Break Up with Him

Summary: AU – Think Season 7 in terms of Bonnie's age, and her relationship with Damon. Some minor changes - Elena is still linked to Bonnie and in a deep sleep, but Damon and Elena never started a relationship. This is totally off canon. Bonnie has been dating Jeremy for years, but it's obvious to Damon that she's not happy. He's been pursuing her for months, intent on getting her to finally give him a chance.

Song Inspiration: Break Up with Him – Old Dominion

Hey girl, what's up?
I know it's late, but I knew you'd pick it up
Naw, I ain't drunk
Okay, maybe I do have a little buzz but
That song came on and I just thought what harm could come from one little call?
I know you say you're taken, but I say girl you're talking too long

To tell him that it's over
Then bring it on over
Stringing him along any longer girl, it's just wasting precious time
Girl, you know it can't wait
Rip it off just like a band-aid
The way you look at me, girl, you can't pretend
I know you ain't in love with him, break up with him

…

It had been a long week; midterms were coming up, and the heretics were proving to be a nuisance. On top of that, she'd been having horrifying dreams about the phoenix stone, and she found herself losing time. So, between studying textbooks and grimoires Bonnie was feeling mentally and physically exhausted. She sat in the middle of her bed, legs crossed with her grimoire in front of her and candles lit on every surface.

The phone buzzing on the bed beside her, pulled away her attention, and a reluctant smile pulled on face at the name on the screen. She picked it up with a roll of her eyes. "What do you want?" she uttered cheekily, and it came out huskier than she intended it to.

"Is that anyway to greet your future boyfriend?" Damon chuckled from the other end.

Bonnie ducked her head, as if he could see the blush on her cheeks. He was so cavalier and confident about it that it caught her off guard sometimes. "I already have a boyfriend, Damon." She mumbled biting down hard on her lip as she pulled a thread on her blanket.

"There's an easy solution for that…" he sang out, and she could practically see the smirk on his face.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 2:54am. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"You answered, didn't you?"

Yup. She always did. She didn't know when, but somehow Damon weaseled his way under her skin and into her heart. The last few months had been strange to say the least; the whole time they had been travelling Europe for the summer and keeping an eye on Alaric, they had become closer than when they returned from the prison world. Things had changed between them; the tension was tangible. Damon wasn't exactly being subtle about his feelings for her and despite it all…he was wearing her down.

She would be doing just fine, getting through her day, and then he'd waltz into the Grill or Skull bar or her dorm room all swagger and smirks and all the resolve went out the window. There was a time when his flirtatious advances would have rubbed her the wrong way, but not now…now it was endearing. "Yeah…sort of regretting it. I didn't realize you were going to be so smug." She teased.

"Not smug; just…optimistic." He replied positively. "Admit it, Bon-bon…I'm chipping away at that big brick wall you've put up."

She laughed, falling back resting her head on the pillow and staring up at her ceiling. "What wall?"

"The one that says 'Danger; keep Damon out'. It's been a real pain in my ass." He chuckled.

Her eyes squeezed shut with humiliation. "Oh, that wall…"

There was a silence on the other end, and just as Bonnie was about to ask if he was still there, he responded, and in a much more serious tone. "Why are you with him, Bonnie? He's not right for you…he doesn't even know you anymore. Not like I do."

"Damon…" Her fingers rubbed at the space between her brows.

"Just answer me honestly; do you love him?" He waited for her answer but she didn't respond. "Do you love me?" Damon held his breath. This was a bad idea, but he'd sat at the bar all night drinking and thinking about her, and now he wasn't able to reign in his emotions or stop the words from tumbling out.

Bonnie sucked in a sharp breath, covering her mouth to muffle the shaky intake. He'd never asked her that before and it was a path she was not prepared to go down. "It's late…" she whispered instead.

"Bonnie…" he pleaded for her not to go.

"Goodnight, Damon." She hung up immediately and covered her face with her arms.

Damon pulled the phone away from his ear with a grimace, dropping it to the coffee table in disappointment. That didn't go as he'd planned…not that he really planned to call her anyways, but when she was running through his mind there wasn't really much that he could do to get her out.

Alaric sleepily padded out of the bedroom, in nothing but pajama bottoms, and shot Damon a bleary-eyed squint. "Bonnie?"

Damon nodded. "Bonnie."

Alaric was fully aware of Damon's pursuit of the sassy little witch, and since the heretics were occupying the boarding house and the vampire had shacked up with him, Ric had witnessed many late-night phone calls lately.

He plopped down in the sofa chair across from Damon, rubbing his eyes. "She's loyal, buddy. You know that as long as she's with Jeremy, she'll never tell you what you want to hear."

