A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate it! Just to clarify this is an all-human fic! Hope you all enjoy =) xoxo

Present.

Disconnected.

Bonnie felt detached from her body… isolated. She had no idea how long it had been since she entered this place. Days…. Weeks…. Months? She wasn't aware. Time stopped moving here…. Time was no longer on her side.

Hugging her sweater close to herself to provide some warmth from the added chill that crept among her skin, she stared at the man sitting across from her. Today was the first day she would be having a one on one therapy session, opposed to the group therapy sessions that she never spoke in…. that she hated. The sessions were just people with their dried up addictions talking about what started it and how they were trying to improve and recover. But were they really trying to recover? Half of them would say anything just to get out of this facility and go back to square one; to embrace the feeling of contentment as it flowed through their bloodstream giving them an invigorating high.

And yet every day, several times a day, she still craved that high… that little ounce of contentment that she would never be allowed to have here. But that was the point right? To get her so detached from it that she would never want to even look at the stuff again… that she would never want to crave it to make herself feel whole.

"Are you cold?" Her therapist spoke, breaking her away from her thoughts. She may have been staring at him, but she wasn't really looking at him, until she heard his voice. From arriving to this facility this was the first time she had laid eyes on him.

He must be new, she thought as she shook her head to his question, and then looked down.

She didn't want to be here anymore…. sitting across from him, knowing he would try to open her up and express her feelings. The truth is the only thing she was feeling was detached… detached from her body….her organs….her blood. She was on a downward spiral, and she just wanted to crawl back into her bed and dream; dream about her contentment…her peace.

"I know you don't want to be here." He stated, causing her to look up at him. "I know that you would give anything to be out of here, back into the world and doing the things that make you feel at ease… things that got you here in the first place."

Bonnie's body shuddered, as if she had no control over it. Of course that's what she wanted to be doing. It was easier than being here.

Silence filled the room again as she watched him write something down in his notepad.

"What do you like to do, Bonnie?"

His question caught her off guard, leaving irritation flowing within her, "I like to fuck, drink, shoot up, and snort. Did I leave anything out?"

Her therapist's expression never changed. Not once did he wince at her vulgar tongue. He still stared at her as most of the other therapists did, emotionless and a distinct look to do their job.

"What did you like to do before you let alcohol and drugs consume your life?" His voice level stayed the same, neither showing annoyance nor compassion.

"I don't remember that life." Bonnie spat out. "And you didn't come here to ask me about my life, my favorite color, or if I had a dog growing up. You came here to help right? You're my one on one road to recovery right, because the group sessions don't help? Well, I don't want to do this… I don't want to talk." She then stood up and looked at the door. "I don't want to be here… in this place…"

He stood up as well, towering over her small frame. When her eyes found his, she noticed an inch of compassion etch its way into his features. "But you are here. You're not the only one in this place that wouldn't kill to be out there living it up again. You chose to be here… to recover. So, you may not think these sessions help right now, but they will… slowly they will…"

A wave of despair hit Bonnie, as she walked out of the door. She knew that she still had forty minutes of session left and was not supposed to leave until it was over, but she couldn't stay there any longer. She'd deal with the repercussions later.

She'd also have to talk to Rebekah later, as she ignored her calling her name once she stepped out of the room. All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep.

Rebekah Mikaelson frowned as her new found friend walked past her without giving her a second glance. The only thing she could really do though was understand. Her first few weeks in this place, she never wanted to be bothered and always lashed out at everyone who tried to help her.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room that Bonnie just left. She was unaware why she had to meet with another therapist, especially when she already met with one this morning. She really hoped that she wasn't getting assigned to someone else, because she rather liked Pearl… well, she grew to like her.

But when Rebekah's eyes connected with the man in the room, her breath caught in her throat, and a smile crept across her lips, "Damon?"

"Long time no see, Barbie Klaus," He smiled, grabbing her into a hug.

She closed her eyes for a moment and relaxed against his embrace. She didn't realize how much she missed him until he was here, standing right in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"This facility needed another therapist. So I said hey, why not?" It was partially the truth, as he led her over to one of the couches and sat down.

Rebekah wasn't buying it. "Damon, I've known you for several years, I know when you're lying. Plus, didn't you decide to take a break from the whole clinical psychology thing and run your father's business?"

