Chapter Three: Who is Damon Salvatore?

Later that night, Sam and Dean scoped out the school from a spot down the street, keeping a watchful eye for any unusual activity. An hour into their stake out, the rumble of a muscle car peeled up the roundabout driveway.

Dean took notice immediately, the back of his hand tapping his brother's shoulder to draw his attention from the book in his lap. Sam glanced down at his watch. "A little late for visitors."

"Mhm. Nice car though." He waited for the driver to get out, his whole body tensing when he saw who it was. He brought the binoculars up to his eyes quickly for a closer look "Son of a bitch." He murmured under his breath, before passing them to Sam. He knew that guy was bad news the second he saw him and he had to resist every urge to get out and follow him.

Sam frowned as he looked through the lenses. "Isn't that the guy we saw with Bonnie?"

"Yup." Dean responded, his eyes narrowing when the man casually walked around the blue Camaro to the trunk, rummaging through it. "What the hell is he up to?" When the trunk closed, the man was revealed to be holding a duffel bag and a thin dagger, flipping it coolly in his fingers as he approached the front door.

Sam huffed a sigh. "Well, I guess we have our lead suspect."

Dean's jaw clenched, wondering why the hell Bonnie was getting herself involved with someone like this. "Sure looks like it."

…

Bonnie took a moment to walk the halls of the Boarding House. It was late; most students were already in their rooms so only the sound of her heeled boots echoed on the walls. She paused at a familiar doorway; her class room. Not much had changed, but it wasn't her writing on the board. Bonnie entered, letting her finger tips run along the desk as she passed it. Working here gave her purpose, it gave her a legacy…one she could pass on to the young witches and warlocks here. Hope was supposed to be one of them, now she could only pray she made it out of this dark period in her life.

"Welcome home." Bonnie turned quickly, startled by the voice behind her. Hope smirked, crossing her arms and leaning in the doorway. "Didn't mean to scare you…I'm sneaky these days." She stated evenly.

Bonnie released a relieved laugh and placing a hand over her heart. "Hope…I didn't think anyone was awake."

The tribrid flashed a smile. "Just up for a bite." She pushed off the door frame and stepped further into the classroom. "Don't worry…blood bags only." She held up an empty bag as evidence. "Rules and everything." She added with a roll of her eyes, tossing it to the side carelessly.

It was so odd watching her like this; the usual sweet and compassionate witch she'd grown to love seemed hollow inside. "Right…" Bonnie's brows slanted empathetically. "Caroline told me about what happened. Honey, I'm so sorry…" She took a couple steps closer to her.

Tears filled her big blue eyes. "Thanks. But he's in a better place…" Bonnie couldn't believe how easily she was able to turn on the waterworks. Girl could act. "I'm glad you're here Bonnie…" she wiped a fat tear that fell. "I could really use a friend right now."

The seasoned witch almost believed her. "Of course…that's what I'm here for."

Hope's eyes narrowed, a sly smirk curling her lips. "Really? Because I could have sworn it was just a sad and feeble attempt at flipping my humanity switch. And don't lie, Bonnie, I can smell the bullshit all over you." She snapped her face turning stony.

"I'm just trying to help. This isn't you, Hope. You're better than this…" she pleaded, standing her ground.

She shook her head. "You're wrong. I've never felt better. All those pesky human emotions that made me such a whiny, annoying little brat just fluttered away. All the pain, the heartbreak, it's gone and the power…" she laughed drunkenly. "Oh, I could get used to this."

Bonnie kept her tone even and calm. "But you're still here. There's something about this life that you're still holding onto, Hope. There's still a part of you that cares."

She scoffed. "Oh, I don't care. Not about you or this place or any of it really. I'm just playing the part until I get what I want."

"And what's that?"

