A/N: Thank you all so much for your reading & reviewing the last chapter! I'm so glad you are all enjoying, and I'm sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoy!

Cheap champagne seeped its way down Bonnie's throat before she lied back down on her blanket and continued to stare at the stars in the night sky. She could feel the alcohol slowly taking its effects, and knew that soon she would probably be a little tipsy.

Currently she was lying in front of her grandmother's and father's tombstones. Anyone would probably consider her out of her mind for being in a grave yard at night, in the cold, especially with all that goes on in Mystic Falls. It was a good thing she didn't care what people thought and being a pretty powerful witch was an added bonus, so whoever or whatever decided to mess with her would be in for a rude awakening.

Truth be told, Bonnie was lying in front of her family's tombstones because it brought her a sense of calm and strength, as unorthodox as it sound. She missed them desperately every day, and if this was the only way to be near them, then so be it.

Her mind wondered to the turn of events that happened in just one week. Kai was back, Elena no doubt hated her, and Damon was on a self-discovery mission vacation with Stefan. That was enough to make the two bottles of champagne in her possession be needed for tonight. But, the least she could say was that her life was never boring. Though, she hadn't necessarily figured out if that was a good or bad thing.

She could still remember the exact moment she figured out Kai was alive. It was right after she somewhat confessed her love to Damon, with the result ending in them just remaining friends.

"It was Kai. Kai is here. He caused the accident."

It didn't necessarily surprise her that Damon didn't believe her at first, but when he assumed that she was having some late post-traumatic stress disorder after being trapped with Kai by herself for about a month, it pissed her off. The look she gave him gave the term 'if looks could kill' a run for its money.

"I know it was him, Damon. He was the reason Jeremy swerved off the road."

"But how is that possible if he's in another dimension?"

Bonnie hadn't been sure about that either. She wasn't really sure about a lot of things. Like how her stuffed teddy bear appeared out of nowhere and how Damon was able to find that video they created. Nothing really made sense.

But, a day later they were able to find out that Kai took some of Bonnie's blood one night while she was sleeping, in the prison world. He put the ascendant back together, found Jo's knife with her magic that was a duplicate from the real world, and was able to absorb the magic to get to get back to the present. And how were they able to find all of that out? Well, he had kidnapped Elena and held her hostage at the high school.

Bonnie remembered being more than ready to go with Damon to bring her back to safety, after she called in a frantic plea for him to save her. He had quickly moved in front of Bonnie to prevent her from walking out of the door.

"Damon, what are you doing?"

"You're not going anywhere and putting your life on the line anymore."

"I can handle Kai and Elena's my best friend. I have to help."

She remembered the look of rage and annoyance that crossed his overly handsome features. She even noticed when the dark veins began to circle around his eyes.

"You just gave me a speech yesterday on how you were going to put yourself first and stop risking your life to save others. How can you go back on your word just one day later?"

"I know what I said, but she's…"

"A vampire. That means it's hard to kill her, well kind of. And plus, Kai just wants the attention, he's not going to kill her."

"And what if he kills you? How do you think that would make me feel?"

She could still remember the look he gave her; the way he held onto her hand and put it to his chest. The way she almost pulled back, because it was a little intense, but deciding not to. If anyone were to walk in at that exact moment, it would look like two lovers wrapped up in a ton of emotion, debating on if they should depart from one another.

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

"That won't make me feel any better. I'm going."

"I told Elena."

He blurted out, and that instantly made her tense up. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but yet had to ask anyway.

"Told her what?"

"That I have feelings for you."

At that moment, Bonnie didn't know whether to be upset or relieved. No one was supposed to know because they weren't going to act on their feelings. But even with all of that being said, she wouldn't let his revelation prevent her from the task at hand. At the end of the day, she and Elena were still friends and she couldn't allow anything to happen to her.

"Well, we can talk about that later. Elena's in trouble, and Kai is really no match for me."

She remembered moving past him and him grabbing onto her arm to turn her around. It wasn't that action that prevented her from going any further; it was the agony… the desperation in his voice.

"Bonnie, please, will you just for once… stay here. I asked you, no, I begged you to stop being the hero. I can't lose you… not again. Because if it comes down to your life or Elena I know you're going to pick her and I don't want that to be an option. So, please…stay. If I need you I will call."

It frustrated her, but warmed her heart all the same. It was nice having someone care for her this much; to make sure she was staying true to her word.

