Shelter

She should have expected this.

She should have expected the crack of the sunlight engulfing the wooden stools by the bar, the hard lines of the booths by the corner, the shine and might of the top shelf drinks that were only reserved for private parties or town occasions. The pool table, where she so many times pretended to be a professional player, was standing there by the game area with its usual appeal lacking.

Looking to her left, she spotted the corner where Elena Gilbert had confessed her fear of finding out who her biological parents really were. Scared that they, for some reason, might reject her again or even be disappointed in who she had turned out to be. Over there, closer to the middle of The Grill, she had told Caroline Forbes to go for what she wanted and to not be afraid of the unknown. Of course, she was referring to a guy and not life in general. Even still, her advice had been completely valid. Chin up, bravado was her makeup, Bonnie had crossed the bar to meet one Ben McKittrick.

Bonnie's eyes squinted as she remembered the night where everything had changed. The night where Stefan and Elena's wires had gotten all crossed. She remembered because she had been the one to console Matt Donovan just over there, on that exact table.

Hmpf.

That seemed so long ago and, simultaneously, so fresh, so close.

There was a time when they had been ordinary teenagers. Just small-town kids with acceptable and achievable dreams. Their struggles were mundane and absolutely fucking ridiculous sometimes, but that's how it was supposed to be. They were still very new to this life stuff and high school was the time to figure it all out.

Granted, Matt and Bonnie had had it a bit harder than their friends for various reasons, but still, there were so many times that Bonnie wished she could go back in time or, at least, that her biggest problems stemmed from her broken family and her own insecurities when it came to being best friends with the two most popular girls.

But it wasn't so simple, it never was. In fact, not only had her problems become life threatening, the previous issues were still there, only now there was a magnifying glass in the form of a heavy load that came with being the town's unsung witch. It made her awfully aware of how little she mattered, her life mattered and it was... conflicting at best.

She chose not to dwell on those feelings too much. It was not like Elena chose to be the epicenter of all supernatural craziness that popped up every new week, or that when both of their lives were weighted on a biased balance, Bonnie's would never matter. Truly, it wasn't Elena's fault, it was just how things were, there was no way around it.

Elena was the doppelgänger, the key to everything. The girl that had fallen in love with two vampires, the one that had her life messed up, tossed and turned in so many ways that was unbelievable at times. The girl that had held her hand when other kids would make fun of her short stature or her skin tone, the one that was practically a sister, the one she had given so much of herself for and the one that watched Bonie die, twice.

Drawing in the suspended particles in the air, her eyes roamed the pub as she shook herself out of her thoughts. Bonnie knitted her brows as another wave of emotion washed over her, her nails digging up at her palms.

She should have expected this.

Nothing ever came easy to her and certainly the universe wouldn't start doing her any favors now. Even if she still had paid her dues while living, it seemed as if the driving force behind all of life had different plans for her. Of course.

She let out a dark chuckle but it completely lacked any emotion. The void in it was somber but it was a true and honest reflection of what she was feeling. Of what she had been felling.

She should have expected the overwhelming weight of the emptiness staring back at her. The empty seats were facing her with an unconventional dare that was daunting; the lack of bodies moving about and of voices filling up the corner of her teenagerhood took her on as a challenge and it left Bonnie a little unbalanced.

She had hoped for... something other than this. Anything. Realistically, wishing that her old friends were right there staring back at her was stupid. She knew that, she did, but still she wished for some sense of familiarity. Something that connected her back to her roots, to where she had been born and died, to her somewhat fragile legacy. To something other than this!

Emptiness, nothingness, void.

A few strands of her hair moved from her face as she exhaled some of the feelings out of her body. This was still not peace. This was still not what she was promised and Bonnie just knew that Grams wouldn't leave her hanging.

No.

No way.

The clearing of a throat caught her attention. "This is... weirdly not surprising"

She glanced at Damon "No?"

