Silhouettes – Part X

Damon was having a hard time with wrapping his mind around last night's information dump. Bonnie had explained everything to him, about what she knew and what Silas needed from her.

.

"A cure? For immortality?" Damon questioned deadpanned, and cynically.

Bonnie nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but if I can do this spell, do you know what this could mean?"

He shrugged with a roll of his eyes. "That Silas can finally walk into that good night?"

"It means any vampire can be human again." Damon glanced at her sharply. "You could be human again, Damon. I mean…if that's what you wanted." She backpedaled. It wasn't something they ever talked about before, but they both knew that there was a dark cloud hanging over them when it came to their future.

He knew she'd never turn, nor did he want her to, and until now he didn't think being human was an option. "I hadn't really thought about it, honestly."

Bonnie smiled, covering his hand with hers. "Well…maybe you should. If it's not what you want, I'll understand."

.

And now it was all he could think about. He turned the glass in his hands at the bar of the Grill, visualizing what a human life with Bonnie would be like. Would they stay in Mystic Falls? Would they get married, buy a house and have children? The idea of little blue-eyed kids with mocha skin and a head full of curls brought a smile to his face. Children was not something he ever thought about as a human, but Bonnie made him want more than he thought was possible.

Damon's thoughts were interrupted when someone slipped onto the stool beside him. "Hey Damon!" Silas greeted pleasantly.

The vampire's eyes swung up, eying him suspiciously. "Silas…what do you want?"

The immortal blinked, reeling his head back. "Well, that was rude." He reached over the bar, grabbing a glass for himself and a bottle, pouring them both a drink. "I thought it was time you and I had a little chat, don't you?" Damon didn't answer. "I know what you're thinking…'what could you possibly have to talk with me about'? Well, let me tell you. I like Bonnie; she's a good kid. Good head on her shoulders, lots of potential; I want to see her succeed, mostly because it's in my best interest. However, this power she has is volatile, and no amount of meditation, or yoga or deep breathing is going to help her keep it under control. She needs practice. She needs discipline." He explained pointedly, sipping his bourbon. "And I know you know that."

Damon forced a smirk. It was unnerving that Silas was able to read his mind so easily, as if he were an open book. These were the thoughts at the back of his mind every time she started to lose control. He could calm her for the moment, but he knew that one day all the pent-up emotion would explode out of her, and he worried about who might be caught in the crossfire. "And I assume you think you're the man for the job." With a deep swallow he finished his drink.

Silas nodded. "I do know a thing or two about expression magic. But I know you don't trust me."

Damon raised his brows. "You're right…I don't. Also…drop the Stefan look; it's disturbing."

Silas chuckled. "This is my true form. I thought Bonnie would have told you. Stefan…is my doppelganger."

"Right, of course!" The vampire rolled his eyes. "You know, if I have to hear the word 'doppelganger' one more time, I think I'm going to have to actually learn how to spell it." He grumbled.

Silas' eyes narrowed reading his mind. "You say you don't believe me, yet your mind is spinning with the possibility."

Damon snapped a heated glare at him. "A: get out of my head. B: I think I'd know if my little brother had an evil twin."

The immortal poured another drink for each of them. "Oh, we're not twins. See, when I became truly immortal, nature retaliated by creating a version of me that was killable. It's called a 'shadow-self'. Amara, my one true love, was given a shadow self also; Katherine, Elena…a few others over the years. And by some ironic twist of fate, they always manage to find their way to each other. Huh." He mused with amusement, staring off for a moment. He glanced back at Damon with a smile. "The universe is an amazing thing, isn't it?"

Damon gave a little shake of his head. "Yeah, I don't care. All I care about is Bonnie, and the last thing I want is her spending any time with you." He ground out between clenched teeth.

"You are very protective of her." Silas read him observantly, tilting his head. "And I can see why; I mean after everything the two of you have been through, after months of unrequited love and hiding in the shadows watching through her bedroom window like a creepy stalker, now that you have her and she loves you back, you're terrified you're going to lose her." He commented nonchalantly, completely unaffected by the wide-eyed glower Damon was pinning him with. "But think about it, Damon…would Bonnie moving on with her life without you really be the worst thing for her? She deserves more than what you can offer her. She's a witch, a very powerful one at that, and you're a vampire. Even if you did take the cure – which you and I both know would make you miserable, how long before you resent her for your mediocrity?" Damon's jaw twitched, and he blinked, trying not to show that his words cut him deep in his own insecurities. "How long before you drown under the pressure of being ordinary? PTA meetings and diaper changing, trading in your Camaro for a minivan, ugh!" Silas shot him a penetrating stare that looked right through him. "Sounds like torture for you."

Damon forced a smirk. "You underestimate what I'm willing to do to make Bonnie happy."