"Fine, but here."

She stuck out her wrist, not even caring how uncharacteristic what she was about to do was for her.

"Take a little. Just in case something happens, my blood in your system should make you a little stronger."

She watched as he stared at her wrist and then back to her eyes.

"Bonnie, blood sharing can be intimate if you do it with someone you…"

"Just pretend I'm Klaus or something."

"Yeah, not going to happen."

She remembered shoving her wrist to his mouth.

"Just hurry up before I change my mind."

He held onto her arm gently, and when he broke the skin, Bonnie flinched a little. For a brief moment, she had every intention of putting a stop to the whole thing and removing her arm from his grasp, but once his eyes found hers, a wave of heat coursed through her body. When she watched the veins form around his eyes, she didn't know why a throbbing sensation began to happen between her thighs. As soon as the feeling began to get a little unbearable, she pulled her arm away, not caring if blood was trickling from her wrist.

After she took some of his blood to close the wound, they stared at each other for a moment, and she was glad that nothing had to be said before he disappeared right in front of her eyes.

Bonnie took another large gulp of the champagne as she remembered everything that happened like it was yesterday. She could still feel the intense emotions she felt when he took her blood. How sensational and erotic it was from just her wrist. Her mind began to wonder how it would feel if his mouth had ended up somewhere else.

But even after he left to rescue Elena, the night hadn't ended there.

Once Damon was gone, Bonnie was definitely antsy at first. It was a mix between being worried for Elena's life and being incredibly aroused. It took everything in her not to just put on her shoes and coat and go to the high school. But, she had to keep reminding herself that if she was needed, she would get a phone call. Even though, if something were really wrong, Damon may not be able to get to his phone.

Not really knowing how much time had passed, she decided that taking a bubble bath and drinking wine would help her with her nerves. The wine didn't necessarily help because now her arousal had sky rocketed through the roof. The intimacy in just the little act of Damon taking her blood was too much for her.

And with Damon on repeat in her mind and the way she was still feeling she decided that touching herself would result in a much needed release.

And no soon as that release was close to happening and low moans were escaping her lips, Damon opened the door. Everything kind of happened at once, her orgasm, her eyes connecting with Damon's, her loud inhuman shriek, and her magic closing the door in his face.

Bonnie remembered the embarrassment she felt as she took another drink of her champagne. And all Damon could say that night was that he was too lost in thought to really smell what she was doing when he walked in.

At first she didn't believe him until he revealed later what was going through his mind, and she would never admit that she felt some type of way about his confession.

"I slept with Elena. After I saved her from Kai, I took her home and I slept with her."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I thought of you the whole time."

Well, Bonnie didn't expect him to reveal anything like that to her. She couldn't be angry at him for sleeping with Elena because technically they were still together and he and Bonnie were just friends.

"That's not okay, Damon."

"I know."

Maybe if she were someone different it would have flattered her. To know that Damon was thinking about her, and maybe somewhere small it did, but it still didn't change the fact that he had history with her best friend.

"I broke up with her afterwards."

Her eyes widened in the memory and widened as she thought about it again, taking another sip of champagne.

"We both knew it was coming. Ever since I told her about my feelings for you, I can't just stay with her."

Bonnie had even tried to knock some sense into him, because at the end of the day, she knew he still loved Elena. As much as he talked about her in 1994, those feelings didn't just magically disappear overnight, just because he was gaining feelings for her.

"Damon, but you and I...those feelings, they aren't going anywhere…"

"The thing is, whether you were in the picture or not, I would have eventually had to end things. Elena and I… we weren't going anywhere. We weren't okay, and I held onto it because I felt like she was some competition that I needed to win. That I finally got something. That I was finally put first. But those feelings don't last."

"So, what now?"

"Stefan and I are going out of town for a little while."

Bonnie remembered tensing at his answer.

"We'll be back. I just need to get my head together. Because I want you, Bonnie, more than anything right now. And I respect your decision, but this is all new for me. And if I'm going to still be your friend and not want to take your clothes off every minute I see you, I'll have to take some time."

Bonnie never thought it in a million years that it would be hard just to be her friend of all people, especially coming from Damon. Once upon a time that wouldn't even be an issue.

"I don't want this to change anything between us."