He shrugged "No. I mean, don't get me wrong but I'm pretty sure your friends would have to had kicked the bucket just like we did to have the blessing of enjoying this amazing piece of real estate"

His voice had some humor in it but the clench of the jaw that came after that statement was louder than what he had said. Even if he knew that there was no way that Elena or Stefan or even Caroline would be there, that the possibility of that happening was null but stranger things had happened. Damon was sure that they were in this second second rate of Mystic Falls but he was sure that just like their hometown, this one would have its own basket of tricks. He was just unsure if he wanted to find one right now, unless it was the right basket if that made sense.

It wouldn't matter either way. Even if they found something, he was almost sure that there was not much they could do about since Bonnie was now magicless, rendering her almost useless. That and he just wouldn't trust that the universe would be rewarding him, of all people, with yet another chance at living, so yeah, finding the pub empty wasn't as surprising as he thought it would have been.

Even with his heightened ability, Damon had almost forgotten that he could use his powers. The prospect of maybe finding a glimpse of hope, of an answer, of something took over him without his consent.

That was not his fault at all. It was Elena's and Stefan's. They were the ones that decided to help him become a better man and feel these feelings. There was no way that after hundred and fifty years of walking this planet, that Damon Salvatore would be feeling things like love and trust, let alone homesickness but now here he was. Missing them back there in their old never-changing quaint town.

However, Damon knew that this was his final life and he had accepted it. That was weird though because he was usually stubborn as hell and he had a bad habit of fighting whatever destiny handed to him. He did it all the time. With himself, Stefan, Katherine, Elena and the list goes on and on and on. But he fought said destiny because Damon thought he deserved more and, after several lifetimes, he just didn't know how to stop fighting. It was easier going head first against everyone than to just try and remedy whatever it was that was going on inside.

Truthfully, Damon Salvatore never knew a life without some type of war going on. It started the moment he came to this world as an unwanted baby. As much as Lily Salvatore tried her best to protect him, Giuseppe's rage had no limits and he always made sure to remind young Damon how useless he was. A waste of space, unworthy, indesiderato.

It takes a long time of being the target of such accusations before actually believing them. And he did, every single time. Not even after Stefan had come along, Damon saw himself as worthy of anything. The only person he adored more than Lily was Stefa and even then, he managed to still fail him so many times.

His rage was his forte and he used it as if it were a second skin, second heart and a second life. It was out of control. When his little brother turned him, Damon believed to be the worst of the worst, his fate and soul already eaten by the devil. That strong feeling that he used to feel against his own father transferred to his young brother, not because he couldn't see young Stefan's reasons but because he was supposed to protect him and look at him now. A mirror of himself, two brothers far away from salvation.

Stefan was the wanted the child, the key to Giuseppe and Lily's sinking marriage, the perfect student, the perfect child, the gentleman, Saint Stefan. Even still, Damon loved him more than anything, would do just about anything for him even if it cost his own life. And then it did. Stefan made the choice to become a shadow of the night, a shell of a person and all those violent feelings that had been just below the surface, came with force and it drove an impossible wedge between them.

"You should see a therapist" Jeremy had told him in passing a long time ago but the vampire had never paid the comment any time, mostly because it had been Jeremy saying it and he just ignored whatever he said. However, there were odd times where his mind was going in yet another fun spiral and those cursed words would come back to bite him, to nag him and it wouldn't shut up. These were the times he regretted not actually killing the excuse of a Gilbert.

So what, his history wasn't made of roses? Who liked those anyways? The fact of the matter was that Damon was beyond damaged, beyond dangerous and there was no way around it. It just was and someone as messed up as he was didn't deserve a second chance, so he would take this outcome as it was and wait for his punishment.

"Whatever"

Bonnie's voice broke him out of his thoughts. His gazed followed her after she hastily made a beeline for the front door and pushed it open with force. "Where are you going?"

