Chapter 12

"Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb." ~Sue Grafton, I is for Innocent~

Elena sat in her room looking out the window. It was a beautiful day and they had given her a break from training since she had been working so well. She would've been spending it with Stefan but he had gone with Sara to pick up more blood bags because the three vampires were using them up pretty fast. Even after that he still had to help with training today.

She was gazing when she heard his voice. "Can I talk to you?" She turned around to let Damon know she had his full attention. "You were there that night with Bonnie at the club, right?"

"Stefan told you, didn't he?"

"He's my brother Elena." As the words left his lips Elena felt like saying you didn't know that when you were trying to steal me away from him. But she had matured and so had Damon. So there was no need for that. "Anyways I talked to Bonnie and she said she didn't meet anyone named Howie. I watched her sit there and lie straight to my face."

"I don't know what you want me to say Damon. Bonnie's my best friend."

"I know you and her haven't spoken ever since that day I came back from our dinner at Tony's." there was silence. "Did she tell you not to say anything to me about him? She did."

"Maybe, Maybe not." Damon felt terrible as his head hung low. "All I can say is that I know Bonnie loves you but you have to be more aware of her activities."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It's something off about Bonnie. I've watched how she seamlessly lied to you like she does it all the time and this past week she seemed to stay mostly to herself. I don't think that's my friend. Whoever came back to Mystic Falls two years ago isn't the same Bonnie that left."

"She was bound to change, Elena. She wasn't going to be the same forever."

"Yeah you're right but she didn't change like me or Caroline. She had a whole new personality. Like she was more guarded with her feelings. Like she faced something that forever changed her life." Damon thought about it and maybe Elena had a point. "Don't get me wrong I still love the girl but sometimes I think this person smiling at me isn't my best friend."

"As of late I've been feeling the same way."

"What do you mean? You were with her while she was away."

"I don't know. Even from the day I saw her again I could sense something different about her. Like she was broken and she didn't know why. I never asked because then I didn't care but maybe I should've. Because then I wouldn't feel like I couldn't trust her now and lie behind her back."

"Damon what did you do?"

"I asked Alaric and Anna to dig into Bonnie past ever since she left Mystic Falls eight years ago."

"What? If she finds out she's going to kill you."

"That's a risk I willing to take. She won't tell me so I have to find out for myself."

"What if she's not lying about anything? You're going to lose her."

"What if she is? I have to know, Elena. Even if I have to lose her to find out." Damon felt like Elena was trying to understand where he was coming from. It was easier talking to Stefan about the whole thing but his brother wasn't here so she was the next best thing. From her silence he could tell she was processing the information.

"If you think its best. Besides me telling you what to do won't help." He gave her smirk as he left her to her room.

Bonnie watched as Meg fought Stefan. She had been a bit fidgety this week. She knew it must have been her body working against her. She hadn't taken any of the drugs Howie had given her for two weeks, since that night with Damon at Tony's. Her body was hungry for it though which wasn't helping because it made it worst. The lack of drugs had made her temperamental, though no one noticed because she kept to herself, lately.

Not because she wanted to but because her friends seemed to be keeping their distance from her. Josh wasn't allowed to communicate with her and she knew that Sara didn't really like her that much. Stefan and Elena didn't say more than two sentences to her. And Damon was the worst because they were dating and he was barely in the same room as her anymore. Then when they were the conversation consisted of them talking about everyone else except themselves. It was weird how they all seemed to act towards her. The only people she still talked to were Tyler, Meg, Evan, Nate, and Jasmine. And even that was rare because they were so focused on the training.

She was taken from her train of thought when she saw Megan in hand to hand combat with Stefan and getting knocked down to the ground. "No one's ever going to beat you. Well except maybe the vampires and witches."

"Well Damn." Tyler said not appreciating how she left him off the list.

"No offense Tyler but you suck at this. You have the strength and anger but you don't really know what to do with it."