She remembered confessing that to him, and she remembered her eyes actually getting glossy with tears. She didn't want him to go on some self discovery trip and realize he didn't want her in his life permanently. That fear instantly vanished when he pulled her to him and held on to her for almost dear life.

"I don't think it will."

"Will you be back for New Years?"

"Probably not. So, sorry in advance that you won't get your New Year's kiss."

"I'm sure I'll find someone."

She remembered him tense a little bit.

"Caroline's cheek seems cozy."

She said as she rested her head on his chest.

"Will you at least call me and let me know that you made it safely? Wherever you're going…."

"Of course. So, are you going to tell me who you were thinking about when I walked in on you earlier? If you needed some help all you had to do was wait for me."

"Here you go, ruining a moment."

"Yeah, but you love me for it."

Bonnie remembered waking up the next morning and he was gone.

She was now on her second bottle of champagne as she let all of those memories invade her thoughts. He hadn't even been gone a full twenty four hours and she remembered wanting to call and text him every five minutes just to see if were okay. She decided not too and was going to let practicing her magic take her mind off of him, but she never got the chance.

Elena appeared at her door that afternoon, and she would never forget their conversation. The way her best friend since grade school had looked at her would always be branded in her memory.

"Are you in love with him?"

"He's my friend, of course I love him."

"You didn't answer my question."

"What do you want me to say, Elena? You know my answer won't make you feel better."

The claws pretty much came out after that. Elena accused her of sleeping with Damon and going behind her and Jeremy's back. She even subliminally accused her of causing the accident for not accepting Jeremy's proposal, because she had feelings for Damon. Bonnie knew Elena was grieving, so she tried her best not to snap and have their conversation end in violence, because they both knew who would come out on top.

"If you're trying to move yourself into Damon's life because no one would ever be interested in you than my brother, then that's sick… even for you, Bonnie."

Bonnie knew Elena was just trying to get a reaction out of her, and after that comment, it definitely worked.

"Elena, I love you and your hurt. That's the only reason why I am trying my damn hardest not to use my magic on you because it is itching for a good fight right now. We both know that Kai was the cause of wrecking that vehicle. We both know that I saved Jeremy's life that night, actually if we won't to get technical; I even brought him back to life for you. It has always been for you. Everything that I have done… my death, it was for you. Damon and I are not together, we're friends. I can't control how he feels about me. For you to actually think that I would move in on him just shows how much you think of our friendship. And honestly, you should be thrilled that I'm still your friend after everything you've put me through. And you should be happy that I'm still going to be your friend even after everything you just said. Now, you need to leave, because I won't be responsible for what I'll do to you if you don't."

Bonnie hadn't seen Elena since that day.

The alarm on her phone pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to jump a little.

"Happy New Year, Bonnie."

She turned to her right to her blonde vampire best friend lying beside her.

"Happy New Year, Caroline."

For a moment, Bonnie had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she forgot Caroline had joined her. They were originally supposed to have a New Year's Eve bash to make up for Christmas not going necessarily as planned, but since Damon and Stefan were out of town and Bonnie and Elena weren't getting along, it was safe to say that those plans were definitely cancelled.

They both sat up, and clinked their champagne bottles, taking a drink afterwards.

"This little warm bubble you have us in, isn't draining you is it?"

"Nope." Bonnie almost forgot she did a spell to keep them warm while they were outside in the cold. "I barely feel like I'm using magic right now."

"Good."

She smiled at Caroline and then looked at her phone to see a Happy New Year's text from Damon. He had text and called her at least ten times a day since he'd been gone.

"Tell Damon I said Happy New Year." Caroline's voice cut into her thoughts.

She looked at her friend and smirked, "As long as you tell Stefan I said it first."

"I know what you're implying, but Stefan and I are just friends."

"Just like me and Damon."

They both gave each other a look, not really believing each other.

"Maybe we should head back to your house, I don't want lightening to strike us with our lies." Caroline chuckled.

When she and Caroline stood up, and grabbed their things, the warmth that Bonnie had them wrapped in, disappeared, and Bonnie instantly felt like dressing in layers just wasn't enough.

Caroline linked her arm through hers as they began to walk back to the car.

"So, I'm thinking leftover pizza and Netflix?"

"Only if you drive." She giggled. "Because I'm definitely feeling the champagne."