"Sorry…wouldn't want to give away the good part before it's time." She teased. "You'll find out soon enough." They both turned their heads to the door when a whoosh sped passed them. "Ooh…did you bring a friend?" Hope's hand shot out gripping Bonnie's throat as the veins darkened under her eyes. Her fangs were terrifyingly long and her eyes turned a fiery amber. "You wouldn't be up to anything stupid, would you Bon Bon?"

Her hand subtly slipped into her pocket. "Wouldn't dream of it." She ground out, and a second later she tossed a handful of the white oak ash in Hope's face.

The tribrid dropped the witch unceremoniously, coughing as the ash burned into her throat, keeling over in pain. It didn't take long for her to recover, pinning a dangerously venomous look on her former mentor. "You didn't really think that would be enough to put me down, did you?"

Bonnie panted. "No…"

Damon sped up behind Hope and drove the white oak dipped dagger through her back. "But this will." He finished. "Night night." He whispered in her ear as Hope gasped, collapsing in his arms. "Wooo! I can't believe that worked. You okay?" he asked her concerned.

Bonnie rubbed at her neck subconsciously. "Yeah, I'm good. Although next time, you can be the bait. You should get her out of here, before anyone sees."

Damon lifted Hope easily, cradling her in his arms. "What about you?" He asked with a frown.

"I'm gonna check her room. The only reason she's still here is because she's planning something. And I'm going to find out what it is." Damon hesitated, reluctant to leave her alone. "Damon, go. I'm fine. Promise." She graced him with a reassuring smile.

He nodded. "You call me the second you get home; do you hear me?" he demanded. Damon waited for her to agree, before speeding to the front door.

…

Dean had been watching that door like a hawk since that guy walked in almost an hour ago. He was just about to call it a night when movement caught his eye. "Sammy…" he rumbled. "Sam." He said louder, waking his brother.

"What?" the younger Winchester rubbed the sleep from his eyes sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Look." His gaze hardened into a seething glare watching the man carrying an unconscious young girl out of the grand entrance. "Oh yeah, he's our guy." He growled. "I'ma kill him." Dean made a move to get out the car but Sam grabbed his arm.

"Dean…you don't even know what he is." He tried to reason with him. "He could be human for all we know."

He blinked, a deep frown furrowing his brow. "Well, I'll find out…when I kill him."

Sam huffed a heavy sigh. "No. Look, he's no good, I can agree with you on that. But we can't just rush into this half cocked. And maybe…" he trailed off.

"What?" Sam dropped his gaze. "What, Sam?"

"If Bonnie knows him…you should prepare yourself for the fact that she may not be as innocent as you think she is." He broke to his brother gently.

Dean refused to believe that. There was no way. "Or, she just has no idea who she's involved with." Sam turned away with a shake of his head. "Sam, I know her, okay. She's a good person."

"Yeah, well a lot can happen in fifteen years, Dean. I think we're proof of that." Dean relaxed, settling back into his seat, and Sam released a grateful sigh. "Thank you. We'll tail him; see where he takes the girl and when the moment is right, we strike. What do you know about him; did Bonnie tell you anything?" He took a second to snap a few photos.

Dean shook his head, his eyes never leaving the man as he loaded her into the backseat of the car. "Not really, just that his name is Damon and he's a friend. I don't really remember much else."

"Well we got a name, so that's something." He reached behind his seat to grab his laptop, opening it to beginning searching the town's records as Dean followed behind Damon's car with the headlights off.

…

By the time they reached the abandoned house, Sam was able to come up with some damning evidence.

"So, there is only one hit of a Damon in Mystic Falls, but it dates back to the 1800's. This ledger says he died in 1864 along with his brother Stefan. Guess what his last name is." Sam levelled Dean with a knowing glance. "Salvatore."

Dean frowned. "Like the school?"

"Uh huh, and get this. There's a photo in the archives." He turned the laptop to his brother, showing a black and white photo of a human Damon Salvatore, donning a confederate soldier hat and uniform.

Dean nodded. "So we're thinking vampire."

