I should have stated this before, but like most of my stories, this doesn't exactly have a plot so if that kind of thing bothers you, I apologize.

Bonnie said five minutes, he gave her five minutes.

Ignoring Caroline's smile, his brother's smirk and Elena's calling after him he continues to make his way out of the living room where they were supposed to be having a meeting. Apparently the town decided that they were long overdue for another ridiculous, but totally reasonable in their eyes ball. Which under normal circumstances wouldn't concern him but Carol Lockwood let it slip that it was actually Klaus' idea. So he thought it was time to round everyone up and make sure that the key players―so to speak―were all in attendance, as for everyone else, he didn't really care if they came or not. As soon as he's outside he rolls his eyes when he spots Bonnie sitting on the trunk of her car, phone plastered to her ear. He starts to go over to her but stops when he sees her get down, starting to pace back and forth as her free hand waves around, while a scowl settles on her features, clearly unhappy with whoever she was on the phone with and he can't help the smirk that pulls at his lips. Looks like there was trouble in paradise already. He watches with a smile on his face until he sees her frown turn turn into a grin and goes to reclaim her previous spot and before he can stop himself he flashes over to her and grabs the phone out of her hand,

"Sorry Marcel, Bonnie's going to have to call you back." Click. "You can talk to your boyfriend when we're done."

Bonnie blinks in surprise, though she knows she shouldn't be taken back by his latest stunt. And knowing that he thrives on getting reactions from her she decides to smile as she takes her phone back from him after stopping her silencing spell. Though it takes her a while to calm down, slightly flustered by their proximity. It had been days since she had actually seen him and their little talk still had her in a bit of a turmoil. She found herself to be a bit afraid of being in his presence. She wasn't sure when or how she tapped into telepathy but the last person she expected to unlock the ability would be Damon of all people. And Damon's mind was a dark place. She deemed him to be a bit of a one dimensional type of person―since he was never good at hiding his feelings, she could always see right through his bullshit and through all of his bravado he was a bit transparent―but after he accidentally let his guard down, she was proved to be wrong. And he scared the hell out of her. Not that she'd ever admit it. But nonetheless she forces herself to get it together, annoyed at the smirk on his face as he stares down at her.

"Actually you just hung up on my dad."

"Your dad?" Damon repeats as if it's a foreign concept to him. For some reason he never thought that Bonnie had an actual parental figure around. He always thought that―with the exception of Sheila―she had always taken care of herself.

"Yeah, you know, the parent of mine that's had the pleasure of not meeting you." She snarks.

"Cute." Damon makes a face "I just didn't know you-"

"Well for you to know anything about me you'd have to talk to me like an actual person. But you're only capable of doing that with one person. So…" Bonnie shrugs "What am I doing here Damon?"

"You can't take Marcel."

"Excuse me?" Bonnie narrows her eyes not believing his audacity.

"He can't go." He repeats as if he were telling a toddler why they couldn't play with their favorite toy.

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"Enlighten me."

"Because he knows Klaus."

"Oh, the horror. A vampire knows the 'big bad Original Hybrid'." she uses air quotes "Oh wait…" Bonnie stops and looks at Damon as if she were realizing something, who presses his lips together, hearing a snort that is no doubt from Caroline.

"I know, Damon. I know everything. How he met Klaus. About him and Rebekah. I knew that the minute I took his hand. One of the few upsides to being a witch, when you meet someone you already know what you're getting yourself into. And yes, just like you the moment I got his history I thought he was sent to me and his intentions were to use me." she holds up a hand when Damon opens his mouth "So I acted on impulse. Everything that you're trying to protect me from...in your own weird way" she waves her hand around him "I sent him to his knees for. And then I almost took down his whole empire. Until I learned about Ancestral Magick, and then I backed off. And surprisingly even after I pretty much ruined everything he still tried to talk to me and after a couple of weeks, I let him. I found out that he had no idea who I was besides that I was a witch that he hadn't seen before. He didn't know anything about my line until we talked. And then he found out that I knew Klaus. And you want to know what he did?" Bonnie raises an eyebrow when Damon looks away from her,

