33. Silhouettes

Summary: AU – Season 1 Off Canon. Damon comes to town to break Katherine out of the tomb, but when Bonnie gets involved, he finds himself drawn to her. What started out as him keeping his promise to her ancestor Emily, turns into something far more profound than he intended.

AN: I have listened to this song on repeat for the last week. I don't know what it is about this song that just seems to scream Damon to me, but I just had to put it on paper! I strongly suggest reading the beginning of this chapter while listening to the song. I think you'll feel the vibes I'm putting out!

Things are not going to fully play out as it did on the show. Events might happen out of order, not at all or be altered to suit the story. So please don't assume everything happened as it did, even leading up to where we start off unless stated otherwise. There is no Delena build up in this one. You're welcome 😉 - Vanessa

Song Inspiration: Silhouettes of You – Isaac Gracie

…

I'm tired of living in the shadow
These paper walls I can't break through
I'm sick of standing by your window
Tracing silhouettes of you

But when it gets dark
You light the spark
And all the lies I tried to live by start falling apart
Whoever knew that it could be so painful
Feelings unmutual

…

He should have been long gone by now. Why he was still lingering around Mystic Falls was beyond him. He should be moving on; blending into a big city in New York or Florida. Somewhere he could feed on the locals without drawing any attention. But no, instead Damon moved back into his old room at the boarding house, helping his brother protect his doppelganger girlfriend. He scoffed. Sometimes he could barely look at her without wanting to rip her throat out. Of course, Damon knew that she wasn't Katherine, and didn't deserve the wrath he felt towards her, but Elena wore the face of his betrayer slash love of his life, and every day it mocked him.

So instead, he distracted himself with other things; infiltrating the founder's council, hunting down the tomb vampires that threatened to expose them…anything not to think about how he wasted 150 years on a woman who never wanted him. Which was why he was here, standing outside her house by the willow tree tracing her silhouette through her bedroom window as she got ready for bed. He found himself here most nights; when everyone else had gone to sleep, and he was restless. He wondered what she dreamed about, if she was as restless as he was, if her regrets haunted her like his did. But then he remembered that he had 130 plus years on her and she likely hadn't done anything that warranted regret. His eyes closed as he honed his hearing, picking up on the melody as she sang under her breath. Her voice was beautiful; just one more thing that surprised him about her.

Bonnie Bennett. Resident Witch of Mystic Falls…and lately, his mind. There wasn't anything special about her to most people – she was just a normal teenage girl; virtuous, unsullied…perhaps lacking confidence, but to Damon she was more than that. He could see the power in her, lying dormant, waiting for her to unleash it and he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He was walking a thin line allowing himself to feel this way for someone like her. He brought chaos with him wherever he went, and in the short time that he was here, he'd already let her down on more than one occasion. Her grandmother died because of him, because of his desperation to get Katherine back.

Her singing stopped, and Damon straightened, watching intently as she walked over to the window.

Bonnie pulled back the curtains, peeking out the window apprehensively. For weeks now she felt something lingering around, like she was being watched, and while that should scare her, for some reason, it didn't. It was quite the opposite. It made her feel safe. But when her eyes scanned the front lawn of her house, she was met with a vast emptiness and only the wind as it whispered on the leaves of the willow tree.

…

Damon's ears perked up as he heard the front door open and close. He put his book down and sat for a moment longer in his favorite chair in the parlor room as he listened in.

"That sounds dangerous, Bon. How long has this been going on?" Elena concerned voice filtered through the house.

"I don't know, a couple weeks? I'm sure it's fine…I've been on edge lately, maybe I'm just hypersensitive or something." Bonnie responded nonchalantly.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have Stefan come by and check things out."

Damon appeared in the foyer, as casually as he could. "Check what out?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes with embarrassment. "It's nothing."

Elena leveled her with a no-nonsense stare, before turning back to Damon. "Someone's been following Bonnie."

"No one's following me. It's just this weird feeling I've been getting." She explained to him with a quick glance, before addressing Elena again. "But I don't think it's anything to be worried about." She missed Damon's eyes shift uneasily.

"Still…with your dad out of town, I would feel better if you weren't in that house by yourself." Elena insisted as she dropped her bag by the couch.