"I know; and that's exactly why she needs to break up with him." He grumbled, sinking further into the sofa. "I know she loves me, Ric. I can see it."

"Maybe she does, and maybe she's just too afraid to admit it…but you got to let her figure it out for herself."

…

Bonnie's head rested in the palm of her hand. She was exhausted. After hanging up on Damon early that morning, sleep completely evaded her. How was she supposed to sleep when Damon's voice kept rolling around in her head?

"Are you even listening?" Jeremy's voice cut through her thoughts making her head snap up.

"Sorry…I'm just really tired." She mumbled, forcing herself to meet his irritated stare.

"It's Damon, isn't it?"

Was it really that obvious? Her eyes widened and she sat up straight. "What?"

Jeremy sighed. "Look, you're not the only one who's concerned he's going to do something stupid to get back at Lily. Revenge is a given with him; I'm pretty sure it comes with the Diabolical Damon starter pack." He joked, popping a fry in his mouth.

It rubbed Bonnie the wrong way, and immediately put her back up. "He's not like that anymore, Jer. Damon's different now. He wouldn't go off on some revenge mission, especially not without telling me about it." She defended vehemently. Everyone was so quick to rip Damon apart for who he used to be, when he first came to town, but they all neglected to see his progress over the years. Bonnie got a front row seat in the prison world, and in the midst of what they thought was the end…they became the closest of friends.

Jeremy leaned forward, catching her eyes. "What makes you think he won't? I don't know why you always run to his defense, Bon. He doesn't deserve it." His tone was patronizing and it was enough to set her off.

Bonnie fixed him with a hard stare. "Because I believe in him. I believe that he can change…and he has. While we were trapped in the prison world, Damon proved to me that I could trust him, and he's my friend." Her lips pursed tensely. "Don't act like he hasn't been there for every single one of us when we needed him."

"He killed me, Bonnie." He whispered heatedly. "He almost killed you."

"That was ages ago! And Emily was possessing my body. How many times has he saved our lives, Jeremy? How many times has he saved this town?" she shot back, trying to keep her voice down in the crowded café.

He frowned in disbelief. "Yeah, but not with some selfish ulterior motive." He was about to continue, but Bonnie stopped him.

"I don't want to argue with you about this, okay. Let's just…drop it." She snapped in frustration. He huffed out an exasperated 'fine' and leaned back in his chair. Glancing at her watch, Bonnie pulled her bag over her shoulder. "I need to see Alaric before class; I'll see you later?" She stood and kissed his cheek before heading for the exit.

When she got to the door her hand paused before knocking. Damon was likely on the other side, and she had no idea how to respond to his question from early this morning. Bonnie contemplated leaving and catching Ric between classes, but just as she was turning, the door opened.

"Hi Bon-bon." Damon uttered in a soft, endearing tone that made her heart slam in her chest. "You're not leaving, are you?"

She spun back around and was taken off guard by his lack of clothing. He was only in a towel that hung low on his hips and his hair and chest were still wet from a recent shower. "Uh…no. Hi." She stuttered with a nervous laugh, trying not to follow the droplet that created a path down his abs. "I came to talk to Ric."

He held the door open for her, smiling to himself when he caught her eyes wandering. "He stepped out for coffee; you're welcome to stay and wait for him."

Bonnie swallowed. "Yeah, sure." She slipped passed him, and turned in the small apartment to face him. "I'm sorry, about last night. You just…caught me off guard."

Damon took a couple steps toward her; like a panther, and she suddenly felt like his prey. "You know how I feel about you, Bonnie. You know what I want." His hand came up to brush against her cheek. "But I know you aren't ready for that, so I'm willing to wait until you are."

Her mossy green eyes clashed with his, and he knew then that there was a part of her that wanted more. "Why?" she whispered, barely finding her voice.

He smiled. "Because you're special to me. You believed that there was hope for me when I gave up on myself. You know me better than anyone – even Stefan, and for some reason you stuck around. You're the only one who has." He admitted.

His words warmed her heart, and she felt like she owed him an answer to at least one of his questions. "You're right…I don't love him. Not like I use to. But it feels…safer that way. If my heart's not in it then I can't get hurt." She swallowed down the knot in her throat, and let her gaze drop to the floor. "You're dangerous, Damon." She hoped he understood what she meant by that.

And he did. He was conflicted by her admission because while she was saying that her heart felt for him, it also meant that she was afraid that he'd hurt her, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. Just as he was about to respond, Alaric came through the door, and Bonnie moved several feet away from him; it felt like an ocean was separating them.

"Hey, Bonnie." His eyes drifted between Damon and her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just needed to talk to you about that phoenix stone." She walked over to him, tucking her hands in the back pocket of her jean shorts. "You destroyed it like you promised, right?"

