A/N: Did anyone else just love that last episode of TVD! Kat Graham just gets better and better, and she's already made me cry twice this season. (SPOILER ALERT) I can't wait until she's back in Mystic Falls. They've kept her in '94 way too long. I need more Bamon feels! Anyway...

I know this update took longer than usual for me to get out, but I struggled with this chapter. No worries though, I'm back on track and I know exactly where I want the rest of this fic to go, so there shouldn't be any problems with future updates. Hope you all enjoy! :)

Song: Hunger Pains by Alexz Johnson

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or these characters, except for my OCs. They belong to the CW. No copyright infringement intended.

8 - Hunger Pains

Four Years Earlier...

A look of delight lit up Vee's face as she was lifted above her father's head. She giggled uncontrollably as he brought her back down. "Again?" He questioned. She gurgled in response and he lifted her up as she screamed and laughed. April sat on the sofa, watching them with a small smile on her face.

"Okay, that's enough," she said as he brought her down again. "It's time for her to eat."

"Aww, Mommy says fun time is over," Julius said to Valerie, putting his nose to her tiny one. April got up and held her arms out and he reluctantly placed the little girl into them.

He thought he'd been in love before, but nothing he'd ever felt for any girl compared to what he felt for his daughter. It hurt him that he hadn't been there from the very beginning, and that he had to sneak around to see her now. When he was at home in bed with Victoria, he couldn't help but feel a little resentment. He loved her, but he loved his family too and he couldn't be with them in the way he wanted. Stolen visits every week, when he could manage to get away was all he had to look forward to.

Julius looked at his watch and cursed to himself. It was already time for him to go. It seemed like the hour had flown by. "Shit, I have to go," he complained out loud.

"What did I tell you about cursing in front of her?" April scolded.

"I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to this," he replied. He watched April feeding Vee for a minute. "Thank you so much for this, A."

"For what?"

"For allowing me to be here," he elaborated. "For letting me be in her life as much as I can."

"Of course," she said. "I would never intentionally deprive my child of having her father in her life, regardless of how I feel about you."

"I wish I could change that," he said, sadly. "You have no idea how much I wish we could all be together like a real family."

"If that's what you really wanted you could have that," April disagreed. "Instead, you keep choosing her."

Julius shook his head. "I've told you before, it's not like that," he said. "If she ever found out about me coming here, or about Vee, it could be a real problem for all of us."

"I'm not scared of her, Jonathan."

He knew she wasn't and wished she was. April was a sweetheart, but she had a tough interior and fear was never her reactive emotion. Julius wished he could tell her what Victoria was and how much harm she could cause, but she would never believe it. She might think he'd completely lost his mind and ban him from visiting until he got help.

"I know that, but trust me when I say it's better if she doesn't know."

"One day this isn't going to be enough," April declared. "She misses you when you leave. As she gets older she's going to want more of your time and more than just expensive gifts. She's going to ask questions about why you're not here, and you should be the one to answer them."

Julius nodded and stood up. "I understand that," he said. "I'm sorry for what I've put you two through."

"And now you have to go..."

"I'm sorry," He repeated. He could think of nothing else to say.

April sighed and stood up with Vee in her arms. "We'll walk you to the door."

He nodded appreciatively and the trio headed out. He opened the front door and stepped outside. He gave April a hug, placing a kiss on her forehead, then leaned down to kiss his daughter goodbye. He walked away with a heavy heart. He didn't spot the beautiful vampire seated in the black car with extremely tinted windows, four parked cars up from his. Victoria felt a rage building within her as she watched her mortal love leave his ex-girlfriend's house, get into his car, and wave to them as he drove away.

Bonnie was floored. She had thought of many possibilities on who Valerie could be and what Julius was hiding, but she never suspected that he had a child. She found herself speechless for a moment and when she did finally speak, the only thing she could say was, "Your daughter. She's your daughter."