She took a deep breath a spotted the shop right across the square. It was a small boutique that she and the girls used to go to find the right dress for homecoming. As she made a stride towards the place she said "There"

Damon fought an eye roll "Obvious much? I can see where you're going"

He was now walking beside her and she made no effort whatsoever to look at him "Then why did you ask?"

He huffed already tired of her attitude "Because Bonnie, just like you, I want answers too and I doubt it you're going to find it over Rags Boutique over there"

The young girl chose to ignore the vampire and instead let her anxiety and stress mount up in the way her molars grinded against each other and her rapid heart rate. She reached the door and her hand decided to freeze in that moment, it was trembling and her fingers seemed as if they had been frozen. She took deep breaths as she tried to get some kind of hold over herself.

They needed answers and that was why she was on a mission, so she shouldn't be freezing up like a scared child. She was Bonnie freaking Bennett; she could handle just about anything and she was not giving up now. She needed to be reunited with her family and that was final.

The door opened without any sort of input from her, her hand was still in the same position as Damon strode inside the shop, his boots clacking against the woodened floors. She blinked a couple of times and entered the premises. She turned around herself with her green eyes facing upwards. This shop had so many memories... and just like the pub, it was empty.

Damon whistled, his strong hands rubbing against each other "This is certainly promising"

She licked her lips. No. What was going on? Was there anyone in this town? Or maybe they had to be cooped up somewhere else, right? She stormed out of the shop and tried to café next door only to find it as empty as the previous locations. Bonnie was feeling lost, confused and so damn enraged! What the hell was going on?

"What are you doing?" she asked him with heat.

"Seating" he replied from one of the square benches, legs crossed and all "I know your brain isn't fried yet so it shouldn't be so hard to understand"

She reacted by crossing her arms across her chest "How can you be so calm? There's no one here"

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back appreciating the sun "Maybe that's a good thing. I'd end up killing them all over again"

"You wouldn't"

"I would Bonnie because I already did" he stated matter-of-factly.

She pressed her tiny finger against his chest "I can stop you Damon"

The vampire chuckled and quickly rose to his feet "You could try but without your little magic tricks, you wouldn't stand a chance. But hey, here's a clever idea: instead of knocking around the doors, why don't we go to the right places?"

She sighed and looked away. She knew he was right and the thought had crossed her mind but Bonnie wasn't sure if she could handle going to Grams' house now. It was still so painful and she just didn't feel strong enough. What if the house wasn't there anymore? What if there had never been a Grams in this reality?

Unfortunately, as it always was, Damon was right. Going around the square wasn't useful in any means so they had to find another way.

"Okay" she sighed "We should go the Old Witches' House and see what happened there"

His grin was an annoying sight "Now, we're talking. Get in the car"

"Don't manhandle me. I'm not a child" she said pushing past him and into the Camaro that was parked right in front of the grill.

He made a noncommittal sound and started the engine before she put the seatbelt in place. The ride was smooth and silent, just what they both needed. There was no need for conversation or fighting as they were both trying to comprehend this strange place they were in.

The trees went by and the wind flew past them without a single care in the world. Bonnie melted against the leather seats and let her muscles feel the fabric. It was soft and hard like a weird metaphor for her entire existence. Tainted by blood and trauma that was unseen to the clear eye.

Strange enough, Damon's radio was working just fine and the music certainly helped with the heavy mood like a much-wanted distraction to both supernaturals. She couldn't help but to have a deep feeling boiling down in the pit of stomach. There was a chance they would find some answers down at the old creepy house, but then again, there was also a bigger chance that they wouldn't find nothing but dust and insects, or maybe there wouldn't be a house in there altogether. So many possibilities and she had a hard time accepting either one of them.

The sun was already dwindling down by the time they got there, the sound of the soft rock song playing was cut too abruptly for her liking. The engine's purring sound was turned off by a pale hand and a turn of a key.

