Simple Mistakes
What have I done it's too late for that
What have I become truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I'll do anything you ask...this time
Chocolate by Snow Patrol
Elena could feel her head swimming. She had always assumed that Damon would be done with her if they ever got the tomb open. But with what he was saying now, that he would give her anything she wanted- basically that he would turn her to be with her- she hadn't expected that. And what he had said about Stefan, she had never thought of it that way. She knew that Stefan was against feeding on or turning humans, but wouldn't he make an exception to be with her forever? If not, then why had he initiated a relationship with her in the first place?
"Damon, I need some time to think," she said with her hand on the doorknob of the guest room. Part of her just wanted to stay locked up in that room with him. But she knew that she couldn't. Her friends were still in danger and she really needed time to sort everything out in her brain and figure out exactly what she wanted. Sure, she had an amazing time the past few days with Damon. He made her feel free and happy; despite the danger that came along with him, it was exciting and she couldn't deny that.
She could see the hurt disguised as bitterness in his eyes. He was afraid of losing her, even if he wouldn't vocalize it.
"Don't think too long, kitten," he said, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "The whole patience is a virtue thing never really stuck with me."
Elena sighed heavily and then left him in the room and headed upstairs. A hot shower was just what she needed to relax and figure things out.
Bonnie sped through the streets of Mystic Falls to get back to Elena's house with Stefan beside her in the passenger seat keeping a keen eye and ear open for any signs of trouble. They had just left the boarding house, where Stefan had taken the opportunity to clear his head while he collected all of the pictures he could find from 1864. The hope was that one of the girls would recognize the man who had gone after Caroline.
"So, what's the plan?" Bonnie asked casually. "I mean, we can't stay at Elena's forever. Jenna wouldn't mind, but my dad has strict rules about me being home by 11 on school nights."
Stefan sighed. He wasn't really sure how to answer that question. In all honesty, he didn't have a plan; not one that was plausible right now anyway. The best plan he had come up with so far included buying a house somewhere away from Mystic Falls and hiding all of the girls there until he and Damon killed the vampires that were in town. Completely and utterly out of the question; Elena would never go for that- even if it would keep her safe.
"I guess we'll just have to make sure your families have enough vervain to last until we kill the vampires."
Bonnie turned onto Elena's street and slowed as she approached the house, parking behind Elena's car. She breathed in a deep lungful of fresh air and let it out slowly. "Is there no other way to keep them away? Nothing that you've found over the years that would have them running scared?"
Stefan shrugged. "There might be one thing. As far as I know it's just an old fairy tale, but I've obviously never been able to test it myself. I remember my father discussing it as another option for killing the vampires when they plagued the tow before. Back then we didn't know what would or wouldn't work. Garlic, holy water and crucifixes were all quickly found out as hoaxes."
"So what is this other way?" Bonnie asked, curious. She wondered if it might be something that Grams would know about. There had to be something in witchcraft to ward off vampires. There were ways to ward off spirits of the dead, so why not bodies of the undead?
Stefan knew he was playing with fire here. If anything were to ever happen and Bonnie turned against him, he didn't know that he wanted her equipped with all this knowledge of ways to kill vampires. But that wasn't fair to her. She had only ever been kind to him; she had stuck up for him on numerous occasions with Caroline, and even after learning the truth about him, she forced herself not to avoid him, even though she felt like she was going to jump out of her skin around him. That had quickly faded though. He was after all, the same Stefan she had always known. She always suspected something to be different about him- she had felt it the first time she was near him. But he was more dependable than anyone else she knew, and he cared about Elena more deeply than her best friend could ever imagine.
"Dead man's blood," Stefan said darkly. "It's like poison." He sighed. "Blood is our life force, so dead man's blood cripples our systems, or so the legend goes."
Bonnie gulped. Body snatching was not exactly something that was high on her list of things to do that day. And draining a dead body of blood was even lower on the list. She looked over at Stefan, to make sure he wasn't playing some sick joke on her.
"You're serious?" she asked.
He looked at her solemnly. "I don't even know if it will work, Bonnie," he said quietly, opening the car door. "But if it does, it would be a good torture method to find out what these vampires are after and how many of them are here."
She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Awesome. Nothing more fun on a Sunday afternoon then breaking into the town morgue and stealing blood from a bunch of dead people."
"You don't have to do this," he replied. "The vervain will keep you safe."
"It will keep us from being compelled. I'd like a little more insurance than that." Bonnie said sourly. "Does it… smell… the same to you?" Bonnie asked. She turned off the engine and got out of the car.
"As far as I know," he replied.
"And it's lethal?"
Stefan stopped half way up the walkway to the house. He nodded. "In the right amount, yes. In smaller doses it acts like poison. Crippling pain, probably a loss of senses and abilities."
They reached the front door and walked in instead of knocking. It was later in the morning now and Jenna had already left for work. Jeremy was still sleeping upstairs and Stefan could hear the shower running; he assumed either Caroline or Elena. Seeing Damon sprawled out on the couch asleep caused Stefan to grit his teeth together. Despite knowing that his brother would be there, requiring his help for this was the last thing that Stefan wanted to admit. It wasn't needing help that bothered him, since he was currently smack-dab in the middle of the biggest problem he had faced this century, but needing help from Damon was something he avoided at all costs. Especially when his older brother was going behind his back and stealing his girlfriend.
