A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and put the story or me to their following or even favorite lists. Thank you so much – I really appreciate all the support.

Vie: I know what you mean. I wouldn't have sat there and done nothing either. But if Bonnie is anything, it's stubborn and proud and she knows she has no claim on Damon (yet) and doing something to 'Sophie' would have been like admitting defeat. However, you got me on a new idea. Thanks!

Disclaimer: If I'm going to disclaim all that doesn't belong to me or wasn't my idea in the first place in this chapter, we've got a whole new chapter here. So, everything you recognize and some of the things you don't recognize belongs to their rightful owners. I'm not making any money with it, I'm just name-dropping.

Enjoy reading!

Chapter 13:

"You know we still don't know much more than before you kidnapped me", Bonnie stated on their drive back home to Mystic Falls.

"So what? I now know you like me, you get jealous when someone else hits on me and I know I'm not alone in this. Just until a year ago I had my feelings switched off as good as possible. I convinced myself not to feel anything and suddenly, just when I'm starting to get used to them, there is this whole magic thing. It's like turning into a vampire all over again – everything from 0 to 60 in under a second.

"At least now I know you're not any better. As I said before, we're in this together. And if anyone can make sense of this mess it's us", Damon reassured Bonnie, his right hand wandering on to her left thigh, squeezing gently for added effect.

"Yes, and we know that you're older than me or 'Sophie'. Original Cindy? Honestly? 'Candy' back there pretty sure had no idea who that is."

"Hey, Jessica Alba is hot. And Jessica living together with a hot lesbian? You don't expect me not to have seen the show, do you?"

Speechless, the witch shook her head. What she should have expected was his answer.

"Besides, you knew what I was talking about", Damon smirked.

"A young hot woman kicking everyone's a$$ and fighting for a cause? I loved her … And Alec was nice to look at – even though I watched the re-runs. Huh, you know what? Ever since you came into my life that is pretty much my life. A girl with special abilities fighting for the good cause, fighting for her friends and family and keeping a smart-aleck in check and save him over and over again. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Bonnie smirked at Damon.

Damon enjoyed the playful side of Bonnie. It was a nice change to her serious, no-nonsense attitude all the time. Signaling that he had heard her, he squeezed her thigh again, letting his fingers travel a bit further.

"One inch higher and you'll lose your fingers. I hope you're left-handed", the witch warned her companion. "Just because we're getting along and face those changes together doesn't mean I'm letting you get away with everything."

The vampire only grinned at her.

"But we still don't know anything more about those damn consequences. What is going on with that feeling? Will it hurt? When will it? How can we prevent that? What else is coming? I'm only seventeen I hadn't planned on being bound to my bed because of too much pain. Urgh, stop it. I don't think it sexy if I'm forced to lay there not able to move."

Damon's grin widened.

"Urgh! You know what I meant", Bonnie huffed.

"Don't worry, I know", Damon placated the witch. "But you can't fault a guy for picturing."

Bonnie gasped and crossed her arms in front of her, instinctively trying to cover as much of her body as possible.

His grin widened even more.

"Okay, okay. I'm serious again. What? I can be serious." Damon glanced at the witch in his passenger seat. "Do you think there's anything in one of the grimoires?"

"I honestly have no clue. There might. I mean it's our best bet. What else could we do?", the witch pondered. "But it'll take days, scratch that weeks searching the books for anything. It took me almost a week to find your cure and I had already checked out the Bennett grimoires before hand and only a quarter of the Martin ones by then."

"So, you need time – the one thing we absolutely don't have", lamented the vampire. "Okay, what about I bring you home, you collect your grimoires or at least those with the highest chance of success and I look in our library and my old man's study for anything useful and then I come and pick you up and we can have a look at them together. I mean you're the one who knows what we're looking for and I'm the one with the superhuman-speed. Whatcha say?

Bonnie hesitated a short moment but then she thought 'What the hell'. I had fun this afternoon and if it means I don't have to fight to ignore that feeling of uneasiness – what harm can it be?

"Okay", she told him much to his surprise. Damon had expected an argument or more resistance from his little witch but it seemed she started to get quite comfortable in his presence. He gave her a small smile.

Bonnie answered in kind as they passed the sign 'Welcome to Mystic Falls'.

The light blue oldtimer had just turned into the street of the Bennett Home, when the comfortable mood changed suddenly. They were unmistakably back in Mystic Falls and with the small town the tension came back. Elena was sitting on the swing on the porch of Bonnie's home waiting for the witch to return.

One glance at the doppelganger's face told both passengers all they needed to know: the girl was irritated and impatient.