Damon Salvatore had been plenty of things in his life. Impulsivity had to be at the top of a very long list of those things. He had been alive for close to two centuries and to say he had truly lived would be an understatement. He had traveled the word, killed many, had sex with just as much, and of course the biggest was pine over someone for a century, who didn't return his feelings. Needless to say, that turned his world upside down, because at the time he had loved Katherine, well before he knew the true meaning of love. He had wanted her and more importantly he wanted her to want him. He didn't need to be compelled when it came to her, and yet at the end of the day she had been in love with Stefan. That in itself made him loath his baby brother. He was everything that Damon wasn't and that essentially fucked him up throughout the years.

Then there came Elena. She shared Katherine's face and at the beginning she was everything Katherine wasn't. At first it had been a game to get what Stefan had, but then something changed. Elena was seeing him as something more… something beyond all the mess he'd made in his lifetime. He essentially tried to be good for her…whatever that meant. And she ended up falling for him. He finally got the girl. Granted, he and Elena's relationship had been spent a good majority in the bedroom, but they did things. They went out. That summer after she chose him was a summer he would never forget.

And then there was Bonnie. She despised him at first and had every right too. She didn't make excuses for him and try to turn the other cheek from everything he had done. Through it all they had become friends, and she still didn't take his shit. He didn't have to be someone he wasn't. Granted, if he got out of line, then she would interfere, but that was expected. Bonnie was technically the first girl he could spend all day and all night talking too and not try to get in her pants.

Yes, he wanted to now, but with Bonnie it was different, and that's why he was taking this self-discovery Stefan type trip with his brother. He didn't want his bruised ego of her not wanting to be with him ruin their friendship. He valued her more than anything. Bonnie was in the same category as his brother; someone who he wanted to protect and someone he would technically die for. Someone he loved. Yes, he loved Bonnie Bennett, as a friend, and more than that. But he was respecting her decision. He was doing something new for the first time, all because he wanted to keep her in his life. What he had with her wasn't an obsession; it wasn't just for the chase or something that could go away just because the seasons changed. He felt so connected to her, that he wondered after all the bad shit he'd done in his life, after all the crap he'd been through, was she the silver lining he had been waiting for? That if two people were actually fated to be together, was she the one for him?

Okay, now he was beginning to sound like Stefan.

He took a sip of Bourbon as he sat beside his brother at a bar, surrounded by people screaming Happy New Year and getting plastered off their ass. He made sure he sent a text to Bonnie as soon as it hit midnight. He knew that she was spending the night with Caroline, after the party fell through. He also knew that Bonnie and Elena had a confrontation about everything, and he really didn't expect for his former girlfriend to blame it all on his best friend when none of it was her fault.

After saving Elena from Kai and keeping Kai locked up and drugged from Jo's medical supplies, until Jo was able to form enough magic so she could beat him in the merge, he took Elena back to her dorm and had a moment of weakness. When he made his way on top of her, all he could picture was Bonnie, and he knew at that moment it was time to let Elena go. He was surprised when she didn't say a word when he ended it, but the next day she called him, crying drastically on the other end.

Ever since that day, she had called her constantly, and he decided not to answer her calls, because she needed time to get over him. She needed to heal and hearing from him wouldn't help.

His phone vibrating let him know he had another text message after Bonnie wished him Happy New Year, and it was Elena wishing him the same thing.

"Elena again?"

He glanced over to Stefan, and took another drink. "You would be correct."

When he saw that Stefan's phone lit up a few seconds later, he knew exactly who it was as well. "Let me guess. A young blonde vampire who is in love with you responded to your text?"

"Caroline is not in love with me." He quickly defended and took a drink. "A girl who barely talks to me and still hates my guts is not in love with me."

"Key word: hate, brother. That means she cares, which means she loves you."

Stefan took a rather large gulp from his drink this time.

"What about you and Bonnie?"

"Don't change the subject."

"We're not concentrating the rest of this night on me when you've been moping around these last few days and whenyou call her every hour of every day. And let's not forget every girl you hit on resembles her in a way."

"Well that's definitely a lie…she calls me too."

Damon purposely ignored everything else he said. So what if it was true that he couldn't go more than an hour without contacting Bonnie and if the last few women he had hit on and fed on, looked very similar to her. What did it matter?

"It's okay to have feelings for her and be her friend."

"Have you met me?" He took a drink and winked at the girl sitting at the end of the bar.

Stefan noticed, "See…. She looks somewhat like Bonnie."

That was a lie. Bonnie was hotter.

