The Hunger Games

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creators of Vampire Diaries.

Couple: Bonnie/Damon

Rating: M

Chapter Ten

End To The Facade

'I Won't Let You Down, Sleep Softly, Safe And Sound,

Just Close Your Eyes, And Sleep Tonight.'

Satin sheets felt soft against his skin as he snuggled deeper into their warmth. His strong arms were wrapped around a small feminine body, pulling her closer to him. Her fingers interlaced with his, holding his hand securely against her chest.

Damon had no recollection of the previous night. He had no idea where he was or who he had slept with. Which wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him. His head was still fuzzy and he could still feel the alcohol in his system. He had consumed so much that he was still intoxicated. Normally, he didn't snuggle with women after he had sex with them. He either left right after, or waited for them to fall asleep before escaping.

'But, this is kinda nice... She's so warm... and soft.' He nuzzled even closer to her, his nose dipping into her curls. Her scent surrounded him. It was an intoxicating mix of vanilla and roses.

He recognized the scent.

'Bonnie...?'

Damon didn't know how he wound up in Bonnie's room the previous night. He could recall flirting with a bartender and a blonde girl from District 2. He had expected to be sleeping with one of them, not laying in bed with the woman who had turned him down. The woman who had a boyfriend. The woman who said there was NOTHING between them.

Despite his confusion, he pulled Bonnie's body even closer to him.

She felt so small and fragile in his arms. He just wanted to keep her safe from the world outside. From the arena. From her impending doom. He wanted to protect her, and he couldn't comprehend why. His plan had always been to sleep with her and then use that to his advantage in the arena. His plan had always been to kill her. He clenched his jaw at the thought and his stomach twisted into knots. 'You can't protect her forever Damon... Everyone has to die. Only one person can live...'

He swallowed hard and pushed the thoughts away as he buried his nose further into her curls. He delicately traced his thumb along the back of her hand. Her skin was so soft, but he could feel the calluses as well, from hours and hours of hard work.

"Mm." Bonnie hummed softly as she stirred from her sleep. She could feel a comforting warmth enveloping her body and someone gently stroking her hand. It felt so nice. She couldn't remember the last time that she just laid in bed, wrapped up in someone's arms. Suddenly, memories of the previous night rushed through her head and her green eyes snapped open.

She wasn't laying in bed with just anyone. She was laying in bed with Damon Salvatore.

'What am I doing? Why am I snuggling with him? Why does it feel so good?'

She was conflicted.

On one hand, she knew that she should probably pull away from Damon and put some distance between the two of them. 'On the other hand, his body feels so warm and I'm still really sleepy...' She ignored the voice nagging at her and she snuggled even closer to him. 'Just a few more minutes...'

Bonnie smiled gently as she watched him stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. His touch was so delicate, so loving. Last night she had witnessed a different side of Damon. A side of him that she hadn't known existed. A vulnerable and broken side. A side of him that had been in love once, and now hated the idea of it. It told her that he was capable of loving. He was capable of giving his all to a relationship.

Before they could even think about the possibility of having a relationship, she had to be ready to give her all to him. She had to put an end to her fake relationship with Kol and tell Damon the truth.

It was time to clear the air and start fresh.

She was dreading it.

She knew that when Damon found out she had lied about her relationship with Kol just to make him jealous, his ego would inflate. He would get some sick satisfaction knowing she went to such lengths just to get back at him. He would tease her endlessly about it. But, if she was truly considering starting a relationship with him, she would have to tell him the truth. She couldn't base a relationship on lies.

Damon could feel Bonnie stirring in her sleep and his lips curled up into a playful smile. He tightened his grip on her body and he leant forward, his lips hovering over her ear as he whispered hotly against it, "Morning."

Her heart jumped in her chest when she heard his voice and felt his breath against her ear. 'I could get used to waking up like this every morning...'

The thought was beautiful, but unrealistic. Bonnie and Damon would never have a relationship like that. Tonight, they were being thrown into the arena and by the end of the games, one of them, if not both of them, would be dead.

Bonnie smiled and rolled over in his arms so that she was facing him. His hair was wild and disheveled and his blue eyes were fixed intently on her. He had a lopsided smirk on his lips as he pulled his hand away from hers and he gently traced his fingers along her jawline and through her curls. Everywhere he touched, left behind a trail of fire and caused her heart to race.

"Morning." She breathed out sleepily.

His smirk widened as he twisted one of his fingers into a curl, stretching it, and then watching it bounce back into place.

"You seem to be in a really good mood, considering how much you drank last night." Bonnie was surprised that he wasn't groaning out and holding his head in pain. He drank more than half a bottle of whiskey. He should have a terrible hangover.

"Many nights of drowning my sorrows in alcohol have made me immune to the common hangover." Damon slurred his words. He was still feeling the effects of the alcohol in his system.

"Or you're still drunk."

"Or I'm still drunk." He laughed.

Damon ran his tongue along his lips as he glanced around the bedroom. It was definitely not his bedroom. He didn't know how it happened, but somehow he had ended up sleeping in her bed with her. "I see you finally took me up on that offer to invite me back to your room." He smirked and blue eyes landed on green as he asked, "Did we do it?" He waggled his brow suggestively.

