A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, PMs and adding the story or me to your following or favorite lists. I'm blown away. I really don't know what to say.

And I want to thank everyone who reviewed my one-shot. Never thought just 'being in a mood' would receive so much acknowledgment.

Vie: Told you you're basically writing my story (stories?). Thank you for your constant reviews (even to my one-shot) and nice words. And Awwww! That was my first acronym! Even I still call it 'TLK Sequel'. I haven't watched that show much but I know it and I know Urkle. God was I afraid of something like that happening to me. I was quite afraid of him and his determination. (And his German voice). But besides that, it's exactly like I see Damon doing it. Damon and his mind-tricks.

Dioranamya: First of all, thank you for your review and your nice words. I'm glad you like the story and the pace they're going. I was a bot worried of that. Thought someone (all) would yell at me for stalling.

This chapter is shorter than the last ones. But I started with the next chapter and they just don't fit. It's better to end it here and start the new one than to try to get them to harmonize. And please remember, it's fictional and they're supernatural creatures. Vampires heal immediately. Don't do this at home (or anywhere else)!

Disclaimer: Still don't anything of Vampire Diaries or anything else you might recognize. No infringements intended. And the mistakes aren't mine either. It's because of automatic correction and spellcheck. All of them. *looks around sheepishly*

Enjoy reading.

Chapter 15:

When Bonnie came down into the kitchen, Damon was pouring coffee into two cups and had a bowl of corn flakes waiting for her.

"Sorry but I didn't really have any time to prepare a big breakfast."

"Don't worry. I don't expect a table full of variety of breakfast every time I'll sleep here." As the meaning of what she just said sank in she back-paddled. "Not that I'm going to sleep here again. I didn't want to sleep here last night. That was by accident."

"Denial. I know you enjoy spending the night in my bed", leered Damon playfully at her. "And you're invited any time. Just don't blame me when you come over unannounced and I'm lying in my bed in all my naked glory and nothing else."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen, Salvatore."

"It wouldn't be the first time you come over unannounced", grinned the vampire.

"Once. And last night, you took advantage of me being human. That so wasn't my fault."

"Whatever. Eat up before you accuse me of starving you. Btw, I found something yesterday. I'm not sure what good it will do but it seemed as if it was talking about our problem. Wait here, I'm bringing it."

When Damon was gone, Bonnie thought about the last day. Somehow, she still couldn't believe she was spending so much time with Damon. A short time ago, they disliked and hated each other. Sure, those feelings had weakened but the fact that they had been there still lingered in the back of her mind. Such intense feelings weren't easily dismissed and overcome.

Though, setting someone on fire was a great outlet for pent-up emotions.

A great deal of her resentments had puffed out with that. And they were even.

He had tried to kill her but didn't and she had tried to kill him but didn't. Like he always claimed, that should count for something. And it did.

Damon's close-death had brought new revelations to the surface. She cared enough for him to not want to see him dead. With everything that followed and her agreement to his deal, she couldn't deny it any longer:

She, Bonnie Bennett, liked him, Damon Salvatore.

Maybe not to the extent the healing magic implied but she did like him.

Her pondering was interrupted when Damon stomped towards her. Entering the kitchen, he had seen that his little witch was lost in her thoughts and decided to make himself known so not to scare her. With anyone else it would have been quite funny to scare them and see their frightened jump or scream but he wouldn't do that to Bonnie. He preferred his brain cells undamaged, thank you very much.

"Everything alright?", asked Damon. The little witch seemed to drift off more often these days. But who was he to judge? Ever since his own revelation about his feelings (part of his feelings), he was turning more and more into Stefan. Sitting in his armchair and pondering about his life and what to do for one special girl doing nothing but brood? Definitely Stefan.

He hadn't even done that for Katherine. Oh, he'd thought about what to do for her – getting her out of the tomb – but at the same time, he'd done almost everything (blood, alcohol, girls) to distract himself. Never before had he sat on a chair wondering how to win a girl over – Bonnie or the magic (both?) had changed that.