Damon's eyes carefully examined the house standing in front of them. It seemed to be untouched by time and tragic events, the white lines of the outside boards were immaculate and the windows appeared to be in perfect state. There were trees and bushes in the front yard making a clear pathway to the ominous door.

With a huff, he turned to his companion "Well, there it is"

She followed his gaze carefully, skeptically and repeated his sentiment "There it is"

Silently, each being popped out of the vehicle and made their way to the door. Bonnie was the one to enter the premises first followed by the vampire.

"This is definitely new" he said "I remember them not wanting me here"

She rolled her eyes "They're not the only ones"

"We don't always get what we want, do we?"

She chose not to reply and instead felt the walls in her fingertips. They were smooth and strong. She inhaled hoping to feel some type of energy even if she was no longer a witch, old habits were hard to break after all.

They made their way to the grand living room only to find devoid of any and all furniture, only the big chandelier on the ceiling. The chandelier that she was sure had seen a lot of history happening right there. The girl went to stand in the middle of the room, she spined around herself feeling something familiar – comfort, of some sorts.

She remembered the first time she stepped in the house in their Mystic Falls. She had felt the power of the spirits right away, she felt it warming every single fiber of her body, she felt in her soul. The spirits were there with her, her ancestors, her family that had been callously murdered by prejudice and racism back then. But she also felt their power, their strength and resilience.

Bonnie remembered it all.

Her own fear, her power reacting to the supernatural hotspot and Jeremy right there with her. Back then, she had been ready to do whatever it took to save Elena from Klaus. It felt like such a distant memory now. How she had been so scared but still willing to go forward.

"We should head down to the basement" he said "Isn't there where everything spooky happened?"

She looked at him and nodded. There was indeed where everything important had happened. "Yeah"

They made their way downstairs and with each step, the memories came flying to her. This was where she had begged the witches to save Jeremy's life, where Stefan had hidden Klaus' coffins during his vendetta against the Original, where John had chosen to trade his life for Elena's and where Damon had brought her after she had died while trying to bring Klaus down.

Damon had a look around the room. Just like in their hometown, this basement was eerily similar to the house he knew. He hadn't been there many times because he was an unwanted guest but the few times he'd been there something tragic always happened. The first time he had been allowed to set foot inside the house, he had been carrying a dead Bennett, the one he was now stuck with in this parallel universe. He wasn't the begging type, that was never his cape to wear, but that night he had looked at Bonnie for the first time as more than the resident witch. He saw the girl behind the mask, the one behind the power and saw a sixteen-year-old that had her life cut short.

The way he saw it, she deserved to live and he knew that the witches would never allow one of their own to die in such a way, not after the sacrifice she had made, and he was right, they had given her a second chance to live out the rest of her life. It was ironic to think that, after only three years, she was back at the same place only now he was right there with her.

He had done many things in life, seen even more but this feeling right now certainly took the cake. The weird sense of a fucked up déjà vu continuously wrapped his head up in a maze. Standing in the same room where he, the undead one at the time, had brought a very dead Bonnie to life was something else. Trippy to say the least. And now, here they were dead but not really, stuck in some limbo.

She was distracted with something. He could tell by the way her back was tense and the way she kept balling her hands into fragile fists. Her heartbeat was another big tell but he figured she was freaked out by the whole thing. He certainly felt some way about it.

He cocked his head to the side and noticed, perhaps for the first time in a long time, how tiny she was. Not only in stature – that was obvious – but the way she carried herself, at least lately. The only time she seemed to stand tall and proud was when she was all powered up and giving him yet another powerful migraine or when she was fighting the bad guys. Right now, her whole demeanor was one of defeat and sadness maybe. Whatever it was, it made her small in his eyes, not in a bad way but in a factual sense. That was the look of someone who had nothing else to give and he knew the feeling all too well.

She turned around to look him in the eyes and the green that met him had a fading glow "I can't feel anything"

"Not even a tingling?"

