Chapter 2

August 8, 2013

Dear Elena,

Happy birthday. I wish you were to celebrate with us. I wish we were taking shots, getting really drunk, and making poor life decisions that we could laugh about later.

Nothing much has changed since the last time I wrote. I'm sorry it's been a while...I'm still getting used to keeping a diary. How did you do this for so long? I guess I'll get used to it. It's kind of nice to write down my thoughts. It helps me sort it all out and makes it feel like you're here.

Anyway, back to what's happening around here. Nothing much. It's still quiet and peaceful, which only makes me more anxious about when the other shoe's going to drop. Isn't that terrible? I should be sleeping in late, cramming for tests and drinking with my friends, not worrying about the next apocalypse.

Okay, okay, for real, back to the topic. Ric's still alive. Barely. I saw him for the first time yesterday. He looks like an alcoholic mountain man, complete with a really bushy beard and a beer belly. These two months have been unkind to him. He won't speak to anybody, but at least he's okay.

Caroline has been letting Stefan come around a little more lately. He "swings by" just to "say hi" every day and she purposely puts off her errands so she can accidentally be there when he comes. Then they talk and act all cute but never do anything. I just want to smush their faces together and tell them to get on with it!

Damon's still not back home. I gave him a deadline to come back. Today, actually. Since he's not here, I'm about to book my flight to Las Vegas to bring him home. Who knows what kind of trouble he's gotten into out there? I seriously don't want to know. I just hope he doesn't give me a hard time.

We both know he will.

I'll let you know how it goes.

- Bon

"Whatcha doing?" Matt asked, just as Bonnie closed the diary and put the cap on her pen. "Writing to Elena again?"

"Yep," she said with a smile. "Updating her on our surprisingly boring lives."

"You know that won't last long," he said.

He put his tray of plates on an empty table and slid into the booth, sitting opposite Bonnie. He stretched his arms and looked around the Mystic Grill, which was full of customers.

"You'd think people would get tired of coming in here," he said with a sigh. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Heading out to Las Vegas tomorrow."

"Vegas?" he asked, his blue eyes brightening. "Why?"

"I'm collecting Damon," she said with an eye roll. "I told him to be back home by today or I was coming to get him. Of course, he's not here."

Matt nodded and slumped in his seat and looked at the ceiling. "Man, I'd kill to go to Vegas, even if it was just to get Damon. You know I haven't left the state of Virginia since that crazy summer with Rebekah?"

Bonnie thought for a second, and then asked, "well, do you want to come with me?"

He lowered his head at her and looked disbelievingly. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not?" she asked with a smile. "It'll be fun. Like a buddy trip. When's the last time you and I got to spend some good quality time together?"

He groaned. "Ah, Bon, I'd love to. But I have to work..."

"I'm sure someone will cover for you."

He hesitated. "I have training..."

"Missing a day or two won't hurt."

Matt hesitated again, and Bonnie smirked. He sighed and said, "okay, fine, I can't afford it. You know my finances always suck."

"I'll pay for you," she said with a shrug.

"What? No, I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because a flight to Vegas is crazy expensive and I could never pay you back."

"Matt," Bonnie said as she reached over the table and took his hand. "You don't have to pay me back. Dad left everything to me, and so did Grams, and Grams wasn't exactly hurting for money. I think I can afford to bring my friend on a trip with me. Please? I'd love for you to come."

His doubtful face turned into a slow smile and as she kept nodding, he finally agreed. "Okay."

"Yay!"

"But you have to let me take you to dinner. I can't just freeload the whole time."

She put her hand on his chest and inhaled dramatically. "Matthew Donovan, are you asking me on a date?"

He grinned. "Yes, I am, Bonnie Bennett. I'll only come if you swear that when we get there, we'll actually have some fun first before we go looking for Damon. Dinner and at least one hour of gambling that may turn me into a millionaire."

Bonnie laughed and nodded. "Okay, I accept your terms."

"This day just got a whole lot better," he said, still smiling. He stood up and picked up his tray again.

"I'll call you later with the details," she said.

Once he went back to working, Bonnie pulled out the journal again and excitedly wrote:

P.S. Matt's going with me now. This might actually be fun.

...