Bonnie lifted one of her pillows and she slammed it into his face. He had successfully ruined the moment. "You wish." She stated sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. Of course that was all he cared about. Damon Salvatore had a one-track mind.

She shook her head at him and sat up in bed, running her fingers through her long dark hair. She no longer felt the strong desire to lay in bed with him. Every time she felt like they were making progress and she could actually start falling for him, he would say something like that and make her doubt everything. If all he wanted was sex, he could find it elsewhere.

"More like, you showed up at my door drunk at four in the morning, talking about how you wanted to fix things between us before we headed into the arena today." Bonnie told him. "Then you tried to kiss me, and I turned you down, so you passed out on top of me."

"Ugh." Damon groaned. "That is so not what I'm telling my buddies."

Bonnie shot a glare in his direction. She had thought that they had moved past his lying to protect his ego. "You aren't telling your buddies anything. What happened last night is between us and it's going to stay that way, understood?"

"Oh come on, Bon-Bon." He smirked. "Can't I just tell 'em we smooched a little?"

"No." She insisted. "Now come on. Get up. I'm taking you back to your room to get some more rest. You're gonna need all the rest you can get before the games tonight and you aren't staying in here."

"But, Bonnie!" Damon whined over-dramatically. He didn't want to leave her room. "I don't wanna go! I like your bed better." He smirked up at her and pulled the pillow close to him, snuggling against it. "It's so soft, and comfy."

"Damon." Bonnie stated stubbornly, staring down at him. He was like a child. Every time he wanted something he would whine until he got it. She assumed it was because he was spoiled growing up. Right now he looked so smug, snuggling his cheek against her pillow and smiling up at her. His blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Come on, get out of my bed." She said, reaching across the bed to grab onto his wrist, attempting to pull him out of the bed.

He didn't even budge. He was stronger than her.

"I have a better idea." Damon said with a devious smirk on his lips. "How about you get back in bed with me instead?" He gripped Bonnie's small wrist firmly, but not hard enough to hurt her, and then he easily tugged her body back into bed with him.

Bonnie continued to verbally protest, but the minute she was wrapped up in the warmth of his body again, she melted. She loved the way that his body fit perfectly against hers, like a puzzle-piece. She loved the way that his strong arms held onto her protectively. It made her feel safe. It made her feel happy. A heated blush rushed along her caramel skin as Damon rested his chin against her shoulder and whispered against her ear, "A little snuggling never hurt anyone."

"I kind of figured you wouldn't be the snuggling type of guy." She said with a smile.

"I'm not." Damon admitted. He didn't know why he wanted to snuggle with her so badly. He couldn't understand it. He just wanted to take advantage of every second he had with Bonnie before they were thrown into the arena.

'If he's not the snuggling type then why does he want to snuggle with me so badly? Why didn't he just go and sleep with that blonde last night?'

'I Must Confess, I'm Not Impressed,

With Everything I've Done.'

"I get that you are conflicted about this whole Damon-Kol thing." Marcel said with a smile. "But, the games are starting in less than ten hours and I think they need to be our main concern." He was worried that his friend was letting the romance aspect get to her head and she was forgetting about how dangerous the games were. "After all, it won't matter who you have feelings for if you're dead."

He wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and he pulled her body closer to his. He was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe in the arena, but he couldn't protect her from her heart. These boys could be playing with her for all he knew. They could be using her feelings against her.

Marcel didn't trust anyone.

Bonnie sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. She knew that he was right. She needed to focus on preparing for the games and staying alive. She needed to get her mind off of both boys and focus on herself. But, she couldn't stop thinking about the situation she had gotten herself into. She felt like she needed to clean up the mess she had made before getting into the arena. Once inside, she would lose all of her privacy. All of Panem would be watching her every move.

That was intimidating.

"I know." She said. "You're right. I just really feel like I need to tell Kol we are ending this facade of ours before we get into that arena." Bonnie groaned out and shook her head against his chest. "I should have never agreed to do this in the first place."

Bonnie Bennett was responsible.

She wasn't reckless.

She didn't do things just to get back at people and make them jealous.

Now, she was feeling guilty about lying. And she was getting a little worried about hurting Kol in the midst of everything. He had looked like he had feelings for her the other night. He had looked genuinely jealous.

"Eh, don't be too hard on yourself." Marcel gave her shoulders a squeeze and he smiled down at her. "Damon deserved a little taste of his own medicine for being such an asshole in that interview. Plus, who knows, maybe you knocked some sense into the fella. I think this whole fake relationship thing might have helped him realize he actually has feelings for you, he doesn't just wanna screw you."

It was a nice thought.

Damon's attitude had changed drastically since finding out she was in a "relationship" with Kol.

"Maybe."

Bonnie tugged her full bottom lip between her teeth and she chewed on it, her brow furrowed in thought. "I just hope Kol won't take it too hard when I tell him... He seemed kind of jealous the other night."