He expected a clapback but she surprised him with slumped shoulders and a quiet voice "Nothing at all"

"Well," he tried "You're not a witch anymore so maybe that's why"

She took a deep breath and nodded "Yeah, there's that too but... I don't know, I just don't feel anything"

There. There it was again, the vulnerability of one Bonnie Bennett.

With a huff, he crossed his arms and offered the best solution he could for the moment being "Look, it's been a long day. Actually, a very rough couple of months, so why don't we head back to the manor and think about our options? Standing here won't bring us the answers any faster"

She closed her eyes weighing in his words. Again, and annoyingly so, he was right. Running around with no actual plan or sense of what they were doing was useless and she was feeling very drained. She needed to get out of that house and clear her head for a minute. There was a lot that she needed to process and there was another place she wanted to go to right now, even if it scared her.

"I don't want to go to the manor" she said "I... Can you... take me to my house?"

He should have expected that she'd want to go somewhere familiar. It's not like she'd want to stay in the manor just because it felt familiar to him.

"Sure"

Just like the other buildings and the manor, the Bennett residence was still standing. Of course, like the rest of them, there was no one in sight but, for once, that was not an unusual thing. Being an only child with one parent in her life that was always out of town, Bonnie's house was empty most of the time. Rudy Bennett was never a home-y type of person, she figured that by keeping himself busy with work and taking care of the bills somehow eased his guilt about never truly being there for his daughter.

There had been a time that she had resented him for that, most of her life actually. Until he decided to pop back in town and be a father again. Needless to say, that was harder to do than to say it. It had already been seventeen years of being only a call or facetime kind of dad, so getting used to him trying to act like a real parent was difficult. She was so used to being by herself, handling her own problems that Rudy trying to interfere was beyond nerve-wrecking.

Not only that, but the fact the he had never cared about her supernatural abilities only to try and almost forbid her of using her powers the way she wanted to, was messed up to say the least.

He didn't know his daughter and she didn't really know him. They were two estranged relatives that were now faking this relationship for the sake of guilt. That was it and nothing more.

The sad thing was, they never even had the chance to properly rekindle their almost nonexistent relationship. She never really got to know him and vice versa. Silas took care of that by slicing her father's throat like a butcher. She would never ever forget that or forgive him. Letting Silas be destroyed by the crumbling mess that was the dismantling of The Other Side wasn't the punishment she wanted him to have but it certainly served her well. Silas deserved more than just being whisked away by magic, he deserved endless pain and suffering and she would have liked to be the one to do it. A soul for a soul.

She took the nth deep breath and turned around "Thank you"

Damon pocketed his hands "You're going to be okay in there?"

She glanced her door. The paint was cracking a bit in the upper left corner but it was in a good stated overall. The inside was a mystery that she alone would have to face. "Yeah, I will"

He nodded and retrieved a phone from inside his jacket "You should have this. We didn't exactly travel with phones but I found this in the study back at the manor, pretty sure it was Stefan's. It works" he took her palm and placed it in the center of her hand "You should have it. My number's in there just in case you miss me too much"

She smiled at the comment "I would have to be experiencing some type of lunacy for that to happen"

He shrugged "Eh, the way I see it we're all cuckoo in the head Bennett"

Biting her lip, she analyzed the gadget. She vaguely remembered Stefan using it last year.

"It's unlocked so if you, per chance, find any dirty texts or pics, please let me know. Not Stefan's though, that would go without saying"

She playfully rolled her eyes "You're such a pervert"

"I know" he said enunciating each word dramatically.

She shook her head and looked up to him "Thank you for this"

"Yeah, no biggie"

He waited until she got inside and drove away to his own home. He made his way to his bar and took the glass bottle of bourbon to his lips. The taste traveled through his tastebuds burning the back of his throat as it descended to his stomach. He took a few more jugs before going to his personal blook bank. He needed something to take the edge off and bourbon alone never did the trick, it just tamed his hunger and right now, he was damn near starving.