"Damn, and I wanted to kiss you before you could get away", Damon smirked at Bonnie.

"Dream on, vamp-boy. What are we going to do now?"

"Stick to the plan for now. I'll text you. I'm pretty sure my brother is awaiting me, too, ready to lecture me for … don't know, he's Stefan after all so pretty much he's going to lecture me for all eternity."

"'Kay, see you then."

With those words, Bonnie left the car and prepared herself to meet Elena. What was she going to say to Elena? What could she reveal? What did she want to reveal? Sure, Elena was one of her best friends but Bonnie was painfully aware of her attraction to Damon. And being friends as long as the two were you got to know the other one quite close. Bonnie knew that Elena loved the attention. Caroline wasn't the only one in their trio who tried to outdo the other one, Elena was right there with her. Even though the brunette girl would never admit it and had always brushed it off.

Shyly, Bonnie went down the path to the porch. "Hey 'Lena. What"

"Don't you 'Hey 'Lena' me. What were you doing with Damon? Where were you? I was worried sick. I didn't know anything! I didn't know where you were or how long you were gone. I went to the Boarding House searching for Damon, to the Grill, I came to your house but neither Damon nor you were anywhere! Where were you?! When I didn't find anyone I went back to Damon's house, thinking that he may have returned when I was running across the whole town.

"I met Stefan there and told him everything. He didn't know what's going on either! Then I came back here. What is going on?! Since when do you get along with Damon? Why did you get into Damon's car? Why was he there in the first place? I thought I was your best friend and now I have to find out you're not telling me anything anymore!" By now Elena had talked herself into a frenzy.

Taking a deep breath, the doppelganger continued calmer. "Why did Damon come to pick you up? What is going on between you two?"

"Hi Bonnie, nice to see you. How are you? How was your day?" Bonnie asked sarcastically. Damon's influence made itself known.

"I … I …" The brunette noticed it too. Thinking about it, Bonnie was acting more and more like Damon for the last few weeks or months.

"Come in Elena. I don't think that's something we should discuss in front of my house. My neighbors don't need to know every detail of my life."

Putting the key into the keyhole, Bonnie opened the door and went into the living room, her friends close behind her. Somehow, the witch didn't want to go to her room with Elena.

"So, what do you want to know?", Bonnie asked a few moments later. Both girls were sitting on the couch in the living room, each with a glass of ice coffee in their hands.

"What were you doing with Damon? …uhh … I mean … uh … he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Sure that was what you were thinking... Bonnie started to begin to hate herself. Her comments got snarkier every day.

"Uhhmm … we were hanging out. Talking. Nothing special." The witch tried it with indifference. If she kept it simple and emotionless, Elena, maybe, wouldn't make a big deal out of it either.

"Damon Salvatore just 'hanging out' and 'talking'?! Because that sounds just like Damon. And doing it with you? You've never gotten along – and that was when you both were forced to spent time together. What has suddenly changed?" Elena was determined to get to the bottom of this.

The teenage witch sighed. What should she tell? Where to begin? "I … Damon and I … we're friends." Bonnie shrugged with her shoulder.

Elena gaped. Damon and Bonnie were friends? Since when? What did that mean? "What? Since when? Just a week ago you were at each other's throats. What changed?"

"I … I don't really know. After the whole mess with the werewolf bite was over", oh goodness, how was she supposed to say this, he started to stalk me, surprise me, visit me, following me, we started to make out from time to time?, "we started to hang out with each other. Nothing major, nothing long, just a small talk here and a short meeting there."

Whoo, there, nothing about making out and incredible expansive gifts, nothing about declarations and promises, and least of all nothing about spending the night in Damon's bed in his clothes. Bonnie was elated.

That was until she took another glance at Elena.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The brunette was disappointed. For a whole year she tried to get Damon and her on civil terms but both refused that. And suddenly everything is changed, they're not only civil to each other but they're friends now?!

"I don't know. It just happened. We didn't set dates to meet up or plan something. We just met and after all we've been through, after what we all have been through, we decided that it was silly to try to kill one another every time our own 'Justice League' meets up to plan yet another defense against yet another bad guy.

"And we're not really friends. But after we came to that conclusion we decided to be civil and then we got along. There's nothing more to it", Bonnie said and crossed her fingers behind her back.

She hated lying to Elena but in the long run it would be better not to tell anything yet. Especially considering the unfinished business not only between Bonnie and Damon but between Elena and Damon as well – whatever it was her old friend was feeling for her new friend.