Sam nodded in the direction of the house that said vampire just carried the girl into. "Which means that's probable a nest. Who knows how many are in there. Dean we need to regroup." He pleaded.

Dean balked at his brother. "No, we need to go save that girl, Sam!"

"And we will. But this vampire is old…older than any vampire we've taken on before and somehow, he's linked to the school. I think there's more to this than some random attack. If this girl is a student…maybe she's a vampire too. Look, you and I both know that the Sheriff is hiding something. With what we know, we can apply a bit of pressure, see if he'll crack."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if she dies…it's on you."

…

"What can I do you for, agents?" Matt greeted when they walked into his office.

Dean didn't miss a beat. "What can you tell me about Damon Salvatore?"

"He's a dick." Matt responded curtly.

"I gathered that. What can you tell me about his history here?" The older Winchester pressed.

Matt deflected. "Why do you ask?"

"Because he's a lead suspect in a murder investigation." Sam piped up. When the Sheriff didn't say anything, he continued. "Look, Sheriff…we know there's something going on in this town…something that most people may not understand, and we know that you're covering it up, so why don't we cut the bullshit and you tell us what we want to know, and we won't report to our friends in DC that you've been aiding and abetting a murderer."

Matt sighed heavily. "It's not what you think."

Dean asked boldly. "Is it vampires? Because…" The brothers looked at each other. "We think it's vampires."

Matt blinked. "How did you know?

"Strange deaths, drained of blood…what else would it be?" Sam stated. "So now that we're all on the same page…what the hell is going on here?"

"We haven't had a vampire problem in this town for years." He admitted, careful to omit his relation to the few that remained. "When I became Sheriff, I made sure of that. Growing up here, it felt like every other day, someone I knew died, or turned. The council was compromised, and vampires made all the rules. Now…we do."

Dean blinked. "You cohabitate with them?"

"Something you should know about Mystic Falls…we're like a magnet for evil. Between the witch burial ground and the multiple sacrifices…evil comes here like a moth to a flame. They protect the locals and we let them stay here. They've been here longer than us after all." Matt explained tiredly. There came a point when he had given up forcing them out. Mystic Falls could never fully be vampire free, and he was tired of fighting it.

Sam scoffed. "So if a tourist or two goes missing, no big deal right?"

Matt snapped his eyes up at him. "That's not how it is. There are rules. The vampires don't feed on humans here. We have a strict animal or blood bag policy."

Dean laughed. "And the vampires just…listen to you?"

"It's an agreement." He left out the fact that one of them was his longest lasting friend. "They know that if the rules are broken, the consequences are carried out swiftly. I'm not a fan of second chances."

Dean pointed a long finger at him with a grin. "I agree with you there. You know that phrase 'shoot first, ask questions later'? Well, that is a phrase I like to life by, so how about you give me a list of all the vampires in this town, and my brother and I can clean house for you."

Matt stood. "I appreciate your offer, agents, but me and my boys have it handled."

"Well I hate to be the barer of bad news, but you don't. We have it on good authority that Damon may be planning to break one of those rules. He kidnapped a girl from the Salvatore school last night, and brought her to an abandoned house on the outskirts of town."

Matt scoffed. "If that were true, I'd know about it." Caroline would have told him. "Who's authority?"

"Our own." Sam continued evenly. "We saw it with our own eyes." He turned his phone towards him, showing the photos of Damon loading someone into his car, her face obstructed by the angle.

Matt looked on stunned, slowly dropping into his chair. He was livid. He and Damon were by no means on good terms, but over the years, they had built an understanding. They stayed out of each others business. If Damon wanted to go on a bender, he did it outside of Mystic Falls, and Matt would give him a wide berth as long as he didn't break the rules. "Well, this can only mean one thing. He flipped the switch." He muttered to himself.

Sam and Dean started at him for a long time, wide, unblinking looks on their faces. "What?" Dean asked perplexed.