He's always been in control of his blood thirst, that was the whole reason he was able to not rip Bonnie's neck and drink from her even if he had been feeling his fangs ripping through his gums. He needed blood and a whole lot of it. There was nothing like tapping a real vein but for now, he had to rely on blood bags. He drank three in a row and still he was hungry.

Gahhh! This had to be a side effect of dying, that was the only answer.

Nevertheless, he was far from losing this battle and become a bad copy of The Ripper. Far from that but he had to increase his intake of blood now.

He tossed the empty blood bag to the side and made his way to Stefan's room. He stood by the door frame analyzing the desk where his younger brother insisted on relaying his feelings on those damned journals.

Saint Stefan, Brooding Stefan. Always in pain, always so selfless.

They had been through so much together, so much loss and pain that books could be written about the many lives of Damon and Stefan Salvatore.

There was a lump lodged in the back of his throat making it difficult to swallow his emotions away. The wooden desk was there collecting dust, papers and ink neatly put together, the full-sized mirror in its usual corner and the stacks of books by the fireplace. With hollowed steps, the older Salvatore entered the room as if it was a foggy memory. The moment he did so, the emptiness of Stefan's presence came in like a wrecking ball, so much so that he felt his cold heart clench a bit. The quiet of it all took him by surprise. The lack of Stefan's energy was heavy.

He looked around the room and it was like no one had been there for a long time. No one that mattered at least. Carefully, he went by that desk and ran his hand across the top of the furniture, feeling its texture and density. He opened one of the books out of curiosity and froze. There was a pocket-sized picture that was clearly dated, the corners were yellowed out and the sepia tones gave away just how old it was, but what surprised him the most was the content of said photograph. Two smiling gentlemen standing in their usual attire, one had his arm laced around the other's shoulder and the younger man had a football in his hands.

Damon took the photo in his hand and stared at it for a moment. He remembered that day, when they had taken the photo. He had returned home after deserting the war and found Stefan in one of the main gardens waiting for him. His brother had the biggest smile and hug ready for him.

Damon blinked a couple of times looking away. He didn't have time for this, they were stuck somewhere and he couldn't afford to go down memory lane. It was useless and brought no real solution to the problem they had at hands.

With a swift move, he rested the picture back inside the book and exited Stefan's room fast.

He needed bourbon again. Strong.

She turned the lights on, the kitchen became bathed in a yellowish light. Everything was just like she remembered. All the appliances and everything was put in place. She walked around the room feeling the strange feeling that this home was foreign to her, and in a sense, it was. They were in another reality, as far as she could gather.

With a sigh, she ventured upstairs and into her room. She stopped by the door afraid of what she would find. Was she even real in this version of Mystic Falls? Had there been a Bonnie Bennett inhabiting this residence? What would she find once she opened the door?

Her room meant so much to her. It was her refuge, her shelter. It was the place she came to cry, to exhale and be herself, the place where she didn't have to pretend anymore because it was just her and her own feelings. No one else. Sometimes, it became suffocating to be anywhere else other than her safe space. The weight of the responsibilities and consequences came crashing into her as soon as she stepped out of her comfort zone.

That was before. After Silas, her room became another torture device and she couldn't really escape it, no matter how hard she had tried. Not even after moving to Whitmore.

She gulped. The last hours had been so insane that she felt completely overwhelmed and too energized at the same time. It was like her body was still trying to decide what was happening. She certainly was.

Bonnie closed her eyes and palmed the door. She pushed it open gently, the soft crack filling up the demanding silence. Her steps were unsure and careful. She switched the light on and exhaled. Her room was just like she remembered. Her bed was made in its usual earth tones, her desk was sitting near the window and the small bookshelf next to it stood immaculate. She stepped further and went for the pictures hanging on the wall around her vanity's mirror.

