everything here is like a distorted version of reality."
Bonnie nodded. "Instead of it being vampire Stefan blowing into town, its vampire Elena." She pondered.
"Which means the most important question we have to ask ourselves is, who's Damon?" Damon asked.
Bonnie's heart sank. "Katherine," she guessed.
WY
Loud crying was the first thing to greet Bonnie when she reached home, sans Damon, who had football practice. She would of paid to see the awkward teenage Damon fumble around on the field, but she knew she had to return home to make sure her so-called mom hadn't killed the younger children.
The screaming was coming from the kitchen so that was the first place she searched. There she found Tubby, red faced and crying on the floor, while Taylor stood over him messily pouring cereal into a bowl.
"Where's your mom?" She asked as she moved into the kitchen and picked Tubby up off the floor and placed him on her hip. He instantly stopped crying and instead whimpered into her neck as she rubbed his back. He wiped his snotty nose on her shirt.
"She said she would be right back. She told me to watch Tubby." Taylor answered picking up the bowl. "I think Tubby is hungry so I fix him cereal. Oh, and she said she was going to look for Mr. Ray."
Bonnie bit her lip to stop herself from saying something nasty about Beth and pushed down her anger at the fact that the woman had left a five year old and a one year old home alone to go out to chase a man. She set both of the children with a bowl of dry cereal and a movie in their bedroom.
She had just finished cooking more chicken nuggets and fries when Beth stumbled back into the house a sobbing mess. Bonnie couldn't do anything but stare at her.
"He's cheating on me." The woman wailed, holding herself up with the kitchen wall. "His car is at Suzanne Nicholas's house. He's been there this whole time. I can't believe this, that son of a bitch."
Bonnie wondered what the woman wanted from her. It couldn't be comfort. But then a thought struck her, she needed to find out more about her family here. Was it her mother's side of the family or her father who was the witches in this reality? She needed to figure out quick in order to track down some grimores. She had to play nice with this woman for now.
"He's a jerk, mom. You're to good for him anyway." She find herself saying. It must have been the right thing to say because the next minute Bonnie found herself sitting on the couch with the crying Beth in her arms as the woman whined and complained about her life and the men in her life.
"I'm going to start focusing on you kids," the woman said. "I gave Ray so much of me I wasn't giving you guys enough. Mommy's sorry, Bonnie. You believe me, right?"
"Yes," Bonnie lied.
"From today forward I'm going to focus on my children, fuck men. Who needs them." She looked up at Bonnie with glassy eyes. "When you get older Bonnie make sure you get a good man. That's why I'm so tough on you, I don't want for you to settle for some no good bastard." Bonnie nodded distractedly, her mind on how to approach the woman about her possibly being a witch. She didn't enjoy none of the scenarios her mind came up with. "Where's Damon?"
Bonnie blinked, coming out of her thoughts at hearing Damon's name. "Football practice," she glanced at the clock to see it was well passed seven. Practice should have been over. She began to worry. What had Damon gotten himself into now, she had a sick feeling it had something to do with vampire Elena, who she had made him promise to avoid, but this was Damon after all.
"Oh, that's nice," the woman sniffed her nose. "I'm going to start going to his games to, I bet he'll like that."
Bonnie didn't think so.