Love the audience for this story. You guys are great.

*I don't own these characters

*Unbeta'd and it goes a little something like this…

*Please enjoy

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.

~Malcolm X

Damon and Stefan have been gone a week. When their father had come home to visit, he decided he would be a grade A ass and take them on spring break a couple of weeks early. They missed school and Bonnie hadn't heard from Damon since the night he took her home. What are hurtful thing to go through right after you bonded in such a way. Bonnie was feeling all sorts of heart ache behind the situation. For a few days she had to walk around concealing her neck, yet living daily with the reminder of what Damon had done to her. She was reminded of his wicked tongue and it made her miss him more. There was no filling the void of Damon. Bonnie couldn't believe how she let that white boy get in her head. Him and his blue eyes, he was molesting her thoughts. For five days she sat and stared at the two empty seats in both of the classes she shared with him. Her life was kind of at a stand still.

When Bonnie would go to work today, she would finally swallow her pride and ask Lily how Damon is doing. Bonnie never wanted to make anything between them obvious. Especially when it came to her job because she did not want to risk her job or her relationship with her boss. After all Lily was very nice to Bonnie.

"Hello Bonnie. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well. Thank you Ms. Lily. Say How are Stefan and Damon doing, I haven't seen them all week."

"Well, their father absent-mindedly decided to take them out of town, thinking this week was spring break. So where ever he is with them they have barely called to say two words to me. A part of me is worried because I don't trust their father. But part of me is happy they get to spend quality time with him."

"Oh okay. Spring break isn't for another week. I thought they would be going with some of us to NOLA, I was really looking forward to it."

"I had no idea you kids had a plan to leave for spring break."

"Well, some of the seniors got together and planned it. I really wasn't going to go, unless Damon and Stefan were going to go. But now Elena is kind of counting on me to go, and I told her I would introduce her to some of my friends from back home."

"Will the boys be back next week?"

"I think so. Their father has decided to move back closer to town so her can have the boys start working more often."

Sadness fell over Bonnie's complete demeanor. Lily noticed it completely.

"Bonnie?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"How long have you and my son been together?"

"Excuse me? We are not together ma'am."

Lily laughs. "I know I look young but Bonnie I wasn't born yesterday. I see how the two of you look at each other. I also can see the positive changes in my son."

"We really are not together ma'am. I mean I care for him and he means the world to me, but we have barely had a chance to really talk about what we want."

"Well if their dad has anything to say about it, Damon cannot date a girl if she isn't (she tapped at her own arm) Ya know? He is such an ass hole."

"Well, I would hate to come between Damon and his father."

Just then Lily''s house phone rang. "Damon, how are you guys? We were just talking about you."

"Oh yes Bonnie is here. Would you like to say Hi to her?"

"Oh, okay, if you have to go then I am sure she will understand."

"Okay I will tell her."

Okay, son I love you too."

Bonnie's heart just broke in a million pieces. This was far worse than Marcel not calling every day, because Damon knew how it made Bonnie feel. But for him not even to try to listen to her voice afterwards for the whole week, angered her. Her mother was right. That is all that slick white boy wanted. He just wanted my body.

Once Lily got off of the phone, she told her that Damon said to tell Bonnie "HI." So impersonal, what was that. She thought He was better than that. She thought they were better than that. Her entire soul ached and she realized how her momma tried protecting her all of these years. She was so done with Men all together. But maybe more specifically white boys. Why would she allow him to rob her of her integrity?

"Hello Sheila, I know I forgot to give you a heads up, but I have somethings I need to take care of all of this week. So I will only need Bonnie on the early shift, and you don't have to cook for me at all this week okay. I will have to leave every day at five and for some volunteer work. But I will still give you both your week's FULL pay, since it was my silly mistake. This should be great for you Bonnie to finished getting prepared for you trip to NOLA."

"Well, okay. Bonnie, sweet pea, let's go. Okay, I left something upstairs I just need to get it."

"Okay. I will be waiting in the car."

"Okay Grams." Bonnie decided at school today she would write a letter to Damon, and let him know how he has made he feel all week long. So at work after Lily got her phone call, Bonnie wrote her letter and left it in Damon's room. On the very bed they lie on kissing a week before.

As Bonnie and Sheila head home, Sheila asks about Damon. "How are you and Damon?"