Suddenly, Julius was right in front of her, snatching his phone out of her hand. "Please don't be mad," she said in a panic as he glared down at her. "I'm sorry, Julius, everyone has been getting in my head and I knew you were hiding something and...and I have no excuse for snooping. I'm sorry." He didn't say anything, just continued to glare. "It was a stupid thing to do. I need you to know that you really can tell me these things. Please, don't be mad at me."

He stepped away from her, giving her a long look before turning and speeding to the open window. "Julius, do not leave like this," Bonnie pleaded. "We have so many things to talk about. I don't want you to leave."

He didn't turn to face her as he spoke. "I was starting to think you could be the only person I would be able to trust," he revealed in a low tone.

"I am!"

"Goodbye, Bonnie."

"No!" She cried but it was too late. She felt a sharp wind, and he was gone.

Caroline smiled at Stefan as he filled her in on the details of his impromptu trip overseas. She'd missed her friend almost as much as she'd been missing her boyfriend. "I'm glad that you had time to go and clear your head," she told him as she held onto his hand. "I'm even more glad to have you back." Stefan smiled himself.

"Ugh, just kiss already," Damon muttered as he breezed into the room, car keys in hand.

"Where are you going?" Stefan questioned, moving away from Caroline.

"To see Bon Bon," he answered, heading toward the front door

"Wait." Stefan jumped up and followed him, dropping his voice to speak. "You're not going to harass her about what I told you last night, are you?"

"She lied to me, Stefan. I do not like being lied to."

"I'm sure she had her reasons," Stefan said. "Leave the girl alone. I'm wishing I never told you."

"Yet, you did," Damon said, opening the door. "I'm your big bro. Your loyalty is with me, not Witchy." He walked away and Stefan shook his head as he closed the door.

"What did you tell him about Bonnie last night?" Caroline asked from behind him. He turned to see her regarding him with a concerned look. He sighed. She questioned him again with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Hello, beautiful."

"What are you doing?" Elena's raspy voice came through Damon's cell, putting a smile on his face.

"Just running some errands," Damon replied as he turned onto Bonnie's street. "What are you up to?"

"Still at the house with Jeremy," she said. "He's very upset. When I came home last night he'd wrecked the place."

"Why?"

"Bonnie broke up with him."

"She did?" Damon pulled over to the curb, watching as Bonnie walked out of her house with an older man, who he was pretty certain was her father. "Of course she did," he muttered to himself. "I'm going to call you back. Can't be on my phone while operating a vehicle, remember?"

"As if you're some kind of law-abiding citizen," Elena joked.

"Love you too, babe." He ended the call and watched as Bonnie and Rudy had an intense conversation at his car. He finally got in, and Bonnie watched as he took off, an unreadable expression on her face. Damon was out of his own car when she turned, and in a flash he was standing on her porch, looking down at her as she jogged up the steps. Startled, she stopped short than rolled her eyes when she realized it was him.

"What the hell do you want?" She demanded to know.

"Invite me in. We need to have a talk."

"Yeah right." She walked past him but he sped to the door, blocking her way. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Please don't make me put you on your ass right now, Damon. I don't have the energy."

"Hey, remember that one time when you told everyone that you and Julius had nothing going on and that you wanted him out of Mystic Falls just as much as us then my brother came home and caught you two making out in front of my house?" Damon asked, humorlessly. "Remember that, Bonnie."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're the worst kind of liar, Judgy."

"You can stop obsessing about this, Damon," she said. "It's really not like that with him and I. As a matter of fact, I don't think he's even talking to me right now."

"Just like you to drive a man away so fast."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him and Damon cried out in pain and held his head with his hand. "Move," she demanded. He stumbled to the side and she opened her front door.

"How could you...do this...to Jeremy!" Damon managed to squeeze out. The aneurysm immediately ceased.

"I never meant to hurt Jeremy," Bonnie insisted. "I still care for him. but things haven't been the same with us in months."

"That kid loves you, Bonnie," Damon said, seriously. "He's going to be heartbroken when he finds out."

