A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Enjoy.
Assumptions
Damon picked through the library. All the powerhouses were there in cloth and leather—Yeats, Keats, Wharton, Joyce, Crane, James, Dickens, Steinbeck, Whitman—but he bypassed them all. He needed a distraction. It had been three days since his confrontation with the Bennett witch and the fixed beating of her heart still thrummed in his palm. Some fucking spell she wove, no doubt.
A leather bound edition caught his eye. The Spanish Inquisition: A History. Damon smirked. The terrorizing department did need some revitalization. Spying his favorite leather chair, he poured himself a glass of scotch, another glass of O-neg, and sat down to enjoy an entertaining read.
"Hey."
Damon ignored the entreaty.
"The Spanish Inquisition again?"
He snapped the book shut. Stefan stood by the fireplace. Damon didn't think it was possible to look any more serious than Stefan habitually did, but he always had a problem underestimating the runt.
Damon sighed. "What is it?"
"I want to thank you for…" Stefan frowned.
"For saving your weak ass," Damon finished, picking up his book again. "Okay, moment over. I'm busy expanding my mind."
Stefan darted his eyes to side table next to Damon. He caught the movement and chuckled. "This new Stefan is a bore. All nobility and no spine," Damon reached for the glass of blood, "it's O-neg. Fresh from the factory."
Stefan turned from the offered glass but not before Damon heard the snarl of hunger. He was an evil bastard most of the time, but he knew what human blood turned Stefan into, and he knew that it could get dangerous real quick for everyone involved, especially Elena.
"I thought you went back to woodland creatures," Damon said.
"The blood doesn't taste the same," Stefan shook his head, "it's not as rich…as thick."
"You want to come back into the fold, okay. But you need to do it slowly, deliberately. And not by drinking off my supply," Damon eyed Stefan.
"I apologized for that."
"I didn't believe you."
Stefan rubbed the back of his neck. "I have to get ready for Miss Mystic Falls."
"Don't get squirrel blood on that dress, Stefanie."
Damon was treated to one of Stefan's woebegone expressions. Man, he hated being a brother. It would be fantastic if these nagging brotherly connections dissolved.
Damon stood and rolled his shoulders. He drank down the bandy and left the O-neg on the side table. "I can't help you here. I don't have a conscience, remember?" He stopped at the edge of the room and looked at Stefan. The glass was in his hand and his face flickered between restraint and resignation.
"Tell Elena. Or I will," Damon said. He stalked off. This was not the kind of distracting he wanted.
Bonnie ran between touching up Caroline's make-up and forcing Elena to wear some.
"No blush. And I don't like how heavy lipstick makes my lips feel. How about some gloss instead?"
Bonnie closed her eyes to calm her nerves. "Elena Gilbert. When I come back into this room, have a shade selected and applied. I am so serious."
Elena wrinkled her face. "I don't even want to do this." She stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled, some of it gathered back in a chignon. Her blue dress hung on a hanger and her shoes sat near it. When did she stop caring about dresses and make-up and high-heeled shoes and pageants?
Bonnie appeared in the image and Elena smiled a little. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm missing my mom."
"I know," Bonnie hugged Elena's shoulders.
"Thank God you're back Bonnie."
They sat in silence for a moment before Elena stood up and went to the dress. "I think my allotted five minutes are up."
"Shit," Bonnie scrambled for her case, "Caroline is going to do that high-pitch squealing yelling thing. Ugh. See you in five minutes."
She ran out the room, pushed past bustling women with perfume and curlers and glitter, turned a corner and smacked right into the last person she hoped to share physical contact.
"Bonnie," Damon said.
His grin instantly irritated her. "Goodbye Damon."
She made a move around him but he cut her off. She fainted to the left but he read the move. They did this for a full thirty seconds before Bonnie stood still and stared patiently at him.
"Yes?"
"Is our girl presentable?"
Bonnie frowned. "Look, whatever you plan on doing, save it. Elena's upset enough as it is."
"What if I want to congratulate her or, shocker, be a friend?"
Bonnie snorted. "You? A friend? Don't make me gag."
