Chapter 3

August 20, 2013

Dear Elena,

We've been back home for almost two weeks and Damon and I aren't speaking. Well, I guess I should say that I'm not speaking to him. He's called and texted and come by the apartment a few times trying to talk to me, but I won't respond. He's never been invited inside the apartment so he'll just stand out there and be annoying until Caroline makes him go away. I know you're probably thinking that we've just had another one of our regular fights, but this time he said something really awful to me and I'm not going to let him get away with it. He needs to learn that it's not okay to treat me like he does.

Honestly, I'm not sure if this friendship is worth it. I know that you saw something in Damon even way back when I thought he was the scum of the Earth. I thought I saw it, too, a few times...especially when we were in 1994 together. Sometimes, I think he can be a great person and he just needs a little nurturing and encouragement. And then he goes and shows his ass like he always does and I wonder why I bother. He's too old and he's been around too long to still act like a child.

If you were here, I'm sure you'd talk to him and make him apologize. He's already apologized a few times but I suspect that Stefan is making him do that, too. I want him to apologize to me because he knows he was wrong and not because other people tell him to do it. I want him to mean it and I want him to change. Grams always told me that people don't change, especially not men. She said I should believe a person when he shows me who he really is. I guess that's the problem. I don't know who Damon really is because he shows me so many different personalities that it's hard to keep up. He can be sweet, but that's usually because he's trying to impress you. He can be loyal and thoughtful, but again, most of that revolved around you.

Maybe my whole relationship with Damon only existed because of you. And now that you're gone, maybe I should let it go. That makes me sadder than I expected.

Until next time,
Bonnie

Bonnie closed the journal, frowning and feeling a little down about the tenor of her entry. She hadn't meant to get so philosophical and depressing, but she had to get out her thoughts about Damon. Even as she slid the journal into her bookcase and walked into the kitchen where Caroline was waiting for her, she wondered if she was right. She wondered if Elena was the glue that held her and Damon together and without her, they really weren't friends.

"So we have chips, dip, tacos and some of these margarita beer things with like 10% alcohol," Caroline announced as she moved around the kitchen like a busy bee. She spun around with a smile on her face, which promptly fell when she saw Bonnie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Bonnie said with a wave of her hand. She tried to grab the chips and dip and Caroline moved it away from her and frowned.

"No, it's not nothing. You're upset. Why?"

Bonnie sighed because she didn't want to get into it but she also knew that Caroline wouldn't let it go until she spilled.

"I guess this whole situation with Damon is bothering me more than I thought," she admitted. "I was telling Elena about it."

Caroline made a "pfft" sound and rolled her eyes. "Ew, forget Damon. He's a dick and he doesn't deserve you as a friend."

"Gee, thanks, Care," she said dryly.

"Hey," Caroline said as she took Bonnie by the shoulders. "Forget him. This is our girl time right now. We're going to eat this food, watch all the episodes of 'Scandal' that you missed while you were stuck in hell, and get moderately intoxicated while we watch Olivia and Fitz dance around each other and build up unbearable sexual tension. Got it?"

Bonnie couldn't help but smile and she nodded. "Got it."

"Good. Here you go."

Caroline gave her the chips and dip and turned her around, and they each carried items out to the living room. The DVR was all set to start the next episode and once they got good and comfortable on the couch, Caroline hit 'play.' They were about halfway through Fitz's birthday episode and Bonnie was so engrossed that she nearly jumped off the couch when there was a knock on their door. It didn't take a genius to know who was there, especially when Damon started calling her name.

"Bon-Bon," he sang. "Open up. I wanna talk to you. You can't ignore me forever."

Caroline paused the show and both girls rolled their eyes.

"Can you please get rid of him?" Bonnie asked.

"Nope. It's your turn."

"Care..." she whined.

"You need to talk to him," she said. "And make it quick. It's about to get good."

Bonnie groaned but dragged herself off the couch and trudged to the door. Damon hadn't stopped knocking and her earlier sadness gave way to irritation when she yanked the door open and met his face.

"What?" she asked.

"I've been calling you," he said. "And you've been avoiding me."

"How observant of you."