"He was just playing the part of your boyfriend." Marcel assured.

"I hope so."

"Looks like now's your chance to find out." He nodded in the direction of Kol who was walking toward them with a wide grin on his lips. He had no doubt in his mind that Kol wasn't falling for Bonnie. He had watched him leave with the blonde Damon rejected, later that night.

"Hello there, love." The British man sang as he approached her. "What is this I am hearing about you spending the night with Damon in your room?" He smirked deviously. "I suppose this means we are through?" He teased.

Her green eyes widened when she heard him mention her spending the night with Damon. She had a strong feeling that she knew exactly who was spreading around that rumor. "Where did you hear that?" Kol and Marcel both gave her a look that said, 'You know EXACTLY where he heard it.' Bonnie sighed and rolled her eyes, "He said he wasn't going to say anything to anyone."

"And you believed him?" Kol wondered with a raise of his brows.

She thought about it and then laughed. "No."

Bonnie knew that Damon was going to tell everyone about their night together. He was probably bragging to his friends the minute he left her bedroom.

"I'm just going to leave you two love-birds alone to talk." Marcel said with a wide grin as he pulled his arm away from Bonnie's shoulders and he twisted on his heels, walking backwards away from his friend. "Remember, Elijah wants to have a talk with us before we leave for the arena tonight."

"I'll be there."

Marcel turned and started to walk away. He knew that they needed to talk in private about their little arrangement.

"So." Kol stretched, wrapping his arm around Bonnie's shoulders as they walked through the training center. "Did you think of your boyfriend at all while you were shagging that prick all night long?" The smirk on his lips deceived his word and told her that he wasn't actually upset with her. She was relieved.

"It's not like that." She said. "Nothing happened."

"You don't have to explain to me, sweetheart." He looked down at her with a devilish glint in his dark eyes. "I was quite preoccupied with that hot blonde from District 2 that Damon rejected."

Bonnie laughed when she heard that he had slept with the blonde from District 2. She was beyond relieved to hear that he wasn't developing feelings for her. "I think it's time to break up." Her full lips twisted up into a smile and she caught his eyes with her own. "This isn't a very healthy relationship."

"Agreed." He nodded his head.

"So." Kol twisted around her and smirked down at her. Their faces only a few inches apart. "How do you want to go about breaking up, dear? Do you want a quiet, clean, break, or are you up for a scandal?" He waggled his brow at her and bit down on his bottom lip. He was always ready to start a scandal. The Capitol would go wild when they found out they broke up so soon after announcing their relationship. They could play with people's emotions. They could have some fun.

"I think we've already caused enough of a scandal." She said.

"Bonnie Bennett, you are such a stick in the mud."

Bonnie glared at him and he laughed and raised his hands defensively.

"I am not." She said. "I just think that the Capitol is already going to turn this into a scandal and we need to keep our breakup as quiet as possible. Let's just tell people that things weren't working out between us. That we were having problems and we decided to break up, but we are still planning on remaining good friends."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Kol returned to her side and he nudged her playfully. "I take it, this means that things between you and Damon are finally heading in the right direction?"

"It's kind of hard to tell with Damon, but I think they are." Bonnie said with hope in her voice.

He was happy for her. He knew how much she liked the District 1 tribute, he could tell the day he met Bonnie while waiting for the private sessions. And, even if he didn't quite understand the attraction, he supported her and wanted the best for her. Still, he was hesitant about their budding relationship. He didn't trust Damon. He didn't trust anyone from District 1. Their district was known for emotionally manipulating people in order to take them down in the arena. 'At least Marcel and I will be around if he tries anything...'

"Make sure you tell him, if he breaks your heart or uses this for an advantage in the arena, I will not hesitate to kill him." Kol said. His tone was deadly serious.

"Do you think he'd really go through all of this just for an advantage in the arena?" Bonnie asked with worry shimmering in her emerald eyes. The thought had been nagging at her for days. Ever since the first day Damon made a move on her, she had thought that it could all just be a ploy to help him win the games. She didn't want to believe that he was capable of such a horrible thing. Playing with her feelings in order to kill her. But, she didn't know what he was capable of. He could have been lying all this time.

"Let's just say, I wouldn't put it past a District 1 tribute."

'I Was Born, I Have Lived, I Will Surely Die,

Facing Defeat, I Am Still Holding My Head Up High.'

Author's Note :

Thank you everyone sooo much for reading this fic and leaving me so much feedback! It means everything to me! :)) It really does! I love y'all so much! I'm really anxious about this chapter because I have been really sick the last few days and I haven't been able to focus very well. I know that this chapter is one of the shortest of the fic, but it is very important for what happens in the arena! The next chapter is going to be very long and very intense! Let the games begin! :))

Anyhow, thoughts on this chapter? How do you feel about where Bamon is at right now? Did you like their morning after scene? Are you looking forward to seeing them in the games? Worried about deaths? (I promise to keep all the characters you love alive for as long as I can). Excited that Bonnie and Kol called it quits on their fake relationship?

Thank you all so much for reading this chapter! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-