Her eyes glinted. "I can't stop you from going in, but I'm warning you, don't mess with her."
Damon was genuinely amused. He bent his head a little. "And if I do? What? You'll put a spell on me?"
Bonnie locked eyes with him. "Worse."
She hurried around him and he let her go. He had to give her props—she didn't back down. Damon followed her weaving back with a grin.
The ceremony had begun by the time Caroline released her. The girls lined up along the balcony and Caroline pulled her along the hall, squeezing her hands.
"Bonnie, I am so nervous," Caroline whispered.
"You're going to break my fingers."
Carolina relaxed her grip. "Oh, sorry. I'm just so nervous. I want this so badly."
Bonnie laughed. "And I think you're going to get it. But don't look like you're going to vomit all over the place. Or on me."
Caroline's eyes went wide and she ran to a mirror hanging in the hall. She patted her face and pinched her cheeks. "Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale," she recited.
Bonnie left her at the staging area, giving her one last hug. "You look beautiful Caroline."
Caroline flashed her a modest grin. "Don't I?"
They shared a laugh, gave each other a polite high-five and Bonnie hurried back to one of the rooms to change into a simple black dress and run a brush through her hair. By the time she reappeared downstairs, the dance had started.
There was a crowd but she managed to wedge herself between an elderly couple and some girls for an unobstructed view. She immediately found Elena and smiled.
Then the smile fell from her face when Elena stepped forward to meet Damon.
Bonnie looked for Stefan but he was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes drifted back to the couple twirling around each other. There was some silent communication in the way they almost touched but drifted apart, only to come close again. Damon gazed down on Elena with the full-force of his charm and Elena gazed back, mesmerized yet confused.
A candle flickered to life beyond them and Bonnie immediately put it out. She heard a whoosh and some commotion coming from the kitchen. She needed to leave but was rooted to the spot. She didn't know what was more monstrous—the fact that Elena and Damon were dancing some antiquated courting number or the love that positively poured from Damon's eyes.
The moment the music ended Elena rushed off the floor and Damon followed. Bonnie stepped after them. She found Elena alone, sitting on a cushioned bench, her face in her hands. Bonnie sat next to her, mind on alert for Damon.
Elena lifted her head. Her eyes were wet and worry pinched her face.
"What is it?" Bonnie asked.
Elena shook her head. "I don't want to involve you."
"Anymore than I already am? Come on, Elena."
Instead of talking Elena stood and started to pace. The fabric of her dress rustled with each step. She passed and from across the room Bonnie saw Damon approach.
"Is this about Damon?"
Elena continued pacing. "No. This is about Stefan. And how he lied to me."
Bonnie grabbed Elena's arm.
"What is going on Elena?"
"Elena," Damon said, coming up behind her.
His eyes flicked to Bonnie then to Elena. He laid a gentle hand on her upper arm. "I have news."
"Where is he? What's happening?" Elena asked. Bonnie was forgotten. Damon drew her aside and Bonnie watched them, the sound of the party and the string quartet dulling their conversation.
Damon took Elena's hand and they started towards the back. Whatever happened was serious enough to get Elena to do something idiotic like go off with Damon.
Bonnie got her coat and hastily ran out to the back. Night had fallen. She scanned the area and saw the flash of Elena's dress moving into the woods. Bonnie started walking briskly when there was a scream.
Elena started to run and Bonnie ran after her. She slowed when she heard Elena's voice, pleading.
Her heart pounded in her ears. Elena and Damon ringed in a feral Stefan. His face was horrifying. There was blood smeared all over his mouth. It dripped from his chin.
"Stefan," Elena exclaimed.
He snarled.
"Brother," Damon said. Stefan turned his attention to him.
"It's okay," Damon said and reached out an arm. Stefan hurled Damon into the nearest tree.
"Stefan," Elena yelled, angry.
Bonnie stared at Stefan, this creature, this unknown. His eyes were devoid of any familiarity or humanity.
He will rip out her throat, she thought. Stefan grabbed his head in agony.