Bonnie placed a hand on Stefan's arm. "I can feel your anger, Stefan. You need to find a way to work through it for now. There are larger things than this."
He nodded and looked down at his brother's sleeping form on the couch. "I know. But that doesn't keep me from wanting to smack the grin off his face."
"Why don't you go find something to eat? We will be safe here until you come back, and that might help you concentrate a little more. One less thing to think about, ya know?"
"When did you gain all this wisdom?" Stefan asked letting out a quick chuckle.
Bonnie elbowed him playfully. "I've always had the smarts." She made her way into the kitchen.
"I guess I'll be back soon then?" He said, opening the back kitchen door. "Remember don't-"
"Invite anyone in." She finished quickly. "Got it. Now go." And then she was alone in the room. She poured a small glass of orange juice and then headed toward the guest bedroom. The door was open, which meant that it was most likely Elena in the shower. Bonnie gulped and wondered whether or not her friend would actually talk to her.
Her pocket vibrated and she pulled out her phone. Her face lit up when she read the text message. Good morning, beautiful. I trust your friends are alright and that all of your dreams were pleasant. – Eric
Bonnie let out a sigh and texted back quickly. Could've been better. Major drama last night. Major aftermath this morning.
Because, Bonnie was sure there would be. She made her way up the stairs after pushing her phone back into her jeans pocket just as the bathroom door opened and Elena came out, toweling off her hair. She froze in the bathroom doorway when she saw Bonnie heading up the stairs.
"I thought you left…" Elena said quietly, flipping the bathroom light off.
"Yeah… I had to get some air," Bonnie replied, clearing her throat and leaning against the railing at the top of the stairs.
"And Stefan?" Elena asked.
"He'll be back. Just went to uh… get something to eat."
Elena nodded and there was silence between them for a moment.
"Caroline's awake." Elena said, not really sure what else to say. She didn't want to be mad at her best friend, especially not at a time like this, but it was hard. She wasn't mad at Bonnie for the spell, because she knew that had been a mistake. But she was angry that Bonnie hadn't warned her, hadn't told her what had happened. It would have explained so much before she had gotten quite so involved with Damon. And her mind flashed an image of her and Damon in bed together again, as if on cue, forcing her to relive her dirty little secret.
"Is she doing okay?" Bonnie asked, taking a few steps toward Elena's bedroom. Her phone vibrated again in her pocket and she couldn't help the butterflies that flitted gleefully in her stomach. She glanced down at the message. Maybe I can make the day better for you? Dinner tonight? Bonnie didn't answer. She wasn't sure it was possible, and she had bigger things to worry about right now.
Elena made a face and shrugged. "As good as can be expected I guess. She's still pretty shaken up over almost dying… but who wouldn't be." She shook her head then. "But it's Caroline. You know how she bounces back… covers everything up."
Bonnie sighed. "Yeah…" And then she opened the door and smiled at Caroline, who was digging through Elena's closet for something to wear.
"Do you ever clean this closet out, Elena?" Caroline complained, turning around momentarily to look at the two girls who had entered. "There are things in here that I swear you wore in 8th grade."
Elena laughed. "I'm sentimental. What do you want from me?"
Caroline pulled out a pair of neon green hot pants and a matching tye-dyed tank top. "I want you to burn this."
Elena's face fell. "My dad bought that for me."
Caroline arched a brow. She had obviously hit a nerve. "Sweetie, saving this… thing isn't going to help you remember him."
Elena nodded and sighed. "It's just… I don't think I can part with some of the things in there."
Caroline put the outfit back in the closet and put up her hands defensively. "I won't push," she said. "But I am borrowing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I can't wear your pajamas all day."
Bonnie cleared her throat. "And we have a… uh… mission today."
Caroline raised a brow. "And that would be…"
"A way to poison whatever vampires are coming after us." She took a breath and looked at the two girls. "Dead man's blood."
Caroline shook her head and began gathering her things. "OH no! You have gotta be kidding me Bonnie. There is no damn way I am going near a morgue to drain bodies of blood. I did not sign up for this!"
Bonnie grabbed her arm. "None of us did. But Stefan said if it works, we can use it to interrogate them… to find out what they're after and how many there are."
"IF it works?" Caroline questioned. "I think I'll stick with my plan of avoidance."
Elena interjected then. "Care- I am really sorry that you got dragged into this. But you can't avoid it. They will come after you again. They won't stop until they get what they want."
"And what is that exactly?" Caroline asked.
"The tomb…" Bonnie said quietly. Elena threw a glance her way. They weren't supposed to talk about that night deep in the woods when Damon almost killed Bonnie. But she continued. "There's a tomb under the old Fell's church ruins. There are a bunch of vampires sealed in down there… from 1864."
Caroline looked doubtful. "After 150 years, they wouldn't be dead?"
Elena shook her head. "In like a mummified coma. They can't do anything because they've been without blood for so long. But they're not dead until they're staked through the heart."