Silas chuckled, dropping his gaze for a moment before looking up again. "Maybe…but what I do know is that you doubt that you can. Sure, she's happy now, but will she be two, five, ten years down the road?" The smirk fell from Damon's face, and Silas pointed a finger at him with realization. "And that's it, isn't it? That's your worst fear come to light. Oh boy, your thoughts are churning right now. It's like a spool of pink taffy. It's very messy, but also very fun to watch." He stated with amusement, turning slightly to face him.

Damon's lip curled in distaste. "Get out of my head." He uttered slowly and with hard eyes.

"I wish I could, but it's like a bad car accident. I just can't seem to look away. Hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe everything is going work out just fine and you and Bonnie will live happily ever after. But it's my experience that love…always ends with your heart ripped out." Silas clapped Damon hard on the back, jutting him forward with the force as he stood. "Have a good night." He smiled brightly, tossing back the rest of his drink and dropping a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. "Drinks on me."

Staring into his empty glass, he let the words sink in. The truth is, that was always his experience too. Silas knew too much about them, and what was worse…is that he was right.

…

Over the next few days, Damon saw less and less of Bonnie. She had been spending her days 'practicing' she said, and he knew that meant she was with Silas. And while she was open and honest about it, it still didn't sit well with him. So, when she walked in the front door, he was there waiting for her.

"Where've you been?" He asked gravely; his words loosely rolling out from his mouth in a slur, placing his drink on the side table and rising to his feet. Maybe if he hadn't been drinking as much as he had been, his tone would have been less hostile.

She scoffed. "Well, hello to you too." She dropped her bag by the door unceremoniously before walking down the steps. "At the cabin."

His face pinched in contempt. Silas' cabin. "Of course." Damon's sour tone was obvious. "Because where else would you be these days? Certainly not here."

Her eyes snapped to his sharply. "Don't do that. It's not even like that with Silas. He's teaching me how to use my magic properly; you don't have to act like the jealous boyfriend." She grumbled back. Bonnie had noticed that since Silas came to town, there was an undeniable strain between them; why, she didn't know, but she felt that whatever it was, would blow up in their faces.

He sauntered over to her, eyes glassy and darker than their usual blue. "Oh, I'm not jealous, Bonnie. When I'm jealous, you'll know it."

She knew this look. "No, but you're drunk…no surprise there." She uttered the last part under her breath as she passed him, moving into the kitchen.

Damon followed after her. "Well maybe if my girlfriend wasn't shacked up with some other guy for hours everyday, I wouldn't need to kill the time in other ways." Despite his annoyance at the situation, he couldn't help but tilt his head as he checked out her ass when she leaned down into the fridge to grab a bottle of water from the lower shelf.

She looked at him over her shoulder. "And that's you not being jealous…right?" she stated pointedly, slamming the fridge door in punctuation.

He rolled his eyes as she brushed passed him again, intentionally bumping his arm as she went. They didn't fight often, but the barbs back and forth, while heated, could also be like foreplay.

Today was not one of those days.

He spun around clenching his jaw, knowing she was right. "That's not the point!"

"Well then what is the point, Damon?" she called out to him. "Why are we even having this fight again; I told you, I'm not doing this because I want to. The sooner I can control my magic, the sooner I can do the spell, kill Silas, and we can all move on to the next apocalyptic threat." She added sardonically.

"And isn't that convenient for us." He drawled with a sneer.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, she glanced back at him. "What are you talking about?"

Damon shrugged. "Just seems awfully convenient that Silas has the solution to all our problems; how to hone your powers, the cure to immortality, and all we have to do is help him meet his maker? Sorry, Bon, but I'm not easily convinced."

She deflated slightly. "Look, I don't trust him either, but what other choice do we have? I need this, Damon. I'm not in control. Last week I almost set a guy on fire at school, and before that I blew my bedroom door off its hinges. I can't go on like this…" she pleaded with him.

Immediately, Damon was there, wrapping her in his arms soothingly. "I know, I know…" He didn't want to admit that Silas was right, but it was clear from the look on her face she was struggling. Sure, the nose bleeds were gone, and so were the headaches and magical hangover, but she traded it for spontaneous fires and exploding lightbulbs. She put on a brave face for him, but he knew it was taking its toll in her. "How did we get here?" He mused morosely, resting his chin on her head.

Bonnie scoffed, pulling out of his embrace with a cynical look. "I know exactly how we got here. Katherine and her sick obsession with ruining your life." He looked taken aback. "Oh, come on, Damon…Katherine wouldn't have even known I was here if she wasn't already keeping tabs on you."

His face hardened. "So now this is my fault."

"That's not what I said."

"That's what it sounds like; and you know what…it's true. There're more than a few Bennett witches around for her to choose from, but she picked you because of me. Because messing with me is fun for her." Damon retorted with anger painted on his face. "Because for some twisted reason, knowing I could possibly love someone other than her makes her want to destroy everything I care about…" His eyes fell on her with a deep resigned sigh. "And you are the only thing I care about."