"He actually tried to convince me to stay. To not come back here. He wanted me to stay with him and leave everything behind just so I could get away from here because he knows Klaus. And the most messed up part about that is that someone I knew for two months was trying to protect me more than people that I've known for a year or thirteen in some cases. People that I've been bending over backwards for and not doing a damn thing for me in return except bring me ongoing suffering. A guy that I almost destroyed everything he spent decades to build tried to keep me safe and wasn't asking me to do anything for him in return. Hell he even extended his offer to my friends. And just where your mind is now, I jumped to that conclusion as well. So I politely declined and came home, went to Klaus and did a truth spell. Klaus didn't even know that he was alive, so I wiped his memory and called Marcel, took him up on that date that he was so annoyingly hell bent on getting. And," she sighs looking down in embarrassment "I used that to find out if he was bonded or something and nope, all clear."

"How screwed up is that? That every argument you've prepped in your mind, crossed mine as well. I allowed myself to be sure that no guy could actually be interested in me. That he had to have some kind of agenda to want to talk to me. It wasn't because he saw a girl and wanted to get to know her. It was because he was sent to me by someone else to find out what I know and how much I could possibly do for them, find out what I was capable of. I allowed my mentality to get that screwed up. For my self esteem to get that low. It's one thing to be mindful and want to make sure someone checks out but for me to go through a full checklist before I can even think that someone just wants to talk to me is pretty pathetic."

"And before you even bring yourself into this, he didn't even know that I knew you until he saw you and Stefan at my house. But," she pauses her voice taking on a light tone "from what Marcel told me, I'm sure you already knew that." She gives him a faux sweet smile before hopping down from the trunk.

"I'll call you later Care." Bonnie says as she slides behind the wheel of her car, knowing everyone inside is listening. "I'll see you at the ball, Damon." She smiles as she drives off. Leaving him standing there with a perplexed look on his face.

"Shut up." He mutters when he turns around to see Stefan standing there when his lips part, amusement present in his green eyes.

Much like the last time Damon was at the Mikaelson's home for a ball, he sees guests mingling with glasses of champagne as they all talk as if they were competing with each other for who could be the loudest. The only significant difference―at least to him anyway―from the last time is that Elena is officially his date but he can't help but search for a certain witch who has yet to make her appearance. Due to this he has managed to stay close to the door watching various couples make their entrance, the women with big smiles on their faces as they marvel at the decorations that are suited to the winter season while the men try their hardest to look as though they actually want to be here. He briefly wonders if he had a similar look on his face when he walked past the threshold.

Despite the servers successfully weaving through the crowd, managing to not bump into the constantly moving attendees dressed to the nines; men in perfectly tailored suits or tuxs, women in elaborate gowns, diamond necklaces draped along their necks. If he were to be honest, he wasn't all that impressed. After dining with and being around actual royals there wasn't much that could impress him anymore. Though with that being said a small part of him wished he could be as blissfully ignorant as the rest of them. They were all in the presence of beings that could rip them limb from limb in the blink of an eye and they were none the wiser...well with the exception of a few.

"Oh there's Caroline." Elena says, effectively bringing Damon out of his thoughts as she attempts to tug him along with her so she can go greet the blonde. Frowning when he doesn't budge.

"I'm waiting for Stefan." He explains―not a complete lie, he was surprised to see that his little brother was actually coming having expected him to bow out at the last minute and judging by the way he actually looked like he wasn't dreading it made it clear that he wasn't coming alone―seeing the look she's giving him, attempting to look apologetic when she makes no effort to pretend as if she isn't disappointed in his actions before she lets him go and heads over to the blonde who manages to pull herself away from Tyler and greet Elena with open arms, smiling once they pull away. Starting to gush over the other's appearance while he and Tyler briefly nod out greetings to the other, clearly on the same page about that being the only contact that they deem necessary to give each other. Just because their girlfriends were friends didn't mean they had to be.