Bonnie forced a smile, but Damon could see she was irritated. "Elena it's fine."

"You could stay here." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"What?" They both asked looking at him as if he just grew two heads.

Damon shrugged. "Elena spends most nights here anyways, and it's not like we don't have enough rooms." He busied himself with pouring a drink, hoping his suggestion came off casual and aloof.

Bonnie eyed him hesitantly. "I wouldn't want to put you out."

He shook his head before taking a sip of his bourbon. "You wouldn't be. Hell, I bet you I'll barely even notice you're here." He smirked. "Plus, with two vampires down the hall, how much safer could you be?" He opened his arms in a grand gesture.

The witch crossed her arms, her hip popping out as she raised a speculative brow. "And what do you get out of it?"

He blinked. "Who says I get anything out of it?"

She scoffed. "You're always working an angle. What do you want?" she demanded.

Damon's mouth dropped open as he observed her. She was full of fire right now; her green eyes narrowed with skepticism, challenging him boldly. "I don't want anything from you, Bonnie." He snapped back, tossing back the rest of his drink before dropping the glass carelessly on the surface in front of him. He pinned her with an intense glare, portraying his usual air of causticity. "Good luck with your stalker." He sauntered off back into the parlor room.

He shook his head to himself once he was alone. He was slipping. A month ago, he wouldn't have even bothered with engaging in that conversation unless it was to mock her. Now he was offering to put her up?

"Hey!" He spun around, too lost in his own thoughts to realize Bonnie had stormed after him. "You can't blame me for being suspicious of you, Damon. You haven't exactly given me a reason not to be." Bonnie defended standing at the top of the stairs looking down on him.

She wasn't wrong. "I really don't care what you think of me. I'm not here to make friends." He grumbled back turning his back on her.

"Then why are you here?" Bonnie snapped. "Now that you know Katherine's not in the tomb, what's even keeping you here?" Walking down the steps, she came to stand in front of him. "You don't care about us, or this town…you've made that pretty clear. So why stay?" she confronted him brazenly.

He smirked to himself before facing her. It was amusing to him that Bonnie seemed to be so demure and quiet when it came to everyone else, but when it came to Damon, she was fierce and impassioned. So, maybe he drove her crazy…but it was something, right? "I have my reasons." He answered her cryptically, letting his eyes roam over her defiant stance; arms crossed, chin tipped up, her full lips pursed. He forced himself to look away, and instead let them dart around the room. "Besides, this is my home…and technically I was here first." Damon's lips quirked cheekily. He was good at this…deflecting, pretending, whatever you wanted to call it. It was his defense mechanism, and Bonnie had him exercising it daily.

She eyed him warily, as if she was trying to read him. "Did you mean it? When you said I could stay here, did you mean it, or were you just being an asshole to get a rise out of me?"

"Well…if I did, I guess it worked." He chuckled, but she shot him a deadpanned stare. He sobered. "I meant it, Bonnie. And if I'm being honest, Elena is right. With the tomb vampires loose, you shouldn't be alone. Emily Bennett betrayed them all, and they might take it out on you. You'd be safer here." He gave her a curt nod. "You can stay as long as you'd like."

Her mouth pulled in a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you." He noticed her defensive stance drop, and her head canted. "Wow, honesty from Damon Salvatore. Never thought I'd see the day." she teased good naturedly.

He scoffed exaggeratedly. "Oh, I'm always honest. I'm just a dick about it." He grinned when her small smile broke into a reluctant laugh. "Look at us, having a civil conversation without aneurysms or threats of blood loss."

Her brows raised as she backed away with a sassy smirk. "Well…the day's not over yet." She left him in the parlor, shaking his head.

It had been a long time since he met someone that challenged him this way, and he found himself enjoying it.

…

Two Days Later:

Damon spotted his brother in the doorway through the mirror in his room, as he threw on a shirt. "It's rude to loiter, Stef. In or out."

Stefan pushed of the doorjamb and sauntered in. "I see Bonnie just settled in down the hall. Elena tells me it was your idea. Care to tell me why that is?" he questioned doubtfully.