"Mhm." Ric nodded, placing the coffees on the table and dropping into his sofa chair. Damon noticed his dodgy reaction.

Bonnie raised her brows. "Because I've been having these terrible visions about it. And when I opened my eyes…ten minutes have gone by."

Damon frowned in concern. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She glanced back at him with a reassuring smile. "I didn't want to worry you…not until I knew what was going on."

"Stone is gone. I watched it dissolve in a jar of Hydrochloric acid." Ric explained, squirming uncomfortably.

Bonnie looked down on him speculatively. "You're positive?"

"It's gone, Bonnie." He stated firmly, earning a speculative glare from Damon.

The vampire clapped his hands together. "Who wants to go to Myrtle beach?"

"Pass." Alaric scoffed.

Damon fixed his eyes on the witch. "Bonnie?" he drawled enticingly.

"I have exams." She said reluctantly.

"I'll compel your professors to give you a passing grade." She shot him an unconvinced look with a raise of her brow. "Oh, come on…it's for a good cause. I have reason to believe Lily has one of her heretics held up there, and if we can find him…" he left it hanging in the air, and realization dawned on her.

"We can use him as leverage to get Elena back from Lily." Bonnie finished as his plan clicked into place. When Damon and Bonnie teamed up to take out Malcolm, Lily's most beloved heretic, his mother fired back by taking Elena's coffin.

"Bingo! So, what do you say?"

Bonnie smiled. "I'm in."

"Ric?" Damon asked again. "Babes in bikinis? Spring break? Free flowing booze? Tell me this is getting your attention."

Alaric sighed. "If I say yes, will you please put on some pants?"

Damon grinned, whipping his towel off and throwing it at him. Bonnie's eyes widened, and she turned away with a shocked laugh. "I'll even give you shotgun." He promised, wagging his brows at Bonnie before heading back to him room.

…

It wasn't long before they were on the road heading to South Carolina, and Bonnie cursed at herself for forgetting that she had a dinner planned with Jeremy that night. Which is how she ended up in the backseat trying to have a hushed conversation wit him, explaining why she wasn't going to make it.

"I'm sorry…it just came up." She mumbled, staring out the window as the trees passed on the I-95.

Damon could hear Jeremy's frustrated tone on the other end. "I thought you said he wouldn't go off on a revenge mission."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "It's not a revenge mission. We're trying to get Elena back."

"Wherever he goes, danger follows. I don't want you to get hurt; you're still linked to her, Bonnie. Who do you think he's going to chose if it comes down to it?"

Bonnie's eyes met Damon's in the rear-view mirror and his intense stare told her all she needed to know. "That's not going to happen. I trust him." She smiled, and he returned it gratefully, before averting his eyes back to the road. "I'll be back in a few days."

Jeremy let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Okay…just be careful. I love you."

"I will." She hung up quickly and tucked her phone back in her purse.

Alaric piped up from the passenger seat. "Why would Lily send one of her heretics to Myrtle Beach?"

"Who knows? But she's up to something, and I'm going figure it out, and stop what ever diabolical plan she has." Damon vowed confidently.

Ric shook his head before leaning it back on the head rest. "What is it about Salvatore's and diabolical plans?"

"It's a prerequisite." Bonnie joked from the back.

…

When they arrived to the hotel where they believed the heretic was, Damon stopped Bonnie at the end of the hall. "Hey…"

She looked down at his hand on her arm before sliding up to his blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I just want you know…I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He promised, his voice soft and genuine.

Bonnie nodded, her eyes kind and appreciative. "I know."

He shook his head, and rested both his hands on her shoulders. "No, I don't think you do. If it comes down to it, I will choose you; over Elena, over getting back at Lily…over any stupid revenge mission." His hands trailed up and cupped her face lovingly. "And it's the easiest choice I'll ever make."

Bonnie held his gaze, and brought her hand up to hold his there. "Thank you." She took a deep breath, trying to find her words. "The answer to your question from last night…is yes. But as long as I'm still with Jeremy…" she trailed off conflictedly.

He huffed a sigh; feeling relieved and disappointed at the same time. "I know…"

Alaric called to them from down the hall. "This is it." He knocked on the door, and Damon and Bonnie reluctantly pulled away, making their way down to meet him.

…

Two Days Later – Whitmore:

The three of them looked down at the ashen body of Oscar with disappointment. Just yesterday he was alive, bound and held in captivity at Wes Maxfield's secret underground lab. He was ready to head back anyway in the trunk of Damon's car. Now…he was dead.

"We were so close." Bonnie mumbled.

Alaric sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "What do we do now?"

Damon sneered at the dead body. "Leave him."