The conversation had ended between them as they took two women out back and fed on them just a little and compelled them to forget. No words were said until they made their back to their hotel room.

"All I'm trying to say is that Bonnie isn't just another girl to you, Damon." Stefan said as they both laid back into their own beds. "She isn't just another girl that you're obsessed with and that's rejected you… or that you've been sexual with. Bonnie is your best friend. She's someone you love and care for deeply. Bonnie is technically the real thing for you, but you have to give her the time she wants and needs and just remain her friend. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with being so close to someone even if you can't have them… yet."

Damon folded his arms behind his head. "I don't think you're talking about me and Bonnie anymore, brother."

They shared a look and even though it was unspoken between both of them, they both knew that they were in love with two people they couldn't have right now.

It had been two weeks since Damon had left and Bonnie was going through an array of emotions. She was proud of him for a making a decision to take time to figure things out for himself, but that didn't mean that she wanted him to be gone for weeks. She missed him. She missed him being near her, she missed their late night conversations, hell she even missed their hand holding. She needed his physical contact and if that made her selfish then so be it.

The constant text messages and phone calls had decreased drastically over the last week and Bonnie would be lucky if they spent more than five minutes on the phone. And it was pissing her off. It was coming to a point that she didn't know if he were coming back.

A couple days ago, she finally did a locator spell to see where he was, since he decided to keep his location a secret. At first it didn't really faze her as much, not knowing, but then it just started making her mad. Finding out that he was in North Carolina, brought her some ease, but not much.

It was now two in the morning, and Bonnie couldn't sleep as she lied in her bed in the dorm. It was at this moment that she regretted signing up for a 7:30 in the morning. She had been doing fine for over a week, but now, she was debating on skipping it.

She envied Caroline at the moment for being sound asleep in the bed next to her. The bed on the opposite side of hers was empty. Elena rarely spent any time in their dorm room, and she couldn't blame her. She was just surprised that she hadn't requested another room. They hadn't spoken to each other since the day they got into it, but that also had to do with her trying to obtain a medical degree. She may have still been angry at everything Elena said to her, but she was very proud of her.

Her phone vibrating pulled her out of her thoughts.

It was Damon.

She answered it, hoping nothing was wrong. He never called late when she had class early, and would be quick to rush her off the phone so she wouldn't be tired in the morning.

"Damon? Is everything okay?"

Nothing but silence came from the other end.

"Damon?" She almost shouted, as her heart jumped in her chest.

"I'm here. Sorry if I woke you, I know it's late."

"You didn't wake me." She rolled back over onto her back. "Is everything okay?"

"I miss you."

She took a deep breath, as unnecessary feelings coursed through her. "Then come home."

"I can't… not yet…. Not until I don't miss you…."

"Damon….have you been drinking?"

"A little, but you know better than I do, that I'm not drunk right now. But, I can't… I can't stop thinking about you. I can't get you out of my head."

"You could have fooled me, since we barely talk anymore. Sometimes I don't even know if you're still alive."

"Now, we both know that's not true. I know you know I'm in North Carolina, Bonnie. And I know that because I'm sure you've done a spell to locate me; to make sure I'm safe."

Since she was still irritated with him, she hid her smile at the fact he knew her so well.

A few minutes went by before Damon spoke again.

"Today I met the real Sarah Salvatore."

That sparked Bonnie's attention. She almost forgot that the girl that Enzo had killed, Monique, was impersonating the real Sarah Salvatore. But, she had no idea that she was in North Carolina.

"That's why Stefan suggested we come."

"Is she okay?"

"She is. She's living a human life… nothing supernatural to bother her."

"Good. That's good." And it was. Too be completely oblivious to the supernatural and that your real family members were vampires, was probably a good thing.

"Yep."

She could hear the melancholy in his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"For the most part. It's weird knowing that I have another family member out there that's not Stefan, but it's good to know that she survived and that my life can't hurt her. She's an artist by the way. Her photography isn't bad."

She smiled at the hint of excitement in his voice. "I bet she's great."

It grew silent between them again.

"I know you have to get up early, and I know we haven't talked as much as we use too since I've been gone, and that's my fault, but could you just…could you stay on the phone with me? For just a little while longer?"

"Sure."

They both probably wouldn't admit to one another that them just being on the phone, not saying anything at all, was providing a level of tranquility that they both needed.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and I really hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think =)