Matt showed up at Bonnie's dorm bright and early the next morning. He insisted on driving them to the airport and Bonnie was happy for the ride. They caught the 10:00 flight to Las Vegas and slept the whole way there. With all the time changes, when they touched down in Vegas, it was only 11:30. They checked in for their one-night stay at MGM Grand, where Bonnie knew that Damon was. She was tempted to just march right up to the penthouse and drag him out, but she had a promise to keep.

So after they checked in and put their small amount of luggage in the room, they had lunch, Matt's treat. Then they walked the Strip and gambled some. Bonnie played with $40 and lost it all. Matt bet the entire $50 he'd come prepared to lose, and he walked away with $200.

"It's my lucky day!" he'd shouted.

And then, of course, he insisted on paying for dinner. They settled for a loud Mexican restaurant on the heart of the strip, where they gorged themselves on fajitas and chips and salsa and more than one margarita.

"This is the best trip ever," Bonnie told him through a giggle as she got halfway through her second frozen peach margarita.

"Definitely. We should have done this a long time ago!"

"Yeah, you're a pretty good date," she said with a wink.

He grinned.

Bonnie was sure it was the tequila making her lips feel so loose, but she had to restrain herself from telling Matt how penetratingly beautiful his eyes were. She couldn't stop the next sentiment that came out of her mouth, though.

"So tell me," Bonnie said, swiping a chip from his plate. "If we were in some kind of alternate universe where you hadn't been madly in love with Elena and at least somewhat in love with Caroline, you think you would have ever been interested in me?"

Matt crumpled his face and frowned. "What?"

"What, what?" she asked, taking offense to his face. "Is that a ridiculous question or something?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Why?" she asked, starting to get upset.

"Because you're insanely hot, and smart, and probably the most loyal person I've ever met. Why would we need to be in an alternate universe for me to be interested in you?"

And just like that, her anger evaporated. It took her a moment to process everything he'd said, and then she smiled slowly and asked in a low voice, "are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, doing that little half-smirk that he did when he tried to seem cocky. Then he leaned over the table and matched her low tone. "I'm tempted to say let's forget looking for Damon and do our own thing so I can show you how much of a good date I can really be."

Bonnie blinked and if she wasn't mistaken, she felt something like arousal go through her. It wasn't possible that Matt Donovan was flirting with her and making sly comments about sex, was it? But then he wiggled his eyebrows, and she knew that was exactly what he was doing. The drinks again spurred her along when she responded.

"Then why don't you?"

"Because." He sat back in his chair again. "I try not to make a habit out of going after girls who like other guys. It's burned me before."

The hypnotic spell he'd cast on her snapped in the blink of an eye, and she looked at him in confusion.

"Wait, what? I like someone else?"

"Yep."

"Who?"

"You know who."

She shook her head immediately. "Matt, Jeremy and I are over. Way over. I mean so over that there was a funeral and everything. He came back to say goodbye to Elena and we barely spoke. There's nothing there anymore."

"I know that," he said with a shrug of his left shoulder. "I wasn't talking about Jeremy."

She frowned. "Okay, now I'm really confused. Who are you talking about?"

"Are you really gonna act like you don't know?"

"Trust me, I'm not acting. Maybe the booze is clouding my brain but I seriously have no idea who you're talking about."

"Look around, Bon," he said. "Who are we here to see? Who did we come halfway across the country to bring home, so he doesn't hurt himself?"

Bonnie's frown furrowed even deeper. "Damon?" she asked. "Wait a minute, you think I'm into Damon?"

"Aren't you?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"Because you guys have been different ever since you got back. Damon was different even before you got back. He was all worried about you and I thought it was just an act to get on Elena's good side. But then he picked you over her and I realized that he really does care about you. And I can tell that you care about him, too."

"Yeah, I care about him because we're friends."

"Nah," he said confidently. "This is more than friendship. You don't hop a plane to bring someone home who's just a friend."

"Matt, you know me. You know I would do anything for my friends. It just so happens that Damon is one of those friends now and he needs me. So I'm here for him. That's all there is to it."

He eyed her suspiciously but nodded. "Okay. If you say so."

"I do say so."