"Look, I said I was sorry about that stuff I said in Vegas. I wasn't in my right mind."

"That's no excuse."

"You know I didn't mean it," he scoffed. "When are you gonna get that stick out of your ass and get over it?"

Anger flashed through her body and she stepped out into the hallway with him and closed the door behind her.

"Do you know what you said to me?" she asked, staring at him with fiery eyes. He started to answer but she held up her hand silenced him. "You said, and I quote, 'I wish you were dead.' Do you honestly think that a few text message apologies and showing up at my door at all hours of the night gets you off the hook for that?"

"I didn't mean it," he said again.

"Whether you meant it or not isn't even the point!" she said with barely controlled rage. "You said it to hurt me, and you did hurt me. A lot. And for what? I'm not the one who tied my life to Elena's. Do you think I want this? Do you think I want to be the reason that my best friend is asleep while I'm alive and that I'll never see her again? I feel worse about this than anyone! Why are you taking your pain out on me when I'm only trying to help you?"

Damon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bonnie, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm truly sorry. Now can we please move past this?"

He looked at her and she looked at him, and she folded her arms and shook her head.

"Why are you here, Damon?" she asked.

"You know why. To say I'm sorry!"

"No, why are you apologizing? You didn't say two words to me for the first few days we were back home. And now all of a sudden, you're showing up and calling all the time? Why? Did you find out that Ric is just a shell of himself and he won't come out and play with you? Stefan's too busy with his own crap to listen to your whining? Who knows where Enzo is? I guess I'm the only friend left, right? You want me to stop being mad at you so you can cry on my shoulder about Elena and use me as you see fit?" He opened his mouth to respond but again she cut him off. "No. I won't be your back-up buddy."

"You're not my back-up buddy," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I miss you, damn it!" he snapped. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Considering that you told me you want me dead, yes it is."

"I said I didn't meant it!"

"And I said I don't believe you!" she screamed back.

He pressed his lips together and stared at her in a way that she guessed was meant to be intimidating, and she put her hands on her hips and stared right back. Neither of them spoke for some tense seconds, and then Bonnie turned to go back inside. That brought Damon out his glare and he reached for her arm, which she promptly yanked away.

"Leave me alone," she said. "If you want to be my friend, you need to prove it. Until then, don't call or visit."

"How am I supposed to prove it if you won't even talk to me?"

"Figure it out."

She slammed the door behind her and halfway expected for him to knock again, but he didn't. She took her place on the couch and Caroline gave her a look.

"What?" she asked.

"You two argue like a married couple," Caroline said matter-of-factly.

"We do not."

"Yeah, you kinda do. Too bad he's such a huge asshole because you guys would be really cute together."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "Shut up and push 'play.'"

...

Damon tried; she had to give him credit for that. A few days after their argument, he showed up outside of her morning class with some coffee for her. And it was the kind she liked, not whatever awful mixed up flavor he'd gotten before. She took the coffee but didn't acknowledge him in any other way. He showed up every morning for a week and she still didn't accept his apology. When that didn't work, he moved on to having flowers delivered to her apartment, followed by an Edible Arrangement of the most delicious fruit she'd ever had. It took her and Caroline three days to eat it all.

Still, she didn't accept his apology. He had to learn that materialism wasn't the way to her heart.

Bonnie sat cross-legged on the floor of the living room, a pen behind her ear and a highlighter in hand as she read her astronomy book. It was the first week of the fall semester classes and she was required to take a hard science as part of her curriculum. She had no interest in biology, chemistry or physics, and astronomy seemed like an intriguing alternative. The reading materials were very dense but the prospect of learning more about the stars and using that to enhance her magic was more than enough to keep her interested. She was right in the middle of a thirty-page reading assignment when someone knocked on the door.

"Yeah, just a minute," she called.

She highlighted a few sentences and then jogged to the door, where she found Stefan smiling at her.

"Oh, Stefan, hey," she said.

"Hey."

"Caroline's not here right now. She had her first biochem lab today and they don't let out until about seven."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm actually here to see you."

Bonnie's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You are?"

"Yeah. Do you have a second?"

"Sure. Come in."

She slid out of the way to let him in and he strolled into the living room and peeked at her book.