"Okay. I just wished you would have told me. I thought we were best friends and told each other everything." When the first shock started to settle, the doppelganger calmed down. After all, it was what she had wanted for so long, right?

Bonnie, on the other hand, had to swallow at Elena's words. They were best friends, that was true and the little witch doubted that anything could ever change that. However, she didn't appreciate the guilt trip Elena was trying to lay on her. Knowing her for so long, Bonnie knew it was intentionally. She really didn't think it fair to be accused of being a terrible friend for not telling when Elena was the one who started the secret keeping when she didn't tell Bonnie what was going on with Stefan when they first met. She could have given her some points at least.

From then on, the secrets and mysteries started to pile until a huge stake was lodged between the best friends.

It is what it is.

"Yeah, but there wasn't anything to talk about. I have no idea what his little stunt this afternoon was. Knowing Damon he doesn't either."

At Bonnie's words both girls smiled at each other and all the apprehension and poisonous feelings were forgotten.

A few miles away from the Bennett home a similar talk was taking place.

After Bonnie left his car, Damon drove back to the Boarding House as he had said. He barely had entered the house when Stefan was greeting him sitting in the armchair in the den.

Hearing his older brother walk in, Stefan had announced his presence. Quiet a dramatic appearance for the nice, unobtrusive brother.

"Where were you?" Stefan wanted to know.

"Out." Since when did he give account to his brother? He never told him … stuff. Only when Stefan needed to know or didn't want to know – the latter was always much more fun.

"What were you doing with Bonnie?"

"You voyeur you", Damon smirked. "What, you wanna see Bonnie naked or you wanna get some clues to what to do in between the sheets?"

Stefan only shook his head. Sometimes even he believed his brother was a lost cause. Ignoring his last question, he went on. "You know you had Elena running all over town in search for the both of you. You were gone for hours."

Damon looked at the clock and rolled his eyes. They hadn't been out for three hours! "And why do you think I care what Elena was doing? I was out. I had my fun and if you need to know, yes, Bonnie was with me. Btw, she, too, had fun. A lot of fun."

Dull and duller were too easy to upset. His little brother and his doppelganger-girlfriend were perfect for one another in that regard.

"If you did anything to her", Stefan started to threaten.

"Relax, little brother. You really think I would harm the one person that managed to save my life? Once again? Thanks for all your confidence. Thanks a lot." Damon said and stomped off to his room.

Slamming the door behind him, Damon muttered under his breath. Over time it became tiresome to hear the same threats and lectures and doubts again and again and again. And in his hurry to get away from his brother, he'd forgotten the alcohol. Could it get any worse?

He knew he should have kept quiet. Only a moment later, there was a knock at his door. "Damon, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself ever since you're cured. What did you do with Bonnie? Why were you at the mall? Why didn't anyone of you answer their cell phones? Why did you kidnap her?"

Stefan didn't know when to leave things be.

Furious, Damon ripped his door open. "You know what? Why do you have to accuse me all the time of stuff I didn't even do? I didn't do anything to Bonnie! We're friends now. Why is that so hard to believe? You and Elena were the ones who always tried us to get along, who wanted us to get along, who forced us to work together for the 'greater good'. And then, when we are friends and we're getting along and don't try to make the other one suffer on sight, then suddenly you two have a problem with that? Why?! Because it wasn't your idea this time? Because you're jealous? Why is it so hard to believe? Why?!"

"It's hard to believe when I smell Bonnie all over your room and on your sheets!"

"So you made a habit out of smelling my sheets?" Damon challenged.

"Only when I smell Bonnie." Stefan stilled. That came out all wrong.

Sighing, he shook his head yet again. His brother had the ability to aggravate him like no other. "That wasn't what I meant. Bonnie is my friend. I care for her and I'm worried. I know you, Damon, and I know your track record not only with women but with people who trusted you. I don't want to see Bonnie hurt."

"What about me?! Never mind. Doesn't matter. I don't care anymore. You see what you want to see. That those 'friends' betrayed me first doesn't matter because I'm the bad one, doesn't matter they had me maimed to be killed. No, Damon is the ruthless one. Leave me the f*ck alone!"

"Damon … I … I'm sorry. Bonnie is my friend. I don't want to see either of you hurt. It's just, she's my friend and Elena's best friend", Stefan tried to explain.

"Stop it. Don't dangle Elena in front of me every time you want me to do something. I don't care about Elena. I stopped to care about her some time ago. But neither of you both realized it."

Still angry but a lot calmer, Damon left his room, pushed past Stefan and walked to the library. He had plans with Bonnie and he was going to stick to them – come what may.