Damon turns his attention back to the door and his eyebrows nearly shoot to his hairline when he sees Jeremy walk in and to his surprise he's not alone. And he can't deny that Baby Gilbert did good. From her porcelain skin and stunning blue eyes to her long dark hair and from what he can see, a nice body, solely judging by the way her dark blue dress hugs her figure. He watches as Jeremy makes his way over to the group introducing her as Faye and from the looks on their faces, Damon can tell that they're just as shocked that Jeremy got her as he is. Though Tyler quickly puts on a poker face, probably because of Caroline being right by his side. When he sees everyone suddenly turn their attention to the door, Caroline folding her lips, holding her breath as she flits her eyes to Elena whos eyes are narrowed as she stares at whatever―whoever has arrived he sees Stefan walking past the threshold with a tall leggy blonde with bright green eyes, a hint of a smile on her lips as she surveys the room. He raises an eyebrow watching as they stroll past the group only stopping when Caroline calls his name to which his date looks unbothered by his attention going elsewhere. Though a frown appears on Damon's face when he sees the look she gives Elena, almost as if she's taunting her. He's just about to walk over to join them once Elena flits her eyes to his as if she were asking what he was waiting for when a hush suddenly falls over the room and he can't help but roll his eyes at the reaction until he turns to the doorway, vaguely aware of his grip tightening on his glass as he watches the latest arrivals make their entrance.

She is wearing the hell out of that dress.

That's the first thought that pops into his head when he sees Bonnie walk through the threshold on Marcel's arm. The latter's attention locked on the witch, that annoying grin on his face when he sees the small blush coloring her cheeks after noticing the attention she's getting. He continues to watch with a frown on his face when he sees Bonnie bite her lip at whatever Marcel whispers in her ear, slightly annoyed that he missed whatever was said. After getting over their exchange Damon allows himself to take a closer look at her. From her sensual makeup, dark waves pulled up in an intricate updo as two tendrils hang down on either side of her face, to the silver halter top floor length dress that nearly shows her entire left leg with each step she takes, every now and then exposing the silver strappy heels on her feet that add about four inches to her natural height. And when he finally breaks out of his stupor he sees that his flute of champagne is no longer in his hand but is now on the ground, several shards of glass around his feet while some are embedded in his hand, blood oozing from the tiny lacerations in his palm and index finger. He folds his lips and casually kicks the glass to the side, offering small smiles to the people staring at him in shock before he slips away to the bathroom to clean himself up.

Having seen the whole scene unfold Klaus stifles a laugh raising his glass to his lips watching as the elder Salvatore walks away missing the smirk on his brother's face, the look of amusement on Caroline's and the look of confusion on the doppelganger's. While Marcel simply looks annoyed before turning his attention back to Bonnie, a smile on his face as she looks up at him playfully rolling her eyes when he moves his hand to rest it on her hip as he pulls her closer. Though Klaus is surprised when he sees that Rebekah's attention is still on the server boy, a grin on her face as she listens to whatever nonsense that's spilling from his mouth. While his brothers look mildly entertained before resuming their previous conversation.