Damon knew he couldn't get anything past the female Mikaelson. She and her brothers could pretty much read him like a book. Even they knew he was bullshitting when he said he was getting back into the psychology business for a little while. He may have got his doctorates in clinical psych, but Damon was a rare over achiever, and learned what he needed to know about business. And when his father passed away several years ago, he was now the rightful owner slash C.E.O. of Salvatore Industries.

So, what possessed him to take a break from his fast passed life of making more money than he could dream of to come and council a drug addict and alcohol abuser back to her former self? His broody, selfless, and 'tries to make everything right with the world,' brother. Stefan called him a week ago, explaining that his girlfriend's best friend had a drug and alcohol addiction for almost three years and was ready to go to rehab. Of course, Stefan, being the dutiful kindhearted brother, wanted her to go to one of the best facilities in the United States. And that just so happened to be in Manhattan where Damon currently lived and ran Salvatore Industries.

His first thought and answer was 'hell no.' He was not about to take some time off from his job to help a cracked out twenty year old who probably didn't even want to be helped.

"Why did you get your degree in psychology again if you're going to make uncalled for comments like that?" Stefan asked as he rolled his eyes.

Damon shrugged, "Eh, at the time I enjoyed understanding people, but being sympathetic is not my forte anymore?"

"Damon I need you to do this for me, please."

"No, Stefan, I'm busy. I have a company to run." He said, looking into the mirror and straightening out his collar. He had a hot date tonight and really didn't have time for one of Stefan's moods.

"Let Elijah do it for a while. Damon, Bonnie is Elena's best friend and she has become like a sister to me, I really need you to do this. She use to have such light in her eyes, and along the way of life, she got lost. You more than anyone should know how that is."

Damon continued to stare into the mirror, trying to ignore his brother.

"Just think about it, Damon. No matter how much of a dick you can be, you're good at what you do." Then he walked out, leaving Damon alone with his thoughts.

And of course, being Damon, no matter how much he tried to push it away, he knew he was going to help out his little brother and let Elijah run Salvatore Industries until he brought this girl to her recovery.

He shrugged at Rebekah's question, "I'm doing both for a little while."

She pushed him softly a little with a smile plastered to her face, "Well, you must not be doing a good job, because Bonnie ran out of here, and I'm sure her session wasn't over. "

"Well, we both know how that goes. She'll come around…. We all did." His eyes then connected with hers, "Speaking of coming around, why are you still here, Bexs?"

The smile that Rebekah displayed on her face slowly began to fade at his question, "I'm not done here yet." Her voice was a bit above a whisper.

"You've been here for almost a year, and I can tell just by being here with you now that you're doing a lot better. Trust me, I would know."

Silence filled the room, as a few tears formed in her eyes.

"They miss you, Bexs. They really want to see you… but you keep denying them visitation rights."

"I can't…. not after… I'm just, I'm not done here." She said again. Rebekah may have been to the end of her recovery journey, she may open up in her group and private sessions, but there were still some things that she couldn't talk about; especially to the guy she considered a brother.

"Elijah is getting married in eight months. They are going to want you there." He stated, kissing her forehead.

He then put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know…." She whispered.

Bonnie felt on fire; as if her whole body was clenching and ripping into her insides. Not only that, but she felt as if things were crawling on her; tickling her skin and making her itch.

"Bonnie… Bonnie, can you hear me?"

She could hear Rebekah, but the pain was overclouding her thoughts, "I-It h-hurts." She wanted her grams, she wanted Matt. And before she could call out to them, the pain and itching got worse. She looked at her arms and that's when she saw it.

There were little ants crawling all over her skin; gnawing at her flesh. And all she could do was scream, as she thrashed around in bed, trying to get them off of her.

"There are ants on me!" she screamed, "Get them off, please! Get them off, Oh my God! Please!"

Rebekah quickly grabbed her arms to get her to stop scratching before she ripped her skin off, "Listen to me, Bonnie, there are no bugs on you. It's just the withdrawal from the drugs."

Bonnie wasn't listening, because all she could do was feel them crawl their way up her skin. She tried to remove her arms from Rebekah's grasp, but she only gripped them harder.

"You're nerves are firing on their own, and you think they are ants, but they're not, it's just a hallucination." Rebekah then grabbed her face, causing Bonnie's eyes to connect with hers. "There are no bugs on you, it's not real. It's going to stop."

It took Bonnie a moment to calm down, and though she was still in pain and still itchy, she was able to look around a little, "There are no bugs?"

"No… it's just your nerves healing from all of the crap you've shot into them."

