Chapter 22

Damon lay on the couch in the living room, his legs swung over the sides, while he read "The Hunger Games." Although he made it a point not to let on how well-read he was, he had read practically every classic novel and bestseller out there. He'd even skimmed "Twilight" and, regretfully, lived to tell about it. He'd purposely avoided other teen books but after a boring day of flipping through the HBO channels, he decided to give the popular series a try. To his surprise, he actually liked it.

He didn't tear his eyes away from the book after he heard the front door open. Stefan had been in and out and, assuming it was his brother, he said, "this book isn't half bad. Something about the pointless sacrificing of children appeals to me. Does that make me a bad person?"

He expected a snarky comment from Stefan and when none came, he lowered the book just enough to see that his visitor was not his brother. It was Jeremy, and the boy looked fit to be tied. Damon rolled his eyes and forced a smile.

"Jeremy," he said, "to what do I owe the displeasure?"

"What'd you do to Bonnie, you dick?" Jeremy asked, his face tight with anger.

"I didn't do anything to her. Why, did something happen?"

"Yeah. She dumped me and said she loves you."

It took every ounce of strength not to smile at that little revelation. Damon swung his legs over the couch and placed his book down.

"Ah, well, that's too bad," he said, walking past the younger man. He was about to offer the kid a drink when Jeremy reached out and grabbed his arm a little too tightly. Damon stopped, looked down at the offending hand, and his jovial mood disappeared. "I'd suggest you let go of me."

"What. Did. You. Do?" Jeremy asked, getting so close to him that Damon could feel the tip of his nose.

"No offense, little Gilly, but I didn't do anything. She fell for me all on her own."

"Did you compel her?"

Damon frowned, wondering why nothing seemed to be getting into Jeremy's head. He yanked his arm away and took a step back in a true effort not to let the situation escalate.

"First of all, I wouldn't do that. Secondly, she's a witch and incapable of being compelled. Or have you hit your head so hard that you forgot that?"

"She'd never love you willingly. Not after all the things you've done to her and her family. You did something and you're going to tell me what it is so I can fix it."

"Have you lost your mind?" Damon asked. "What part of 'I didn't do anything' don't you understand? I get that you're upset and while that sucks and all, I've kinda had it with your shitty attitude. Now get out before I get mad."

He tried to walk by again, and again Jeremy grabbed him. Damon's lips formed a tight line and he began to wonder how mad Bonnie would be with him if he ripped the little bastard's heart out.

"Did you seduce her?" Jeremy asked, smiling a little like maybe he had finally stumbled upon the right answer. "Is that it? Did you screw her, Damon?"

With his patience officially depleted, Damon smiled and said, "in every position imaginable."

In less than a second, he felt a searing pain in his stomach and looked down to see a stake sticking through his midsection. He groaned and doubled over and Jeremy stood above him, his hand still on the wooden object and pushing it in further.

"You...little...fucker," Damon groaned through the pain.

"Tell me what you did."

"I didn't do anything!" he screamed. "Bonnie loves me and you need to get over it!"

"She hated you. She tried to kill you on more than one occasion. I know she wouldn't leave me for you unless you tricked her!"

"Things change, Jeremy," he said, grasping at his stomach.

"Try again."

Jeremy pulled the stake it and jammed it into Damon's other side and he howled in pain. His forehead broke into a sweat and he felt like his whole body was on fire. He tried to fight Jeremy off but the kid was incredibly strong for a human and Damon was weakened by his injuries. He knew he couldn't fight back physically, so he decided to get under Jeremy's skin with words.

"Did you know," he started, taking a painful breath, "that Bonnie said you suck in bed? Maybe that's why it was so easy to come to me. Or should I say, come for me?"

Jeremy staked him again and smiled devilishly. "Keep it up, Damon. The next one will be higher and to the left."

He looked like he was going to follow through with his threat until he was abruptly thrown off of Damon and the stake was removed. Damon groaned in relief and saw Stefan standing in front of his brother.

"Jeremy, what the hell are you doing?" Stefan yelled.

"He did something to Bonnie and I'm gonna fix it."

"He didn't do anything to her. They fell in love. Stuff happens."

"She would never love him," Jeremy said, looking at Damon with a wide-eyed gaze like he was going to attack again.

Stefan grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him hard, making the younger man look at him. "Jeremy, listen to me. Damon and Bonnie were together, without us, for six months. Things change, all right? I know that's hard to understand and it sucks to have your heart broken, but you can't just come in here and kill Damon. How do you think Bonnie would feel about that? She would never forgive you."

That seemed to awaken him from his stupor and when he looked at Stefan, Stefan took advantage of the sad look in his eyes and gave him a brotherly pat on the shoulders.

"Look, I know firsthand what it's like to have Damon steal my girl."

"Hey," Damon said with a frown.

"And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kill him, too. But Bonnie's her own woman and you know as well as I do that she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do. She's obviously forgiven Damon for the stuff that happened between them and if she wants to be with him, you've got to let her go. If she's meant to come back to you, she will. Until then, just be her friend, okay?"