"I guess that's fair." He said crossing his arms and shrugging. Staring back at Meg, Bonnie noticed that the woman had gotten better in the last few days. Apparently she got sick and was throwing up like crazy. She said it was probably something she ate so Jazz and Sara had taken care of her. "But you were just sick so maybe that's why."

"Yeah cause I was kicking his ass two weeks ago."

"I wouldn't say kicking my ass but you were doing better." Stefan said defending himself. She shrugged and moved to stand next to Evan.

"So Bonnie you're up next." Tyler said. Stefan looked at the witch and she moved to put down her water bottle when something in Meg's hand caught her attention. The bottle in her hand resembled one of the bottles Howie dealt his drugs in. "Hey where'd you get that?"

"It's actually yours." She stopped in her tracks confused.

"That can't be mine." She grinned, "Because you didn't ask me."

"I took the one you had at first and bought you a new one." She walked up to Meg and snatched the bottle out of her hand. "Rude Much"

She opened the bottle and saw two dark red pills left and realized that Meg had been taking her drugs. "I didn't give you these."

"I know Damon said I could take them. I'm sorry you didn't know."

"Why the hell didn't you ask me?" Tyler, Evan, and Stefan stood around both girls trying to understand what was about to happen.

"Bonnie Relax." Stefan interrupted, shocked at how his friend was acting.

"Yeah." Evan agreed, "I'm sure she didn't mean any harm."

"There all gone." Bonnie was starting to freak out.

"I went to the store and got you some more. What's the problem?"

"Just don't touch my stuff." She said walking away leaving the four surprised at what just happened.

"Fine don't be a complete bitch about it." Bonnie stopped in her tracks and turned to face Meg. Her blood was boiling and she had no idea why she was getting so angry. Then she could see the hallucinations again; the veins in her arms appearing a dark purple, the sound of heartbeats filling her ear and the smell of an unknown sweet scent taking over her nose. Walking back up slowly to Meg she was an inch away from her face.

"What'd you call me?"

"I said you were acting like a bitch." Bonnie shoved the huntress causing Ty, Stefan, and Evan to come closer.

"Bonnie. Sweetie you don't want to fight me." This time Bonnie threw a punch yet again shocking everyone around. Meg was quick though because as soon as Bonnie put her hand down she tackled her to the ground and hit her in the face.

Stefan dragged Meg off Bonnie as Ty helped her up."Are you okay?" He asked. She snatched her hand away from him. She touched her face and felt the blood coming from her mouth.

"I told you that you didn't want to fight me. I do all the hand to hand combat around here while you hide behind your magic. Maybe if you knew hand to hand combat all those years ago you wouldn't have lost her."

Evan's eyes moved quickly over to Meg who was smiling at Bonnie until she realized what she said. "Bonnie I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it."

But it was too late for Bonnie because Meg had flown twenty feet into the tree and collapsed. Stefan looked at her, "What the hell is wrong with you Bonnie?" She looked at Meg from a far and could see that she was unconscious. She didn't mean to do it. She wasn't even thinking about harming the girl physically or with her magic it just happened.

"I don't know." Bonnie said turning away from the four. Stefan heard the car start up a few minutes later. He really needed to talk to Damon.

"Has anyone seen Bonnie?" Jasmine said walking into the kitchen followed by Nate, Josh, and Sara.

"No." Elena answered looking up from Damon, who was enjoying his cup of blood. The six of them looked at the back door as the other four entered the gigantic kitchen.

"Did you guys see Bonnie? I have something I want to give to her?" Jazz said looking down at the box in her hand. "I found it in the attic I think she'd like it.

"You didn't just see her storm off like several minutes ago." Tyler asked looking around the kitchen. They all shook their heads.

"Right now I don't even care." Meg said going to the fridge to grab a bag of peas. She placed it over her eye as Evan helped her sit down.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Nate said starting at the injured huntress.

