Chapter 14

Dedication: Drylaine, Damon's sexy witch, PrincessAle and Boute, the four reviewers of last chapter - thanks for the love guys, especially Damon's Sexy Witch and PrincessAle who have been my most consistent reviewers. Love you guys so much. 3

Note: Pretty sure this is the longest chapter yet! And the hardest to write. Omg, I really had writer's block with this one. A lot happens and we learn a lot more about what's going on but a few things still remain blurred. I have no idea what's coming next, so pleeease let me know what you want to happen. Also, thank you soooo much for 50+ reviews! I never thought I would get here.

Elena smiled brightly at Damon. It seemed dream-like. Like it wasn't really happening.

"This is real," she said, her voice full of happiness.

He smiled at her, trying to figure out how this could have happened.

She sat up and he pulled her out of the coffin.

Elena was back. That could only mean one thing.

Bonnie was dead.

Bonnie felt a sharp stab of pain before the numbness took over. She couldn't feel anything. Couldn't hear anything except her last strangled breaths. Her vision blurred into darkness.

This couldn't be it. This couldn't possibly be how she died.

Eventually, the sound of her breathing died out. Everything was silent. This was it. She waited for her eyes to open, knowing that when they did, she would be alone in some place she knew nothing of. She would be dead to the world and the world would be dead to her. Once and for all.

Silence.

With a sudden jolt, Bonnie felt suffocated. She tasted blood in her mouth, and felt it be forced down her throat against her will.

No.

The confusion was gone. She knew what was happening. It was the only thing she feared more than death.

Her eyes opened to a blurry vision of Caroline Forbes. Caroline looked terrified, her eyes filled with tears, but her fear quickly turned to deep, deep relief when she saw that Bonnie was awake.

"Bonnie," she said, through her tears. "I thought you were gone."

"I was," Bonnie said, solemnly.

Caroline's eyes widened. "You don't mean –"

"I do." Bonnie already began to feel unquenchable thirst flood through her veins.

"I'm so sorry."

"You saved my life," Bonnie said, although she wasn't sure she wanted to live. Not like this. "Don't apologise. Thank you, Car."

Caroline smiled sadly. "Are you going to go through with the transition?" Bonnie knew that it would destroy Caroline to lose her best friend like this. In the exact way she lost her dad. She could see Caroline's eyes begin to well up again, although she was trying hard to be strong.

"Yes," Bonnie said, sighing as she tried to control the unbelievable hunger she felt. "I'm a survivor, Caroline. I have to do this."

Caroline nodded, evidently trying hard not to show how happy that made her. "I'll get you some…" she trailed off.

"Blood," Bonnie completed. "It's okay, Car." Caroline nodded and then left the apartment. Bonnie sat upright, fighting the urge to cry and/or destroy something. She took a deep breath and instead focused her attention on something else.

Who did this to her?

Damon helped Elena into the car. There were so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her everything and get it all off his chest. But not now. Now, he had to focus on one thing and one thing only. Bonnie.

"How long has it been?" Elena asked, oblivious to the crazy thoughts running through Damon's brain.

"Four years," Damon said, igniting Elena's surprise.

"But… Bonnie…."

"Yeah, we're going to figure that out," he said dismissively. He knew that she could sense his anxiety. Something was clearly wrong, but luckily, she didn't ask.

"My questions can wait," was all she said, making Damon feel even more guilty. They were practically flying down the road in complete silence. Damon kept his eyes focused on the road and Elena stared at him curiously. He hoped his silence didn't speak for itself.

When they reached the shabby old building, Damon bolted out of the car and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Bonnie! Bonnie!" He said her name over and over again as they ran up the stairs to her apartment. He was about to break down the door when it opened.

There she stood. She was okay. Damon felt relief and confusion flood through him, but all he did was hug her.

She hugged him back, but quickly pulled away when she saw her.

"Elena?" She said, her voice cracking. Elena smiled, although she didn't look that happy. Mostly extremely confused.

"Bonnie," Elena said, wrapping her around around her friend.