"He flipped the switch." Matt repeated. "Turned it off?"

Dean's lips turned down in a frown. "Yeah, not followin' you."

"His humanity. Aren't you two hunters? You sure as hell ain't FBI. You must be new to this, huh." He leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

"Hey!" Sam defended. "We're been doing this a long time."

"Yeah! We're seasoned vets! I've been hunting since you were in peewee try outs, okay." Dean grumbled offended.

"We know a thing or two about vampires…but we've never met one that can turn off their humanity. Unless…" Sam paused, thinking. "They're from the Original lineage."

Dean frowned, the name ringing a bell. "That in dad's journal?"

"Yeah. A powerful witch turned her children into vampires in the 11th century." He looked to Matt for confirmation.

"The Mikaelson's. All vampires I've ever seen are descendants of their bloodline." He sat forward in his chair. "You telling me there are another breed of vampires? What else is out there?" Matt questioned nervously.

"Monsters, ghouls, demons…" Dean began to rattle off. "Freakin' angels. Oddly enough no aliens."

"That we know of." Sam added. He still had hope.

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother. "So, are you going to help us with this or not? If Damon is back on the sauce, he may be the guy that has our hunter friend. Asa is a good man; he has a family one we want to get him home to…alive. We may have some resources we can share can help you with your special task force." He offered enticingly. "You scratch our back…"

This may be his way of getting rid of Damon one and for all. "What can I do to help?"

…

Hope raised an unimpressed brow when she woke to Damon, Caroline and Ric. "Guess you were the one to stab me in the back. I'm hurt…I thought you of all people would understand." She turned a bored expression over to Caroline and Ric. "What is this? An intervention or something?" She squirmed slightly in the magically charmed shackles that held her to the chair.

"We're worried about you, Hope." Ric started crossing his arms over his chest, a sympathetic slant to his brows.

"Why? I'm fine." She uttered back evenly. She squirmed in her bindings. "Is this really necessary?"

"You killed someone." Damon snapped.

She laughed. "Well, that's rich coming from you. Any of you really." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I was doing you all a favor. He was hunting me. He knew about the school, so I dealt with it."

"That's not how we deal with things, Hope. Killing can't be the first solution to every problem." Caroline explained gently.

Hope chuckled, looking at Damon. "Is she serious? The death count between the three of you would give Ted Bundy a run for his money." Damon shrugged in agreeance. "You know, a thank you would be nice."

"We're not going to congratulate you for ripping someone's throat out." Damon stated bluntly. "I've made my fair share of mistakes, but you just broke a rule. A big one. And there are consequences." He stated gravely.

"You know, for a man that hated my father, you sure are trying to act like him. Pretty full up on step-in father figures, so I'll pass on the 'I'm disappointed in you' lecture." She knew Caroline and Ric would never hurt her, but Damon was a wild card, and she knew that's why he was here. "So what are you going to do, kill me?" She tipped her chin up feigning bravado, eyeing the dagger in Damon's hand. "That won't work on me, you know."

He smirked. "No, but I have just enough white oak ash to make it hurt like hell."

"Great." Hope drawled evenly. "Because the best punishment for killing is torture." She plastered on a plastic smile.

Alaric frowned disappointedly. "What happened to you?"

Hope leveled him with a disbelieving glare. "Oh I don't know, Ric. Maybe it was driving a blade through my boyfriend's chest. I turned it off…sue me."

"You can't live like this. You'll kill again." Ric pressed her.

"So?" she snapped.

Caroline's phone rang, and she pulled it from her back pocket. "It's Matt…" She swallowed nervously, bringing it to her ear as she stepped into another room. "Hello?"

"Uh oh…here comes the fuzz." She drawled sarcastically. "So what's your plan? Force me into turning it back on or what? You'll sick the human Sheriff on me? I'm quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots."

