A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has commented and followed this story - it genuinely means a lot and I've appreciated the feedback which has provided me with great inspiration and determination to continue this story and do you all justice! So thank you!

Someone asked me a great question about the status of Delena which I thought was important to clarify: They're not together as it stands in this fic because Elena erased her memories of Damon but they're working on trying to figure it out. Now you'll see where that'll lead both Damon and Elena as well as Bonnie. Hope that clarifies things!

N.B. I'm from Englad so some of the spelling will be UK English although I do tend to change it to American English before I upload (just so you know in case you notice spellings like 'favourite'/'realise' etc.

I know that its gonna take some time
I've got to admit that the thought has crossed my mind
This might end up like it should
And I'm gonna say what I need to say
And hope to god that it don't scare you away
Don't wanna be misunderstood
But I'm starting to believe that this could be the start of something good

Bonnie woke with a small stir and felt disorientated as she looked around the room. Within seconds, she realized she was at the Salvatore boarding house which sent her heart galloping in her mediastinum as waves of panic vibrated through her.

No! I'm not there again!

She jerked upright with a gasping breath and released a breath of relief as the memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. Taking a quick glance around the room, she noticed the board game discarded on the floor and the duvet draped across the couch as the only reminder that Damon had even been there. A smile danced across her lips as she realized he'd been right – his method of ensuring she slept had worked! She wasn't entirely sure whether it was his presence in the room which enabled her to sleep soundly or the exhaustion combined with the bickering and the game they'd played that night.

Realizing just how refreshed she felt, she took a quick look at the clock on her bedside table which flashed that it was a little past four in the afternoon. Shit! She had to meet up with her friends in half an hour!

With that realization, she jumped off the large bed and tripped as she rummaged through the small pile of clothing she had left at the foot of the bed. Grabbing her denim shorts and a white tank top, she quickly shimmied out of her pajama bottoms and pulled them on. While she buttoned up the shorts, she felt a surge of electricity and power from her fingertips causing her to jump in surprise. Outstretching her hands in front of her, she stared at them like they were foreign wondering what had happened. Within several minutes, the feeling dissipated into nothingness and she found herself able to breathe again as the anxiety weaving knots within her eased.

Giving her hands a final shake, she ran into the adjacent master bathroom and brushed her teeth feeling the familiarity of the room. This place had a lot of awful memories attached to it but a part of her had also become to know it as her home and it made her feel safe. Dismissing her thoughts and worries about her magic, she walked into the main bedroom, grabbed her shoulder bag and danced out of the room and down the stairs.

The smell of pancakes came wafting from the kitchen the moment she reached the landing which caused a small smile to tug at the corner of her lips. Damon. Walking into the kitchen, she watched affectionately as he danced absently to a pop song playing from the radio whilst clearing away dishes. The one good thing which had come from the prison world was their friendship and she was one-hundred percent grateful for it. For as long as she could remember, Damon Salvatore was a man who she loathed with every fiber in her body. However, whilst being stuck in the prison world had been single-handedly the worst thing she had ever experienced once she'd been left alone…it hadn't been all that bad with Damon around. Within weeks, their arguments had turned into harmless bickering and she knew she'd found a friend in him. Now, she saw him as a man who had made a million mistakes but was trying to do better and she could work with that.

Leaning against the door frame, she tried to come up with a witty remark to make her entrance known when he clicked his tongue knowingly.

"I know I'm devilishly handsome but are you really going to stand there staring at me all day?"

Pulling a face of disgust, she stood upright and stormed into the room her good mood vanishing.

"I wasn't staring at you, you ass," she sulked ditching her bag onto the desk and grabbing the plate of pancakes and orange juice which he'd left on the counter top. She had gotten used to the fact that Damon knew precisely what time she woke up courtesy of his hearing and that whenever he felt like behaving like a decent human being, he would prepare her breakfast.

"Thank you," she added despite herself placing the plate onto the dining table and taking a seat before shoveling the food into her mouth. She was in a hurry, but not enough to ditch the plate full of good food.

He looked at her with amusement and raised an eyebrow. "Keep eating that fast and you'll suffer from indigestion."

She threw him a look. "Well, I'm almost late so I'm sorry if I don't have all the time in the world. Were you even going to wake me?!"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes but remained silent as she continued to eat her food as she couldn't criticize his decision because she had needed all the sleep she could get.

"Where are you off to in a hurry anyway?" he asked using the towel to wipe his hands dry as he leaned against the island worktop which was located opposite of where she was seated.

"I'm meeting up with Elena, Caroline and the boys," she retorted noticing the flash of emotion which shot through his eyes at the mention of Elena's name.

Things with Damon and Elena remained as complicated as ever and from what she understood, they were doing their best to work on what they had but her lack of memory continued to hinder on their relationship. A little part of her was disappointed for him, she knew how much he loved her and after being stuck on the other side – he deserved a little happiness.

"Why don't you call her?" she asked after a moment noticing his vacant stare.

He pulled a face. "Nah. It's fine. We could both probably do with a little space anyway."

Nodding absently she struggled to find a response but ended up settling for silence. He probably knew what he was doing and it wasn't like she was in any position to offer good advice. Her relationship with Jeremy hadn't exactly finished smoothly and she was still working through it the best she could.

Finishing off her breakfast, she picked up the plate and discarded it into the sink.

"Leave them," he instructed from behind her when she turned the tap on ready to clean up after herself. "I'll do it later."

Turning around she threw him an incredulous look before narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously. The breakfast she could buy, but this was too much – he was up to something.

"What are you after, Damon?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.

"Besides your body? Nothing." He replied with a mischievous grin and a look which sent the blood in her body rushing to her face.