The first thing she learned after the grief ceased to numb her was how to hurt. The grimoire detailed how to incapacitate a supernatural being by continuously popping the blood vessels in the brain. Their healing factor made what would be a silent, nearly painless death for a human excruciating torture for a vampire. She thought of bubble wrap. She thought of popping each one in their rows, slowly, endlessly.
Stefan sank to his knees. The pitch of his screaming changed into the beginning of a human sob. Bonnie blinked. Stefan fell forward onto his hands, panting.
Elena and Damon stared at her with varying degrees of alarm. Bonnie stumbled back. The movement broke them out of stillness. Elena went to Stefan. Damon went to the body slumped near a fallen trunk.
"She's still alive," he said just as red and blue lights approached. Elena pulled Stefan to his feet.
"You have to go," Bonnie told them. Elena whispered something to Stefan and they were gone. It was just her and Damon and a barely alive girl.
Sheriff Forbes broke upon the scene, going straight to Damon. Bonnie blocked out the conversation. She started back to the house.
"Bonnie."
She stopped. Damon was a few feet from her. She wondered what she looked like if he, Mr. Immaculate, looked disheveled.
"What?"
He frowned. Red and blue lights lit the air around them. The voices of concerned guests became nearer.
"Thank you."
Bonnie shook her head. "A girl almost died tonight because your brother went animal. Don't thank me."
She turned and left. When she got home she was too exhausted to change out of her clothes so she crawled into bed and went to sleep in her party dress.
Bonnie walked into the Grill. It had been days since she stepped out of the house. She was sick of the lack of food in the fridge and freezer. She was sick of the silent walls and the same shows on television and her own company.
The Grill was busier than usual. Bonnie ran a hand through her hair self-consciously. Patrons lined the bar and wait staff moved between full tables. This was supposed to be a quick grab and go.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elena sitting at a table, on the verge of a breakdown. She spotted Bonnie and relief flooded her. Bonnie started forward. The cheeseburger and fries could wait.
Stefan appeared at Elena's side and Bonnie halted. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked down on her with such loving kindness it made Bonnie sick. She walked past them to the exit.
Bonnie got into her car and after a few minutes, directed the car onto the road out of town.
Goosie's was her first choice for great comfort food but the Grill was closer and had a lot less shady characters. The diner was an old-fashioned silver dining car with steps leading up to the entrance. The parking lot was a dusty rectangle. The woods behind, the highway in front, and the afternoon sky above were the only backdrops.
Bonnie scouted the parking lot. Two motorcycles, a mini van, a beat up looking Jeep, and a muscle car. Not a busy time. She'll sit in, maybe get a fried chicken platter and peruse Emily's grimoire.
The bell tinkered when she entered and the waitress peeked her head out from the kitchen.
"Baby girl just sit any place you want. I'll be with you in two shakes."
Bonnie took a seat in a booth by the windows. There was a family of five three booths ahead of her. The parents were talking while two older kids sent texts. A small child peeked at her over the back of the seat. She waved. The kid smiled shyly and waved back.
The waitress came up to her table. "Alright baby girl, what'll it be today?"
Bonnie gave her order and sat back. It was good to be out of town, even if town was twenty minutes away. Elena with her stricken face blocked the view of the road. She sighed. Whatever it was, it wasn't her problem.
"Every time you sigh you lose a pint of blood."
Bonnie jerked towards the voice. Damon sat facing her, both elbows on the counter. He smiled lazily.
"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked.
Damon showed her a fork and a half eaten plate of cherry pie. "I had a craving for something sweet. Had I known you were out, I would have foregone the pie."
Bonnie clamped down on the instinct to leave. She ignored him and pulled out the grimoire.
"Reading a bestseller, huh," Damon said. He now sat across from her in the booth. Bonnie counted her breaths and concentrated on the words on the page. He looked at her as he ate.
"Are you looking up ways to be more competent?"
"I'm actually looking up a vampire repellant."
"Ooooh, bitchy. I like it."
Bonnie slammed the book shut. "What do you want?"
Damon set down the fork. He stared straight at her. The waitress came with her order and set a bloody plate of steak in front of him.
"Thank you Janie. Hey, think I can get a Bloody Mary?"
Janie put a hand on her hip. "You got the stuff for one of them things?"