She touched them lightly with a conflicted heart. So many memories and yet, it seemed like none of it belonged to her. Like this was another person and she had just come in to fill in the place. She took one of the pictures, sat down on her bed and examined it closely. That one had been taken at the beginning of junior year, right before the first game of the season. They were all smiling with their cheerleading uniforms and pompons, Caroline and Elena standing by her side. Her chuckle was throaty, she vaguely remembered that day but she couldn't remember what it was like to feel like that again. Happy, light and young.

Nowadays, she couldn't even recognize herself. She often times felt so alone and so tired that she felt like she'd lived a hundred lives. A single tear rolled down her face and she quickly wiped it but another one followed and she couldn't stop it no matter how fast she dried them up. There was nothing she could do to stop the stream of emotions that were determined to hold her hostage for the moment. She was crying so hard that her body finally gave in due to exhaustion and she had no more tears to cry.

Bonnie was lying flat on the bed, her eyes up to the ceiling and her lids weighting a ton. This hurt, this really hurt her. Feeling like she did, like she had no hope, no way out and no one. All alone again.

The next day came with birds chirping and sunlight beaming into her room. The clock signaled 8 am and she felt her entire body ache. Her back and legs were heavily sore against the floor. Wait, what was she doing there? Moving fast into a seated position, the young girl looked around wondering how she had gone from falling asleep in her comfortable bed to waking up on the floor.

"I must be going insane" she muttered before getting up, she did so with some difficulty. Straightening her clothes, she realized she hadn't changed or taken a bath since she first woke up in this ghost town. She went to her closet to find something to wear and made her way to the bathroom. Usually, she would just take a quick shower and be done with it, however, she felt the need for a very long bath in the hopes that would mend her body and give her a bit of peace of mind. Hopefully.

She was finishing up tying her hair in a bun when she pondered on what to do today. Yesterday, she and Damon had gone on a completely failed mission around town, so what did that mean about their current state? Should they stop looking for answers altogether and just accept that they had to live in this place or should they push forward?

She still had her main goal which was to reunite with Grams and her dad but she had to admit that her resolve was slowly fading away. Not because she didn't want to see them again, but because she was wary of what it might take to find them. When things got tough and she fought back to get some sense of happiness, the universe always came fighting back and she would end up victim of yet another consequence.

At this point, she was all out of consequences to suffer to. She just couldn't do it anymore but she didn't exactly want to drop the one chance she might have to be happy again. She just couldn't, not after everything she had gone through up until this point, but also because Sheila had made her sacrifice for Bonnie's sake and she wouldn't waste that opportunity.

Biting her lip, she took the phone Damon had given her the previous night and unlocked it. She went by the contacts list and easily found Damon's number. She stared at it for quite a while. She wasn't exactly looking forward to spend any time with Damon but, like they had agreed before, they were stuck together and needed to find a way out and to their peace.

The thing about this decision was that Damon could be so reckless and impulsive that it sure would jeopardize whatever resolution they might find and she couldn't risk that. She knew he didn't want to stay here – whatever here was – anymore than she did, or at least she assumed so, but she didn't trust him. Damon always looked out for Damon and that would never change.

She rested the phone on the bed side table and searched for her Gremoire. She usually had it hidden among the other books in her shelf so it was an easy find. Opening up the book, Bonnie found that for the first time, she couldn't really understand it. Like at all. The book had been such a vital tool when she was still new to this witchcraft thing so it was very weird that she couldn't understand a single word that was written there.

"What the hell" she murmured "This can't be right"

She tried again, pronouncing each word carefully in what she assumed to be the correct spelling. She went for the first paragraph and waited to see if something happened. Looking around, nothing had changed and she was still powerless so the likeness of something even happening was dim. With a nod of her head, she read the second and third lines of the paragraph. Everything was still the same but she guessed this could be a start, right?

Back when she first started practicing magic, she couldn't even read Latin and now she was fluent in the language. So, baby steps were all that was needed. Bonnie was mild satisfied after coming to that realization.

Her stomach made a rumbling sound and she realized she hadn't even eaten since waking up in Damon's bed.