"Grams he was just a friend."

"Was?"

Bonnie doesn't answer.

"Well, I suppose when someone doesn't try to communicate with you for a week or more, you have every right to be angry, or you can pray that something is not wrong with them where they cannot talk to you."

"Don't do that Grams. He made his bed. If I cared for someone, I would try something. Anything! So, it is best I listen to my momma, about white boys. I can't take them seriously Grams."

"But Marcellus can be trusted? He has no reason to be avoiding you. You can't even break up with him because he doesn't return your phone calls so that you can end things with him. You don't know of Damon to have a reason to be angry or feel distant to you, right. He is away with his daddy. You need to stop being like ya momma right now."

"Grams!"

"No. don't grams me. I see your momma all in ya attitude right now. I have known that boy for almost 15 years, okay. He is a good boy. His daddy is the son of the damned devil, but Damon is a good boy. I know he cares for you, but stop jumping to conclusions okay. I mean it Bonnie Bonita Bennett." Bonnie hated hearing her full name. It was such a phrase of repetitiveness.

Grams had found out about Bonnie and Damon a couple weeks back, when Bonnie didn't realize she had put two and two together. But, it was the monkey bite that let her know about the official nature of it all. Then Sheila had to give Bonnie a scolding about such a classless act, giving and receiving of hickeys. She told Bonnie she better never let her see 'Na nutha monkey bite.' She was waiting to give Damon a piece of her mind too, but he hasn't been around since that night. So Sheila knew Bonnie's heart was a bit achy, but you never just lay around moping about what you can't fix. She knew Giuseppe was a hateful bastard, and that probably had a lot to do with why Damon hadn't communicated with Bonnie.

"Bonnie, I have seen some awful things, done to both Damon and Stefan by their father. But mostly Damon, I guess because he is more of the rebellious one. It is really Damon's place to talk to you about those things, but trust me when I say Lily leaving Giuseppe is the best thing that ever happened to this family. Remember what your momma did to you a few weeks back? That was nothing compared to what I have seen Damon go through with his devil-worshippin' father."

"Bonnie's face grew suddenly concerned. "Grams, you think Damon is in trouble?"

"I certainly hope not. What I will say is Giuseppe seems to have changed some over the years. But you can't just take that kind of hate out of someone. It doesn't just disappear. Those boys are like Grandsons to me, Bonnie. I have seen and been there with them through a lot, I am just asking you to be slow to judge and quick to forgive. Okay. In life, it is a much wiser way to look at people in general. I believe Damon cares more deeply for you, than even he can comprehend Chile."

"Oh Grams."

"I have been on this Earth a while now. What I see in his eyes, when he looks at you. That boy loves you something terrible."

"Bonnie, always feels better after talking to her grams. Now she had to go home and deal with her momma. Her momma who has been looking at her like she can't stand the site of her for weeks now. How did this happen? Bonnie and Abby were together in NOLA all of these years together. Then Abby changed when her husband was killed. It hurt Bonnie that it had to affect her relationship with her momma. It just worked out that way, death changed some people in the worst ways; but your child still needs you. Your children always need you. Which is why Sheila still tried to be there for Abby, and understand her.

As Bonnie and Sheila pull into the drive way there is a cab waiting outside with the meter on. There are two suitcases sitting on the porch.

"ABIGAIL?"

"Momma? Momma? What is going on?" Bonnie's pervious anger towards her mom is gone in this miniscule moment.

"Momma, "Abby said to Sheila and then her daughter, "Bonnie, I have to leave. I realize I need help and I can't get it here."

"Help? Momma, for what?" Bonnie was enraged.

"Everything Bonnie. You wouldn't understand. Things that have been problems since before I even had you baby. Okay. I can't be who you need me to be right now."

"It doesn't matter momma. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be there. YOU CAN'T LEAVE! You can't leave me!" Bonnie's eyes fled the gates to Noah's arc. She pleaded with Abby to stay. In these short months, Bonnie left everything and everyone she knew, the boy she oved for two years, her lifelong friends, her community, her identity, the death of the man that adopted her as her step daddy, her best friend whom she just made in life, and now her very own mother.