Damon grinned and Janie waved him away. "Yeah, yeah, it's comin'."
"What do I want?" Damon repeated as he cut into the steak. He paused and stared into space. "Let's see. I want to kill someone. No. I want to torture them. Make 'em sweat. I want this certain someone to be in a perpetual state of confusion. I want them to wonder, 'Is he being genuine or is he fucking with me?' Yeah," Damon nodded at the book, "if there's a reversal spell or whatever in there for that, let me know."
Bonnie sipped her milkshake. Was this what it was like to play cat and mouse? Damon chewed with rapture.
"I don't wonder about you Damon," she said.
Damon wagged the knife at her. "You assume I was referring to our traditional roles. Don't be so myopic. It's unattractive."
Bonnie gave up and cut into her chicken. She kept her eyes from him. There was a full five minutes of silence when Damon spoke.
"I thought witches only drank brews and the souls of children," Damon said.
"Only on Wednesdays," Bonnie replied.
She didn't see the grin that reached his eyes. When she ventured a look he was done and Janie brought the Bloody Mary.
"How long do you think we can be civil?"
Bonnie set her fork down and settled back. "Why?"
"I notice that our mutual friend is upset. She seems affected by the absence of her bosom buddy."
Bonnie said nothing and instead opened the grimoire.
"Oh no, don't tell me Betty and Veronica are fighting. It's not about Archie, is it?"
"Emily had a mute spell, want to try it?"
Damon stirred his Bloody Mary. "I've been alive nearly two hundred years and I can read people better than anyone."
"Yeah? Can you read that I want you to disappear?"
"You're angry Elena has confided more in me than in you," he leaned forward. The surprise flush of blood was worth the careful set up. Damon smiled. "I've never been envied before. It's…it's actually flattering."
"You're delusional," Bonnie said.
"Am I? You know anything about what's going on? About her mother, about the tomb vampires, about Jeremy, that annoying specimen of teenage angst?"
The only factor keeping the tears from blurring her vision was Damon's obvious glee.
Bonnie left money for the bill and stood up.
"It only took a grand total of ten minutes of your company to completely disgust me. Congratulations," she said.
She strode out the diner into an orange and blue afternoon. A cool breeze ruffled her shirt as she walked to her car. Damon's words buzzed through her brain, touching off minute flares of ire. If there weren't witnesses, she would have his head implode, right when he smiled after that envy comment.
Bonnie glanced up and saw Damon leaning on the passenger side door.
"Oh my God," she muttered and rushed to the driver side.
"You're a shitty friend, you know."
Bonnie slammed her things on the roof the car. "I can't be her friend! How can I be when her boyfriend is a vampire and his unhinged vampire brother tried to kill me and is responsible for my grandmother's death? I don't know what you want from me, Damon, but stop harassing me."
The air shimmered with heat.
"You know better than to do that," Damon said. Bonnie gathered her things and slipped behind the wheel. The car shook. Damon snatched the keys from her hand.
"Hey," she exclaimed when he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.
"Now, let's try this again. Elena views you as her bestest friend in the whole entire world. Dumb, I know," he said with a quick grin.
"She's had to detox a vampire. She's dealing with a heightened level of drama and as much as my relaxed, charming demeanor lends her some ease, she needs you."
"Why do you care?"
"Because, Bonnie, as much as you hate me and as much as I would lo-oove to snap that judgmental neck of yours, Elena is the one thing we have in common. She's unhappy, I want to fix that, and you're the key."
Bonnie searched his face. He was serious.
"You love her," Bonnie said.
The grip on her hand lessened. His eyes narrowed. The air became humid. "Assumptions make an ass out of you and not me."
A cloud passed in front of the sun. The car darkened. The blue of his eyes turned electric and she had the distinct and sharp fear of sliding towards something shadowy and scalding.
"I'm not assuming, am I?" she asked.
There was a breeze. Bonnie stared at an empty seat. A blue muscle car roared out of the parking lot and squealed towards Mystic Falls. Bonnie leaned into the driver seat. The windows were opaque with steam. She reached for her milkshake. It was completely melted.
So much for comfort food.