…

When Damon rejoins the party he frowns when he sees that everyone has abandoned their previous spot in the foyer and starts to make his way to the ballroom knowing that they are always forced to dance at these things and he blinks when he reaches the threshold. Surprised by the match ups of the dance partners, not what he expected at all. He sees Elena gliding along the floor with Elijah, Rebekah in an intense staring contest with Stefan, Matt paired with Faye, Caroline rolling her eyes at something Kol just said who has a wide grin on his face as Klaus glares at him before his attention returns to...Halle?―whatever her name was, all he could remember about the girl is that she was around the wolf. When that thought crosses his mind he searches around the room noticing that Tyler is noticeably absence to which he shrugs, made no difference to him but he can't help the smile that appears on his face when he sees Marcel looking curiously at the blonde who showed up on his his brother's arm―well when he wasn't glaring at Bonnie's dance partner, none other than Baby Gilbert who's staring at her, eyes half glazed over clearly unconcerned with what his date is doing while Bonnie looks as if she's completely oblivious to his leering. And Damon can't help but grin when Jeremy looks like he's dreading what's to come next to which Damon takes full advantage of, sidestepping the stranger who's arms Bonnie was about to be twirled into. Ignoring the look he gets from the random at his interference.

"So you're going to ignore me?" Damon questions when Bonnie makes no effort to acknowledge him.

"You say it like I was talking to my last dance partner." She retorts looking up at him, making it clear that she was fully aware of the bedroom eyes she was receiving from Jeremy.

Damon's smile turns into a grin when he hears her heartbeat speed up when she finally meets his gaze, clearing her throat as she tears her eyes away from his.

He said, if you dare, come a little closer.

"In case no one has told you this yet, you look beautiful."

"Thank you." Bonnie decides to just take his compliment, glancing up at him when he doesn't say anything else.

"Well?"

Bonnie looks at him incredulously, a small laugh escaping her when she sees that he's completely serious "I suppose you don't look awful either." She replies as if it's the most ridiculous thing she's ever said.

"Oh please, you know I'm wearing the hell out of this suit." Damon nearly scoffs, frowning when Bonnie suddenly looks at him as if he's grown a third head. Her whole body going still, her breath catching in her throat.

"What?" He looks down at her, concern clear in his eyes which throws Bonnie off even more than she was before.

"Nothing." She answers quickly turning her gaze elsewhere as she starts to sway along to the music again, making a point of avoiding his eyes.

"You're lying." He lilts, raising an eyebrow when he sees her staring at something over his shoulder, a stormy look in her eyes. Letting his curiousity get the better of him he spins them around and smiles when he sees Marcel's latest dance partner.

Not really sure how to feel about it. Something in the way you move. Makes me feel like I can't live without you. Yeah, it takes me all the way. I want you to stay.

He never really took Bonnie to be the jealous type but like she said, there really isn't much he knows about her. Plus, he supposes that he wouldn't exactly be excited to see his girlfriend in someone from her past's arms either. He pushes those thoughts to the side and opens his mouth to ask her something but whatever it was dies on his lips when he sees Elena being twirled around the dance floor, watching as his brother pulls her back into his arms and she doesn't look as if she's in any rush to leave. Looks like he spoke just a little too soon, he muses to himself, a scowl settling on the elder Salvatore's features when he hears the latest lyrics assault his ears, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

Cause when you never see the light it's hard to know which one of us is caving.

He was seriously starting to question the song choices at these shindigs. Until he returns his attention to Bonnie and sees that she's looking up at him as if she were studying him.

"Stefan wouldn't do that to you." She says simply, having spotted him and Elena dancing together when Damon promptly spun them around and he blinks, wondering how she even...he lets that thought trail off. Next to his brother, Bonnie could always pick up his true feelings. Hell, she might even be better. This time being the exception. His subconscious rallies.

"Oh, I don't doubt that."

"Then you should tell that to your face. You and I both know that you have Elena wrapped around your finger. Quite literally." she adds, not backing down when she sees the flash of anger in his eyes "So if you know that Stefan wouldn't cross that line, why are you so worried?" Raising an eyebrow when he remains silent, merely holding her gaze.