"All right, all right," he said, holding up his hands. "You win. End of discussion. You don't secretly love Damon and he doesn't secretly love you. I must be mis-reading all the signs." She threw a chip at him. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself. Now let's stop talking about Damon and you get back to telling me how hot I am."

...

The next morning, the jovial mood from the night before had passed and Bonnie was feeling serious and anxious. She had no idea what kind of shape they were going to find Damon in. She didn't even know if he had listened to any of her messages to know that they were coming for him. She was trying to put on her game face when she stepped out of the bathroom. She stopped when she saw Matt, standing at his bed, loading up a gun with wooden bullets.

"What is that for?" she asked, even though she knew.

"Just a little insurance, in case Damon gets out of hand."

"How the hell did you get that on the plane?"

He showed her his training badge and smiled. "Told them that we were on official business."

Bonnie laughed. "Matt Donovan, you are becoming a certified badass."

"I learned from the best," he said. He tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans and pulled his shirt over it. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

They took the elevator up to the penthouse and Bonnie used the key that she had sweet-talked the front desk man into giving her. She told him that she was "one of Damon's girls," and she wasn't surprised when that was all it took. They arrived at the top floor of the hotel, where they stood at the door that led to the room. Bonnie used the key again to let them into what had to be the most opulent hotel room either of them had ever occupied. There were gleaming floors, modern furniture, and ridiculous views of the Strip. The place was immaculate, except for the bodies of drunk, unconscious and possibly dead women that littered the floor.

Bonnie's heart beat a little faster when she saw the pads of Damon's bare feet as he descended the spiral staircase in the middle of the living area. His pale legs were on display in his short black boxer briefs. He wasn't wearing a shirt, his hair was all ruffled and he hadn't shaved. He hummed to himself as he walked down, and he looked perfectly content until he stopped in his tracks and caught eyes with Bonnie.

"Oh, look, it's the fun police," he said with a fake smile. "Come to take me home?"

"Yes," Bonnie said dryly. "Put on some clothes. Let's go."

"I'm not going," he said. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Look, Damon, I told you that I was coming to get you if you didn't come back. You've had your fun," she said, looking around the room and shaking her head in disgust. "Obviously. Now play time is over and we have work to do."

"I don't have any work to do." He went to the bar and poured himself a drink and made an exaggerated "ahhh" sound. "I like it just fine where I am."

"You're coming with me, Damon," she said a little more forcefully.

"Oh, Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie," he said, shaking his head. He put his drink down and sauntered towards her. "Don't you ever get tired of being the self-righteous do-gooder? Don't you ever just want to let your hair down and be bad for once?" He pretended to think and said, "oh, that's right. You did that with Expression and got yourself killed. Apparently, that's the only thing you're good at."

Her nostrils flared at the insult, but she didn't stoop to his level. Instead, she stepped closer to him until they were almost chest-to-chest.

"Put. On. Your. Clothes," she said.

"I said I'm not going anywhere," he said, and his eyes turned red and his vampire veins appeared.

"Bonnie, be careful," Matt said, producing the gun from his waistband. He pointed it at Damon. "He might have turned his humanity off."

"He hasn't turned off shit," Bonnie said, her eyes never leaving Damon. He narrowed his eyes at her and she stared right back. "Turning off his emotions means that he doesn't want to feel. But we all know that Damon does want to feel. He wants to feel all the pain and misery that he can get so it will justify his being a complete and absolute asshole."

Damon pressed his lips together, then smiled in a sinister way.

"Does this make you feel useful, Bon-Bon?" he asked. "Coming out here to rescue big bad Damon? Does it make you feel like you're not just a side character in your own life?"

His words hurt her, but Bonnie gritted her teeth and pointed a finger at him.

"Be careful what you say, Damon," she warned. "There are some things you can't take back."

"Oh yeah? Like what? Like how I wish it had been you instead of Elena?" He stepped closer until there was no space between them and his nose was pressed against hers. "Like how I should have let you die on that floor?" She knew that he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. He knew he was hitting her in the sore spot, exposing her deepest insecurities, but he didn't stop. "Well, I do. I do wish I hadn't saved you. I do wish you were dead."

Bonnie's hand raised up and slapped him before he knew what had happened. The sound of her skin meeting his echoed through the entire penthouse. Before he could react in any way, she grabbed his hand and wrapped it around her throat.