"Your cousin just flew off the handle and had a major bitch moment. She just overreacted to me using her pain relievers. Like she flipped and went psycho. Then she hit me in the eye and made me fly twenty feet into a tree. I was unconscious for five minutes."

"Come on not Bonnie." Josh said, getting a look from both Sara and Damon.

"Yes Bonnie. Now I love the girl but she just went bat shit crazy."

"Do you know where she went?" Elena asked.

"I heard the car start up about thirty minutes ago." Stefan answered.

"Am I the only one who is noticing a change in Bonnie's behavior and attitude? She's acting like a drug addict. I mean two days ago I saw her flip out because she couldn't find her purse. And she keeps to herself like a crazy person."

"Damn." Damon, Stefan, and Sara all turned to Josh at the same time causing everyone else's eyes to follow.

"Do you know something about my girlfriend?" Damon asked ready to cause any harm to him if he lied.

"I haven't spoken to Bonnie in two weeks."

"That damn didn't sound like you didn't know anything." Stefan continued standing next to his brother.

"Okay but I shouldn't be telling anyone this. I promised her I wouldn't." Sara moved her husband's hand and turned to fully face him "No one really knows but me and her."

"Just spit it out already."

"After me and Bonnie had finally started to get along when she first got here she told me something that she said she couldn't tell anyone else. She met some dude named Howard or Howie." The girls all looked at each other while Stefan and Damon did the same. "And the two had been using black magic. She said that it was amazing and the two had fun doing it."

"Why didn't you tell me man?" Nate said eyeing his best friend. "She's my cousin."

"She didn't want you to know. Besides she was clean. She didn't use anymore when she came here. She even threw out her old contacts and stash."

"Apparently not." Sara said. "When we were at that club we met someone named Howie and the two seemed really comfortable around each other. She was even letting him grope her."

"I don't believe that. Bonnie's not that type of person."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Elena inquired worried more about his previous statements and how it connected to drugs.

"Using black magic is pretty much like taking drugs. It has the same side effects and everything to a witch."

"It can't be that. She already got rid of it we saw it with our own eyes. Plus we haven't seen any of the black eyes." Damon looked away thinking back to the moment in the woods when he thought he saw them.

"Black eyes?" Josh asked confused.

"Yeah she had black eyes when she had the black magic before." Stefan spoke as the memory of two years ago hunted him.

"Black magic doesn't cause you to have black eyes. Actually no witch I've ever known who's been addicted to black magic has ever had black eyes."

Stefan, Elena, Damon, and Tyler shared a look. "If that wasn't black magic then what the hell was it?"

Bonnie had been sitting in the car in front of the house. Glancing back and forth between the front door and the two red pills in her hand. She knew what she should have done with them but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She needed to talk to the psychic. She needed to know what she had seen and what was happening to her. The lights were on in the front room and she knew she had to just go up there.

Walking up the porch steps she saw how terrible she had been to Meg. She couldn't believe it even if she had seen the thing with her own eyes. Knocking twice on the door. It was a minute before Shirley had opened it and was getting ready to slam it again. "Please don't. I need your help. Something is wrong with me."

"There is nothing I can do for you." Shirley replied taking notice of Bonnie's bruised face.

"Can you show me what you saw? I need to know."

"Why should I help you?"

"Ever since I've got to this place I've been feeling worse and worse. I've been lying to my friends and boyfriend nonstop. I've been doing things I would never do. And today I almost killed one of my friends. I have to know what is going on so I can do something about it. You're the only one who saw something so can you please help me." Shirley could see the tears appearing in the young witch's eyes.

"Alright but let's hope it isn't too late." Bonnie entered the house and Shirley shut the door behind her.

"This Howie guy must know something right?" Damon asked sitting at the bar with Ty, Stefan, and Elena.

"I don't think this is a good idea man." Tyler pointed out following Damon's eyes as they travelled to Nate and Jasmine on the other side of the club.

"I agree with Ty on this." Elena spoke keeping up with the boys.