"He doesn't have to find out," Bonnie responded. "If you care about him the way you've been pretending for Elena's sake, then you won't tell him. And you won't tell Elena either."

Damon glared at her. "You put your witchy juju on me, then ask me for favors? I don't think so."

"I'm not asking you to keep this secret for my sake," Bonnie said. "You keep saying that you want me to trust you, that we're on the same side. Well, here's your chance to prove it. Don't tell them anything."

Damon didn't reply at first, just gave her a hard once-over. "What is it about him?" He asked. Bonnie already knew he meant Julius.

"I wish I had an answer for that," she replied, honestly. "I'm trying to be smart about every move I make. I need you to trust me too, Damon." He didn't say anything, so she turned and stepped into the house.

"I don't like it," she heard him say as she closed the door.

Neither do I, she thought to herself.

It was a busy night at Mystic Grill. Jeremy and Matt were running around, trying to keep everything together and get to each table in a timely manner. Neither was having the best day, and their frowns deepened when a familiar, undead Aussie entered the bar. He didn't even look their way as he scoped out the place, then approached a group of college age girls that were eyeing him from the pool table.

"Prick," Jeremy muttered to himself.

"You all right, man?" Matt asked.

"Every time I see him I get pissed," Jeremy admitted. "I wish he would just go away."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened between you and Bonnie," he said, genuinely. "I'm sure you guys will work it out and be back together in no time." Jeremy shot another angry glare Julius' way and shook his head.

"It's whatever, man," he said, before stalking away. "I don't need her."

Matt watched him go then turned his attention to Julius. His brow furrowed as he watched him talking closely with one of the cute blondes at the pool table. Matt picked up the bin for the dirty dishes and approached the table nearest the pair. He strained to hear the conversation over the music and loud chatter of the bar, as he pretended to be focused on bussing the not-so-dirty table. He picked up tidbits of what was being said, and his suspicions were soon confirmed. Matt rushed to the back room of the bar and quickly pulled his cell phone out of his locker.

"We need you up front, Donovan!" He heard his manager yelling.

"Just give me one second!" He called back as he dialed Bonnie.

"Hello?"

"Bonnie, you need to get to the Grill ASAP," he said quickly.

"Why? What's going on."

"Julius is here," he told her. "He's talking some chick into leaving with him and I'm pretty sure he's going to feed on her." Bonnie said nothing. "I can follow them but you may not like how I handle the situation. Plus, my boss would kill me if I left the building."

I'll be there in a minute," she stated firmly, then ended the call. Matt sighed and put his cell away. He'd done his part, now he had to get back to work.

Bonnie rushed into the Grill and quickly surveyed the place. She spotted Matt bussing a table and quickly approached him. "Where is he?" She hissed.

"He just left with her not even two minutes ago," he told her. "I thought you said this guy wasn't going to be a problem, Bon?" She sighed and looked around. Jeremy was on the opposite side of the room, glowering at them. Her, more specifically.

"I'll find them," she said then walked away. She saw Jeremy crossing the room toward Matt as she stepped outside. She was certain he was going to inquire about their short conversation.

Bonnie was heading back to her car when she heard a loud giggle. She stopped and tried her best to listen over the hubbub that was emanating from the building. She was certain she heard another girly giggle and the sound of a man's voice coming from the side of the Grill. She followed the sounds around the building. She saw two figures past the gate, pressed up against the cold brick. She slowly approached them, then stopped at the gate.

A girl who looked to be about nineteen or twenty was leaning on the wall, looking up into Julius's eyes with a crooked smile plastered on her face. His face was really close to hers as he whispered to her. Bonnie clearly heard him say, "Don't scream," right before his fangs made an appearance. Bonnie loudly kicked the gate open. His head snapped up and he angrily hissed at her. He paused, realizing who it was. The black veins faded and he retracted his fangs.

"Are you serious?" Bonnie looked at him, her expression a mixture of disgust and disbelief.

"I haven't eaten anything in days," he snapped.

Bonnie walked over to the girl and looked her in the eyes. "You need to run," she demanded. "Get in your car and go, and never speak to this man again."