Bonnie snapped her head to him. "What? We aren't going to try and find out who killed him? This isn't just a coincidence, Damon."

"Of course, it isn't. But he's dead now. Lily isn't going to accept this as a fair trade. He's useless to us now."

The witch tipped her chin up. "Maybe not." She fixed Alaric with an unimpressed glare, holding out her hand. "Give me the phoenix stone." She wasn't happy to find out that he lied to her about destroying it, especially after telling him how it was affecting her. He hesitated. "You said the phoenix stone brings people back to life, right?"

Damon swung his incredulous stare to her. "Are you kidding me? For days you've been having nightmares from this thing just from touching it, now you want to use it to bring back some blood thirsty witch-pire without any idea how it works? No, out of the question, Bonnie!"

"What about Elena?" she yelled back.

"We'll find another way!"

"There is no other way, Damon! What do you think Lily is going to do when she finds out another one of her heretics is dead? Stefan promised we'd keep the peace…"

"Stefan is an idiot! He never should have let her take over our town! Besides, we had nothing to do with this." He exclaimed gesturing to the dead body.

Bonnie shook her head sadly. "That doesn't matter. She knows we had him. We are going to be the first people she goes after, whether we had something to do with it or not." She turned back to Ric, determined. "Give it to me."

"It's at my apartment." he sighed defeatedly. "I'll be right back."

He left, leaving Damon and Bonnie alone in the lab. "I don't want you doing this, Bon."

"We have to." She shrugged.

He blinked, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Did you forget our little conversation the other day? It's not worth it. Lily said that she'll keep Elena safe as long as I stay out of Mystic Falls." He justified.

"But that's your home. She's living in your house; she controls our whole town. I'm not letting her take Elena too." She retorted, but Damon didn't seem convinced. "I know you don't want me to get hurt…so if something goes wrong, I trust you to pull me back." She smiled squeezing one of his hands between both of hers. "Okay?"

He brought that hand up and kissed her knuckles, elated at the rapid beating of her heart. "Okay…" Her eyes were saying everything she couldn't say, and he knew that Bonnie was right there with him.

…

Days went by and with it came uncertainty. Bonnie was able to complete the spell, but Oscar was not the soul they brought back with that stone, which means Jo wasn't who was brought back either. He felt for his friend, who was clearly not handling it well and that was why he decided to find another place to hang his hat while he sorted things out.

Damon Salvatore living out of a suitcase. He scoffed to himself as he tossed back a shot. To make matters worse, he hadn't seen or talked to Bonnie since. She told him she needed some time to sort things out too, and he reluctantly kept his distance. So, here he was…drinking alone. He'd pretty much closed down skull bar, compelling the bartender to leave him to serve himself for as long as he pleased. Which was why he was surprised to hear the bell chime above the door.

He glanced over her shoulder and his lips pulled up in a boyish smile. "Hey stranger."

She shot him a cheeky grin of her own and slipped into the stool beside him. "It hasn't been that long."

"Feels like centuries." He joked turning to face her, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he looked her over. "You look nice." He commented on her black dress and heeled ankle boots. "Hot date?"

"Mhm." He looked disappointed. "I'm looking at him." Bonnie let her sultry emerald eyes rest on him. "I broke up with Jeremy." Damon's mouth fell open in stunned silence. "Don't look so surprised; you've only been telling me to for the last three months." She joked good-naturedly.

"I wasn't sure you'd actually do it." He admitted in a hushed tone.

"I thought you were an optimist?"

He chuckled ironically. "I lied. The truth is…you're dangerous to me too, Bon."

Bonnie observed him, canting her head thoughtfully. "Does that scare you?"

"Yup." He popped the 'p', looking down into his drink. "I can look death down the barrel, but put a five-foot-one Bennett witch with green eyes in front of me and-" he shook his head blinking to himself in amazement. "Suddenly…I'm terrified."

Bonnie smirked, looking at him from under her lashes. "Five-foot-two." She placed her hand on the side of his face. "I'm terrified too. But when have either of us let something that scary stop us from jumping in head first?"

Damon kissed her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'm not going to start now." He stood, extending his hand for her to take as he helped her back to her feet. "So…this hot date; what exactly did you have in mind?" He linked her arm through his and he led her to the door.

She looked up to him with a raised brow, pushing the door open with her back and pinning Damon with heated look. "Surprise me." she spun back around and strutted down the street with a sway to her hips. He followed after her with a shaky breath in awe of how this little slip of a woman, could render him speechless with a look.

…

AN: Happy New Year everyone! I know the song is a little cheesy, but I was listening to it, and thought of Damon making that phone call to Bonnie lol. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and I'll be back with another one shortly. Please review 😊