Jeremy looked down and after a few tense moments, he nodded.

"Yeah, okay," he said.

"Okay," Stefan said.

Jeremy looked at Damon, who was still recovering, and he threw the stake at him. It smacked Damon right in the head.

"Ow! You're a little punk."

"This isn't over. If you hurt Bonnie, I'll come back and finish the job," Jeremy promised.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Stefan walked Jeremy out and when he returned, Damon had finally gotten himself up from the floor. His white T-shirt was stained with blood and had several holes in it.

"This was one of my favorite shirts," he whined.

"You're lucky I didn't let him kill you," Stefan said.

"Oh, please. You'd be so bored without me." He grabbed a jacket and pulled it on over his bloody shirt.

"Where are you going?"

"To see about a witch."

...

Damon stood on the porch of Bonnie's house and rang the doorbell. He heard her walking along the wood floors and when she opened the door, she looked surprised to see him. Before she could ask what he was doing there, he unzipped his jacket and her eyes widened when she saw the blood on his shirt.

"Oh my God, what happened?" she gasped.

"Jeremy happened. He came by and staked me a few times. Tried to kill me, actually."

"What?" she asked, shocked.

"Yeah, apparently he's upset because you dumped him?"

Bonnie's hands went to her face and she groaned. "This is such a mess," she said, mostly to herself. She shook her head and then moved aside and wordlessly asked him to come in. He followed her to the couch and once they were seated, she looked at his shirt and shook her head again. "I can't believe he did that. He seemed so calm when I told him."

"Yeah, well, I guess he saved all the crazy for me."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I could use a little nursing." He wiggled his eyebrows and she rolled her eyes.

"Damon, this is serious. Jeremy attacked you."

"It would have been nice to know that you were going to dump him. Maybe I could have worn by wooden-proof vest."

"I didn't plan on it! It just happened. He came over to help with my decorations and he kind of just asked me if I liked someone else. When I said I did, he asked if it was you and I didn't want to lie to him."

"Well, it seems like the only one who doesn't know is Elena. Maybe we should just bite the bullet and tell her."

Bonnie looked at him like he was insane. "If Jeremy's reaction was any indication, she'll try to rip my throat out. She hasn't exactly been predictable since becoming a vampire."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

She sighed and shook her head again. "I don't know. Maybe we should just give Jeremy some time to cool down and let me figure out a way to tell Elena that won't result in my death or the total destruction of our friendship."

"What does that mean, exactly? You don't want to talk to me anymore? You don't want to see me?"

"No, no, I don't want that," she said as she took his hands in hers.

"Then tell me what you do want."

Her green eyes looked hopelessly confused when she replied with, "I don't know what I want, Damon. I don't want to hurt anybody any more than I already have."

Damon peeled his jacket off and knelt on the floor in front of Bonnie. He kissed both of her hands and held them against him.

"Did you learn anything while we were on the Other Side?" he asked. She nodded. "What did you learn?"

"That you make me happy."

He smiled. "What else?"

She tucked hair behind her ear and shrugged. "I don't know."

"You want to know what I learned? I learned that, aside from the fact that you are actually kind of fun and sexy underneath all that bossiness..." She smacked him and he grinned. "As I was saying, beyond that, I learned that we only have this one life to live and we should probably live it. I know us being together is going to be a problem with Elena and Jeremy, but you've already given up your life, more than once, for them. When are you going to start living for yourself, Bonnie? Do you want all your decisions to be based on what's best for other people, or what's best for you?"

She didn't say anything at first, and he waited while she ran her slim warm fingers over his hands.

"She's the only family I have left," she said quietly.

"I know," he said quietly, as he stroked her cheek.

"I don't want to hurt her."

"I know."

"I don't know how to tell her."

"We'll come up with something together. Okay?"

She nodded and he stood up and pulled her with him. He wrapped her up in a tight hug and he smiled when he felt her arms squeeze his midsection. They stood like that for a while before he pulled away.

"Come on. Put some clothes on."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, you let your ex-boyfriend put up all your decorations. The least you could do is let me buy you a tree."

"I have a perfectly fine tree."

"That thing is ugly and looks like it's going to collapse at any second. We're going to get you a real tree. Now go put something on. I don't want everybody looking at my lady."

"I don't recall agreeing to be your lady."

"You will," he said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

He saw her trying not to smile and he plopped down on the couch while she disappeared upstairs. He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. The house smelled like warmth and cookies and Bonnie, and Damon felt a tingle in his chest that felt eerily like euphoria. He had almost dozed off when Bonnie was in front of him again, bundled up. She held out a gray turtleneck.

"Here," she said, "you might not want to go out in that bloody shirt."

"This isn't Jeremy's, is it?"

"My dad's."

Damon peeled off his stained shirt and noticed, happily, that Bonnie's eyes made quick work of his chest and abs. He took his time pulling the sweater over his head and he frowned when he pulled it all the way down. It was warm and comfortable and all, but he felt more like Cliff Huxtable than a badass vampire. It didn't help that Bonnie was grinning.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"You look kinda cute like that. All domestic. Like maybe you're going to make me some jello."

