AN: Hey guys, thank you for the reviews, and I have to say that I don't understand why some of you want all of this to be a dream. I'm sorry, but I feel like that would be a total cop out. I know as a fellow fanfic reader that I would feel totally gipped if I found out that a story I've invested my time in culminated into being just a dream; I'd be pissed. You've stuck with the story for this long, so please, let everything play out. You can't learn everything or have everything resolved in one chapter. Please trust that everything will come together and enjoy the read. Again, thank you for the reviews and keep them coming. :)

P.S. Maybe it's just me, but I find it exciting to see how I'll make this story come together. My brain is buzzing with the endless possibilities. I'm not a risk taker in life, but I will be in my stories. So, dive into my imagination along with me and let's see what my wayward brain comes up with. I welcome the challenge!

I do not own anything in regards to the Vampire Diaries

Chapter 17

The girls were all strangely quiet as they drove to Bonnie's house were Caroline and Elena planed on staying the night. Each girl was lost in her own thoughts. Caroline kept playing the scene of Bonnie and Damon in the parking lot over in her head, trying to dissect everything that she saw and heard. Elena and Caroline had only walked up on the tail end of their confrontation, but she could see that there was more going on than what they was seeing .The way they both looked at each other. There was an undeniable energy between them that bordered and blurred the line between hostility, anger, and lust. Whereas Bonnie looked like she was ready to scratch Damon's electric blue eyes out, Damon on the other hand looked like he was ready to fuck her. It didn't escape Caroline's notice how Damon's eyes devoured Bonnie eventhough he was clearly furious with her.

It wasn't a secret that Damon was a possessive guy, but the way he reacted tonight was very eye opening, especially to Elena. She saw the scene unfold on the dance floor. The tall guy barely touched Bonnie, and she wasn't doing anything obscene or wrong while dancing, but the way Damon reacted one would have thought that Bonnie was grinding her ass into the guy or something. And, another thing that caught Elena's eye was how Damon grabbed Bonnie; she didn't like that, and part of her wondered why Bonnie didn't use her magic on him. Something was up between those two, both of them were acting out of character…Bonnie not putting Damon in his place…and Damon acting so overly jealous over Bonnie when he only use to be that way with her about Stefan. Whoa, where did that petty thought come from? Elena thought to herself. But, then she admitted to herself that she missed Damon's attention. When Damon provocatively pressed his body into Bonnie, pinning her against the car, with his face only inches from hers as his intense blue eyes bore into hers, for a second Elena wished it was her.

Bonnie sat in the car, her mind replaying everything that just happened. She felt so out of control and didn't know if it was the alcohol or Damon that made her feel this way. She was just so fed up with how he treated her like he owned her. She wasn't his toy, and she was sick of him putting his hands on her because every time he touched her, he hurt her. He didn't treat Elena like that or Caroline, when he had compelled her. So, why did he think it was okay to hurt her whenever he lost his temper? Did he think that just because she was a witch him manhandling her wasn't a big deal that she could take it? Why couldn't he see that she was just as human and breakable as Elena?

And, Bonnie's mind instantly came up with an answered …because he loved Elena. Bonnie knew that Damon didn't love her, but there was a small part of her that believed that he cared for her, but all that changed when he raped her. Damon didn't give a damn about her; she was nothing but somebody for him to play with and divert his attention until he could get Elena.

The girls took off their shoes as they sat in Bonnie's living room. Caroline stretched out on the sofa while Elena lounged in a comfy chair. Bonnie walked into the kitchen getting her something to eat to soak up the alcohol. She really didn't feel like eating, but she wanted to sober up. Elena and Caroline talked while Bonnie was in the kitchen.

"How did Damon even know where we were?" Caroline asked Elena.

"I don't know…he must have overheard me telling Stefan about our plans." Elena said, biting her nail.

Caroline set up, her face serious as she looked at Elena. "Didn't you think it was odd how Bonnie and Damon were acting…they just seemed so…I don't know…not like themselves."

She got up and started to pace the room. "I'll admit when they suddenly started hooking up I was shocked because never in a million years would I have thought that would happen, but what's crazy is as soon as they did both of them changed…I mean…haven't you noticed it, Elena?"