Damon wasn't fooled by her cool demeanor. "Oh, Donovan is the least of your problems. See, I have full permission from your legal guardians to take it as far as I need to, to get you to break. And let's just say I excelled at Torture 101." He grinned smugly.

She leaned forward as far as she could, her eyes challenging him. "Bring it on."

…

Bonnie read the message a couple of times. Can we talk? It was so vague. What did he want to talk about? After the last time she saw him, she had no idea what he'd kind of questions he might have. What exactly of their talk did he remember?

She walked into the Grill, scanning the room for him. It seemed to be their meeting ground as of late. Bonnie spotted him in a booth in the corner, and she couldn't help but smile. Did he know which booth he was sitting in, or was it purely coincidence? She walked over and slid in across from him. "Hi."

"Hi." He smiled, but there was something tense about it. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Yeah, I wasn't doing anything." That was a lie. What she should be doing is following up on her findings from Hope's room, but so far, they were a dead end and she needed a break.

"Look, I know it's been a long time…and you don't owe me anything, but I do care about your well being, so I want to make sure you know what…or who, you're involved with." he told her seriously.

Bonnie's heart leapt in her chest. "What do you mean?"

"Damon Salvatore. Who is he to you?" he asked gently, but meaning business.

She blinked, surprised by the blunt question. How did he know his full name? "I told you…he's a friend."

"And you trust him?" he pressed.

"Yeah, I do. Is this what you called me here to talk about?" She was taken off guard, unsure where this questioning was leading to.

"Yes." He responded plainly. "He's bad news, Bonnie. I'm pretty good at reading people and I don't think you're safe around him."

She chuckled ironically. "And he said the same about you; why is that?" she narrowed her gaze on him curiously, now wary of him. "Why are you so interested in him? Because you're worried about me…or is it something else?"

"Both." Dean sighed. "Look…just be careful; that's all I'm asking." He added sincerely. The tense moment passed and he ran his hand over the wood between them with a reminiscent smile. "You remember our first date?"

She breathed out a laugh, grateful that the awkward conversation was behind them. "How could I forget? You pulled out all the stops." She dropped her head bashfully. "This was our table. I wasn't sure if you'd remember that."

"Oh I remembered." He nodded at her to look at the edge of the table on her side. "Before I left, I came back here…" Bonnie's fingers brushed over their initials carved into the wood and felt her heart flutter. "I guess I wanted some part of what we had to be remembered."

She looked back up at him with tears in her eyes. She could hear the longing in his tone; the one that came with years of loss. She felt for him. "You said the life you lead there's no room for a normal relationship…why is that?" Bonnie asked quietly.

"Because I'm poison, Bonnie." He answered hollowly, but convicted. He truly believed that and it broke her heart. "Everyone I love…I lose, in one way or another. Over the years, I realized it was better to not get too close."

His words hit her so close to home, she almost wondered if even with all this time apart, they were still living parallel lives. "I used to think that too. But if I've learned anything it's that life is too short to deny yourself what you truly want. You should go for it. Even if it hurts, even if it's messy…" She thought about the day she decided to through caution to the wind and tell Damon how she felt. "Because if you don't, you might regret it forever."

The moment stretched between them, and he found himself picturing what something more with someone would be like, and Bonnie seemed to somehow write herself right into it. He pictured what it would be like to come back after a hunt to her making dinner, or her greeting him at the door, chastising him for bringing the bloodied weapons in the house. Her sitting shotgun in Baby singing along to all his favorite songs. And as quick as the flashes came, Dean was quick to blink them away. He could never live with himself, pulling her into this life; to leave her worrying if and when he was ever coming back…leaving her vulnerable for anyone with a vendetta against him. "Yeah, well…just another regret I can add to the very long list." He muttered back with a forced grin.

It was hard for her to hide her disappointment, but she did so gracefully. "Well, that's a shame." The sad smile on her face told him she was hoping for a different answer, and he felt an odd pang in his chest when she reached her for purse. "I should probably go."