What was drifting off a few times compared to a character alteration?

Yeah, he thought so.

"I'm good. So, what you've got?", answered the witch.

Damon smirked mischievously. "That's a … very … loaded question."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You know, if you didn't turn every remark into an innuendo, maybe some of the remaining ones wouldn't be that bad."

Knowing they could go on like that for hours on end, Damon decided not to take the bait. And it was a bait – antagonizing him like that, he just knew it.

"Here, this was a diary of some kid of the staff at our mansion. Back then, the staff was pretty much seen as decor and was ignored. No one bothered to keep anything secret or unsaid in their presence. They saw a lot more than anyone wanted to believe. This was the diary of an unnamed girl. It seems like she had nothing to do with magic or vampires or anything, Her explanations and descriptions are … bland.

"But she wrote about a couple and their changed behavior towards each other, about the pain being separated from each other and great passion between them", Damon wiggled his eyebrows, "I mean, sure, it's possible it's just romantic rubbish of a sappy teenage girl who dreamed of great passion, undying love and soul mates but it's also possible she's talking about our magic."

Listening carefully to the vampire, Bonnie took the notebook out of his hands and read over the particular passage. Damon was right, it was vague but it was quite possible the maid had written about the 'True Love's Kiss' without realizing what really was going on. The content was scary. If the girl's words were true, the pain was about to become bad. The girl's descriptions turned into a horror story.

Then, however, Bonnie noticed something. There were a few lines added in another script. Obviously, the other person had known more about magic. The other person put the story in perspective. Bonnie read:

oOoOoO

Magic is never to be disregarded. Magic is a serious matter and not to be played with. Magic does not do anything without reason and the couple was warned before hand. They were given signs but chose to ignore them. They were bound together – there was not more. Magic does not force but lets choose.

oOoOoO

Bonnie snorted. After everything she had experienced and went through in the last year it was difficult to believe that magic didn't force anyone into anything. But it seemed a witch had lightened the girl's thoughts and frights without revealing herself in person.

oOoOoO

Soon, they will see that the bond that was forged between both is not a grudge but a blessing. It will fade.

oOoOoO

Did that mean it would go away on its own? If that was true, was there no way around the pain? Had they to go through it before it got better?

Urgh! Why does everything that deals with witches and magic have to be so clichéd?

"What do you think?" A voice shook her out of her thoughts.

Looking up, Bonnie saw Damon standing close waiting for her opinion. "It seems legit. But what does it mean for us? There's a part in another hand, did you see it? Did you read it?"

At her questions, Damon rose his eyebrows expectantly. "Vampire here, remember?"

"Ya, ya. Don't have to be like that", the witch muttered. "Vampire or not, you still haven't answered my question."

"You're the witch here. If it's about detecting something, smell or sound or visual, I'm your guy. If it's about maiming and getting information, I'm your guy. If it's about blood sampling or detecting or placing, come to me. But magic and hocus-pocus and grudges and all that, you're the expert."

Bonnie didn't know if she was flattered that he called her an expert and had that much trust in her or if she was offended by his mightier than you antics.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You, not wanting to give your two cents to anything and everything – that's a first. We're both part of this whole mess. I already told you I have no clue what's going on and what's going to happen. I just don't know it. All we can do is, as much as I hate to say it, brainstorm and think about different possibilities and their outcomes." The teenager was at her wit's end.

With a sigh, the vampire gave in. "I know. But there's nothing we can do about that right now. So, let's forget it for now and have some fun." Damon grinned.

"Maybe that works when you have forever but I can't wait that long." Bonnie was frustrated. She hated losing control and just drifting. She needed to do something; her patience was running short.

"No, but what else are we supposed to do? Any ideas? No? Me neither. We can't do anything about it now. We have to see how it goes. In the meantime, let's just enjoy each other's company", the vampire grinned.