"Or possibly poisoned with dead man's blood." Bonnie added.
"So your master plan is to sweet-talk your way into the morgue and fill up a bucket with blood from a bunch of stiffs? Do you understand how creep-tastic that sounds?" Caroline's face was indignant.
Bonnie folded her arms across her chest. "I would rather be more prepared and able to possibly handle things if I am ever caught alone then have to wait for someone to come to my aide."
"It works," Damon said from the doorway, causing all three girls to turn around and look at him. "I've seen the way it cripples vampires. Just the smallest amount can have them on the floor writhing in pain for hours."
"Can you get us into the morgue?" Elena asked. The words sounded funny coming out of her mouth. She was beginning to get the full effect of what it meant to socialize with the Salvatore brothers. Her life would never again be normal. Maybe it was never supposed to be; she did after all look exactly like Katherine. It wasn't possible that it was all a coincidence. There had to be some bigger reason at play here. And Elena knew she wouldn't stop until she found out what that was.
Damon shrugged. "Depends. What's in it for me?"
Elena's eyes narrowed. "The satisfaction of a job well done." She didn't want to go as far as to tell him he was going to help. She knew Damon well enough to know that he wouldn't take her talking to him that way. In fact, he would probably end up taking them down to the morgue and draining all of the living bodies there just to spite her if she did try to tell him that he was helping. "Please, Damon?" she added quietly.
He scoffed. "Where's Stefan?
"He needed to… feed…"
Damon smirked. "Skunk or Bambi today?"
Bonnie scowled. "Can't you ever be nice to him?"
Damon moved to where Bonnie was and had her pressed against the wall in the next instant. "No." He said plainly. "And you would do well to remember that, Miss Bennett. I am not my brother. I don't play the whole prince charming hero bit."
And then he was gone.
Bonnie sat in the living room at Elena's house with Caroline and Stefan. Caroline had refused to go to the morgue and Elena had gone after Damon when he disappeared. She had told the girls that she would be more likely to get him to help if she did it alone, and neither Bonnie nor Caroline argued with her. This all took place while Stefan was still out. She had called them a little while later to check in and let them know that she was with Damon and that they were heading to the morgue.
Stefan was livid when he returned, but he couldn't leave Caroline and Bonnie alone, and he knew that taking them out of the house more than was necessary would only end in disaster.
Bonnie's phone rang then, and she hopped up and made her way to the guest bedroom before answering it.
"Hello?"
"Bonnie, hey." Eric's voice cooed on the other end. "I thought I'd have to leave you a voicemail."
"Do you want me to hang up so you can call again?" She asked.
He chuckled. "No, no. Definitely not. Just guessed you weren't going to answer after you didn't reply to my text message earlier."
"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I completely forgot."
He hesitated. "Yeah… all that drama aftermath?"
She smiled. "Yeah, definitely. But I am really sorry that I didn't text you back."
There was a short pause. "Well, do you have plans for dinner? I was thinking a quick drive down to Mystic Falls. I hear you guys have a killer bar and grille."
Bonnie laughed. "That's one way to put it. But uh… I don't know if tonight is really the best-"
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Alright. Well, I don't want to bother you then."
"No, it's really not that. I mean… just this weekend is really…"
"I get it Bonnie," he said, trying to brush it off. "No big deal."
"You think I don't want to go, don't you? Eric listen, it's really not like that. I would love to have dinner with you tonight. It's just-"
"Great. I'll pick you up at seven."
Bonnie couldn't help but smile. It was obvious he wasn't planning on taking no for an answer, and she found that incredibly charming. "314 Grant St." she said, giving him Elena's address. Stefan would not like this very much. But she couldn't stop her life over this; sooner or later she was going to have to leave the Gilbert's house. Besides, it wasn't like a vampire would come after her in a crowded place like the Mystic Grille. She would be safe there- and Stefan was more than able to tag along and keep an eye on her. From a distance anyway.
Elena slid back into the passenger seat of Damon's car, placing a heavy backpack on the floor at her feet. The spy games that she was playing with Damon were something that she enjoyed and the grin on her face expressed that.
"Huh, I would have never expected this mood from you on a day like today." Damon mused as he watched Elena.
She shrugged, closing the door. "I like all the cloak and dagger stuff. It's fun."
He laughed. "You were in a morgue using a syringe to take blood from dead bodies. Next week I'll have to plan something more exciting."
"Next week?" Elena asked, somewhat surprised.
"Of course," he grinned. "You don't think I'm going down without a fight, do you? There's no way Stefan is going to win this."
She raised a brow. "Is this some sort of twisted game to you?" she asked, skeptical.
"Elena please," he scoffed. And then paused. "There is nothing twisted about it. This is a very straightforward game. One that I fully intend to win."
"You can't win my affections, Damon."
"So you say," he smiled. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Or maybe I already have."
A/N: I tried really really hard to make this chapter more about Damon and Elena. But Bonnie just wanted the spotlight. Anyway, there is a lot of stuff set up for the next chapter. Stay tuned! And as always… Reviews are the Dean to my Sam. (Wait… wrong fandom. You know what I mean.)