"Bonnie, what the hell?!"

"I...I don't think I can," the girl said, uncertainly, looking to Julius.

"Don't look at him," Bonnie said quickly. "Did he compel you not to leave?"

"No," she said.

"Then leave." Bonnie's tone was firm and the girl quickly walked away, not looking back. Bonnie turned to Julius while crossing her arms. "You really are terrible at this vampire thing." Julius was not amused.

"You're a real bugger for that one," he complained, his agitation clear.

"I don't care," Bonnie retaliated. "You're compelling innocent people and drinking from them against their will. I will never be okay with that. Even if you're not killing them."

"You're not my mother, you're not my girlfriend!" Julius cried. "You don't get to dictate what I do or who I do it with!"

"You're right," Bonnie agreed. "If this is how you're going to be then I'm washing my hands of you. Good luck finding your daughter." She started away.

"Really? Now, you're mad?!" Julius cried at her receding back. "Going inside to run back to your little boyfriend there?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Bonnie spat, turning on her heel to glare at him. "What does it matter, anyway? You just said I'm not your girlfriend, so why are you talking like a jealous boyfriend? And let's not pretend you didn't want me to catch you with that girl."

"Get over yourself!" Julius spat, his face twisted up. "Of course I didn't want you to spoil the first meal I've had in days!"

"Is that why you came to the secret Grill, where nobody ever goes?" Bonnie asked, sarcastically. "Please." She started to turn but Julius was suddenly right front of her.

"I only came to this stupid town to track down my daughter," he said angrily. He lifted his forefinger and jabbed it in the air. "I got sidetracked with you and all the bullshit that comes with being around you. I wish I would've left a long time ago since I've been wasting time catching feelings for a witch who obviously had no intention to ever help me!"

"Get your finger out of my face!" Bonnie hissed through gritted teeth. Julius narrowed his eyes at her and she did the same. He slowly dropped his finger. He wasn't in the mood for an aneurysm. "Don't tell me I had no intention to help you because I did! As for you catching feelings...I never wanted or anticipated that. You can't blame me for that."

"Don't do that!" He snapped. "Don't pretend like these feelings are one-sided. Not after what happened last night."

"A weak moment on both our parts."

"Bullshit!" He cried, angrily. "It's happened twice, and I know you feel what I feel."

"That first time doesn't count."

"You kissed me back, Bonnie."

"That's debatable," she argued. "It all doesn't matter anyway, Julius. Regardless of how you or I feel, we could never be anything more than friends."

"Why?" Julius questioned. "Because of Jeremy? Damon? Elena and Caroline? Have your so-called friends always dictated your love life?"

Bonnie shook her head sadly, her eyes downcast. "I can't do this." She turned and pushed through the gate. She didn't get very far before he was in front of her again. She sighed. "Please, don't make this any harder."

"They don't decide anything for me," he stated. "If they judge you for who you fall for then fuck 'em."

"It's not just that!" Bonnie cried. She felt emotion welling inside of her and she was doing her best to fight it. "You're dealing with a lot of your own shit that's more important than anything we've got going on. We can fall in love and be blissfully happy for what? A week? Then you'll have to go because your daughter is your number one priority, as she should be! I'll be the one that ends up hurt and alone in the end."

Julius sighed, his defenses melting at the sight of her beautiful, watery jade eyes. "I wouldn't hurt you," he said, seriously. "You have become a priority, Bonnie. I haven't felt this way about anyone in a long time. I can't just let it slip through my fingers." He stepped closer to her and Bonnie instinctively fell into his arms. She could no longer pretend she didn't want to be near him, to touch him, because she so badly did. She needed him to hold her, if only for a second.

Julius wrapped her up in his arms and held her close to his body. She rested her head in on his chest, inhaling the scent of the fabric of his shirt mixed with expensive cologne. He felt surprisingly warm for a vampire, and Bonnie didn't ever want to move. She let a single tear drop as they stood there, holding each other.