Damon stared at him through the reflection. "Why does everyone think I have an ulterior motive?"

His brother laughed ironically. "Because you always do, Damon. I'm hard pressed to think of a time when you didn't." He stood behind him, crossing his arms.

Damon avoided his brother's gaze and moved into the walk-in bathroom. "Well, I don't this time." He grumbled.

Stefan followed, staying in the doorway. "So, you just invited Bonnie to stay with us out of the goodness of your heart?"

The elder Salvatore rolled his eyes. "I made a promise to Emily, remember?" He turned on the tap and washed his face, snatching a towel of the rack and drying off.

Stefan reeled back, in surprise. "Emily? Emily Bennett? That was a hundred and fifty years ago, Damon."

"A promise is a promise, Stefan." He pushed passed him back into his room.

He shifted his weight, turning around. "Yeah, except she broke her promise to you, didn't she? So, why hold up your end of the deal at all?"

Letting out a huff of annoyance, Damon changed the subject. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

"I will…when you answer the question."

"Because contrary to what everyone seems to think of me, I am a man of my word and I don't think Bonnie should have to suffer for Emily's mistakes. Also, having a witch owe you one is not a bad position to be in." he covered easily.

"Hm…and Katherine?"

"What about her?" he responded shortly.

"That's it? After all this time trying to find her, after loving her for over a century, you have completely moved on?" He wasn't easily convinced.

Damon balked at him. "Why shouldn't I!? I thought she was trapped down there, Stefan! I thought she needed me to save her and instead she was out living her life, knowing that I was doing everything I could to get her out! I'm done wasting even another minute on that conniving bitch." He sighed, collecting himself. "We done here? I kind of have someplace to be."

Stefan nodded. "Sure." His brother eyed him; his brow furrowed as he tried to figure him out. Ever since Damon got here, he felt like he had to question everything he did. Every time Damon walked back into his life, he ruined things somehow and Stefan was just starting to build a life here again. Things were going well with Elena, and he was truly happy. But this time, his brother surprised him. He'd thought that with Katherine out of the picture, Damon would somehow latch onto Elena, and history would repeat all over again, but oddly enough it was the opposite. Damon seemed completely unphased by Elena, and moving on quickly from Katherine. Stefan was convinced there was more to it than what meets the eye and he was even more curious with Damon being so dodgy about it.

…

Damon knocked on the door, popping his head in. "You wanted to see me, Sheriff?"

Liz smiled tightly, straightening the papers on her desk as she waved him in. "Damon, yes, please come in." Damon sat in the chair in front of her desk. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. Usually this would warrant a council meeting, but I don't want to cause any panic among the founding families."

He put on his most concerned citizen look; slanting his brows and leaning forward. "What is it, Liz? Is everything okay?"

She exhaled sharply. "I'm afraid not." She pushed the folder towards him, and watched as he opened it. Damon had to force an uncomfortable wince at the bloody bodies. Swallowing noticeably as he looked away and closed the file. "Blair and Tina Fell. We found their bodies in the woods last night." She handed him another file. "And this…is Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton. We found him this morning."

Damon shook his head feigning sympathy. "This is terrible, Liz. Those poor kids." He waited a beat. "What are we calling this? A drunken accident? Animal attack?"

She shook her head helplessly. "I have no idea. Maybe if they were together, we could spin this as a terrible accident, but we found them all in different parts of town. Time of death is different and there is nothing linking the incidents except for one thing; their throats were ripped out and they were completely drained of blood."

"Do you think this is targeted?" he pried.

"It appears that way. They are all children of founding family members. I can't help but worry about Caroline, and I know your brother is close to Elena Gilbert. I think we have every reason to believe that the next victims might be one of our own." She explained through a strained voice and distraught frown. "I need your help, Damon. You are the only one of us that's faced a vampire head on and lived to talk about it. How do you suggest we handle this?"

He was shocked to say the least. When he infiltrated the council to get ahead of the game, he figured it would be to know their next move and cover their tracks. He didn't anticipate being the one to lead them into battle so to speak. "I'll think of something. I will help you, Liz. You have my word."