His head dropped as she slid off the seat. "Bonnie…"

She turned looking down at him, tired and mildly frustrated. "No, what is the point of this, Dean? You come back here, after all this time, reminiscing about the past, making me remember our greatest hits, all the while telling me in no uncertain terms that you are completely unavailable emotionally." She shrugged. "I don't have time for that. But I will tell you this." She paused, softening. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Me walking in that door the very day you blow into town isn't a coincidence. Something brought you here; something bigger than me, bigger than you…don't you want to know why?" Bonnie finished in a curious tone.

He swallowed thickly, looking down at the table. He wished he had it in him to leave this life behind, and be normal. Find a woman to settle down with, buy a house, have kids, a dog and a white picket fence…but that kind of life terrified him. Put him in front of demons and monsters, well that's just another Tuesday…but a relationship? That had him running scared. When he looked up, Bonnie was already walking away, and he leapt to his feet to run after her.

"Bonnie!" He called out stopping her in the parking lot. "I'm sorry." He sighed heavily when she stopped and turned slowly to face him. "This kind of thing doesn't come easy for me…I'm not good at talking about my feelings." He told her uncomfortably. "Of course I want to see if there could be something between us, even after all this time, because I haven't stopped thinking about you. And maybe that's part of why I came back here; because I needed to know if I was just glorifying you in my head or if those feelings were as real then as they are now…" he rambled out closing the distance between them.

Bonnie was stunned, her green eyes mesmerized as he spoke. "And? Are they?" Her heart was pounding against her ribcage. She needed to stop having these heartfelt parking lot moments with handsome men…it was making her head spin.

Dean's eyes darted between hers before dropping to her cupid bowed lips. In answer to her question, he stepped in closer, his fingers ghosting through her hair. And with a painstaking slowness, he lowered his lips to her, waiting for her to tell him to stop. When she made no slow of stopping him, he kissed her with a mix of passion and hunger, holding her close and cupping her face gently as he kissed her like he'd wanted to since he saw her.

Bonnie gasped into it; her eyes fluttering shut in bliss. She had never been kissed like this before; where her whole body felt like it was rolling over a tsunami wave, pulling her under a current. The moment she succumbed to it, it was almost overwhelming. She could feel him; feel everything he put into it. Fear, lust, need…she sunk deeper in. Then it happened. Flashes. His screams. The abyss. Torture. Agony. The loneliness…it should have been enough to scare her away but Dean was such a mystery to her she needed to know more. The flashes continued as she pulled him closer, kissing him harder. Fighting. Loss. Death. Fire. A woman…on the ceiling…on fire. But it was Bonnie's own face staring back at her…screaming. She wrenched herself away from him, putting easily three feet between them, gaping at him with disbelieving eyes. What…was that? Dean was staring back at her with concern, his kiss stung lips parted as he tried to recoil from her swift separation.

"Did I do something?" he questioned uncertainly. "Because if I did-"

"What happened to you?" the whispered words left her mouth before she could stop them.

Dean's brows shot up his forehead. "What?"

"That was real." She was speaking now more to herself as she pieced it all together. "Oh my God, that actually happened." Her hand tunneled through her hair.

Dean's stomach plummeted. "What did you see?"

Bonnie glanced back up at him in surprise, his voice breaking through her turmoil of thoughts. What she saw was overwhelming with the heavy despair it brought with it. Almost like she lived it in hyper speed and technicolor. "Nothing. I have to go." She was looking everywhere but at him. "I'm sorry." She rushed away before he could even stop her, disappearing around the corner of the building.

Dean's head fell back, looking up at the sky. Figures. First woman he opened up to and she goes running for the hills.

…

AN: I can't wait to hear what you guys think about the end of this chapter! Sorry to leave y'all on a cliffhanger but what can I say, I like to keep you on your toes lol. Things are gonna start ramping up real quick now. Stay tuned! - Vanessa