"I wish it was different," she murmured softly. "I wish we could have it all."

"We can..." Julius sucked in a deep breath, then pulled out of the embrace and quickly stepped away from her.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked in a panic as the veins around his eyes started pulsing.

"You smell intoxicating," he admitted. "And I'm still hungry."

Bonnie sighed then held out her hand for him to take. "Come on," she instructed. "I can take care of it."

Four Years Earlier

Julius bounded down the stairs of the home he shared with Victoria, trying to contain the smile threatening to break his face at the anticipation of seeing Vee. The hour and a half drive was always worth it.

"Vic!" He called out. "Where are you?"

"In here!" Her naturally sultry voice called back from the bedroom. He walked in to the sight of her standing above the bed, folding one of his shirts up and placing it into a nearly full suitcase. A lot of their belongings littered the bed and the drawer tops with a couple other open suitcases.

"What are you doing?" Julius asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Victoria replied, casually. "We're moving."

"Excuse me?"

"We. Are. Moving," she enunciated, now placing his favorite pair of basketball shorts into the suitcase.

He shook his head. "No, Victoria, we have to talk about this," he pleaded. "Why would you want to leave? You love California almost as much as I do. This is my home. I don't want to go."

"You're Australian, Julius!" she snapped. "You're home is technically in Melbourne."

"I've been here since I was seventeen," he reminded her. The prospect of disappearing with Victoria and possibly never seeing Valerie or April again was one he couldn't handle. He couldn't let it happen. "No. I'm not moving, but if you're annoyingly clingy pack of friends want to go I'll be more than fine with that."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, they're like my family," she said. "I've been with them longer than I've been with you. We always travel together."

Victoria was the unspoken leader of a small, mixed coven. There was the resident witch, Bryan, and a vampire couple, Anton and Akira, making Julius the lone human. Anton was 125 years old, nothing compared to Victoria's 300, but more than Akira's 94. Anton and Akira had fallen in love while she was still human, and Anton had been the one to turn her at her insistence. Each of them seemed to have their own personal obsession with Victoria, in love with her in different ways. Bryan wanted to be in Julius' place, have Victoria as his woman and his lover, never having to share her with anyone. Akira admired her, wanted to be just like her with her beauty and demand of power. The way everyone, human and supernatural alike, seemed to always immediately respect Victoria, love her, want to adhere to her every demand. Akira desired that more than almost anything. Anton had been made vampire from her blood and they'd stuck together ever since. She taught him how to be one of the undead, and even enjoy it. She'd saved his life countless times and he knew he wouldn't be half the vampire he was if it wasn't for her. He'd gladly take a stake to the heart for Victoria. They'd never confirmed it, but Julius had a strong feeling that Victoria may have engaged in a threesome with Anton and Akira once, probably decades before he or Bryan were even born.

In their two years together, the prospect of Victoria turning Julius into a vampire had never come up and he prayed it never would. He knew for sure he never wanted to be one, especially now that Vee was in his life.

"I wish we could at least get rid of Bryan," Julius mumbled."The guy is madly in love with you and can't stand the sight of me."

"He's not a threat and you know that," Victoria said, her attitude clear. "There's this cute little town in Virginia I want to head to. Mystic Falls. Anton was there for a short time in the early 1900s. We can check it out and if we don't like it, we'll move on. We leave tomorrow."

"What?!" Julius cried. "No, we can't. I won't."

Victoria angrily slammed the suitcase she was packing shut. "I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, Vic-"

"I'm sorry you seem to think you have a choice in the matter." She approached him, her gray eyes narrowed, arms crossed over her chest. Julius quickly backed up. He did not want to piss her off into compelling him. Then, he wouldn't even get to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry Victoria, I didn't mean to upset you," he said. "This is all just so sudden. I'm going to run out and give you some time to cool off."

"Where are you going?"