"Ha ha," he said dryly, which only spurred on her laughing. He zipped his leather jacket over his dad-sweater and growled. "Let's go, before I punish you for being a bad girl."

He smacked her butt and she yelped, and the two of them walked out together. He held open the passenger side door for her and then they were on the road to the little Christmas tree forest that Damon saw every day in town. They didn't talk much on the way there, but Damon was pleased when he reached over and Bonnie interlaced their fingers.

He was even more pleased when she continued to hold his hand as they walked through the warmly-lit tree forest and scouted out a perfect tree. He could feel some slight tension in her body and he knew she was a little scared that someone would see them, but it only made her willingness to hold onto him that much sweeter. As they looked at all the trees, she gravitated to the smaller, neglected ones that nobody else wanted.

Damon, of course, wanted the biggest, most grand tree, even though he knew it was too big to fit in her living room. They settled on a medium-sized one that was pre-treated and already had some lights woven through it. There was no way in hell that Damon was going to strap the thing on top of his beloved Mustang, so he compelled one of the workers to drive it to Bonnie's house for them. The drive back home was quiet and peaceful and Bonnie only spoke up when she realized that Damon was taking a detour from the regular route.

"Where are we going now?" she asked softly.

"Just looking at the lights in the neighborhood," he said with a smile.

He drove slowly down the streets, watching her out of the corner of his eye and smiling every time she smiled. He noticed that she seemed to like the white lights better than the colorful ones, which didn't surprise him. Where the colorful lights were louder and attention-grabbing, the white ones were classic and understated, yet still beautiful. Kind of like her.

"What do you think about that house?" he asked, as he came to a stop. Bonnie's eyes followed his and he watched the recognition flood her face. It was a yellow craftsman-style home, just a couple of streets down from her Gram's house. White lights ran along the trim of the porch and two animatronic deer were placed on the perfectly-mowed lawn. And there was a "For Sale" sign in the yard.

"It's our house," she said in a voice just above a whisper.

"Yep."

"And it's for sale."

"Mm hm."

Bonnie snapped her head in his direction. "You're not...going to buy that house for me...are you?"

He smiled. "Oh come on, Bon-Bon, I'm romantic but not that romantic."

She didn't look convinced. "Damon, don't buy me that house. I mean it."

"Okay," he shrugged.

"Promise me."

"I promise," he said, but he crossed his fingers where she couldn't see them.

She narrowed her eyes but silently accepted his promise, and they drove to her house. When they pulled into the driveway, the guy from the tree store was waiting on the porch, tree against the door. Damon helped him bring it inside and after they discarded the one already in the living room, they set it up exactly where Bonnie wanted it. Damon gave the guy a nice tip and then smiled at his handiwork.

"See? Isn't that better? Don't you feel much more Christmas-y?"

"It's a nice tree," she admitted.

He pulled her to his chest and tapped her nose. "See? Daddy always knows what you need."

"Normally, that would be hot but right now, it's kind of creepy."

"It's the sweater, isn't it?"

Her lips spread into a grin, and then she laughed and nodded. "Yeah, sorry, it's just not working for me."

Her laughter sounded like music to him and without realizing it, he began to sway their bodies in a gentle dance.

"I love when you laugh," he said. "You should do it more often."

"Okay."

She rested her head on his chest and they continued to dance to the song in his head. He heard her stifle a yawn and he kissed her forehead.

"I should let you get some sleep."

"Don't go," she said, as she squeezed him. She looked up and placed her chin on his chest. "Stay with me?"

"Of course."

"I'll be right back."

She disappeared upstairs and he toed off his shoes and discarded his jacket and sweater. Bonnie returned, her arms full of thick comforters and pillows, and she began to spread them on the floor.

"I always liked sleeping under the tree once it was put up. Is that okay?" she asked.

"As long as we sleep naked, sure."

She threw a pillow at his head and he smiled. He took over the arrangement of their makeshift bed while she went upstairs to change into pajamas. He turned off the lights so that only the lights from the tree illuminated the room, and he stripped out of his jeans. He seriously contemplated taking off his boxer briefs, too, but he didn't want to scare Bonnie off. He lay down and situated himself on his side, and when Bonnie returned, he tossed the comforters back and patted the spot in front of him.

"Just waiting on you, Honey Bunny," he teased.

She rolled her eyes but slid right into the spot in front of him. She scooted back and he scooted up until their bodies were touching in every spot, from their feet to their heads. Damon wrapped his arm around her body and buried his head in the back of her neck.

"Mm," he moaned, "this feels good."

"It does," she whispered.

"If only you were nude."

"Don't ruin it."

He smiled against her skin. They were quiet for a while and he basked in her scent, her soft body and the comfortable glow of the room. He kissed her neck and whispered, "I love you."

"I know." She squeezed his hand. "I love you, too."