…

"Are you out of your mind, Damon! The tomb vampires are hunting down founding family members and you want to dangle them under their noses like bait!" Stefan yelled at him as he paced the floor. To say he didn't like his brother's idea was an understatement, but given the situation, it was the best he could come up with.

Damon poured himself a drink casually, unbothered by Stefan's outburst. "I got to lure them out somehow, brother. They've been in hiding for weeks. If it makes you feel any better, you can be there." He offered with a loose shrug. Stefan glared at him. "Fine, Elena and Caroline can be bait all on their own." He smirked knowing it would only enrage him further.

"What if something goes wrong? What if someone gets hurt?"

"Relax. I'll be there too. I think we can handle a couple vampires, Stefan." Damon insisted, sipping his bourbon.

Stefan continued to pace with frustration. "Not just a couple vampires. There were twenty-six vampires in that tomb, Damon, we know some took off and five others we've killed. We are no match for them on our own!"

"I can help." Both brothers turned to see Bonnie coming down the steps into the parlor. "I'm getting stronger every day. If I can do anything to protect the people of this town then I want to help."

The response from both of them was completely opposite.

"Are you sure?" Stefan pressed.

"Out of the question." Damon stated at the same time, drawing Stefan's confused stare.

Bonnie's brows shot up her forehead. "Excuse me? What, you don't think I can do it?" Her emerald eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, Bon-Bon. Too risky. You're gonna have to sit this one out." He brushed her off.

She scoffed. "Oh, but dangling Elena and Caroline like a worm on a hook is okay!" she fired back closing in on him heatedly.

He rolled his eyes with a lopsided smirk. "Not just Elena and Caroline…the rest of the founding offspring too. It'll be like an all you can eat buffet."

"These are my friends! I'm not just going to stand by and let you use them to get what you want!" Her voice oozed attitude, and a vein in her forehead bulged with the force of her expression.

He closed the distance between them, but she never faltered. "What I want is to rid this town of the vampires trying to kill your friends. We're on the same team here, Bonnie!"

She poked him in the chest. "No, you are on a team all on your own, Damon, like always. You don't care what happens to them, you don't even care what happens to me, so what does it matter if I get hurt trying to protect them?"

Stefan waited with bated breath, wanting to know the answer himself. It wasn't long ago that he would have let anyone and everyone sacrifice themselves so long as it served him.

Damon's wide eyes penetrated hers as he decided on what he was going to say. "You think you know me, Bonnie? You think you have me all figured out, don't you? Well sorry to disappoint…but you don't. You want to help, fine. Help by staying out of it."

"Why are you fighting me on this so hard?" She reacted to him in frustrated disbelief. "If it were anyone else-"

"It doesn't matter if it was anyone else! I'm saying I don't want to have to be responsible for your life when I'm trying to kill a bunch of vengeful vampires." They were toe to toe now, with him towering over her intimidatingly, and Bonnie unflinching as she stood her ground.

"It's because you don't think I can handle it; but I can! For once can you try and count on someone other than yourself! That's how a real team works." Damon held her glower defiantly. "This…is why no one likes you." She hissed, pinning him with a glare as she pushed passed him to the stairs.

Damon released a heavy sigh, trying to ignore the sting of her words before turning, and catching his brother's puzzled observation. He almost forgot he was here. Immediately the stone wall came up. "What? You know I'm right."

Stefan nodded. "I don't think you're wrong. But you didn't really seem to mind including Alaric, and he's not nearly as strong as Bonnie." He interrogated tentatively. Getting answers out of Damon was like disarming a bomb.

Damon scoffed. "That's because Ric has a fancy ring that brings him back from the dead. If he dies, who cares?" he shrugged carelessly.

"So, you care about if Bonnie dies?" he prodded, his eyes searching for a reaction.

Damon picked up on it instantly, and snapped his head to look at him sharply. "What are you getting at, brother?"

Stefan's lips turned down with a nonchalant shrug, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Nothing…I guess I'm just curious what motivates your decision, that's all. You certainly don't care what happens to Elena." He responded with a bit of bitterness.

"Can't say I'm particularly fond of her face right now." He grumbled. "But it's not like I want her dead; but that's more for your sake than hers." He added pointedly.