"Why momma? Why did I have to lose both you and him? Why, when he died, did I have to lose my own momma?" She pulled at her mother to answer her questions, and snap out of this bullshit she was going through, and it didn't matter, it never registered, Abby had checked out months ago. Bonnie couldn't get through to her if she were on her death bed right now.

"I will never forgive you if you leave me! You hear me ABIGAIL ANITA BENNETT? NEVER!" Abby couldn't even get the courage to hold or hug her daughter before getting in the cab. As Bonnie dropped to her knees on Sheila's porch, Sheila went to the ground with her only granddaughter and held onto her. Held her like a mother should hold her child. Bonnie just about broke in that moment. The feelings of anger she had towards anything or anyone turned into pain. She cried for three hours in her room, she never ate dinner, she never called Marcel. In fact, she decided that she would call Marcel no more. She was declaring the ignored calls a break up. Bonnie changed that day her momma left her without just cause. She decided that trust was a two-way street and that she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else hurting her, because she was done letting people in. Everyone.

Meanwhile…

Giuseppe makes sure to keep Damon busy. The moment he got to the house to find his wife and two sons entertaining the "hired-help," he immediately realized that something inappropriate was going on. He almost didn't let Damon give Bonnie a ride, home, he offered to take her, but Damon did not trust Giuseppe alone with Bonnie. So he made sure he took Bonnie home. His dad, decided taking them out of school for a week to show them the ropes with the family business was a bright idea. Needless to say, the family business wasn't a legit one, so taking the boys out of school meant nothing to a man with no moral compass.

In Giuseppe's line of work there were always women hanging around. He tried Bribing Stefan and Damon with coming to work for him sooner. He had two handsome Italian boys, and he thought out loud one day, "Son, you are a good looking Italian man, I can introduce you to a really nice, beautiful Italian girl, her name is Magdalene. Maggie for short. I've been telling her about you for a long time now, she is looking forward to meeting you."

"Pop, I am not in the mood to meet anyone I just want to work and get back home."

"I've never heard a boy turn down a pretty face, unless of course he's fruity?"

"What about Stefan Pop? Why do you keep hounding me about chicks? I don't want to meet anyone,"

"Is there something you want to tell me Damon?"

"About what?"

"About that little NI**er b*tch I keep hearing about?" Giuseppe said that hateful word as fluently as a person who uses it frequently.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"Oh tough guy. We gonna do this Damon? You ready to challenge ole pop?"

"Pops, come on. Don't do this." Stefan pleaded with his ruthless, hateful father.

"Stay out of this Stefano. Damon wants to step to pop, Damon will learn the hard way that in this family, EVERYTHING you boys do, will be run through me first. Or you will get ran through by me."

"Damon, let's call it a day and go back to the house. We have to head home tomorrow, don't let your pride get the best of you, Damon."

"No! Screw you Giusep! Kick my ass if you want to, but don't you ever call her that again."

Giuseppe laughs deliberately at Damon's annoyance and says, "Oh, son. My apologies. Dicono figa nera è dolce, no? Non potrebbe danneggiare per testare fuori." He says to his two guards and knowing full well that Stefan and Damon understand him. Then he laughs. (They say black pussy is sweet, no? Couldn't hurt to test her out.)

Damon, bucked up and popped Giuseppi Square across his jaw. Knocking him down.

Giuseppi Salvatore grabbed his jaw and looked at his son in disbelief. He could have just gotten up and been a man about it, and hit hit back; and in his mind Giuseppi would do that. But Not after he got under his skin some more.

"Wow, you been working out son?"

Damon went after him again, and was caught by Stefan. "Let me go Stefan."

"I tell you what, son. I'll give her a test drive first, and let you know. She's almost 18, right?

When he laughed, Damon could take no more. He ran to Giuseppi and forced him back to the gound. Then, when he was sure he had the advantage over him physically, he proceeded to work nothing less than a hospitalization for Giuseppis face. Damon was breaking every bone in giuseppis face, blow, after blow, then Giuseppis right hands grabbed at Damon, tossing him like nothing through the air. When they got Giuseppi up, they walked over to Damon and held him down while Giuseppi hit Damon over and over on his rib cage. He even delivered a couple of powerful kicks. "You will never beat me boy. You will never get the best of me. You got lucky, with that first sucker punch, but-"

"But what, what about when I beat your ass directly after that, breaking every bone on your gotdamn face? You can't beat me without these clowns. You're a coward! I'm not the same 13 year old kid you use to kick around." Damon spat out.