"Into LA," he lied, starting away. "If we're leaving I want to see the city one last time. Say goodbye." She said nothing and heard the sound of the front door slamming a moment later. She fought the urge to fly after him and snap his neck right there, but that would be too easy. He had lied to her yet again. No one ever lied to Victoria. Men groveled at her feet for a chance to be with her. She chose this insignificant human, and he thanked her by lying and sneaking off to see that girl. The girl he had sworn he never wanted to see again because Victoria was the only woman he needed in his life. And there was a baby. Thinking about it made her sick to her stomach.

For the first time in centuries, she felt like a fool. She thought their love was real. After their first meeting, she chose not to compel him ever again because she so desperately wanted their love to be real. Seeing him come out of that house, April and that child smiling and waving to him like they were the perfect little family, just saying goodbye to Daddy until he got home from work, made her beyond furious. It made her want to revert to her old ways and commit heinous, murderous acts. She couldn't. She had to be smart and play it cool. She was going to make him pay. He was going to suffer. He would suffer until he was crying a pool at her feet, a former shell of a man, begging for her forgiveness. If she did decide to forgive him, they would leave, and live out their rest of their existence together as she had planned from the moment she laid eyes on him. Either way, Julius' life would change forever, and April and Valerie would not be apart of it.

Stefan was deeply concentrated as he scribbled away in his journal. It had been a long time since he'd written anything in it, and being back home had put him in the mood to write. He'd already been at the table for an hour, and the words just kept flowing as he filled in on everything that had been going on for the past few months. Including Elena's former sire bond and now passionate love for Damon. He was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sighed and got up to put his journal away. The uninvited guest was soon knocking again.

"I'm coming, relax," he said with a sigh as he made his way down the front hallway. He opened the door to reveal a petite, brown-skinned, green-eyed Bennett witch standing on his front step. "Oh, hey, Bonnie."

"Good evening, snitch," she said, walking past him into the house with her nose in the air.

"Sure, come on in," he said, sarcastically, shutting the door.

"Where's Damon?" She asked, stopping in front of the living room entryway.

"I think he's at Elena's," Stefan replied. "I'm guessing from that friendly greeting that you're not too thrilled that I opened my big mouth."

"Oh, so you can take a hint," Bonnie snidely remarked.

"I'm sorry, Bon," he said, walking over to her. "I didn't expect Damon to be so...bothered."

"When is he ever not bothered?"

"True," Stefan laughed. "Just so you know, Caroline was here earlier asking me about what I told Damon. I didn't tell her anything!" He quickly quelled her near panic attack. "She's probably going to have some questions for you next time you talk to her, though. It's weird. I haven't been gone that long but when I come back everything is different. When I left you and Jeremy were over the moon for each other."

Bonnie sighed. "Jeremy and I have had problems for awhile," she confessed. "I just try not to wear my heart on my sleeve. I always have to be the strong one."

"Not always," Stefan said, shaking his head. "You can be honest about your feelings with your friends."

"Friends," Bonnie repeated. "The same friends that banded together against me and tried to kill Julius, someone who hadn't done a damn thing to any of us. Just the possibility that he might was enough for everyone conspire to get rid of him. Even me. I was a complete, cold bitch to him from the moment I realized what he was, all because of what other vampires had done to me. And now I...now I think I might like him a little bit." She met Stefan's eyes. He was gazing at her thoughtfully and with a hint of concern. "Or a lot. And it scares me."

"It's okay, Bonnie," Stefan assured her. "You're allowed to have feelings for whoever you want. There's nothing I or anyone can say about it. Damon and I have been in love with the same girl twice. Caroline dated two best friends, and Elena dated two brothers. None of us are in a position to judge you. You've always been a good judge of character. If you think he's one of the good ones, he probably is."

"I'm not always such a good judge," Bonnie said. "I didn't like you at first."

"In your defense, my being a blood-sucking demon is off-putting to a lot of people when they first find out," he joked.

"You're not a demon," Bonnie said, with a smile. "You are, however, quite the snitch."

"Okay, what is it going to take for you to forgive me for that?" Stefan asked with a laugh.