"So what makes Bonnie any different than Elena?" he pushed, forgetting his calculated tactics.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Bonnie is a witch, and your girlfriend's only superpower is being a cheap carbon copy of the icy Queen herself. Hardly a comparison." He finished irritably.

"Speaking of Katherine…" Damon shot him a heated glare. "Now that you know she's not here, what's your plan?"

Damon sighed exasperatedly as he poured another drink. He was sick of the Katherine topic. "What do you mean, Stefan?"

"I mean, what's your plan in Mystic Falls? Are you staying?"

"What you're really asking is what's my next move? Am I cooking some diabolical plan to ruin your life? Come on, brother, stop beating around the proverbial bush here." Damon sauntered up to him sipping the amber liquid and looking at him over the rim. "I know the real question you want to ask…so ask it."

Stefan released a sharp sigh, glancing away before locking on his brother again. "I just want it to be clear, that history will not be repeating itself where Elena's concerned."

Damon scoffed loudly. "Duly noted! Trust me your sweetie bear is safe from me. I think I learned my lesson when it comes to Petrova women. She's all yours." He smirked darkly finishing his glass. Then his jaw ticked. "Now I'm hungry; all this Katherine talk is enough to make my gums itch."

"Damon…" Stefan warned. While Stefan was drinking for animals, his brother still preferred human blood, and with the vampires in town already chomping on the town folk, the last thing they needed was either of them getting found out.

He walked past him to the front door. "Relax, I'll go to the next town. We're trying to keep a low profile, remember?" He winked. "Don't wait up."

…

It was late by the time he made it back home; the sky was black and speckled with stars and as he drove down the street and up the driveway, it was silent. Stefan and Elena were fast asleep, the room on the top floor of the house void of movement. But as he exited his car, the dim light from the corner room caught his eye.

Bonnie was still awake; it was almost 2am, but yet he could hear the rustle of her moving around the room. Damon watched intently, sucking on his lower lip as his eyes followed her shadow as it passed by the window. He was harsher on her than he intended to be, but God help him, she tested his patience sometimes. It was bad enough he had to bury these feelings so deep they couldn't rise to the surface, now he had to fight to keep her safe from herself, while still keeping up his devil-may-care persona. It was a challenge. So Damon enjoyed these little moments; where he could allow himself to smile as he imagined a scenario where maybe she'd catch his gaze out the window, and smile back. He stood there a moment longer, before heading inside reluctantly.

He meant to go straight to his room, but he stopped at the top of the stairs, seeing her door ajar. He appeared in her doorway, knocking lightly on the frame. Bonnie didn't respond, keeping her focus on the grimoire in front of her as she sat cross-legged on the bed. "Oh come on, are you mad at me now?" he smirked teasingly.

Her eyes never faltered from the spell book. "When am I not mad at you?" she fired back.

"Touché…" he chuckled. "Look, there are reasons for keeping you out of this."

She finally turned to him, shifting herself on the bed. "Then explain it to me."

"You're valuable, Bonnie. You think I don't know what you're capable of? You're not the first Bennett witch I've come across. I think, you're a lot more powerful than you know. Which I can't risk you." He explained rationally.

She stood, coming to stand in front of him. "That's exactly why you should! I'm not floating feathers anymore; I can keep a vampire down. You and Stefan can't do this alone. You need me." She could see the hesitation on his face. "Damon, please…"

Fuck. How was he supposed to say no to her when she was staring up at him with those wild green eyes? "I'm going to regret this…" His shoulders slumped and his eyes rolled skyward. "Fine, you're officially in on the plan." He pointed a finger at her. "I swear, if I have to save you from dying, I'll kill you myself." His tone was stern, but there was mirth in his eyes.

She cracked a little smile. "Noted." The silence stretched between them for a long moment, making the air taut with tension. "Um…I'm gonna head to bed."

"Yeah…me too." Damon nodded, backing out down the hall. "Goodnight."

"Night…" She mumbled as she closed the door behind him.

He fell asleep that night listening to her breathing.

…

AN: Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait! I'm excited about this one! This might end up being a bit longer than my usual 3-4 parts. We'll see 😉. Thanks for sticking with me, I always love seeing your reviews! - Vanessa