Bonnie then laid down, and grabbed her knees to her chest, "T-this h-hurts…I…" She couldn't finish her sentence as she groaned out in agony.

Rebekah grabbed her hand again, "Squeeze my hand, and if I see any bugs on you, I'll call a nurse, okay?"

Bonnie nodded as she squeezed Rebekah's hand tightly, hoping that everything would end soon.

Past

"There's still time to get you a plane ticket. Christmas with my dad in California will be more bearable with you there." Caroline whined to her best friend.

"You know I would love to go, but Matt and I plan to have a little Christmas celebration here…."

"Aren't you two still fighting?"

"That's beside the point. Plus, I want to get a head start on the reading for next semester." Bonnie told Caroline, as she walked her to her cab.

"Bonnie if you weren't my best friend, I would probably roll my eyes and walk away from you. But, since you are, I'm going to be honest with you. I love you…. I do, but you seriously need to loosen up a bit. I mean this whole first semester, you probably only went to your room, the library, or the cafeteria…."

"I can't lose my scholarship….." Bonnie cut her off.

"I know that, Bons, trust me I do, but you could continue making straight A's with your eyes closed." She argued, closing the trunk to the cab. "All I'm saying is that when I get back, you are going to have a real fun college experience. No ifs, ands, or buts… well, unless it's Stefan's hot butt." She added with a giggle.

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh, "You know one day Elena's going to whoop your ass for checking out her boyfriend all the time."

"Eh, she knows it's harmless." She smiled and then pulled Bonnie into a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Bons."

Bonnie held onto her best friend, "Don't make me cry, it's only going to be two weeks."

"I know. Be safe, and we'll text every day and Skype." She beamed.

"Of course. Now go, or you'll miss your flight."

The girls hugged one more time, and then Caroline got into the cab and went to the airport.

Bonnie made her way back up to their dorm room. She wasn't going to lie; she already missed Caroline, Elena, Tyler, and Stefan. All four of them invited her and Matt to stay with their families for Christmas, but they didn't want to impose. Matt's mom was somewhere in the U.S. frolicking with someone that was probably jail bate, and Vicky was staying in New York for the holidays. Vicky invited Matt to visit, but he was short on cash, and he didn't want to leave Bonnie. And Bonnie wasn't in the mood to go back to Mystic Falls and spend Christmas with her drunk of a dad, who didn't give a shit about her. Her Grams was out touring Europe and she invited her to come, by paying for a plane trip, but Bonnie was deathly afraid of planes, and though she missed her Grams dearly, she knew that she had her significant other to keep her company. So, spending her first year in the dorms with her best friend wouldn't be so bad.

And when she walked into her bedroom to see Matt lying on her bed, looking at a picture of her on his back, and Elena in front of him, smiling at one of the back to school kick off events, she smiled.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked, sitting up.

She sat down beside him, "I don't know, are you still going to snort coke with that Haley chick?" Bonnie didn't hide her annoyance and frustration.

"No," He answered, "It was only one time. It's like when you tried tequila for the first time. It was just a guilty pleasure I wanted to try, but I'm never going to do it again." And he was sincere. He knew it was stupid to do what he did, but he was at a party one night, trying to ease his mind from failing a test he studied really hard for. And Haley, the girl he met in his class, invited him to a party one night. He had a couple drinks and then he found her in the back taking a line, and decided to live a little.

When he came to Bonnie's dorm that night, drunk and on a cocaine high, she was pissed, and today was the first time she had talked to him. It had been a long week without her friendship, so, he would never do it again.

"Good," She said intertwining her hand with his, "Because I don't want anything to happen to you."

He squeezed her hand gently and reassuringly.

They both laid back on the bed like they always do.

"This has been one long semester." He said, breaking the silence.

Bonnie smiled, "Yes it has, and Caroline is pretty much forcing me into every party next year."

Matt laughed, "We'll see how that goes, because that was supposed to happen this semester and you pretty much barricaded yourself in here."

"I went to a few. I kept my promise."

"Yeah, so new subject, what are you making me for Christmas dinner?"

She shoved him off of the bed, causing them both to laugh.

Past

New Year's Eve

"I can't believe you talked me into doing this." Bonnie said, trying to pull down the black skin tight, mid-thigh high dress that was sliding up way too far. If she were to bend over in the slightest, it would show way more than she bargained for.