That was a weird thing but moving on.

The young woman closed her book, pocketed her new phone, made her way to her kitchen and inspected what she had in the fridge that was edible. That, unfortunately, was another failed mission as the fridge was completely empty and the only thing in the cabinets and cupboards was coffee, and even that was reaching the end line.

Ugh, she groaned "Now what?"

Normally, she'd order something but she highly doubted that she would get anything delivered to her door step anytime soon. Sighing, she made a decision. She looked for her car keys in the small glass bowl by the front door and started her car.

"Here goes nothing"

The drive was fast and she was knocking on the manor's door in record time.

"Hello Bennett, I didn't think you'd miss me this fast" was his snarky but playful reply.

He was casually sporting a black unbuttoned shirt and equally dark jeans. She was taken aback by his nakedness because she had never seen him like that before and quickly made sure to keep her eyes above his neck.

She rolled her eyes and brushed past him "I was hoping you'd have something to eat in here"

Closing the door with a dramatic sigh he said "You know that my diet doesn't really go well with yours, unless you have some weird and creepy side to your righteous self. If that's the case, then please share"

She crossed her arms "You are impossible Damon"

She shrugged and went to refill his glass "I'm also undeniably sexy"

Bonnie decided to ignore that comment altogether "Don't you think it's too early to start drinking?"

"Too early or too late. It's all about perspective" he chuckled taking a sip of his second favorite drink "Besides, you're the one that interrupted my morning time with your hunger"

"And I'm already regretting that decision" she was fast replying "Which way is the kitchen?"

He approached her, sizing her down with his usual intimidating tactics "My, my. Aren't you dying to taste the Salvatore cuisine?"

She kept her chin up "On another note, I'd rather choke. I'll go look for something else"

He stepped away shrugging "Be it as you may but let me warn you that I make amazing pancakes"

She snorted "You? Making pancakes?"

"One of my many talents" he replied cockily "I'll have you eat at the palm of my hand once you try it"

She shook her head ready to offer him a clapback but her stomach decided to make another rumbling sound that was too loud for her human ears.

"Follow me witchy, don't want you to die from malnourishment"

With slumped shoulders, she followed the vampire into the big kitchen "How do you even know how to make pancakes?"

He rested his glass next to the stove and went to the fridge to retrieve the items he needed "It's pancakes BonBon, not rocket science"

Hm, he got a point there. He moved around the kitchen like a true chef and Bonnie was impressed for a quick minute, though she would never say that to him. He would gloat all the way until Mars and Damon's ego was already too big as it was. He presented her with fresh coffee that she was very thankful for.

"Hum," she started "Why is your kitchen fully stocked? Mine was completely empty"

"Eh, who cares?"

"I care because I'm curious. Like, we haven't seen another person so far and... you know, I have questions"

He stirred up the mixture before putting it in the pan to cook "That's because you are you, and you can be very annoying"

"Gee thanks, cause you're an absolute delight" she replied acidly.

He flipped it over and cocked his head to the side "Around the right people – yes"

She had to scoff at that but remained silent. The kitchen was taken by the beautiful smell of pancakes and that's where her mind was right now.

He presented her breakfast in a round plate and as she was about to take a bite out of it, he swatted her hand away "Not so quick BonBon, I need to add the final ingredient" he took the cream whipped it on the pancake.

"Are you serious? Fangs Damon?" she asked amused.

"What? These are vamp cakes"

She shook her head "It's official, you are a whole child trapped in a vampire body"

He took a seat in front of her with his plate ready "Whatever gets you off. Now eat"

"You are impossible" she repeated "But thank you"

AN: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewd, favorited and followed this little story of mine. I don't have a full plot at the moment, my main focus is to develop these characters and explore all that might've happened during their time together in this world. I'll be taking a different approach to this so I hope you like it! Hope you like this installment and please tell me what you think via review and/or pm! Stay safe