"Is that him?" Elena looked and nodded. They all got up and he could see that Nate and Jazz were a few feet behind them. Following the man. Damon intruded in the room as Howard looked up amused.

"How may I help you?"

"I have to ask you a few questions."

"That's funny…Wait a minute I know you." Howie said standing up and moving to Elena. Stefan stood in front of her and the vampire chuckled. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt the little lady. You're a friend of Bonnie. The one who warned me about her boyfriend that would kick my ass."

"I'm the boyfriend." Damon boasted as the man turned to look at him.

"Ehh she could do better." Damon felt the anger about to rise in him. "But any friend of Bonnie's is a friend of mine."

"How do you know Bonnie?"

"I'm an old friend. We use to stir up a lot of trouble. One time we started a brawl at one of these supernatural bars. Somebody ended burning the whole place down to the ground. The good ole days."

"How did you meet?"

"I met her at a bar. Her name was Blair or something that started with a B. She was depressed and I took her under my wing." The men continued to have a stare down. "Why didn't you just ask Bonnie, unless she doesn't want to tell you because she's embarrassed?"

"Because I'm asking you?" Howard looked around at the group.

"Look man. I don't want any trouble." He said unbuttoning the top button on his suit.

"I want you to tell me what it is that you now do for Bonnie."

"I give her drugs." He disclosed.

"What kind?"

"I can do you one better and give you a sample." He took out a tiny bag with two red pills and threw it at him.

"What are these?"

"Well I call them witches candy. Mostly because only the witches I now buy them."

"What's in them?" Nate asked

"I think Bonnie can tell you that."

"Why would she know?"

"She's the one who created it." Damon glanced down again as he looked at the pills. What the hell kind of stuff was his girlfriend into.

Bonnie sat in the living room as Shirley bought out a tray of tea and treats. "For someone who thinks I'm a monster you sure are being nice to me."

"I didn't say you were one but you do have darkness inside of you. It has bought you pain and its going to continue to bring it to those that you hold close to your heart." Bonnie nodded realizing that Shirley had never actually called her a monster. She had panicked at the way the woman had looked at her. "Alright let's get on with it shall we."

"Right. You told me that I was blocking something away. When you saw whatever it is you saw was the door open."

"No everything I saw was only on the outside."

"Do you know of anyway I could open that door."

"Whatever is behind it you locked away for a reason?"

"Okay can you show me what you saw already?"

"I'll try." Bonnie watched as the psychic in front of her concentrated. There was a five minute silence before Bonnie eyes closed an images started to pour into her head.

She saw an image of a child in a cell, a sign that said now leaving Mystic Falls, VA, her leaving Damon, Her killing Kyle in the woods, Her friends surrounding her on her birthday, spilled blood, Josh's mangled body, Black eyes, Damon screaming at her, watching all her friends leave, her snapping a woman's neck, and her at a gravesite.

"What the hell was that?"

"Well some of them are old memories and others are prediction of the future."

"Who was that little kid?"

"I don't know but you must know who it is if they are in your head."

"So you said some of these memories were old."

"Right?"

"I know the one with Kyle is old. One of them is the day I left Mystic Falls. The one on my birthday is actually from a month or two ago. When I left Damon that was in vegas. The rest of them I don't remember. So they must be from the future."

"I'm sorry." Bonnie knew what she was apologizing for. Everything she saw was bad. Even all the bad things that she saw were from the future. Thing she didn't want happening. "Though I think the one from the gravesite is old?'

"Why do you say that?"

"In the background I saw a huge tree. Well that tree hasn't been there in eight years."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes I do."

"Do you think you could take me?"

A/N: So there you have it. Everybody's zoning in on our girls little secret. Bonnie almost killed her friend Meg, Who was Meg talking about? What's in that pill? What's at the grave? So many questions some of which will be answered in the next two or three chapters. So thanks for reading and sorry about any grammar issues.