Bonnie pretended to ponder for a moment. "I guess you can give me a few of the blood bags you've got stashed in the basement."

Stefan's face twisted in confusion. "What?"

"Just a few...for now. Please."

"I don't think they're the type you like, Bonnie," he remarked, sarcastically.

"They're not for me," she stated. Stefan nodded in understanding.

"Just give me a minute," he requested. She nodded and he disappeared from the room. A couple minutes later, he was back with the goods. Bonnie took them into her arms with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Stefan," she said and he gave her a head nod. She walked over to the front door and he opened it for her. She stepped out onto the porch before turning to look back at him. "As you can tell from my little rant earlier, we kind of started to fall apart in your absence. I think we've all realized how integral you are to our little dysfunctional group. Glad to have you back, Salvatore. And our entire conversation tonight, will be just between us. Right?" She asked, pointedly.

"Absolutely. My lips are sealed," Stefan promised. "Our little blood transaction should be kept between us as well." That translated into, Don't tell Damon. Bonnie made the motion of zipping her lips shut. He smiled at her and she stepped away.

She climbed into the white Audi parked in the front, tossing the blood bags into a waiting Julius' lap with nonchalance. "Got you some A neg," she said as she started up the car. "You're welcome."

"You are a miracle woman," he said, thankfully. He looked at her in awe as she drove away from the boardinghouse. She didn't return the gaze, just kept her eyes on the road, with a smile on her face.

Bonnie walked into her bedroom, freshly showered and donned in a clean pair of pajamas. Her face was devoid of all make-up, and her damp hair fell over her shoulders in ringlets. Julius was lounging on her bed, his black jacket slung over the back of her desk chair, and he sat up when she entered. If he had a beating heart, he swore it would've skipped at the sight of her.

"Goddamn, you're gorgeous," he told her. "Come here."

She smiled and approached the bed. He guided her into his arms and they fell back onto the bed, his head on her pillows, her head on his chest, their arms wrapped around one another. The smell of Dove soap filled his nostrils, and her natural scent smelled even sweeter than the blood he'd just filled up on.

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking the momentary silence. "I acted a complete ass earlier."

"I'm sorry too." Bonnie lifted her head to look at him. "For looking through your phone and forcing you to tell me something you weren't ready to talk about. You're guarded for a reason, and I should let you open up to me on your own." She rested her head back on his chest.

"I just hope you don't run screaming from me when I do," he said.

"I won't," Bonnie stated, confidently. "I've been surrounded by vampires, werewolves, hunters, and mediums for years. Nothing shocks me anymore."

We'll see, Julius thought to himself. He was already preparing himself to lose her when he told her about his past, so for now he was going to enjoy every moment she allowed him to spend with her. Even if she was going to stick him in the friendzone, he would be grateful to be a part of her life. True friends were hard to come by, especially for someone like him.

"You're amazing, Bonnie Bennett," he complimented her. "I don't know how thin these walls are, but aren't you afraid your father might hear us talking in here?"

"No, I put a spell on the room," she said. "We can hear what's going on out there but nothing can be heard coming from in here. He would have to actually walk in. He might check on me in the morning though, before he leaves for work, so..."

"Don't worry," Julius said. "I'll just stay until you fall asleep. He'll never know anyone else was in here."

Bonnie shifted her body until she was eye level with him. "I can't say I don't need the rest." They gazed at each other for a moment, then Bonnie planted a soft kiss on his cheek. She moved underneath the covers, then turned and rested her head on the pillows. It wasn't until she felt him move then wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, that she was able to shut her eyes.

A/N: For Bamon fans, I know it was bleak this chapter but there will be a lot more Bamon interactions that aren't so hostile.

I can't thank you all enough for reading and telling me exactly how you feel! It's risky writing about an OC in the TVD universe but now I think I made the right move posting this. Every review/fav/follow adds fuel to my fire to continue writing this fic. Whether you're for Julonnie (official ship name coined by randomlittleme) or Bamon, you've supported this story! Thank you! :)

Love you guys!