"You're disgusting," she commented at a loss for a better come-back which earned her a wholehearted laugh from him.

"Is that seriously the best you've got little Bennett?" he shot back walking towards her.

Unwilling to be within his proximity, she backed away from him and started to move towards the sink when their stand-off was interrupted.

"Damon?" a familiar voice came from the hallway which caused the hair at the back of her neck to stand. She'd heard that voice once before and knew the person it belonged to was harmless, yet somehow she couldn't stop the small shiver which escaped from her.

"Is that your mum?" she mouthed standing upright and quickly grabbing her bag from the desk.

His mom entered the room looking precisely how she remembered except she was wearing a more modern dress. Her hair hung around her face delicately and she looked enchanting – well it was evident where Damon and Stefan got their good looks from.

"Hello. You must be Bonnie," she beamed at her familiarly making her feel slightly uncomfortable. "I overheard some of your conversation. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," she shrugged as an explanation.

"Yes – I mean yeah, I'm Bonnie. It's nice to uh, meet you again," Bonnie blurted out awkwardly offering the woman her hand to shake before she could think better of it. Realising what a gawky moron she must have looked like, she cursed herself silently.

The woman however, merely served to appear charmed as she took her hand into hers and gave it a firm shake. Bonnie's eyes found Damon who threw her a puzzled look which screamed 'what the hell are you doing?!' and she shrugged at him mouthing 'I don't know!' when his mother wasn't looking.

"Anyway, I should probably get going now," she excused herself with a polite smile slinging her bag across her shoulder. "It was very nice to meet you," she repeated to the woman.

"You too."

Once she made it to the door, she turned to glance at Damon whose intense gaze was burning a hole on the back of her head. "Thanks again Damon," she called out quickly before scurrying out of the room in a hurry and down the corridor.

Letting the front door snap shut behind her, she rested her back against it replaying the entire scene with Damon's mom in her mind again. Gosh! Trust her to be socially awkward in a situation like that. Moreover, what on earth did she think about Bonnie sleeping over at their house? In a horrifying thought, she wondered whether the woman believed her to be having some kind of an affair with Damon.

'Dear god, no!' she thought absently.

Caught in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the magic surging through her with more force until her fingers started trembling again and she felt a small searing pain in her chest. Glancing down at her hands, she let out a small shallow breath, her heart picking up the pace in her chest again. Something wasn't right, that much was certain but she was clueless as to what was going on. Initially, she'd placed it down to post-traumatic stress – but now she wasn't so sure. Shaking out her hands, she shoved them deep into the pocket of her jacket and walked brusquely towards her car.

Bonnie walked into the Mystic Grill and smiled widely as she took in the busy bar and the tables swarming with people. This is what she'd missed the most – being around people. Feeling alive. Glancing around the tables, her eyes spotted her group of friends who were grinning and waving at her. Hurrying down the stairs, she rushed towards them and into Matt's outstretched arms. She'd caught up with Elena and Caroline already but hadn't managed to see Matt or Tyler until now.

"I can't believe you're finally back," he laughed into her hair giving her a firm squeeze.

"Me neither," she breathed detaching herself from him and giving Tyler a quick warm hug.

She settled into the vacant seat left for her and they began chatting about everything she'd missed whilst she was gone and for the first time in a long while – she allowed herself to forget everything she'd been through.

"Why don't you just call him?" Caroline groaned to Elena while the boys went to grab their drinks.

"Because I don't know what I'll say to him Care, okay? I just – we're working on things but right now I think a little space is good," she replied echoing Damon's words to her a few hours earlier.

"Hey! No relationship talk tonight!" Matt interrupted returning to the table.

"Strictly fun," Tyler agreed firmly. "Now let the night begin!" he shouted placing a tray full of drinks in front of them.

"You've got to be kidding me. It's not even six p.m. yet," Bonnie protested her eyes wide with dismay.

"Even a better reason to start while we're ahead!" he cheered downing the glass in one go.

"Come on Bon. You're back, we've got a lot to celebrate," Matt shrugged grabbing his glass and following in suit.

Within half an hour, there were several empty bottles on their table but the sensible conversation continued which said a lot about the frequency of their alcohol abuse and their high tolerance. However, once it reached ten in the evening they were all fairly drunk and the room had begun spinning for Bonnie who had decided to take a break from dancing. Glancing at the dance floor where Elena and Caroline continued to grind to a Rihanna song, she rolled her eyes at their no so flattering moves and promised to teach them a thing or two in the future. Whilst her eyes searched for Matt or Tyler who had disappeared, she began feeling the magic within her again. Her fingers began trembling and soon followed her arms and her entire body. She felt like she could explode if that were possible. Trying to slow down her breathing, she concentrated on channeling her power inwards. A surge of heat caused her to jolt and one glance around the Grill illustrated to her that she'd somehow inadvertently managed to turn on every candle in the room.

Panic set in and grabbing her bag, she hurried for the back exit letting out a small yelp when the light bulb above her burst. Ignoring the curious stares of bystanders nearby, she ran outside and let the door slam behind her. Staggering forwards as the power grew more intense and the pain in her chest multiplied, she dropped to her knees on the concrete and struggled to breathe as if she'd just finished running a marathon.

What's happening to me?

That was the desperate thought replaying in her mind as she fought urgently to control whatever was happening inside of her.

"What's happening to me?" she repeated in a whisper out loud a small tear escaping from her eyes and tracing a path down her cheeks.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! I'm in an exam period so trying to multi-task revision and writing this fic! Please let me know what you think, honest opinions etc. I hope I did this chapter justice. Thank you for sticking with this story (till this second Chapter haha!).

Until next time!