"Because I'm the one that's picturing her best friend bent over-"

Bonnie presses her lips together, forcing herself to look away from his eyes, to focus on anything else but the man in front of her, not wanting to catch the end of whatever he was accidentally beaming into her head. Sucking her breath in when he suddenly twirls her around before pulling her back into him, his hands sliding down to her lower back, just a little to close to comfort. Successfully undoing the wall she just managed to put back up. But before she can comment he returns his hands to the small of her back, retaking her right hand in his left, starting to sway along to the music once again as if their little interlude never happened. When she looks up at him she sees a smirk on his face as he stares at something over her shoulder. It doesn't take a genius to know who was on the receiving end, her assumption being proved to be correct when Damon opens his mouth and she can't help the dread that washes over her. Hoping that they don't make a scene.

"Marcellus."

Marcel smiles as he looks down, fighting the urge to take Damon's bait.

"Let her go, Damon." Marcel says in a low voice so Bonnie won't hear him, knowing that she won't appreciate being treated as if she were a damsel in need of saving. Taking a step forward when Damon doesn't move, he's just about to grab Damon by his throat when Bonnie suddenly turns around to face him. Greeting him with a smile as she easily escapes Damon's hold. He feels his anger slowly start to fade away when she allows him to pull her into him and doesn't protest when he starts to guide her across the dance floor managing to not bump into the other couples until their on the opposite side of the room leaving Damon alone. Further surprised when she doesn't look even a little bothered at his behaviour.

Damon looks on in mild amusement at Marcel's subtle attempt at marking his territory fully expecting Bonnie to frown and start to declare her independence until he sees her with a bright smile that even reaches her eyes as Marcel twirls her around on the opposite side of the room before pulling her into his arms, raising her arms to rest on his shoulders when he slides his hands to her lower back, letting his fingertips rest just above the curve of her ass. Though Damon smiles when she suddenly pulls away, only to scowl when he sees her take Marcel's hand in hers leading him off of the dance floor, out of the ballroom, and down one of the corridors. Leaving Damon to wonder what the hell is in the champagne because there was no way that his Bon Bon ever act like that under normal circumstances. But then again he's never really seen Bonnie in a relationship with someone that was actually worthy of her time―not that he thought that Marcel was, but he had to admit that anyone was better than Jeremy.

"Well she didn't light you up, so that's progress." Stefan smiles.

Damon rolls his eyes annoyed by his brother's constant lurking and turns around to see him standing behind him a flute in his hand, offering it to him to which he immediately takes and downs it in one go.

Stefan raises his eyebrows "Wow, you didn't it even break it this time." A grin gracing his features at the face Damon gives him in response. To which Damon frowns, Stefan never grins unless he's let his ripper out of it's cage and he stares at him curiously before disregarding it. He'd have heard a cry of horror at someone finding a dismembered limb by now if Stefan was off the deep end.

"Don't you have a date to terrorize? Or did she wisen up and realize that you weren't worth her time?" He taunts, even though he finds her to be rather plain looking.

"I'm going to ignore this because I know that you're just in a mood that it's not you that Bonnie was sneaking off with."

"One problem with that theory."

Stefan tilts his head genuinely curious at whatever excuse his brother was about to come up with.

"I have a girlfriend."

"Because your so big on respecting boundaries." Stefan snorts walking away to rejoin his date who immediately wraps an arm around his waist as she continues her conversation with Caroline while Tyler hands Stefan a tumbler filled with brown liquid both talking big gulps ignoring the looks they get from Caroline. While Stefan's date looks as if she's waiting for her own.

"There you are."

Damon turns around to see Elena walking up to him with a big smile on her face, as if she were genuinely happy to see him. And he feels as if he's been punched in the gut. Guilt washing over him as he realizes that he's barely been around her, and that it hasn't really bothered him. Until he remembers who her dance partners were.

"What's wrong?" Elena asks, when she sees the look in his eyes.

"Did you have fun?" He manages to make his voice sound playful.

Elena frowns then playfully rolls her eyes with a small smile on her face.

"Are you jealous?" She grins, a teasing look in her eyes as she wraps her arms around his waist.

All humour leaves his eyes when her question registers.