The withering glare the witch sent his way had him shut up for a moment before his grin widened. "Get your mind out of the gutter, witch."

"Uh-huh. Sure, it's me with the perverted thoughts. Jerk", Bonnie mumbled, making sure to speak clearly enough for him to understand.

Softening his former words with a gentle nudge at her arm, Bonnie couldn't fight a small smile. Some part of her hated herself for acting like such a typical clichéd teenager – it was like she was out of a Taylor Swift song – but another part, a bigger part, of her enjoyed the feeling of content and happiness.

There had to be good things too after the horrors they'd lived through and those about to come.

"So, what have you planned for today?" Damon asked into the silence while Bonnie ate her breakfast.

Finishing chewing Bonnie thought about it. "I'm not sure. I mean it's summer and school is over. Probably actually doing what I had planned to do yesterday after the shopping trip before you kidnapped me." Bonnie grinned. "Nothing special. Just lying in the sun and enjoying the heat and relaxation. Having a nice, lazy day."

"Sounds nice", Damon commented absentmindedly.

A short while later, Bonnie had finished her breakfast and Damon was driving her home.

Sitting in the car, Bonnie suddenly realized something. "How com you haven't eaten all day?"

Surprised, Damon took his eyes off the road and glanced at her. "You're offering?"

"No, not that. I didn't mean blood. But yesterday in the diner and this morning it was only me eating something and you sticking to coffee. Twice. I've seen Caroline and Stefan eat. And boy, does Caroline eat now that she doesn't put on weight", Bonnie finished her thought out loud.

"Hey, not everyone can eat breakfast, a snack, lunch, coffee and pie, dinner and a snack. I do eat. The breakfast I made you at your house; we shared it. And a lot of people don't have breakfast. A hot cup of coffee is more than enough."

"Just because Caroline is catching up on the calories she should have eaten in her 17 years of human life doesn't mean all of us have to do that."

Bonnie wanted to reprimand him, wanted to defend her best friend, however, as soon as she opened her mouth to say something, she shut it again. He was right after all. Caroline had always cared for her weight. Ever since she'd hit puberty she started to be careful what she ate, watching her size. If it wasn't for style and fashion, it was for cheerleading.

The little witch had never understood her friend in that regard. Sure, it wasn't like she only ate fast and junk food or didn't watch her eating but when there was a tub of Ben&Jerry's calling her name, she indulged in it. Or going to the movies without popcorn? Not for her.

One thing didn't mean necessarily the other.

"Do you even taste what you're eating? Or drinking for that matter? All the strong alcohol you're downing, doesn't it sting your throat?" Bonnie wondered.

Damon thought about her words for a few moments. "You know how it is when there's a meal you don't really like but you don't dislike it either. It's like that. Like when there's this dish you love but the spices are missing. Only our spice is solely blood."

That was way more info than Bonnie had ever wanted. She knew he was a vampire and she knew they not only drank blood but depended on it. She even came somehow to terms with it. However, she didn't like to be reminded of it. Ignorance was a bliss sometimes.

"Judgey, you're a witch. We've just looked through all those grimoires. You can't tell me you haven't seen all those spells and potions you need hair and blood for. You even did spells you needed blood for before."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. I like to pretend I don't know", Bonnie sighed.

The vampire had to give her that. Sometimes he wished he would still possess the innocence to pretend nothing of this mess, his life, was real. However, it was easier to mask it with a smirk and a glint in his eyes. Let people believe what they wanted (most of the time at least when he didn't compel them).

"Fair enough."

With his last words the car fell back into silence until they reached Bonnie's home a few minutes later – this time without any unwanted visitor.

"See you", the witch said as she left Damon's car. This time she hadn't her heavy bags with her. It had been an unexpressed mutual decision to leave the books and grimoires at the Boarding House. If anything was going to happen, they would have a look through the books together again.

"Yeah, you too."

With those departing words, Damon drove back to the Boarding House.