Caroline didn't give Elena a chance to answer as she continued to think out loud. "Damon use to be so obsessed with you and now it's like that obsession has switched to Bonnie, but it's different. He's obsession with you was sort of…I don't know…artificial…whereas with Bonnie…it seems more deep rooted and dangerous. Did you see what he did to that guy? Damon can't even stand for another guy to touch Bonnie, no matter how innocent it may be."

She sat back down, biting her bottom lip. "And, why didn't Bonnie pop a couple of blood vessels in Damon's head when he grabbed her like he did…what is going on… I feel so out of the loop. Bonnie has been keeping a lot from us."

Elena nodded her head in agreement though part of her brain was still mauling over what Caroline said about Damon's obsession switching from her to Bonnie.

Bonnie came into the living room and placed her sandwich on the coffee table as she sat down on the floor. When Caroline reached for her sandwich, Bonnie slapped her hand away.

"No…I need to eat this whole thing by myself…go fix your own?"

Caroline huffed because she didn't feel like getting up and going into the kitchen. She watched Bonnie eat and decided it was time for Bonnie to start talking. She decided it was best to approach this topic in a roundabout way.

"I've never seen Damon show his ass like he did tonight. He is usually more subtle in public places."

Bonnie continued to eat, not saying anything.

"I don't understand why he got so angry…you weren't doing anything wrong." Caroline continued. When Bonnie still didn't respond, Caroline sat down on the floor opposite her, so that she could look into Bonnie's face. She was through with trying to ease into the conversation.

"Bonnie, what the fuck happened between you and Damon, something had to have happened to make you break up with him?"

Elena slid down to the floor too, looking at Bonnie, waiting for her to answer. Bonnie wiped her mouth and her hands with a paper napkin and pushed her plate away.

"All you need to know is that it's over between us." Bonnie got up from the floor and went upstairs.

Caroline picked up the rest of Bonnie's sandwich, biting into it as she shook her head. When she swallowed, she looked at Elena. "Maybe it's over for her, but Damon…not so much."

Damon walked into the boarding house furious as he slammed the door hard on its hinges. He walked to the bar, grabbing the glass decanter and pouring himself a generous amount of bourbon. He felt so mad and out of control. Why did he let that little witch get to him like she did? He shouldn't still have these feelings for her. Why didn't his feelings go back to what they were before the compulsion once it was lifted? Damon sat down before the fire place, thinking. When Klaus freed him of his compulsion, then everything should have gone back to normal…but it didn't. He still felt the same intense feelings for Bonnie, only now that incessant urge to hurt her was gone. What was going on? He wanted things to go back to normal when he was all into Elena and the witch was never even a thought. But, that was a lie, Damon thought. He did think about Bonnie, but his thoughts of her were always fleeting. It was always little things like the first time he saw her legs and wondered why she always covered them up because they were so shapely and gorgeous. Or, when she laughed, he'd think how nice it was and that she should laugh more. Or, when she'd say something witty or clever, and he'd admire how quick she was as they bantered back and forth. Or, when she would do one of her little spells, he would watch her and think how beautiful and powerful she was. But, whenever those thoughts would pop up they would be easily replaced with thoughts of Elena.

But, now all his thoughts are centered around Bonnie. Bonnie's smile, her eyes, her little nose, her gorgeous skin, the way the smelled, her tight, little…Damon swallowed hard, shaking his head trying to stop his thoughts from heading down the wrong path. He got up and walked to the window. Bonnie was in his blood. Then it hit him. The blood. While he had been compelled, he and Bonnie had exchanged blood, could it be that the blood had linked them causing these feelings for her to remain even after the compulsion was lifted? That's the only explanation. Well that's it! In a few days their blood would be out of each other's system and things would get back to normal. He sighed in relief.

Damon's relief was short lived because he realized that things would never be normal again between him and Bonnie not after what he did to her. He still couldn't get over the fact that he had hurt her like that. He couldn't blame it on the compulsion. Damon forced himself to take a real good long hard look in the mirror and see what it was that made him treat her so harshly. He sat back down and faced the fire. As hard as he tried to think, nothing would come. Sure, before the compulsion there were a couple of times when he felt like literally killing her, but as time passed they settled into a comfortable tolerance for one another. There was nothing that he could do to take back what he did to her.

But, what he could do was stay away from her for the next few days and let the blood leave their system and then maybe just maybe the both of them would be able to come out of and walk away from this nightmare.