"Bonnie!" Matt said, about to step closer until she held up her free hand and made him stop. She kept her attention on Damon as she spoke.

"You want me dead?" she asked. "Then do it. Kill me. Right now."

"Bonnie, stop," Matt pleaded.

"Do it!" she screamed to Damon, who actually flinched a little. "You want Elena back? You think I'm worthless? Then squeeze my neck until all the bones break, or let me bleed out on this floor, or do whatever the hell it is you want to do with me. Kill me, Damon."

Both of them were breathing hard when she finished talking, and he flexed his fingers around her neck once, then twice, then a third time. He looked at her and squeezed, but it was never hard enough to hurt.

"Do it," she taunted. "Stop talking about it and be about it for once in your life."

He squeezed again, a little harder, and he acted like he was actually going to do it. Then, at the height of the tension, he pulled his hand off her neck and stepped back. Bonnie hadn't realized she was crying until she felt the wetness on her cheeks. She brushed them away and then narrowed her eyes at Damon and sent him crashing to his knees with the strongest aneurysm that she had ever given him. He screamed in pain and doubled over.

"While you've been playing around with bimbos, I've been working on my magic," she told him over the cries of pain. "I'm a lot stronger than you remember. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can come with us willingly, or I can pop all the vessels in your brain until it comes oozing out of your ears. What's it gonna be?"

"Ugh...Augh!" he screamed, grabbing his head and pounding on the floor.

"I'm sorry, was that an answer?"

"Make it stop!" he begged. "Please!"

"Only if I know that you're going to follow my rules from now on."

"Fuck...you!" he screamed.

"Eh, wrong answer."

She turned up the intensity on the aneurysms and Damon was clearly on the verge of passing out. Bonnie leaned against a table and looked at her nails.

"Say the magic words," she said.

"P...p..."

"Please?"

"Yes!" he shouted.

"Are you going to behave?"

"Yes!"

Bonnie yawned like he was boring her, and she looked at Matt, who appeared torn between amusement and fear.

"What do you think, Matt? You think he's ready to be a good boy?"

"AAUUUUGH!"

"Yeah, I think so," Matt said.

"Okay, fine."

She finally stopped the pain and Damon lay on the ground, twitching like he had been electrocuted. Bonnie stood over his body and lowered herself until her mouth was near his ear.

"If you ever say some fucked up shit like that to me again, I will set your brain on fire," she said calmly. "Put your clothes on."

Bonnie got up and straightened herself out, like she'd just been slightly inconvenienced. She pointed to Matt and said, "I'm going downstairs. If he tries anything funny, shoot him."

She breezed past him and left Matt alone, pointing a gun at Damon. It took a full fifteen minutes for the vampire to pick himself up from the floor, and when he did so, he stumbled and growled at Matt. Matt jumped a little, but held the gun pointed at Damon's face, with his finger on the trigger.

"I could have that gun out of your hands before you could think about shooting me," Damon said.

"Yeah, but you won't. Because Bonnie wouldn't like it."

Damon clenched his jaw but to Matt's surprise, he did exactly what Bonnie told him to. He slowly walked up the stairs, with Matt following him, and when he was in the master bedroom, he pulled one some pants and a shirt. He was moving slowly, and Matt was sure that the aneurysm was still lingering.

"She messed you up pretty good, huh?" he teased.

"Shut up," Damon snapped.

He grabbed a pair of sunglasses and they went back downstairs, where Damon stepped over the bodies of the women and walked out the door. Matt followed him into the elevator, where he kept the gun pointed into his back. Damon shook his head.

"How does it feel to be Bonnie's little bitch?" he sneered.

"You tell me," Matt countered. "You're the one that gave up a penthouse, hot chicks and no responsibilities all because Bonnie is mad at you and gave you a little headache."

He chuckled at the end, and Damon spun around and grabbed him by the neck. He pushed Matt into the wall and then took the gun out of his hands and snapped it in half. He let him go as the elevator doors opened, and both of them straightened up as they walked into the lobby, where Bonnie was waiting. She looked at Matt, and when she and Damon's eyes met, the tension was so thick that it nearly strangled them all.

The ride home was going to be a long one.