"Bonnie you're hot, and this dress adds to it. I swear if you weren't my best friend, I would probably take you back to the car and…." Matt winked, and Bonnie shoved him.

"Watch it, Donovan." She placed her arm in his and took a deep breath as they walked inside what looked like a mansion.

As soon as they stepped inside, all eyes were on them, especially Bonnie. Even the guys that brought a date were checking her out. It was flattering, but she definitely couldn't help but feel self-conscious. That's where the socially awkward part came in; she hated the attention.

"Matt, you made it!" A female voice practically screamed, trying to be heard over the loud music. Haley pretty much flew into Matt's arms.

She then looked at Bonnie, and her smile grew wider, "Looking good Bonnie. Finally came out of the house to play." She winked.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She had one class with Haley, and she was definitely one of those people that had to grow on you. But ever since she got Matt to partake in drugs, she couldn't really care less about her.

"So, everyone who enters my humble domain has to take shots, and you two are up." Haley said, leading them to the kitchen.

Bonnie was a little skeptical, but Matt whispered in her ear, assuring her that they would be okay and watch out for one another.

So, after her fifth shot, she could definitely say she was feeling it. She and Matt danced to almost every song that came on, and Bonnie even let loose and let her ass grind on a few strangers who were definitely enjoying it.

This was the first time in a while that Bonnie felt carefree and weightless. As she was grinding against Matt, Haley walked up and handed Bonnie another shot, who took it without hesitation. After they both downed it together, she told them to follow her.

They followed her downstairs into her basement that looked like an extra apartment, and noticed a few people sitting around, smoking weed and lining up.

"Hey guys, I have two more people." Haley said, sitting in between the two guys on the couch. "Matt, Bonnie, this is Connor and April." She introduced the guy on the left of her, and the girl sitting beside him. When she introduced the guy on the right, both Bonnie and Matt knew him, and couldn't believe he was here, "And you all know Atticus… well Professor Shane." She smiled at the look on their faces, "Don't worry, they're cool."

Bonnie may have been drunk, but she was still aware, and so was Matt. So, he knew when she gripped his hand tightly that she was ready to go.

But he was surprised when she led him closer and took a seat across from them.

They watched as Haley pressed down her right nostril, bent down, and inhaled the white powdery substance.

"Who's next?" Haley asked, sniffing a bit and wiping her nose, "What about you, Bonnie?"

Present

"You can stop there if you'd like. You're fifty minutes are up, and I know it was a lot for you to tell me what you did." Damon indicated, as Bonnie took a pause from reliving a memory.

He wasn't surprised when she turned up to his therapy session three days later. Damon didn't want to force her to see him; she had to come to him. And he knew she would.

He hadn't counseled anyone in years, so as he sat and listened to Bonnie, he wasn't able to take his eyes away from her. It wasn't just the story in its self, but it was the way she relived her memories. He could see that it was hurting her, but he could also tell that it was adding relief, being able to talk about it. He also couldn't take his eyes away from her because she was insanely gorgeous; even if her hair was always pulled back into a messy pony tail and he only saw her barely smile once. But he knew, checking out his patient was a bit too inappropriate.

"Don't you want to hear what happens next?" Her voice was hollow when she spoke, knowing that New Year's Eve, three years ago, was when it all changed.

"If you would like to tell me, then I'm here to listen."

Bonnie glanced in Damon's direction for a quick moment and quickly looked back down. Him staring at her, almost intently was a little too overwhelming. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable or freaked out, but she was beginning to feel a little self-conscious.

And it stunned her, because that feeling hadn't crept among her in years.

Past

Bonnie could only stare at the white nose candy laid out for her. She didn't know if it was the alcohol performing its effects on her, but for some reason she wanted to try it…. just once. Just to see what the hype was about. For once she didn't want to be the goody two shoes. And she was already buzzed and having such a great time, so what would it hurt?

It would just be one time.

"Bonnie, you don't have to do it. We can go." Matt said, not wanting his friend to feel uncomfortable.

She looked at Matt, and shrugged, "We only live once right?" And as soon as she got the words out, she performed the same actions as Haley did a moment ago, and inhaled the white substance through her nose.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! I know it was a crazy place to leave it! But thank you guys again for reading!

That scene with Rebekah and Bonnie, when she felt like ants were crawling on her was from private practice, like I mentioned in the last chapter. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due.

Hopefully I can have another chapter for you all by the weekend. Please, please, please review! I love to hear your thoughts on the story! xoxo