"You'd lose your life for this little bitch, your family?"

Damon wished he could just get to his father, through these two clowns, but he couldn't. "She is more my family than you will ever be. Keep talking about her like that, I'll kill you." He says outta breath.

Giuseppi grabbed Damon by his collar, and stood him up spitting in his face as he spoke. "I'll kill you, before I ever let you sucker punch me again boy. I brought you in this world, and I can take you out of it!" Then he hit Damon again in his badly bruised ribs. Stefan swore he heard something break.

Stefan was sick of backing down to Giuseppi, he had enough of being treated like a peice of property, and watching his brother be treated like he was being dealt with by anyone other than his father. His father the angry Italian; breathing life into the Mobster stereotype. Stefan caught Giuseppi off guard and tapped him on his shoulder and shot him one to the other side of the face, opposite the side Damon got him on.

"You self righteous little bastards. Biting the hand that feeds you?" Giuseppi shouted. Thank God for Stefan, because Damon caught his second wind and the boys faught back. Together. Against Giuseppi and his two dumb right hands. When Stefan picked up a bat, Damon snatched it out of his hands and swung so hard that when Giuseppis face made contact with it, the last thing they heard was a crack, and their father didn't move. Damon was feeling relentless, he ran and swung at one of the larger men, then when the third man stood outnumbered, he told them to run while they could. He actually felt sorry and afraid for both of Giuseppis boys.

"If i were you I'd leave town and don't look back. When he comes to, he's coming for you. I didn't want to hurt you guys but I have no choice, he pays my bills. Get the hell out of here while you have time to, don't look back!"

Damon and Stefan left in one of their fathers cars. Stefan took money from his dad's safe and he and Damon left. They didn't look back. They headed for Mystic Falls first. They need to let their mother know what transpired, and figure out what to do next.

"You got everthing sweet pea?" Sheila asked Bonnie.

"Yes. Grams. I'll be fine. See, Caroline is fully prepared and we are driving to Lena and Kats house and then all of us will pile into that rediculously painted VW van grams. We will all stay together." Bonnie said laughing, but really not in a great mood.

"Bonnie, I am sorry about your momma. I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you. I just wanted you to know a small part of why she is struggling dealing with everything okay. We can talk more when you get back. Just enjoy your spring break and don't think about it all. I know it is easier said than done, but I am serious. You have worked hard you deserve this."

Bonnie couldn't help but to rush herself out of the door. She just got shocking news from her grandmother about her mother and didn't want to think about it at all. She really was going through it mentally and was feeling quite outside of herself. She was excited to go to NOLA for spring break, and introduce her new friends to her old friends, and maybe the slight touch of familiarity would help bring life back into Bonnie. She had no intentions of meeting with Marcel. But her best friends, Rebekah, Tara, and Lafeyette, were all waiting for her to get there.

Elena and Katherine invited the Lockwood boys who would be coming the following day, and everyone was excited to participate in Mardi Gras festivities. She still hadn't heard from Damon, and was unsure of how to take it, but this week would be about Bonnie trying to repair whatever was breaking inside of her. By any means necessary. It was time to foget about everything!

Caroline and Bonnie arrive and the twins are waiting in the van alerady packed.

"Bout time. I already smoked an antire joint without you guys." Elena says.

"Relax, it was half a joint, you've been suckin on it all morning." Katherine says.

"Bonnie, don't worry, if you don't want to try anything crazy, I wont either." Caroline says.

"You goody two shoes are tripping big time. And not in a good way either. Here, take one and just relax and enjoy the ride. I'm a great driver, and Elena is a great dj."

"Ready, Set, Party time!" Elena said, and gave the girls a beer to chase their tiny pills.

Bonnie rolls her eyes and looks out the window. She has never felt more alone.

A/N

This story had to have a dark moment, all in the name of love conquering all. Just added more elements to the layers of the characters in this chapter.

Damon and Bonnie need each other.

The depths of this story just took a leap, I am excited for the next couple of chapters. A little excitement gets brought to the story for BAMON. The next couple chapters are going to be the ADVENTURES in NOLA/MARDI GRAS/and who goes to get their girl?

Let me kow what you think. Don't worry the story will stay true to its nature, I promise.