"Astronomy, huh?" he asked.

"Yep. It's a little convoluted but I like it. I'm hoping it will help with my magic." He nodded and an awkward silence fell over them. Bonnie folded her arms over her chest and smiled uncomfortably. "So, what's up? Some kind of crisis going on that you need my help with?" she teased.

"No, but that's actually why I came over."

"Okay, I'm confused."

"Listen, I know you and Damon are fighting," he started, and she rolled her eyes. "I've been talking to him about how the whole situation and I realized that I haven't been much better. All this time we've known each other and I honestly can't think of a single time that I came over to see you and didn't ask for you help in some way. We've never just...hung out, you know?"

"We didn't really have time," she reminded him.

"We had time," he said. "But I never made the effort to get to know you outside of being our resident witch, and for that, I'm sorry."

Bonnie nodded slowly, not entirely sure what to make of his apology or even his visit.

"Um, okay," she said.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want us to just be acquaintances. We've been through so much together and you're really close to Damon..."

"Was really close."

"I stand corrected. You were close to Damon and I guess I was close to Caroline and I want you and I have a friendship, too. Outside of everyone else. If that's too weird or you don't want to, I'd understand but I at least wanted to make the effort."

"It's not weird," she said. "A little unexpected, but not weird. And I appreciate the sentiment."

He smiled. "So what do you say? There's a bowling alley a couple of miles down the road that's having a happy hour right now. You want to go with me?"

Bonnie thought of a million reasons why she shouldn't: she had to study, she needed to do some laundry, et cetera. But Stefan had such a nice smile on his face and looked so hopeful. And she did kind of want a reading break and he was probably paying. So she nodded.

"Okay. Yeah. Let's go."

Stefan grinned and held out his hand. "After you."

They walked out to his classic car and he held the door open for her. When he got in on the driver's side and the engine roared to life, he smiled at Bonnie like a proud father and she laughed.

"What is it with you Salvatore boys and your old cars?" she asked.

Stefan answered as he pulled out of her complex. "You know, I think it's because we were around when cars were first invented and we got to see all the improvements and everything. Don't get me wrong, some cars today are really nice. But there's nothing like these old muscles cars. It's all that power, you know? Makes you feel invincible. Even more so when you're a vampire."

"Ah ha," she nodded.

"You ever driven a car like this?" he asked.

"I drove the Camaro a lot in '94," she said.

Stefan's eyebrows hiked up. "Damon let you drive his car?"

"No," she snorted. "I did it after he was gone."

He noticed the sad look on her face and he wasn't sure if it was because she was remembering her bad times in the prison world, or if she missed Damon. He pulled over and stopped the car, and then handed her the keys.

"You drive," he said.

"What? No, that's okay."

"I trust you," he said.

He got out and opened her door before she could argue with him. She looked at the keys and he nodded, and then she grinned and raced to the driver's side. She fired up the engine again and after they were strapped in, she peeled off like a seasoned racecar driver. Stefan held on tight and let out an exaggerated scream and she laughed loudly at his reaction. He encouraged her smooth transitions from lane to lane and even clapped when she did a nifty little drift into the parking lot of the bowling alley.

"Nicely done," he said after they parked. "Very nice, Miss Bennett. I'd say all that practice in the Camaro did you some good."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Salvatore."

They walked inside together and Stefan paid for their games and shoe rentals, while Bonnie put their names into the machine. They each got their respective balls and they went back and forth, with Bonnie winning the first game and Stefan the second. Bonnie had just bowled her first round in the third game and hit a strike, and when she turned around to rub Stefan's nose in it, her arms dropped to her side and her smile fell because sitting right next to Stefan was none other than Damon.

"Nice roll, Judgey," he said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.

"Oh, Stefan didn't tell you? His job was to get you here so I could talk to you. Nice job, bro."

Bonnie's eyes cut to Stefan, who looked sheepish and guilty.

"You set me up?" she asked. She immediately hit him in the arms and chest and Stefan did little to fight her off. "What about all that stuff about. Us. Being. Friends," she said, hitting with him each word.

"All true!" he said, shielding his face a little. "It was all true, I promise. And I was having a great time with you."