Then Bonnie felt it. She felt her teeth ache. She could smell Elena's blood. Human, now that she'd taken the cure. She pulled away, unable to control the desire that consumed her. Damon stared at her, realisation dawning upon him. Elena stifled a scream when she saw her face. The face of a predator ready to attack. And she might have attacked, if Caroline hadn't appeared in the corridor at that very moment. She nudged past Damon and Elena, not noticing them at first, as she handed Bonnie a blood bag. Bonnie drank it, disgusted at how much relief it brought her.

"No," Damon said, not processing what he'd just seen. Caroline, spun around at the sound of his voice and noticed Elena. The two girls started conversing at the same time, both equally happy to see one another. Damon simply stared at Bonnie with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Come in?" Bonnie said, awkwardly.

Damon sat next to Elena on the couch opposite Caroline, and Bonnie stood as far away from Damon and Elena as she could, perhaps because she was afraid to hurt Elena, or maybe even because she didn't want to see them together. Damon brushed the thought aside. Surely she didn't feel that way. Seeing Elena again confused him, but not as much as it made him happy. He was so glad she was awake. Yet, guilt was all he allowed himself to feel. How had he been so careless, so stupid, so reckless to fall in love with her best friend?

Caroline and Elena talked endlessly, both of them oblivious to what Damon and Bonnie had been through the past months. Damon was sure that Stefan hadn't yet told Caroline everything. Suddenly, the conversation halted, as Caroline and Elena both turned to Bonnie who was sitting in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth.

"Who did this to you?" Elena asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't remember. There was a knife on the floor next to me when I woke up."

Damon felt anger bubble up inside him. He swore to himself that whoever did that would meet their end soon.

There was a loud knock on the door, followed by another.

Bonnie put a shaky hand on the doorknob, and cautiously opened it. Luckily, it was only Stefan and Enzo.

"Oh thank god it's just you guys," Bonnie said, sighing. "We have a guest."

They looked at Elena, seemingly unsurprised. "We know," Enzo said, looking at Elena sadly. Stefan looked at her, too, solemnly. "We saw Damon bringing her upstairs." Elena frowned.

"What's going on, guys?" she asked, sensing their tension.

Stefan sighed. "Elena… when we saw you, Enzo came up here and saw that Bonnie was alive. Pale and clearly starving, but alive. He knew instantly what had happened. Kai's curse has no loopholes. Not even vampirism."

"No," Damon said, realising where Stefan was going with this. Elena's eyes filled with tears. "How long?" She asked.

"An hour, maybe," Enzo replied.

Elena nodded. "Can you give me and Damon a minute, please?" Caroline and Bonnie left the room, closing the door behind them.

Damon felt miserable. Elena only had an hour left before she was gone again. She would go back to sleep, this time indefinitely, because Bonnie was a vampire. And he hadn't confessed anything. He hadn't told her the truth. That he was in love with Bonnie. That he didn't choose it, but he was. Now, she'd go back to her coffin, knowing nothing. This was his chance to get everything off his chest, and he blew it.

"It's not that bad," she said through her tears. "It's like being asleep. Feels like a neverending dream." Damon nodded, knowing that she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

"I saw your face when I woke up. You were happy, sure, but you were mostly worried. Worried for her." She looked toward the door. He knew she was talking about Bonnie.

"She's my best friend," was all Damon could say.

Elena smiled and shook her head. "I saw the way you looked at her. The way you melted at the sight of her. You've never looked at anyone in that way. Not Katherine, not even me."

Damon was speechless. She knew.

"You're fighting it. Do me a favor, and stop. You deserve to be happy. So does she. I'll come back someday, no matter how far away that day is. Don't put your life on hold for me." She kissed him. He wanted to protest, but instead he just smiled. She smiled back and opened the door. The others were waiting near the staircase.

Bonnie felt sick. Not just because she was a vampire, but also because she had been a horrible friend to Elena. She'd fallen in love with the wrong person and now, she would do everything to forget about him. She would move on and honor Elena's memory. She would live her life, and when the time called for it, she would stake herself. Now, she could barely even look Elena in the eye, but for some reason, Elena walked upto her with a smile and whispered two words in her ear.

"It's okay." With that, she was preoccupied with the others who were all crowding around her. Bonnie's eyes widened as she looked at Damon. He smiled softly before looking away.

Suddenly, the whole plan she'd dreamt up had collapsed.