Bonnie grabbed his hands in reassurance. "Or maybe…it was fate. Maybe," she offered a one-shoulder shrug. "This was always meant to happen; and I can't say I regret it." His brows pulled deep on his forehead in perplexity. "Katherine coming here changed my life, but it also brought us together…and I can't hate her for that." She smiled when finally, Damon's tension left his body, and he pulled her closer with a grateful smile of his own.

…

Katherine opened up the door to of her room at the quaint bed and breakfast she was staying at, and her brows rose in surprise. It was important she was discreet; going back to Mystic Falls before it was time was out of the question, but she needed to be close enough not to miss her window of opportunity. That's why she chose to bunker down here, just on the outskirts of Mystic Falls; a small nothing town that she normally wouldn't be caught dead in. So, a guest – especially this one, was a surprise…but not completely unwelcomed.

"Well, look who the cat dragged in…" She practically purred, letting her eyes roam his body as she leaned on the door. "Hello Stefan. You found me."

The man blinked slowly, a secretive smirk hitching his lips up. "You didn't make it too difficult." He said as he slipped passed her into her room, his shoulder brushing passed hers lightly.

She turned, closing the door behind her back and leaning on it, looking at him coyly from under thick lashes. "Maybe I wanted you to find me. We didn't exactly get a chance to talk last time I was in town. I was a little caught up with a pet project of mine." She smiled sweetly.

He pointed at her. "Yes. I did hear about that. You left quite the mess behind." He let his eyes scan the room.

Shrugging half-heartedly, Katherine pushed off the door and stepped towards him. "Oops." She looked him over with a cant of her head. "You look different…darker. It suits you." She ran a hand down his chest, and with a crooked smile he stepped away from her caress, and she released a huff. "You know, there was a time when you would crave my touch."

"What can I say Katherine…you…with this face, does nothing for me." He responded coldly.

The jealousy was plainly shown on her face as she pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Oh, but Elena does?"

"Not really no." She reeled back, surprised. "But Amara…" he whistled. "Now that woman knew how to turn me into a nervous fool with just one look." He turned, walking up to the dresser, reviewing her make up and jewelry laid out in front of the mirror.

Katherine blinked. "Who the hell is that?"

He caught her eyes in the mirror. "The love of my life."

Realization came over her, and her instincts forced her to take two cautious steps back. "You're not Stefan."

"No…I'm not." He chuckled to himself as he listened to her internal thoughts and saw the panic in her eyes as he faced her again. "No, I'm not Klaus; this isn't some parlor trick and I'm not here to hurt you. Quite the opposite. It seems I owe you a favor. You did go through the trouble of waking me, after all."

Her shoulders relaxed. "Silas. Well, that's a relief. I gotta say though…the Stefan suit's a little weird." She gestured to him with a flick of her hand.

Silas leaned against the vanity, crossing his arms and ankles casually. "You know, I'm a little insulted that for doppelgangers you three truly no nothing about your origin story. Stefan is my shadow self, and you and Elena are the shadow selves of my beloved Amara." He explained shortly, for what felt like the hundredth time.

She snorted, completely unconvinced. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry, but I find it a bit hard to believe that Stefan and I just so happened to find our way to each other. It's impossible." Katherine finished with a sour nose scrunch.

"Yet…it's entirely true. The doppelgangers are drawn to each other; it's been that way for centuries I hear; versions of me and Amara coming together by the universes deign. I guess true love does prevail after all." He grinned. "Well…maybe not in your case."

Katherine's eyes narrowed on his tersely. "So-"

"What brings me here?" He finished for her. "I need the stone." She stared at him unflinchingly. "If you don't tell me, I'll just rummage around in your mind until I find it. Or…I can torture you until you tell me. Either option will be fun for me."

Holding his gaze unwaveringly for a moment, Katherine caved with a roll of her eyes, and brushed passed him to crouch down and lift the floorboard by the window. She reached in and pulled out an antique box, and in that box, there was a silk satchel, and in that satchel was the stone.

"You have a lot of trust issues." Silas commented.

Standing, Katherine scoffed. "Well yeah. How do you think I survived this long." She rolled the stone around in her hands looking down at it longingly.

He eyed her, reading her mind. "I know what you want. And I can help…for a price."

Her eyes snapped up. "What happened to you owing me a favor?"

"Well, what you want isn't a walk in the park. It goes against all the laws of nature. So, I'm renegotiating. So, Ms. Pierce…do we have a deal?" He held out his palm.

Katherine weighed her options before slowly walking up to him, and dropped the stone in his hand. "I'll do whatever you want."

…

AN: Sorry for the delay! Thank you for waiting and for all your reviews! Things are going to get pretty intense next chapter or two. We'll find out what Katherine wants and a bit of her back story will be revealed.

I never intended this series to go on so long, lol I might re-post this as a stand alone when it's done. So many of you have said this is your favorite yet, so thank you for enjoying my stories. - Vanessa