"Then why the hell is Damon here?"

"Because he was moping around the house like a puppy and he begged me to get you to talk to him. Don't kill me."

"Ugh!" Bonnie said, hitting him one last time. She turned to Damon and glare at him. "What do you want?"

"I want you to forgive me, duh."

"No."

"No? What else am I supposed to do, Bonnie?" he asked, sighing in exasperation. "I apologized repeatedly. I sent you flowers and fruit and brought you non-shitty coffee for a whole week! I know I screwed up but how long are you going to punish me? I've done everything I can think of to say I'm sorry. I even got Saint Stefan involved just so you would talk to me. What else can I do to show you that your friendship matters to me? I wouldn't be doing all this if I didn't care."

Bonnie wanted to stay mad but his words did kind of work their way underneath all that armor. She looked at Stefan, who looked away to pretend like he wasn't listening. She sighed and looked at the bowling lane and an idea came to her.

"Fine," she said to Damon. "We'll play for it. If you win, I'll forgive you. If I win, you remain on friendship probation until I decide otherwise."

Damon looked at her for a minute, sizing up the situation, and then hopped up and nodded.

"Okay. Be prepared to lose and become my bestie again."

"We'll see about it. And no cheating, either. No vampire strength. No trying to distract me when it's my turn."

"Please. Like I need those tactics to beat your girly little self."

"This girly little self is going to have you on your knees at the end of this game."

"For something dirty, I hope," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Still mad at you, remember? This isn't the time for sex jokes."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Have a seat and watch a master at work."

Bonnie did have a seat, but only after she gave Stefan another death glare and he responded with a goofy smile and a little shrug, like he wasn't at all sorry for his part in the ruse.

"Traitor," she said.

"You'll forgive me when you and Damon are friends again."

"If we're friends again."

"Eyes up here, Judgey," Damon said. He picked up a ball and made a show of getting set, then he walked down and bowled a strike. He spun around and smirked. "You're gonna be all mine, Bennett."

"We'll see about that."

And so they went back and forth until they came to the final frame. Since Stefan had rolled first in the final game and Damon took his spot, Damon rolled before Bonnie. After his turn and Bonnie's first roll, he was leading Bonnie by five points. Considering that she had been knocking down spares and strikes all game, it seemed fairly likely that she would get more than five points. She was smiling smugly when she went up for her final roll. She turned to Damon to talk trash, but she stopped when she saw his face. His arms were folded tightly over his chest, legs crossed at the feet and his jaw clenched. He stared ahead like he was calculating all the ways she could mess up but coming up empty.

He was worried. He was worried that she would win and he would lose her. It was in that moment that Bonnie replayed all the things he'd done to gain her forgiveness, including this ridiculous game and how sad he looked at the prospect of losing.

And right then, she forgave him.

She got set and bowled what appeared to be a perfect ball. At the very last second, she waved her finger just enough to send the ball into the gutter, giving Damon the victory. When she turned around again, he was smirking and his arms had fallen to his sides.

"Too bad, Bon," he said. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

"Yeah, looks like I am," she said, allowing herself a little smile.

"Well, come here, then," he said, opening his arms. Bonnie hesitated at first, just to mess with him, and then she slid into his open arms and he wrapped her up in a tight hug. She had to admit that it felt good to let her anger go. And it definitely felt good to be close to him again. She never would have guessed it from looking at him but he was a great hugger. He had just the right amount of squeeze and he always smelled good.

"You cheated," he said lowly, swaying her a little in his arms. "You missed that last one on purpose."

"Are you complaining?" she asked, with her head on his chest.

"Nah."

He kissed her forehead, and then Stefan said "aww, I need to get in on this."

He hugged Bonnie's back and she laughed when the brothers smothered her in a Salvatore sandwich.

"Well, Miss Bennett, I must say that I'm impressed."

The voice caused all three of them to snap their heads in the direction of the sound, and when they did, they saw Lily Salvatore and all her witchpires standing there, looking very out of place in their old-timey outfits.

"Elena's only been a few months and already you've moved into her territory with both of my sons," Lily said with a small laugh. "When this is all over, you must share your secret. But for now, I think it's time we all had a conversation."